Friday, I was honored to attend the Boeing rollout celebration of the 787-10 Dreamliner, the newest and largest of the Dreamliner series that will only be built in South Carolina. It was great to have President Trump in attendance at this very important economic event.

This celebration comes on the heels of 74 percent of Boeing workers voting last Wednesday to reject union representation. The vote sends a very strong signal to unions and businesses considering locating here.

Last week in the House was a somber time as Rep. Joe Neal (D-Richland) passed away on Tuesday.

Rep. Neal served for 24 years in the House. Even though we were on different sides of the aisle and I’m a freshman, Rep. Neal took the time to personally welcome me to the House, for which I’m very grateful.

No major bills hit the House floor; however, most committee work continued.

My thanks to all who provided input on the flounder bill, H. 3665, I cosponsored. It was unanimously passed out of the Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee on Thursday with the new minimum size limit of 15”, plus it was amended to include a reduction in the bag limit from 15 per person and 30 per boat to 10 per person and 20 per boat. I received a lot of comments in favor of these changes. The bill will be taken up on the House floor soon.

I attended a Charleston County Legislative Delegation meeting on Wednesday to approve a budget. Also, on Wednesday I attended a meeting with the United Way Association of SC and got to spend some time with Georgetown and Charleston County United Way leaders Lucy Woodhouse and Christopher Kerrigan.

Thank you for the privilege of serving in the House! Please let me know if I can be of assistance.

Rep. Lee Hewitt