Just one month into its session, the General Assembly is close to fulfilling the agenda laid out by its Republican majority.

Most of the action so far has taken place in the House, where a slew of big bills have breezed through. With new rules in place in the Senate, the GOP's bills stand a better chance than ever of making it into law.

Bills passed by the House include:

Cutting the state's income tax to 4.75 percent from 7 percent over a decade

Making the elected positions of superintendent of education and the secretary of state gubernatorial appointments

Providing tax credits to small businesses

Making it easier to set up charter schools

House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, says lawmakers simply are doing their jobs.

"We work hard, and we focus," he said. "We don't wait around for two months before we pass legislation."

However, Democrats and community activists accuse the highly disciplined GOP majority of creating a legislative juggernaut immune to dissent.

When the House was considering charter school bills recently, for instance, Republicans voted to shut down debate within minutes.

"It's an abuse of power when you don't want to have meaningful debate, and they just shove things in our face," said House Democratic leader Harry Ott, D-Calhoun. "We know we're going to lose, but it's important for us to have our say."

"It's a little scary," said Sue Berkowitz, director of the S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center. "You don't see the kind of scrutiny these bills deserve when they move through this fast."

The dynamics in this year's legislative session also are a little different.

Legislators don't face re-election this year, and controversial bills generally are more likely to pass in nonelection years. Also, several of the bills that have breezed through the House passed that body last year, only to die in the Senate.

Republican House leaders also are using their "Palmetto Pledge" as a script.

The pledge is a promise to work toward passing the top five GOP agenda items in the first 90 days. Four of those five already have been sent to the Senate.