Bill 245

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               245
Ratification Number:       146
Act Number                 91
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   Notice of drafting period on
                           regulations

(A91, R146, S245)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 1-23-110 AND 1-23-120, BOTH AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE STATE REGISTER, SO AS TO REQUIRE A STATE AGENCY TO GIVE NOTICE OF THE OPPORTUNITY FOR AN ORAL HEARING AND TO REQUIRE A HEARING NO SOONER THAN THIRTY DAYS FROM PUBLICATION OF THE NOTICE IN THE STATE REGISTER IF REQUESTED BY TWENTY-FIVE PERSONS AND TO PROVIDE THAT A REGULATION BECOMES EFFECTIVE ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS AFTER SUBMISSION TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IF A RESOLUTION TO APPROVE IT IS NOT ENACTED WITHIN THAT TIME PERIOD OR IF A RESOLUTION TO DISAPPROVE A REGULATION HAS NOT BEEN INTRODUCED BY A STANDING COMMITTEE TO WHICH IT WAS REFERRED, TO TOLL THE RUNNING OF THE ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-DAY PERIOD UPON THE INTRODUCTION OF A RESOLUTION TO DISAPPROVE, TO PROVIDE THAT EMERGENCY REGULATIONS MAY NOT BE INTRODUCED AFTER A RESOLUTION TO DISAPPROVE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-DAY PERIOD TO RECOMMENCE AFTER A NEGATIVE VOTE ON A RESOLUTION TO DISAPPROVE; AND TO PROVIDE THAT IF LESS THAN NINETY DAYS REMAIN AFTER THE PERIOD BEGINS TO RUN AGAIN, ADDITIONAL DAYS MUST BE ADDED TO EQUAL NINETY DAYS.

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

Notice of drafting period on regulations

SECTION 1. Section 1-23-110(b) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 605 of 1988, is further amended to read:

"(b) Before the promulgation, amendment, or repeal of a regulation, an agency shall:

(1) give notice of a drafting period by publication of a notice in the State Register. The notice shall include the time when, the place where, and the manner in which interested persons may present their views during the initial drafting procedures before the regulations are submitted as proposed;

(2) give at least thirty days' notice of intended action and opportunity of oral hearing by publication of a notice in the State Register. The notice must include either the text or a synopsis of the proposed regulation, the statutory authority for its promulgation, the time when, the place where, and the manner in which interested persons may present their views on it and a preliminary fiscal impact statement prepared by the agency reflecting estimates of costs incurred by the State and its political subdivisions in complying with the proposed regulation. This requirement of a preliminary fiscal impact statement does not apply to those regulations which are not subject to General Assembly review under the provisions of Section 1-23-120. The notice must be mailed to all persons who have made timely requests of the agency for advance notice of proposed promulgation of regulations.

(3) afford all interested persons reasonable opportunity to submit data, views, or arguments, orally or in writing. Opportunity for oral hearing, which may not be held sooner than thirty days from the date of publication of the notice in the State Register, must be granted if requested by twenty-five persons, by a governmental subdivision or agency, or by an association having not less than twenty-five members. The agency shall consider fully all written and oral submissions respecting the proposed regulation."

Review by General Assembly of regulations

SECTION 2. Section 1-23-120 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 605 of 1988, is further amended to read:

"Section 1-23-120. All regulations except those specifically exempted under this article must be submitted to the General Assembly for review in accordance with the provisions of the article, but no regulation may be submitted to the General Assembly more than one year after publication of the drafting notice initiating the regulation pursuant to Section 1-23-110(b). To initiate the process of review, the agency shall file with the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a copy of any regulations promulgated along with a request for review and a copy of the preliminary fiscal impact statement prepared by the agency as required in Section 1-23-110(b)(2). Upon receipt of the request, the President and Speaker reviewing the request shall submit it for consideration to the standing committees of the Senate and House which are most concerned with the function of the promulgating agency. A copy of the regulation or a synopsis of it must be given to each member of the committee. The committees have one hundred twenty days from the date regulations are submitted to the General Assembly to consider regulations so referred and determine their actions on the regulations. If a regulation is referred to a committee and no action occurs in that committee on the regulation within sixty calendar days of receipt of the regulation by the appropriate committee, the regulation must be placed on the agenda of the full committee beginning with the next scheduled full committee meeting. Only those calendar days occurring during sessions of the General Assembly are included in computing the days elapsed. If a resolution to approve a regulation is not enacted within one hundred twenty days after submission to the General Assembly or if a resolution to disapprove a regulation has not been introduced by a standing committee to which the regulation was referred for review, the regulation is effective upon publication in the State Register. Upon introduction of the first joint resolution disapproving a regulation by a standing committee to which the regulation was referred for review the one-hundred-twenty-day period for automatic approval is tolled. A regulation may not be filed under the emergency provisions of Section 1-23-130 if a joint resolution to disapprove the regulation has been introduced by a standing committee to which the regulation was referred. Upon a negative vote by either the Senate or House of Representatives on the resolution disapproving the regulation and the notification in writing of the negative vote to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate by the clerk of the House in which the negative vote occurred, the remainder of the period begins to run. If the remainder of the period is less than ninety days, additional days must be added to the remainder to equal ninety days. The introduction of a resolution by the committee of either House does not prevent the introduction of a resolution by the committee of the other House to either approve or disapprove the regulations concerned.

The one-hundred-twenty-day period of review begins on the date the regulation is filed with the President and Speaker. Sine die adjournment of the General Assembly tolls the running of the period of review, and the remainder of the period begins to run upon the next convening of the General Assembly excluding special sessions called by the Governor.