I wanted you to know that there is just one week left in the legislative session.
Last week, the House took a major step to make our public schools safer by making it easier to hire school resource officers. There are currently 590 public schools in the state that don’t employ a school resource officer.
Many retired law enforcement officers have expressed interest in using their previous training to work as a school resource officer. However, current state law caps salaries of retired state employees at $10,000 a year. To fix this problem, the House lifted the $10,000 cap so retired state workers can apply for the many open school resource officer positions.
A bill I cosponsored to increase the transparency of homeowners associations, the S.C. Homeowners Association Act, passed both the House and Senate and awaits Gov. McMaster’s signature.
The bill provides for the recording of the governing HOA documents with the Register of Deeds or Clerk of Court, notice to homeowners when there is any increase in the annual budget, notice on the seller’s property disclosure statement that the property is governed by an HOA, and allows magistrates concurrent jurisdiction to handle monetary disputes. The bill also creates a Homeowners Association Ombudsman within the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs. This legislation would implement consistent guidelines that encourage good governance among HOAs and protect homeowners' interests.
Last week, the House voted to place a constitutional question on the ballot that asks voters if they approve of granting the governor the authority to appoint the state superintendent of education instead of keeping it as an elected position. If voters approve, the final election for the position will be in 2018 with the governor having the power to appoint the position after the conclusion of that four-year term.
It’s an honor to serve the district. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Rep. Lee Hewitt