The following is a joint statement issued by the South Carolina Policy Council and South Carolina Public Interest Foundation in response to a recent opinion column submitted by S.C. Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey to at least two news outlets in the state:
The South Carolina Policy Council and South Carolina Public Interest Foundation last month jointly submitted a formal complaint to the S.C. State Ethics Commission regarding Scout Motors’ electric-vehicle assembly plant under construction in Richland County. The commission’s executive director in an April 26, 2024, letter notified the two organizations that the complaint “contained facts sufficient to warrant an investigation.”
The Policy Council and The Nerve – the investigative news arm of the Policy Council – each published the complaint on their respective websites on April 29, 2024.
On May 6, 2024, and May 9, 2024, two South Carolina media outlets published an opinion column by S.C. Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey addressing the complaint. Mr. Lightsey’s column, however, contains a number of mischaracterizations about the complaint, including:
- Most importantly, contrary to what Mr. Lightsey claimed, the Policy Council and Public Interest Foundation did not jointly file a complaint against Scout for “allegedly failing to register as a lobbyist principal.” Rather, the complaint asks the commission only to investigate whether Scout failed to register as a lobbyist principal under state ethics law before the Legislature and Gov. Henry McMaster last year approved a nearly $1.3 billion appropriation (Act 3 of 2023) for the project – a massive amount of state tax dollars and unprecedented among recent incentives deals, which Mr. Lightsey failed to mention.
- Mr. Lightsey stated that Scout wasn’t involved in his direct meetings about the project with the Republican and Democratic caucuses of the state House and Senate before the chambers passed Act 3 of 2023 and therefore wasn’t required by law to register as a lobbyist principal. The complaint, though, doesn’t mention those closed-door meetings. Instead, it lists three other private meetings or events between Scout officials or its representatives and Gov. McMaster, his staff or lawmakers before the appropriation was approved.
- Mr. Lightsey stated that Scout wasn’t involved in a “lengthy debate” in both the House and Senate before Act 3 of 2023 was passed (which took only one week for both chambers) and therefore wasn’t required by law to register as a lobbyist principal. But as with the earlier closed-door caucus meetings, the complaint doesn’t address whether Scout was involved with the open House and Senate debates but rather lists three separate private meetings or events between Scout officials or its representatives and Gov. McMaster, his staff or lawmakers before the appropriation was approved.
- Mr. Lightsey claims that the “main purpose of filing the complaint appears to be primarily to create an opportunity to publicly smear Scout and rehash long-standing grievances the Policy Council has with the confidential, competitive process of economic development recruitment and with economic development incentives.” The Policy Council and Public Interest Foundation strongly reject that they intended to “publicly smear” Scout with the filing of the complaint. Neither organization as a matter of principle opposes any company locating or expanding in South Carolina but believes all such businesses must comply with state ethics laws if applicable. As for the Policy Council’s “long-standing grievances,” the organization for nearly 40 years has stood firmly for the principle of free market enterprise and remains a leading champion for our vital business community but believes that the current incentives process lacks transparency and accountability to taxpayers.
In the end, the Policy Council and Public Interest Foundation respect the purpose and procedures of the State Ethics Commission and will cooperate fully with its investigation of the filed complaint against Scout Motors Inc. South Carolina citizens and taxpayers deserve answers in this case.
The South Carolina Policy Council is a Columbia-based, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization founded in 1986 on the principles of limited government, free market enterprise, and individual liberty and responsibility. The Nerve, which has been operating since 2010, focuses on government waste, lack of transparency, conflicts of interest and abuse of power in South Carolina.
The South Carolina Public Interest Foundation, which was founded in 2005 and is based in Simpsonville, is an independent, nonpartisan private operating foundation dedicated to ensuring that South Carolina governments, agencies and officials act in strict compliance with the state Constitution and statutes.
