SCDOT rule requires 1-year wait for employees hired by firms

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — To combat the perception that contractors who hire former Department of Transportation employees get an advantage in winning contracts, the SCDOT is adopting a new rule limiting what those ex-employees can do, the state agency's acting secretary said Tuesday.

Christy Hall told a House oversight panel the policy bars employees who leave the agency from working on new road construction projects for 365 days.

Hall said it's a response to an unsuccessful legislative proposal and the resulting departure of high-level staff.

A plan advanced to the Senate floor would have raised twice that, but a filibuster prevented senators from voting on it before the session ended.

DOT Commission Chairman Jim Rozier told the panel the agency can't improve the nation's fourth-largest state highway system without additional money.