SC officials may soon have to fork over more income details

By Rick Brundrett | The Nerve

Over the past year or so, South Carolina Sen. Brad Hutto made $282,441 from his law practice while he and his wife received investment income ranging from nearly $246,000 to more than $1.4 million, according to his federal income-disclosure report filed last month for his U.S. Senate bid.

The Orangeburg County Democrat didn’t list that information on his state income-disclosure report filed in March – nor is he required to under current state law.

If the Senate next week passes a compromise version of a state ethics bill (H. 3945) and Gov. Nikki Haley approves it, lawmakers and other public officials covered under the state Ethics Act will have to start reporting their private sources of income, though not income amounts. Legislators, however, would continue to have the authority to police themselves for any violations of that provision; Hutto served on a conference committee that crafted the compromise version.

at The Nerve.