Welcome to The South Carolina Forum! Join thousands of South Carolinians who are raising their voices, finding common ground, and turning shared priorities into legislative action.
If South Carolina's state leaders and residents could solve one problem, what should it be? In our first phase, South Carolinians selected the top issues they most want the state legislature to address in the 2027 legislative session. Now we're hosting realtime, face-to-face Community Conversations across the state and online to discuss possible solutions.
Join our in-person conversation in Charleston on June 23 and meet fellow South Carolinians who also care about these issues, please sign up here
Have some ideas you'd like to share right away?
Click any button below to answer a few questions about how to solve the issues that matter most to South Carolinians:
Phases overview 1
Issue Mapping: If South Carolina’s state leaders and residents could solve one problem, what should it be? February 9, 2026 5:00 AM - April 3, 2026 4:00 AM
Actions you can take:
Add your own issue
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An instructional video is available here .
Healthcare Worker Undervalued
One of the biggest challenges facing South Carolina right now is the combination of low wages, limited worker benefits, and widespread economic insecurity, which interacts with problems in education, housing, and healthcare to make it harder for many residents to get ahead. I am a certified medical assistant by trade. I have worked in the industry for nearly 30 years. I have been unemployed for 11 months now since moving here because I will not take a job paying $15/per hour for my skill set.
Stop perpetuating hate and divisiveness
The hostility today feels overwhelming. History is complex: white indentured servants who were never legally freed but enslaved indefinitely, black people being sold into slavery by black people and white people making up the underground railroad as well as freeing black slaves. There's so much distortion and bias in our classrooms though. I grew up seeing skin color as just a detail, and it’s sad to see so much anger now. If we step back, breathe, and choose kindness, we can start closing the gap instead of widening it.
Overbuilding of this state
Why are planners and developers on the board in regard to development of this state? It’s ridiculous the overbuilding that is going on! Everyone is fed up!
Hemp for Land contamination reform
We can use HEMP in many forms to create ENVIRONMENTAL GREEN INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION while stopping SYSTEMATIC POISONING OF CITIZENS BY MAJOR CORPORATIONS & GOVERNMENT. Unbiased approach to HEALTHIER LIVING..
Make SC THE high tech and research capital of the Southest
I'd really like to see comprehensive state wide initiatives to brand South Carolina as a major high tech and research hub in the Southeast and attract high tech companies and firms through incentives. SC is already fairly well positioned both geographically and with some core anchor high tech industries such as nuclear and aeronautical. Attract big name companies and data centers, lean hard into the nuclear presence and make SC a nuclear hub of excellence (build more plants/research/startups/attract headquarters), get other big name companies to invest .
Legislators’ pay
SC’s constitution says that our state legislators are volunteers. They are only allowed a stipend. Only people who have independent wealth and/or flexible hours can afford to serve in the legislature, and even then we have had 2 major corruption scandals in the past 40 years. Instead we should pay a salary tied to the state median income. This would have the additional benefit of tying legislators’ economic interests to the average person’s, as well as expanding the field of viable candidates to working professionals.
Misinformation from Officials Erodes Public Trust and Creates Polarization
The Challenge: Concerns about misinformation and deliberate falsehoods by public officials are affecting public discourse and trust in institutions across South Carolina. What do South Carolinians think? Participants want consequences for dishonesty. The call to "make it illegal for South Carolina politicians to lie to their constituents even if they are not under oath" earned 99% approval. Another wrote that "mis- and disinformation campaigns polarize South Carolinians and warp objective facts" and argued that "public officials should be removed from office for intentionally and knowingly lying."
State of Healthcare is Dismal in SC
South Carolina sits in the middle tier nationally, earning an overall C+ grade in a 2025 healthcare scorecard. The state struggles most with cost (graded D+), while quality and access land at C+ and C, respectively. 23% of residents report healthcare costs as a major financial burden. 30% skipped doctor‑recommended care in the past year because they couldn’t afford it. Our state has an affordability and access problem. This is a huge challenge that our candidates for Governor need to address. I want to help, but how do I do that?
Taxes
I remember last year or so there was a discussion about South Carolina income tax. Have I missed something or has there been any discussion that I haven’t heard about that needs to be put forth?
Abolish property tax
If the government can take something away because you didn't pay a tax on it, you don't own it. If you pay property tax, you're renting your property from the government and you don't own anything.
Non Support for ICE in SC
Do not command local or state law enforcement to assist or tolerate ICE arresting SC citizens. They are a modern day Gestapo group.
Keeping Young Talent Here
The biggest problem the state faces is keeping the younger intellectual generation here. There isn't enough industry--and look at the colleges. There is major disparity. I want every South Carolinian to be treated with dignity and have equal opportunities.
Registration by Party
With so many other states doing this for years and years, why do we seem to be having such a problem agreeing with a solution? Makes zero sense.
Representation in Federal Affairs
We are currently undergoing severe strife that appears to have fascist roots in the US, as well as a ring of pedophiles running our country. Nothing has been done up to this point. Other countries are acting against our officials and tech leaders before the US is, and this needs to be dealt with IMMEDIATELY. Our own citizens are being gunned down without due process and our children are being assaulted, abused, and murdered without consequences administered. There is complete silence from our representatives. Fix this.
Industrial Siting, Chemical Safety, & Basin‑Level Oversight
SC has no consistent statewide standards for siting or regulating industrial facilities that use hazardous chemicals. When counties ignore BZA rulings, schools & neighborhoods face preventable risk. With no federal lifecycle rules for solar manufacturing, communities rely on inconsistent local decisions. SC needs statewide environmental evaluations, basin‑level reviews for already stressed river systems, clear chemical/wastewater standards, transparent MGD reporting for high‑demand users, stormwater oversight, & a public water‑mgmt. outage dashboard.
