Gov. Nikki Haley Announces Commission on Ethics Reform

Saying, “this is not Operation Lost Trust” but still insisting that state government is in need of an ethics overhaul, at the State House on Thursday morning, Gov. Nikki Haley announced the creation of an 11-person commission to address ethics reform.

There are at least five different proposals already in existence, one of which is the governor’s, that take on ethics reform. But Haley said the group announced today—formally known as the South Carolina Commission on Ethics Reform—will carry extra weight with the public because it is independent, bi-partisan and absent of any current office-holders. “These people understand the process and were part it and know what it means to earn the public’s trust,” Haley said.

Haley said she has asked the Commission to work quickly, setting a Jan. 28 deadline, for the group to make proposals to “amend current ethics laws” with respect to income disclosure, open records laws, conduct of public officials, lobbying and the use of state and private planes, among other items mentioned in an executive order.

The deadline will fall after the next legislative session has already begun, but Haley said she hopes that by Jan. 28 the commission will have created a blueprint that can be passed, so she and the legislature can focus their efforts on economic issues.

Haley acknowledged that she was affected by “gray areas” when she was plagued by ethics investigations last summer. “I should not have to go to an attorney every year when I file,” she said. “It needs to be clean and clear.”

The commission is expected to conduct at least two public hearings and accept testimony and recommendations from a wide cross-section of South Carolinians.

John Crangle, director of Common Cause and a harsh critic of the state’s ethics laws, said after the press conference that Haley was all but forced into creating a commission because there was so little public buy-in by previous ethics efforts. “I hope some aggressive legislation can come from this, but we’ll have to wait and see if that actually happens.”

The South Carolina Commission on Ethics Reform is as follows:

Henry McMaster (Co-Chair) – Former State Attorney General.

Travis Medlock (Co-Chair) – Former State Attorney General.

Charles Bierbauer – Dean of the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies at the University of South Carolina.

Ben Hagood – Former Assistant US Attorney and member of South Carolina House of Representatives.

C. Kelly Jackson – Served as solicitor or assistant solicitor in the Third and Fifth Judicial Circuit Courts (appointed by Attorney General Alan Wilson’s Public Integrity Unit).

Monica Key – Community Relations Manager and Senior Human Resources Representative at Bridgestone Tire (appointed by House Ethics Chair Roland Smith).

Bill Rogers – Executive Director of the South Carolina Press Association.

John Simmons – Former US Attorney for South Carolina and former State Ethics Commission member.

F. Xavier Starkes – Former Assistant US Attorney for South Carolina.

Susi McWilliams – Former chair of South Carolina Ethics Commission.

An additional commission member will be appointed by Senate Ethics Chairman Wes Hayes.

Members of the commission will participate without remuneration according to the governor's office.*

*NOTE - The statement about remuneration was added after the story was originally published.