Tag: Ethics
Updated on March 19, 2013 by South Carolina Policy Council
LANDESS ASKS GOVERNOR’S COMMISSION ON ETHICS REFORM TO CONSIDER DEPTH OF PROBLEM [Note: the following is testimony by SCPC President Ashley Landess before Gov. Nikki Haley’s Commission on Ethics Reform, on Tuesday, January 22, 2013. Video available here.] Thank you for this second opportunity to speak to you today. We at the SCPC …
LAWMAKERS SHOULD QUIT MAKING EXCUSES AND FOLLOW THE LAW Two years ago, the Policy Council discovered a provision in state law requiring House and Senate appropriations committees to meet in joint open sessions on the governor’s proposed spending plan. This would be a break with all known past tradition. For decades, South Carolina lawmakers …
CAN SOMETHING SO SIMPLE REALLY BE SO DIFFICULT? Among the state’s commentators and editorialists, ethics reform is expected to be the issue of the 2013 legislative session. What exactly “ethics reform” means depends on whom you ask. The Policy Council does not take the view that reforming our ethics laws should require a lot …
A FEW IDEAS WORTH KEEPING FOR NEXT YEAR . . . The 2013 legislative session will begin in January, and many lawmakers and pundits have predicted that this will be the year of “ethics reform.” We don’t know what “ethics reform” will mean yet – a genuine overhaul of Columbia’s culture of secret deal-making, cronyism, …
IS THERE A ‘CONTROLLING LEGAL AUTHORITY’ HERE? In 1997, when Vice President Al Gore was questioned about suspicious campaign fund-raising activities, he claimed repeatedly that he didn’t know it was illegal. “My counsel tells me,” said the Vice President, “there is no controlling legal authority that says that is any violation of the law.” Whatever …
FOR A ‘FREEDOM OF INFORMATION’ LAW, OURS DOESN’T ALLOW VERY MUCH INFORMATION Want information about the way a state agency uses your tax dollars? Here’s the good news: nearly every agency of any size employs a full-time Public Information Officer whose job – as the title implies – is to provide the public with information …
WHY THE HOUSE & SENATE ETHICS COMMITTEES SHOULDN’T EXIST – AND WHY IT MATTERS South Carolina is often said – correctly – to be dominated by the legislature. What does that mean, exactly? Partly it means that the General Assembly takes the lion’s share of power over most areas of state government. But it also means …
Tag: Ethics
Testimony before Commission on Ethics Reform
Updated on March 19, 2013 by South Carolina Policy Council
LANDESS ASKS GOVERNOR’S COMMISSION ON ETHICS REFORM TO CONSIDER DEPTH OF PROBLEM [Note: the following is testimony by SCPC President Ashley Landess before Gov. Nikki Haley’s Commission on Ethics Reform, on Tuesday, January 22, 2013. Video available here.] Thank you for this second opportunity to speak to you today. We at the SCPC …
Category: Commentary, Self Governance Tags: 8 point reform agenda, Ethics
Why the State’s Open Budget Law Matters
Posted on January 15, 2013 by South Carolina Policy Council
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LAWMAKERS SHOULD QUIT MAKING EXCUSES AND FOLLOW THE LAW Two years ago, the Policy Council discovered a provision in state law requiring House and Senate appropriations committees to meet in joint open sessions on the governor’s proposed spending plan. This would be a break with all known past tradition. For decades, South Carolina lawmakers …
Category: Budget Tags: 8 point reform agenda, Budget Reform, Ethics
Abolishing the Ethics Committees
Updated on April 5, 2016 by South Carolina Policy Council
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CAN SOMETHING SO SIMPLE REALLY BE SO DIFFICULT? Among the state’s commentators and editorialists, ethics reform is expected to be the issue of the 2013 legislative session. What exactly “ethics reform” means depends on whom you ask. The Policy Council does not take the view that reforming our ethics laws should require a lot …
Category: Reform & Restructuring, Self Governance Tags: 8 point reform agenda, Ethics
Ethics Reform: Some Re-Gifting Ideas
Updated on April 2, 2013 by South Carolina Policy Council
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A FEW IDEAS WORTH KEEPING FOR NEXT YEAR . . . The 2013 legislative session will begin in January, and many lawmakers and pundits have predicted that this will be the year of “ethics reform.” We don’t know what “ethics reform” will mean yet – a genuine overhaul of Columbia’s culture of secret deal-making, cronyism, …
Category: Reform & Restructuring, Self Governance, Transparency Tags: 8 point reform agenda, Ethics
Who Investigates?
Updated on October 4, 2012 by South Carolina Policy Council
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IS THERE A ‘CONTROLLING LEGAL AUTHORITY’ HERE? In 1997, when Vice President Al Gore was questioned about suspicious campaign fund-raising activities, he claimed repeatedly that he didn’t know it was illegal. “My counsel tells me,” said the Vice President, “there is no controlling legal authority that says that is any violation of the law.” Whatever …
Category: Commentary Tags: 8 point reform agenda, Ethics, Legislative Reform, Reform agenda
Freedom of Information?
Updated on February 25, 2015 by South Carolina Policy Council
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FOR A ‘FREEDOM OF INFORMATION’ LAW, OURS DOESN’T ALLOW VERY MUCH INFORMATION Want information about the way a state agency uses your tax dollars? Here’s the good news: nearly every agency of any size employs a full-time Public Information Officer whose job – as the title implies – is to provide the public with information …
Category: Commentary, Self Governance, Transparency Tags: 8 point reform agenda, Ethics, Freedom of Information, Legislative Reform, Reform agenda
The Rules Apply to Everyone. (Except Us.)
Updated on April 2, 2013 by South Carolina Policy Council
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WHY THE HOUSE & SENATE ETHICS COMMITTEES SHOULDN’T EXIST – AND WHY IT MATTERS South Carolina is often said – correctly – to be dominated by the legislature. What does that mean, exactly? Partly it means that the General Assembly takes the lion’s share of power over most areas of state government. But it also means …
Category: Commentary, Reform & Restructuring, Self Governance Tags: 8 point reform agenda, Ethics, Reform agenda