A significant milestone was achieved on Thursday with the passage of H.3116, the Veterans’ Property Tax Exemption bill. This legislation, now heading to the governor, extends property tax exemptions to permanently and totally disabled veterans and, thoughtfully amended by the Senate, to their surviving spouses. It's a clear demonstration of our dedication to honoring and supporting our veterans and their families.

The urgent need to fill judicial vacancies was a key focus this week, highlighted in a passionate address by House Speaker Murrell Smith. The potential for 24 circuit court judge positions to remain vacant poses a serious threat to our justice system's effectiveness. I share his concerns about the delays this could cause in our courts, impacting public safety and the timely delivery of justice. I'm committed to collaborating with my colleagues in the Senate to address these vacancies promptly, ensuring our judicial system operates seamlessly. As a side note, I also share the Senate's concern that judicial reform, especially of the Judicial Merit Selection Committee, is urgent and should not continue to be kicked down the road. It really is too bad that a tactic such as simply not following the normal process in a timely manner was deployed because of what appears to be a desire to maintain the status quo rather than instituting real reform. The conflict of interest of having lawyer-legislators both "qualifying" the candidates from whom we are to choose, as well as holding sway over these same judges they may appear before with their clients in a courtroom is very real, and I believe we have a duty to remove this conflict and restore confidence in the justice system immediately. When people ask why a supermajority of Republicans might elect a Democrat to be a judge in any position in our state, look no further than the "qualified" candidates submitted for our review, who are sometimes all Democrats. As it stands now, I will have to vote "No" on at least one if not several of the positions to be filled even if there is only one choice, because I cannot in good conscience elect someone who has a demonstrated history of supporting Democratic policies and causes. If the majority of us did that, it would leave the position unfilled or leave someone in office over the normal period of time, but that would be better than electing someone unacceptable to common sense, and conservative values.

Recent Senate amendments to the Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act have prompted a united response from our House Republican Caucus. We respect the Senate's efforts but plan to return the bill in its original, House-approved form next week. Our unwavering commitment to protecting Second Amendment rights highlights our dedication to representing the true interests of South Carolinians. Law-abiding citizens should not need a permission slip from the State of SC when they already have the Second Amendment.

This week in the Education and Public Works Committee, I voted to pass H.4957, which empowers college athletes with the ability to earn from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). With strong backing from coaches across South Carolina's top universities, this bill promotes equitable opportunities for our student-athletes, aligning our state with national collegiate sports standards. We heard testimony from top coaches in SC including Coach Dabo Swinney, Coach Shane Beamer, and Coach Tim Beck about how having the ability to assist their student-athletes would make a significant difference both in the lives of the students themselves, and also their ability to attract and retain the top student-athletes for their universities' athletic programs. The bill moves to the full House this week for consideration.

This Tuesday, the K-12 Subcommittee of which I am a member will consider H.4374, which was one of my first two bills introduced last year. This bill requires the Superintendent of Education to appoint members of the State Social Studies Standards and Assessments who have a demonstrated expert knowledge of history and related subject matter and do not have a record of supporting political indoctrination. The latter would include the presentation of theoretical perspectives that are critical of society as culture as being factual, or the history of the United States in general as being a story of oppression. Finally, it emphasizes that any revisions to the curriculum standards shall ensure a traditional approach to history emphasizing the importance of leading individuals and key events in shaping our nation's history. I met with Superintendent Ellen Weaver last summer in Columbia to review this bill, and her comment to me was, "I will already be doing what is in this bill, but it must be codified so that future superintendents will be required to do the same." She also mentioned that Social Studies Standards will be coming up for review very soon, so the bill is timely. If anyone is interested in attending or speaking at the hearing, it will be held on Tuesday afternoon, 1 1/2 hours after the adjournment of Session. I would estimate this to be around 2:30 or 3:00 PM, but it is always hard to tell in advance how long we will be on the House floor.

This past Tuesday was Municipal Day at the State House. I want to recognize and thank my friends and former colleagues at the Town of Mount Pleasant for hosting a wonderful dinner meeting for all their legislators. It was great to catch up with everyone, plus learn about the top priorities the Town would like the General Assembly to accomplish. I also had a chance to share some of what I'm working on to help all our citizens in SC, part of which was inspired by my time on Council.

On Friday morning, I attended a breakfast here in Charleston hosted by the Charleston Jewish Federation regarding the safety and security of our places of worship, as well as protections against Anti-Semitism and religious intolerance. The Keynote Speaker was Michael Masters, a foremost expert on this subject. I was honored to be sitting with Chief Arnold, Councilman and Former Chief Carl Ritchie, Chief Chito Walker, and other members of local law enforcement for this critical discussion. 

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Warmest Regards, 

Kathy

Representative Kathy Landing

South Carolina State House District 80