S 0047 General Bill, By Passailaigue and M.T. Rose
 A Bill to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Section
 11-9-140 so as to authorize a state agency to contract by the competitive
 bidding process, for the sale of advertising space, to provide for the
 distribution of the advertising revenue, to provide the requirements which the
 advertising and the sale of the advertising must meet, and to provide a
 procedure for written objection to advertising placed pursuant to the
 provisions of this Section.

   01/12/93  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-38
   01/12/93  Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-38
   02/10/93  Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment
                     Judiciary SJ-9
   02/11/93  Senate Amended SJ-25
   02/11/93  Senate Read second time SJ-25
   02/17/93  Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-22
   02/18/93  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-11
   02/18/93  House  Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-11

February 11, 1993

S. 47

S. Printed 2/11/93--S.

Read the first time January 12, 1993.

A BILL

TO AMEND THE 1976 CODE BY ADDING SECTION 11-9-140 SO AS TO AUTHORIZE A STATE AGENCY TO CONTRACT BY THE COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCESS, FOR THE SALE OF ADVERTISING SPACE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE ADVERTISING REVENUE, TO PROVIDE THE REQUIREMENTS WHICH THE ADVERTISING AND THE SALE OF THE ADVERTISING MUST MEET, AND TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR WRITTEN OBJECTION TO ADVERTISING PLACED PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.

Amend Title To Conform

SECTION 1. Article 1, Chapter 9 of Title 11 is amended by adding:

"Section 11-9-140. (A) A state agency may contract to sell commercial advertising space in locations such as its publications, buildings, facilities, and on its vehicles, in exchange for cash payment. All money received pursuant to a contract entered into under this section must be deposited to the credit of the advertising contract fund, which is hereby created in the state treasury. Of the money credited to the fund, the state agency that contracted to sell the advertising space must be given forty percent of the revenues generated from the selling of space and reimbursed for expenses incurred. The money not given to the agency or instrumentality must be transferred to the general revenue fund.

(B) An advertisement displayed in advertising space sold under this section must meet the following restrictions:

(1) it must not promote or oppose any political candidate, issue, or organization; (2) it must not be libelous and must not promote alcohol or tobacco or any illegal product or service;

(3) it must be tasteful, inoffensive, and not pornographic and must maintain the dignity, decorum, and aesthetics of the place where the advertisement appears;

(4) it must not promote discrimination on the basis of the race, color, religion, national origin, handicap, age, sex, or ancestry of any person;

(5) it must comply with any controlling federal or state regulations or restrictions, and any applicable local zoning or outdoor graphics regulations;

(6) it must clearly indicate the advertiser's identity and state that the advertiser is not the State or any state agency or instrumentality; and

(7) it must clearly indicate that the State does not endorse the product or service promoted by the advertisement and makes no representations about the accuracy of the advertisement or the quality or performance of the product or service promoted by the advertisement.

(C) Contracts entered into under this section must be awarded only by competitive bidding and to the highest bidder. Such a contract may be entered into only if there is a reasonable anticipation that the contract will produce a profit for the State or the contracting state agency or instrumentality. No state agency shall publish any document, construct any building or facility, or purchase any vehicle for the purpose of displaying advertisements if the publication, construction, or purchase is unnecessary to the ordinary conduct of its official duties. No state agency or instrumentality shall erect any freestanding outdoor billboard or sign pursuant to this section, except that to the extent allowed by federal law the Department of Transportation may erect at each roadside rest area under its control not more than three freestanding outdoor signs, each having a surface area for advertising space not exceeding forty square feet. (D) No state agency shall artificially inflate expenses in connection with any contract entered into under this section.

(E) No person has a cause of action against the State or any state agency because of the content of or any representation made in an advertisement authorized by a contract entered into under this section.

(F) Upon the filing of a written objection by any individual that an advertisement placed pursuant to this section violates the restrictions on advertisements set forth, the board of the respective agency shall make a determination regarding the alleged violation. If the board determines that the advertisement violates the restrictions, it shall notify the state agency that sold the advertising space of the violation. The agency or instrumentality shall then take appropriate steps to promptly correct the violation.

(G) Not later than the thirty-first day of January of each year, the board of each agency selling advertising space shall submit a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives describing the opportunities for and results of sales of commercial advertising space by that agency.

(H) The institutions of higher education and the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism are exempt from the provisions of this section.

(I) Advertising is not permitted in or on the State House, the State House grounds, the office buildings located on those grounds, or the area designated as the capitol complex."

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.