By Catherine Fleming Bruce, special to Statehouse Report | After a flurry of Twitter activity earlier this week on the issue of neglected general ethics bills, both were placed on the Constitutional Laws Subcommittee agenda and were passed on Thursday to the full House Judiciary Committee. House Bill 3045, sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell of Lancaster, focused on independent expenditures, and House Bill 4203, sponsored by GOP state Rep. Gary Clary of Clemson, attended to campaign practices.
With only the League of Women Voters of South Carolina’s vice president, Lynn Teague, and me speaking in favor, we were outnumbered by opponents funded by the Koch Brothers and other corporate giants. Yet somehow, the two bills managed to prevail.
In my remarks, I set out to remind committee members of the effort put in by the State Grand Jury through its two years of convening and its unusual issuance of a report not only to hear the cases of individual legislators, but to push our state toward improvement of its ethics laws and rules in order to better protect the public interest, rather than the special interests.
I strongly support H. 3045 and its clear mandate for strengthening of disclosure procedures for independent expenditure committees and clarification of campaign practices in conformity with federal rulings. The State Grand Jury report specifically states that enacting bills such as these two will remove “dark money” from our elections and legislative decision-making.
Likewise, I support H. 4203 for its clarification of contributions, noncandidate committees and ballot measure committees.
It was heartening to see that bills have been submitted by members of the 2019 legislature from both sides of the aisle – indicating their understanding that this issue is critical to the entire S.C. populace.
In sharp contrast to the matters in this subcommittee, my quick visit to the Statehouse at the meeting’s conclusion found the lobby packed with Carolina Panthers’ supporters and lobbyists, working to convince legislators to approve Senate Bill 655, a tax break package to bring the team to our state. S.C. Sen. Dick Harpootlian’s objection stops the bill from advancing to debate or vote as his analysis has not demonstrated support for the economic impact numbers provided. Meanwhile, other news outlets have reported that Gov. Henry McMaster received a campaign contribution from Panthers owner David Tepper.
Is there still a chance for the “sunshine” bills to become law in this legislative session? Some say the window is closed, though the bills could advance next legislative session in time to stop dark money spending in South Carolina during the 2020 presidential elections. Others suggest that with a supermajority vote, the bills could still be passed in our current session and be signed by the governor before the gavel falls for the year.
This week, McMaster ordered the flag atop the Statehouse flown at half-staff this week in honor of U.S. Sen. Ernest ‘Fritz’ Hollings, who passed on April 6 at age 97. On Monday and Tuesday, the state and its citizens will mark the memory and legacy of Senator Hollings, who called money “a cancer on the body politic.”
Therefore, it is only fitting that this week, the South Carolina House Constitutional Law subcommittee took the first steps to lower the flags of public corruption and dark money that flutter atop our Statehouse by approving passage of these two bills. We encourage the House and Senate to put these bills over the finish line for the governor’s signature before the close of this legislative session, perhaps with the addition of stiffer sentences for legislators who violate the laws, a move also recommended in the State Grand Jury report.
Teague described the dark money bills as “one of the most important issues to come before the General Assembly.” For this reason, let us see a rally at the Statehouse for this good cause. It should be as easy as 1-2-3.
Catherine Fleming Bruce, a Columbia-based award-winning author and activist, served as lead for Black Voters Matter and March On the Polls activities in 2018. She currently leads Tnovsa Global Commons, which focused on good governance, ethics, and preservation projects.
- Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com..
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!
All very true, a great summary. Unfortunately too few people seem to understand that they can fight for their favorite issues, from environmental preservation to protection of children, and unless the foundation of accountable and transparent government is there, they will usually fail. Shining a bright light on campaign finance as these bills do along with reasonable voter-focused redistricting, voting rights, and more are at the heart of making the voice of citizens matter. Thanks to Catherine Bruce for her great advocacy on this!