Clemson Advocates Update--April 3, 2017
Story Date: 4/3/2017

THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA This week marks the General Assembly's crossover deadline for legislation to be sent to the opposite chamber from which it was introduced.   Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee introduced H.3722, a $498M Capital Projects Bond Bill. The bill includes projects listed below for Clemson University:       -      Daniel Hall Renovation      $10 million -      Martin Hall Renovation      $15 million The bill was reported out of Committee and is now on the House calendar. H.3516 (South Carolina Infrastructure and Economic Development Reform Act) remains on the Senate calendar. Last week, in a vote of 23-18, the Senate refused to set the bill for special order. As currently written, the bill increases the state's gas tax by twelve cents per gallon, potentially generating $800 million per year to address the state's roads and bridges.  BUDGET The Senate Finance Committee completed their work on the state budget last week. Below is a summary of the items impacting Clemson University:  Clemson E&G  -      Increase of $1.75 million in Clemson's current base funding.   Clemson PSA  -      $1.1 million in recurring funding for Agriculture and Natural Resources Programming -      $1.2 million in recurring funding for Statewide Extension Programming The Senate Finance Committee version of the budget includes an increase in the cost of health insurance and an increase in retirement contributions for state employees and employers.  The employee portion of both the health insurance and retirement contribution increases will be paid by the state.   The Senate is expected to begin work on the budget tomorrow morning.    From a state budgeting standpoint, Clemson is considered two separate state agencies: a research university that receives an educational and general (E&G) state appropriation for teaching and student support, and a land-grant Public Service and Agriculture (PSA) division that receives a state appropriation to support agriculture, forestry and natural resource Extension, research and regulatory programs. The university also has auxiliary operations, such as athletics, student housing and dining services, which receive no state funding and must generate all of their own revenue. Detailed information on Clemson's 2017 state legislative and budget priorities for FY 2017-18 may be found at these links: Clemson Education and General (E&G) Priorities Clemson Public Service and Agriculture (PSA) Priorities BILLS OF INTEREST The Clemson University Governmental Affairs office is monitoring several bills that have potential impact on Clemson.  A complete listing of these bills may be found here.  Click on the bill number for a description of the legislation, along with the bill's current status. FYI Please follow CU at the Capitol on Twitter.