Ladies and gentlemen,

I hope you and your families are doing well. I just wanted to take this opportunity to give an update on some things that have happened at the State House in Columbia and here in our community.

The South Carolina House of Representatives is officially out of session for the rest of the year, after coming back for a few days this month to tend to some unfinished business from the spring. The coronavirus really impacted the General Assembly’s ability to pass legislation.

In the 2019-20 session, 147 bills were ratified into law — compared to twice that many in 2017-18. Some of the bills that died in committee this session were bills I introduced — including one to allow certain dental services for nursing home residents to be covered under Medicaid; one to require a 30-minute lunch period for public school teachers and librarians; one eliminating college readiness and kindergarten readiness assessments; and one to allow members of the S.C. State Guard to qualify for tax deductions for completing 192 hours of training or drill in a year, instead of 16 hours each month. I look forward to dealing with these and many other pressing issues next session.

It was also my solemn duty to introduce a House Resolution to honor the life and legacy of one of Newberry County’s greatest public servants and one of my predecessors in the House of Representatives, the late Mr. Dave Waldrop Jr., who passed away on Sept. 13. He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives for 16 years, on the Newberry Council on Aging for over 30 years, as a member of the Silverstreet Fire Department, and was a Shriner. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and with everyone whose lives he touched.

County offices have begun in-person absentee voting for the November general election. You may vote absentee in person up until 5 p.m. on Nov. 2. Voter registration for the November election ends on Monday, Oct. 5.

Finally, I want to send my best wishes and prayers to all our students, faculty and school staff as this school year gets going full steam, and to everyone struggling in this trying time.

Your friend and humble servant,

Rick

Rick Martin is the State Representative for District 40 - Newberry County.