SOUTH CAROLINA REVENUE AND FISCAL AFFAIRS OFFICE
S
TATEMENT OF ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT
WWW.RFA.SC.GOV • (803)734-3793
This fiscal impact statement is produced in compliance with the South Carolina Code of Laws and House and Senate rules. The focus of
the analysis is on governmental expenditure and revenue impacts and may not provide a comprehensive summary of the legislation.
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H. 3453
Fiscal Impact Summary
This bill allows children of wartime veterans, upon application and approval by the Department
of Veterans Affairs (DVA), to be admitted to any state-supported college, university, or post
high school technical education institution free of tuition, provided that the veteran’s child has
been a resident of this state since birth. Children of wartime veterans currently receive free
tuition to state institutions of higher learning if the veteran parent meets certain residency or
service history requirements.
This bill will have no expenditure impact on DVA, as the agency indicates that the application
and approval requirements in the bill will be managed with existing staff and resources.
This bill is not expected to have a material expenditure impact on state institutions of higher
learning, based on responses received from the University of South Carolina (USC), Clemson
University (Clemson), Coastal Carolina University (CCU), Lander University (Lander),
Winthrop University (Winthrop), South Carolina State University (SC State), the Citadel College
(Citadel), Francis Marion University (FMU) as well as the SC Technical College System (Tech
System). The impact on the institutions will depend on the number of additional students who
enroll free of tuition as provided by the bill.
This bill may reduce tuition revenue for state institutions of higher learning in FY 2025-26,
depending on the number of current or prospective students who may qualify for free tuition
under the bill. Based on data from DVA, under the current law providing free tuition to children
of eligible wartime veterans, there were at least 3,643 students across all state institutions and
technical colleges receiving free tuition in the fall semester of 2024 in the aggregate amount of
approximately $18,660,000, resulting in approximately $37,320,000 per academic year.
However, as the number of lifetime resident children of veterans who may be eligible for free
tuition under this bill is currently unknown, the tuition revenue impact for state institutions of
higher learning is undetermined.
Bill Number: H. 3453 Introduced on Januar
y 14, 2025
Subject: Veterans’ Children Tuition Assistance
Requestor: House Medical, Military, Public, and Municipal Affairs
RFA Analyst(s): Tipton
Impact Date: March 4, 2025
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H. 3453
Explanation of Fiscal Impact
Introduced on January 14, 2025
State Expenditure
This bill allows children of wartime veterans, upon application and approval by DVA, to be
admitted to any state-supported college, university, or post high school technical education
institution free of tuition, provided that the veteran’s child has been a resident of this state since
birth. Currently, under §59-111-20, children of wartime veterans may receive free tuition to
state universities or technical colleges if the veteran was a resident of the state upon entry or
during service or is a current resident who has lived in the state for at least one year, or if the
veteran is deceased and resided in the state for at least one year before their death, provided the
veteran served honorably during a war period defined under federal law, and meets one of
several enumerated service history requirements. Under the bill and current law, eligible
children of wartime veterans may be no older than 26 seeking any type of undergraduate degree
to receive free tuition.
DVA reports that the approval and application requirements in the bill will be managed with
existing staff and resources. Therefore, this bill will have no expenditure impact on DVA.
Based on responses from USC, Clemson, CCU, Lander, Winthrop, SC State, the Citadel, and
FMU, as well as the Tech System, this bill is not expected to have a material expenditure impact.
Additional expenses for the institutions will depend on the number of additional students who
enroll and receive free tuition under the bill.
State Revenue
This bill allows children of wartime veterans, upon application and approval by DVA, to be
admitted to any state-supported college, university, or post high school technical education
institution free of tuition, provided that the veteran’s child has been a resident of this state since
birth.
This bill may reduce tuition revenue for state institutions of higher learning in FY 2025-26,
depending on the number of current or prospective students that may be eligible to receive free
tuition. According to DVA, under the current law providing free tuition to the children of
eligible wartime veterans, the number of students enrolled across all state institutions of higher
learning receiving free tuition totaled at least 3,643 in the fall semester of 2024. Based on
institutional tuition rates, this results in approximately $18,660,000 in aggregate tuition for the
semester, which results in approximately $37,320,000 per academic year. This does not include
any lottery or institutional scholarships that would otherwise be applied, room and board or other
expenses that an institution may charge in addition to tuition, and does not account for any
military discounts that some institutions currently offer. This bill may increase the number of
students receiving free tuition, thereby reducing current tuition revenues if the student is
currently enrolled, or future tuition revenue for prospective eligible students. However, as the
number of lifetime resident children of wartime veterans that would be eligible to receive free
tuition under the bill is currently unknown, the potential impact on tuition revenue for state
institutions of higher learning is undetermined.
__________________________________
Frank A. Rainwater, Executive Director
DISCLAIMER: THIS FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT REPRESENTS THE OPINION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE
AGENCY OFFICIAL WHO APPROVED AND SIGNED THIS DOCUMENT. IT IS PROVIDED AS INFORMATION TO
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED AS AN EXPRESSION OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT.
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H. 3453
Local Expenditure
N/A
Local Revenue
N/A