As used in this article:

1. (1) "Appropriate supervisory office" means:

   1. (a) the State Ethics Commission for all candidates for public office in this State except for members of or candidates for the office of State Senator or State Representative;
   2. (b) the Senate Ethics Committee for members of or candidates for the office of State Senator, and the House of Representatives Ethics Committee for members of or candidates for the office of State Representative;
   3. (c) the State Ethics Commission for all committees, except legislative caucus committees, supporting or opposing a ballot measure or supporting or opposing a candidate;
   4. (d) the Senate Ethics Committee for all legislative caucus committees affiliated with the Senate, the House of Representatives Ethics Committee for all legislative caucus committees affiliated with the House of Representatives, and both ethics committees for all legislative caucus committees affiliated with both houses.
2. (2) "Ballot measure" means a referendum, proposition, or measure submitted to voters for their approval.
3. (3) "Business" means a corporation, partnership, proprietorship, firm, an enterprise, a franchise, an association, organization, or a self-employed individual.
4. (4) "Candidate" means a person who seeks appointment, nomination for election, or election to a statewide or local office, or authorizes or knowingly permits the collection or disbursement of money for the promotion of his candidacy or election. It also means a person on whose behalf write-in votes are solicited if the person has knowledge of such solicitation. "Candidate" does not include a candidate within the meaning of Section 431(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1976.
5. (5) "Charitable organization" means an organization described in Title 26, Section 170(c) of the United States Code as it currently exists or as it may be amended.
6. (6) "Committee" means an association, a club, an organization, or a group of persons which, to influence the outcome of an elective office or a ballot measure, receives contributions or makes expenditures in excess of five hundred dollars in the aggregate during an election cycle. It also means an individual who, to influence the outcome of an elective office or a ballot measure, makes contributions aggregating at least fifty thousand dollars during an election cycle to, or at the request of, a candidate or a committee, or a combination of them. "Committee" includes a party committee, a legislative caucus committee, a noncandidate committee, or a committee that is not a campaign committee for a candidate but that is organized for the purpose of influencing an election.
7. (7) "Contribution" means a gift, subscription, loan, guarantee upon which collection is made, forgiveness of a loan, an advance, in-kind contribution or expenditure, a deposit of money, or anything of value made to a candidate or committee to influence an election; or payment or compensation for the personal service of another person which is rendered for any purpose to a candidate or committee without charge. "Contribution" does not include volunteer personal services on behalf of a candidate or committee for which the volunteer receives no compensation from any source.
8. (8) "Corporation" means an entity organized in the corporate form under federal law or the laws of any state.

9. (9) "Election" means:

   1. (a) a general, special, primary, or runoff election;
   2. (b) a convention or caucus of a political party held to nominate a candidate;
   3. (c) the election of delegates to a constitutional convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of this State; or
   4. (d) a ballot measure.
10. (10) "Election cycle" means the period of a term of office beginning on the day after the general election for the office, up to and including the following general election for the same office, including a primary, special primary, or special election; however, the contribution limits under Sections 8-13-1314 and 8-13-1316 apply only to elections occurring on or after January 1, 1992, and are for each primary, runoff, or special election in which a candidate has opposition and for each general election. If the candidate remains unopposed during an election cycle, one contribution limit shall apply.
11. (11) "Elective office" means an office at the state, county, municipal or political subdivision level. For the purposes of this article, the term 'elective office' does not include an office under the unified judicial system except for purposes of campaign practices, campaign disclosure, and disclosure of economic interests. "Elective office" includes the office of probate judge.
12. (12) "Expenditure" means a purchase, payment, loan, forgiveness of a loan, an advance, in-kind contribution or expenditure, a deposit, transfer of funds, gift of money, or anything of value for any purpose.
13. (13) "Expenditures incurred" means an amount owed to a creditor for purchase of delivered goods or completed services.

14. (14) "Family member" means an individual who is:

    1. (a) the spouse, parent, brother, sister, child, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild; or
    2. (b) a member of the individual's immediate family.
15. (15) "Gift" means anything of value, including entertainment, food, beverage, travel, and lodging given for pay to a public official or public employee to the extent that consideration of equal or greater value is not received. A gift includes a rebate or discount on the price of anything of value unless it is made in the ordinary course of business without regard to that person's status. A gift does not include campaign contributions accepted pursuant to this article.

16. (16) "Immediate family" means:

    1. (a) a child residing in a candidate's, public official's, public member's, or public employee's household;
    2. (b) a spouse of a candidate, public official, public member, or public employee; or
    3. (c) an individual claimed by the candidate, public official, public member, or public employee or the candidate's, public official's, public member's, or public employee's spouse as a dependent for income tax purposes.

17. (17) "Independent expenditure" means:

    1. (a) an expenditure made by a person to advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or ballot measure; and

    2. (b) when taken as a whole and in context, the expenditure made by a person expressly to urge a particular result in an election but which is not:

       1. (i) made to;
       2. (ii) controlled by;
       3. (iii) coordinated with;
       4. (iv) requested by; or

       5. (v) made upon consultation with a candidate or an agent of a candidate.

          Expenditures by party committees or expenditures by legislative caucus committees based upon party affiliation are considered to be controlled by, coordinated with, requested by, or made upon consultation with a candidate or an agent of a candidate.

18. (18) "Individual" means one human being.
19. (19) "Individual with whom he is associated" means an individual with whom the person or a member of his immediate family mutually has an interest in a business of which the person or a member of his immediate family is a director, an officer, owner, employee, a compensated agent, or holder of stock worth one hundred thousand dollars or more at fair market value and which constitutes five percent or more of the total outstanding stock of any class.
20. (20) "In-kind contribution or expenditure" means goods or services which are provided to or by a person at no charge or for less than their fair market value.

21. (21) "Legislative caucus committee" means:

    1. (a) a committee of either house of the General Assembly controlled by the caucus of a political party or a caucus based upon racial or ethnic affinity, or gender;
    2. (b) a party or group of either house of the General Assembly based upon racial or ethnic affinity, or gender. However, each house may establish only one committee for each racial-, ethnic-, or gender-based affinity.
22. (22) "Loan" means a transfer of money, property, guarantee, or anything of value in exchange for an obligation, conditional or not, to repay in whole or in part.
23. (23) "Noncandidate committee" means a committee that is not a campaign committee for a candidate but is organized to influence an election or to support or oppose a candidate or public official, which receives contributions or makes expenditures in excess of five hundred dollars in the aggregate during an election cycle. "Noncandidate committee" does not include political action committees that contribute solely to federal campaigns.
24. (24) "Party committee" means a committee established by a political party.
25. (25) "Person" means an individual, a proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture, joint stock company, syndicate, business trust, an estate, a company, committee, an association, a corporation, club, labor organization, or any other organization or group of persons acting in concert.
26. (26) "Political party" means an association, a committee, or an organization which nominates a candidate whose name appears on the election ballot as the candidate of that association, committee, or organization.
27. (27) "Public employee" means a person employed by the State, a county, a municipality, or a political subdivision thereof.
28. (28) "Public official" means an elected or appointed official of the State, a county, a municipality or a political subdivision thereof, including candidates for the office. However, "public official" does not mean a member of the judiciary except for purposes of campaign financing. A probate judge is considered a public official and must meet the requirements of this article.
29. (29) "Statewide office" means an elective office other than a federal office eligible to be voted upon by all electors of the State.

30. (30) "Transfer" means the movement or exchange of funds or anything of value between committees and candidates except the disposition of surplus funds or material assets by a candidate to a party committee, as provided in this article.

    ETHICS COMMISSION OPINIONS

    1. In General

    Definition of "person" in Section 8-13-1300, item (25), is very broad in encompassing any type of organization or group of persons. Thus, federal candidate committee or national political committee would be encompassed within definition. Op S. C. St Ethics Comm., SEC AO92-013, Dec 18, 1991.

    Lobbyist and subordinate staff person who reports directly to lobbyist are both prohibited from performing functions related to PAC of lobbyist's principal. Op. S.C. St. Ethics Comm., SEC AO94-009, October 20, 1993.

    Candidate for Office of Adjutant General is "elective official" who, in accordance with Section 8-13-1180(A), may not, directly or through an agent, knowingly solicit contribution from employee in Adjutant General's area of official responsibility. Section 8-13-1180(A), however, does not prohibit candidates for Adjutant General from soliciting contributions from members of National Guard who are not employees of South Carolina Adjutant General's Office. Op. S.C. St. Ethics Comm., SEC AO94-016, April 1, 1994.

    Since Judicial Circuit Solicitors are not statewide constitutional officers, Section 2-17-80 does not prohibit candidate for Solicitor from accepting campaign contributions from lobbyists, provided candidate is not otherwise serving as public official of any state agency, including SC Commission on Prosecution Coordination, that engages in covered agency actions. Op. S.C. St. Ethics Comm., SEC AO94-018, April 20, 1994.

    Ethics Reform Act does not prohibit political party from raising money by marketing long distance telephone service plan. In accordance with earlier opinions and facts submitted, State Ethics Commission does not object to party's decision to maintain these funds in account separate from campaign accounts and use them only for non-campaign related expenses. Ethics Reform Act does not limit donations to political party that are neither channeled through campaign account nor used to influence outcome of elective offices or ballot measures. Op. S.C. St. Ethics Comm., SEC AO94-019, April 20, 1994.

    Within election cycle, no candidate or anyone acting on his behalf may solicit or accept from "person", as defined in Section 8-13-1300(24), contribution which exceeds $3,500 in case of candidate for statewide office or $1000 in case of candidate for any other office. Moreover, one contribution limit shall apply to individual as well as all proprietorships that are owned by that individual and whose contributions are directed by that individual. Op. S.C. St. Ethics Comm., SEC AO94-020, April 20, 1994.