Dear Friends:
I rarely advise my legislative colleagues. After all, we are all elected by the people we serve. You are our bosses and will hold us accountable for our votes and actions. However, I make an exception today and provide some friendly collegial advice.
Senators Vote to Raise Their Pay
Senators, did you think your vote to raise your salaries would go unnoticed? Did you believe you could justify voting yourself a hefty pay raise because you are overworked, or you suffer a loss of income from your business back home because of the time you devote to serving? Get a grip – you know the job’s demands, and the puny salary when you ran for office.
This week, during the Senate debate in passing their version of the state budget, an amendment was approved giving every legislator a $18,000 pay raise. In fairness, not every Senator voted for the pay hike, which was approved by a vote of 25-14. (VIEW VOTE HERE)
The vote would increase legislators’ monthly allotment for “in-district compensation” from $1,000 to $2,500, from $12,000 to $30,000 annually. That’s in addition to a legislator’s $10,400 annual salary.
Right & Wrong
Proponents argue a raise is needed to keep up with inflation. That’s both right and fair.
Legislator’s base pay of $10,000 was set in 1978 – nearly half a century ago. It was bumped up by $400 in 1990. To keep pace with inflation, that ’78 salary would need to be nearly 400% higher, to around $49,000. Conversely, the ’78 salary is worth about $2,000 today. If you want everyday citizens to serve in the legislature, there needs to be fair compensation to allow them to take considerable time away from their paying job back home and still support their families. I assure you that it’s not a part-time job as critics contend.
I won’t vote for the pay raise when the House considers the Senate’s budget.
If legislators seek an increase in compensation, they must rely on independent outsiders to determine what’s best. They need to create a commission of citizens from around the state, similar to the one that reviews and sets the salary of statewide Constitutional officers. That would provide an independent analysis of compensation needed to attract everyday citizens, rather than mostly lawyers, entrepreneurs, and retired folks, like me. Just sayin’…
Senate Sends Budget Back to the House
The $14.4 billion General Fund spending plan approved by the Senate on a 41-2 vote was similar to the version passed by the House in March.
Public school teachers scored pay raises in both plans, including a $1,500 raise in the minimum salary for teachers, a 2% raise for the state’s lowest-paid employees, and the completion of the Legislature’s 2022 law that phased in income tax cuts. That will reduce state revenues by more than $290 million in the fiscal year starting July 1.
House and Senate leadership paused earmarks in this year’s budget, upsetting some legislators who view earmarks as local community investments.
Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-Walterboro, railed against the decision not to fund legislators’ requests for local projects, saying it would hurt the poor, rural parts of her district that need every cent they can get.
The budget is far from finished. The Senate’s vote sent the plan back to the House, which will adjust its initial proposal before the two chambers work out their differences. Spending that’s the same in each plan, such as the teacher raises, won’t change. Those amounts are locked in ahead of negotiations.
School Choice Walkout
I have never fully grasped why most Democrat legislators oppose school choice when most Democrat parents want it. Oh well, it is a long-held stance by many Democrats who want to demonstrate their support for public education. I’m in favor of both public education and parental choice. They are not competing; each must provide the best education to meet each child’s needs.
On Thursday, Senate Democrats took advantage of some missing Republican Senators. They staged a walkout to force a failed quorum vote, which ended the debate on the final language of S.62, the bill to restore the Education Scholarship Trust Fund program for low—and middle-income families. Let’s hope the Senate can cross the finish line when they return on Tuesday.
Senate Moves to Oust State Treasurer
On Monday, the Senate voted to remove State Treasurer Curtis Loftis from office for his role in a $1.8 billion accounting error that went unreported for years.
By a vote of 33 to 8, the Senate used an obscure constitutional measure to do something never done before in SC history—remove an elected official from office. It was a nice try, but Senators don’t have the authority to remove Loftis on their own. The House would need to approve his removal by a two-thirds vote, requiring Gov. McMaster to take official action.
The accounting problems stemmed from the changeover from the state’s legacy accounting system to a new one and did not involve actual money. Electronic ledger entries made it appear the state had $1.8 billion sitting untouched in a fund with no record of where it was supposed to go.
Senators were particularly upset that Loftis never alerted the General Assembly to the issue and claimed he willfully neglected his duties when he failed to report the mistakes.
Loftis has maintained that he did nothing wrong and instead has laid the blame for the error outside his office. He argued that no money went missing, and the investigation amounted to political theater.
In his testimony before the Senate, Lofits acknowledged that his actions may have sometimes fallen short of expectations and promised to do a better job.
With only six days remaining in this year’s session, the House of Representatives is unlikely to take up this issue.
Balancing Government Authority
Who is in charge – the federal government or state governments? Regrettably, most folks think the federal government is supreme, even though the Constitution states its powers are “few and defined.” Conversely, our nation’s founders wrote the Constitution so that all other authority is reserved to the states and the people.
While we tend to focus on the balance of power between the three branches of government in Washington, the most significant issue is the balance of power between states and the federal government.
Sen. Rex Rice and I hosted two of our Utah legislative colleagues this week during their State House visit. Rep. Ken Ivory is a leading national voice for federalism. Rep. Jason Thompson accompanied him. They met with legislative leaders, Representatives, and Senators, encouraging SC’s participation in the National Federation Initiative, conceived and funded by Utah.
The non-partisan, non-political coalition aims to bring red and blue states together to focus on re-balancing the foundational State-Federal governing partnership and reduce political friction and uncertainty, while strengthening our national union for the next 250 years. Toward that goal, we will have our first summit meeting in Utah in September.
LEGISLATIVE BRIEFS
Liquor Liability Insurance Reform
SC’s liquor liability legislation is on life support, with the House and Senate battling over competing legislation with only two weeks left in this legislative session. It is a tug-of-war involving tort reform and the more narrowly focused liquor liability. Currently, bars and restaurants have to pay enormous increases in insurance premiums or close their doors. The Senate significantly amended and returned our House bill (H.3497), which, among other things, represents an effort to reduce premiums paid by bars and restaurants serving alcoholic beverages for their liquor liability insurance policies. The heavily amended bill was sent to the House Judiciary Committee. Look for multiple actions next week to encourage a compromise on liquor liability. The House is dedicated to resolving this issue that is strangling some of our small businesses.
Protecting Free Speech and Stopping Frivolous Lawsuits
In today’s world, exercising your right to speak up can come with a cost, primarily when powerful interests use frivolous lawsuits to intimidate citizens and silence opinions. That’s why I support the SC Public Expression Protection Act (H.3305), a bill that shields individuals from legal harassment for speaking out on matters of public concern. Whether speaking at a public hearing, writing an op-ed, or posting online about government actions, this bill ensures you can’t be dragged into court simply for using your voice. It’s a win for free speech and one step closer to becoming law after receiving a favorable report from the Senate Judiciary Committee this week.
Upholding Religious Freedom in Schools
Our children should never have to hide their faith at school—and this bill ensures they won’t have to. The updated Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act (H.3758), reported favorably with an amendment by the House Education & Public Works Committee this week, ensures students can voluntarily express their religious beliefs in classwork, school speeches, and events, just like any other viewpoint. I support this bill because it protects constitutional rights while ensuring school districts remain neutral, not hostile, toward religious expression. This is about fairness, clarity, and freedom of belief.
Leveling the Playing Field for All Students
Students in home schools, charter schools, and Governor’s Schools deserve equal access to extracurriculars, career training, and interscholastic competitions. H.3802, the Participation in Interscholastic Activities bill, makes that possible, ensuring every student can grow, compete, and participate. The bill was reported favorably out of the House Education Subcommittee this week. I will proudly support this legislation once it reaches the House floor.
Criminal to Distribute Real or Fake Criminal Intimate Images
The anti-revenge porn bill passed the House on a unanimous vote this week and was sent to the Senate. H.3058 proposes new definitions for identifying violations of this new criminal offense. Under this proposal, intentionally disseminating intimate images, or digitally created intimate images, without the consent of the person in the images would constitute criminal activity. Penalties range from $5,000 and/or up to ten years in jail.
Law Enforcement Access to Communication Services
The House debated this bill for a couple of hours. This Senate bill (S.74) confirms that our Attorney General will be given access to communication services and remote computing services customer account information in ongoing criminal investigations by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The House amended the bill to require a circuit court judge to determine that probable cause exists to justify the subpoena issuance.
SC Corrections Director’s New Job
Congratulations to SC’s long-serving Department of Corrections Director, Bryan Stirling, who will become the interim U.S. Attorney for South Carolina. Stirling will start his new job on Monday. President Donald Trump is expected to formally nominate Stirling as SC’s U.S. attorney. As state prison director for the past 13 years, Stirling has effectively overseen the state’s 21 prisons with 16,500 inmates and the daily challenges. Before being named Corrections Director, Stirling was a deputy SC attorney general under Attorneys General Henry McMaster and Alan Wilson.
*** SPECIAL ALERT ***
If you plan to board a commercial flight, enter a federal building, or visit a military base after May 7, you will need the U.S. government’s Real ID mark on your SC driver’s license, or have another approved ID. After delaying the implementation for two decades, the time is up to comply.
While about 60% of driver’s licenses issued by the SC’s DMV are Real ID compliant, that still leaves over one million Palmetto State residents who do not possess a compliant card. The time waiting to get the Real ID is over. You had best hustle. (DMV INFO)
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
On Thursday, we welcomed two third-grade classes from Aiken’s St. Mary’s School to the House of Representatives. They toured the SC State House, and after we adjourned, I brought them onto the House floor. They had a blast!
