Copper Dome Chronicle: 2026 Overtime Week 5
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Copper Dome Chronicle, sponsored by Advocatus USA. We strive for substantive writing with brevity, inspired by the book Smart Brevity.
This week’s edition, covering June 15-19 is 737 words or a 3 minute read. The second regular session of the 126th General Assembly adjourned May 14, but a special session began on May 15. Thanks for reading and sharing; we welcome your feedback and commentary!
Resources
FY 2026-2027 Agency Budget Requests
2026 Candidate Tracking Portal
Overtime Week 5 Preview
Neither the House nor the Senate is expected to hold any floor sessions this week.
Many ask us: where are things with the budget? Our response: it remains unresolved.
But every reliable source has told us a budget agreement will be put to a vote after the runoff elections, but before the end of the current fiscal year. It’s possible a budget conference committee meets the week of June 15 to adopt a report.
A bit of speculation. One tell-tale sign that things are heading towards the finish line: a House subcommittee scheduled a meeting on June 24, which is after the runoff elections and allows those committee members to be in Columbia for a morning subcommittee hearing and a midday floor session. Ideally, members would like to return for only one floor session, but with the end of a two-year legislature and budget vetoes to consider, there could be another floor session before the November elections.
Only three of the twelve bills in a conference committee have met. Some of these bills will only need one, brief meeting to resolve their differences. Others, such as H.3924 (regulate hemp-derived products) and S.52 (DUI) have some significant differences. Whether those differences can be bridged remains to be seen.
There are 12 bills in the status of a conference committee:
H.5126 (FY27 Budget)
H.3924 (regulate hemp-derived products)
S.52 (DUI)
S.11 (state employee paid parental leave)
H.3021 (Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act)
H.4763 (Helping Alleviate Lawful Obstruction “HALO” Act)
H.3387 (unlawful occupants of property)
H.4069 (patient billing)
H.4248 (shrimp country of origin labeling)
H.4337 (LAC powers & private organizations)
H.3570 (economic interests disclosures)
H.4635 (gym contract renewals)
H.4709 (Buy American Iron and Steel Act) is in an odd posture because the House nonconcurred in the Senate amendments but session ended on May 14 before the Senate could take any action. It’s unclear if the bill will remain in play or if it has died; it does not appear on the Senate calendar.
H.5573 (Spartanburg County Memorial Auditorium Commission) is local legislation regarding the commission’s composition. It passed the House on May 13 with amendments after the Senate passed it with amendments on May 7. It was referred to the Spartanburg County Senate Legislative Delegation; it remains to be seen if it will be passed.
The House has appointed conferees to S.883 (2026 sine die resolution) but the Senate has not, nor is it expected to appoint conferees.
Governor Henry McMaster has signed or vetoed all legislation presented to him. He issued four vetoes:
H.3558 (Commissioners to Article V Convention) - Veto Message
H.5164 (hospital beds in hallways) - This was vetoed because the Senate version of the bill was signed into law S.958.
S.238 (legislative session extension) - Veto Message
S.428 (fraudulent check expungement) - Veto Message
Overtime Week 4 Review
Neither the House nor the Senate held any floor sessions.
One conference committee meeting was held:
H.3021 (Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act) - first meeting held on June 10
2026 Political Party Nominating Contests
On June 9 voters went to the polls and participated in either a Republican or Democratic a primary election. Check out our election summary here.
Runoff elections will be held on June 23; below are the statewide offices and State House runoff elections listed alphabetically. An asterisk denotes an incumbent.
Statewide Offices
Governor GOP: Pamela Evette, Alan Wilson
Attorney General GOP: Stephen Goldfinch, David Stumbo
Commissioner of Agriculture GOP: Danny Ford, Cody Simpson
State House
District 8 GOP: Don Chapman*, Sherry Hodges
District 96 GOP: Hunter Hackett, Scotty Whetstone
District 99 GOP: Jarrod Brooks, Kristy Gore
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.
Conference Committee Meetings
As of June 14 no committee meetings have been scheduled.
Senate Meetings
As of June 14 no committee meetings have been scheduled.
House Meetings
House Legislative Oversight Subcommittee
June 24, 10:30am; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The subcommittee will hold its second meeting on the study of the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.
Joint Meetings
Joint Bond Review Committee
August 11, 1:00pm; Agenda; Livestream
Summary: The JBRC agenda has not been posted.
2026 Key Dates
January 13, 2026: Session Convenes
January 28, 2026: Judicial Merit Selection Commission draft report published
January 28, 2026: State of the State Address
February 12, 2026: BEA revenue forecast update
March 4, 2026: Judicial elections
March 9-13, 2026: House floor budget deliberations
March 16-20: House furlough week
March 16, 2026: Candidate filing opens (all statewide constitutional offices, federal offices, SC House of Representatives)
March 30, 2026: Candidate filing closes
April 9, 2026: BEA revenue forecast update (cancelled)
April 6-10: House furlough week (confirmed)
April 20-24, 2026: Senate floor budget deliberations
May 14, 2026: Session Adjourns
May 19, 2026: BEA revenue forecast update
