A rendering of Clemson University’s proposed veterinary school. (Provided by Clemson)
COLUMBIA — Money for a new Clemson veterinary school is once again a sticking point in legislators’ negotiations over the state’s next spending plan.
The House and Senate were supposed to return to the Statehouse this week to approve a more than $14 billion state budget ahead of the July 1 start of the fiscal year.
But the six-member House-Senate negotiating committee has yet to come up with a deal between the two chambers’ spending versions, despite working late into the evening Thursday. So, on Friday, emails went out to all legislators canceling this week’s extended session.
The biggest point of contention is the Senate’s plan to put $175 million into Clemson’s new vet school , said Rep. Phillip Lowe, a Florence Republican who is on the compromise committee.
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Unlike last year, though, when a standoff on aid to South Carolina’s rival universities threatened to derail the whole budget, legislators are confident a compromise will head to Gov. Henry McMaster’s desk before July 1, Lowe told the SC Daily Gazette on Monday.