Political appointees should have to disclose contributions they've made to candidates for public office, S.C. House Democratic leader James Smith said Tuesday.

Smith, of Columbia, will announce today that he's introducing legislation to require anyone appointed to a state board or commission to reveal political contributions made within the past four years.

"Change needs to be made," Smith said.

The proposal is in response to a Sunday story in The State newspaper, Smith said. The report showed that nearly half of the people Gov. Mark Sanford has appointed to state boards, commissions or agency leadership posts were campaign donors.

Sanford declined to comment. He said last week that whether someone made a campaign contribution was one factor used in choosing appointees.

Smith's bill would apply to all appointments, not just those made by the governor. The House and Senate also appoint members of some state boards and commissions.

Smith is still working on some specifics, such as how exactly appointees would reveal contributions.

The proposal will be taken up when the Legislature returns in January.

House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, said he and his Republican colleagues believe in disclosure when it comes to campaign cash, but he isn't sure Smith's step is necessary.

Contributions already must be disclosed by the candidate, he said.

"A great deal of this information is already available," he said. "I hope this is not just an attempt to politicize appointments by the governor of a different party. "

Smith said his proposal is not a partisan attack.

"That is not the point," he said. "I do think the governor provides a shining example of why this needs to be changed."

It is a worthwhile effort, said John Crangle, director of the S.C. chapter of Common Cause, a Washington-based government watchdog group.

"The public has a right to know, and I don't think it's too much of a burden on these people," Crangle said.

But Wilkins said the public already has access to the information, and he's sure more attention will be paid to these issues in the future.

"Questions like that are probably going to be more prevalent now," he said.