SEC AO92-047(Supplemental) March 20, 1996
SUBJECT: ECONOMIC INTEREST DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS
SUMMARY: Public members who are required to file a Statement of Economic Interests due to their appointment to a statewide board, commission or council as that term is defined in the Act must disclose the receipt of things of value from lobbyist's principals.
QUESTION:
Is a public member who is appointed to a statewide board, commission or council which has statewide jurisdiction and some of the sovereign power of the State required to disclose the receipt of things of value from a lobbyist's principal?
DISCUSSION:
This is a supplemental advisory opinion issued pursuant to the authority stated at S.C.Code '8-13-320 (Supp. 1995) and takes effect for those transactions occurring subsequent to January 1, 1996. This opinion supersedes SEC AO 92-047 to the extent of the question stated above.
In SEC 92-047 the Commission was asked a series of questions, including the following:
(4) Would a filer, or member of his immediate family, who is a member of a bank advisory board or a member of a corporate board (public or private) which is also a lobbyist's principal be required to file a statement of income received by virtue of that board participation?
The Commission replied:
"[A]s to the fourth question, Section 8-13-710(A) provides:
(A) Unless provided by subsection (B) and in addition to the requirements of Chapter 17 of Title 2, a public official or public employee required to file a statement of economic interests under Section 8-13-1110 who accepts anything of value from a lobbyist's principal must report the value of anything received on his statement of economic interests pursuant to Section 8-13-1120(a)(9).
Thus, payment for service on a corporate board which is also a lobbyist principal is to be reported by a filer who is a public official or employee. No such reporting requirement exists for disclosing such income by a public member. (emphasis added).
SEC AO92-047(Supplemental) March 20, 1996
Page 2
SEC AO 92-047 was issued prior to July 1, 1993, when this Commission was charged with administering the lobbyists and lobbyist's principal provisions in Chapter 17 of Title 2. Because of the divergence of jurisdiction, the issue of whether a public member was required to disclose receipt of things of value from lobbyist's principals was not fully addressed. We believe it is necessary to do so now.
The term public member is neither used nor defined in Chapter 17 of Title 2. The term first appears in Chapter 13 of Title 8 which provides that a public member means: "an individual appointed to a noncompensated part-time position on a board, commission or council. A public member does not lose this status by receiving reimbursement of expenses or a per diem payment for services. " S.C.Code '8-13-100(26) (Supp. 1995) (emphasis added).
A public member who serves on a state board, commission or council is required to file a Statement of Economic Interests upon taking the oath of office and annually thereafter prior to April 15. S.C.Code 8-13-1110(Supp. 1995). But, until January 12, 1995, there was no definition of state board, commission or council. Thus, questions persisted about who was to report what on a Statement of Economic Interests.
Effective January 12,1995, "state board, commission or council" was defined to mean an agency created by the legislature which has statewide jurisdiction and which exercises some of the sovereign power of the State. S.C.Code 8-13-100(31) (Supp. 1995).
Because Chapter 17 of Title 2 and Chapter 13 of Title 8 defined a public official as "any elected or appointed official of the State" it was generally concluded that the broader term public official included the more restrictive term public member. However, the restrictions in Chapter 17 of Title 2 do not apply to members of local boards, commissions, or councils. Thus, it seemed to make little sense to require members of local boards (public members) to report the receipt of things of value from lobbyist's principals when the restrictions did not apply.
We believe that is no longer the case in that there appears to be a hybrid form of public member created as a result of the amendments to the Act. A public member who serves on a state board, commission or council which is an agency created by legislation, has statewide jurisdiction, and exercises some of the sovereign power of the State is included within the restrictions and reporting requirements. For those public members, we believe they are included within the larger term "public official" and that the restrictions in S.C.Code '2-17-90 apply along with the reporting requirement in S.C.Code 8-13-710.