Dear Friends:
‘Tis the season of joy, and I hope your heart is filled with the holiday spirit today and through the new year. To those having difficulties, I pray that the spirit of this Christmas season provides you with the strength never to give up. With faith and courage, dreams are achievable. May God bless you with determination, health, and happiness.
Legislative Reflections
With the New Year upon us, 2023 will soon be in our rearview mirror. Looking back at South Carolina’s legislative accomplishments this year is worthwhile. In my view, it was a consequential session.
Education Choice: By signing into law Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), low-income parents can choose how and where their children are educated. This pilot program starts small (5,000 students), but with success, it will expand.
Medical Freedom: The legislature emancipated the healthcare industry by eliminating the state’s Certificate of Need removing government control over healthcare to promote lower costs, more competition, and more medical services in underserved rural counties.
Protecting Life: The Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act will save life with the beginning of the first heartbeat and bans abortions after a heartbeat is detected except in the cases of rape, incest, life of the mother, and fatal fetal anomalies.
Breaking Up: Aiming at improved government efficiency and to be more responsive to citizens, the General Assembly voted to whittle down in size DHEC, a behemoth state agency, to create two smaller and better-focused state agencies focusing on health and the environment.
Workforce Development: The Statewide Education and Workforce Development Act streamlines the state’s workforce development efforts through the Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW). By improving efficiency and achieving a more coordinated approach in the workforce and education pipeline, SC can better prepare future generations for their career paths.
Crackdown on Fentanyl Trafficking: A new law sends a message to drug dealers that SC will make you pay – not with a slap on the wrist, but with lengthy jail sentences. It is now a felony criminal offense for trafficking fentanyl with significantly increased penalties.
Criminal’s Revolving Door: Those who are charged with crimes and get out of jail on bond sometimes commit additional crimes. If they do, they will face enhanced sentences if convicted.
Raised Teacher Salaries: The budget grew the minimum pay of K-12 public school teachers by $2,500. Starting teachers are now being paid $42,500 – a 33% increase in base pay over the past five years.
K-12 Public Education Investment: Based on the learning hit suffered by K-12 students because of the pandemic, students benefit directly from this budget with a historic investment in state aid to classrooms with a 7% increase in state funding and nearly $300 million in one-time support. Aid to classrooms has increased by half a billion dollars, or 13%, in just two years.
School Safety Priority: The legislature spent $27 million to keep our kids safe by funding additional School Safety Resource Officers (SROs) in our K-12 public schools. More than 90% of public schools have an SRO.
Mental Health Investment: Combatting the epidemic of mental illness, $13 million to bolster suicide prevention call centers. We helped in keeping our mental health professionals’ $51 million allocation.
Tax Relief: Keeping our promise to lower taxes, the state income tax was reduced by $96 million in the second year of the income tax reduction plan. It also budgets for an additional $134 million in property tax cuts.
Saving Money: Most believe the government spends every tax dollar and much more. That’s true in Washington, DC, but not in SC. We have a balanced budget and save for a rainy day. This year’s budget increased our reserve funds to $1.1 billion.
My Legislation
Legislators propose bills they deem essential. As the primary bill sponsor, each works hard to navigate the complex process to win passage in both the House and Senate. It is a daunting task. Here are my top priorities for 2024:
Banning ‘WOKE’ ESG Investments: My legislation to take politics out of our pension funds. The bill protects the state’s pension investments from the woke ideology of ESG. The goal is to make the most money for the 650,000 people in the retirement system and not target investing their money in the so-called ‘Green New Deal’ or other progressive agendas. The bill passed the House overwhelmingly and awaits a vote by the full Senate.
Banning Central Bank Digital Currency: The federal government, which is broke and deeply in debt, wants to control your money like China does to its citizens. It is a wrong-headed idea, and liberty-loving SC must resist. I introduced legislation that bans Central Bank digital currency in our state. The bill has drawn more than 40 cosponsors, and I aim to push it forward during the next few months.
Fed Money with Strings Attached: The lure of federal dollars is irresistible for towns, cities, counties, and even state agencies. Funding grants from Washington always come with requirements for spending those dollars. I liken it to legal extortion and a backdoor for the federal government to write state law without our approval. I introduced legislation that requires state agencies to report federal grant requirements in advance.
Hands-Free: Our roads would be safer, and fewer people would die if drivers put down their cell phones and focus on driving. Getting this across the finish line takes perseverance. I first introduced the ‘Hands-Free’ legislation in 2017. Sen. Tom Young has championed an identical bill in the Senate. Working together, we hope to win passage of this commonsense safety measure.
Protecting Free Speech: The ‘FORUM’ bill stands for forming open and robust university minds. This legislation eliminates “free speech zones”. It also protects students and student groups from disciplinary actions because of their lawful expression of free speech on the campuses of our public universities and colleges. The bill had a House hearing late in last year’s session, and I am hopeful it will move quickly in 2024.
Banning Ranked Choice Voting: South Carolina has reformed election laws to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. However, some groups want to reverse our safeguards by requiring ‘Ranked Choice Voting’ (also known as ‘Instant Runoff Voting’). I have introduced legislation to ban RCV. Ranked Choice Voting would be devastating to election integrity. RCV is intended to dramatically push our politics to the Left, elevate Left-leaning politicians, and weaken political parties to empower the Left-wing megadonors who are financing a nationwide campaign to promote this dangerous system.
Crystal Ball
Summarizing this past year’s legislative successes is easy. Predicting what the General Assembly will accomplish in this upcoming session is risky. Foreseen and unforeseen crises tend to dominate, while other vital issues ebb and flow and may or may not gain traction. Join me while I dust off my crystal ball and see what appears to be in store for legislative consideration in 2024.
High on the priority list is improving ways to provide electrical generation to meet the needs of our state’s future. SC will be the fastest-growing state in the nation percentage-wise in 2023. We are challenged to meet the increased demand for electricity.
The way judges are selected needs reform. South Carolina is one of two states where the legislature elects judicial candidates. That system is under scrutiny, and reforms will likely be passed.
A crisis that must be addressed is fixing the legal liability faced by businesses that sell alcohol. Restaurants are closing because insurance companies have fled SC, claiming that for every dollar in paid premiums, they are spending two dollars in settling lawsuits. If restaurants and VFW posts cannot find liability insurance, they will be forced to close. If they can obtain insurance, the costs continue to skyrocket and be unaffordable for some.
In education, with the success of passing Education Savings Accounts, look for legislation to expand parental choice. Teachers will most likely benefit from another salary increase. With our severe teacher shortage, this is a critical step in recruiting and retaining teachers.
Regarding public safety, I hope this is the year that the ‘Hands-Free’ legislation passes so drivers have their eyes up and their phone down. Anti-gang legislation and increasing penalties for keeping guns out of felons’ hands are also on the agenda.
PICTURE OF THE WEEK
Want to Know More?
Do you want to learn more about my positions, bill sponsorships, voting record, and past writings? Here are some handy links:
- About Me: https://taylorschouse.com/about-2/
- My Positions: https://taylorschouse.com/issues/
- Sponsored Bill & Voting Record: http://tiny.cc/b1pouz
- Recent Newsletters: https://taylorschouse.com/category/newsletter/
I’m Available & AT YOUR SERVICE
It is my honor to be of service. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need assistance navigating state government or have any thoughts or concerns about the legislature.
In Your Service,
Email: Bill@taylorschouse.com
www.TaylorSCHouse.com
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