It’s hard to believe we’re already two-thirds of the way through the 2025 legislative session—but we’re not slowing down. This week, I joined my House Republican Caucus members in announcing a historic tax reform plan that will cut taxes, simplify the system, and make South Carolina one of the most competitive states in the nation when it comes to personal income tax. And that wasn’t all—several other important bills advanced this week, including legislation to crack down on fentanyl dealers, defend Second Amendment rights, and protect benefits for our firefighters.

 

💰 A Bold, Historic Tax Reform Plan for South Carolina:

This week, I was proud to join my colleagues in supporting H.4216, a newly introduced tax reform bill that would deliver the most significant income tax cut in South Carolina history. Right now, South Carolina has the highest personal income tax rate in the Southeast—but this bill will change that. Here’s how:

 

✅ Lowers the top income tax rate from 6.2% to a simple, flat 3.99%

✅ Makes South Carolina more competitive than North Carolina (4.25%) and Georgia (5.39%)

✅ Includes a path to further reduce the rate to 2.49% as economic benchmarks are met—giving South Carolina the lowest rate in the nation other than the states with 0%, who tend to have higher property taxes, sales tax, or accommodations taxes.

✅ Keeps key exemptions in place (no taxes on groceries or medicine)

✅ Does not raise sales or property taxes to make up the difference

✅ Moves us off the federal tax base so Washington no longer controls our tax code

📢 Join the movement to Axe the Tax!

Sign the petition and show your support for this bold reform:

👉 Axe the Income Tax Petition – Americans for Prosperity SC

 

📰 In the News: South Carolina’s Tax Reform Makes National Headlines

This plan is already gaining national attention. Here are just a few headlines:

• Forbes: South Carolina Goes From Tax Cut Laggard to Leader

• Post & Courier: SC Republicans Propose Income Tax Cuts

• SC Daily Gazette: GOP’s Historic Tax Cut Plan

• ABC Columbia: SC Bill Aims to Drop Income Tax Rate

• US News: SC Wants to Accelerate Push to Lower Income Taxes

 

⚖️ Holding Fentanyl Dealers Accountable

The fentanyl crisis is ravaging communities across our state. This week, the House Judiciary Committee gave a favorable report to S.156, the Drug-Induced Homicide Bill. This legislation would make it a felony—punishable by up to 30 years in prison—for anyone who unlawfully provides fentanyl that results in an overdose death. It also ensures that a victim’s personal drug use does not shield a dealer from prosecution. I will once again vote for this bill when it reaches the House floor in the coming weeks.

 

🔒 Protecting Your Second Amendment Rights

This week, the General Laws House Judiciary subcommittee advanced H.3930, the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act. This bill prevents government agencies from keeping financial records that could be used to track or surveil lawful firearm purchases—except in the case of legitimate criminal investigations. This is a commonsense protection of your constitutional rights, and I was glad to support it with my vote in the Subcommittee hearing.

 

🚒 Supporting Firefighters Who Put Their Lives on the Line

The House Labor, Commerce, and Industry Committee took a key step forward this week by advancing H.3163, a bill that expands workers’ compensation coverage for firefighters. It ensures that if a firefighter suffers a stroke while actively fighting a fire, responding to a rescue, or participating in strenuous training, that condition is presumed to be job-related. It’s a simple way to honor and support those who serve our communities so bravely.

Requiring Training for First Responders Regarding Autistic or Neurodivergent Individuals

H.3285 is a bill I introduced that was heard in the General Laws Subcommittee this week, and passed unanimously! I am thrilled that this companion bill to the one from last year that created the "Just Bee - Autistic/Neurodivergent" license tag will help better prepare law enforcement and firefighters when they encounter a vehicle with someone onboard with autism, a burning house or building with an autistic individual inside, or even a personal encounter in public. Autism does not have a certain appearance, so it is critical that first responders know signs to look for and how to deal with the situation effectively. This bill advances to the full Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Here is a video that helps explain this effort.

63rd Annual South Carolina Prayer Breakfast:

On Wednesday morning at 7:30AM, the Governor, Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, legislators, corporate leaders, and members of the public gathered for the 63rd Annual South Carolina Prayer Breakfast. It was my great honor to be asked in advance to read the New Testament scripture at this event. The passage was Acts 2:32-42, where Peter is speaking to the multitudes gathered on the Day of Pentacost after the crowd has heard the disciples of Jesus all talking in different languages that represent the very diverse group of gathered visitors. We heard from Governor McMaster, House Speaker Smith, Senate President Alexander, and several other members of the General Assembly for other readings and prayers. The keynote speaker was Keller Kassam, President of Dominion Energy South Carolina, who based on his incredible presentation might have a second calling as a preacher! It was very inspiring to gather at this event and be reminded that no matter what we do in Columbia, our highest calling is to follow the path that God has for each of us.

Around the District and the Lowcountry:

As you probably know by now, we have a new Town Council Member in Mount Pleasant. Congratulations to Mike Tinkey, and we wish him all the best in serving the people of Mount Pleasant. I had positive feedback regarding last week's email where I encouraged readers, the majority of whom are in District 80, and therefore the north end of Mount Pleasant, to please get out and vote for the candidate who was from this end of town, conservative, and seemed to have the most support from other politically active members of our community. Bob Swain came in second in a very crowded field of candidates. As I mentioned last week and even prior to that, there are different issues that affect the Old Village, or the neighborhoods off of Coleman or Johnnie Dodds Boulevards versus the much newer end of town north of the IOP Connector. This is not about good or bad, just differences of needs and circumstances. While everyone in Mount Pleasant votes for candidates "at large," so the votes are not area specific, it appeared that the voters on the north end of town split their decisions between about 4 different candidates. Also, the difference in the vote count was about 600, and the most recent data shows that there are 40,293 registered voters who live right at or north of the IOP Connector, yet the total vote count for those precincts was just 3114! The turnout was only about 7.7%, which is pathetic. This next 7 months will be the first time in many years that the north end of Mount Pleasant has no representation on Council. It remains to be seen whether this will be a problem or not, but I hope that regardless of how the year proceeds, voters will recognize that all politics are local and impact them meaningfully. We need to go to the polls in November and make sure our voices are heard, and that we have representation from all parts of the community. I encourage those candidates who ran this time and had a sizeable vote count to run again, as there will be 4 Council seats plus the Mayor on the ballot.