Columbia, South Carolina – On Monday, two groups filed a legal complaint against Scout Motors with the South Carolina State Ethics Commission. The South Carolina Policy Council (SCPC) and the South Carolina Public Interest Foundation (SCPIF) are concerned about a deal that gave Scout Motors nearly $1.3 billion in incentives for building an electric vehicle plant in Blythewood. They claim this deal might have broken state ethics laws.
Scout Motors responded, calling the allegations “factually incorrect.” The complaint questions whether Scout Motors should have registered as a lobbyist principal earlier, as they only did so a month after the incentive deal became active on March 20, 2023. The SCPC points out that the registration happened only after the financial package was already in place.
A spokesperson with Scout Motors said: “Scout Motors did not have registered lobbyists in South Carolina before April 2023 because we were not lobbying. Scout Motors had no direct role in advancing the legislation that passed last year.”
Investigative work by the South Carolina Policy Council (SCPC) has uncovered several meetings involving officials from Scout Motors and key state figures, which took place before Scout Motors registered as a lobbyist principal. These meetings include a private discussion in Washington D.C. in October 2022 with someone from the Governor’s Office, a private dinner at the Governor’s Mansion in February 2023 attended by Governor McMaster and Scout Motors CEO Scott Keough, and a confidential dinner at the Williams-Brice football stadium termed a “Confidential Economic Development Dinner.”
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These meetings are at the center of allegations that Scout Motors may have breached state law designed to inform the public about entities trying to influence state legislation. The governor’s office has dismissed the complaint as “nonsensical.”
Further commenting on the situation, a spokesperson from the governor’s office criticized the complaint for showing a lack of understanding of both the law and the actual circumstances. They explained that the Governor and Department of Commerce officials urged the General Assembly to pass the incentive package to persuade Scout Motors to establish operations in South Carolina.
