I hope you had a great weekend. Here’s my legislative report.
Last week, the House was back in session. Much of the week was spent in committee meetings, where legislation is debated and refined before reaching the House floor. In total, there were more than 31 committee and subcommittee meetings, demonstrating our commitment to advancing meaningful solutions for South Carolinians.
House Ways and Means budget subcommittees began hearing budget requests from state agencies in preparation for the full House budget debate, scheduled for the week of March 10th.
The Healthcare Budget Subcommittee meeting I chaired on Tuesday made the news with our efforts to find solutions to the doctor shortage in our state.
The biggest gaps are in OBGYNs and mental health. One solution would be to incentivize doctors in residency to complete their training programs in the state, making it more likely they would stay in SC. Increasing the Graduate Medical Education Program, which helps fund medical residency training at hospitals, would help.
The subcommittee also heard from Dr. Gerald Harmon, Interim Dean of the USC School of Medicine. Dr. Harmon, a long-time Pawleys Island resident, made a presentation for continued funding for USC’s Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare, which served nearly 20,000 patients last year with 241 service locations in 44 counties.
On Wednesday, I attended Gov. Henry McMaster’s annual State of the State Address, where he outlined a bold vision for South Carolina’s future.
One of the most important takeaways was his strong commitment to cutting state income taxes -- a priority that aligns directly with the House Republican Caucus’ goal of delivering historic tax relief.
I supported passage of Gavin’s Law last year, which criminalized sexual extortion. The bill was named after my colleague Rep. Brandon Guffey’s son, who took his own life as a result of sexual extortion. Last week, thankfully, the man suspected of this heinous crime was arrested and extradited from Nigeria to be formally charged. Click here for news coverage.
I hope you’ll visit my official House webpage, where you can find bills that I’ve either sponsored or cosponsored, view my voting record, search for bills, and access video feeds of the House sessions and committee meetings.
Have a good week. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Rep. Lee Hewitt