House GOP Legislative Agenda Focuses on Government Reform in 2013

Broad government reform tops the South Carolina House Republican Caucus agenda for 2013, say GOP leaders.

“This is a smaller agenda than we have had in previous years because many of these items are very serious topics that will require a lot of debate,” said House Majority Leader Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville. “The Caucus and the House have study committees that have been working for months—or years—on some of these issues. This session will be marked by significant action on government reform.”

Caucus members will be reaching out to their constituents and to Republican activists statewide in the coming weeks to prioritize the agenda.

“From fighting against the new tax increases of Obamacare to better protecting our citizens most valuable personal information, we have some major issues our legislature needs to address this session,” according to House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston. “These agenda items are certainly not all we will be addressing this year, but these are some of the top issues that voters told us last November—in no uncertain terms—that they wanted accomplished.”

“The House has a long history of accomplishing our agenda quickly and thoroughly.  This year, the House again plans to be a leader on important reforms,” Harrell added.

This year’s agenda includes:

• Election Reforms: Legislation is being written to correct the 2012 election problems arising from SC court decisions that removed candidates from primary ballots.
• Data Security: Examining the data collected by the state and how it is protected
• Update Ethics Laws: Many of these was are two decades old, and House leaders say they need to be updated to “re-instill trust in our political system” and keep up with modern times.
• Oppose Obamacare: House GOP leaders vow to the implementation of the law and what they say is a substantial tax increase that follow it.
• Tax Reform: “We knew tax reform would be a multi-year effort,” according to Bannister. Reform efforts will include lowering manufacturers’ property tax rates, flattening personal income tax rates, and reducing “special interest sales tax exemptions.”
• Economic Growth: Including regulatory reforms, access to capital for small businesses, and enhanced skills training
• Government Restructuring: “We came within a Senate filibuster of the biggest government overhaul in two decades. The time is still right to get this needed restructuring through,” Bannister noted.

Download a PDF of the SC House Republican Agenda HERE.