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The following Bill was taken up.

H. 4070 -- Reps. Sheheen and Wilkins: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 8-13-100, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE DEFINITIONS USED IN THE ETHICS, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY, AND CAMPAIGN REFORM ACT OF 1991, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEFINITION OF "CANDIDATE" ALSO MEANS A PERSON ON WHOSE BEHALF WRITE-IN VOTES ARE SOLICITED.

Reps. HODGES, WILKINS and JENNINGS proposed the following Amendment No. 1 (Doc Name L:\council\legis\amend\N05\7559DW.94).

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:

/SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 8-13-325. The State Ethics Commission shall retain fees generated by the registration of lobbyists and lobbyist's principals to offset costs associated with the administration and regulation of lobbyists and lobbyist's principals."

SECTION 2. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 8-13-717. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any public employee who accepts honoraria, compensation, or reimbursement of actual expenses for speaking to a public or private group shall disclose on his statement of economic interests the organization which provided the honoraria, compensation, or reimbursement the amount of such payment or reimbursement, and the purpose, date, and location of the speaking engagement. Any public employee who does not file a statement or economic interests but who accepts honoraria, compensation, or reimbursement for speaking to a public or private group shall report this same information in writing to the chief administrative official or employee of the agency with which he or she is associated."

SECTION 3. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 8-13-1125. Notwithstanding Sections 2-17-90(C) and 8-13-710, the reporting requirement of Section 8-13-1120(A)(9) does not apply to an event to which a member of the General Assembly is invited

(1) was extended to the member of the General Assembly by virtue of his membership in an authorized group pursuant to Section 2-17-90(A)(1);

(2) was in writing; and

(3) was delivered to the chairman of an authorized group other than the entire membership of the House, Senate, or General Assembly prior to the actual event for which the invitation was extended, or if the invitation was extended to the entire membership of the House, Senate, or General Assembly, the invitation was delivered to the House or Senate Invitations Committee pursuant to House or Senate rules."

SECTION 4. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 8-13-1127. The House and Senate Invitations Committees shall keep an updated list of invitations accepted by the body. The list must be available for public inspection during regular business hours."

SECTION 5. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 8-13-1374. The failure to file a report or statement with the appropriate supervisory office, as required under the provisions of this chapter, is deemed to have occurred in Richland County."

SECTION 6. Section 2-17-10 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended by adding an appropriately numbered item to read:

"( ) `Official capacity' means activities which:

(a) arise because of the position held by the public official or public employee;

(b) involve matters which fall within the official responsibility of the agency, the public official, or the public employee; and

(c) are services the agency would normally provide and for which the public official or public employee would be subject to expense reimbursement by the agency with which the public official or public employee is associated."

SECTION 7. Section 2-17-65(C) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"(C) If, after notification by the Secretary of State that a required statement has not been filed, the person fails to file the necessary notices and reports, the Secretary of State shall, upon a finding of probable cause, notify the Attorney General who shall proceed under the provisions of Section 2-17-70 shall file a complaint against the person in accordance with the provisions of Section 8-13-320(9) and (10)."

SECTION 8. Section 2-17-90(C) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

SECTION 9. Section 2-17-90(F) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 241 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"(F) The provisions of this section do not apply to a public official or public employee who pays for his lodging, transportation, entertainment, meals, food, or beverages at a function to which he has been invited by a lobbyist's principal or pays the face value of a ticket to attend a ticketed event sponsored by a lobbyist's principal."

SECTION 10. Section 2-17-90 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended by adding:

"(G) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, a public official or public employee may accept lodging, transportation, entertainment, food, meals, beverages, or an invitation to a function paid for by a lobbyist's principal if it is provided to the public official or public employee solely on the basis that the spouse of the public official or public employee is an official or employee of the providing lobbyist's principal and the spouse is receiving the lodging, transportation, entertainment, food, meals, beverages, or invitation purely incidental to the spouse's office or employment with the lobbyist's principal and the public official or public employee is receiving it only as the spouse of an official or employee of the providing lobbyist's principal."

SECTION 11. Section 2-17-100 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"Section 2-17-100. A public official, public member, or a public employee acting in an official capacity may not receive anything of value from a lobbyist's principal for speaking before a public or private group. A public official, public member, or public employee is not prohibited by this section from accepting a meal provided in conjunction with a speaking engagement where all participants are entitled to the same meal and the meal is of nominal value and incidental to the speaking engagement. Notwithstanding the limitations of Section 2-17-90, a public official, public member, or public employee may receive payment or reimbursement for actual expenses incurred for a speaking engagement. The expenses must be reasonable and must be incurred in a reasonable time and manner in which to accomplish the purpose of the engagement. The payment or reimbursement must be disclosed by the lobbyist's principal as required by

(4) the Speaker of the House, in the case of a member of the House of Representatives."

SECTION 12. Section 8-13-100(5) and (12), of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"(5) `Candidate' means a person who seeks appointment, nomination for election, or election to a state or local office, or authorizes or knowingly permits the collection or disbursement of money for the promotion of his candidacy or election. It also means a person on whose behalf write-in votes are solicited if the person has knowledge of such solicitation. `Candidate' does not include a person within the meaning of Section 431(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1976.

(12) `Election' means:

(a) a general, special, primary, or runoff election;

(b) a convention or caucus of a political party held to nominate a candidate; or

(c) the election of delegates to a constitutional convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of this State; or

(d) an election at which a ballot measure or referendum appears on the ballot."

SECTION 13. Section 8-13-100, of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended by adding:

SECTION 14. Section 8-13-100 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended by adding an appropriately numbered item to read:

"( ) `Official capacity' means activities which:

(a) arise because of the position held by the public official, public member, or public employee;

(b) involve matters which fall within the official responsibility of the agency, the public official, the public member, or the public employee; and

(c) are services the agency would normally provide and for which the public official, public member, or public employee would be subject to expense reimbursement by the agency with which the public official, public member, or public employee is associated."

SECTION 15. The first seven lines of Section 8-13-320(9) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, are further amended to read:

"(9) to initiate or receive complaints and make investigations, as provided in item (10), of statements filed or allegedly failed to be filed under the provisions of this chapter and Article 17, Chapter 2 and, upon complaint by an individual, of an alleged violation of this chapter by a public official, public member, or public employee except members of or candidates for the General Assembly unless otherwise provided for under House or Senate rules. Any person charged with a violation of this chapter is entitled to the administrative hearing process contained in this section."

SECTION 16. Section 8-13-320(10)(f), of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"(f) The commission may order testimony to be taken in any investigation or hearing by deposition before a person who is designated by the commission and has the power to administer oaths and, in these instances, to compel testimony. The commission may administer oaths and affirmation for the testimony of witnesses and issue subpoenas by approval of the chairman, subject to judicial enforcement, and issue subpoenas for the procurement of witnesses and materials including books, papers, records, documents, or other tangible objects relevant to the agency's investigation by affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the commission approval of the chairman, subject to judicial enforcement. A person to whom a subpoena has been issued may move before a

SECTION 17. Section 8-13-715 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"Section 8-13-715. A public official, or public member, or public employee acting in an official capacity may not receive anything of value for speaking before a public or private group. A public official or public member is not prohibited by this section from accepting a meal provided in conjunction with a speaking engagement where all participants are entitled to the same meal and the meal is of nominal value and incidental to the speaking engagement. Notwithstanding the limitations of Section 2-17-90, a public official or public member may receive payment or reimbursement for actual expenses incurred for a speaking engagement. The expenses must be reasonable and must be incurred in a reasonable time and manner in which to accomplish the purpose of the engagement. Any public official or public member shall disclose on his statement of economic interests the organization which paid for or reimbursed actual expenses, the amount of such payment or reimbursement, and the purpose, date, and location of the speaking engagement. If the expenses are incurred out of state, the public official or public member incurring the expenses must receive prior written approval for the payment or reimbursement from:

(1) the Governor, in the case of a public official of a state agency who is not listed in an item in this section;

(2) a statewide constitutional officer, in the case of himself;

(3) the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, in the case of a member of the Senate;

(4) the Speaker of the House, in the case of a member of the House of Representatives; or

(5) the chief executive of the governmental entity in all other cases."

SECTION 18. Section 8-13-740(A)(4) and (5) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, are further amended to read:

"(4) A public official, public member, or public employee of a county, an individual with whom the public official, public member, or public employee is associated, or a business with which the public official, public member, or public employee is associated may not knowingly represent a person before any an agency, unit, or subunit of that county for which the public official, public member, or public employee has official responsibility except:

(a) as required by law; or

(5) A public official, public member, or public employee of a municipality, an individual with whom the public official, public member, or public employee is associated, or a business with which the public official, public member, or public employee is associated may not knowingly represent a person before any agency, unit, or subunit of that municipality for which the public official, public member, or public employee has official responsibility except as required by law."

SECTION 19. Section 8-13-740(A)(6) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"(6) A public employee, other than those specified in items (4) and (5) of this subsection, receiving compensation other than reimbursement or per diem payments for his official duties, an individual with whom he is associated, or a business with which he is associated may not knowingly represent a person before an entity on the same level of government for which the public official, public member, or public employee has official responsibility except:

(a) as required by law;

(b) before a court under the unified judicial system; or

(c) in a contested case, as defined in Section 1-23-310, excluding a contested case for a rate or price fixing matter before the South Carolina Public Service Commission or South Carolina Insurance Commission, or in an agency's consideration of the drafting and promulgation of regulations under Chapter 23 of Title 1 in a public hearing."

SECTION 20. Section 8-13-745(D) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"(D) The provisions of this section do not apply to any court of the unified judicial system or to the Administrative Law Judge Division."

SECTION 21. Section 8-13-775 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"Section 8-13-775. A public official, public member, or public employee may not have an economic interest in a contract with the State or its political subdivisions if the public official, public member, or public employee is authorized to perform an official function relating to the contract. Official function means writing or preparing the contract specifications, acceptance of bids, award of the contract, or other action on the preparation or award of such the contract. This section is not intended to infringe on or prohibit public employment contracts with this State or a political subdivision of this State nor does it prohibit the award of contracts awarded through a process of public notice and competitive

SECTION 22. Section 8-13-1110(B)(12) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"(12) a consultant."

SECTION 23. Section 8-13-1120(A)(3)(b), (4), and the first five lines of (6)(a) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, are further amended to read:

"(b) if the a sale, lease, or rental of personal or real property is to a state, county, or municipal instrumentality of government, a copy of the contract, lease, or rental agreement must be attached to the statement of economic interests; or

(4) the sale, lease, or rental of personal property by the filer or a member of the filer's immediate family if the sale, lease, or rental of personal property is to a state, county, or municipal instrumentality of government. In the sales, leases, or rentals, a copy of the contract, lease, or rental agreement must be attached to the statement of economic interests;

(6)(a) a listing by name and address of each creditor to whom the filer or member of the filer's immediate family owed a debt in excess of five hundred dollars at any time during the reporting period, if the creditor is subject to regulation by the filer or is seeking or has sought a business or financial arrangement with the filer's agency or department other than for a credit card or retail installment contract, and the original amount of the debt and amount outstanding unless:"

SECTION 24. Section 8-13-1150 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"Section 8-13-1150. A consultant must file a statement of economic interests for the previous calendar year with the appropriate supervisory office no later than twenty-one days after entering into a contractual relationship with the State or a political subdivision of the State and must file an update within ten days from the date the consultant knows or should have known that new economic interests in an entity have arisen in which the consultant or a member of the consultant's immediate family has economic interests:

(1) where the entity's bid was evaluated by the consultant and who was subsequently awarded the contract by the State, county, municipality, or a political subdivision of any of these entities that contracted with the consultant; or

(2) where the entity was awarded a contract by the consultant."

"(A) The Senate Ethics Committee and the House of Representatives Ethics Committee must forward a copy of each statement filed with it to the State Ethics Commission within two five business days of receipt."

SECTION 26. Section 8-13-1160(B) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"(B) Within two five business days of receipt, a copy of all statements of economic interests received by the State Ethics Commission must be forwarded to the clerk of court in the county of residence of the filing official or employee."

SECTION 27. Section 8-13-1300(4) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"(4) `Candidate' means a person who seeks appointment, nomination for election, or election to a statewide or local office, or authorizes or knowingly permits the collection or disbursement of money for the promotion of his candidacy or election. It also means a person on whose behalf write-in votes are solicited if the person has knowledge of such solicitation. `Candidate' does not include a candidate within the meaning of Section 431(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1976."

SECTION 28. Section 8-13-1300(9) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"(9) `Election' means:

(a) a general, special, primary, or runoff election;

(b) a convention or caucus of a political party held to nominate a candidate; or

(c) the election of delegates to a constitutional convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of this State. ; or

(d) an election at which a ballot measure or referendum appears on the ballot."

SECTION 29. Section 8-13-1308 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 248 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"Section 8-13-1308. (A) Upon the receipt or expenditure of campaign contributions totaling, in an accumulated aggregate, five hundred dollars or more, a candidate or committee required to file a statement of organization pursuant to Section 8-13-1304 must file an initial certified campaign report within ten days of these initial receipts or expenditures. However, a candidate or a committee that does not receive or expend campaign contributions totaling, in an accumulated aggregate, five hundred

(B) Following the filing of an initial certified campaign report, additional certified campaign reports must be filed within ten days following the end of each calendar quarter in which contributions are received or expenditures are made, whether before or after an election until the campaign account undergoes final disbursement pursuant to the provisions of Section 8-13-1370.

(C) Campaign reports filed by a candidate must be certified by the candidate. Campaign reports filed by a committee must be certified by a duly authorized officer of the committee.

(D)(1) At least fifteen days before an election, a certified campaign report must be filed showing contributions of more than one hundred dollars and expenditures to or by the candidate or committee for the period ending twenty days before the election. The candidate or committee must maintain a current list during the twenty-day period before the election commencing at the beginning of the calendar quarter of the election of all contributions of more than one hundred dollars. The list must be open to public inspection upon request.

(2) A committee immediately shall file a campaign report listing expenditures if it makes an independent expenditure or an incurred expenditure within twenty days the calendar quarter in which the election is conducted or twenty days before the election, whichever is greater, before the election in excess of:

(a) ten thousand dollars in the case of a candidate for statewide office; or

(b) two thousand dollars in the case of a candidate for any other office.

(3) In the event of a runoff election, candidates or committees are not required to file another campaign report in addition to the reports already required under this section. However, records must remain open to public inspection upon request between the election and the runoff.

(E) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (B), if a pre-election campaign report provided for in subsection (D) is required to be filed in the following calendar quarter, a candidate or committee must combine the quarterly report provided for in subsection (B) and the pre-election report and file the combined report subject to the provision of subsection (D) no later than fifteen days before the election.

(E)(F) Certified campaign reports detailing campaign contributions and expenditures must contain:

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