SC bills involve independent ethics investigations

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Both the House and Senate are attempting to jumpstart next year’s debate on ethics reform with bills that would end the current system of legislators investigating their own members.

Agreement on that provision could again be key to any reform measure passing.

A Senate Judiciary subcommittee held its first hearing Wednesday on Judiciary Committee Chairman Larry Martin’s proposal. It was the first bill pre-filed for the upcoming session.

Legislators of both parties have called ethics reform a top priority since 2012. But a two-year effort died in the Senate earlier this year.

Both Martin’s bill and proposals that a House panel plans to introduce will again attempt to end legislative investigations of colleagues. The state Ethics Commission would investigate instead. The plans differ on the specifics of the commission’s new role.