The state Department of Commerce got its formal marching orders Monday to publicly disclose all grants, tax breaks and other incentives it offers businesses to entice them to invest capital and create jobs in South Carolina.

The once-secretive economic development agency voluntarily adopted most of the reforms in March.

Gov. Mark Sanford, who signed the disclosure bill into law Monday, said "letting the sunlight in is a big part of the change we're working to bring to Columbia."

Under the legislation, the department must release details of the incentive packages it offers companies, regardless of whether they choose to invest in the state, after the negotiations are finished.

"Now, we won't have to worry about whether future administrations will do it or not," said Bob Faith, state commerce secretary. "We know they will."

Also, the law tightens the definition of "public monies," a move that requires the agency to disclose expenditures from its previously secret, privately financed "special events fund."

The bill reflects a profound shift at the Commerce Department, which has been criticized in the past for its clandestine culture and lack of accountability. In 1998, the agency tried to exempt all documents related to its industrial recruit- ing efforts from the state's Freedom of Information Act.

Then, in 2001, a spending scandal rocked the department. An internal review found that the chief of staff at the time had spent money on personal golf outings and that a communications manager had skirted procurement rules by giving state business to companies that employed personal acquaintances. A subsequent report by the Legislative Audit Council found lavish spending on parties and a disregard for costs of hotel rooms, airfare and meals.

Sanford said the new legislation was essential to ensure "we don't see a repeat of past abuses."

Faith, a Charleston-based real estate executive who took over the agency in January, said the department has been voluntarily releasing information about its incentive packages for several months.

"I've always felt that when decisions can be examined out in the open, in public, that you ultimately end up with better decisions," he said. "That's particularly important when taxpayer money is involved."

In addition, he has said, the department plans to shed light in its annual report about the companies that visit South Carolina and are offered incentives but choose to invest elsewhere. The businesses likely will be identified by industry but not by name.

Faith said he isn't concerned that the new disclosure law might upset companies that are reluctant to air their incentive deals.

"I think in most states, once public funds are expended, ultimately there is some level of public review," he said. "I don't think this puts us at a competitive disadvantage whatsoever."

State Sen. John Kuhn, R-Charleston, said the disclosure bill passed despite some resistance from pro-business interests, including the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. "A lot of people didn't want to touch that bill," said Kuhn, one of the co-sponsors.

Ultimately, he said, opponents saw "that it was not such a bad thing to let some sunshine in on the process."

House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, said the new law "restores public confidence at a time in our state's economic history when South Carolinians are depending on the Commerce Department more than ever."

John P. McDermott covers economic development and real estate. He can be reached at 843-937-5572 or jmcdermott@postandcourier.com.