South Carolina General Assembly
118th Session, 2009-2010

Download This Version in Microsoft Word format

Bill 4542

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

AMENDED

May 26, 2010

H. 4542

Introduced by Reps. Harrison, Weeks and McLeod

S. Printed 5/26/10--S.

Read the first time April 21, 2010.

            

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 8-13-320, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE STATE ETHICS COMMISSION, SO AS TO DELETE THE PROHIBITION OF THE RELEASE OF INFORMATION UNTIL FINAL DISPOSITION OF AN ETHICS INVESTIGATION AND REQUIRE THAT THE INFORMATION MAY NOT BE RELEASED UNTIL A FINDING OF PROBABLE CAUSE HAS BEEN MADE.

Amend Title To Conform

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 8-13-320(10)(g) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 387 of 2006, is further amended to read:

"(g)    All investigations, inquiries, hearings, and accompanying documents must remain confidential until final disposition of a matter a finding of probable cause or dismissal unless the respondent waives the right to confidentiality. The willful release of confidential information is a misdemeanor, and any person releasing such confidential information, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year."

SECTION    2.    Section 8-13-1372 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 8-13-1372.    (A)    The State Ethics Commission appropriate supervisory office, in its discretion, may determine that errors or omissions on campaign reports are inadvertent and unintentional and not an effort to violate a requirement of this chapter and may be handled as technical violations which are not subject to the provisions of this chapter pertaining to ethical violations. Technical violations must remain confidential unless requested to be made public by the candidate filing the report. In lieu of all other penalties, the State Ethics Commission appropriate supervisory office may assess a technical violations penalty not to exceed fifty dollars.

(B)    A violation other than an inadvertent or unintentional violation must be referred to considered by the appropriate supervisory office for appropriate action."

SECTION    3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on May 26, 2010 at 7:54 PM