The House of Representatives spent its second week in intensive committee work this week, preparing and debating legislation so it has time to come to the House floor before the May 1 “crossover” deadline.
The Republican Caucus did achieve another conservative victory this week as we ushered through the sixth of our seven 2008 Agenda items – a tax break for married couples.
In the late 1990s, the House Republican Caucus made it a priority to eliminate the marriage penalty, an unfair portion of the tax code that charged married couples a higher tax rate than if each spouse filed as “single.”
This year, we sought to reward married couples by eliminating a tax bracket for married couples, completely eliminating more of a married couple’s income from state income tax. The tax cut is small – only about $10 million – but we believe it is symbolic of our desire to decrease revenues coming into state coffers while rewarding the couples who put in the necessary effort to make a marriage work.
Approval of this bill builds on other tax-cutting successes in recent years, including the elimination of the grocery tax, slashing the property tax, and eliminating an entire tax bracket for all taxpayers last year. All told, we have returned more than $1 billion to the taxpayers in the past three years.
In other action this week:
The Governor signed a bill allowing anybody over the age of 18 the opportunity to purchase a handgun. Previously, the minimum age was 21. However, as Republicans pointed out during the debate, 18-year-olds can fight and die for their country and use firearms in the military, but apparently aren’t old enough in civilian life. The law goes into effect immediately. We were the only state in the South that had set 21 as the minimum age for gun ownership.
The House impasse with the Senate over immigration reform took some tentative steps forward this week as agreements were reached on a few key sticking points – namely that any company with a public contract must verify a worker’s legal status with a driver’s license or through the federal e-Verify program. South Carolina deserves strong legislation to deter illegal immigration and I plan to deliver.
Thank you for the privilege of serving you in Columbia. If I can be of assistance with a state agency, or if you have ideas on issues you want me to share with the rest of the General Assembly, please don’t hesitate to contact me at 963-0337 or in Columbia at 803 734-3045.