I hope you had a great weekend.
I was privileged to meet with the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors’ Leadership Class at the State House. I appreciate their efforts to learn about the legislative process and state government.
Last week, I continued delivering on our House Republican Caucus’ Pillars for Progress -- supporting legislation that defends merit-based opportunity, expands career-ready education, and protects children and families from emerging threats.
As part of our commitment to remove harmful DEI programs from our educational institutions and state government, I cosponsored and voted to pass the Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity Act.
This landmark legislation makes South Carolina the first state in the country to turn President Trump’s executive order on DEI into law—eliminating race- and gender-based preferences and restoring a fair, merit-driven system.
This bill is a critical step toward restoring fairness, ending illegal discrimination, and ensuring your tax dollars aren’t spent promoting divisive ideology.
Fulfilling our goal to expand educational opportunities and enhance outcomes, I strongly support two forward-thinking bills that cleared the House Education and Public Works Committee this week and will soon be headed to the House floor.
The South Carolina Computer Science Education Initiative Act, will ensure that by the 2026–2027 school year, every public high school offers at least one rigorous, career-relevant computer science course. The bill also lays the groundwork for career pathways in high-demand fields like cybersecurity, information systems, and software development—starting as early as elementary school.
The South Carolina STEM Opportunity Act, creates a statewide STEM coalition to align education and workforce development, particularly in underserved areas. It promotes hands-on learning, strengthens teacher training, and builds pipelines for South Carolina students to enter high-paying careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.
As part of our commitment to prioritize public safety and protect children from “deepfake” digital exploitation, on Wednesday the House passed H.3045. This legislation creates felony-level penalties for the production or possession of digitally manipulated child sexual abuse material—even if the child depicted does not actually exist. It also adds the offense to the sex offender registry and establishes a clear legal framework for prosecuting these heinous acts.
Have a good week. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Rep. Lee Hewitt