Reference is to the bill as introduced.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 1, beginning on page 2, by striking Section 48-59-40(A) and (B) and inserting:
/ "(A) There is
established the South Carolina Conservation Bank. The bank is
governed by a fourteen-member
fifteen-member board selected as follows:
(1)
the Chairman of the Board for Director
of the Department of Natural Resources, the
Chairman Director of the South Carolina
Forestry Commission, and the Director of the
South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism,
all of whom shall serve ex officio and without voting
privileges the Commissioner of Agriculture, and the
Secretary of Commerce, or their designee;
(2)
three two members appointed by the
Governor from the State at large;
(3)
four members appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, one each from the Third, Fourth, and
Sixth First, Fifth, and Seventh Congressional
Districts and one member from the State at
large; and
(4)
four members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the
Senate, one each from the First, Second,
Fifth, and Seventh Fourth, and Sixth
Congressional Districts and one member from the State at
large.
(B) Terms of board
members are for four years and until their successors are
appointed and qualify, except that the initial terms of each
appointing official's appointees must be staggered with the
initial term noted on the appointment. Regardless of the date of
appointment, all terms expire on July first of the applicable
year. Vacancies must be filled in the manner of original
appointments for the unexpired portion of the term. Members
shall serve without compensation, but may receive the mileage,
subsistence, and per diem allowed by law for members of state
boards, committees, and commissions. The board shall elect a
chairman and other officers as necessary from its membership.
The members from the Department of Natural Resources, the
Forestry Commission, the Department of Parks, Recreation and
Tourism, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of
Commerce may not serve as chairman." /
Amend further, SECTION 3, beginning on page 8, by striking Section 48-59-70(L) and inserting:
/ (L)(1)
The board may authorize up to ten percent of the
monies credited to the trust fund during the preceding fiscal
year to acquire interests in land that solely or primarily meet
the criteria of subsection (D)(6) of this section. No other
monies in the trust fund may be awarded to applicants for the
acquisition of interests in land that meet the criteria of
subsection (D)(6) unless the application also satisfies other
criteria contained in subsection (D) in a substantial
way.
(2)
The board shall authorize at least
ten percent of the monies credited to the trust fund during the
preceding fiscal year for the acquisition of interests in land
that provides public access. To the extent the ten percent
authorization required by this item is not met in any particular
year, the balance must be carried over and used for acquisition
of interests in land that provide public access in ensuing
years. The board may not authorize the purchase of a
conservation easement for more than one million dollars unless
the transaction is approved by the State Fiscal Accountability
Authority. /
Amend further by adding an appropriately numbered SECTION to read:
/ SECTION __. Section 48-59-110 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 48-59-110.
(A) Trust funds may be used
only by eligible trust fund recipients for the acquisition of
interests in land, including closing costs. Trust funds may not
be used to pay general operating expenses of eligible trust fund
recipients, nor may trust funds be used for the management or
maintenance of acquired interests in land. Trust funds only may
be dispersed at the closing of transactions in which an interest
in land is acquired.
(B) The
board, in its discretion, may award additional grant funds to
the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the South
Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism or the
South Carolina Forestry Commission for the acquisition of fee
simple title to land to which the public will have full access.
The additional funds must be used only for the purpose of
improving public access. The state agency receiving the funds
shall include with its grant application a request for the
additional funds and a detailed description of how the
additional funds, if awarded, would be used. If additional funds
are awarded by the board, the state agency receiving the funds
shall submit a report to the board every six months after the
award has been made describing in detail how the funds have been
used and continue to submit a report until the funds are fully
utilized. If the additional funds have not been utilized two
years after receipt, the remaining balance must be refunded to
the trust fund."
/
Amend further by striking SECTION 4 and inserting:
/ SECTION 4. Sections 12-24-95 and 48-59-75 of the 1976 Code are repealed. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.