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The following was received.
Columbia, S.C., June 12, 1996
Mr. Speaker and Members of the House:

The Senate respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has appointed Senators Leventis, Martin and Lander of the Committee of Conference on the part of the Senate on H. 3446:

H. 3446 -- Rep. Sharpe: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 46-45-70 SO AS TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE LOCATION OF AGRICULTURAL FACILITIES AND AGRICULTURAL WASTE DISPOSAL AREAS; TO AMEND SECTION 46-45-30, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH AGRICULTURAL FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS ARE NOT NUISANCES, SO AS TO DELETE THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE FACILITY OR OPERATION MUST BE IN OPERATION FOR ONE YEAR OR MORE; AND TO AMEND SECTION 46-45-60, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO LOCAL ORDINANCES PERTAINING TO AGRICULTURAL FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH RELATED PERMITS MUST NOT BE SUSPENDED, DENIED, OR REVOKED.
Very respectfully,
President

Received as information.

The following was received.
Columbia, S.C., June 12, 1996
Mr. Speaker and Members of the House:

The Senate respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has appointed Senators Moore, Rankin and Alexander of the Committee of Conference on the part of the Senate on H. 4796:

H. 4796 -- Reps. Fulmer, Koon, Harvin, Carnell, Robinson, Stuart, Seithel, Shissias, Limehouse, Hallman, Harrell and Cotty: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTIONS 12-37-2810, 12-37-2820, 12-37-2830, 12-37-2840, 12-37-2850, 12-37-2860, 12-37-2870, AND 12-37-2880 SO AS TO PROVIDE CERTAIN DEFINITIONS, THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY ANNUALLY SHALL ASSESS, EQUALIZE, AND APPORTION THE VALUATION OF ALL MOTOR CARRIER VEHICLES, THAT THE VALUE OF MOTOR CARRIER VEHICLES SUBJECT TO PROPERTY TAX MUST BE DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND THAT THIS PROPERTY TAX MUST BE PAID TO THE DEPARTMENT ANNUALLY, THE METHOD THAT THE TAXES MUST BE DISBURSED, THAT IN LIEU OF THE PROPERTY TAX AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS, A ONE-TIME FEE MAY BE PAID UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF THIS FEE, AND TO PROVIDE AN EXEMPTION FROM PROPERTY TAXES FOR CERTAIN MOTOR VEHICLES.
Very respectfully,
President

Received as information.

The following was introduced:

H. 5098 -- Reps. Koon, Gamble, Knotts, Riser, Spearman and Stuart: A HOUSE RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND THANKING THE HONORABLE DAVID A. WRIGHT OF LEXINGTON COUNTY, OUR FRIEND AND DISTINGUISHED COLLEAGUE, FOR HIS OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP AND DEVOTED PUBLIC SERVICE IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Whereas, he served as First Vice Chairman of the Education and Public Works Committee in the House and was also Assistant Minority Whip; and

Whereas, he took a leadership role in educational matters and local government issues as a member of the House of Representatives and earned the respect, trust, confidence, and admiration of his colleagues; and

Whereas, David Wright is an outstanding public servant and has dedicated himself to excellence in government; and

Whereas, his friendship has meant much to us and his presence in the General Assembly will be missed greatly. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, commend and thank the Honorable David A. Wright of Lexington County, our friend and distinguished colleague, for his outstanding leadership and devoted public service in the General Assembly.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the Honorable David A. Wright.

The Resolution was adopted.

The following was introduced:

H. 5099 -- Rep. Harvin: A HOUSE RESOLUTION SALUTING AND THANKING ROBERT SIDNEY GREEN SMITH FOR HIS DEDICATED SERVICE TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND WISHING HIM SUCCESS IN HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.

The Resolution was adopted.

The following was introduced:

H. 5100 -- Reps. Hodges, Boan and Delleney: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE AND CONGRATULATE THE LANCASTER AND CHESTER RAILWAY COMPANY ON THE OCCASION OF ITS ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY AND TO EXPRESS THE APPRECIATION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO

The Concurrent Resolution was agreed to and ordered sent to the Senate.

The following was introduced:

H. 5101 -- Reps. Harvin, Stuart and Sharpe: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION EXPRESSING SORROW AT THE DEATH OF LILLIAN BOATWRIGHT BOLAND OF SPRINGFIELD AND EXTENDING SYMPATHY TO HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

The Concurrent Resolution was agreed to and ordered sent to the Senate.

The Senate sent to the House the following:

S. 1441 -- Senator Holland: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO COMMEND AND CONGRATULATE LAWRIE H. HARMON, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, DIVISION OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, FIELD OFFICE SUPERVISOR AT THE DORN VETERANS HOSPITAL, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, WHO HAS PROVIDED OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO VETERANS AND BENEFICIARIES OF VETERANS IN HIS SERVICE AREA AND THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND TO THANK HIM FOR THE MANY CONTRIBUTIONS HE HAS MADE IN THIS CAPACITY WHICH HE HAS HELD FOR THE PAST TWENTY-ONE AND ONE-HALF YEARS.

The Concurrent Resolution was agreed to and ordered returned to the Senate with concurrence.

The Senate sent to the House the following:

S. 1442 -- Senator McConnell: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE ALICE TALBIRD BECKETT UPON THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF HER ADMISSION TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA BAR ON JUNE 10, 1946.

The Senate sent to the House the following:

S. 1443 -- Senator Matthews: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION EXTENDING THE CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF SOUTH CAROLINA TO MR. MELVIN CRUM OF ROWESVILLE UPON BEING NAMED THE "1996 SMALL FARMER OF THE YEAR."

The Concurrent Resolution was agreed to and ordered returned to the Senate with concurrence.

The Senate sent to the House the following:

S. 1445 -- Senators Peeler and Setzler: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE FLOYD I. HARPER, JR., OF WEST COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, UPON BEING SELECTED TO RECEIVE THE SOUTH CAROLINA TAX COUNCIL 1996 SERVICE AWARD AND TO COMMEND HIM FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE TAX PROFESSION AND FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY AND THE SOUTH CAROLINA TAX COUNCIL.

The Concurrent Resolution was agreed to and ordered returned to the Senate with concurrence.

The following Bill was introduced, read the first time, and referred to appropriate committee:

S. 1435 -- Senator Reese: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 10 TO CHAPTER 19, TITLE 50, SO AS TO PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES THE AUTHORITY TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS TO MANAGE AND PROTECT FISHERIES IN LAKE WILLIAM C. BOWEN, LAKE BLALOCK, AND SPARTANBURG MUNICIPAL RESERVOIR #1 IN SPARTANBURG COUNTY.

On motion of Rep. WALKER, with unanimous consent, the Bill was ordered placed on the Calendar without reference.

The following was received.
Columbia, S.C., June 12, 1996
Mr. Speaker and Members of the House:

The Senate respectfully informs your Honorable Body that it has overridden the veto by the Governor on S. 944, R. 448 by a vote of 46 to 0.

(R448) S. 944 -- Senators Greg Smith and Rose: AN ACT TO DEVOLVE THE AUTHORITY FOR APPOINTMENTS AND BUDGETARY APPROVALS FOR CERTAIN OFFICES, BOARDS, AND COMMISSIONS FROM THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION REPRESENTING GEORGETOWN COUNTY TO THE GOVERNING BODY OF GEORGETOWN COUNTY.
Very respectfully,
President

The SPEAKER ordered the veto message printed in the Journal.

The COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE, to whom was referred:

S. 1117 -- Education Committee: A BILL TO AMEND TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO EDUCATION, BY ADDING CHAPTER 144 SO AS TO ENACT THE "PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES ASSISTANCE ACT", TO MAKE FUNDS AVAILABLE TO CONSTRUCT AND RENOVATE PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES, AND TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF SCHOOL REVENUE BONDS FOR SPECIFIED PURPOSES IN CONNECTION THEREWITH.
Beg leave to report that they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend:

That the same do pass with the following amendments:

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the acting words and inserting the following:

/SECTION 1. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

Section 59-144-20. For the benefit of the people of the State and the increase of their commerce, welfare, and prosperity, it is essential that the school districts of this State be assisted in obtaining adequate school facilities to assist youth in achieving the required levels of learning. It is the purpose of this chapter to provide a measure of assistance to the school districts of this State in securing the facilities and structures which are needed to accomplish the goals and purposes of public education, all to the public benefit and good, to the extent and manner provided in this chapter.

Section 59-144-30. Funds made available through this chapter must be used for permanent school instructional facilities and fixed equipment including the costs for construction, improvement, enlargement, or renovation of public school facilities. The district may use its fiscal year 1996-97 allocation for payment of debt service provided that the debt service relates to school facilities as defined herein. In subsequent years, after all construction and renovation needs identified in a district's school facilities improvement plan have been met, the district may request to use its allocation for payment of debt service provided the debt service relates to school facilities as defined herein.

As used in this chapter, `school facilities' only includes facilities necessary for instructional and related purposes including, but not limited to, classrooms, libraries, media centers, laboratories, cafeterias, physical education spaces, related interior and exterior facilities, and the conduit, wiring, and powering of hardware installations for classroom computers or for area network systems. `School facilities' does not include unimproved real property, centralized district administration facilities, portable classrooms, or other facilities, including those normally identified with interscholastic sports activities. However, for fiscal year 1996-97 only, 'school facilities' includes portable classrooms. As used in this chapter, fixed equipment means a fixture as defined in Section 36-9-313(1)(a).

Section 59-144-40. From annual allotments made to the various districts, a school district may accumulate its allotments for up to seventy-two months to meet the facilities' needs identified in its capital improvement plan.

Section 59-144-100. (A) Funds made available under this chapter must be allocated annually to the school districts in the following manner:

(2) thirty-five percent must be allocated according to the preceding year's Education Finance Act (EFA) formula;

(3) fifteen percent of the funds allocated annually to the several school districts for facilities' needs must be distributed based on a standardized assessment of the districts' needs for facilities using a uniform estimate of costs as established in Section 59-144-120. Individual district allotments must be based on the district facilities need relative to the state total facilities need;

(4) fifteen percent of the funds allocated annually to the school districts must be distributed based on equalized effort defined as the prior five years' average expenditures for capital projects and debt service, including lease-purchase obligations, for school instructional facilities divided by the average assessed value of all property subject to ad valorem school taxation and adjusted to reflect an equalized per pupil mill value. Individual district allotments must be based on a district's equalized effort relative to the state total equalized effort. The amount included for lease-purchase obligations shall not include the costs of utilities or operation and maintenance of the leased facility;

(5) a district's annual allotment must be the sum of the four amounts calculated as provided in this section. Funds from a district's allotment shall be made available as needed once approval is received from the State Board of Education pursuant to Chapter 23 of this title.

(B) The Department of Juvenile Justice, the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School, the John de la Howe School, and the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind also shall be annually allocated funds from the Children's Education Endowment Fund for facilities needs on a per pupil basis using weighted pupil units for one hundred percent of their allocations. For purposes of these allocations only, all pupils of these schools are considered K-12 pupils.

Section 59-144-120. The State Board of Education responsibilities in regard to this chapter include:

(1) developing policies, guidelines, and standards for a uniform assessment of facilities' needs and standardized cost allowances for estimating the cost in meeting these needs in order to provide for a systematic reporting of each district's needs to be used in calculating the allotment of funds under Section 59-144-100. Any standardized cost allowances must take into account regional variances that are beyond the

(2) adopting policies, standards, and regulations to ensure the accuracy of district reporting required under this chapter and the use of funds disbursed under this chapter.

Section 59-144-130. Every three years by December first beginning with the year 1998, the State Board of Education shall report to the General Assembly the projected five-year school facilities improvement requirements reported by the school districts, the needs identified since the last report, and those previously identified needs addressed since the last report.

Section 59-144-140. The Department of Education's responsibilities shall include:

(1) providing staffing assistance to the State Board of Education in the development of policies, guidelines, standards, and regulations implementing this chapter; and

(2) ensuring compliance with state standards and requirements, inspecting construction projects for education facilities, and approving completed construction pursuant to Chapter 23 of this title for projects financed in whole or in part with funds allocated under this chapter. To assist with the inspection of construction projects, the State Board of Education may designate selected local units of administration which have staff qualified to conduct the inspections to act on behalf of the Department of Education.

Section 59-144-150. To qualify for funds under this chapter, each school district shall meet the provisions of this chapter and any regulations promulgated hereunder. Funds must be withheld from districts when inappropriate reporting of facilities' needs is found or when inappropriate use of funds is documented.

Section 59-144-160. By December 1, 1998, the State Board of Education shall recommend to the General Assembly changes to be made to this chapter regarding program objectives, appropriate funding levels, and funding allotment formulas.

Amend title to conform.

/s/Nikki Setzler .......... /s/Ronald P. Townsend
/s/Harvey Peeler .......... /s/Harry Stille
/s/Wes Hayes .......... /s/Lewis Vaughn

for the Senate. .......... for the House.

Rep. TOWNSEND explained the Conference Report.

The Conference Report was adopted and a message was ordered sent to the Senate accordingly.

In accordance with Section 8-13-700(B) of the S.C. Code, I abstained from voting on the below referenced bill or amendment because of a potential conflict of interest and wish to have my recusal noted for the record in the House Journal of this date.

Bill #: S. 1117 General Subject Matter: School Facilities Act

The reason for abstaining on the above reference legislation is:

A potential conflict may exist under S.C. Code Section 8-13-745(C) because a contract for goods or services may be entered into within the next year with an agency, commission, board, department, or other entity funded through the general appropriations bill by myself, an individual with who I am associated in partnership with, or a business or a partnership in which I have a greater than 5% interest.

Rep. REX FONTAINE RICE

The COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE, to whom was referred:

H. 4518 -- Reps. Haskins, Carnell, Felder, Koon, J. Young, Witherspoon, Hutson, Limbaugh, Cain, Stuart, Allison, Quinn, Tripp and Vaughn: A JOINT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 11, ARTICLE X OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, RELATING TO THE CREDIT OF THE STATE AND ITS POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS, SO AS TO REMOVE THE PROHIBITION ON THE

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