Being an advocate for cities and towns at the State House doesn’t happen just from January to May. Although the 2025 legislative session has come to an end, the work is just beginning. While it’s not an election year and there are still bills pending for next session, mayors and councilmembers have the perfect opportunity to strengthen the bond between hometowns and their legislators.
With lawmakers spending more time in their home districts, now is an excellent time for municipal leaders to cultivate relationships with their State House delegation and look for opportunities to invite legislators to see the accomplishments of cities and towns, and to talk about concerns related to governing at the local level.
And the Municipal Association of South Carolina is going to help.
This fall, the Municipal Association’s advocacy staff will hit the road to facilitate meetings with municipal officials and legislative delegations together to educate representatives and senators on pending legislation, involve local officials in sharing solutions and building relationships from the ground up.
The meetings will not be organized by council of government areas as they have been in the past, but will take place in cities centrally located in regions around the state. The Municipal Association will schedule either lunch or dinner meetings to give more opportunities for local officials and legislators to attend.
Look for more information on these meetings, including locations and times, after the Association’s 2025 Annual Meeting. During the Annual Meeting, Association staff will provide a legislative update on Friday, July 18.
2025 – 2026 legislative session basics
The SC General Assembly adjourned in May to end the first half of the two-year session, and will return in January 2026 for the second half. 2026 is the next election year, with House members up for election, as well as all constitutional officers.
Bills that did not pass in 2025 will remain active for 2026. Some bills of significant interest to cities and towns are on that list, such as S102, which would allow municipalities without an operating millage to impose one. It was passed by the Senate but not the House.
The Association legislative tracking system is the place to find all of the bills introduced during the 2025 session that have an effect or could have an effect on cities and towns — currently with more than 290 entries.
The year-end legislative report will be available at the Annual Meeting outlining the final budget passed by the General Assembly, and all other bills that either passed or are pending for 2026.
Contact Municipal Association Director of Advocacy Casey Fields at cfields@masc.sc or 803.933.1203 for more information.