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"( ) `State board, commission, or council' means an agency created by legislation which has statewide jurisdiction and which exercises some of the sovereign power of the State."

SECTION 18. The first six lines of Section 8-13-320(9) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 184 of 1993, 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 Chapter 17 of Title 2 and, upon complaint by an individual, of an alleged violation of this chapter or Chapter 17 of Title 2 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 or Chapter 17 of Title 2 is entitled to the administrative hearing process contained in this section."

SECTION 19. Section 8-13-320(10)(f), of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 184 of 1993, 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 commission panel or the commission for an order quashing a subpoena issued under this section."

SECTION 20. Chapter 13, Title 8 of 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 21. Section 8-13-715 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

If the expenses are incurred out of state, the public official, or public member, or public employee 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 22. 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

(a) as required by law; or

(b) before a court under the unified judicial system.

(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 23. 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 the 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 24. Section 8-13-740(A)(6) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, 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 the South Carolina Department of

SECTION 25. Section 8-13-775 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is 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 bids if the public official, public member, or public employee has not performed an official function regarding the contract."

SECTION 26. Section 8-13-785 of the 1976 Code, as added by 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

"Section 8-13-785. (A) Nothing in Chapter 13 of Title 8 prevents an elected official from communicating, in writing, with a board or commission member or employee, on behalf of a constituent relating to delays in obtaining a hearing, discourteous treatment, scheduling, or other matters not affecting the outcome of pending matters, provided that the elected official, an individual with whom the elected official is associated, or a business with which the elected official is associated is not representing the constituent for compensation.

(B) The provisions of Articles 1 through 11 of this chapter do not prohibit a public official from contracting with the State or a governmental entity when the contract is awarded in accordance with Chapter 35 of Title 11."

SECTION 27. Section 8-13-1110(B) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

"(B) Each of the following public officials, public members, and public employees must file a statement of economic interests with the appropriate supervisory office, unless otherwise provided:

(1) a person appointed to fill the unexpired term of an elective office;

(2) a salaried member of a state board, commission, or agency;

(4) the city administrator, city manager, or chief municipal administrative official or employee, by whatever title;

(5) the county manager, county administrator, county supervisor, or chief county administrative official or employee, by whatever title;

(6) the chief administrative official or employee of each political subdivision including, but not limited to, school districts, libraries, regional planning councils, airport commissions, hospitals, community action agencies, water and sewer districts, and development commissions;

(7) a school district and county superintendent of education;

(8) a school district board member and a county board of education member;

(9) the chief finance official or employee and the chief purchasing official or employee of each agency, institution, or facility of state government, and of each county, municipality, or other political subdivision including, but not limited to, those named in item (6);

(10) a public official;

(11) a public member who serves on a state board, commission, or council;

(12) a consultant".

SECTION 28. Section 8-13-1120(A)(3) and (4) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

"(3)(a) the description, value, and location of all real property owned and options to purchase real property during the reporting period by a filer or a member of the filer's immediate family if:

(i) there have been any public improvements of more than two hundred dollars on or adjacent to the real property within the reporting period and the public improvements are known to the filer; or

(ii) the interest can reasonably be expected to be the subject of a conflict of interest; or

(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

SECTION 29. Section 8-13-1120(A)(6)(a) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

"(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 30. Chapter 13, Title 8 of 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 by a lobbyist's principal, regardless of whether or not the member attended the event, if the invitation was extended to the entire membership of the House, Senate, or General Assembly, and the invitation was accepted by the House or Senate Invitations Committee pursuant to House or Senate rules."

SECTION 31. Chapter 13, Title 8 of 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 32. Section 8-13-1150 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is 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

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

SECTION 33. Section 8-13-1160 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

"(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.

(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 34. Section 8-13-1300(4) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is 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 35. Section 8-13-1300(7) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

"(7) `Contribution' means a gift, subscription, loan, guarantee upon which collection is made, forgiveness of a loan, an advance, in-kind contribution or expenditure, a deposit of money, or anything of value made to a candidate or committee to influence an election or ballot measure; or payment or compensation for the personal service of another person which is rendered for any purpose to a candidate or committee without charge. `Contribution' does not include volunteer personal services on behalf of a candidate or committee for which the volunteer receives no compensation from any source."

SECTION 36. Section 8-13-1300(9) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is 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

SECTION 37. Section 8-13-1300(17) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

"(17) `Independent expenditure' means:

(a) an expenditure made by a person to advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or ballot measure; and

(b) when taken as a whole and in context, the expenditure made by a person expressly to urge a particular result in an election but which is not:

(i) made to;

(ii) controlled by;

(iii) coordinated with;

(iv) requested by; or

(v) made upon consultation with a candidate or an agent of a candidate.

Expenditures by party committees or expenditures by legislative caucus committees based upon party affiliation are considered to be controlled by, coordinated with, requested by, or made upon consultation with a candidate or an agent of a candidate."

SECTION 38. Section 8-13-1300(23) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

"(23) `Noncandidate committee' means a committee that is not a campaign committee for a candidate but is organized to influence an election or to support or oppose a candidate, or public official, or ballot measure, which receives contributions or makes expenditures in excess of five hundred dollars in the aggregate during an election cycle. `Noncandidate committee' does not include political action committees that contribute solely to federal campaigns."

SECTION 39. Section 8-13-1308 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is 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 dollars or more must file an initial certified campaign report fifteen days before an election as provided in subsection (D).

(B) Following the filing of an initial certified campaign report, additional certified campaign reports must be filed within ten days

(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 period of time 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 subsections (B) and (D), if a pre-election campaign report provided for in subsection (D) is required to be filed within thirty days of the end of the prior 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 provisions of subsection (D) no later than fifteen days before the election.

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

(1) the total of contributions accepted by the candidate or committee;

(2) the name and address of each person making a contribution of more than one hundred dollars and the date of receipt of each contribution;

(4) the name and address of each person to whom an expenditure is made from campaign funds, including the date, amount, purpose, and beneficiary of the expenditure."

SECTION 40. Section 8-13-1310(B) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

"(B) 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 41. Section 8-13-1310(C) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

"(C) Within two five days of receipt, a copy of all campaign reports received by the State Ethics Commission must be forwarded to the State Election Commission and the clerk of court in the county of residence of the person required to file."

SECTION 42. Section 8-13-1346 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

"Section 8-13-1346. (A) A person may not use or authorize the use of public funds, property, or time to influence the outcome of an election.

(B) This section does not prohibit the incidental use of time and materials for preparation of a newsletter reporting activities of the body of which a public official is a member.

(C) This section does not prohibit the expenditure of public resources by a governmental entity to prepare informational materials, conduct public meetings, or respond to news media or citizens' inquiries concerning a ballot measure affecting that governmental entity; however, a governmental entity may not use public funds, property, or time in an attempt to influence the outcome of a ballot measure."

SECTION 43. Section 8-13-1354 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

"Section 8-13-1354. A candidate, committee, or other person who which makes an independent expenditure in the distribution, posting, or broadcasting of a communication to voters supporting or opposing a public official, a candidate, or a ballot measure must place his name and address on the printed matter or have his name spoken clearly on a broadcast so as to identify accurately the person and his address. Campaign buttons, balloons, yard signs, or similar items are exempt from this requirement."

SECTION 44. Section 8-13-1356(C) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 248 of 1991, is amended to read:

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