The Competitiveness Agenda is the business community’s top annual legislative priorities. It is the foundation for the SC Chamber’s advocacy work with the General Assembly each legislative session.

As South Carolina continues to grow, the General Assembly can unleash our state’s full potential by embracing these proposals. 

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT - Address current and future workforce shortages by continuing to provide funding for technical college scholarships for critical-needs jobs, funding for the Be Pro Be Proud program, incentives for apprenticeship programs and internships, and support for workforce reskilling/ upskilling initiatives - Adopt policies to boost the state’s workforce participation, including reasonable occupational licensing reforms, second-chance hiring initiatives for non-violent ex-offenders, enhancing teacher recruitment and retention, and improving workforce housing and childcare affordability and attainability.

TAX REFORM - Reduce property tax burdens on businesses. - Reform or repeal antiquated taxes that deter investment and innovation.

ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS - Continue to invest significantly in all facets of the state’s critical infrastructure. - Modernize recruiting incentives structure to attract knowledge-based employers. - Support policies that improve energy availability, affordability, and reliability to business consumers.

FAIR-SHARE LIABILITY - Improve the lawsuit climate by basing fault on a fair share of liability, not the “deepest pocket.”

PRO-BUSINESS ENVIRONMENTAL AND REGULATORY CLIMATE - Avoid adopting state regulations and standards more stringent than federal requirements while acknowledging that federal proposals should be viewed as guidance until a robust federal rulemaking process is completed. - Consolidate environmental planning and permitting within a “one-stop shop” environmental agency that appropriately balances economic and environmental interests fairly and impartially and separates environmental protection from public health. - Adopt permitting reform to save businesses from facing unnecessary, costly delays. 

Read the full 2023 COMPETITIVENESS AGENDA

"In last year’s legislative session alone, the SC Chamber’s advocacy resulted in over a $3.2 billion impact on the business community. Many vital items we supported were passed, including individual income and industrial property tax cuts, technical college scholarships for critical-need jobs, and significant investments in our state’s infrastructure," according to Bob Morgan, CEO of the SC Chamber.