Protection Against Abortion-Inducing Drugs Act
This legislation focuses on addressing the use of abortion-inducing drugs by clarifying state law and strengthening existing protections. The bill is currently moving through the House committee process, where lawmakers are reviewing its language and hearing testimony before it advances further. We are grateful to Citizens for Life for their support, advocacy, and collaboration as we continue this important work.
Why this matters: This effort reflects the General Assembly’s continued commitment to protecting life while ensuring South Carolina law is clear, enforceable, and consistent.

SCDOT Modernization Ad Hoc Committee
The House Department of Transportation Modernization Ad Hoc Committee continued meeting this week to tackle long-term infrastructure challenges facing South Carolina’s roads and bridges. This group of lawmakers has been focused on how to modernize and improve the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT), looking at ways to make the agency more efficient, streamline operations, and prepare for future growth. The committee’s work includes discussions about:
●      Improving project delivery timelines and permitting processes.
●      Evaluating how SCDOT can better address congestion and maintenance backlogs.
●      Reviewing funding mechanisms to support transportation infrastructure into the future.
This initiative reflects a forward-looking effort to ensure our transportation system keeps pace with economic and population growth.
This committee met on Thursday morning to continue building policy recommendations that will help lawmakers shape future legislation related to transportation.

Around the District and the Lowcountry
This coming week, I will be presenting updates to several Republican Clubs across the Lowcountry. In addition to the above mentioned topics, where time permits there will be updates on legislation I recently submitted to the House, including some that were pre-filed in December and read across the desk this past Tuesday. Also, many people have been alerted to the major controversy between two Closed Primary bills that reside in the Judiciary Committee. One of these, H.3643 is going to have a hearing this coming Wednesday at noon. The controversy is very obscure, although for strong advocates on either side it is crystal clear. I have been a co-sponsor of H.3643 since the beginning of the 126th Session, and was a co-sponsor of the earlier version in the 125th Session, which never had a hearing. This is the bill that has much broader support and is being promoted by the SC GOP. You may have received emails or texts about it. The bill calls for registering by party by 45 days before an election, but it is weak in that it allows for someone to vote in a primary who is "unaffiliated," or essentially, independent. Once they vote in a primary of either party, they are automatically enrolled in that party as a member; however, they can change their party affiliation the very next time. This makes the bill somewhat ineffective for the intended purpose, that only Republicans can choose the Republican candidate for a particular office. The feeling is that it is better than nothing, because most people probably would not bother to keep switching their party back and forth. The other concern about H.3643 is a problem for some people and a positive for others. It says that if a candidate for office wants to run in a particular party, they must have been a member of that party as of the last primary election, and they must have voted in two of the last three primaries in that party. So if someone voted in the Democrat Primary in 2024, they would not be able to run as a Republican candidate in our Primary. On the face of this, many people would say this makes perfect sense. But there is a candidate for Attorney General, David Pascoe, who many believe in because he has been best known for his probe as the 1st Circuit Solicitor to uncover and bring down a major corruption issue in Columbia involving the Quinn Group and many elected officials from our area. So there are many of my constituents in District 80 who really want David Pascoe, who recently switched from Democrat to Republican, to be able to run as a Republican in the SC Attorney General race. Also, if a prospective candidate did not vote in two of the last three primaries, even if they have been a Republican all along, they would not be able to run. This could possibly affect Alex Pelbath, who is running for the 1st Congressional District but was active military and chose not to vote during the primaries prior to 2024. For the record, this bill and its earlier iteration in Session 125 were written long before these two candidates were running for office, so no one should interpret them as being targeted against any particular candidate.

H.3310 is the other Closed Primary bill, and it is much stricter regarding the time period involved when someone can declare whether they are Republican or Democrat, and does not allow Independents to vote in a Republican or Democrat Primary or to change party at the last minute. It does not speak to the subject of candidates either way. So some are saying this is the more clean, pure Closed Primary bill, while others are saying this will allow Democrats to switch parties at the last minute and run as a Republican because they know they can't get elected as a Democrat for the particular office, especially statewide offices. What a mess!!! To me, it appears that neither bill is perfect, and neither bill answers all the concerns. But here is the real concern: I have been pestering the original sponsor of the current H.3643, Rep. Brandon Newton who is our Majority Whip as to when this bill would have a hearing going all the way back to 2023 and the earlier version of the bill when I was first in office. He kept telling me he was hearing it would happen soon. After 2 1/2 years of listening to that, and now serving on the Judiciary Committee, I asked Chairman Weston Newton (no relation to Brandon), and he said that Leadership did not like any of the Closed Primary bills, but even if they were to have a hearing and actually be voted on and passed by both the House and the Senate, the Governor would veto either one because he is against Closed Primaries. This information has now been made public, and while that should not deter us from passing a Closed Primary bill because we can override the Governor's veto, it does demonstrate how ridiculously convoluted and complicated this thing really is. Our citizens on the Republican side have clearly voted in multiple referendums that they want us to register by party, and they want Republicans to choose which candidate will represent us in the General Election. That is what I want, too, so I am adding my name to H.3310 to become a co-sponsor of both bills. My guess is that if either one has a chance at passing the House and Senate, they will probably need to be amended to incorporate some of these additional concerns I have mentioned.

Stay Informed
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.

IN THE NEWS:
 
Link: https://x.com/SCHouseGOP/status/2011179273302749675?s=20
 
Link: https://x.com/SCHouseGOP/status/2009836055290060932?s=20
 
Link: https://www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/podcast/south-carolina-lede/2026-01-10/house-legislative-preview-with-speaker-murrell-smith-live-in-columbia
 
Link: https://x.com/SCHouseGOP/status/2011229645719601625?s=20
 
Link: https://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/commentary/sc-legislature-house-republican-caucus-2026-priorities/article_b98c1a46-3622-4793-8872-b4ebc03a0497.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share

Thanks as always for your interest and support. Please let me know if you have any questions or input, and be sure to share this newsletter with anyone you know who might want to stay informed on current and upcoming issues facing our state. They can sign up for the email newsletter on my website by clicking here and scrolling to the bottom of the page to add their email address.