Communique from SC House GOP Caucus
Overview of the week:
The beginning of 2019-2020 legislative session kicked off in a big way with inaugural festivities for Governor Henry McMaster, Lt. Governor Pamela Evette and our seven other Constitutional officers. Gov. McMaster’s inauguration address focused heavily on tax reform, education reform, infrastructure and making sure South Carolina has a bright future ahead of us. When the House gaveled into its first session of the year, we saw 500 pre-filed bills cross the desk. Each of these bills was assigned to a Committee. Those bills will be deliberated, developed and made ready for full debate on the floor of the House.
Our Conservative Agenda:
Republicans are united in our desire to increase the quality of life for every South Carolinian. We have an aggressive legislative agenda, and we’ve worked hard with Gov. McMaster to sync our priorities with his to ensure an excellent opportunity to make much needed comprehensive reforms for our state. This week focused on comprehensive education reform:
- Paying our teachers more. We will fight to increase teacher pay so our students have access to the best teachers possible.
- Letting teachers do their job. We will fight to eliminate paperwork and excessive testing in schools, so teachers have more time to teach.
- Workforce Development. There are 64,249 jobs available in South Carolina, yet our unemployment rate is at 3.3%. This is because we do not have a labor force to fill these jobs. We must increase our investment in developing a skilled workforce.
Our top priority will be to fundamentally change the way we educate our children, so they get the best education possible and become the future generation of the South Carolina workforce.
Fact of the week:
South Carolina is 24thin the nation for funding education but lastin test scores and college readiness.
Links you can include:
In the news:
https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article224112050.html
https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article223819175.html
Helpful links:
After recent heavy rainfalls wreaked havoc on our roadways SCDOT is launching a statewide “pothole blitz” …and they’re asking for our help! Report potholes (either click the link below or call their Hotline at 1-855-467-2368. And remember, SCDOT employees will be working extended hours to fix these potholes, so please use caution and watch for SCDOT maintenance crews making repairs.
Link
Does the “pothole blitz” mean that we are NOT going to see our gas tax money go towards the building of a pet project highway in Charleston? Now more than ever it seems as though our DOT is not capable of making an intelligent decision. (I won’t get started on the idiocy of a 3 way stop at 101 and Milford church road.)
There are several pending bills, such as constitutional carry that need to be passed before we concern ourselves with 500 others.