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Session-in-Review: Republican Victories for South Carolina

Session-in-Review: Republican Victories for South Carolina

The spring legislative session is over and it’s clear: Republican State Senators are getting things done. We instituted school-choice, reformed the healthcare system, ended the catch-and-release of violent criminals, cut taxes, and voted to protect innocent life. Week in and week out, Senate Republicans passed meaningful legislation, delivering on their promises to the people of South Carolina.

Education freedom took center stage from the outset. Republicans overcame a Democrat filibuster in January to make school choice a reality in South Carolina. But education freedom means more than just school choice; it means freedom from political indoctrination. Responding to the concerns of parents, Senate Republicans passed the Transparency and Integrity in Education Act, ensuring that objective facts, not subjective opinions about American history, shape the curriculum.

Republicans prioritized safe communities. The emergence of fentanyl, the catch-and-release of violent criminals, and the influence of foreign adversaries endanger our neighborhoods and law enforcement. We enacted legislation imposing harsh penalties on fentanyl trafficking and supported bond reform to close the revolving door of the justice system. Senate Republicans acted decisively to protect the State’s borders and passed Senate Bill 576, a bill by Majority Leader Shane Massey to prohibit foreign adversaries, like Russia and Communist China, from acquiring land in South Carolina. The bill awaits a hearing in the House.

Conservatives understand that big government limits freedom. That’s why Senate Republicans spent the spring busting bureaucracy and cutting through red tape. We split the enormous Department of Health and Environmental Control into two separate agencies, one for environmental protection and another for public health. We also eliminated healthcare monopolies by repealing the outdated Certificate of Need program which stifled new investments in healthcare for decades. Injecting free market principles into the healthcare system enables better care at lower costs.

Republicans in the Senate fought to protect the first right, the right to life. We passed a bill to defend the most vulnerable by prohibiting abortion once an unborn child’s heartbeat is detectable. Planned Parenthood and Democrats tried with all their might for abortion-on-demand through five months of pregnancy, but Senate Republicans dug in and refused to let South Carolina be an abortion destination state.

Under conservative fiscal leadership, the people of South Carolina come first. Just weeks ago, Governor McMaster described the annual budget bill as “the most transparent and accountable budget in modern times.” Thanks to Republican leadership in the Senate, the budget includes reduced taxes, funding for conservative priorities, and increased resources for school safety. Teachers now enjoy paid parental leave, and crisis pregnancy centers receive additional support for vulnerable mothers and children.

These are huge wins for South Carolina, and we’re just getting started. The rise of a ‘woke’ agenda threatens our values, communities, and schools. Thankfully, the citizens of the Palmetto State have given Senate Republicans a super majority to hold the line against the slippery slope of liberalism, resulting in significant victories for South Carolina this spring. South Carolina remains a bastion of conservatism because Senate Republicans deliver results.

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PRESS RELEASE: Senate Republicans Keep Political Activism Out of the Classroom

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 10, 2023

SENATE REPUBLICANS KEEP POLITICAL ACTIVISM OUT OF THE CLASSROOM

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Today, Senate Republicans passed H. 3728, the Transparency and Integrity in Education Act. The bill protects students from political indoctrination by identifying certain concepts which must not be included in classroom instruction. According to the bill, no student may be taught that one race is inherently superior to another race or that members of one race bear responsibility for the actions committed in the past by members of the same race.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey celebrated the bill’s passage: “The citizens of South Carolina do not want political activism in the classroom. H. 3728 keeps the subjective opinions of those who want to rewrite American History from creeping into South Carolina’s schools.”

The bill encourages fact-based discussions of history. “I want students to learn about Jim Crow,” Senator Massey added. “I want them to learn about slavery. I want them to learn about the holocaust. I don’t want them to be blamed for those things.”

Republicans are committed to fighting for truth and transparency in education. This legislation requires that all instructional materials be made known to parents and available for review. “This is the year of parental rights, and today the Senate took a giant step toward eliminating classroom secrecy,” said Senator Larry Grooms, a member of the Senate Education Committee. “Parents have a right to know what is being taught in their child’s classroom, and today Republicans enshrined that right into law.”

H. 3728 returns to the House for concurrence and then to the Governor’s desk.

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