2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees › Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform › Section 8-13-310. State Ethics Commission reconstituted; appointment of members; terms of office; officers; quorum requirements; meetings; per diem, mileage, and subsistence for members; removal.

(A)(1) There is created the State Ethics Commission composed of eight members who must be appointed in the following manner:
(a) four members must be appointed by the Governor, no more than two of whom are members of the appointing Governor's political party;
(b) two members must be selected by the Senate, one upon the recommendation of the members of the majority political party in the Senate and one upon the recommendation of the members of the largest minority political party in the Senate;
(c) two members must be selected by the House of Representatives, one upon the recommendation of the members of the majority political party in the House and one upon the recommendation of the members of the largest minority political party in the House.
Each member must be appointed with the advice and consent of the General Assembly.
(2) The terms of the members serving on the State Ethics Commission as of March 30, 2017, shall end on March 31, 2017. A member who is serving at that time and who has not completed a full five-year term may be reappointed pursuant to this subsection. The initial appointments for service to begin on April 1, 2017, must be made as follows:
(a) two members appointed by the Governor must be appointed for a three-year term;
(b) two members appointed by the Governor must be appointed for a five-year term;
(c) one member appointed by the Senate upon the recommendation of the members of the majority political party in the Senate shall serve a three-year term;
(d) one member appointed by the Senate upon the recommendation of the members of the largest minority political party of the Senate must be appointed for a five-year term;
(e) one member appointed by the House upon the recommendation of the members of the majority political party of the House of Representatives must be appointed for a five-year term; and
(f) one member appointed by the House upon the recommendation of the members of the largest minority political party of the House of Representatives must be appointed for a three-year term.
The initial members who have served terms that are less than five years are eligible to be reappointed for one full five-year term.
(B) The qualifications the appointing authorities shall consider for the appointees include, but are not limited to:
(1) constitutional qualifications;
(2) ethical fitness;
(3) character;
(4) mental stability;
(5) experience; and
(6) judicial temperament.
(C)(1) In addition to other information that may be requested, candidates for appointment must provide the following information to the appointing authority, which must be shared with the General Assembly during the confirmation process:
(a) the candidate's membership in any civic, charitable, or social groups within the previous four years;
(b) a contribution made by the candidate to a candidate for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or a member of the General Assembly within the previous four years; and
(c) a contribution, as defined in Section 8-13-1300(7), made by the candidate within the previous four years to a candidate as defined in Section 8-13-100(5).
(2) The appointing authorities shall make their appointments based on merit. However, in making appointments to the commission, the appointing authorities shall ensure that race, color, gender, national origin, and other demographic factors are considered to ensure the geographic and political balance of the appointments, and shall strive to assure that the membership of the commission will represent, to the greatest extent possible, all segments of the population of the State.
(3) The following are not eligible to serve on the State Ethics Commission:
(a) a member of the General Assembly;
(b) a former member of the General Assembly within eight years following the termination of his service in the General Assembly;
(c) a family member, as defined by Section 8-13-100(15), of a member of the General Assembly or the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or other statewide elected official;
(d) a person who made a campaign contribution, as defined by Section 8-13-1300(7), within the previous four years to the Governor who appointed the person to serve on the State Ethics Commission, as well as that Governor's Lieutenant Governor;
(e) a person who registered as a lobbyist within four years of being appointed to the State Ethics Commission;
(f) a person who is under the jurisdiction of the State Ethics Commission, House of Representatives Ethics Committee, or Senate Ethics Committee.
(D) The terms of the members are for five years. Vacancies must be filled in the manner of the original appointment for the unexpired portion of the term only. Members of the commission who serve less than a full five-year term may be reappointed for one full five-year term. Members of the commission who have completed a full five-year term are not eligible for reappointment. A member shall not serve on the commission in hold-over status after the member's term expires. An appointee shall not serve on the commission, even in interim capacity, until he has been confirmed by the General Assembly.
(E) The commission shall elect a chairman, vice chairman, and such other officers as it considers necessary. Five members of the commission shall constitute a quorum. The commission must adopt a policy concerning the attendance of its members at commission meetings. The commission meets at the call of the chairman or a majority of its members. Members of the commission, while serving on business of the commission, receive per diem, mileage, and subsistence as provided by law for members of state boards, committees, and commissions.
(F)(1) A commission member appointed by the Governor may be removed from office by the Governor for malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetency, absenteeism, conflicts of interest, misconduct, persistent neglect of duty in office, or incapacity pursuant to Section 1-3-240.
(2) A commission member appointed by the Senate may be removed for malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetency, absenteeism, conflicts of interest, misconduct, persistent neglect of duty in office, or incapacity upon a vote of two-thirds of the membership of the Senate.
(3) A commission member appointed by the House of Representatives may be removed for malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetency, absenteeism, conflicts of interest, misconduct, persistent neglect of duty in office, or incapacity upon a vote of two-thirds of the membership of the House of Representatives.
HISTORY: 1991 Act No. 248, Section 3, eff January 1, 1992 and governs only transactions which take place after December 31, 1991; 2012 Act No. 279, Section 5, eff June 26, 2012; 2016 Act No. 282 (H.3184), Section 2, eff April 1, 2017.
Validity
For the validity of (F) of this section, see Pinckney v. Peeler, 862 S.E.2d 906 (S.C. 2021).
Editor's Note
2012 Act No. 279, Section 33, provides as follows:
"Due to the congressional redistricting, any person elected or appointed to serve, or serving, as a member of any board, commission, or committee to represent a congressional district, whose residency is transferred to another district by a change in the composition of the district, may serve, or continue to serve, the term of office for which he was elected or appointed; however, the appointing or electing authority shall appoint or elect an additional member on that board, commission, or committee from the district which loses a resident member as a result of the transfer to serve until the term of the transferred member expires. When a vacancy occurs in the district to which a member has been transferred, the vacancy must not be filled until the full term of the transferred member expires. Further, the inability to hold an election or to make an appointment due to judicial review of the congressional districts does not constitute a vacancy."
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."