I wanted you to know that the legislation Rep. Russell Fry and I sponsored to fix the Horry-Georgetown County border error passed the House this week.

For many years, Horry and Georgetown counties have recognized a border that differs from the official border as enacted in statute. As a result, about 200 parcels of land, long believed to be in Horry County, are actually in Georgetown County, raising potential issues concerning property taxes, school attendance and voting.

If the bill is passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. McMaster, a referendum will be held in the affected area to allow voters to decide as to whether they wish to stay residents of Horry County or officially become part of Georgetown County.

On Monday, I had an opportunity to speak about this issue at the Georgetown County Republican Club meeting. Click here for the news coverage.

As a member of the House Opioid Abuse Prevention Study Committee, I was pleased that a number of bills the committee created to address the opioid addiction epidemic passed the House this week. These bills do the following: increase accessibility to life-saving opioid overdose antidotes, create a prescription monitoring program that will keep track of information relating to opioid prescriptions, set limits for initial prescriptions of opioid prescriptions at five days for acute pain and 14 days for post-operative pain, and require tamper-resistant prescription pads to decrease counterfeit prescriptions being used to obtain opioids illegally.

On Tuesday it was my pleasure to spend time at the State House with the Coastal Carolina Association of REALTORS leadership class and class president Jamie Broadhurst. We had a good discussion about my beachfront jurisdictional line reform bill, which will be considered by the Senate Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee next week.

Next week, the House is furloughed for an Easter break.

One week from today is the end of the campaign finance reporting period. With the upcoming election, it’s important for my campaign to report as much money in the bank as possible.

Please help by donating to my campaign by March 31st. Please click here to donate. Your help is greatly appreciated!

It’s an honor to serve the district. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Rep. Lee Hewitt

P.S. Please donate by March 31st. Campaign donation checks can be mailed to Lee Hewitt for House, P.O. Box 928, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576 or please click here today to donate online. Thank you in advance for your support!

I wanted you to know that Friday I officially filed for reelection.

Serving in the state House is a real privilege and I’m hopeful district voters will send me back for another term. I’m very appreciative of the outpouring of support I’ve received and will continue working hard in Columbia representing the district.

Also on Friday, Rep. Russell Fry, R-Horry, and I announced legislation to fix a Horry-Georgetown County border error. For many years, Horry and Georgetown counties have recognized a border that differs from the official border as enacted in statute. As a result, about 200 parcels of land, long believed to be in Horry County, are actually in Georgetown County, raising potential issues concerning property taxes, school attendance and voting. The border error was recently discovered by the state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office. Click here for news coverage.

The legislation, if passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. McMaster, will call for a referendum in the affected area to allow voters to decide as to whether they wish to stay residents of Horry County or officially become part of Georgetown County.

Passing a state budget bill consumed the entire House session last week. During the marathon session, I cast nearly 230 votes on the bill. The budget that passed the House is balanced and does not increase taxes.

I’m pleased the budget included nearly $20 million to our technical schools to train students for high-skill and well-paying jobs businesses are looking to fill, $60 million for teacher salary increases, new school buses, and opioid abuse prevention funding.

On Wednesday, after the House budget session was finished, I went over to the Senate and testified before the Environmental Subcommittee in support of my beachfront jurisdictional line reform bill. The subcommittee voted unanimously in favor of the bill, which will now go to the full Senate Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee.

And finally, I hate asking for money, but there is an upcoming election and the Democrats have made it a priority to contest all the elections this year. The best thing I can do is have a well-funded campaign, prepared to take on any challenger.

Please financially support my reelection campaign with a donation today by clicking here. Your financial support is needed and would be greatly appreciated.

It’s an honor to serve the district. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Rep. Lee Hewitt

P.S. Campaign donation checks can be mailed to Lee Hewitt for House, P.O. Box 928, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576 or please click here today to donate online. Thank you in advance for your support!

MURRELLS INLET – State Representatives Russell Fry, R-Horry and Lee Hewitt, R-Georgetown, Friday announced they will be introducing legislation calling for a referendum to address a recently discovered error in the border between Horry and Georgetown counties.

For many years, Horry and Georgetown counties have recognized a border that differs from the official border as enacted in statute. As a result, at least 199 parcels of land, long believed to be in Horry County, are actually in Georgetown County, raising potential issues concerning property taxes, school attendance and voting. The border error was recently discovered by the state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.

Click here for a map of the borders.

Fry and Hewitt will introduce legislation next week that, if passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. McMaster, will call for a referendum in the affected area to allow voters to decide as to whether they wish to stay residents of Horry County or officially become part of Georgetown County.

Click here for the legislation.

“Many of these residents have been residents of what they were told is Horry County for decades and have done nothing wrong,” said Russell Fry. “Their lives should not be turned upside-down because of this error. We will be immediately introducing legislation that will allow registered voters in the affected area to vote to stay residents of Horry County if they so choose.”

“It’s unfortunate this border error has occurred and that many residents and property owners are caught up in this through no fault of their own,” Lee Hewitt said. “This legislation Russell and I are introducing is the best and most equitable way to resolve the issue.”

COLUMBIA, SC -- A new bill in South Carolina could make luring or enticing a child to get into a car or a building against the law.

The proposed legislation, called the Anti-Luring Bill, was first introduced in the State House Thursday by District 108 State Rep. Lee Hewitt.

According to the bill, luring a child into a conveyance, dwelling, or structure without the consent of the child or legal guardian will be prosecuted.

Click here for the WMBF video

The heart of the bill is to stop a situation from getting much worse. The reason Lee wrote it is because of something that happened a month ago in Mount Pleasant with some of his constituents.

Lee said a family reached out to him for help after their kids were playing outside and a man approached them in a van and tried to entice them to get in by saying, "Come look at my dog." The children ultimately ran back to their house and the mother got the license plate for police.

"The problem was they could never charge him with anything because there wasn't a criminal act," Lee said. "Asking somebody to look at your dog isn't a criminal act, even though what could have happened if they got in the van could have been."

Lee's bill would give law enforcement more discretion.

"That when you have someone going around, trying to lure kids in the car by offering candy or something that is not criminal, it gives them the ability to charge that individual," he said.

The first offense would be a misdemeanor. If multiple offenses occur, the person could face a felony.

"As someone who has raised kids, I couldn't imagine if something happened to one of my kids," Lee said. "So if something like this can prevent a bad situation with children, hopefully we can get it done."

One mother in Carolina Forest is thankful to see the new bill, as the situation hits close to home.

Last August, Dr. Barb Horn's 10-year-old son was playing outside with his friend when a group of men told the boys to get inside their car.

Neighbors found the car and told police, but Horn said ultimately no charges were filed.

"Not only did we have to plea, the whole community had to become outraged, and had to make something happen and we said we wouldn't stand for it," Horn said. "Something was done and this type of bill can actually help next time something happens. Hopefully it doesn't, but people will have protection against this. If they feel they can't fully commit to kidnapping as a crime or attempted kidnapping, this gives them the option of luring and it's absolutely needed."

Horn said she hopes no one has to live through what she endured. She does think the bill should apply to others, and not just those 18 years of age or older.

"If you are old enough to drive a car and old enough to make a poor decision to try to lure a child into your car, then you should face the consequences as well, no matter what age," Horn said.

Lee said he received a lot of support from fellow legislators and law enforcement, who have heard of similar instances across the state.

Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said he fully supports the Anti-Luring Bill and thinks it's a strong piece of legislation.

The judiciary committee will review the bill next.

On Thursday, Reps. Lee Hewitt and Nancy Mace, R-Charleston, introduced a bill, H. 5006, to make child luring a crime. The legislation is in response to concerns from Mt. Pleasant and law enforcement officials about attempted efforts by adults to lure children into cars or vans, sometimes using puppies as lures, and the inability to charge the person with a crime. The bill is modeled after Florida's child luring law.

Reps. Nancy Mace and Lee Hewitt with the bill they filed to make child luring a crime in South Carolina. 

Last week Rep. Lee Hewitt was in Columbia for the second meeting of the House Offshore Drilling Ad Hoc Committee.

In this committee video, Lee points out to drilling advocate Bonnie Loomis of the American Petroleum Institute that 5.1 billion barrels of oil have been spilled from offshore drilling, an amount that exceeds the estimate of oil off the Atlantic Coast.

The coast of S.C. cannot afford to risk harming its economy and environment by effectively playing Russian roulette with offshore oil rigs. Sooner or later the coast will catch a bullet in the form of a major oil spill disaster.