Bill 3009

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3009
Ratification Number:       292
Act Number:                194
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                        Commissioners of Pilotage and Board
                           of Examiners for the Port of Charleston

(A194, R292, H3009)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 54-15-40, 54-15-60, 54-15-80, AND 54-15-100, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO COMMISSIONERS OF PILOTAGE AND BOARD OF EXAMINERS FOR THE PORT OF CHARLESTON, EXAMINATION FEES, AND APPRENTICE PILOTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT ONE MEMBER OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF PILOTAGE BE CHAIRMAN OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE PORTS AUTHORITY TO SERVE EX OFFICIO, ONE MEMBER A PILOT LICENSED FOR THE PORT OF CHARLESTON APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR AND THE REMAINING MEMBERS APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR UPON RECOMMENDATION OF THE CHARLESTON COUNTY LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION, TO PROVIDE THAT THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS MUST INCLUDE ONE NAUTICAL MAN LICENSED FOR THE PORT OF CHARLESTON, TO REQUIRE THAT ELIGIBILITY FOR EXAMINATION ALSO INCLUDE A RECOMMENDATION BY A MAJORITY OF THE PILOTS LICENSED FOR THE PORT OF CHARLESTON, TO PROVIDE THAT THE EXAMINATION FEE BE SET BY REGULATION OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF PILOTAGE, TO PROVIDE THAT APPRENTICES BE TAKEN ONLY BY PILOTS LICENSED FOR THE PORT OF CHARLESTON, TO DELETE THE REFERENCE TO GOOD MORAL CHARACTER, AND TO REAUTHORIZE THE COMMISSIONERS OF PILOTAGE FOR THE PORT OF CHARLESTON.

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

Commissioners of pilotage for Port of Charleston reauthorized

SECTION 1. In accordance with the provisions of Section 7 of Act 608 of 1978, the existence of the Commissioners of Pilotage for the Port of Charleston is reauthorized for six years.

Commissioners of Pilotage created

SECTION 2. Section 54-15-40 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 54-15-40. There is created the Commissioners of Pilotage for the Port of Charleston composed of five members one of whom is the chairman of the South Carolina State Ports Authority, ex officio and one of whom is a pilot licensed for the port of Charleston under Sections 54-15-120 and 54-15-130, appointed by the Governor. The remaining members are appointed by the Governor upon the recommendation of the Charleston County legislative delegation from lists of nominations for the offices submitted to the delegation by the Greater Charleston Chamber of Commerce, the Maritime Association of the port of Charleston, and the Propeller Club of the port of Charleston. The terms of office of the commissioners are for three years and until their successors are appointed and qualified, except that of the members first appointed, one shall serve for one year, one shall serve for two years, and one shall serve for three years. The member representative of the pilots licensed under Sections 54-15-120 and 54-15-130 has a three-year term. In the event of a vacancy, however caused, a successor must be appointed in the manner of the original appointment for the unexpired term. The above appointments must be made as each term of the present commissioners expires."

Composition of commissioners

SECTION 3. Section 54-15-60 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 54-15-60. The commissioners of pilotage for the port of Charleston shall, from time to time, organize a board of examiners for the port of Charleston to consist of three nautical men, at least one of whom must be licensed for the port of Charleston under the provisions of Sections 54-15-120 and 54-15-130. No one is eligible for examination by the board of examiners until he has satisfactorily completed his apprenticeship and is recommended by a majority of the pilots licensed under Sections 54-15-120 and 54-15-130 for the port of Charleston. The board of examiners shall examine all eligible and recommended applicants as to their competency to work or manage vessels and generally to discharge the duties of a pilot. All examinations for license are oral and written and by demonstration and include the following requisites: the rules of the road, the use of a compass, the set of currents, the boarding of vessels in heavy weather, the bearings of noted objects, numbers, shapes and colors of buoys, the use of the sextant, and other matters as the commissioners of pilotage for the port of Charleston include in the examination. No license or branch may be granted to any person unless he has received a certificate of his competency signed by a majority of the board of examiners."

Fee

SECTION 4. Section 54-15-80 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 54-15-80. The commissioners of pilotage for each port shall set by regulation a fee calculated to defray the expenses of examination, licensing, and issuing any certification under Chapter 15 of Title 54."

Apprentices

SECTION 5. Section 54-15-100 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 285 of 1982, is further amended to read:

"Section 54-15-100. Apprentices for the port of Charleston are taken only by pilots licensed under Sections 54-15-120 and 54-15-130 for the port of Charleston, and must be approved by the commissioners of pilotage for the port of Charleston. They must not be under eighteen nor over twenty-eight years, must be a graduate of an accredited four-year college, or hold an unlimited ocean Third Mate's License, have 20-20 visual acuity uncorrected or corrected by contact lens, have good color vision evidenced by ability to distinguish colors by means of the Stilling's Test or other equivalent test as accepted by the United States Coast Guard, have good natural hearing, and any other physical and mental qualifications required by the commissioners of pilotage for the port of Charleston. Satisfactory certificates of the above requirements must be filed with the commissioners of pilotage for the port of Charleston before the applicant may be accepted as an apprentice."

Time effective

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.