House Democrats Push Ethics Reform

On Jan. 23, shortly after the start of this legislative session, Beth Bernstein (D – Richland) filed her first bill as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Having just won her seat in November, Bernstein could have blended into the proverbial woodwork in the legislature and, given her appointment to the less-than-prestigious Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs committee, she would have been forgiven for doing just that.

Instead, the bill Bernstein filed was for ethics reform, a top-line item for voters and a key issue in her victory over Joan Brady in the fall.

Bernstein was hardly a lone voice on ethics reform, however. Gov. Haley put together a bi-partisan commission to investigate the problem. Attorney General Alan Wilson called for a Public Integrity Unit. Watchdog groups said it was time to finally get serious. One even called the current crisis the worst period for governmental ethics since Operation Lost Trust.

But Bernstein’s bill gathered dust for nearly three months.

Then, earlier this month, another ethics bill was put forth by a bi-partisan group of lawmakers. Some critics said the new bill was actually easier on ethics violators rather than tougher.

“It was one step forward and two steps back. That’s not what we were elected to do,” Bernstein said at a Tuesday press conference.

Between the time Bernstein’s bill was filed and the time the latest bill was offered, there was very little public discussion in the House on ethics.

The one significant event was that Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell (R – Charleston) was accused of ethics violations and it was announced that SLED was investigating him on those allegations.

Rep. James Smith (D- Richland) was asked about the delay between ethics bills.

“One thing is abundantly clear, if you’re a Democrat you have no control over the agenda of the House,” Smith said. “Bills go nowhere until the Republicans decide it’s an issue they want to pay attention to. We’ve been ready. Rep. Bernstein proposed a bill the first day of session. And now here we are nearing the May 1 deadline.”

According to Smith, he and other Democrats plan on making amendments that would overturn aspects of the new bill that de-criminalize ethics violations by House members.

Also, Smith said he’ll be looking to: ban fundraising while legislators are in session, restore the limits to contributions and insist on greater bi-partisanship on ethics oversight groups.

Smith was in the Judiciary Committee meeting last week when he was presented with changes to the bill. Smith said it’s customary for legislators to learn about changes before they go into a committee meeting. But he said that wasn’t what happened. He learned about the changes while he was in the session.

“I was very irate,” he said. “It was astonishing to me.“

Smith acknowledged that such episodes give rise to cynicism and the questioning of motives, but he said only, “I’ll chalk it up to sloppy legislating.”

Nevertheless, Smith is optimistic a bill with the Democrats amendments will make it out of the House by the end of the week.

Harrell’s spokesperson Greg Foster did not respond to questions from Patch about the ethics bills.

Later on Monday, House Majority Bruce Bannister (R – Greenville) issued a lengthy response via press release:

“I need to clear the air on a number of gross misconceptions about the Ethics Reform bill that is currently on the House floor.

“First, the House Judiciary Committee and the Constitutional Laws Subcommittee had more than 5 hours of hearings on the proposed ethics reform legislation, with 24 hours between the meetings. If people didn’t understand the 40-page amendment – and only 10 pages contained changes – they had plenty of time to seek the answers.  If people didn’t read those 10 pages, I cannot help that.

“Second, This legislation is coming up at the end of April because I, and our Caucus Ethics Reform Study Committee, have spent more than six months analyzing the options, negotiating with the Governor, negotiating with Democrats, holding public hearings, and settling on a comprehensive package that includes the best of everyone’s ideas. The Caucus went out of its way to include everyone from our Governor’s study committee, to ethics and law experts, to the general public. Everyone down to the S.C. Policy Council has had input into this product. What is in it today should not surprise anybody.

“Third, it was not my intent to decriminalize serious and intentional violations of the Ethics Act. I am working with others to clearly define what those items are. The Ethics Commission, as proposed, does not have the ability to adequately determine, or bring, criminal charges against a public official. The state Attorney General should bring criminal charges for things like breach of trust, bribery, or anything else that is a gross violation of the public’s trust.

“Finally, the legislation strengthens the civil penalties and options available to the proposed Ethics Commission, including specifically adding items such as ‘expulsion from office’ that were never spelled out before. However, it is not fair for a public official – nearly all of whom do campaign contributions and expenditures themselves – to be criminally penalized for simple accounting errors.

“I have heard the questions, comments, and complaints about the bill as written, and I am working with my colleagues in the Republican Caucus to draft an amendment to address these issues. Nobody is perfect. That’s why pencils have erasers. When we take the bill up on Thursday afternoon, I expect ethics reform’s opponents to all call themselves the ‘champions of ethics’ and file many amendments to kill this legislation. I will work with my colleagues in both caucuses to ensure that a good, common-sense bill is passed.

“There are 124 opinions in the House about how to do ethics reform, and perfection is the enemy of good. On Thursday, we will come together, compromise, and work to pass an ethics law that will reflect the best values of our state.”

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