A very watered down ethics reform bill was reported out of conference committee Wednesday and received an overwhelming vote of yeas in the S.C. House yesterday.

The bill must be approved by the Senate before going to Gov. Nikki Haley’s desk for signature.

But, the key measure needed for real ethics reform in South Carolina was left behind by the conference committee.

South Carolina’s legislators just can’t allow themselves to be at the mercy of an independent ethics commission, so the House and Senate Ethics Committees remain as the investigatory bodies for the state’s legislators.