COLUMBIA, S.C. — A recent ruling by a federal judge is changing how South Carolina lawmakers can raise money and who can donate to their campaigns.
In February, the South Carolina House Freedom Caucus sued the House Ethics Committee, a panel made up of five Democrats and five Republicans, accusing legislators of unconstitutionally infringing on their speech by limiting their fundraising abilities.
In a nearly forty-page order issued last week, U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie agreed with the caucus.
“Citizens should be rightly concerned about hidden dark money pumping misinformation into every avenue of their lives," Rep. Micah Caskey (R-Lexington County) said Monday.
That means special interest groups like the House Freedom Caucus can raise money and advocate for candidates like the Democratic, Republican, Women's and Black Caucuses.
“The ramifications and the implications of where we stand are still murky but it's clear that they are significant," said Committee Chairman Rep. Jay Jordan (R-Florence).
The law previously said that the only groups who could do that were groups organized around political parties, race, or gender.
Freedom Caucus Vice Chairman Rep. RJ May (R-Lexington) who runs campaigns for a living, said the group is raising money as soon as possible.
“Now we have the ability to fight back and actually get a message out. We have the ability to go toe to toe with a uni party and hopefully move this state in a more conservative direction," said May.
The judge struck a ban on lobbyist contributions to legislative special interest caucuses. It also got rid of a requirement that the clerk's office has to keep records for at least four years with information about donors and how much they donated.
House Minority Leader Rep. Todd Rutherford said the ruling could have a big impact on the 2024 election cycle.
“That should disturb anyone. That a legislator, a member of this government can accept cash from people and not have to tell who they got it from, how much they got, and what they plan to spend it on," said Rutherford.
There are 15 special interest caucuses in the House, including the sportsman's caucus, the energy caucus, and the Family Caucus.
The Committee will need to decide whether they want to appeal the ruling, follow the ruling, or file a motion for the judge to reconsider the ruling before July 12.