Dear Friends:
The House of Representatives will likely debate the newest School Choice legislation for South Carolina today. The bill is on a speed drive, having passed out of the Senate three weeks into the new legislative session.
Education Savings Accounts
The legislation would reinstate Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) following the Supreme Court’s ruling nixing the original law passed last year. The court ruled that the State Constitution forbids state monies from being used for private school tuition. That ruling ripped away promised scholarships, leaving thousands of families scrambling last Fall.
Last week, the House Education Committee held a marathon hearing on S.62. It amended it to make the scholarship program nearly universal while maintaining priority for lower-income families and other key groups. The committee put a unique twist on funding by making the scholarship money flow through a trust fund. It is believed this will be a constitutional way of allocating funds. The scholarship amount for each student would be $6,000.
I have always supported public education, but I also support parents who best know when their child needs an alternative because they learn differently. School choice is sweeping the nation, and it’s time for South Carolina parents to find the educational path that best fits their child’s needs.
Help For Teachers
The House unanimously supported South Carolina’s public school teachers in passing the Educator Assistance Act. If enacted, the law will save teachers time and money by not having to take college courses to be re-certified every five years. Taking in-district professional development courses would suffice. The bill also protects teachers from abruptly being reassigned to another school (sometimes the next day or week) without a good reason and school board approval.
Securing South Carolina’s Energy Future
This month, the House took bold action to secure our state’s energy future and keep its lights on by passing the South Carolina Energy Security Act (H.3309). This act ensures that as our state’s population grows, we have the reliable and affordable power to fuel our economy.
South Carolina is one of the fastest-growing states in the country, and if we don’t act now, we could face energy shortages that threaten businesses and jobs. Our energy generation plants are aging. That means about 50% of our energy generation would disappear within a decade.
This legislation doesn’t favor one method of electrical generation; it encourages an “All-of-the-Above-Strategy.” It expands access to nuclear, natural gas, hydrogen, and renewables. It also cuts red tape to speed up energy project approvals and protects consumers from rising costs.
One quick fix is to authorize Santee Cooper to proceed with plans to partner with Dominion Energy South Carolina to build a natural gas plant at the retired Canadys coal-fired generation station in Colleton County. By allowing those companies to work together, Dominion and Santee Cooper will be able to pool resources to build one plant that not only better meets our energy needs but also allows savings for construction and other costs that directly benefit ratepayers.
Energy science and technology are advancing, and we have much to be excited about as these environmentally friendly, carbon-free solutions come online. However, there will be a transition period as we wait for this new technology to go online because we have to replace the energy generation we are losing and the supply capacity for the growing population.
Spending Your Tax Dollars
When it comes to budgeting for government, thankfully, South Carolina is far different than the federal government. Congress has relied on continuing resolutions and omnibus bills for 28 years instead of passing an entire budget through the regular appropriations process. The last budget year was 1997, and the national debt stood at $5.4 trillion. Washington’s out-of-control spending has resulted in America’s debt skyrocketing 675% to $36.5 trillion! That’s unsustainable.
By comparison, the South Carolina General Assembly produces an annual budget that is balanced — we don’t spend more than we take in. Even better, legislators sock away the maximum in our state’s “rainy day” savings fund, and our state’s debt is minuscule.
Next Spending Plan
South Carolina is the third fastest-growing state in the nation by population increase and the fastest-growing state based on the percentage of population growth. That calls for spending to keep pace.
After many weeks of public hearings, the House Ways & Means Committee, on which I serve, passed the coming year's preliminary budget totaling $14.6 billion. I emphasize “preliminary” because the House will debate the proposed budget in two weeks and then send it to the Senate for consideration. It’s a long process, and the budget finish line in May will likely look different than the starting line version. Regardless, here are key budget proposals:
Meaningful Tax Cuts: Over $1 billion in tax cuts included in the budget ($800 million in property tax relief and $200 million in income tax relief).
Fraud Check: This budget would require all state agencies that issue benefit checks to develop and implement measures to detect and stop fraud.
Hurricane Recovery: In September, Hurricane Helene ravaged western South Carolina, including Aiken County, causing widespread damage. This budget provides $222 million to match federal FEMA funds going to towns, cities, and counties for cleanup. It also provides $50 million in reimbursement to SCDOT, which FEMA’s matching funds do not cover. Also, $38 million will be allocated to replenish the disaster relief fund so we can prepare for future disasters.
Road & Bridge Repair: Our state has the fourth largest state highway system, maintaining about 42,000 miles. However, there is a bridge crisis, with many of our Interstate and primary bridges built in the 1950s and 1960s aging out and in critical need of repair and replacement. This year, we invested $200 million in fixing bridges, and this proposed budget dedicated another $200 million to meet the goal of a $1 billion investment in bridges over five years.
K-12 Teachers: $112 million will provide teachers with a $1,500 salary increase, raising starting salaries to $48,500. This keeps us on track to the goal of reaching the $50k starting salary by 2026. The starting teacher salary was $28,190 only in 2017.
K-12 Student Funding: Since the 2018-19 school year, the state portion of the average per-pupil spending has increased 44%, reaching $8,914. That brings the total average per pupil appropriation to a whopping $19,075, reflecting a 42% increase over the same years. If increased funding had resulted in a significant rise in student achievement, we would all be pleased with the investment. Sadly, it has not.
State Employees: Under this budget proposal, state employees at the lower pay scale will see a larger percentage increase than those at the high end. A salary survey of 42 states shows South Carolina ranked 34th in average salary. Currently, pay is not tied to the realities of the labor market. This budget calls for all employees under new pay bands to which they are assigned to be brought up to a new minimum. If employees are above the new minimum, they will receive a 2% pay increase.
At Your Service
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