By Rep. Bobby Harrell
S.C. Speaker of the House

Our previous legislative session was a  successful one and the people of South Carolina benefited from it.

The tax burden on our citizens was reduced, private property rights were protected and many steps were taken to improve our state’s economy. And on Jan. 9, the 117th General Assembly returned to Columbia to continue working hard for our state’s citizens.

A new year is upon us, elections are over and it is time for us to put partisan differences aside and put the needs of our state’s citizens up front.

Our state has a workers’ compensation system that is in desperate need of repair. Continuous double-digit rate increases and a second-injury fund that has run out of control are beginning to hurt businesses. We are becoming less competitive with our neighboring states, which is detrimental when it comes to recruiting new businesses to our state. We must take decisive actions that will result in the lowering of rates and the improvement of our business climate.

Lowering taxes, making it easier for our businesses to hire workers and grow their businesses and improving quality of life for our citizens are essential elements in creating a prosperous state. We can accomplish all this by nurturing our state’s economy.

In this new legislative session, we must continue our work of advancing South Carolina’s economy. One of the best ways to improve the lives of our citizens is to improve the economy in which we live. New industries, thriving business communities and educated minds are what make a community work. That is what we are trying to build on here.

We are already off to a good start. In the last few months, there have been many bills pre-filed that will help us accomplish this goal for our citizens, particularly two bills that deal with the development of a new industry and the development of great minds.

Our nation is overly dependent on foreign oil and we need to do something about it. Developing an industry around a viable alternative fuel will be like developing a new Silicon Valley. In the coming decade, hydrogen technology is expected to be a $2.6 trillion industry. With our state’s hydrogen resources at the Savannah River Site, University of South Carolina, Clemson University and South Carolina State University, we have an excellent opportunity to be a major leader in this field.

In December, we pre-filed legislation aimed at getting the private sector more involved in this movement. It will take major companies, located here and operating here, for us to take the next big step. This plan is centered on two things: developing a clean alternative fuel and creating jobs for our citizens. It is the challenge of our generation to do something about our dependence on foreign oil, and I believe South Carolina can make a huge contribution to that effort.

There has been a great push lately for our state to develop a knowledge-based economy. You can help develop many aspects of a high-tech industry, but it will not be a success unless you have the manpower to run it. Our children have the talent and the ability to inherit such an economy, but we need to guide them toward this goal.

We need to increase the opportunities the students of our state have to contribute to tomorrow’s knowledge-based economy. That means we need to focus on math, science and engineering fields. Over the last 10 years, our state has fallen behind our neighbors when it comes to students majoring in those areas. To help gain ground, we need incentives that would help them choose to pursue careers in these fields.

In a plan we unveiled before session, we do just that by using our state’s LIFE and Palmetto Fellows scholarships. Students majoring in math and science fields will receive a substantial increase in their LIFE or Palmetto Fellows scholarship. More students will be receiving an education that will translate into high-paying jobs in tomorrow’s knowledge-based economy.

Helping to foster a knowledge-based economy that is run by our state’s best and brightest minds should be a major focus of this legislative session. If we want our state to be a player in the global market, we must not hesitate, because it will be our children and our grandchildren who will benefit from this new knowledge-based economy we are trying to create for them.

These are just a few of the important issues the General Assembly will be debating this year. I, along with the other members of the Legislature, thank the people of South Carolina for the great honor they have bestowed upon us by allowing us to be your representatives in the General Assembly, and I hope that our service will lead to the betterment of our state.

Rep. Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston and Dorchester counties, has served in the S.C. House of Representatives since 1992. He was named chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in 1999 and speaker of the house in 2005.

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