Endorsed by House Speaker Murrell Smith

MURRELLS INLET – Republican Rep. Lee Hewitt Monday announced that he will seek reelection to the S.C. House District 108 seat and that he has the backing of House Speaker Murrell Smith.

“It’s been a real privilege to serve in the state House of Representatives and I’m hopeful district voters will send me back for another term,” Hewitt said. “I’ve been blessed with an outpouring of support and will continue working hard in Columbia representing the district.”

“I will continue to fight for low taxes, better roads, the best education for our children, more jobs, and to protect our natural resources,” Hewitt said. “I share the conservative values of the district and will continue working hard to earn the support of Georgetown and Charleston County voters.”

"Lee Hewitt has a proven record of conservative leadership and has brought real results home to the people of District 108,” House Speaker Murrell Smith said. “Lee brings experience and expertise to the Ways and Means Committee, the Republican Caucus and the House as a whole. I wholeheartedly support Lee’s continued service and believe he’s a vital voice for District 108.”

“I’m honored and grateful to have the full support of Speaker Smith,” Hewitt said.

“We’re on target to fund a very good campaign. I’m grateful for all of our campaign donors who have given very generously,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt, 63, was first elected in 2016. He serves on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and is a House Majority Whip.

This year he also serves as the chair of the Georgetown County Legislative Delegation and the Grand Strand Area Transportation Study Policy Committee.

The past two years Hewitt has been awarded the "Champion of Business" award from the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Last year he was named “Legislator of Year” by the S.C. Farm Bureau.

Hewitt has lived in Murrells Inlet for over 40 years. He is owner of Garden City Realty and has served as President of the Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors and on the board of the state Association of Realtors.

In 2014, Hewitt was appointed by Gov. Nikki Haley to the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control Board of Directors.

Hewitt has served as chairman of the Georgetown County Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals and on the Georgetown County Comprehensive Land Use Plan
Committee, and the Southern Evacuation Lifeline Road Task Force.

Hewitt is a charter member of the Murrells Inlet Rotary Club and a founder and current chair of the Murrells Inlet 4th of July Boat Parade.

He is a 1982 graduate of the University of South Carolina - Coastal with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Hewitt is an active member of Belin Memorial United Methodist Church. He and his wife, Whitney, have two sons.

Hewitt’s campaign website is HewittForHouse.com.

Happy New Year! I hope you’re doing well.

The House of Representatives session began last Tuesday and I wanted to give you an update.

I’m honored to again serve on the coveted Ways and Means Committee, as chair of its Property Tax Subcommittee and as a member of its Healthcare Budget Subcommittee.

I’m also honored to again serve in the House leadership as a Majority Whip.

This year, I also serve as the chair of the Georgetown County Legislative Delegation and the Grand Strand Area Transportation Study Policy Committee.

On Tuesday, the House Criminal Laws Subcommittee held a hearing on my bill, H. 3015, that would outlaw child luring. This is a bill supported by over 17,000 petition signatures and resolutions of support by the cities of Mt. Pleasant and Charleston.

The hearing resulted in the crafting of a new compromise bill on luring, H. 4825, of which I’m the sponsor. I’m optimistic the bill will pass the House.

Luring children should be illegal in South Carolina. Last fall there was another incident in Mt. Pleasant of child luring, where an adult attempted to get a child to go with him in a car, with the promise of taking the child fishing. Over the years, there have been other luring attempts promising candy and visits with puppies.

On Friday, I participated in the annual Georgetown County Legislative Delegation Breakfast, hosted by the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors. Senators Stephen Goldfinch and Ronnie Sabb and Rep. Carl Anderson and I answered a lot of great questions from a packed house.

I believe it’s important to focus on these key issues in 2024:

Further expanding parental choice in education.
Focusing on children's health and safety.
Improving the judicial selection process.
Continuing to enhance our economic momentum.
Developing comprehensive energy policies and investing in modern, efficient power generation to meet our state's growing needs.

I’m thankful for the opportunity to represent District 108 in the House. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Rep. Lee Hewitt

Please click here to donate to my reelection campaign.

Last week I did a video interview with Charleston journalist Quintin Washington where we talked about the impacts of area growth and infrastructure needs.

Hope you’re doing well.

I wanted to make you aware of some important Murrells Inlet dredging projects.

Georgetown County is seeking a permit from the US Army Corp of Engineers for the most extensive dredging project ever for Murrells Inlet and it’s very important that the USACE receive comments about the extreme need for dredging so a permit will be issued.

The project encompasses all of the channels and basins that are used by boaters throughout the inlet. Nearly 16.5 miles of channels would be dredged and 755,000 cubic yards of sediment removed and discharged to a nearshore disposal site off Huntington Beach State Park.

If permitted, this $35 million project would be funded by the state and could start as early as 2025.

Click here then click on “Public Notice and Drawings” to view the permit application.

Not only is inlet dredging badly needed for boating and inlet access, dredging is a recommendation in the Murrells Inlet Watershed Plan as a way to improve marsh and shellfish habitat.

The watershed plan says dredging will “Improve salt water exchange in areas of Murrells Inlet, which have become silted over time. An adequate salt water/freshwater balance can help moderate fecal coliform.”

The deadline for comments on the application is Nov. 30th. Please send comments to Project Manager Nat Ball at [email protected] and reference Permit Application SAC-2020-00449.

I urge you to get comments in as soon as possible.

Additionally, the Murrells Inlet navigation channel maintenance dredging project is set to begin soon. This is a $6.2 million US Army Corp of Engineers project.

A little over 500,000 cubic yards of sand will be removed from the navigation channel and pumped onto the south end of Garden City Beach and the northern part of Huntington Beach State Park.

This map shows in red with cross hatching the areas that will be dredged. The beach areas outlined in green and blue will be re-nourished with the sand.

I hope this information is helpful.

Have a good week. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Rep. Lee Hewitt

Please click here to donate to my reelection campaign.

Last week I joined my colleagues in Columbia for what will likely be the last House session until we reconvene in January 2024.

In the budget bill I was able to gain the support of my colleagues and the Governor for funding a number of important District needs.

One of those is the dredging of Murrells Inlet channels, many of which are no longer navigable and impede the water flow needed for a healthy estuary.

The budget bill appropriates $10 million for inlet dredging which, combined with prior budget bill appropriations, means that over $14 million is now available for the dredging project.

Here are some of the other appropriations for the District included in the budget:

*$6 million for Horry-Georgetown Technical College’s boat building and outboard marine technology facility on the Georgetown campus.

*$2.5 million to Georgetown County to fix port facilities on the state ports property in Georgetown that was transferred to the county.

*$250,000 for Town of Pawleys Island drainage work.

*$250,000 for the nonprofit Smith Medical Clinic in Pawleys Island to help fund medical care for over 2,000 low-income, uninsured, Georgetown County residents.

*$190,000 for Murrells Inlet bike path parking, which brings total state budget funding for the parking to $515,000.

We set an ambitious agenda for the session that included improving statewide economic development, reforming our education system, implementing fiscal discipline, increasing personal freedom, and prioritizing public safety and made meaningful progress towards achieving our goals.

On June 14th, I was honored to be appointed by House Speaker Murrell Smith to the Land Development Study Committee, which is tasked with examining current and prospective ways to manage land development.

As chair of the Murrells Inlet Boat Parade, just a reminder that the 40th annual parade is on Tuesday, July 4th, starting at 6 pm. This year’s theme is “Made in the USA.”

I’m honored to represent District 108 in the House. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Rep. Lee Hewitt

Please click here to donate to my reelection campaign.

Good morning. Hope you had a good weekend.

The first year of the 2023-2024 Legislative Session ended on Thursday. This final week was a flurry of activity.

In 2014, I was appointed by Gov. Nikki Haley as the 7th Congressional District Representative to the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control Board of Directors and served until my election to the House.

So last week with my knowledge of DHEC operations, it was a privilege to be appointed by House Speaker Murrell Smith to serve on the conference committee to iron out the differences between the House and Senate on S. 399, a bill that restructures and modernizes DHEC to create the Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Services.

Both the Department of Public Health and the Department of Environmental Services will become cabinet agencies with their directors being appointed by the Governor with advice and consent of the Senate.

I’m pleased that on Wednesday the House unanimously passed a bill I sponsored, H. 3072, that protects the four percent property tax assessment rate after a property owner dies until the decedent's estate is closed, upon the recording of a deed or deed of distribution out of the estate, or after December 31st of the year following the date of death, whichever occurs first, which I think is only fair.

We set an ambitious agenda for the session that included improving statewide economic development, reforming our education system, implementing fiscal discipline, increasing personal freedom, and prioritizing public safety and made meaningful progress towards achieving our goals.

Although the session officially wrapped up on Thursday, Gov. McMaster called a special session for next week to finish our work on the state budget, bond reform to stop the revolving door for repeat criminals, and increasing the penalties for fentanyl trafficking.

Have a good week. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Rep. Lee Hewitt

Please click here to donate to my reelection campaign.

We had a busy week in Columbia. Here’s my report.

On Wednesday, I was glad to congratulate former Gov. David Beasley at a Joint Assembly of the House and Senate honoring his service as Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Program. Under his leadership the World Food Program has fed and otherwise assisted hundreds of millions of the world's most desperate and needy people, often in extraordinarily dangerous and trying circumstances.

On Thursday the South Carolina Telehealth and Telemedicine Modernization Act, which I cosponsored, unanimously passed the House. This bill will improve access to healthcare services for all South Carolinians, especially those in remote or underserved areas.

Also, on Thursday Gov. McMaster signed S. 39 into law that creates the Education Scholarship Trust Fund that will provide up to $6,000 per year per qualifying student to allow them to choose a school that may better fit their needs.

As a strong supporter of our teachers I was proud to vote for the Educator Assistance Act, which will help ensure professional treatment of our educators.

This bill will establish a permanent teaching certificate, eliminating the paperwork currently required every five years for recertification. It would also give teachers 10 days from the date that a district posts their salary schedule to withdraw a contract without penalty, a provision that addresses the current reality that South Carolina statute requires teachers to sign contracts prior to knowing their salary.

On Thursday, I voted to pass the Police Officers Retirement System Earnings Limitation Bill, out of the Ways and Means Committee, which removes earning limitations currently placed on retired law enforcement officers who wish to return to work.

With a shortage in law enforcement officers we should be encouraging those who have retired and wish to return to service to do so, not penalize them by placing limitations on their earnings.

H. 3414, which bans ‘Carolina Squat Trucks’, a dangerous vehicle modification that raises the front end of a vehicle high enough that it impedes a driver’s ability to see over the hood, is one step closer to becoming law. On Thursday the Senate concurred with House amendments and passed the bill, sending it to the Governor for his signature.

Next week is the final week of the House session for this year.

I’m honored to represent District 108 in the House. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Rep. Lee Hewitt

Please click here to donate to my reelection campaign.

Hope you had a good weekend. Here’s my legislative report.

On Thursday, as chair of the Ways and Means Property Tax Subcommittee, I held my first subcommittee meeting.

We passed out three bills, one of which, H. 3072, I sponsored that protects the four percent property tax assessment rate after a property owner dies until the decedent's estate is closed, upon the recording of a deed or deed of distribution out of the estate, or after December 31st of the year following the date of death, whichever occurs first, which I think is only fair.

Last week we passed landmark legislation that will ensure parents have more options and choices about how their children are educated.

S. 039, which establishes the Education Scholarship Trust Fund, will provide eligible elementary and secondary students from low income families with scholarships to cover their education expenses at the school of their choice -- expenses such as tuition and fees, instructional materials, tutoring, computer hardware, assessments, and transportation. These scholarships will be funded directly from the state budget, meaning no money is being directly taken from the current K-12 education budget or from existing public schools.

These scholarships are a critical step towards creating a more equitable education system in South Carolina as it recognizes the importance of school choice for families and gives every student an opportunity to succeed.

On Wednesday, we passed H. 3583, a bill that specifically targets the use of sexually explicit images or videos to extort money, sexual favors, or other benefits from a victim. South Carolina is now the 19th state to have its own laws against this type of cybercrime, which is an important step in protecting our citizens and deterring potential offenders.

The passing of this bill is particularly meaningful because one of my colleagues, Rep. Brandon Guffey, R-York, recently lost his son to this senseless crime. His tragic loss highlights the urgent need for this legislation, which will provide recourse for victims and send a strong message that sexual exploitation in any form is a serious crime that will not be tolerated.

I hope you’ll consider participating in “Palmetto Giving Day” this Tuesday and Wednesday, May 2-3. The Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation organizes this annual thirty-six hour online giving event that benefits nonprofit organizations in Georgetown County. Many of these organizations have matching donation opportunities during this event that will essentially double your donation.

For more information about Palmetto Giving Day and to make donations please visit PalmettoGiving Day.org.

Have a good week. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Rep. Lee Hewitt

Please click here to donate to my reelection campaign.

Good morning.

After being off for a week, the House of Representatives was back in session last week, focusing primarily on working on bills that are in committee.

On Wednesday, Rep. Carl Anderson, D-Georgetown, and I did get an opportunity to meet with members of the Georgetown County School Board at the State House. I appreciate the board’s efforts. Education is so important to the future of our county and state.

On Tuesday, a subcommittee of the House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee passed S. 164, which would eliminate our state’s Certificate of Need requirements for most healthcare providers.

Currently, these regulations require healthcare providers to obtain government approval before expanding or establishing new healthcare facilities or services. Repealing these laws will reduce the regulatory burden on healthcare providers, increase access to healthcare in our state, and lower costs for patients, which I support.

Another healthcare related bill discussed in subcommittee last week was the South Carolina Telehealth and Telemedicine Modernization Act, which I cosponsored. This bill defines and specifies requirements for healthcare professionals who provide telehealth services and will improve access to healthcare services for all South Carolinians, especially those in remote or underserved areas.

Two bills designed to protect our children were passed out of the House Judiciary Committee.

The Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act, provides a crucial framework for preventing child abduction in family law cases. This bill prioritizes the welfare and best interests of children, making sure that child custody determination orders from other states can be registered and enforced efficiently.

The Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act, strengthens criminal penalties for violators and requires child placement agencies to share specific information with adoptive parents. This bill ensures that children placed for adoption are not subjected to unregulated custody transfers and that they receive the financial support services they need.

I intend to support both of these bills.

On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee discussed H. 3734, a bill aimed at reforming municipal elections by requiring a more predictable election schedule for voters and requiring use of a state-approved voting system.

I hope you have a good week. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Rep. Lee Hewitt

Please click here to donate to my reelection campaign.

Happy Easter Monday. Here’s my brief legislative report.

It was a privilege to meet former Florida Governor Jeb Bush on Tuesday at the State House. He spoke to the House Republican Caucus advocating much needed school choice.

Last week with the looming Thursday deadline for bills to “crossover” to the Senate, the House worked to push important legislation over the finish line.

The House passed five adoption-related bills I cosponsored that make the process of adopting children in our state less burdensome, while ensuring safety and integrity.

These bills facilitate family members to become legal guardians when adoption is not an option for minors, eliminate the 90-day waiting time to finalize an adoption, allow family court judges to waive pre- and post-adoption report requirements, and allow permanency planning hearings to include termination of parental rights determinations.

On Wednesday, the House passed another bill I cosponsored, the ESG Pension Protection Act. This bill ensures the $39 billion in SC's pension system will be invested to maximize the returns for state and local government employees and not be compromised by Environmental-Social-Governance objectives being pushed on us by the far left.

Allowing new parents to take time off to care for their children without sacrificing their income or job security is critical in retaining and recruiting teachers. I voted in support of H. 3908, which would allow teachers who become new parents -- either upon the birth or adoption of a child -- six weeks paid leave, which is the same leave available to other state employees.

It’s imperative that we make life saving medication available in our schools to respond quickly to an overdose emergency and potentially save the life of a student or staff member. On Thursday, I voted to pass H. 4122, which will allow school nurses, in addition to School Resource Officers, to stock and administer Narcan.

Additionally, the House unanimously passed H.3691, which I cosponsored, that allows coroners to stock and administer life-saving medication such as Narcan in the event they encounter overdose victims.

On Wednesday, I met with Murrells Inlet-Garden City Fire District Assistant Chief Jeff Kosto, who was at the State House with members of the SC State Firefighters Association. I appreciate the hard work and dedication of our MIGCFD firefighters and EMS personnel.

Next week the House is on furlough, and will reconvene Tuesday, April 18th. From there we have just four weeks left of the legislative session.

I hope you have a good week. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Rep. Lee Hewitt

Please click here to donate to my reelection campaign.