Murrell Smith, Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives, addressed the First Monday Club this past Monday. First Monday is a Republican group that hosts political and governmental speakers at their monthly luncheons.
Smith was there to inform the attendees about what to expect in the legislative session that is about to begin.
“I believe South Carolina is moving in the right direction under the leadership of Governor (Henry) McMaster and Lieutenant Governor (Pam) Evette. What they have done has really set South Carolina apart,” said Smith.
Evette was in attendance at Monday's luncheon, as was former speaker and former ambassador to Canada David Wilkins.
Smith said that people are moving to the Palmetto State “because it's a great state to live with great people and a good business climate.”
“The thing that I'm most proud of is what's going on in our economy,” said Smith. He praised Wilkins' emphasis on promoting the economy when he was speaker.
Smith was elected to the House in 2000, during Wilkins' tenure as speaker. Smith became speaker in 2022 and is currently the chairman of the National Speakers Conference. Greenville will be serving as host this September to the conference's annual meeting.
72,000 new jobs were created in the state last year, said Smith. He wants to “continue to have South Carolina lead this nation in economic development and in creating jobs.”
Even though Smith says that the state is going in the right direction, he also said, “there are certain things that we've got to correct in South Carolina.” One of those things is the state's income tax, which is the highest in the Southeast.
South Carolina needs to be competitive with the other southeastern states, said Smith, noting that other southeastern states are either lowering or eliminating income taxes.
He said that he will pursue income tax reduction for South Carolina this year.
Smith continued, “46% of wage earners in this state do not pay any income tax, and that is not a fair tax system.” He feels that everybody should have to pay something. “We need to have a flat rate and not have a progressive rate.”
The speaker said that he will push liquor liability reform. He said that those who are good actors should not have to pay as much liability insurance as the bad ones. He also supports tort reform.
Another perennial issue is that of infrastructure. “The problem with our roads and infrastructure didn't happen overnight and it's not going to be cured overnight,” said Smith. He said that McMaster has led the way in putting any surplus funds into roads and bridges.
“There are a lot of things that we need to do to modernize our infrastructure and most importantly we're going to have to devote more resources and more money. . . That will be a bill that's going to be fast-tracked because we've got to modernize our infrastructure,” said Smith.
The subject of energy and data centers also came up during Smith's remarks. He said that the purpose of the Energy Conservation Act that was passed last year is to speed up permitting of new energy generation.
“We are in an AI arms race right now with China and we have to win that arms race,” Smith declared. How to do it? Build infrastructure. “You have to create more power generation.” He said that Dominion, Duke Energy and Santee-Cooper have all announced plans to increase energy generation.
“I am very proud of this bill,” he said.
To win that AI arms race will require energy-consuming data centers and he wanted to allay the concerns of some in the audience by saying that it is a myth that rate-payers are subsidizing these centers.
“It's actually the opposite. Data centers are subsidizing rate-payers,” he declared. He said that less water is being taken and is being recycled more and that it is not true that new power generation is just for data centers.
“Data centers are necessary to live in the 21st-Century economy,” he asserted, adding, “You can say, 'Not in my back yard, not in my state, we don't need them,' but then we're going to be at a disadvantage.”
The speaker briefly touched upon some other subjects as well. He said that the state will work with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) on the issue of illegal immigration. “We need to continue to enforce the immigration laws and we also need to make sure that we are not paying benefits to those who are here illegally,” he said.
Smith will continue to push to reform the Judicial Merit Selection Commission, which has been a hot topic in recent years.
The speaker wants to stop mail order abortion pills from coming into the state. He also supports parental rights in education. “Parents need to be in charge of their children, not the government.”
