I hope you’re doing well.
On Tuesday, I had the privilege of meeting with Grand Strand area leaders in Columbia at the Grand Strand Legislative Reception, which included representatives from the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors, Coastal Carolina University, and Horry Georgetown Technical College.
From left to right: Madison Cooper, CCAR; Jennifer Wilbanks, HGTC; Rep. Heather Crawford, Boone Peeler; Robert Hucks, HGTC Commissioner; Rep. Val Guest; myself; Bob Farrar, HGTC Commissioner; Murph Fore, president HGTC; and Rep. Kevin Hardee.
Last week, I proudly voted for S.62, a bill to expand school choice, which is a major step forward in giving parents more control over their children’s education while ensuring accountability and long-term sustainability.
We’ve fought for years to ensure that every child in South Carolina -- regardless of their zip code or financial background -- has access to a quality education tailored to their needs.
The House strengthened the Senate bill to ensure a legally sound, structured, and fair program that doesn’t take funding away from our public school districts. We restored the Education Scholarship Trust Fund, reinforcing the long-term stability of the program, and appointed a trustee to oversee its management and protect against legal challenges.
We also prioritized students in greatest need -- children of military families, foster children, low-income students, and those with disabilities -- ensuring they have first access to scholarships before the general application window opens.
On the Ways and Means Committee we continued work on the state budget to ensure it reflects our conservative values -- cutting taxes, reducing wasteful spending, and making smart investments in South Carolina’s future.
This budget provides over $1 billion in tax relief, including $800 million in property tax cuts and over $200 million in income tax reductions. We are committed to keeping money in your pockets and ensuring that our state remains competitive for businesses and job creators.
The budget raises teacher salaries to $50,000 by 2026, ensures continued support for school safety, workforce training, infrastructure improvements, and much-needed law enforcement pay raises. We also prioritized protecting taxpayer dollars by requiring state agencies to cut unnecessary vacancies and implement new fraud prevention measures.
I hope this report is helpful. Have a good week. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Rep. Lee Hewitt