Closed Primaries - H.3310
By a margin of more than 80%, the voters of South Carolina have repeatedly told the legislature that they want closed partisan primaries. Yet despite the bill to do so being filed for more than 20 years, we’ve never even received a subcommittee meeting until now. The external pressure from voters and the actions of the SCFC inside the chamber have led to the closed primary bill, H 3310, being scheduled for a hearing on January 15th at 9am. That’s the good news. Here’s the bad news…
The House rules state that all committee meetings automatically adjourn at 10am when we start session on the floor of the House. Those in leadership who oppose closed primaries decided to use this rule to try and thwart the will of the voters by placing 3 other bills ahead of H 3310 on the committee schedule. If the hour runs out without a vote on 3310, then it will not move on to full committee or the floor for a vote.
The only way to avoid this is for you to make your voice heard. Call the Subcommittee Chairman Jay Jordan, and tell him: that you expect H3310 to advance to full committee, even if that means that his committee reconvenes after session on Thursday. His office can be reached at (803) 734-3114.
Fixing the Roads
No More Excuses. No New Taxes. Just Real Reform.
We’ve all heard politicians claim that they’re going to fix the roads. To fully solve our infrastructure problems will require a governor with the experience and vision to lead. In the meantime, there are a few simple but very important first steps that the legislature should take in order to empower the next Governor to take SCDOT reform even further. NONE of these steps involve raising taxes or fees.
- Decentralize - SCDOT is 4th among all states in miles of roads that it maintains. That is an insane situation. Even more crazy, more than 10,000 miles of these roads are 1/2 mile or less increments of roads around the states. These small increments should be maintained by the counties not the state. Later this week, we’ll file legislation that directs SCDOT to do exactly that while increasing the amount of County Transportation Funds (C Funds) accordingly.
- Accountability - When everyone is responsible, then no one is responsible. Currently our roads are managed by the SCDOT Commission which is appointed by the legislative delegations of the 7 Congressional Districts and the agency Secretary that is nominated by the Governor but answers to the Commission. It’s complicated, opaque, and clearly isn’t working. SCFC member Rep Josiah Magnuson has filed H. 3282 which would make the Lt Governor responsible for SCDOT bringing clear accountability to the state of our roads and bridges.
- Deregulate - There are multiple books of regulations, some of which are contradictory, that road contractors are forced to navigate. These regulatory burdens prevent small contractors and start-ups from competing for contracts, further driving up costs for repairing and replacing roads.
Our first bite at the apple to fix the roads:
Decentralize, Accountability, Deregulate
Judicial Reform
The Foxes Are Still Guarding the Henhouse.
Judicial reform has been a top priority from day one—because justice cannot exist when lawyer-legislators control the judges they practice before.
That conflict of interest is real. It is corrosive. And it erodes public trust.
H.4755 would significantly reduce these conflicts and move South Carolina closer to a judiciary that serves the law, not the political class.
This fight isn’t optional. It’s foundational.
Smaller Government = Smaller Budget
If It’s Not Essential, It Shouldn’t Be Funded.
Real reform means:
- Zero-based budgeting - it’s the law and should be practiced
- Prioritizing needs like roads, bridges, law enforcement over cronyism, earmarks, and pet projects
- Transparency in budget meetings
- And a stringent review of university funding priorities that do not align with taxpayers or parents
Smaller government isn’t a slogan, it’s a discipline.
And fiscal discipline is exactly what Columbia has been missing.
South Carolina stands at a moment where citizen action can still change the outcome. Whether it’s protecting the integrity of our primaries, fixing our roads without raising taxes, restoring trust in our courts, or demanding real fiscal discipline, none of this happens unless the people insist on it. Make the call. Stay engaged. Keep the pressure on. The system won’t reform itself—but it will respond when the people refuse to be ignored.
These will be the issues that we believe will be most likely to come up quickly this year. For our full session agenda click here:
South Carolina Freedom Caucus13h
