January 14th is the second Tuesday in January and the First Day of the 2025 Legislative Year. All Committees have been selected and the new Super Majority in both South Carolina Chambers are set and ready to go!
I am sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see which bills hit Committees first and which ones are the first to make it to the floor. How many will make it to the floor with no hearing at all?
The first thing on the Senate floor will be the K-12 Education Lottery Scholarship Bill. How do I know this? Because they are having committee meetings with no public testimony before session starts and it will have already be voted out of full committee so it can be on the calendar. This will make scholarships available for private schools. If you go check out the Calendar for the Legislature at www.scstatehouse.gov you will see when the meetings are and the agenda.
I’m quite sure no one is introducing Feed The Children in Public Schools this year and, if they did, it would have an over inflated cost to institute. Maybe we could use lottery money for that?
The House has a couple of study Committees scheduled, the important of which is the Joint Committee on Childcare but they haven’t changed the makeup on that committee so it will probably be a stalemate all year – again. Sometimes no change is good but not in this case.
It’s really easy to keep up with what’s going on if you will do your homework. Don’t let legislators slip in sub-committee hearings where the public is ignored, left out and disenfranchised.
Remember; you elect these people and they should hear from you. Some will not listen and will barrel through because you let them.
Show up and Speak Up! It’s your right!
WHILE I BREATHE 