South Carolina’s House Ethics Committee publicly reprimanded Rep. Stephen Frank on Sept. 22 for not paying a reduced $2,100 fine tied to three late 2024 campaign-finance disclosures. It approved a process to collect the debt from his state tax returns if he does not pay.
The committee cut the fine from $10,300 to $2,100 in 2025 after Frank cited his wife’s hospitalization and surgery, and gave him several months to pay. Committee chair Rep. Jay Jordan said Frank had paid nothing by Sept. 22 despite staff efforts to reach him. On Sept. 25, Jordan said he understood Frank had reached out to discuss payment.
The fines arose from Frank’s 2024 campaign for House District 20. Some disclosures arrived weeks or months late, leaving information about campaign spending and donors unavailable to the public until after the election. At the appeal hearing, Frank said he was hospitalized when the filings were due and thought he had properly filed one form. He did not respond to the reporter’s requests for comment.
