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.

The State Ethics Commission is losing an influential attorney who was recently silenced by the commission’s director.

Attorney Cathy Hazelwood said she will leave the commission after 15 years of service to work at the Department of Education under Republican Superintendent-elect Molly Spearman.Hazelwood was a go-to source for interpretation of ethics laws and media frequently sought her expertise when ethics complaints were filed against public officials.

However, the commission recently created a policy to channel all media inquiries to the director, Herb Hayden.

The policy came close to a year after Hazelwood publically disagreed with Hayden over how to handle an ethics case involving Governor Nikki Haley.

The commission is advertising for a new attorney to fill the position.

Republican Rep. Kris Crawford has vacated his seat in House District 63, a month after being elected unopposed to a fifth term.

Crawford said the commute to the state capital and his professional duties as a physician were wearing him out.

The primary will be February 24, 2015, followed by a special election on April 14.

A state House study panel considering ethics reforms has endorsed legislation to remove lawmakers’ ability to police themselves on legal issues. A similar bill failed in the Senate during the last legislative session.

The draft proposal unanimously approved by the panel would create a new independent commission to investigate allegations against public officers. Opponents to last year’s proposal believed the measure to be unconstitutional since the state constitution explicitly requires the House and Senate to discipline their own members.

Additional ethics bills have been prefiled to increase lobbying fees, change reporting dates, and remedy the unconstitutional definition of “committee” for campaign finance purposes. The decision to push several separate bills rather than an overall ethics reform measure is a significant difference from last session.

The state’s Supreme Court has issued a stay allowing voters to choose a House District 114 candidate on November 4, as originally planned. The ruling suspends the recent decision by the State Election Commission to postpone the election for former House Speaker Bobby Harrell’s seat until December.

Although the vote will take place, there is still a possibility the results will not count. The court may rule on the underlying case by deciding to allow the results of Tuesday’s election or to throw out those results and side with the commission’s special election plan.