Overview:
We are now over a month into the legislative session and I am very pleased with the progress being made. In the next few weeks, I expect to see developments with the education reform bill, a plan for reforming the tax system and an outline for next year’s budget. I am excited and prepared to keep working hard for you and the best interests of all South Carolinians.
Santee Cooper Study Committee:
The legislative committee studying whether to sell Santee Cooper received a detailed report this week summarizing the top four offers to buy the state-owned utility. Three of the offers would ensure the 2 million customers who get power from Santee Cooper would pay no more for the failed nuclear plant. Currently, Santee Cooper customers are on the hook for roughly $6,200 more per household in higher rates over the next four decades to pay off the power plant debt. Customers of the twenty electric co-ops are obligated to pay about $4,200 per household because they get their power from Santee Cooper.
Judicial Elections:
On Wednesday, we held a joint assembly in order to elect judges for the Court of Appeals, Family Court and Circuit Court. We elected a diverse group of judges that represent SC’s judicial system in the highest regard. For a complete list of the elected judges click here and scroll down: https://www.schousegop.org/more
Tax Reform
The Tax Reform Committee, a bipartisan committee appointed by the speaker last year, met this week to discuss a reform bill. The committee is preparing to report a bold plan that will reduce income taxes and broaden the base of sales taxes resulting in much fairer tax rates across the board for all South Carolinians. The bill will also address business license fees and reduce the corporate tax rate. We are hoping the bill will be on the floor before budget week.
Education Meeting:
The K-12 subcommittee is holding another meeting next week to get public input on H. 3759, the education reform bill. The meeting will be on Tuesday, February 12that 4:45 pmin room 110 in the Blatt Building.
If you wish to testify, please sign the “Speaker” sheet provided at the meeting. Please limit testimony to no more than five minutes.
If you cannot attend the meeting, please take a second to fill out this survey: https://goo.gl/forms/Oi9dNj7HdKaQQkai1
Numbers to know:
45.2% of all third graders “met or exceeded expectations” on SC Ready. This means over half of all third graders in SC did not meet the college and career readiness standards for 3rdgrade.
354 3rdgraders were held back at the end of the 2017-2018 school year due to not being able to meet the readiness standards.
Helpful Links:
If you haven’t downloaded the SC Legislature App yet download it now to track bills you are interested in: https://t.co/jqocTeVGkW
Keep up with roads, education and other projects here:https://www.schousegop.org/more
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