Copper Dome Chronicle: October 2025 Meetings and Activities
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Copper Dome Chronicle, sponsored by Advocatus. We strive for substantive writing with brevity, inspired by the book Smart Brevity.
This post will preview the month of October 2025. Any meetings or relevant activities by the General Assembly will be chronicled on this page, which will be updated as needed.
The 2025 regular session of the 126th South Carolina General Assembly adjourned sine die on Thursday, May 8. Thanks for reading and sharing; we welcome your feedback and commentary!
Resources
State Tax Revenues On Track
On September 25 the Board of Economic Advisors met to review state tax revenue data for the first two months of FY26. Actual revenues are slightly above the estimate but are tracking within the annual estimate, which due to revenue policy decisions is projected to decline by 4.5%. FY25 finished with a surplus of $725.9M.
Judicial Merit Selection Committee 2026 Cycle
As we have opined many times, after the annual appropriations act the second most important - and political - process in the General Assembly is the election of judges. The Judicial Merit Selection Committee has begun its work for the 2026 cycle. This cycle will be the first conducted under the new requirements enacted in Act 219 of 2024. The marquee race will be Seat 2 on the South Carolina Supreme Court. Incumbent Justice John Few faces Court of Appeals Judge Blake Hewitt (a candidate for the 2024 Supreme Court seat won by Justice Letitia Verdin), former Speaker of the House Jay Lucas, and perennial candidate Judge Ralph K. Anderson III. Former State Representative Will Wheeler is unopposed for a judgeship in the 3rd Judicial Circuit while former State Representative Mandy Powers Norrell seeks an Administrative Law Court judgeship where eight candidates filed. Public hearings are set for the week prior to and after Thanksgiving. The draft report and recommendations will be published January 28, 2026 and become final February 10, 2026.
Judicial elections are tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, March 4, 2026.
Former State Legislator Pleads Guilty
Disgraced former State Representative RJ May resigned his seat on August 11, weeks after being arrested and charged with distributing and possessing CSAM. On September 29, May signed a plea agreement and pled guilty to five counts. May will be sentenced on January 14, 2026.
2026 Governor’s Race
Candidates wanting to succeed Governor Henry McMaster - South Carolina’s longest-serving elected governor in state history - have begun making their intentions know. Below is a list of those who have officially announced and those who have stated they are considering a run. Campaign disclosure reports are due October 10; we will update this webpage with fundraising data from the candidates.
Republicans
Attorney General Alan Wilson (officially announced)
State Senator Josh Kimbrell (officially announced)
Lt. Governor Pamela Evette (officially announced)
Congressman Ralph Norman (officially announced)
Congresswoman Nancy Mace (officially announced)
State Senator Sean Bennett (not officially announced)
October 10 Fundraising Data (ranked in order by cash on hand; total contributions without loans, total expenditures, total loans noted)
Norman: $1.121M ($808k; $186k; $500k)
Wilson: $1.085M ($1.299M; $214k; $0)
Mace: $716,344 ($1.067M; $351k; $0)
Evette: $527,959 ($1.115M; 887k; $300k)
Kimbrell: $4,799 ($6,400; $1,600; $0)
Democrats
State Representative Jermaine Johnson (officially announced)
Mullins McLeod (officially announced)
October 10 Fundraising Data (ranked in order by cash on hand; total contributions without loans, total expenditures, total loans noted)
McLeod: $1.255M ($89k; $183k; $0; $1.35M personal contribution). McLeod cannot repay himself the $1.35M personal contribution because it is not a loan.
2026 Constitutional Officers
In addition to the Governor/Lt. Governor ticket, the other six constitutional offices will be on the ballot in 2026. Below is a list of those who have officially announced and those who have stated they are considering a run.
Attorney General
State Senator Stephen Goldfinch (R) (officially announced)
8th Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo (R) (officially announced)
1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe (R) (officially announced)
October 10 Fundraising Data (ranked in order by cash on hand; total contributions without loans, total expenditures, total loans noted)
Goldfinch: $346k ($404k; $57k; $0)
Pascoe: $225k ($232k; $6,320; $0)
Stumbo: $196k ($204k; $8,765; $0)
Secretary of State
Secretary of State Mark Hammond (R) - Incumbent
State Treasurer
State Treasurer Curtis Loftis (R) (officially announced) - Incumbent
Comptroller General
Mike Burkhold (R) (officially announced)
State Superintendent of Education
State Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver (R) (officially announced) - Incumbent
Commissioner of Agriculture
Fred West (R) (officially announced)
Committee Schedule
If a livestream link is not provided with a committee meeting that means livestream is not available. Additional meetings may be added during the week and while 24 hours notice is generally given, it is not always possible to provide such notice.
Joint Meetings
Joint Committee to Study Childcare
October 1, 10am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The study committee will receive a presentation from the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.
Joint Bond Review Committee
October 7; 11am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: JBRC will meet for the fifth time this year. The next JBRC meeting is December 2.
The proposed 2026 JBRC meeting calendar is as follows: January 27 (10am); March 24 (10am); June 9 (1pm); August 11 (1pm); October 6 (1pm); December 1 (1pm).
Joint Surface Water Study Committee
October 29, 10am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The study committee will receive presentations from WaterSC and the Department of Environmental Services.
Senate Meetings
Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee
October 1, 9:30am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There is one bill on the agenda: S.323 (Unborn Child Protection Act). Public comment will be taken beginning at 9:30am and presentations from invited presenters will begin at 1pm.
Senate Finance Health & Human Services Budget Subcommittee
October 7, 1pm; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The subcommittee will receive presentations from the South Carolina chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, Clemson University, the University of South Carolina, and the Medical University of South Carolina regarding the SC Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.
Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee
November 5, 10am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There are five bills on the agenda: S.44 (physician assistants), S.45 (advanced practice registered nurses), S.376 (international physician licensing), S.378 (pharmacists), and S.669 (Team Based Health Care Act). The committee will receive presentations from invited presenters. This has been dubbed the “Scope of Practice WrestleMania” because three of the bills would expand the scope of practice for PAs, APRNs, and pharmacists.
Senate Legislative Oversight Subcommittee
November 5, 11am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: Summary: The subcommittee will hold a meeting about the Office of Resilience.
Senate Legislative Oversight Subcommittee
November 5, 1pm; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: Summary: This is the second subcommittee meeting about the South Carolina Attorney General.
Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee
November 18, 2pm; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There is one bill on the agenda: S.323 (Unborn Child Protection Act). No public comment will be taken at this meeting as the subcommittee considers amendments to the bill.
House Meetings
House Legislative Oversight Subcommittee
October 8, 10:30am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The subcommittee will hold its third meeting of the study on the South Carolina Department of Education.
House SCDOT Modernization Ad Hoc Committee
October 8, 2pm; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The committee will hold its fifth meeting and receive a presentation from the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services.
House Tort Reform Ad Hoc Committee
October 14, 10am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There two bills on the agenda: S.244 (tort reform plus dram shop) and H.4544 (medical malpractice reform). Some text of Sections 13 and 14, as well as all of Section 15, of S.244 are included in H.4544.
House Ethics Committee
October 14, 2:30pm; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The committee will consider one complaint.
House Legislative Oversight Subcommittee
October 22, 10:30am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The subcommittee will discuss the executive summary of the study of the South Carolina Conservation Bank and a study of the Department of Employment and Workforce.
House SCDOT Modernization Ad Hoc Committee
October 23, 12pm; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The committee will hold its sixth meeting and receive presentations from five associations.
House Tort Reform Ad Hoc Committee
October 28, 1:30pm; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: There is one bill on the agenda: S.244 (tort reform plus dram shop).
House Legislative Oversight Subcommittee
October 29, 10:30am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The subcommittee will hold its ninth meeting on the study of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). This meeting could be spicy as the Legislative Audit Council presents its 2024 report about SLED, which SLED stated the following in a response to the report:
“As Chief of SLED, and on behalf of the many dedicated men and women who worked to implement a Sexual Assault Kit Tracking System in South Carolina, I am deeply disappointed by the countless misrepresentations set forth in the LAC’s Report, titled A Review of the Statewide Sexual Assault Kit Tracking System by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) (“Report”). It is clear that the LAC has not presented an objective Report that properly evaluates SLED’s statewide implementation of the sexual assault kit tracking system in South Carolina (“SAK”/“SAKTS”).”
House Legislative Oversight Subcommittee
October 30, 10:30am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The subcommittee will hold its fourth meeting of the study on the South Carolina Department of Education.
House Legislative Oversight Subcommittee
November 5, 10:30am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The subcommittee will hold its tenth meeting on the study of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
House Legislative Oversight Committee
December 10, 11am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The committee will meet to discuss studies on the Tuition Grants Commission and the South Carolina Conservation Bank.
2025 Key Dates
July 19-23, 2025: Southern Legislative Conference (Birmingham, Alabama)
July 25-26, 2025: National Governors Association Summer Meeting (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
August 4-6, 2025: NCSL Legislative Summit (Boston, Massachusetts)
September 25, 2025: BEA meeting on FY25 closeout and FY26 first update.
September 26, 2025: Agency budget requests submitted.
November 18, 2025: BEA forecast for FY27 Executive Budget.
2026 Key Dates
January 13, 2026: Session Convenes
January 2026: Judicial Merit Selection Commission final report published (TBD)
January 2026: State of the State
March 4, 2026: Judicial elections
March 9-13, 2026: House floor budget deliberations (projected)
March 16, 2026: Candidate filing opens (All statewide constitutional offices, federal offices, SC House of Representatives)
March 30, 2026: Candidate filing closes
April 20-24, 2026: Senate floor budget deliberations (projected)
May 14, 2026: Session Adjourns
