Amanda McDougald Scott, GCDP Chair, Ph.D, and an advocate for families and children thinks the answer is yes. Representing herself, she sent the letter below to the House Constitutional Law Subcommittee, which is hearing H. 4561. The bill would establish an allowance for the use of campaign funds to pay for candidates’ child are or dependent care.
I am writing today to express my support of H. 4561, the bill proposed to establish allowance of the usage of campaign funds for immediate family member dependent care. I am the Director and CEO of Artemis Consulting, and one of my areas of expertise is child care.
Currently, under SC Ethics law, candidates and elected officials are not allowed to use campaign funds for child care (and other dependent care). This poses a barrier to a diverse and inclusive array of candidates who may wish to serve our cities, towns, and counties in South Carolina. If South Carolina’s government is to be representative of women and men from all backgrounds, we must remove any barriers to serving.
Other states have already permitted the use of campaign funds for child care, and South Carolina is already behind most of the Southern states on this front. I have attached references on this matter at the bottom of this letter for your review.
Personally, I have encountered many women who cite child care as a barrier and difficulty while campaigning. I also have been a candidate myself, and have a 7-year-old son, who fortunately loved campaigning with me, but this is not always the case in other families. Even though my son loved campaigning, he requires the care that most 7-year-olds do, which means that reasonable bedtimes interfere with campaign activities. Although my husband is very supportive and makes himself available to care for my son when I have campaign duties, he also has a job that takes him out of town frequently. When he is out of town, any campaign activities after hours require child care. This is especially salient when candidates are required to be at many events outside of the home.
My efforts on working towards allowing child care expenses to be covered by campaign funds started long before I was a candidate. These efforts led to a bill drafted by Representative Chandra Dillard this past legislative session, which would allow all candidates in South Carolina to use campaign funds for child care; however, this bill did not pass, and candidates need help now.
Not only do child care expenses affect the candidate and campaign staff during the campaign, but these expenses also follow once a candidate is elected. As there is no current provision made for
child care while performing the duties of an elected official, I believe the candidate should be allowed to use his or her discretion about the usage of campaign funds to facilitate the important work of an elected official, which closely mirrors the hours and tasks of campaign life.
The following items should be approved for campaign funds:
- Candidate child (and dependent) care expenses while a person is performing all campaign-related duties.
- Child (and dependent) care expenses incurred by the elected official and his or her staff while the elected official performs duties related to the elected position.
Please consider this extension for candidates in South Carolina to use campaign funds for dependent care needs. Four years ago, I submitted a petition on this matter with several signatures, and would be happy to produce this if you would find this helpful.
List of 30 states that have already authorized the use of campaign funds for child care
More Resources:
https://cawp.rutgers.edu/election-watch/state-candidates-and-use-campaign-funds-childcare- expenses
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/07/campaign-funds-child-care-fec/594943/