H*4436(Rat #0395, Act #0588 of 1992)  General Bill, By J.M. Baxley and 
D.M. Beasley
 A Bill to amend Act 748 of 1978, as amended, relating to the Board of
 Education of the Darlington County School District, so as to reduce the number
 of school board members from twelve to eight, provide that the single-member
 election districts for the purpose of electing the members of the Board of
 Education of Darlington County are the same as provided by law for the members
 of the Darlington County Council, make changes to the law governing Board of
 Education members and the method of their selection, including, among other
 things, the date of the commencement of terms of office, provide for the
 expiration of terms of present Board of Education members, provide that
 certain provisions of this Act shall not become effective or implemented until
 the qualified electors of Darlington County have approved the reduction in the
 number of members of the Board from twelve to eight, provide for a referendum
 for this purpose, and provide that certain provisions of this Act take effect
 upon approval by the Governor.-amended title

   02/20/92  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-7
   02/20/92  House  Referred to delegation from Darlington HJ-7
   04/09/92  House  Delegation report: Favorable with amendment
                     Darlington HJ-72
   04/09/92  House  Amended HJ-73
   04/09/92  House  Read second time HJ-75
   04/09/92  House  Unanimous consent for third reading on next
                     legislative day HJ-75
   04/10/92  House  Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-1
   04/14/92  Senate Intd. & placed on local & uncontested cal. w/o
                     reference SJ-7
   04/22/92  Senate Read second time SJ-14
   04/23/92  Senate Read third time and enrolled SJ-27
   04/28/92         Ratified R 395
   05/04/92         Signed By Governor
   05/04/92         Act No. 588
   05/04/92         See act for exception to or explanation of
                     effective date
   06/18/92         Copies available

AN ACT TO AMEND ACT 748 OF 1978, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE DARLINGTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, SO AS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS FROM TWELVE TO EIGHT, PROVIDE THAT THE SINGLE-MEMBER ELECTION DISTRICTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ELECTING THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF DARLINGTON COUNTY ARE THE SAME AS PROVIDED BY LAW FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE DARLINGTON COUNTY COUNCIL, MAKE CHANGES TO THE LAW GOVERNING BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS AND THE METHOD OF THEIR SELECTION, INCLUDING, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE DATE OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF TERMS OF OFFICE, PROVIDE FOR THE EXPIRATION OF TERMS OF PRESENT BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS, PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT SHALL NOT BECOME EFFECTIVE OR IMPLEMENTED UNTIL THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF DARLINGTON COUNTY HAVE APPROVED THE REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE BOARD FROM TWELVE TO EIGHT, PROVIDE FOR A REFERENDUM FOR THIS PURPOSE, AND PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT TAKE EFFECT UPON APPROVAL BY THE GOVERNOR.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

School board membership, etc.

SECTION 1. Section 1 of Act 748 of 1978, as last amended by Act 259 of 1979, is further amended to read:

"Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, effective January 1, 1993, the Darlington County School District shall be governed by the Board of Education of Darlington County composed of eight members. All members must be elected in a nonpartisan manner in the general election in the years when members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are elected, commencing with the general election of 1992. The term of office for each member is four years, and each member shall serve until his successor is elected and qualifies for office. Four members, to be designated by lot after the 1992 general election, shall serve initial terms of two years, and the remaining four members shall serve initial terms of four years, all until their successors are elected and qualify. Thereafter, all members shall be elected for, and shall serve, terms of four years each. A member's term of office commences on the first day of January next following his election. Vacancies shall be filled by a majority of the remaining members of the board for the unexpired portion of the term only. Each member must be a qualified elector of the election district he represents and, except when filling a vacancy as previously prescribed, must be elected by the qualified electors of that district only. Any person wishing to become a candidate for a seat on the board shall submit his name by noon on September first, or, if September first falls on a Sunday or a legal holiday, by noon on the next regular business day, to the authority which is charged by law with conducting the election, along with any other information that that authority considers necessary, on forms to be provided by the authority. That authority shall cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county two notices of the election, including its date, the deadline for submitting a name as a candidate, and all other appropriate information regarding the election. The first notice must be published not earlier than thirty days before the deadline for submitting a name as a candidate, and the second notice must be published not later than seven days before the deadline for submitting a name as a candidate.

The board has the powers and duties as are provided by law, including the authority to:

(a) prepare and approve the annual budget and determine expenditures of funds obtained from all sources for the operation of the school district and all programs, offices, and organizations under the authority of the board;

(b) determine and approve the local tax funds necessary for operational purposes;

(c) determine the capital outlay needs of the school district and issue bonds for those needs within the bonded debt limit of the school district;

(d) determine salaries and allowances of members of the board and determine and approve local tax funds necessary for this purpose;

(e) exercise all other powers and duties as provided by general law for district school boards."

Single-member election districts

SECTION 2. Section 2 of Act 748 of 1978, as last amended by Act 531 of 1982, is further amended to read:

"Section 2. In Darlington County, the single-member election districts for the purpose of electing the members of the Board of Education of Darlington County, as provided for in Section 1, are the same as provided by law for the members of the Darlington County Council and shall be co-existent therewith and shall become effective on the date on which the United States Justice Department grants approval for the newly reapportioned single-member election districts for the Darlington County Council."

Expiration of terms of office

SECTION 3. The terms of all members of the Board of Education of Darlington County, chosen and serving in accordance with the provisions of law in effect when this act takes effect, expire at midnight on December 31, 1992, in accordance with the provisions of Section 1 of this act.

Referendum; effective date for certain provisions

SECTION 4. The provisions of Sections 2 and 3 of this act and the provisions of Section 1 of this act, except for that portion of Section 1 as specifically set forth in Section 5 below, shall not become effective or implemented until the qualified electors of Darlington County have approved the reduction in the number of members of the Board of Education of Darlington County from twelve to eight, in accordance with the ballot question set forth below. If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the question vote "Yes", then the provisions of Sections 2 and 3 and the above-referenced provisions of Section 1 shall become effective and must be implemented.

The referendum provided for in this section must be conducted at the time of the 1992 November general election by the authority charged by law with conducting the general election in Darlington County. That authority shall cause a notice of the referendum, the question, and the date of the referendum to appear in a newspaper of general circulation in the county not earlier than thirty days nor later than fifteen days before the referendum is to be held. The election laws of this State apply to the referendum mutatis mutandis. The authority conducting the referendum shall certify the results thereof in accordance with law and shall publish those results.

The following question shall be submitted to the qualified electors of Darlington County in accordance with the provisions of this section:

"Shall the number of members of the Board of Education of Darlington County be eight, rather than twelve, to be elected from single-member election districts which are the same for the members of the Darlington County Council?

Time effective

SECTION 5. (A) The following provisions of Section 1 of Act 748 of 1978, as contained in Section 1 of this act, take effect upon approval by the Governor:

"A member's term of office commences on the first day of January next following his election. Vacancies shall be filled by a majority of the remaining members of the board for the unexpired portion of the term only. Each member must be a qualified elector of the election district he represents and, except when filling a vacancy as previously prescribed, must be elected by the qualified electors of that district only. Any person wishing to become a candidate for a seat on the board shall submit his name by noon on September first, or, if September first falls on a Sunday or a legal holiday, by noon on the next regular business day, to the authority which is charged by law with conducting the election, along with any other information that that authority considers necessary, on forms to be provided by the authority. That authority shall cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county two notices of the election, including its date, the deadline for submitting a name as a candidate, and all other appropriate information regarding the election. The first notice must be published not earlier than thirty days before the deadline for submitting a name as a candidate, and the second notice must be published not later than seven days before the deadline for submitting a name as a candidate.

The board has the powers and duties as are provided by law, including the authority to:

(1) prepare and approve the annual budget and determine expenditures of funds obtained from all sources for the operation of the school district and all programs, offices, and organizations under the authority of the board;

(2) determine and approve the local tax funds necessary for operational purposes;

(3) determine the capital outlay needs of the school district and issue bonds for those needs within the bonded debt limit of the school district;

(4) determine salaries and allowances of members of the board and determine and approve local tax funds necessary for this purpose;

(5) exercise all other powers and duties as provided by general law for district school boards."

(B) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this act, the remainder of this act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

In the Senate House April 28, 1992.

Nick A. Theodore,

President of the Senate

Robert J. Sheheen,

Speaker of the House of

Representatives

Approved the 4th day of May, 1992.

Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.,

Governor

Printer's Date -- June 14, 1992 -- L.