Broad government reform tops the House Republican Caucus agenda for South Carolina in 2013, presented to members of the S.C. Press Association today at the Statehouse.
“This is a smaller agenda than we have had in previous years because many of these items are very serious topics that will require a lot of debate,” said House Majority Leader Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville. “The Caucus and the House have study committees that have been working for months—or years—on some of these issues. This session will be marked by significant action on government reform.”
Caucus members will be reaching out to their constituents and to Republican activists statewide in the coming weeks to prioritize the agenda.
“From fighting against the new tax increases of Obamacare to better protecting our citizens most valuable personal information, we have some major issues our Legislature needs to address this session,” said House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston. “These agenda items are certainly not all we will be addressing this year, but these are some of the top issues that voters told us last November—in no uncertain terms—that they wanted accomplished.
“The House has a long history of accomplishing our agenda quickly and thoroughly. This year, the House again plans to be a leader on important reforms.”
This year’s agenda includes:
- Election Reforms: Legislation is being written to correct the 2012 election fiasco created by the S.C. Supreme Court.
- Data Security: We will examine the data collected by the state and ensure it is protected.
- Update Ethics Laws: Ethics reform must be done to re-instill trust in our political system. We will work to update our two-decades-old ethics laws.
- Oppose Obamacare: We will fight the implementation of this law, and the massive tax increases that follow it.
- Real Tax Reform: We knew tax reform would be a multi-year effort. This year, we will lower manufacturers’ property tax rates, flatten the personal income tax, and reduce specialinterest sales tax exemptions.
- Grow Our Economy: We will fight for regulatory reform, access to capital for small businesses, and enhanced skills training.
- Government Restructuring: We came within a Senate filibuster of the biggest government overhaul in two decades. The time is still right to get this needed restructuring through.
The House Republican Caucus was created in 1975. Republicans took the majority in 1994 and today control 77 of the 123 seats (there is one vacancy) with representation from all across South Carolina. South Carolina’s most important government reforms have originated in the Caucus agendas, including property tax reform, tort reform, campaign finance reform, the creation of charter schools, illegal immigration reform and workers’ compensation reform, among many others.