S*215 Session 110 (1993-1994)
S*0215(Rat #0079, Act #0069) General Bill, By Elliott, Bryan, Ford, Gregory,
Jackson, Lander, Martin, McConnell, McGill, Mescher, Passailaigue, Rankin,
Reese, L.E. Richter, Short, G. Smith and Wilson
Similar(H 3129)
A Bill to amend Title 59, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to
education by adding Chapter 136 so as to provide that Coastal Carolina
College, a four-year regional branch of the University of South Carolina,
shall become Coastal Carolina University on July 1, 1993, and shall be a
separate and distinct institution of higher learning of the State of South
Carolina, to provide for a Board of Trustees which shall govern the
University, to provide for the Board's powers, duties, and functions, to
authorize the University to issue revenue bonds, and to provide for certain
transitional provisions including the transfer of personnel, assets,
liabilities, to provide for the issuance of state institution bonds to refund
other state institution bonds issued on behalf of the University of South
Carolina, and to provide for the applicability to Coastal Carolina University
of certain provisions relating to higher education budgetary and cost-related
matters.-amended title
01/14/93 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-17
01/14/93 Senate Referred to Committee on Education SJ-17
04/01/93 Senate Polled out of committee Education SJ-12
04/01/93 Senate Favorable with amendments SJ-12
04/22/93 Senate Special order SJ-29
04/28/93 Senate Read second time SJ-26
04/28/93 Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of
amendments SJ-27
04/28/93 Senate Special order SJ-40
04/29/93 Senate Amended SJ-45
04/29/93 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-47
05/04/93 House Introduced, read first time, placed on calendar
without reference HJ-7
05/06/93 House Read second time HJ-71
05/06/93 House Unanimous consent for third reading on next
legislative day HJ-71
05/07/93 House Read third time and enrolled HJ-2
05/11/93 Ratified R 79
05/14/93 Signed By Governor
05/14/93 Effective date 05/14/93
05/14/93 See act for exception to or explanation of
effective date
06/10/93 Copies available
(A69, R79, S215)
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO EDUCATION BY ADDING
CHAPTER 136 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT COASTAL CAROLINA
COLLEGE, A FOUR-YEAR REGIONAL BRANCH OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, SHALL BECOME COASTAL
CAROLINA UNIVERSITY ON JULY 1, 1993, AND SHALL BE A
SEPARATE AND DISTINCT INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING
OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, TO PROVIDE FOR A
BOARD OF TRUSTEES WHICH SHALL GOVERN THE UNIVERSITY,
TO PROVIDE FOR THE BOARD'S POWERS, DUTIES, AND
FUNCTIONS, TO AUTHORIZE THE UNIVERSITY TO ISSUE
REVENUE BONDS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN
TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS, INCLUDING THE TRANSFER OF
PERSONNEL, ASSETS, AND LIABILITIES, TO PROVIDE FOR THE
ISSUANCE OF STATE INSTITUTION BONDS TO REFUND OTHER
STATE INSTITUTION BONDS ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE
APPLICABILITY TO COASTAL CAROLINA UNIVERSITY OF
CERTAIN PROVISIONS RELATING TO HIGHER EDUCATION
BUDGETARY AND COST-RELATED MATTERS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Coastal Carolina University
SECTION 1. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 136
Coastal Carolina University
Article 1
General Provisions
Section 59-136-100. Coastal Carolina College, a four-year regional
branch of the University of South Carolina, shall become Coastal Carolina
University on July 1, 1993, and shall be a separate and distinct institution
of higher learning of the State of South Carolina. It shall be governed by a
board of trustees for Coastal Carolina University hereinafter established in
this chapter.
Section 59-136-110. The board of trustees for Coastal Carolina
University is composed of the Governor of the State or his designee, who is
an ex officio member of the board, and sixteen members, with fifteen of
these members to be elected by the General Assembly and one member to
be appointed from the State at large by the Governor. The General
Assembly shall elect and the Governor shall appoint these members based
on merit regardless of race, color, creed, or gender and shall strive to assure
that the membership of the board is representative of all citizens of this
State.
Of the fifteen members to be elected by the General Assembly, two
members must be elected from each congressional district and the
remaining three members must be elected from the State at large.
The term of office of the at-large trustee appointed by the Governor is
effective upon certification to the Secretary of State and is coterminous
with the term of the Governor appointing him.
Each position on the board constitutes a separate office and the seats on
the board are numbered consecutively as follows: for the First
Congressional District, Seats One and Two; for the Second Congressional
District, Seats Three and Four; for the Third Congressional District, Seats
Five and Six; for the Fourth Congressional District, Seats Seven and Eight;
for the Fifth Congressional District, Seats Nine and Ten; for the Sixth
Congressional District, Seats Eleven and Twelve; for the at-large positions
elected by the General Assembly, Seats Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen.
The member appointed by the Governor shall occupy Seat Sixteen.
The General Assembly shall elect those members of the board of trustees
it elects during its 1993 Session. Members initially elected from Seats One,
Three, Five, Seven, Nine, Eleven, Thirteen, and Fifteen shall be elected for
two-year terms and members initially elected from Seats Two, Four, Six,
Eight, Ten, Twelve, and Fourteen shall be elected for four-year terms.
Thereafter, their successors shall each be elected for four-year terms.
The General Assembly shall hold elections every two years to select
successors of the trustees whose terms are expiring in that year. Except as
otherwise provided in this chapter, no election may be held before April
first of the year in which the successor's term is to commence. The term of
office of an elective trustee commences on the first day of July of the year
in which the trustee is elected and all members shall serve until their
successors are elected or appointed and qualify.
If an elective office becomes vacant, the Governor may fill it by
appointment until the next session of the General Assembly. The General
Assembly shall hold an election at any time during the session to fill the
vacancy for the unexpired portion of the term. A vacancy occurring in the
appointed office on the board must be filled for the remainder of the
unexpired term by appointment in the same manner of the original
appointment.
Section 59-136-120. Members of the board are entitled to subsistence,
per diem, and mileage authorized for members of state boards, committees,
and commissions.
Section 59-136-130. The board of trustees is constituted a body
corporate and politic under the name of the board of trustees for Coastal
Carolina University. The corporation has the power to:
(1) have perpetual succession;
(2) sue and be sued by the corporate name;
(3) have a seal and to alter it at pleasure;
(4) make contracts and to have, to hold, to purchase, and to lease real
estate and personal property for corporate purposes, and to sell and dispose
of personal property and any building considered by it as surplus property
or not further needed, and any buildings that it may need to do away with
for the purpose of making room for other construction. The board does not
have power to sell or dispose of any of its real estate, other than buildings,
except with the consent of the State Budget and Control Board;
(5) appoint a chairman and to appoint or otherwise provide for the
appointment of subordinate and assistant officers and agents, faculty
members, instructors, and other employees, prescribing the terms of their
employment and their duties and fixing their compensation;
(6) make bylaws and regulations for the management of its affairs and
its own operations not inconsistent with law;
(7) condemn land for corporate purposes as provided by law;
(8) fix tuition fees and other charges for students attending the
university, not inconsistent with law;
(9) confer degrees upon students and other persons as the board
considers qualified;
(10) accept, receive, and hold all monies or other properties, real,
personal, and mixed, that may be given, conveyed, bequeathed, or devised
to the university and to use them for the benefit of the university, but in
those cases where the money or property is received, charged with any
trust, the money or property must be held and used strictly in accordance
with the terms of the trust. If the terms of the trust require something to be
done other than to administer the trust, no obligation in receiving the trust
over and above its administration is binding upon the university or the
State, except any obligation accepted by the General Assembly;
(11) assign any member of the faculty without additional salary to
additional duties in any other university department than that in which the
faculty member may at the time be working;
(12) compel by subpoena, rule, and attachment witnesses to appear and
testify and papers to be produced and read before the board in all
investigations relating to the affairs of the university;
(13) adopt measures and make regulations as the board considers
necessary for the proper operation of the university;
(14) appoint for the university a board of visitors of a number as it may
determine, to regulate the terms during which the members of the board of
visitors serve, and to prescribe their functions;
(15) remove any officer, faculty member, agent, or employee for
incompetence, neglect of duty, violation of university regulations, or
conduct unbecoming a person occupying such a position; (16) appoint an executive committee not exceeding five members of the
board who have the powers of the board during the interim between
meetings of the board but not the power to do anything inconsistent with
the policy or action taken by the board, and the executive committee at
each meeting of the board shall report fully all action taken by it during the
interim;
(17) appoint committees of the board or officers or members of the
faculty of the university with authority and for purposes in connection with
the operation of the university as the board considers necessary;
(18) appoint a president. The president shall report to and seek
approval of his actions and those of his subordinates from the board;
(19) issue revenue bonds as provided by law.
Section 59-136-140. The board shall meet in Conway not less than four
times each year, the time and place to be fixed by the chairman or as the
board provides. The chairman shall preside and, in his absence, a member
shall preside as the board may select. The chairman or a majority of the
members has the power to call a special meeting and fix the time and place
of the meeting. A majority of the members constitutes a quorum for the
transaction of all business of the board. A majority vote of the whole board
is required for the election or removal of the president. The president, other
officers, and faculty members shall attend meetings of the board when
requested to do so.
Notice of the time and place of all meetings of the board must be mailed
by the secretary or his assistant to each trustee not less than five days
before each meeting.
Section 59-136-150. Upon approval of the State Budget and Control
Board, the board is authorized to lease or sell any real property which may
have been or may be donated to the university during any fund campaign.
The proceeds of any lease or sale must be applied to the original purpose of
the donation of the property leased or sold.
Article 3
Revenue Bonds
Section 59-136-300. For purposes of this article `equipment' means
items with a useful life of at least fifteen years.
Section 59-136-310. Coastal Carolina University, in this article referred
to as the university, may issue revenue bonds of the university for the
purpose of financing or refinancing in whole or in part the cost of
construction, reconstruction, improvement, and equipment of buildings for
the purposes of the university including, without limiting the generality of
the foregoing, dormitories, apartment buildings, dwelling houses, dining
halls, cafeterias, parking facilities, sports facilities, and inns or for any one
or more of these purposes.
Section 59-136-320. Revenue bonds issued under this article must be
authorized by a resolution or resolutions of the board of trustees of the
university. The resolution of the university may, in the discretion of the
board, contain provisions, which must be a part of the contract between the
university and the several holders of the bonds, as to any of the following:
(1) the custody, security, use, expenditure, or application of the
proceeds of the bonds;
(2) the construction and completion of the building or equipment for
which the bonds are issued;
(3) the use, regulation, operation, maintenance, insurance, or
disposition of the building or equipment for which the bonds are issued or
restrictions on the exercise of the powers of the board of trustees to dispose
of or to limit or regulate the use of the building or equipment;
(4) the payment of the principal of or interest on the bonds and the
sources and methods of the payment, the rank or priority of the bonds as to
any lien or security or the acceleration of the maturity of the bonds;
(5) the use and disposition of the revenues derived or to be derived
from the operation of the building or equipment;
(6) the pledging, setting aside, depositing, or trusteeing of the revenues
from which the bonds are made payable to secure the payment of the
principal of and interest on the bonds or the payment of expenses of
operation and maintenance of the building or equipment;
(7) the setting aside out of the revenues of reserves or sinking funds and
the source, custody, security, regulation, and disposition of them;
(8) the determination of the definition of the revenues or of the
expenses of operation and maintenance of the building or equipment for
which the bonds are issued;
(9) the rentals, fees, or other charges from students, faculty members,
and others using or being served by, or having the right to use or be served
by, the building or equipment for which the bonds are issued and any parts,
extensions, replacements, or improvements of them constructed or acquired
and the fixing, establishment, collection, and enforcement of them, the
amount or amounts of revenues to be produced by them, and the disposition
and application of the amounts charged or collected;
(10) limitations on the issuance of additional bonds or any other
obligations or the incurrence of indebtedness payable from the same
revenues from which the bonds are payable;
(11) parietal rules to ensure the use of the building or equipment by
students or members of the faculty of the university to the maximum extent
to which the building or equipment is capable of serving the students or
faculty members;
(12) the procedure, if any, by which the terms of any covenant or
contract with, or duty to, the holders of the bonds may be amended or
abrogated, the amount of bonds to which the holders of which must
consent, and the manner in which the consent may be given or evidenced;
and
(13) any other matter or course of conduct which, by recital in the
resolution or resolutions authorizing or providing for the bonds, is declared
to further secure the payment of the principal of or interest on the bonds.
Section 59-136-330. Revenue bonds may be issued in one or more
series, may bear such date or dates, may mature at such time or times, not
exceeding forty years from their respective dates, may bear interest at such
rate or rates, may be payable in such medium of payment and at such place
or places, may be in such denomination or denominations, may be in such
form, either coupon or registered, may carry such registration privileges,
may be subject to such terms of redemption before maturity, with or
without premium, and may contain such terms, covenants, and conditions
as the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds may provide. The
bonds must be fully negotiable within the meaning of and for all the
purposes of the Uniform Commercial Code.
Section 59-136-340. The bonds must be exempt from state, county,
municipal, and school taxes.
Section 59-136-350. The bonds must be signed in the corporate name
of the university by the chairman of the board of trustees of the university,
under the corporate seal of the university attested by the secretary of the
board of trustees. Interest coupons attached to the bonds must be signed by
the facsimile signatures of these officers. The bonds may be issued
notwithstanding that any of the officials signing them or whose facsimile
signatures appear on the coupons have ceased to hold office at the time of
the issue or at the time of the delivery of the bonds to the purchaser.
Section 59-136-360. The bonds must be sold at public or private sale
upon such terms and conditions as the board of trustees of the university
considers advisable.
Section 59-136-370. The board of trustees or its proper administrative
officers shall file with the State Treasurer within thirty days from the date
of their issuance a complete description of all obligations entered into by
the board, with the rates of interest, maturity dates, annual payments, and
all pertinent data.
Section 59-136-380. All provisions of a resolution authorizing or
providing for the issuance of the bonds in accordance with Section
59-136-320 and of the covenants and agreements constitute valid and
legally binding contracts between the university and the several holders of
the bonds, regardless of the time of issuance of the bonds, and is
enforceable by the holder or holders by mandamus or other appropriate
action, suit, or proceeding at law or in equity in any court of competent
jurisdiction.
Section 59-136-390. The bonds must be made payable solely from the
revenues derived by the university from the operation of the building or
equipment for which the bonds are issued or, in the discretion of the board
of trustees of the university, from the revenues and also from any other
revenues of the university except revenues derived from appropriations
received from the General Assembly. The bonds are not obligations of the
State.
Article 5
Transitional Provisions
Section 59-136-500. On July 1, 1993, the employees, current
appropriations, assets, and liabilities of Coastal Carolina College of the
University of South Carolina System are transferred to Coastal Carolina
University herein established. All classified or unclassified personnel
employed by Coastal Carolina College on June 30, 1993, either by contract
or by employment at will, shall become employees of Coastal Carolina
University on July 1, 1993, with the same compensation, classification,
grade level, or tenure as applicable until thereafter changed by the board of
Coastal Carolina University acting through its administration. The Budget
and Control Board shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to
accomplish this transfer including, but not limited to, the filing of deeds,
allocation to Coastal Carolina University of the existing bonded
indebtedness of the University of South Carolina attributable to Coastal
Carolina College, and the allocation to Coastal Carolina University of
endowment funds or other real or personal property donated to the
University of South Carolina for the benefit of Coastal Carolina College,
provided that this property must continue to be applied to the original
purpose of the donation if applicable.
Section 59-136-505. (A) No later than June 30, 1995, the Budget and
Control Board shall issue state institution bonds pursuant to Title 59,
Chapter 107, on behalf of Coastal Carolina University to refund and
defease all state institution bonds issued on behalf of the University of
South Carolina which are the Series 1991B and Series 1992C State
Institution Bonds. That portion of the State Institution Bonds to be
refunded which was used to provide facilities at Coastal Carolina
University shall be refunded by a series of state institution bonds issued on
behalf of Coastal Carolina University and secured by pledge of the tuition
fees from Coastal Carolina University. The remaining state institution
bonds to be refunded shall be refunded from the proceeds of state
institution bonds issued on behalf of the University of South Carolina and
secured by pledge of tuition fees collected at the University of South
Carolina.
(B) On or before June 30, 1995, Coastal Carolina University shall issue
its revenue bonds to refund the Student and Faculty Housing Revenue
Bonds, Series 1987, issued by the University of South Carolina and Student
and Faculty Housing Revenue Bond Anticipation Notes, the proceeds of
which were used to provide facilities at Coastal Carolina University. The
proceeds from the refunding revenue bonds shall be applied to defease and
refund the outstanding Series 1987 Bonds and Notes. On and after the date
of issuance of all refunding bonds, the pledge of revenues derived from the
operation of dormitory facilities at Coastal Carolina University shall be
released from the pledge securing other student and faculty housing
revenue bonds issued by the University of South Carolina.
(C) Pending the issuance of the bonds described in subsections (A) and
(B) above, the Budget and Control Board and the State Treasurer shall take
all action necessary to continue the application of tuition fees and
dormitory revenues derived by Coastal Carolina University to satisfy all
obligations of the University of South Carolina with respect to bonds issued
to provide facilities at Coastal Carolina University.
(D) For purposes of Section 59-107-10, Coastal Carolina University is
also considered an institution on behalf of which state institution bonds
may be issued thereunder. The purposes for which state institution bonds
may be issued on behalf of Coastal Carolina University shall include the
refunding of state institution bonds issued on behalf of the University of
South Carolina to provide facilities at Coastal Carolina University.
Section 59-136-510. Wherever the term `Coastal Carolina College' or
any similar variation appears in any provision of law, it shall be construed
to mean `Coastal Carolina University'.
Section 59-136-520. The Budget and Control Board, in consultation
with the Commission on Higher Education where necessary, shall prescribe
the manner in which the transfer provided in this chapter shall be
accomplished."
Applicability of Provisions
SECTION 2. The provisions of Sections 8 and 9 of Act 272 of 1992 also
apply to Coastal Carolina University as established by this act.
Time effective
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor, and the
General Assembly during its 1993 Session shall elect the members of the
Board of Trustees of Coastal Carolina University who shall take office on
July 1, 1993.
Approved the 14th day of May, 1993. |