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General Assembly Passes Liquor Liability Reform, Military TIF Housing

On Thursday, May 8, the first half of the 126th South Carolina General Assembly was gaveled to a close. The 2025 legislative session was the first year of a two-year session, meaning that all bills that did not pass during this session will remain active for further debate and potential passage during the 2026 session.

The sine die resolution, S292, passed by both the House and Senate, allow the speaker of the SC House of Representatives and the president of the SC Senate to call legislators back to Columbia after the end of the regular session, but only for items specifically outlined in the resolution. This year’s sine die resolution allows legislators to return to session to discuss the state budget along with local legislation, resolutions, gubernatorial vetoes and appointments. Other introduced legislation will remain on hold until next year. 

The Senate and House could not come to an agreement on the state budget so they appointed a conference committee to debate the differences between their versions of the budget. Reps. Bruce Bannister (R-Greenville), Lee Hewitt (R-Georgetown) and Leon Stavrinakis (D-Charleston), as well as Sens. Harvey Peeler (R-Cherokee), Darrell Jackson (D-Richland) and Thomas Alexander (R-Oconee) were appointed as conferees to the budget conference committee.


Bills enacted into law
Several big issues made it across the finish line before time ran out and were ratified by the General Assembly and signed by the governor. 

H3430 became the new version of the liquor liability bill, which aims to reduce liquor liability costs for bars and restaurants as significant premium hikes threatened their operations. The Municipal Association of SC identified resolving the growing liquor liability burden for small businesses as one of its Advocacy Initiatives for this session, as many restaurants have closed, reducing the business mix in downtown districts. 

Originally, the language of H3430 dealt with appointing the state auditor, but the House amended the bill so that it only features liquor liability language in order to make the deadline of adjournment. The bill provides for a change in joint and several liability, so that liability does not apply to a defendant found to have less than 50% of fault. The bill also provides ways for restaurants and bars to lower insurance coverage through server training and other steps. It also lowers the amount of liquor liability insurance required for one-day festivals. The governor signed this bill into law on May 12.

H3333, the military tax increment financing district bill, was passed by both chambers, ratified and signed into law by the governor on May 8. This bill includes affordable housing as an allowable project in a TIF district, extends the bonding period for projects in a military TIF, and gives local governing bodies greater flexibility when using TIF funds outside of the TIF boundary.

H3309, the SC Energy Security Act, is a comprehensive legislative initiative that endeavors to overhaul the state's energy policies and regulatory framework to enhance energy reliability, diversify energy sources and stimulate economic development. The bill allows for a new natural gas plant through Santee Cooper and Dominion Energy, and allows for utilities to raise rates in smaller increments rather than larger increases. The governor signed this bill into law on May 12.

Bills that remain active
Other bills like the income tax reform bill, zero millage legislation and a cut to the tax on boats were passed by one chamber but did not make it out of the other. These bills, along with the 290 bills already in the Municipal Association of SC Legislative Tracking System are still active for the 2026 session. Find information on these remaining bills on the Legislative Tracking System.

Find out more about the past legislative session, and what is likely to come up next year, at the Municipal Association’s 2025 Annual Meeting, taking place July 16 – 20. Look for a more detailed overview in the Association’s 2025 Legislative Report, which will be available at the Annual Meeting and online. 

This article was written at the end of the regular session and is accurate as of May 14, 2025.