Strengthening Public Safety, Energy Security & Online Protections:

The fight to protect South Carolina families, businesses, and values is in full swing at the State House. This week, my colleagues and I in the House Republican Caucus took major steps to crack down on organized crime, secure our energy future, and protect kids online—proving once again that we are committed to delivering real results. These efforts reflect our continued work to advance the Six Pillars for Progress, the conservative agenda we outlined at the start of this session to cut taxes, grow our economy, protect families, and strengthen public safety.

Cracking Down on Organized Retail Crime:

On Tuesday, I was proud to support H.3523, a bill aimed at cracking down on organized retail crime. Across the country, we’ve seen smash-and-grab thefts grow more brazen, with criminal rings coordinating large-scale retail thefts that drive up prices and threaten jobs. The days of slaps on the wrist for repeat offenders are over—this legislation ensures that those who steal thousands in merchandise face felony charges, increased penalties, and real consequences. It also allows law enforcement to prosecute thefts across multiple counties as a single crime, helping to shut down organized crime networks that have long taken advantage of legal loopholes. South Carolina businesses and consumers deserve protection, and this bill gives law enforcement the tools to deliver it.

In addition to protecting our communities and securing our energy future, we made important progress on keeping South Carolina’s children safe online. The Social Media Regulation Act H.3431 moved forward this week, passing out of the Judiciary Committee with a favorable vote. It’s no secret that social media has negatively impacted the mental health of children and teens, fueling rising rates of anxiety, depression, and cyberbullying. This legislation ensures that social media companies verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent for minors, limits the collection of personal data from children, and restricts features designed to increase screen addiction. It also prohibits adults from directly messaging minors they aren’t connected to, helping to prevent online exploitation and predatory behavior. Big Tech has spent years putting profits over child safety, and it’s time to hold them accountable. South Carolina must lead the way in ensuring that parents have the tools to protect their children online.

This week, I submitted my new and improved version of a bill to protect South Carolinians from an Electromagnetic Pulse caused by a nuclear weapon or Geomagnetic Disturbance caused by a solar flare. H.3968 requires the South Carolina Emergency Management Division to include a detailed section in their preparedness plan outlining steps to be taken for critical infrastructure throughout our state to be protected from a severe magnetic pulse caused by an EMP or GMD. This plan would then be distributed out to all municipalities including cities, towns and counties to strongly encourage implementation. By following the plan and reviewing their weaknesses, municipalities who submit grant requests would be eligible on a first-come, first-served basis for funds to purchase equipment both to protect against a potentially severely damaging event, and also for auxiliary power sources in the event that the grid fails for an extended period of time. Power distributors including the major electric companies as well as members of the South Carolina Cooperatives would be required to offer a payment plan for any private property owners who want to add this protection to their property. It could be installed and then paid for over time through the property owners' monthly bill. Note that this would not be a requirement for homeowners or private property owners, just an opportunity for protection if desired. Finally, the General Assembly will appropriate an amount of money over the course of multi-years that would be available through the Office of the Adjutant General of the SC Guard, and grant requests would be reviewed and awarded by the SC Emergency Management Division. This version of the bill was inspired by my workshop last November where we had the Director of SCEMD, Kim Stenson in attendance, as well as three 2-Star Generals, two of whom are current or former Deputy Adjutant Generals of the SC Guard, and one of whom is the former Joint Chief of the SC Guard. Maj. Generals Les Eisner, Jeff Jones, and Brad Owens all had the same message: this is not a risk we can afford to sustain. We must prevent the destruction that could be wreaked before it happens. While it was once thought of as a "high risk, low probability" event, they all agreed it is now likely a matter of when, not if something will happen. They also made it very clear that the military cannot do this alone because it is heavily dependent on the civilian grid. Director Stenson explained to me the process that is used for other emergency preparedness, and the bill was crafted to follow this same pattern. In this way, I believe the bill will be able to have a hearing soon, and hopefully we will see this protection added to all critical infrastructure in the near future.

This week my new Freshman colleague Representative James Teeple sponsored and I proudly co-sponsored H.4006, a bill that requires homeowners' associations to hold their meetings open to the public. It also requires them to allow the American flag to be displayed anywhere on a homeowners' private property, and to allow political signs to be displayed on private property. While not everyone likes having political signs, the reality is that many areas (especially our end of town where many HOA's prohibit signs) often do not even realize an election is coming up because there are no signs anywhere. This is especially true with non-Presidential elections, and the evidence is the extremely low voter turnout for areas of town that do not allow signs. 

Week 5 made it clear—House Republican Caucus members are delivering on our conservative commitment to public safety, economic security, and protecting our families.

I received feedback last week regarding the House Rules changes, and have two corrections to my comments. First, while the "Committee of the Whole" would require a 2/3rd's vote of the House to be heard, the "Motion Period" only requires a simple majority. Also, I referred to a "Lowcountry Democrat" who was the last member many years ago to invoke the Committee of the Whole. While this person spends a lot of time in the Lowcountry, he is actually from Columbia. Please feel free to let me know anytime if you see any mistakes as I am happy to stand corrected!

This past Wednesday, we hosted and honored the Lucy Beckham High School Boys Volleyball AAAAA State Champions in the SC State House! Led by Head Coach Adam El Hassan with Assistant Coaches Adi Moon & Sophie Meredith, the Bengals beat the Indian Land Warriors on Saturday, November 9, 2024. In addition to being warmly welcomed with a round of applause and standing ovation from the House Members, the team also had a chance to tour the State House. Congratulations to the team, Coaches, and Principal Anna Dassing for this great victory!

Last week I discussed the importance of electing someone from the north end of Mount Pleasant, because Sheriff Carl Ritchie was the only member living in our area. This list included a link to the Moultrie News article featuring each of those candidates. A reader emailed me back to let me know that David Spedden lives in Park West and is also a candidate for Council. Here is the article in the Post and Courier that lists all 10 of the current candidates. I have not seen a Moultrie News feature article on David Spedden yet. Due to the critical importance of getting out the vote for this election, I will provide updates several times between now and the election. 

As the session progresses, I will continue to share updates like this one to keep you informed about the work being done in Columbia. These weekly newsletters are designed to provide insight into legislative priorities, progress, and key developments. If you ever have questions, concerns, or ideas, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Your input is invaluable to me and helps ensure that I am representing your needs effectively. Here is the link for anyone to sign up for this newsletter by scrolling to the bottom of the page and submitting their email address.