SC state ethics panel hires interim director

The S.C. State Ethics Commission has named Columbia attorney Steven Hamm as its interim director.

Hamm’s resume includes providing legal counsel to the S.C. Senate during the 2000 redistricting process, helping bring the first S.C. consumer class-action lawsuit under the Federal Arbitration Act and handling election law cases.

In 2012, Hamm conducted a review of the Richland County election debacle that led to long lines at the polls, concluding the problems did not affect the outcome of any elections.

Hamm succeeds Ami Franklin, who was named interim director after longtime director Herb Hayden retired late last year.

Hamm will oversee the commission’s enactment of the state’s new ethics laws. Those laws change the information public officials must disclose publicly and how ethics complaints are investigated, including the makeup of the state Ethics Commission.

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 10:48 AM with the headline "SC state ethics panel hires interim director."