Seal of South Carolina South Carolina

South Carolina has a constitutional appropriations limit under Article X Section 7 of the South Carolina Constitution. The constitutional appropriations limit was ratified in 1985 and limits the appropriations growth to the average growth rate of the state economy. Beginning in 1990 and during every fifth annual regular session afterwards, the General Assembly of South Carolina will conduct a review of the appropriations limit but the limit can only be changed or eliminated by a 2/3 vote in both the House and Senate. There are no exemptions.

 
The base year represents the year the hypothetical Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) would have been enacted. Selecting a base year changes how the state’s TABOR is calculated because the annual growth rates of inflation and population change depending on when TABOR is enacted.
  • Year Inflation-adjusted Actual Spending
    1992 10,756,091,870
    1993 11,078,460,600
    1994 11,475,277,670
    1995 11,942,068,480
    1996 12,814,183,770
    1997 13,126,032,990
    1998 15,004,551,470
    1999 13,382,882,730
    2000 14,597,630,270
    2001 15,413,347,230
    2002 15,797,617,700
    2003 15,424,909,780
    2004 14,911,734,680
    2005 15,799,699,040
    2006 15,720,174,030
    2007 17,832,455,580
    2008 18,392,242,390
    2009 17,875,981,560
    2010 15,398,629,110
    2011 15,463,829,870
    2012 15,717,169,510
    2013 17,455,941,860
    2014 17,322,528,320
    2015 17,770,293,320
    2016 18,104,571,550
    2017 19,710,945,590
    2018 18,949,427,970
    2019 19,767,267,970
    2020 20,536,898,270
    2021 19,066,948,090
    2022 19,623,000,000
*All spending figures are in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars.