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TO CREATE THE "SOUTH CAROLINA STUDY COMMITTEE STUDY COMMITTEE" FOR THE PURPOSE OF EVALUATING THE STATE'S PAST AND FUTURE USES OF STUDY COMMITTEES FOR ASSESSING AND DEVELOPING STATE POLICIES AND RELATED LEGISLATION, AND TO PROVIDE FOR ITS MEMBERSHIP, POWERS, AND DUTIES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. (A) The General Assembly finds that:
(1) on a recurrent basis the General Assembly relies upon study committees to study issues before the General Assembly, both those previously studied and unstudied; and
(2) no study committee has ever studied study committees to specifically study the effectiveness of study committees at resolving or solving the issue or problem that the study committees studied.
(B) It is the goal of the General Assembly to ensure that:
(1) study committees are studied to study the optimal use of study committees to ensure study committees are neither being formed needlessly nor studying issues already sufficiently studied; and
(2) to ensure that study committees are actually studying when they say they are studying.
(C) There is created a study committee on study committees to be known as the "South Carolina Study Committee Study Committee," composed of the following nine members:
(1) two members of the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;
(2) two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker;
(3) two members of the private sector appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, each having a background of substantial duration and expertise in study committees or other related studies;
(4) two members of the private sector appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, each having a background of substantial duration and expertise in study committees or other related studies; and
(5) one member from the private sector with a background of substantial duration and expertise in study committees or other related studies, to be appointed by the Governor;
(D) The senior member from the Senate shall serve as chairman of the committee and the senior member from the House of Representatives shall serve as vice-chairman of the committee.
(E) Study committee members serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. Members who serve by virtue of an office serve on the committee while they hold that office. A vacancy in the membership of the committee must be filled in the manner of the original appointment. Committee membership does not constitute an office for purposes of the prohibition on dual office holding provided in Section 3, Article VI of the Constitution of this State. Committee members are subject to the provisions of the Ethics, Government Accountability, and Campaign Reform Act, Chapter 13 of Title 8. Notwithstanding Section 8-13-770, members of the General Assembly may be appointed to serve on this committee as provided in this joint resolution.
(F) Study committee members serve without compensation, except citizen members are allowed the per diem and mileage as provided by law for members of a board, committee, or commission while on official studying business of the study committee.
(G) The committee has the following powers and duties:
(1) evaluate how best to study study committees;
(2) engage consultants and counsel with expertise in issues relating to studying;
(3) study the various forms of study committees the General Assembly has used to study and or conduct studies;
(4) assess the need for study committee studies in unstudied and understudied areas of study;
(5) study all previous studies by study committees created by the General Assembly and develop a draft study to be studied to identify the best studiers and their study habits;
(6) make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding a single best method of studying by study committees; and
(7) recommend to the General Assembly necessary legislation, rules, programs, and policies to ensure that in the future, study committees are formed only when study is needed, and neither generally over-study nor under-study, nor study issues that either need not be studied, or that have already been studied to death.
(H) The committee must use clerical and professional employees of the Senate and the House of Representatives for its study staff, as approved and designated by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, respectively.
(I) The committee must submit a report containing its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives no later than December 31, 2010.
SECTION 2. This joint resolution takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
This web page was last updated on January 28, 2010 at 10:49 AM