In addition, the House passed H.4804, Strengthening Penalties for the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. This bill closes dangerous loopholes, increases minimum sentences, and ensures repeat offenders face mandatory prison time. Protecting children is not optional; it is our responsibility, and we are making sure those who exploit minors are held fully accountable. We also continued advancing legislation to protect South Carolina Land and Security (H.3408) by preventing foreign adversaries from purchasing or controlling property in our state. This is about safeguarding our farmland, our infrastructure, and our future from those who do not have our best interests at heart.

Protecting Children & Putting Students First
We also made important progress in education and protecting our students. The House unanimously passed the Tenure Accountability Act (H.4761), bringing consistent, commonsense standards to our public colleges and universities. This legislation requires annual faculty evaluations and regular post-tenure reviews, ensuring a stronger focus on teaching, performance, and results. By increasing transparency and accountability, this bill helps ensure students receive a high-quality education and taxpayers can have confidence in how their dollars are being used.
 
We also passed H.4591, the Stop Harm from Addictive Social Media (SHASM) Act, putting new safeguards in place to protect children online. This legislation targets the addictive features that keep kids glued to their screens, like endless scrolling, autoplay videos, and late-night notifications, while requiring age verification and strengthening default protections for minors. Just as importantly, it puts parents back in control by giving them tools like screen time limits and the ability to restrict algorithm-driven content.

Lowering Costs & Supporting Families
This week, we also took meaningful steps to make life more affordable and improve our state’s infrastructure. The House passed the Insurance Rate Reduction and Policyholder Protection Act (H.4817), a major step toward lowering insurance costs. This bill cracks down on fraud and abuse that drive up premiums, increases transparency and accountability for insurance companies, and helps homeowners take steps to reduce risk and lower costs. The goal is simple: fair, affordable insurance for all South Carolinians.
 
Finally, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced the Pregnancy Care Tax Credit (S.32), which encourages donations to pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, and organizations that support expecting mothers. These groups provide real, on-the-ground help, from counseling to essential supplies, and this legislation ensures they have the resources to continue supporting women and families across our state. It’s about strengthening communities and making sure no one walks through pregnancy alone.
 
This week was about results, real, meaningful progress that puts South Carolina first. We are working to keep our communities safe, protect our children, lower costs, and build a stronger future for our state. And while there is still more work to be done, we are continuing to move forward with a clear focus: delivering commonsense solutions that make a difference in your everyday life.

Senate Disappoints Everyone with a No Vote on Tax Conformity
After passing the Tax Conforming Bill out of the Senate Finance Committee two weeks ago, the Senate surprised us all with a solid "NO" vote to have South Carolina's tax code conform to the One Big Beautiful Bill for 2025. The reasons given varied from the fact that they want us to pass a property tax relief bill, and said they don't think the General Assembly can afford to do both, to comments mentioned earlier about the new tax cut bill that moves us away from the Federal system. Let me be crystal clear - the Tax Conforming Bill was specifically designed for the 2025 tax year. While it is true that we will be on a whole new system for 2026, where South Carolina will have two lower rates than before, 1.99% and 5.21%, this has absolutely nothing to do with 2025. The estimated cost for the Tax Conforming Bill, which not only exempts tips and overtime from income tax, but also adds an extra $6000 standard deduction for many taxpayers over the age of 65, along with a number of other provisions, is around $250 million. Last year, we had an unexpected windfall of $2.4 billion, $1.7 billion of which is non-recurring and $700 million of which is from recurring revenue. I checked with Chairman Bruce Bannister of House Ways & Means, and the $1.7 billion from last year was specifically set aside to be able to accommodate, among other things, the Tax Conforming bill. The Property Tax exemption proposed by the Senate is not for last year; rather, it is about providing better tax relief beginning in 2026. I am all for this, as are many of my fellow House Members, but this bill has not even come to the House floor yet. Due to Furlough this coming week, even if we can all call our Senators and push them to reconsider their vote, it will be too late for SC taxpayers to file their taxes on time! I am appalled at this, and wish their vote had been earlier, as it should have been, so we could have had time to follow up with them before April 15th. From what I have learned, there is no excuse or explanation that makes sense for this decision. With $2.4 billion in excess revenue in the 2025 tax year, this was a perfect opportunity to return some of that money to our tax-paying citizens!

Around the District and the Lowcountry
Infrastructure Town Hall with SCDOT to be held at Mount Pleasant Town Hall
This Thursday, April 9th, at 5:30-7:00 PM, Rep. Mark Smith, Rep. Joe Bustos, and I will host a Town Hall open forum along with team members from SCDOT in order to update our community on some of the biggest infrastructure concerns we currently face. We would love to see as many people attend as possible regarding this important subject. Please reserve a ticket by clicking on the link here. Be prepared to bring any questions you have. We hope to see you there!

Oceanside Collegiate Academy State Champions

This week, we welcomed the State Championship Teams of Oceanside Collegiate Academy to the State House. Once again, there were three teams in all, Football, Girls' Tennis, and Boys' Volleyball. The Landsharks' Football Team defeated Belton Honea-Path High School 28-7 in the 2025 Class AAA State Championship on Friday, December 5, 2025. This was the team's third consecutive state title win, and the second straight year to beat the Bears in the 3A finals. Finishing out the season with a 13-2 record under the leadership of Head Coach Brent LaPrad, we were so happy to honor this team's tremendous victory. Next, I had the pleasure of introducing the OCA Girls' Tennis Team, who captured the 2025 SC High School League AAA State Championship on Saturday, November 8, 2025, at the Cayce Tennis Center. In the championship match, they won a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Christ Church. Under the leadership of Head Coach Shawn Harris, the Lady Landsharks secured their fifth straight consecutive title as State Champions. The House was delighted to honor these young women for their hard work and determination to excel in their sport. Finally, we congratulated the OCA Boys' Volleyball Team for their second consecutive SC High School League Class AAAA State Championship. Head Coach Jorge Risego led the team to an impressive 23-3 season, defeating the Travelers Rest Devil Dogs 3-1 in the Championship match on Saturday, November 1, 2025, at A.C. Flora High School. Unfortunately, the volleyball team members could not make the trip to Columbia, so we presented their framed House Resolution to some of the members of the football team to take back to the school. We are very proud of these young people and their many accomplishments. Congratulations to these fine student athletes, their coaches, Athletic Director Mark Meyer, and Principal Dr. Kelly Linkenhoker for these achievements!

As always, I appreciate the opportunity to represent you and to keep you informed about the work being done in Columbia. I welcome your feedback and encourage you to reach out if you have any questions or would like more information on these or other issues before the General Assembly.