Ethics and Infrastructure

 The South Carolina House of Representatives advanced two important milestone pieces of legislation taking a major step forward in overhauling the state’s antiquated ethics laws that govern elected and appointed officials at all levels of government.

The first revamps the makeup of the South Carolina Ethics Commission and turns the Commission into an independent investigative body. The independent commission is given the full resources of the South Carolina law enforcement community and is tasked with investigating ethics complaints made against elected officials. Under the House plan passed this week the State Ethics Commission is comprised of 4 members appointed by the Governor, 4 elected by the Supreme Court, and 2 members elected by each the House and Senate. The measure passed the House unanimously.

The second bans candidate affiliated “Leadership” Political Action Committees (PACs). It even goes one step further and states that elected officials can no longer accept campaign contributions from Leadership PACs. This is an important step toward revamping the campaign finance laws in South Carolina.

Finally, the House Transportation Infrastructure & Management Ad-Hoc Committee finalized a plan to fix our state’s roads and bridges. The bi-partisan committee has been at work since last September to find solutions to fixing our state roads and bridges. The committee agreed on an initial proposal that would serve as a blueprint for one of the most important issues facing our state. The bill is expected to be introduced next week. Right now we are considering our House proposal and the Governor’s proposal from the State of the State. If you have an opinion, I’d like to hear from you.

As always, it is a privilege to serve you in the South Carolina House. If you ever need help with state government, or have any thoughts or concerns about what we are doing, please do not hesitate to contact me.