Post by Logan on May 3, 2016 2:19:52 GMT -6
COLUMBIA — Two ethics bills that passed the Senate will benefit the public even if they aren’t paying attention but additional reforms are needed, two ethics watchdogs say.
The bills are part of a legislative ethics package that has been debated for at least four years, repeatedly running aground in the more deliberative Senate.
But last week the Senate passed a House bill that would require disclosure by public officials of sources of private income and also passed another House measure that would hand investigations of ethics complaints against legislators to a revamped State Ethics Commission, removing such probes from legislative committees.
John Crangle, executive director of the South Carolina chapter of Common Cause, a government watchdog group, said average citizens don’t pay attention to ethics issues unless a major scandal surfaces.
Read more: www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/politics/2016/05/02/watchdogs-say-ethics-bills-could-instill-confidence/83817846/
The bills are part of a legislative ethics package that has been debated for at least four years, repeatedly running aground in the more deliberative Senate.
But last week the Senate passed a House bill that would require disclosure by public officials of sources of private income and also passed another House measure that would hand investigations of ethics complaints against legislators to a revamped State Ethics Commission, removing such probes from legislative committees.
John Crangle, executive director of the South Carolina chapter of Common Cause, a government watchdog group, said average citizens don’t pay attention to ethics issues unless a major scandal surfaces.
Read more: www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/politics/2016/05/02/watchdogs-say-ethics-bills-could-instill-confidence/83817846/