Legislators should not use campaign money to pay for dry cleaning, panel says

S.C. House members and candidates should not spend campaign money on dry cleaning, vehicle maintenance or to buy gifts for other House members, an S.C. House ethics subcommittee said Tuesday.

The subcommittee approved an advisory opinion for House members after legislators submitted questions asking what expenses can — and cannot — be reimbursed with campaign money.

Ethics Committee chairman Kenny Bingham, R-Lexington, said he encouraged House members to request an opinion on specific scenarios. Legislators are “cautious and cognizant” of public scrutiny, Bingham said.

The ethics panel said House members and candidates should not spend campaign money to pay for private social clubs. However, if the member joins a civic organization such as a Rotary Club in his or her role as a House member, those dues can be paid for with campaign money.

House members also cannot pay for their living expenses — for example, their electric bills — with campaign money.

The ethics panel said S.C. House members can use campaign money to pay for:

▪  Donations to nonprofit organizations as long as the member, member’s business or family members do not make money from the donation

▪  S.C. newspaper subscriptions or news services

▪  Membership dues for political organizations

House members may not pay for attorney’s fees from campaign contributions if they are criminally charged or indicted, the panel said. However, if they are found not guilty, they may reimburse themselves with their campaign money on a case-by-case basis.

That issue arose after former S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, used his campaign account to pay for his attorneys as he tried to fend off ethics charges. Harrell pleaded guilty in 2014 to misusing campaign money.

In February, the S.C. House Ethics Committee ruled Harrell had to repay $113,475 that he spent from his campaign account on attorneys.

The full House Ethics Committee will have to approve the advisory opinion.

This story was originally published August 2, 2016 at 9:33 PM with the headline "Legislators should not use campaign money to pay for dry cleaning, panel says."