South Carolina lawmakers not only lose raise but also $1,000 a month in pay after court ruling

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina lawmakers improperly gave themselves a $1,500 monthly raise, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a unanimous decision that will end up cutting legislators’ pay by thousands of dollars.

The justices said the “ in-district compensation ” qualifies as salary, meaning the increase can’t take effect until after the 2026 election. The General Assembly had made the raises immediate through a budget item earlier this year.

The ruling also eliminates a $1,000 monthly expense payment that all 46 senators and 124 House members receive, reducing their paychecks until legislators approve a new proposal.

The suit was brought by Republican Sen. Wes Climer, who voted against the raise, and one of his constituents.

“Public trust is earned by doing the right thing, even when it’s unpopular. I opposed this pay raise not because the job isn’t demanding, but because how we govern matters,” Climer said in a statement after the ruling.

During arguments before the court last month, attorneys for the House and Senate said the raise was for expenses, not salary, and exempt from the waiting period.

The justices rejected that claim, instead siding with Climer’s attorneys who argued lawmakers themselves called it compensation and since they aren’t required to provide any receipts or documentation, it is salary.

The court acknowledged legislators’ pay hasn’t risen since 1994 and that current compensation is “paltry” compared to the demands of the job. But it noted that until this year the General Assembly had honored the constitutional ban on mid-term raises.

“Where a legislative enactment clearly contravenes our constitution, we have a duty to declare the legislative enactment unconstitutional,” the justices wrote.

When the part-time lawmakers return to the state capitol in January, they’ll get a lump sum of $10,400 for their $260-a-day pay for all of 2026. Members are also reimbursed for mileage driving to Columbia and a hotel room.

The loss of the $1,000 monthly payment, which they’ve been getting for decades, surprised many legislators. Some lawmakers said they used their own private salaries for town halls, equipment needed to help constituents or basic expenses.

The ruling ultimately hurts the public, Democratic Rep. Hamilton Grant said, because he expects lawmakers will have to cut back how they serve their constituents unless a politician is independently wealthy.

“The decision is unfortunate and rules in favor of political elitism,” Grant said in a text message. “Taking a pay cut in this economy for any job does not help working South Carolinians.”

During October arguments, the justices suggested several remedies. Lawmakers could have called and treated the raise more like an expense fund, delayed paying it until 2027, or separated the new money from existing pay so it all wouldn’t have gone away, the justices said.

The in-district compensation raise was proposed late in the budget process by Republican Sen. Shane Martin. He spent about 30 seconds on the Senate floor saying the first raise in 30 years was needed because of inflation and higher costs.

South Carolina already has some of the lowest-paid legislators in the country. Comparisons are tricky because they involve salary, expenses and mileage, but the combination of $22,400 for salary and in-district expenses is well below other part-time legislatures like Alabama and Tennessee, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

It’s a lot higher than New Hampshire’s $100-a-year plus mileage but well below full-time lawmakers in California and New York, who earn more than $100,000 annually.