Rock Hill Senate candidates duel on ethics and income

South Carolina is moving toward an overhaul of its ethics rules for state legislators, but some critics say the proposed new rules don’t go far enough.

After years of discussion and failures, an ethics bill was unanimously approved by the S.C. Senate last week that requires members of the General Assembly to disclose their sources of income.

But the disclosure requirements are much less than some advocates had hoped for – legislators only have to say who pays them, not how much.

“The bill that was passed is designed to generate press releases, not meaningful change in how they conduct themselves,” said Wes Climer, who is running in the GOP primary for the Senate District 15 seat now held by Republican Wes Hayes.

“All you need to know to see that this is the appearance of reform is that it passed unanimously.”

The Legislature needs more expansive disclosure requirements, Climer said, and he’s making public his own, more specific income disclosure form.

“In addition to disclosing their sources of income,” Climer said in a statement accompanying the disclosure, “legislators should also be required to disclose any real estate, financial assets, liabilities and corporate or board positions that could constitute a conflict of interest.”

For his part, Hayes, a member of the Senate Ethics Committee, called last week’s passage of the ethics bill a major step forward, one that does call for disclosure of a wide range of income sources.

“Right now, you don’t have to report any sources of income unless it’s from a government agency,” Hayes said. “I insisted that it include earned and unearned income – whether that’s rental income or things of that sort.”

“That will take care of a lot of potential conflicts of interest.”

Climer has filed both a form provided by the S.C. Policy Council – a conservative think tank – which also doesn’t require a disclosed dollar amount, and the more detailed form required under federal law for members of Congress under the Ethics in Government Act.

Those documents detail Climer’s investments – including Wells Fargo, for whom he works as a financial adviser, and U.S. government securities – as well as his and his wife’s wages. The forms also include a real estate transaction and the candidate’s liabilities – a mortgage and student loans.

It also lists Climer’s positions with outside organizations – as a finance chairman of the Palmetto Council Boy Scouts and a board member of the Palmetto School of the Children’s Attention Home. He wants any ethics legislation to include disclosure of membership in any private boards or organizations.

“I shudder to think about how many Columbia politicians sit on the boards of corporations that have business before the legislature,” Climer said, “or own property that gains in value from state projects, or hold stock in companies that profit from state policies or contracts.”

On his Statehouse web page, Hayes is listed as a member of the boards of the Guardian Fidelity Mortgage Corp., Westminster Towers retirement home, South Carolina Bank & Trust of the Piedmont, and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill – as well as president of the Palmetto Council Boy Scouts.

Hayes also released his own version of the voluntary S.C. Policy Council form, which lists his board positions and investments with Guardian Fidelity and South State Bank, in addition to his law practice, income as a state senator and military retirement benefits.

It’s those associations that critics want officials to be required to disclose.

Hayes’ chairmanship of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, Climer said, is “something that should be openly disclosed.”

Climer also questions whether an eight-member ethics commission, appointed jointly by the governor and legislative leaders, can act effectively if six votes are needed to move an investigation forward. Officials also won’t be held criminally liable for ethics violations.

“This is like a baby’s first steps,” Climer said. “We’ve got a long way to go.”

If the Senate version of the ethics bill is amended by the House, Hayes hopes it includes the income “ranges” included in the federal Ethics in Government Act. But he would still stop short of a full, income tax-style numerical disclosure.

“This doesn’t just apply to members of the Legislature,” he said. “It applies to county councils, school boards, the soil and water commission.”

Such broad disclosure could discourage many from seeking public office, Hayes said.

“People won’t want to release their income tax returns to do that,” he said, “and if they work for someone else, their employer may not want them to.

“If you’re in Congress, that’s your full-time job.”

This story was originally published April 30, 2016 at 9:56 PM with the headline "Rock Hill Senate candidates duel on ethics and income."