The Committee on Education proposes the following amendment (SEDU-4023.KN0002S):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by deleting SECTION 1.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 4, by striking Section 59-152-150(A) and inserting:

 (A) The Office of South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness shall develop and require local partnerships to adopt and implement a standard fiscal accountability system including, but not limited to, a uniform, standardized system of accounting, internal controls, payroll, fidelity bonding, chart of accounts, and contract management and monitoring. Additionally, the accountability system shall require competitive bids for the purchase or procurement of goods and services of ten thousand dollars or more. A bid other than the lowest bid may be accepted by a majority vote of the partnership board if other considerations outweigh the cost factor; however, written justification must be filed with the Office of First Steps. The Office of First Steps, in consultation with the Office of State Procurement, must develop procurement policies and procedures. Local partnerships must adopt these policies and procedures for the purchase and procurement of goods and services. The Office of First Steps may contract with outside firms to develop and ensure implementation of this standard fiscal accountability system, and the Office of First Steps may inspect fiscal and program records of partnerships and developing partnerships to ensure their compliance with the required system. The Office of First Steps may contract with a state entity with existing means for developing contracts and disbursing funds in order to make use of the existing infrastructure, if it is efficient and not administratively burdensome to partnerships.

Amend the bill further, by deleting SECTION 10.