reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
SC Code § 8-13-535 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform|Section 8-13-535. Issuance of ethics advisory opinions.

 (A) The committee, may issue a formal advisory opinion, based on real or hypothetical sets of circumstances. In considering and formulating an advisory opinion either legislative ethics committee shall consider its previous opinions, the relevant opinions of the other legislative ethics committee, as well as relevant opinions issued by the commission in an attempt to create uniformity among the bodies. A formal advisory opinion issued by the committee is binding on the committee, until amended or revoked, in any subsequent charges concerning the person who requested the formal opinion and any other person who acted in reliance upon it in good faith, unless material facts were omitted or misstated by the person in the request for the opinion. A formal advisory opinion must be in writing and is considered rendered when approved by a majority of the committee members subscribing to the advisory opinion. Advisory opinions must be made available to the public unless the committee, by majority vote of the total membership of the committee, requires an opinion to remain confidential. However, the identities of the parties involved must be withheld upon request.  (B) The appropriate ethics committee only may issue formal advisory opinions for public officials, public members, and public employees for which it has proper jurisdiction to make findings of fact and impose penalties pursuant to this chapter.  (C) The appropriate ethics committee must consider whether a person relied in good faith upon a formal advisory opinion or written informal staff opinion when considering a finding of misconduct.  HISTORY: 2016 Act No. 282 (H.3184), Section 13, eff April 1, 2017.  Editor's Note  2016 Act No. 282, Section 17, provides as follows:  "SECTION 17. The provisions of this act are effective as of April 1, 2017 and shall apply to complaints filed on or after April 1, 2017. However, the provisions in Section 8-13-310 regarding the selection of the initial members to serve on the State Ethics Commission as of April 1, 2017, and the termination of terms of the members serving on the commission as of March 31, 2017, take effect after the date of the Governor's signature for the limited purpose of having the initial members of the reconstituted State Ethics Commission begin service on April 1, 2017. The State Ethics Commission, House Ethics Committee and Senate Ethics Committee shall maintain jurisdiction over all open complaints and investigations pending in the appropriate entity on or before March 31, 2017. The reconstituted State Ethics Commission shall have jurisdiction over open complaints and investigations pending within the State Ethics Commission as of March 31, 2017."
SC Code § 8-13-550 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform|Section 8-13-550. Consideration of report of committee by House or Senate; action; public record.

 (A) Upon receipt of a recommendation of expulsion or an appeal from an order of the ethics committee made pursuant to the provisions of Section 8-13-540, the presiding officer of the House or Senate shall call the House or Senate into open session at a time to be determined at his discretion or in executive session if the House or Senate chooses, as a committee of the whole, to consider the action of the ethics committee. The House or Senate shall sustain or overrule the ethics committee's action or order other action consistent with this chapter or Chapter 17 of Title 2.  (B) Upon consideration of an ethics committee report by the House or the Senate, whether in executive or open session, the results of the consideration are a matter of public record.  HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 248, Section 3, eff January 1, 1992 and governs only transactions which take place after December 31, 1991; 2016 Act No. 282 (H.3184), Section 15, eff April 1, 2017.  Editor's Note  2016 Act No. 282, Section 17, provides as follows:  "SECTION 17. The provisions of this act are effective as of April 1, 2017 and shall apply to complaints filed on or after April 1, 2017. However, the provisions in Section 8-13-310 regarding the selection of the initial members to serve on the State Ethics Commission as of April 1, 2017, and the termination of terms of the members serving on the commission as of March 31, 2017, take effect after the date of the Governor's signature for the limited purpose of having the initial members of the reconstituted State Ethics Commission begin service on April 1, 2017. The State Ethics Commission, House Ethics Committee and Senate Ethics Committee shall maintain jurisdiction over all open complaints and investigations pending in the appropriate entity on or before March 31, 2017. The reconstituted State Ethics Commission shall have jurisdiction over open complaints and investigations pending within the State Ethics Commission as of March 31, 2017."
SC Code § 8-13-560 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform|Section 8-13-560. Suspension of House or Senate member under indictment for particular crime; removal upon conviction; reinstatement upon acquittal.

 Unless otherwise currently or hereafter provided for by House or Senate rule, as is appropriate:  (1) A member of the General Assembly who is indicted in a state court or a federal court for a crime that is a felony, a crime that involves moral turpitude, a crime that has a sentence of two or more years, or a crime that violates election laws must be suspended immediately without pay by the presiding officer of the House or Senate, as appropriate. The suspension remains in effect until the public official is acquitted, convicted, pleads guilty, or pleads nolo contendere. In the case of a conviction, the office must be declared vacant. In the event of an acquittal or dismissal of charges against the public official, he is entitled to reinstatement and back pay.  (2) If the public official is involved in an election between the time of the suspension and final conclusion of the indictment, the presiding officer of the House or Senate, or the Governor, as appropriate, shall again suspend him at the beginning of his next term. The suspended public official may not participate in the business of his public office.  HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 248, Section 3, eff January 1, 1992 and governs only transactions which take place after December 31, 1991.
SC Code § 8-13-710 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform|Section 8-13-710. Reporting of particular gifts received by public employee, official, or member on statement of economic interests.

 (A) Unless provided by subsection (B) and in addition to the requirements of Chapter 17 of Title 2, a public official or public employee required to file a statement of economic interests under Section 8-13-1110 who accepts anything of value from a lobbyist's principal must report the value of anything received on his statement of economic interests pursuant to Section 8-13-1120(A)(9).  (B) A public official, public member, or public employee required to file a statement of economic interests under Section 8-13-1110 who receives, accepts, or takes, directly or indirectly, from a person, anything of value worth twenty-five dollars or more in a day and anything of value worth two hundred dollars or more in the aggregate in a calendar year must report on his statement of economic interests pursuant to Section 8-13-1120 the thing of value from:  (1) a person, if there is reason to believe the donor would not give the thing of value but for the public official's public member's, or public employee's office or position;  (2) a person, or from an officer or director of a person, if the public official, public member, or public employee has reason to believe the person:  (a) has or is seeking to obtain contractual or other business or financial relationships with the public official's, public member's, or public employee's governmental entity;  (b) conducts operations or activities which are regulated by the public official's, public member's, or public employee's governmental entity.  (C) Nothing in this section requires a public official, public member, or public employee to report a gift from a parent, grandparent, or relative to a child, grandchild, or other immediate family member for love and affection.  HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 248, Section 3, eff January 1, 1992 and governs only transactions which take place after December 31, 1991.
SC Code § 8-13-715 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform|Section 8-13-715. Speaking engagements of public officials, members or employees; only expense reimbursement permitted; authorization for reimbursement of out-of-state expenses.

 (A) A public official, public member, or public employee acting in an official capacity may not receive anything of value for speaking before a public or private group. A public official, public member, or public employee is not prohibited by this section from accepting a meal provided in conjunction with a speaking engagement where all participants are entitled to the same meal and the meal is incidental to the speaking engagement. Notwithstanding the limitations of Section 2-17-90, a public official, public member, or public employee may receive payment or reimbursement for actual expenses incurred for a speaking engagement. The expenses must be reasonable and must be incurred in a reasonable time and manner in which to accomplish the purpose of the engagement. A public official, public member, or public employee required to file a statement of economic interests under Section 8-13-1110 must report on his statement of economic interests the organization which paid for or reimbursed actual expenses, the amount of such payment or reimbursement, and the purpose, date, and location of the speaking engagement. A public official, public member, or public employee who is not required to file a statement of economic interests but who is paid or reimbursed actual expenses for a speaking engagement must report this same information in writing to the chief administrative official or employee of the agency with which the public official, public member, or public employee is associated.  (B) If the expenses are incurred out of state, the public official, 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 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.  HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 248, Section 3, eff January 1, 1992 and governs only transactions which take place after December 31, 1991; 1995 Act No. 6, Section 21, effective upon approval (became law without the Governor's signature January 12, 1995) and applies only to transactions occurring on or after January 1, 1995; 2019 Act No. 1 (S.2), Section 35, eff January 31, 2019.  Effect of Amendment  2019 Act No. 1, Section 35, inserted the (A) and (B) designators; and, in (B)(3), substituted "President of the Senate" for "President Pro Tempore of the Senate".
SC Code § 8-13-720 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform|Section 8-13-720. Offering, soliciting, or receiving money for advice or assistance of public official, member, or employee.

 No person may offer or pay to a public official, public member, or public employee and no public official, public member, or public employee may solicit or receive money in addition to that received by the public official, public member, or public employee in his official capacity for advice or assistance given in the course of his employment as a public official, public member, or public employee.  HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 248, Section 3, eff January 1, 1992 and governs only transactions which take place after December 31, 1991.
SC Code § 8-13-725 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform|Section 8-13-725. Use or disclosure of confidential information by public official, member, or employee for financial gain; examination of private records; penalties.

 (A) A public official, public member, or public employee may not use or disclose confidential information gained in the course of or by reason of his official responsibilities in a way that would affect an economic interest held by him, a member of his immediate family, an individual with whom he is associated, or a business with which he is associated.  (B)(1) A public official, public member, or public employee may not wilfully examine, or aid and abet in the wilful examination of, a tax return of a taxpayer, a worker's compensation record, a record in connection with health or medical treatment, social services records, or other records of an individual in the possession of or within the access of a public department or agency if the purpose of the examination is improper or unlawful.  (2) A person convicted of violating this subsection must be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both, and shall reimburse the costs of prosecution. Upon conviction, the person also must be discharged immediately from his public capacity as an official, member, or employee.  HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 248, Section 3, eff January 1, 1992 and governs only transactions which take place after December 31, 1991; 1997 Act No. 114, Section 3, eff June 13, 1997.
SC Code § 8-13-730 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform|Section 8-13-730. Membership on or employment by regulatory agency of person associated with regulated business.

 Unless otherwise provided by law, no person may serve as a member of a governmental regulatory agency that regulates any business with which that person is associated. An employee of the regulatory agency which regulates a business with which he is associated annually shall file a statement of economic interests notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8-13-1110. No person may be an employee of the regulatory agency which regulates a business with which he is associated if this relationship creates a continuing or frequent conflict with the performance of his official responsibilities.  HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 248, Section 3, eff January 1, 1992 and governs only transactions which take place after December 31, 1991.
SC Code § 8-13-735 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform|Section 8-13-735. Participation in decision affecting personal economic interests by one employed by and serving on governing body of governmental entity.

 (A) Except as provided in subsection (B), no person who serves at the same time:  (1) on the governing body of a state, county, municipal, or political subdivision board or commission; and  (2) as an employee of the same board or commission or in a position subject to the control of that board or commission may make or participate in making a decision that affects his economic interests.  (B) No person shall serve at the same time as:  (1) a nonappointed member of the governing body of the board or commission for a water or sewer district or a nonprofit water or sewer corporation or company organized pursuant to the provisions of state law; and  (2)(a) an employee of the same board, commission, corporation, or company; or  (b) in a position subject to the control of that board, commission, corporation, or company; or  (c) in a decision-making position concerning the operation and functions of that board, commission, corporation, or company.  (C)(1) Any person violating the provisions of subsection (B) may be assessed a civil penalty of fifty dollars per day to be remitted to the general fund of the board, commission, corporation, or company.  (2) If a lawsuit is brought to force the person to vacate either his position held pursuant to subsection (B)(1) or subsection (B)(2), and the person is found in circuit court to have violated subsection (B), the person must pay the civil penalty in subsection (C)(1) plus court costs, attorney's fees, and any damages required by the court.  (3) Any individual or entity served by the board, commission, corporation, or company has standing to bring a lawsuit in the circuit court pursuant to this subsection.  HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 248, Section 3, eff January 1, 1992 and governs only transactions which take place after December 31, 1991; 2011 Act No. 11, Section 1, eff April 7, 2011.
SC Code § 8-13-745 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform|Section 8-13-745. Paid representation of clients and contracting by member of General Assembly or associate in particular situations.

 (A) No member of the General Assembly or an individual with whom he is associated or business with which he is associated may represent a client for a fee in a contested case, as defined in Section 1-23-310, before an agency, a commission, board, department, or other entity if the member of the General Assembly has voted in the election, appointment, recommendation, or confirmation of a member of the governing body of the agency, board, department, or other entity within the twelve preceding months.  (B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, after the effective date of this section, no member of the General Assembly or any individual with whom he is associated or business with which he is associated may represent a client for a fee in a contested case, as defined in Section 1-23-310, before an agency, a commission, board, department, or other entity elected, appointed, recommended, or confirmed by the House, the Senate, or the General Assembly if that member has voted on the section of that year's general appropriation bill or supplemental appropriation bill relating to that agency, commission, board, department, or other entity within one year from the date of the vote. This subsection does not prohibit a member from voting on other sections of the general appropriation bill or from voting on the general appropriation bill as a whole.  (C) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, after the effective date of this section, no member of the General Assembly or an individual with whom he is associated in partnership or a business, company, corporation, or partnership where his interest is greater than five percent may enter into any contract for goods or services with an agency, a commission, board, department, or other entity funded with general funds or other funds if the member has voted on the section of that year's appropriation bill relating to that agency, commission, board, department, or other entity within one year from the date of the vote. This subsection does not prohibit a member from voting on other sections of the appropriation bill or from voting on the general appropriation bill as a whole.  (D) The provisions of this section do not apply to any court in the unified judicial system.  (E) When a member of the General Assembly is required by law to appear because of his business interest as an owner or officer of the business or in his official capacity as a member of the General Assembly, this section does not apply.  (F) The provisions of subsections (A), (B), and (C) do not apply in the case of any vote or action taken by a member of the General Assembly prior to January 1, 1992.  HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 248, Section 3, eff January 1, 1992 and governs only transactions which take place after December 31, 1991.
SC Code § 8-13-750 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform|Section 8-13-750. Employment, promotion, advancement, or discipline of family member of public official, member, or employee.

 (A) No public official, public member, or public employee may cause the employment, appointment, promotion, transfer, or advancement of a family member to a state or local office or position in which the public official, public member, or public employee supervises or manages.  (B) A public official, public member, or public employee may not participate in an action relating to the discipline of the public official's, public member's, or public employee's family member.  HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 248, Section 3, eff January 1, 1992 and governs only transactions which take place after December 31, 1991.
SC Code § 8-13-755 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform|Section 8-13-755. Restrictions on former public official, member, or employee serving as lobbyist or accepting employment in field of former service.

 A former public official, former public member, or former public employee holding public office, membership, or employment on or after January 1, 1992, may not for a period of one year after terminating his public service or employment:  (1) serve as a lobbyist or represent clients before the agency or department on which he formerly served in a matter which he directly and substantially participated during his public service or employment; or  (2) accept employment if the employment:  (a) is from a person who is regulated by the agency or department on which the former public official, former public member, or former public employee served or was employed; and  (b) involves a matter in which the former public official, former public member, or former public employee directly and substantially participated during his public service or public employment.  HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 248, Section 3, eff January 1, 1992 and governs only transactions which take place after December 31, 1991.
SC Code § 8-13-760 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees|Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform|Section 8-13-760. Employment by government contractor of former public official, member, or employee who was engaged in procurement.

 Except as is permitted by regulations of the State Ethics Commission, it is a breach of ethical standards for a public official, public member, or public employee who is participating directly in procurement, as defined in Section 11-35-310(22), to resign and accept employment with a person contracting with the governmental body if the contract falls or would fall under the public official's, public member's, or public employee's official responsibilities.  HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 248, Section 3, eff January 1, 1992 and governs only transactions which take place after December 31, 1991.