South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and at least four lawmakers called for more scrutiny and fewer loopholes in the ethics law for the state’s many special-purpose districts.
The changes came less than 72 hours after an “Uncovered” investigation led by Post and Courier showed how misconduct and extravagant spending thrived because of exceptions to state ethics laws and weak enforcement.
Responding to the newspaper’s findings, McMaster believes that members of the special-purpose district council should report gifts and gifts to the state ethics committee, as do other civil servants, Governor Brian Symmes spokesman said Tuesday. market.
“There are too many opportunities for bad actors to abuse their positions, but the General Assembly can mitigate part of that opportunity,” said Symmes of the governor’s position.
Joining McMaster in his calls for more transparency, a trio of Republican senators tabled a bill on Tuesday to close that loophole.
One of those senators, Wes Climer, R-Rock Hill, was furious when he read about the conduct of the gas authorities in his corner of the state.
“Obviously, these are very serious lapses in judgment and insufficient responsibility in spending taxpayer money,” said Climer. “… This behavior cannot remain.”
The other senators who introduced the bill are the Senate majority leader, Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, a possible candidate for governor in 2022; and state senator Ross Turner, R-Greenville.
Weak news deserts and weak ethics laws allow corruption to spread in SC
“I think this is a quick response to what you released, but it cannot be the only thing,” Massey told the newspaper. “There has to be greater efforts to continue with ethics reform. People are naturally skeptical of elected officials anyway. But this system we have does not work if you are not confident. If there are measures we can take to win back some that confidence, we need to do that. “
The Post and Courier is working with a team of community newspapers across the state to expose corruption, especially in rural areas where special-purpose districts often provide important public services, such as water and energy.
The first edition of the newspaper, on February 14, showed that these agencies are the focus of abuse, islands of governance where leaders serve themselves, rather than the people they represent.
The newspaper highlighted five public gas authorities in Chester, Lancaster and York counties, as well as the Fort Hill Natural Gas Authority in Pickens and the Clinton Newberry Natural Gas Authority.
Once installed, by the governor or local authorities, the boards of these agencies set fees and determine salaries and bonuses for employees. Voters have no direct voice.
With this independence, board members and executives freely passed cozy conferences and retreats in places like The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island and the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville.
They flew to distant places like Oregon and Vermont, accumulating tens of thousands of dollars in bills, taking glass blowing lessons and flying in zip lines, all with taxpayers’ money.
In the wake of the “Discoveries” discoveries, the governor also believes it is “time” for public services, including the five natural gas authorities, to be regulated by the Public Service Commission and Regulatory Staff Office, as private services are, he said. Symmes.
Climer, the Rock Hill lawmaker, said he would be open to the governor’s suggestion to give these autonomous councils another layer of oversight.
“Council members themselves have a duty to remedy these errors, in addition to the Legislative,” added Clime.
The legislators’ bill requires council members to publicly publicize their gifts, travel and other items worth more than $ 25.
It would also require them to report possible conflicts of interest. Violations can mean fines and punishments by the Ethics Committee.
Responsibility suffers from increased newspaper closings in SC
McMaster believes the newspaper’s findings confirm “what the governor has long publicly said: that many of our local governments and special-purpose districts operate in such a way that it attracts” a lack of confidence in how they spend public money, said Symmes .
He asked the General Assembly to double the fees of the Ethics Committee for lobbyists in order to pay for more investigators on the committee.
After reading Uncovered, state senator Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, also said he supports providing state gas authorities with more scrutiny.
He said the Public Service Commission, which already oversees public services owned by investors, is the logical place for that.
The commission has been in trouble in recent years, blamed by many for stamped increases in electrical tariffs that made it possible to expand the $ 9 billion VC Summer nuclear plant that was abandoned in 2017.
But Hutto noted that lawmakers have taken steps to strengthen the commission’s oversight since then, including systematically replacing board members when their terms expire and sharpening the teeth of the Office of Regulatory Staff, South Carolina’s public service watchman.
More about South Carolina’s 5 public natural gas authorities
“Given what you have reported, there is certainly a need for transparency and reporting requirements and some oversight of how the money in these entities is being spent,” said Hutto of the gas authorities.
“Just like any other entity involved in the formation of fees, public trust, the use of public funds, any of these entities should be subject to general rules of ethics,” he said. “Whenever you hear someone say they have an exception, we will probably need to change the law to include it.”