2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 8 - Public Officers and Employees › Chapter 13 - Ethics, Government Accountability, And Campaign Reform › Section 8-13-1300. Definitions.

As used in this article:
(1) "Appropriate supervisory office" means:
(a) the State Ethics Commission for all candidates for public office in this State except for members or staff, including staff elected to serve as officers of or candidates for the office of State Senator or State Representative;
(b) the Senate Ethics Committee for members or staff, including staff elected to serve as officers, of or candidates for the office of State Senator, and the House of Representatives Ethics Committee for members or staff, including staff elected to serve as officers, of or candidates for the office of State Representative;
(c) the State Ethics Commission for all committees, except legislative caucus committees, supporting or opposing a ballot measure or supporting or opposing a candidate;
(d) the Senate Ethics Committee for all legislative caucus committees and legislative special interest caucuses affiliated with the Senate, the House of Representatives Ethics Committee for all legislative caucus committees and legislative special interest caucuses affiliated with the House of Representatives, and both ethics committees for all legislative caucus committees and legislative special interest caucuses affiliated with both houses.
(2) "Ballot measure" means a referendum, proposition, or measure submitted to voters for their approval.
(3) "Business" means a corporation, partnership, proprietorship, firm, an enterprise, a franchise, an association, organization, or a self-employed individual.
(4) "Candidate" means: (a) a person who seeks appointment, nomination for election, or election to a statewide or local office, or authorizes or knowingly permits the collection or disbursement of money for the promotion of his candidacy or election; (b) a person who is exploring whether or not to seek election at the state or local level; or (c) a person on whose behalf write-in votes are solicited if the person has knowledge of such solicitation. "Candidate" does not include a candidate within the meaning of Section 431(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1976.
(5) "Charitable organization" means an organization described in Title 26, Section 170(c) of the United States Code as it currently exists or as it may be amended.
(6) "Committee" means an association, a club, an organization, or a group of persons which, to influence the outcome of an elective office, receives contributions or makes expenditures in excess of five hundred dollars in the aggregate during an election cycle. It also means a person who, to influence the outcome of an elective office, makes:
(a) contributions aggregating at least twenty-five thousand dollars during an election cycle to or at the request of a candidate or a committee, or a combination of them; or
(b) independent expenditures aggregating five hundred dollars or more during an election cycle for the election or defeat of a candidate.
"Committee" includes a party committee, a legislative caucus committee, a noncandidate committee, or a committee that is not a campaign committee for a candidate but that is organized for the purpose of influencing an election.
(7) "Contribution" means a gift, subscription, loan, guarantee upon which collection is made, forgiveness of a loan, an advance, in-kind contribution or expenditure, a deposit of money, or anything of value made to a candidate or committee to influence an election; or payment or compensation for the personal service of another person which is rendered for any purpose to a candidate or committee without charge, whether any of the above are made or offered directly or indirectly. "Contribution" does not include (a) volunteer personal services on behalf of a candidate or committee for which the volunteer or any person acting on behalf of or instead of the volunteer receives no compensation either in cash or in-kind, directly or indirectly, from any source; or (b) a gift, subscription, loan, guarantee upon which collection is made, forgiveness of a loan, an advance, in-kind contribution or expenditure, a deposit of money, or anything of value made to a committee, other than a candidate committee, and is used to pay for communications made not more than forty-five days before the election to influence the outcome of an elective office as defined in Section 8-13-1300(31)(c). These funds must be deposited in an account separate from a campaign account as required in Section 8-13-1312.
(8) "Corporation" means an entity organized in the corporate form under federal law or the laws of any state.
(9) "Election" means:
(a) a general, special, primary, or runoff election;
(b) a convention or caucus of a political party held to nominate a candidate; or
(c) the election of delegates to a constitutional convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of this State.
(10) "Election cycle" means the period of a term of office beginning on the day after the general election for the office, up to and including the following general election for the same office, including a primary, special primary, or special election; however, the contribution limits under Sections 8-13-1314 and 8-13-1316 apply only to elections occurring on or after January 1, 1992, and are for each primary, runoff, or special election in which a candidate has opposition and for each general election. If the candidate remains unopposed during an election cycle, one contribution limit shall apply.
(11) "Elective office" means an office at the state, county, municipal or political subdivision level. For the purposes of this article, the term 'elective office' does not include an office under the unified judicial system except for purposes of campaign practices, campaign disclosure, and disclosure of economic interests. "Elective office" includes the office of probate judge.
(12) "Expenditure" means a purchase, payment, loan, forgiveness of a loan, an advance, in-kind contribution or expenditure, a deposit, transfer of funds, gift of money, or anything of value for any purpose.
(13) "Expenditures incurred" means an amount owed to a creditor for purchase of delivered goods or completed services.
(14) "Family member" means an individual who is:
(a) the spouse, parent, brother, sister, child, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild; or
(b) a member of the individual's immediate family.
(15) "Gift" means anything of value, including entertainment, food, beverage, travel, and lodging given for pay to a public official or public employee to the extent that consideration of equal or greater value is not received. A gift includes a rebate or discount on the price of anything of value unless it is made in the ordinary course of business without regard to that person's status. A gift does not include campaign contributions accepted pursuant to this article.
(16) "Immediate family" means:
(a) a child residing in a candidate's, public official's, public member's, or public employee's household;
(b) a spouse of a candidate, public official, public member, or public employee; or
(c) an individual claimed by the candidate, public official, public member, or public employee or the candidate's, public official's, public member's, or public employee's spouse as a dependent for income tax purposes.
(17) "Independent expenditure" means:
(a) an expenditure made directly or indirectly by a person to advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or ballot measure; and
(b) when taken as a whole and in context, the expenditure made by a person to influence the outcome of an elective office or ballot measure but which is not:
(i) made to;
(ii) controlled by;
(iii) coordinated with;
(iv) requested by; or
(v) made upon consultation with a candidate or an agent of a candidate; or a committee or agent of a committee; or a ballot measure committee or an agent of a ballot measure committee.
Expenditures by party committees or expenditures by legislative caucus committees based upon party affiliation are considered to be controlled by, coordinated with, requested by, or made upon consultation with a candidate or an agent of a candidate.
(18) "Individual" means one human being.
(19) "Individual with whom he is associated" means an individual with whom the person or a member of his immediate family mutually has an interest in a business of which the person or a member of his immediate family is a director, an officer, owner, employee, a compensated agent, or holder of stock worth one hundred thousand dollars or more at fair market value and which constitutes five percent or more of the total outstanding stock of any class.
(20) "In-kind contribution or expenditure" means goods or services which are provided to or by a person at no charge or for less than their fair market value.
(21) "Legislative caucus committee" means:
(a) a committee of either house of the General Assembly controlled by the caucus of a political party or a caucus based upon racial or ethnic affinity, or gender; however, each house may establish only one committee for each political, racial, ethnic, or gender-based affinity;
(b) a party or group of either house of the General Assembly based upon racial or ethnic affinity, or gender;
(c) "legislative caucus committee" does not include a "legislative special interest caucus" as defined in Section 2-17-10(21).
(22) "Loan" means a transfer of money, property, guarantee, or anything of value in exchange for an obligation, conditional or not, to repay in whole or in part.
(23) "Noncandidate committee" means a committee that is not a campaign committee for a candidate but is organized to influence an election or to support or oppose a candidate or public official, which receives contributions or makes expenditures in excess of five hundred dollars in the aggregate during an election cycle. "Noncandidate committee" does not include political action committees that contribute solely to federal campaigns.
(24) "Party committee" means a committee established by a political party.
(25) "Person" means an individual, a proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture, joint stock company, syndicate, business trust, an estate, a company, committee, an association, a corporation, club, labor organization, or any other organization or group of persons acting in concert.
(26) "Political party" means an association, a committee, or an organization which nominates a candidate whose name appears on the election ballot as the candidate of that association, committee, or organization.
(27) "Public employee" means a person employed by the State, a county, a municipality, or a political subdivision thereof.
(28) "Public official" means an elected or appointed official of the State, a county, a municipality or a political subdivision thereof, including candidates for the office. However, "public official" does not mean a member of the judiciary except for purposes of campaign financing. A probate judge is considered a public official and must meet the requirements of this article.
(29) "Statewide office" means an elective office other than a federal office eligible to be voted upon by all electors of the State.
(30) "Transfer" means the movement or exchange of funds or anything of value between committees and candidates except the disposition of surplus funds or material assets by a candidate to a party committee, as provided in this article.
(31) "Influence the outcome of an elective office" means:
(a) expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate using words including or substantially similar to "vote for", "elect", "cast your ballot for", "Smith for Governor", "vote against", " defeat", or "reject";
(b) communicating campaign slogans or individual words that, taken in context, have no other reasonable meaning other than to urge the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate including or substantially similar to slogans or words such as "Smith's the One", "Jones 2000", "Smith/Jones", "Jones!", or "Smith-A man for the People!"; or
(c) any communication made, not more than forty-five days before an election, which promotes or supports a candidate or attacks or opposes a candidate, regardless of whether the communication expressly advocates a vote for or against a candidate. For purposes of this paragraph, "communication" means (i) any paid advertisement or purchased program time broadcast over television or radio; (ii) any paid message conveyed through telephone banks, direct mail, or electronic mail; or (iii) any paid advertisement that costs more than five thousand dollars that is conveyed through a communication medium other than those set forth in subsections (i) or (ii) of this paragraph. "Communication" does not include news, commentary, or editorial programming or article, or communication to an organization's own members.
(32) "Ballot measure committee" means:
(a) an association, club, an organization, or a group of persons which, to influence the outcome of a ballot measure, receives contributions or makes expenditures in excess of two thousand five hundred dollars in the aggregate during an election cycle;
(b) a person, other than an individual, who, to influence the outcome of a ballot measure, makes contributions aggregating at least fifty thousand dollars during an election cycle to or at the request of a ballot measure committee; or
(c) a person, other than an individual, who, to influence the outcome of a ballot measure, makes independent expenditures aggregating two thousand five hundred dollars or more during an election cycle.
(33) "Coordinated with" means discussion or negotiation between a candidate or a candidate's agent and:
(a) a person;
(b) an agent of a person;
(c) any other agent of a candidate; or
(d) any combination of these concerning, but not limited to, a political communication's:
(1) contents, including the specific wording of print, broadcast, or telephone communications; appearance of print or broadcast communications; the message or theme of print or broadcast communications;
(2) timing, including the proximity to general or primary elections, proximity to other political communications, and proximity to other campaign events;
(3) location, including the proximity to other political communications, or geographical targeting, or both;
(4) mode, including the medium (phone, broadcast, print, etc.) of the communication;
(5) intended audience, including the demographic or political targeting, or geographical targeting; and
(6) volume, including the amount, frequency, or size of the political communication.
(34) "Operation expenses" means expenditures for salaries and/or fringe benefits for part-time, full-time, temporary and/or contract employees; meeting expenses, travel, utilities, communications and/or communications equipment whether leased or purchased, printing or printing services, postage, food and/or beverage, advertising, consulting services, and/or any other expenditures which are not an authorized contribution to a candidate, committee, or ballot measure committee.
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, Sections 34-38, 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; 2003 Act No. 76, Section 22, eff June 26, 2003; 2003 Act No. 76, Sections 19 to 21, 23 to 27, 54, eff November 3, 2004; 2006 Act No. 344, Sections 3, 4, eff May 31, 2006; 2008 Act No. 245, Section 3, eff May 29, 2008.