State Rep. Shirley Hinson said on the House floor Tuesday that a lobbying group connected to the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce offered her a "bribe" to support its version of tort reform legislation.

HANDOUT State representative Shirley R.Hinson

Last month, Hinson, R-Goose Creek, pulled her support from the bill, which limits the amount of money a court can award plaintiffs in business-related lawsuits to $250,000, because she felt the amount was too low.

South Carolina First, an alliance of state business organizations, responded by mailing postcards to Hinson's district linking her politically to former President Bill Clinton.

When Hinson complained, she said the group -- through an intermediary -- offered to retract its statements and help her fill her campaign war chest if she would support the legislation as is.

"They offered a bribe. They said they would be willing to send out another postcard, take out some advertisements in the local newspaper and help me with raising some money for my next campaign if I support the bill," Hinson said in an interview Tuesday evening. "I have never been so insulted."

William E. Mahon, CEO of the S.C. Medical Association and a member of South Carolina First's executive committee, said Tuesday evening that the group had sent out the postcard, but denied offering Hinson a bribe.

"No one with the organization had that conversation with her," Mahon said.

Cam Crawford, South Carolina First's executive director and the person Hinson said was behind the bribe offer, called her remarks "unfortunate and untrue."

"We are totally in shock over what happened," Crawford said. "I think she'll regret these comments when she calms down."

SPEECH DRAWS SUPPORT

Hinson's speech drew a standing ovation in the pro-business House Tuesday morning, and had some members pulling their support from the tort reform effort. House Majority Leader Rick Quinn said that sending out the postcard -- much less offering conditions for a retraction -- was wrong of South Carolina First, and that the ramifications could be far-reaching.

"It's not going away. There will be repercussions," Quinn, R-Columbia, said, "not only for the issue, but for the relationships."

Hinson has gotten strong support from Republican leadership and House members in general. While legislators aren't sure the situation rises to the level of a crime, they said that an attack by the business community on Hinson -- a Republican with a 97 percent pro-business voting record -- makes the lobbying effort appear out of control. If Hinson isn't safe from political attacks on her record, the thinking is, then no one is.

"She has one of the best pro-business records in the House," Quinn said. "All she did was remove her name as a co-sponsor on the bill. It has no substantive impact on passage of the bill. It was very immature the way this was done."

Quinn said there is no way that Hinson or any lawmaker could support legislation on the terms he's heard outlined. He said he had talked with officials of South Carolina First but, "They haven't offered me a single objective reason" for the group's actions.

POSTCARDS IN QUESTION

The postcards were mailed to people who voted in the Republican primary in Hinson's Berkeley County district and featured a photo of President Bush and former President Clinton with a question mark asking who Hinson supports.

On the back of the card, which featured a photo of Hinson, there was text touting Bush's support of tort reform and recounting various Clinton measures to block such legislation at the federal level.

On its web site --part of the state Chamber of Commerce's site -- South Carolina First touts itself as "an alliance for economic development and legal reform," with membership from most major industries in the state. The group's executive committee includes officials from the S.C. Manufacturers Alliance, the S.C. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business and the S.C. Medical Association.

Mahon said the group was behind the mailing to Hinson's district, but said he could not divulge the purpose.

"Yeah, we sent that out," Mahon said. "We're in a real tough battle. I don't want to get into our strategy."

Hinson said that after she complained about the mailing she got word from Crawford that South Carolina First would be willing to send out a retraction postcard, buy a newspaper ad touting Hinson and give her financial help with her next campaign.

"Cam Crawford sent that message by way of another person, who I don't want to pull into this," Hinson said. "That's their little out."

Mahon said, "All I can say is that no one with South Carolina First spoke directly to her. I can't comment beyond that."

Crawford said that the business about "going through third parties" should be enough to call the story into question. "I'm amazed somebody would say something like that."

Hinson met with members of South Carolina First on Statehouse grounds Tuesday afternoon, but she said that, instead of apologizing, they asked her to apologize for accusing them of bribery. She said she's not backing down.

"This is not about me, it's about the legislative process that I respect very much," Hinson said. "My only special interest is District 92. The funny thing is, I support tort reform. I just had a couple of quibbles."

Contact Brian Hicks at (843) 937-5561 or bhicks@postandcourier.com.