 - House minority leader wants more disclosure for contributions_files/goupstate1.gif)
This is a printer friendly version of an article from
www.goupstate.com
To print this article open the file menu and choose
Print.
Back
Article published Aug 27, 2003
House minority leader wants more disclosure for
contributions
The Associated
Press
House Minority Leader James Smith wants more disclosure of
campaign contributions by political appointees.
Smith, D-Columbia, was
surrounded by fellow Democratic leaders Wednesday as he announced legislation
that would require anyone appointed to a state board or commission to reveal
political contributions made within the past four years before confirmed to the
seat.
"Change needs to be made," Smith said.
Smith said he was
responding to an analysis by The (Columbia) State published Sunday that showed
almost half of the people Gov. Mark Sanford appointed in his first six months in
office were donors to his campaign.
According to the analysis, that's
twice as many donor appointments as made by Sanford's predecessor Jim Hodges
during the same timeframe in his term.
Sanford said last week that
whether someone made a campaign contribution was one factor used in choosing
appointees.
"If there is a perception that South Carolina's government is
for sale and you have to pay to play, then whether perception or reality, reform
is needed," Smith said.
House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, said
the public already has access to contributions made to candidates for public
office and he doesn't know if Smith's proposal is necessary.
"Questions
like that are probably going to be more prevalent now," 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."
State law requires candidates to disclose
contributions quarterly. The state Ethics Commission reports contributions by
officeholder, not donor. Smith's legislation would streamline the process to
make the information more accessible to the public by indexing contributions by
appointee, he said.
John Crangle, director of the South Carolina chapter
of Common Cause, a Washington-based government watchdog group,
agreed.
"The public has a right to know, and I don't think it's too much
of a burden on these people," Crangle said.
Information from: The
State