By a margin of 102-11, the South Carolina House of Representatives has voted to censure its ethically disgraced governor. According to the Associated Press:

Before the vote, (Gov. Mark) Sanford said he wouldn't attend the session or watch and would have no comment. "It is what it is," Sanford said.

... The censure requires state Senate approval for passage.

... In addition to the censure, Sanford also faces up to $74,000 in fines from the State Ethics Commission, which contends he broke more than three dozen laws involving travel in pricey airline seats, using state aircraft for personal and political trips and improper reimbursements.

Gov. Sanford's serious ethical lapses were cited last month by CREW when we released our Top Ten Ethics Scandals of 2009. Click here to read this document -- the Sanford scandal is summarized on page 4.

The South Carolina House of Representatives is expected to vote today on a resolution that formally censures Gov. Mark Sanford for "dereliction in his duties of office as Governor and for official misconduct that has brought dishonor to himself."

Click here to read the text of the resolution that the SC House will consider.

A state House committee declined last month to approve an impeachment resolution, opting instead to support a censure of the GOP governor.

The state House of Representatives in South Carolina is expected to vote next week on a motion to censure Gov. Mark Sanford for his serious ethical lapses. But here's the catch.

The SC Senate might not vote on censure for several weeks -- or it might never vote. That's the assessment of Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, who suggested to a newspaper that it's no big deal whether the state Senate votes on censure or not:

At the end of the day, what does it matter? Either you approve or disapprove. I don't know anybody (in the Senate) who supports (Sanford's) behavior."

But McConnell is missing the point. There is value in having both houses of the Legislature go on the record with a formal vote of censure. If nothing else, doing so reaffirms the Legislature's commitment to holding state officials accountable.

If both houses of the SC Legislature have the time to vote on a resolution honoring a Union County library for being named "the best small library in America," then surely both houses can take the time to vote on the motion to censure Gov. Sanford.

In case you missed it, CREW named the Sanford scandal one of its Top Ten Ethics Scandals of 2009.