South Carolina General Assembly
109th Session, 1991-1992

Bill 4290


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


                    Current Status

Introducing Body:               House
Bill Number:                    4290
Primary Sponsor:                Fulmer
Committee Number:               11
Type of Legislation:            GB
Subject:                        Legislative caucus, definition
                                revised
Residing Body:                  Senate
Current Committee:              Judiciary
Date Tabled:                    Apr 08, 1992
Computer Document Number:       CYY/18753.SD
Introduced Date:                Jan 29, 1992
Date of Last Amendment:         Apr 21, 1992
Last History Body:              Senate
Last History Date:              Apr 23, 1992
Last History Type:              Introduced, read first time,
                                referred to Committee
Scope of Legislation:           Statewide
All Sponsors:                   Fulmer
                                R. Young
                                McAbee
                                H. Brown
                                G.
                                Bailey
                                Corbett
                                Harrison
                                Holt
                                Wofford
                                Felder
                                D. Williams
                                Baker
                                Rama
                                Shissias
                                A. Young
                                Byrd
                                Wright
                                Corning
                                Carnell
                                Stone
                                Wilder
                                Keegan
                                Baxley
                                Phillips
Type of Legislation:            General Bill



History


 Bill  Body    Date          Action Description              CMN
 ----  ------  ------------  ------------------------------  ---
 4290  Senate  Apr 23, 1992  Introduced, read first time,    11
                             referred to Committee
 4290  House   Apr 22, 1992  Read third time, sent to
                             Senate
 4290  House   Apr 21, 1992  Amended, read second time
 4290  House   Apr 16, 1992  Debate adjourned until
                             Tuesday, April 21, 1992
 4290  House   Apr 09, 1992  Reconsidered vote whereby the
                             Bill was tabled
 4290  House   Apr 08, 1992  Tabled
 4290  House   Mar 26, 1992  Objection withdrawn by
                             Representative
 4290  House   Mar 18, 1992  Objection withdrawn by
                             Representative
 4290  House   Mar 04, 1992  Objection by Representative
 4290  House   Mar 04, 1992  Objection by Representative
 4290  House   Feb 26, 1992  Committee Report: Favorable     25
 4290  House   Jan 29, 1992  Introduced, read first time,    25
                             referred to Committee

View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

AMENDED

April 21, 1992

H. 4290

Introduced by REPS. Fulmer, R. Young, McAbee, H. Brown, G. Bailey, Corbett, Harrison, Holt, Wofford, Felder, D. Williams, Baker, Rama, Shissias, A. Young, Byrd, Wright, Corning, Carnell, Stone, Wilder, Keegan, Baxley and Phillips

S. Printed 4/21/92--H.

Read the first time January 29, 1992.

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 2-17-10, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS IN REGARD TO THE REGULATION OF LOBBYISTS AND LOBBYING, SO AS TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF "LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS" TO INCLUDE A GROUP OF MEMBERS OF EITHER OR BOTH HOUSES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AFFILIATED BASED UPON COMMITMENT TO A PARTICULAR SUBJECT OR ISSUE.

Amend Title To Conform

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Section 2-17-10. As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1)(a) `Anything of value' or `thing of value' means:

(i) a pecuniary item, including money, a bank bill, or a bank note;

(ii) a promissory note, bill of exchange, an order, a draft, warrant, check, or bond given for the payment of money;

(iii) a contract, agreement, promise, or other obligation for an advance, a conveyance, forgiveness of indebtedness, deposit, distribution, loan, payment, gift, pledge, or transfer of money;

(iv) a stock, bond, note, or other investment interest in an entity;

(v) a receipt given for the payment of money or other property;

(vi) a chose-in-action;

(vii) a gift, tangible good, chattel, or an interest in a gift, tangible good, or chattel;

(viii) a loan or forgiveness of indebtedness;

(ix) a work of art, an antique, or a collectible;

(x) an automobile or other means of personal transportation;

(xi) real property or an interest in real property, including title to realty, a fee simple or partial interest in realty including present, future, contingent, or vested interests in realty, a leasehold interest, or other beneficial interest in realty;

(xii) an honorarium or compensation for services;

(xiii) a promise or offer of employment;

(xiv) any other item that is of pecuniary or compensatory worth to a person.

(b) `Anything of value' or `thing of value' does not mean:

(i) printed informational or promotional material, not to exceed ten dollars in monetary value;

(ii) items of nominal value, not to exceed ten dollars, containing or displaying promotional material;

(iii) a personalized plaque or trophy with a value that does not exceed one hundred fifty dollars;

(iv) educational material of a nominal value directly related to the public official's, public member's, or public employee's official responsibilities;

(v) an honorary degree bestowed upon a public official, public member, or public employee from a public or private university or college;

(vi) promotional or marketing items offered to the general public on the same terms and conditions without regard to status as a public official or public employee; or

(vii) a campaign contribution properly received and reported under the provisions of Chapter 13 of Title 8.

(2) `Covered agency actions' means the proposal, drafting, development, consideration, amendment, withdrawal, or promulgation of a regulation under Article 1, Chapter 23 of Title 1 of the 1976 Code.

(3) `Covered gubernatorial actions' means: (a) gubernatorial approval or veto of legislation;

(b) gubernatorial consideration or issuance of any executive order;

(c) gubernatorial consideration or making of any appointment; or

(d) gubernatorial consideration of or the decision to award any grant derived from federal or other funds or from any source.

(4)(a) `Economic interest' means an interest distinct from that of the general public in a purchase, sale, lease, contract, option, or other transaction or arrangement involving property or services in which a public official or public employee may gain an economic benefit of fifty dollars or more.

(b) This definition does not prohibit a public official or public employee from participating in, voting on, or influencing or attempting to influence an official decision if the only economic interest or reasonably foreseeable benefit that may accrue to the public official or public employee is incidental to the public official's or public employee's position or which accrues to the public official or public employee as a member of a profession, occupation, or large class to no greater extent than the economic interest or potential benefit could reasonably be foreseen to accrue to all other members of the profession, occupation, or large class.

(5) `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, and a payment to a lobbyist for compensation, for expenses, or lobbying, including the direct payment of expenses incurred at the request or suggestion of a lobbyist.

(6) `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.

(7) `Immediate family' means:

(a) a child residing in a public official's or public employee's household;

(b) a spouse of a public official or public employee; or

(c) an individual claimed by the public official or public employee or the public official's or public employee's spouse as a dependent for income tax purposes.

(8) `Individual' means one human being.

(9) `Income' means the receipt or promise of any consideration, whether or not legally enforceable, including attorney's fees attributable to lobbying.

(10) `Legislation' means:

(a) bills, resolutions, amendments, reports, legislative acts, vetoes, nominations, rules, and regulations pending or proposed in either the House or Senate;

(b) any other matter which may be the subject of action by either house; or

(c) the appointment of committees of conference and free conference by the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the President of the Senate.

(11) `Lobbying' means promoting or opposing through direct communication with public officials or public employees:

(a) the introduction or enactment of legislation before the General Assembly or the committees or members of the General Assembly;

(b) covered gubernatorial actions;

(c) covered agency actions; or

(d) consideration of the election or appointment of an individual to a public office elected or appointed by the General Assembly.

"Lobbying' does not include the activities of a member of the General Assembly, a member of the staff of a member of the Senate or House of Representatives, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, or a member of the executive staff of the Governor or Lieutenant Governor acting in his capacity as a public official or public employee with regard to his public duties.

(13) `Lobbyist' means any person who is employed, appointed, or retained, with or without compensation, by another person to influence by direct communication with public officials or public employees: (i) the action or vote of any member of the General Assembly, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, or any other statewide constitutional officer concerning any legislation; (ii) the vote of any public official on any state agency, board, or commission concerning any covered agency actions; or (iii) the action of the Governor or any member of his executive staff concerning any covered gubernatorial actions. `Lobbyist' also means any person who is employed, appointed, or retained, with or without compensation, by a state agency, college, university, or other institution of higher learning to influence by direct communication with public officials or public employees: (i) the action or vote of any member of the General Assembly, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, or any other statewide constitutional officer concerning any legislation; (ii) the vote of any public official of any state agency, board, or commission concerning any covered agency actions; or (iii) the action of the Governor or any member of his executive staff concerning any covered gubernatorial actions. `Lobbyist' does not include:

(a) an individual who receives no compensation to engage in lobbying and who expresses a personal opinion on legislation, covered gubernatorial actions, or covered agency actions to any public official or public employee;

(b) a person who appears only before public sessions of committees or subcommittees of the General Assembly, public hearings of state agencies, public hearings before any public body of a quasi-judicial nature, or proceedings of any court of this State;

(c) any duly elected or appointed official or employee of the State, the United States, a county, municipality, school district, or a political subdivision thereof, or a member of the judiciary when appearing solely on matters pertaining to his office and public duties unless lobbying constitutes a regular and substantial portion of such official's or employee's duties;

(d) a person performing professional services in drafting legislation or in advising and rendering opinions to clients as to the construction and effect of proposed or pending legislation;

(e) a person who owns, publishes, or is employed by a radio station, television station, wire service, or other bona fide news medium which in the ordinary course of business disseminates news, editorials, columns, other comments, or other regularly published periodicals if such person represents no other person in lobbying for legislation, covered agency actions, or covered gubernatorial actions. This exception applies to the publication of any periodical which is published and distributed by a membership organization to its subscribers at least twelve times annually and for which an annual subscription charge of at least one dollar fifty cents a subscriber is made;

(f) a person who represents any established church solely for the purpose of protecting the rights of the membership of the church or for the purpose of protecting the doctrines of the church or on matters considered to have an adverse effect upon the moral welfare of the membership of the church;

(g) a person who is running for office elected by the General Assembly or a person soliciting votes on the behalf of a person who is running for office elected by the General Assembly unless such person is otherwise defined as a lobbyist by this section; or

(h) an individual who receives no compensation to engage in lobbying and who does not make expenditures or incur obligations for lobbying in an aggregate amount in excess of five hundred dollars in a calendar year.

(13) `Lobbyist's principal' means the person on whose behalf and for whose benefit the lobbyist engages in lobbying and who directly employs, appoints, or retains a lobbyist to engage in lobbying. However, a lobbyist's principal does not include a person who belongs to an association or organization that employs a lobbyist, nor an employee, officer, or shareholder of a person who employs a lobbyist. If a membership association or organization is a lobbyist's principal, the association or organization must register and report under the provisions of this chapter.

(14) `Person' means an individual, a partnership, committee, an association, a corporation, labor organization, or any other organization or group of persons.

(15) `Public body' means the General Assembly, the Executive Office of the Governor, any department of the State, or any state board, commission, agency, or authority, including committees of any such body, by whatever name known.

(16) `Public employee' means any person employed by the State.

(17) `Public official' means any elected or appointed official of the State, including candidates for any such state office. However, 'public official' does not mean a member of the judiciary.

(18) `Voluntary membership organization' means an organization composed of persons who are members thereof on a voluntary basis and who, as a condition of membership, are required to make regular payments to the organization.

Section 2-17-90. (A) Except as otherwise provided under Section 2-17-100, no lobbyist's principal may offer, solicit, facilitate, or provide to a public official or public employee, and no public official or public employee may accept lodging, transportation, entertainment, food, meals, beverages, or an invitation to a function paid for by a lobbyist's principal, except for:

(1) as to members of the General Assembly, a function to which a member of the General Assembly is invited if the entire membership of the House, the Senate, or the General Assembly is invited, or one of the committees, subcommittees, joint committees, or county legislative delegations of the General Assembly of which the legislator is a member is invited. However, the Speaker of the House and Speaker Pro Tempore of the House may be included in an invitation to one of the above groups;

(2) as to a public official of a state agency, board, or commission, a function to which an official of a state agency, board, or commission is invited if the entire board or commission of which the public official is a member is invited;

(3) as to public employees, except for public employees of any statewide constitutional officer, a function to which a public employee is invited if a public official of the agency or department by which the public employee is employed also is invited under another provision of this section;

(4) as to public employees of any statewide constitutional officer, a function to which all statewide constitutional officers are invited;

(5) as to statewide constitutional officers, a function to which a statewide constitutional officer is invited;

(6) as to public officials or public employees, activities reasonably and directly related to state or local economic development efforts. However, the public official or public employee first must obtain prior written approval from:

(a) the Governor, in the case of any of his employees or of any public officials of any state agencies or any of their employees which are not listed in a subitem below;

(b) any statewide constitutional officer, in the case of himself or any of his employees;

(c) the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, in the case of any member of the Senate or its employees; or

(d) the Speaker of the House, in the case of a member of the House of Representatives or its employees.

(B) No lobbyist's principal or person acting on behalf of a lobbyist's principal may provide to a public official or a public employee pursuant to subsections (A)(1), (A)(2), (A)(3), (A)(4), or (A)(5) the value of lodging, transportation, entertainment, food, meals, or beverages exceeding twenty-five dollars in a day and two hundred dollars in a calendar year per public official or public employee.

(C) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (E), any public official or any public employee who is required to file a statement of economic interests under Section 8-13-1110 and who accepts lodging, transportation, entertainment, food, meals, or beverages under subsection (A) must report on his statement of economic interests pursuant to Section 8-13-1120 the value of anything received.

(D) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (E), a lobbyist's principal extending an invitation under subsection (A) must report all expenses as required by Section 2-17-35.

(E) If the disclosure required by subsection (C) or (D) would compromise the confidentiality of a state or local economic development project and the approving official under subsection (A)(6) has indicated in the prior written approval that disclosure of that information would jeopardize the negotiations in an economic development project, then the approving official must forward a confidential copy of the prior written approval to the lobbyist's principal involved and the Secretary of State. The public official must disclose only the value of the thing of value received with a notation 'for economic development-confidential' on the forms required by Sections 8-13-1110 and 8-13-1120. The lobbyist's principal must not disclose any information identifying the recipient or details of the expenditure on the form required by Section 2-17-35. The public official and the lobbyist's principal must report all required information on forms developed by the Secretary of State for the reporting of information under this subsection. These forms must be marked 'confidential' and must not be a part of the public record until such time as the approving official determines that public disclosure is appropriate.

(F) The provisions of this section do not apply to a public official or a public employee who pays for his lodging, transportation, entertainment, meals, food, or beverages at a function to which he has been invited by a lobbyist's principal.

-----XX-----