Reference is to printers date 4/09/16-S.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Sections 57-1-310 through Section 57-1-340 of the 1976 Code, all as last amended by Act 114 of 2007, are further amended to read:
"Section 57-1-310.
(A) The congressional districts of
this State are constituted and created Department of
Transportation Districts of the State, designated by numbers
corresponding to the numbers of the respective congressional
districts. The Commission of the Department of Transportation
shall be composed of one member from each transportation
district elected by the delegations of the congressional
district and one member appointed by the
Governor from the State at large, all appointed by
the Governor, upon the advice and consent of the General
Assembly, by a roll call vote in each house of the General
Assembly. Such elections or appointment, as the case
may be, In making appointments to the commission,
the Governor shall take into account race,
and gender, and other demographic factors,
such as residence in rural or urban areas, so as to
represent, to the greatest extent possible, all segments of the
population of the State; however, consideration of these factors
in making an appointment or in an election in
no way creates a cause of action or basis for an employee
grievance for a person appointed or elected or
for a person who fails to be appointed.
(B)(1)
Candidates for election to the commission must be
screened by the Joint Transportation Review Committee, as
provided in Article 7 of this chapter, and determined to meet
the qualifications contained in subsection (C) in order to be
eligible for election.
(2)
The at-large appointment made by the
Governor must be transmitted to the Joint Transportation Review
Committee. The Joint Transportation Review Committee must
determine whether the at-large appointee meets the
qualifications in subsection (C) and report its findings to the
General Assembly and the Governor. Until the Joint
Transportation Review Committee finds a gubernatorial appointee
qualified, the appointee must not take the oath of office and
the full rights and privileges and powers of the office shall
not vest.
(C)
The qualifications that each commission member must
possess, include, but are not limited to:
(1)
a baccalaureate or more advanced degree from:
(a)
a recognized institution of higher learning requiring
face-to-face contact between its students and instructors prior
to completion of the academic program;
(b)
an institution of higher learning that has been accredited
by a regional or national accrediting body; or
(c)
an institution of higher learning chartered before 1962;
or
(2)
a background of at least five years in any combination of
the following fields of expertise:
(a)
transportation;
(b)
construction;
(c)
finance;
(d)
law;
(e)
environmental issues;
(f)
management; or
(g)
engineering.
(D)(C)
No A member of the General
Assembly or member of his immediate family
shall may not be elected
or appointed to the commission while the member is
serving in the General Assembly; nor shall a member of the
General Assembly or a member of his immediate family be
elected or appointed to the commission for a
period of four years after the member either:
(1)
ceases to be a member of the General Assembly; or
(2)
fails to file for election to the General Assembly in
accordance with Section 7-11-15.
Section 57-1-320.
(A) A county
that is divided among two or more Department of Transportation
districts, for purposes of electing a commission member, is
deemed to be considered in the district which contains the
largest number of residents from that county.
(B)
No A county within a Department of
Transportation district shall may not
have a resident commission member for more than one
consecutive term twelve consecutive years and in
no event shall any two persons from the same county serve as a
commission member simultaneously except as provided hereinafter.
Section 57-1-325.
Legislators residing in the congressional
district shall meet upon written call of a majority of the
members of the delegation of each district at a time and place
to be designated in the call for the purpose of electing a
commissioner to represent the district. A majority present,
either in person or by written proxy, of the delegation from a
given congressional district constitutes a quorum for the
purpose of electing a district commissioner. No person may be
elected commissioner who fails to receive a majority vote of the
members of the delegation.
The delegation must be
organized by the election of a chairman and a secretary, and the
delegations of each congressional district shall adopt such
rules as they consider proper to govern the election. Any
absentee may vote by written proxy. When the election is
completed, the chairman and the secretary of the delegation
shall immediately transmit the name of the person elected to the
Secretary of State who shall issue to the person, after he has
taken the usual oath of office, a certificate of election as
commissioner. The Governor shall then issue a commission to the
person, and pending the issuance of the commission, the
certificate of election is sufficient warrant to the person to
perform all of the duties and functions of his office as
commissioner. Each commissioner shall serve until his successor
is elected and qualified.
Section 57-1-330.
(A) For the purposes of
electing a commission member, a legislator shall vote only in
the congressional district in which he resides. All
commission members are elected to a term of office of four years
which expires on February fifteenth of the appropriate year.
However, a commission member may not serve more than two
consecutive terms, and may not serve more than twelve years,
regardless of when the term was served. Commissioners shall
continue to serve until their successors are
elected appointed and
qualify confirmed, provided that a
commissioner may only may serve in a
hold-over capacity for a period not to exceed six months. Any
vacancy occurring in the office of commissioner shall be filled
by election or appointment in the manner
provided in this article for the unexpired term only. Except
for the at-large member, no a person
is not eligible to serve as a commission member who is
not a resident of that district at the time of his appointment.
Failure by an elected such commission
member to maintain residency in the district for which he is
elected appointed shall result in the
forfeiture of his office.
(B) The
at-large commission member shall serve at the pleasure of the
Governor. The at-large commission member may be
appointed from any county in the State unless another commission
member is serving from that county. Failure by the at-large
commission member to maintain residence in the State shall
result in a forfeiture of his office.
(C)
All elected commission members may be removed from
office as provided in Section 1-3-240(C)(1).
Section 57-1-340. Each
commission member, within thirty days after his election
or appointment, and before entering upon the discharge
of the duties of his office, shall take, subscribe, and file
with the Secretary of State the oath of office prescribed by the
Constitution of the State."
SECTION 2. Section 57-1-410 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 114 of 2007, is further amended to read:
"Section 57-1-410.
The Governor commission shall
appoint, with the advice and consent of the
Senate General Assembly by a roll call vote
in each house, a Secretary of Transportation who shall serve
at the pleasure of the Governor
commission. A person appointed to this position shall
possess practical and successful business and executive ability
and be knowledgeable in the field of transportation. The
Secretary of Transportation shall receive such compensation as
may be established under the provisions of Section 8-11-160 and
for which funds have been authorized in the general
appropriations act."
SECTION 3. A. Section 57-1-360 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 114 of 2007, is amended to read:
"Section 57-1-360.
(A) The commission must
appoint a State Auditor shall employ an individual
to serve as the chief internal auditor of the
department, and other professional, administrative,
technical, and clerical personnel as the
commission State Auditor determines to
be necessary in the proper discharge of the commission's
duties and responsibilities provided by law. The
commission State Auditor also must
provide professional, administrative, technical, and clerical
personnel, as the commission State
Auditor determines to be necessary, for the chief internal
auditor to properly discharge his duties and responsibilities
authorized by the commission State
Auditor or provided by law. Except as otherwise provided,
any employees hired pursuant to this section shall serve at the
pleasure of the commission State
Auditor.
(B)(1) The
chief internal auditor shall serve for a term of four years and
may be removed by the commission only for malfeasance,
misfeasance, incompetency, absenteeism, conflicts of interest,
misconduct, persistent neglect of duty in office, or
incapacity. The chief internal auditor must be a
Certified Public Accountant and possess any other experience the
commission State Auditor may require.
The chief internal auditor must establish, implement, and
maintain the exclusive internal audit function of all
departmental activities. The commission
State Auditor shall set the salary for the chief internal
auditor as allowed by statute or applicable law.
(2)
The audits performed by the chief internal auditor must
comply with recognized governmental auditing standards. The
department and any entity contracting with the department must
fully cooperate with the chief internal auditor in the discharge
of his duties and responsibilities and must timely produce all
books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, and other records
considered necessary in connection with an internal audit. All
final audit reports must be submitted to the commission and the
chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, the chairman of
the Senate Finance Committee, the chairman of the House of
Representatives Education and Public Works Committee, and the
chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means
Committee before being made public.
(3)
The commission State Auditor is
vested with the exclusive management and control of the chief
internal auditor.
(C) The department, at
its own expense, must provide appropriate office space within
its headquarters, building, and facility service, including
janitorial, utility and telephone services, computer and
technology services, and related supplies, for the chief
internal auditor and his support staff."
B. (A) The chief
internal auditor of the Department of Transportation and all
associated support staff, and all authorized appropriations
associated with the chief internal auditor and associated
support staff are transferred to and become part of the State
Auditor's Office, State Fiscal Accountability Authority. The
chief internal auditor of the Department of Transportation and
all associated support staff, whether classified or unclassified
personnel, employed by the Department of Transportation on the
effective date of this act, either by contract or by employment
at will, shall become employees of the State Auditor's Office,
State Fiscal Accountability Authority, with the same
compensation, classification, and grade level, as
applicable.
(B) The chief internal
auditor of the Department of Transportation on June 30, 2016,
shall continue to serve until the State Auditor employs a
successor. Nothing in this section shall prevent the State
Auditor from retaining the chief internal auditor of the
Department of Transportation as of June 30, 2016, pursuant to
the provisions of this SECTION.
C. Section 57-1-490 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 114 of 2007, is further amended to read:
"Section 57-1-490.
(A) The department shall be audited by
a certified public accountant or firm of certified public
accountants once each year to be designated by the State
Auditor. The designated accountant or firm of accountants shall
issue audited financial statements in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, and such financial statements
shall must be made available annually by
October fifteenth to the General Assembly. The costs and
expenses of the audit must be paid by the department out of its
funds.
(B) The Materials
Management Office of the Department of Administration annually
must audit the department's internal procurement operation to
ensure that the department has acted properly with regard to the
department's exemptions contained in Section 11-35-710. The
audit must be performed in accordance with applicable state law,
including, but not limited to, administrative penalties for
violations found as a result of the audit. The results of the
audit must be made available by October fifteenth to the
Department of Transportation Commission, the Department
of the Transportation's chief internal auditor State
Auditor, the Governor, the chairmen of the Senate Finance
and Transportation Committees, and the chairmen of the House of
Representatives Ways and Means and Education and Public Works
Committees. The costs and expenses of the audit must be paid by
the department out of its funds.
(C) The Legislative
Audit Council shall contract for an independent performance and
compliance audit of the department's finance and administration
division, mass transit division, and construction engineering
and planning division. This audit must be completed by January
15, 2010. The Legislative Audit Council may contract for
follow-up audits or conduct follow-up audits as needed based
upon the audit's initial findings. The costs of these audits,
including related administrative and management expenses of the
Legislative Audit Council, are an operating expense of the
department. The department shall pay directly to the Legislative
Audit Council the cost of the audits.
(D) Copies of every audit conducted
pursuant to this section must be made available to the
Department of Transportation Commission, the Department
of Transportation chief internal auditor State
Auditor, the Governor, the chairmen of the Senate Finance
and Transportation Committees, and the chairmen of the House of
Representatives Ways and Means and Education and Public Works
Committees."
SECTION 4. Article 7, Chapter 1, Title 57 of the 1976 Code is repealed.
SECTION 5. Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 take effect July 1, 2016, except that the members of the Commission of the Department of Transportation serving on June 30, 2016, shall continue to serve until their current term expires, and until their successor is appointed and confirmed. If a vacancy occurs in the seat of a member serving on June 30, 2016, before the member's term otherwise expires, the vacancy must be filled in the manner specified in Chapter 1, Title 57 of the 1976 Code, as amended by this act, and the member filling the vacancy shall serve until the term expires. The members serving on June 30, 2016, if otherwise eligible, may be reappointed pursuant to Section 57-1-310, as amended by this act.
SECTION 6. Section 11-43-150 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding an appropriately lettered subsection at the end to read:
"( ) Before providing a loan or other financial assistance to a qualified borrower on a qualified project, the board of directors must submit the decision to the Department of Transportation Commission for its consideration. The Department of Transportation Commission can approve or reject the board of directors' decisions or request additional information from the board of directors. This requirement does not apply to decisions by the board that relate to any payment or contractual obligations that the Department of Transportation has to the bank that are pledged to any bonds issued by the bank."
SECTION 7. A. Section 11-43-180 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding an appropriately lettered subsection to read:
"( ) The bank may not provide any loans or other financial assistance, including bond proceeds, to any project unless the eligible costs of the project are at least twenty-five million dollars."
B. This SECTION takes effect upon approval by the Governor and only applies to projects selected by the bank thereafter.
SECTION 8. A. Article 1, Chapter 43, Title 11 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 11-43-265.
(A) Notwithstanding any other
provision of law and subject to the provisions of subsection
(B), the bank must prioritize all projects in accordance with
the prioritization criteria provided in Section
57-1-370(B)(8).
(B) The General
Assembly may enact a joint resolution allowing the bank to fund
a project without using the prioritization criteria provided in
subsection (A). The joint resolution must be specific as to the
project and the amount authorized to be funded."
B. This SECTION takes effect upon approval by the Governor and only applies to projects selected by the bank thereafter.
SECTION 9. Section 12-36-2647 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 98 of 2013, is amended to read:
"Section 12-36-2647.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 59-21-1010,
fifty percent of the revenues of sales, use,
and casual excise taxes derived pursuant to Sections
12-36-2620(1) and 12-36-2640(1) on the sale, use, or titling of
a motor vehicle required to be licensed and registered by the
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, otherwise required
to be credited as provided pursuant to Section 59-21-1010,
instead must be credited to the State
Non-Federal Aid Highway Fund established pursuant to Section
57-11-20 Department of Transportation. Revenues
credited to the State Non-Federal Aid Highway
Fund Department of Transportation pursuant to
this section must be used exclusively for highway, road, and
bridge maintenance, construction, and repair."
SECTION 10. Except where otherwise provided, this act takes effect July 1, 2016. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.