Hope you had a good weekend.
I think you would agree that it should be illegal to attempt to lure children into a vehicle or house using things like candy or puppies, yet there still is no state law that makes child luring a crime.
In 2018 and 2020, I filed bills that would make luring a crime after multiple attempts of child luring in Mt. Pleasant and Charleston, including a highly publicized incident where an individual attempted to lure multiple children into a van using a puppy. These bills had the backing of local law enforcement, but died in the House Judiciary Committee.
I’m committed to protecting our children from predators, so I’ve refiled H. 3015 again in the hope it will get a committee hearing and ultimately be signed into law by Gov. McMaster.
On a related issue, it’s time we stop the revolving prison door for repeat criminals.
H. 3532, creates an additional criminal offense and penalty for committing an additional violent crime while out on bond, and would result in automatic revocation of bond for the first violent crime and a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years. This bill will be taken up by the Judiciary Committee next week.
In the House Ways and Means Committee and subcommittees we’ve been focused on drafting a fiscally conservative budget bill, which will need to be finalized by March 7th, just three weeks away, for presentation to all House members. Floor debate on the bill will start March 13th.
On Wednesday, a Joint Assembly of Senate and House members voted for several open and contested races for judges throughout SC, most importantly for an open seat on the SC Supreme Court. My congratulations to Gary Hill, who was overwhelmingly elected as a Justice to the Supreme Court.
I was privileged to meet with Awendaw Mayor Miriam Green and other Town Council members, who were at the State House on Tuesday for the SC Municipal Association’s Hometown Legislative Action Day. Mayor Green has served continuously on Town Council since the Town of Awendaw’s founding in 1992.
I hope you have a good week. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Rep. Lee Hewitt