(A) No candidate, committee, public official, or political party may use campaign funds to defray personal expenses which are unrelated to the campaign or the office if the candidate is an officeholder nor may these funds be converted to personal use. The prohibition of this subsection does not extend to the incidental personal use of campaign materials or equipment nor to an expenditure used to defray any ordinary expenses incurred in connection with an individual‘s duties as a holder of elective office.

(B) The payment of reasonable and necessary travel expenses or for food or beverages consumed by the candidate or members of his immediate family while at, and in connection with, a political event are permitted.

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Terms Used In South Carolina Code 8-13-1348

  • Candidate: means : (a) 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; (b) a person who is exploring whether or not to seek election at the state or local level; or (c) a person on whose behalf write-in votes are solicited if the person has knowledge of such solicitation. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
  • 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. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
  • Elective office: includes the office of probate judge. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
  • 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. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Immediate family: means :

    (a) a child residing in a candidate's, public official's, public member's, or public employee's household;

    (b) a spouse of a candidate, public official, public member, or public employee; or

    (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. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
  • Individual: means one human being. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
  • 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. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
  • 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. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
  • 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. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300

(C)(1) An expenditure of more than twenty-five dollars drawn upon a campaign account must be made by:

(a) a written instrument;

(b) debit card; or

(c) online transfers.

The campaign account must contain the name of the candidate or committee, and the expenditure must contain the name of the recipient. These expenditures must be reported pursuant to the provisions of § 8-13-1308.

(2) Expenditures of twenty-five dollars or less that are not made by a written instrument, debit card, or online transfer containing the name of the candidate or committee and the name of the recipient must be accounted for by a written receipt or written record.

(D) An expenditure may not be made that is clearly in excess of the fair market value of services, materials, facilities, or other things of value received in exchange.

(E) A candidate or a duly authorized officer of a committee may not withdraw more than one hundred dollars from the campaign account to establish or replenish a petty cash fund for the candidate or committee at any time, and at no time may the fund exceed one hundred dollars. Expenditures from the petty cash fund may be made only for office supplies, food, transportation expenses, and other necessities and may not exceed twenty-five dollars for each expenditure.