A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 8-13-100, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO AMEND "PUBLIC MEMBER" TO INCLUDE A PERSON NOMINATED AND APPOINTED TO A NONCOMPENSATED PART-TIME POSITION ON A BOARD, COMMISSION, OR COUNCIL; BY ADDING SECTION 8-13-1100 SO AS TO OUTLINE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR DISCLOSING ECONOMIC INTERESTS; BY AMENDING SECTION 8-13-1110, RELATING TO STATEMENTS OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS, SO AS TO ADDRESS AGENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR FILING DISCLOSURE FORMS; BY AMENDING SECTION 8-13-1170, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PUBLIC MEMBER WHO FILES THE INITIAL STATEMENT OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS WITHIN TEN DAYS AFTER NOTICE FROM THE STATE ETHICS COMMISSION SHALL NOT BE IN VIOLATION OF CHAPTER 13, TITLE 8; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 8-13-1356, RELATING TO FILING DEADLINES FOR ECONOMIC INTERESTS STATEMENTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE WHEN CERTAIN CANDIDATES FOR ELECTIVE OFFICE MUST FILE A STATEMENT OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS.
H. 3570 revises South Carolina’s ethics disclosure laws governing statements of economic interests. It expands the definition of “public member” to include individuals appointed to noncompensated part-time positions on boards, commissions, and councils, even if they receive expense reimbursement or per diem payments. The bill also creates a new section requiring governmental entities to file annual entity listings with the State Ethics Commission, report when covered individuals are appointed or separated, and help ensure that required disclosure forms are filed.
The bill further clarifies who must file statements of economic interests and when those filings are due. It requires certain public officials, public employees, and public members to file before taking office or beginning duties, preserves the confidentiality of initial statements for some noncompensated appointees until appointment, and allows a public member who misses an initial filing deadline to cure the omission within ten days after certified notice from the Ethics Commission without violating the chapter. It also updates the filing deadline for certain candidates for elective office to require electronic filing of a statement of economic interests before the close of filing for office.
The bill amends multiple provisions in Title 8, Chapter 13 of the South Carolina Code, which governs ethics and disclosure requirements. Its practical effect is to broaden administrative reporting duties for governmental entities, clarify filing obligations for a wider range of officeholders and appointees, and create a limited safe harbor for late initial filings by public members after notice from the Ethics Commission. It also changes the timing of economic-interest filings for some candidates for elective office and reinforces that disclosure compliance is both an individual and governmental-entity responsibility, while limiting sanctions against entities for an individual’s failure to file.
The available voting history shows strong support for the bill in the House, where it passed 102-0 on February 12, 2025. No committee transcripts are provided, and there is no recorded opposition in the materials supplied. Overall, the bill appears to have been treated as a technical but important ethics and transparency measure with broad bipartisan acceptance.
There is little evidence of major controversy in the available record. The main policy questions embedded in the bill concern how far to extend filing and reporting obligations to governmental entities, how to treat noncompensated part-time appointees who receive reimbursement or per diem, and whether late initial filings should be excused after notice from the Ethics Commission. The bill resolves these issues in favor of broader disclosure, but with a limited cure period for public members and a confidentiality rule for certain initial filings before appointment.