Start of 2015 Legislative Session

On Tuesday, January 13, 2015, the House of Representatives convened in Columbia for the commencement of the 121st South Carolina General Assembly.

As this year comes to an end, I look forward to the upcoming legislative session and the opportunities 2015 will bring.

At the Organizational Session held at the beginning of the month, we approved a set of new Rules of the House for the 2015 and 2016 Sessions of the General Assembly. I was honored that Speaker Jay Lucas appointed me to the bi-partisan committee that recommended these changes. The new Rules will, among others, limit the term of the Speaker, clarify ethics violations, and provide a more equitable atmosphere among its members.

Continuing my fight for real ethics reform, I have co-sponsored several prefiled bills that involve increased transparency and disclosure in how we, as legislators, spend our campaign dollars; require disclosure of our sources of income to ensure there are no conflicts of interest in how we vote or legislate; and reconstitute the membership of the Ethics Commission.

I have outlined below some of the important issues that we in the General Assembly likely will be working on in 2015.

Establish an adequate and stable source of funds to repair our state roads and bridges
Reform our state’s public education funding system
Improve work-force development
Comprehensive ethics reform