For those of you who have received this newsletter since at least the beginning of last year, you may recall that in the past when the Session year started, I sent out a "Week 1 Update," followed by a "Week 2 Update," and so on. This year has been very different in that our first week of Session beginning Tuesday, January 14th was marked by very little real work, at least within my two Committees and Subcommittees. The newsletter outline that was sent out from the Republican Caucus that week was almost identical to my "End of Year Update," so I did not send it out. The next week was the Inauguration of President Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance, and the SC House took the week off so some members could travel up to Washington, D.C. for the event and festivities. The rest of the week we had a snowstorm throughout much of South Carolina, so it was just as well that we were not scheduled with committee meetings and hearings. What a whirlwind it has been since then on the Federal level, between the rolling back of the many damaging Executive Orders from the prior administration, to the confirmation of an incredible slate of new Cabinet Members! Finally, this past week we were back in Session, and it really felt like starting over. How appropriate then that today we recognize "Ground Hog Day." Republican Caucus members continued the work of delivering on our Six Pillars for Progress agenda. Much of the week was spent in committee meetings, where legislation is debated and refined before reaching the House floor. 

Governor McMaster’s State of the State Address:

On Wednesday, Governor Henry McMaster delivered his annual State of the State Address, outlining a bold vision for South Carolina’s future. One of the most important takeaways was his strong commitment to cutting state income taxes—a priority that aligns directly with the House Republican Caucus’ goal of delivering historic tax relief. Speaker Murrell Smith captured the significance of the Governor’s address, stating, “Governor McMaster’s State of the State laid out a clear and ambitious vision for South Carolina’s continued prosperity, and the House looks forward to working towards many of these shared priorities. Cutting income taxes, reducing burdensome regulations, and simplifying the licensing process will make it easier for our citizens and businesses to grow and thrive.”

Several key House Republican priorities took important steps forward this week:

● The House Labor, Commerce, and Industry Subcommittee met to debate H.3309, a comprehensive energy bill designed to strengthen South Carolina’s energy future.

● House Ways and Means budget subcommittees began hearing budget requests from state agencies in preparatio n for the full House budget debate, scheduled for the week of March 10th.

In addition to ongoing legislative work, several important new bills were introduced this week:

● H.3849: Reforms liquor liability insurance policies to provide relief for thousands of small businesses. (I have co-sponsored this one.)

● H.3858: Cuts taxes on boats, benefiting South Carolina’s 1.1 million boat owners and strengthening our economy as one of the top states for boating.

● H.3793: Exempts all overtime income from state taxes, putting more money back in the pockets of hardworking South Carolinians. (I have co-sponsored this one.)

A bill I supported last session, Gavin’s Law, brought renewed publicity to the tragedy faced by my colleague, Rep. Brandon Guffey and his family in 2023. This week the man suspected of this heinous crime of sextortion was arrested in Nigeria and extradited to America to be formally charged. Mark Keel, Chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said, “We will never know how many kids the Guffey family has saved in their passionate pursuit of justice for Gavin.” The other message that Rep. Guffey shared with us on the floor was, you cannot hide behind a keyboard, even if you are far away in another country. 

Some of you may have already heard bits and pieces about the new House Rules Committee meeting, and changes that were voted on by the House this week. Unfortunately, what was shared publicly by certain groups was very much distorted to the point of being negative propaganda. Here are the facts, plus my perspective on why I voted for these changes and stand by my votes:

1. Change the name of the House Oversight Committee to the "Government Efficiency and House Oversight Committee." (I sit on the Committee, and am delighted that we are creating our own version of D.O.G.E. at the state level.)
2. Refer all resolutions memorializing Congress, an agency, or an official to the relevant subcommittee for review before presenting to the House floor.
3. All invitations presented to the House Invitations Committee may begin as early as 5PM rather than 6PM.
4. The April 10th deadline for "Crossover" from the House to the Senate and vice versa shall be eliminated. In the past, it has often been an excuse to not have any more Subcommittee or Committee meetings dealing with new legislation, which wastes valuable taxpayer time and money.
5. Wherever possible, all Subcommittee and Committee meetings will be streamed live, and if not feasible, at least recorded by video and/or audio for the public to watch concurrently or listen to shortly thereafter.
6. The House Clerk, Reading Clerk, Chaplain, and Sergeant-at-Arms must perform their duties in a fair and professional manner that does not openly reflect their personal political beliefs concerning issues, campaigns, or other matters before the General Assembly.
7. Delete the Motion Period that is rarely ever used.
8. Delete the Committee of the Whole and its operation.

This list was provided to all Members of the House on Tuesday, at least 24 hours before the House Rules Committee met on Wednesday. We were told that the Chairman of the Committee met with all the major Caucuses, the Republican Caucus, the Minority Caucus, the Black Caucus, and the Freedom Caucus. No one had this sprung on them at the last minute, unless they missed their Caucus meeting. It is not the responsibility of the Committee Chair to individually talk with every Member of the House; yet, in full transparency, he wanted each group to know the intentions before the Committee met on Wednesday. I support every one of these new Rules changes, but a newsletter that was sent out and the subsequent posts on social media showing the vote count from the board did not even explain or list these items. It simply stated that these changes would take away the voice of the people and promote hiding information from the public. It also published my and a number of my colleagues' personal, unpublished cell phone numbers without permission. Let me start by explaining that the final vote count was 63-38 with all Democrats voting against the changes. Yet, the claim of the writers of the newsletter and the social media posts is that those of us who voted for these changes are liberals and RINO's. This is a perfect example of the time-wasting nonsense to which I have referred throughout my last campaign. In this case, it is intended to deflect from what really matters, which is cutting out waste and getting more work done for the taxpayers of South Carolina. The controversial changes are #'s 7 and 8. These are almost never used, yet have to be announced every single day of Session. If a Member wants a bill to be pulled out of Committee, they can make a motion, which has to be seconded and voted on by 2/3rd's of the House. Even if this were possible, very few if any Members would have read the bill, no hearings or testimony would have been heard, and the public would have no opportunity for input. This goes against transparency for the public as well as forcing Members to vote completely unprepared. The last time it was used was by a former Democratic Representative well-known in the Lowcountry, and supposedly the House Chamber turned into a circus. The bill never passed, but a tremendous amount of taxpayer time and money was wasted. I urge you not to believe everything you read in newsletters and social media posts that are often blasted out just to cause contention where there really is none, and likely also to raise money.

House Republican Caucus members are committed to advancing our conservative agenda in the weeks ahead. As always, I’ll keep you updated on the latest developments and key legislative action. 

Last Monday, it was my pleasure to serve as the Keynote Speaker for the East Cooper Republican Women. I have been a member of this group since it began many years ago, and am always appreciative of the opportunity to update my fellow Republican Women. This week, in addition to discussing bills I had prefiled, I shared my opinion on the current political climate. Many of you worked very hard, and donated your treasure to help us get reelected or elected for the first time. I appreciate that tremendously. Anyone who is already talking about their next promotion is not focusing 100% on serving you. I caution voters to do their homework and realize that name recognition and outside big donors do not qualify anyone to do a job well. 

Thank you to President Dorothy Kronemer and the women of ECRW for your support and encouragement!