A bond hearing will be held this morning for suspended South Carolina state Rep. Jim Merrill. Merrill was indicted last week on two counts of misconduct in office and 28 counts of ethics violations.

The indictments span the course of his 15-year tenure in office. Merrill allegedly failed to report money received from lobbyists, used his office for financial gain, received payments through his company to influence a public official, and failed to file certain campaign finance reports. Though most of the charges are misdemeanors, three are felonies.

Merrill was suspended from office after the indictments were filed.

Yesterday, Gov. Pat McCrory formally requested a recount in his race for governor against Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper.

Cooper has already declared victory, but with the race within 10,000 votes, McCrory is not conceding and there is no answer to when the race will officially end. This week, the head of the conservative group Civitas Institute filed a federal lawsuit to block the counting of votes cast using same-day registration on Election Day. McCrory has also filed challenges in many counties alleging voter fraud, claiming ballots were cast by dead people and felons.

South Carolina legislators sent two ethics bills to Gov. Nikki Haley yesterday.

One bill requires officeholders to report private sources of income. The other requires the State Ethics Commission to independently investigate complaints against lawmakers.

House and Senate ethics committees currently oversee campaign finance filings and handle complaints against their colleagues while the State Ethics Commission oversees all other public officials.

The second regular session of the 121st South Carolina General Assembly adjourned Thursday, June 2.

The Legislature is expected to return for a special session on Wednesday, June 15, and may continue in statewide session, if necessary, until not later than June 22.

Prior to adjournment, both houses were working to reach an agreement on an ethics reform bill requiring complaints against legislators to be independently investigated. Senate Judiciary Chairman Larry Martin is optimistic a compromise can pass during the upcoming special session.

The South Carolina Senate passed ethics reform legislation yesterday related to investigations of lawmakers and financial disclosure requirements. One bill gives the State Ethics Commission the authority to investigate legislators accused of ethics violations. The bill also puts eight seats on the commission with four picked by the governor and two picked by each party’s legislative leadership.

Another bill requires lawmakers to disclose the sources of their private income, but falls short of requiring them to disclose the amount of the income. Together, the bills represent the Senate’s first real steps towards ethics reform, despite pushing from the House and the governor for the last four years.

Both houses now need to agree on versions of both bills.

A special election will be held May 17 for South Carolina State Senate District 4. If necessary, a primary election will take place on March 22, and a primary runoff will take place on April 5.

The seat was left vacant following the death of William O’Dell on January 7, 2016.

South Carolina Sen. Billy O’Dell died of a heart attack at the age of 77. The fiscally liberal Republican was due to file for reelection in March 2016 for an eighth term in office.

Pending senate notification, the South Carolina Election Commission will set a special election date. There is expected to be a March 22 primary, followed by an April 5 runoff, if necessary, and a May 17 general election. The special election would usually be held on May 10 but state offices will be closed in celebration of Confederate Memorial Day.

Photo of Sen. Billy O’Dell courtesy of the South Carolina Senate website.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation is instituting a new rule regarding employees who leave state employment to work for state contractors.

The new policy will prohibit former employees from working on new road construction projects for 365 days after leaving the department.

The department’s acting secretary says the new policy will help clarify state ethics law and ensure there is no perception of impropriety.

The first regular session of the 121st South Carolina General Assembly adjourned Thursday, June 4, without reaching an agreement on a budget for the state’s next fiscal year.

The legislature will return to Columbia for a three-day special session starting June 16.

It is also expected to return later in June for a second special session to deal with vetoes and to determine how to use more than $300 million in state surplus funds.

Ethics reform is again in the hands of the Senate after the House voted overwhelmingly to overhaul ethics laws.

House Bill 3722 would give the State Ethics Commission authority to investigate legislators, would amend certain unconstitutional campaign finance definitions, and would remove a lobbyist employer’s ability to pay for American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conventions.

The Judiciary Committee has reported the bill as favorable with an amendment to remove certain whistleblower protections.

The State Ethics Commission has a new attorney following the departure of Cathy Hazelwood to the Department of Education at the end of 2014.

Michael Burchstead is the commission’s new general counsel after leaving his post as an assistant attorney general under Attorney General Alan Wilson.

Hazelwood’s exit put on hold all hearings requiring an attorney, including a hearing regarding whether Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster accepted $72,200 in improper campaign contributions.

Gov. Nikki Haley and state House Speaker Jay Lucas are attempting to revive ethics reform after the Senate voted down a bill to overhaul ethics laws. Lucas expects the House to pass and send to the Senate an omnibus ethics bill combining several House bills previously passed separately.

House Bill 3722 would give the State Ethics Commission authority to investigate legislators, amend certain unconstitutional campaign finance definitions, and require additional transparency reporting by public officials.

Jay Jordan has won the Republican primary for the vacant seat in House District 63. Unofficial results have Jordan with 1,927 votes, Robby Hill with 1,076, and Elijah Jones with 517.

No Democrats filed to run in the special election on April 14, 2015.

The vacancy was created when Republican Kris Crawford resigned his seat a month after being elected unopposed to a fifth term.

Photo of the South Carolina Capitol Building by Nikopoley on Wikimedia Commons.

The Senate has voted down a bill to overhaul ethics laws. Senate Bill 1 failed by a 19 to 24 vote on Wednesday, February 11.

The main issue Senators could not agree on was whether lawmakers should be involved in the process of investigating themselves. The majority of senators believed an independent panel to investigate senators’ conduct solves a problem that does not exist.

The Senate still has a chance to consider a similar version of the bill passed unanimously by the House.