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TO AMEND ARTICLE 3, CHAPTER 1, TITLE 57 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO THE COMMISSION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, TO INCREASE THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION TO NINE MEMBERS, TO PROVIDE THAT COMMISSIONERS SHALL BE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR FROM THE STATE AT LARGE SUBJECT TO SCREENING BY THE JOINT TRANSPORTATION REVIEW COMMITTEE AND THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF THE SENATE, TO PROVIDE THAT COMMISSIONERS SHALL BE APPOINTED TO SIX-YEAR TERMS, AND TO CLARIFY THE COMMISSION'S DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES; TO AMEND SECTION 57-1-410, RELATING TO THE APPOINTMENT OF THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION, TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMMISSION, WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE GOVERNOR, SHALL APPOINT A SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION SUBJECT TO THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF THE SENATE; TO AMEND SECTION 57-1-720(C) AND 57-1-720 TO MAKE TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS REFLECTING THE APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONERS RATHER THAN ELECTION OF COMMISSIONERS; TO AMEND CHAPTER 6, TITLE 1 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO THE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL, TO ESTABLISH A DIVISION WITHIN THE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; AND TO REPEAL SECTION 57-1-460 AND 57-1-740.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 3, Chapter 1, Title 57 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
Section 57-1-310. (A) The congressional districts of this State are constituted and created Department of Transportation Districts of the State, designated by numbers corresponding to the numbers of the respective congressional districts. The There is established the Commission of the Department of Transportation which shall be composed of one member from each transportation district elected by the delegations of the congressional district and one member nine members from the State at large appointed by the Governor, upon the advice and consent of the Senate, following the Joint Transportation Review Committee's determination of qualifications. from the State at large. Such elections or appointment, as the case may be, In making appointments to the commission, the Governor shall take into account race, and gender, and other demographic factors, such as residence in rural or urban areas, so as to represent, to the greatest extent possible, all segments of the population of the State; however, consideration of these factors in making an appointment or in an election in no way creates a cause of action or basis for an employee grievance for a person appointed or elected or for a person who fails to be appointed.
(B)(1) Candidates for election to the commission must be screened by the Joint Transportation Review Committee, as provided in Article 7 of this chapter, and determined to meet the qualifications contained in subsection (C) in order to be eligible for election.
(2) The at-large appointment made by the Governor Appointees must be transmitted to the Joint Transportation Review Committee. The Joint Transportation Review Committee must determine whether the at-large each appointee meets the qualifications in subsection (C) and report its findings to the General Assembly and the Governor. Until the Joint Transportation Review Committee finds a gubernatorial appointee qualified, and the appointee is subsequently confirmed by the Senate, the appointee must not take the oath of office and the full rights and privileges and powers of the office shall not vest.
(C) The qualifications that each commission member commissioner must possess, include, but are not limited to:
(1) a baccalaureate or more advanced degree from:
(a) a recognized institution of higher learning requiring face-to-face contact between its students and instructors prior to completion of the academic program;
(b) an institution of higher learning that has been accredited by a regional or national accrediting body; or
(c) an institution of higher learning chartered before 1962; or and
(2) a background of at least five years in any combination of the following fields of expertise:
(a) transportation;
(b) construction;
(c) finance;
(d) practice of law;
(e) environmental issues;
(f) management; or
(g) engineering.
(D) No member of the General Assembly or member of his immediate family shall be elected or appointed to the commission while the member is serving in the General Assembly; nor shall a member of the General Assembly or a member of his immediate family be elected or appointed to the commission for a period of four years after the member either:
(1) ceases to be a member of the General Assembly; or
(2) fails to file for election to the General Assembly in accordance with Section 7-11-15.
Section 57-1-320. (A) A county that is divided among two or more Department of Transportation districts, for purposes of electing a commission member, is deemed to be considered in the district which contains the largest number of residents from that county.
(B) No county within a Department of Transportation district shall have a resident commission member for more than one consecutive term and in In no event shall any two persons from the same county serve as a commission member simultaneously except as provided hereinafter.
Section 57-1-325. Legislators residing in the congressional district shall meet upon written call of a majority of the members of the delegation of each district at a time and place to be designated in the call for the purpose of electing a commissioner to represent the district. A majority present, either in person or by written proxy, of the delegation from a given congressional district constitutes a quorum for the purpose of electing a district commissioner. No person may be elected commissioner who fails to receive a majority vote of the members of the delegation.
The delegation must be organized by the election of a chairman and a secretary, and the delegations of each congressional district shall adopt such rules as they consider proper to govern the election. Any absentee may vote by written proxy. When the election is completed, the chairman and the secretary of the delegation shall immediately transmit the name of the person elected to the Secretary of State who shall issue to the person, after he has taken the usual oath of office, a certificate of election as commissioner. The Governor shall then issue a commission to the person, and pending the issuance of the commission, the certificate of election is sufficient warrant to the person to perform all of the duties and functions of his office as commissioner. Each commissioner shall serve until his successor is elected and qualified.
Section 57-1-330. (A) For the purposes of electing a commission member, a legislator shall vote only in the congressional district in which he resides. All commission members Commissioners are elected appointed to a term of office of four six years which expires on February fifteenth of the appropriate year. Commissioners shall continue to serve until their successors are elected appointed and qualify, provided that a commissioner may only serve in a hold-over capacity for a period not to exceed six months. Any vacancy occurring in the office of commissioner shall be filled by election or appointment in the manner provided in this article for the unexpired term only. No person is eligible to serve as a commission member who is not a resident of that district at the time of his appointment. Failure by an elected commission member to maintain residency in the district for which he is elected shall result in the forfeiture of his office. Commissioners may be removed from office as provided in Section 1-3-240(C)(1).
(B) The at-large commission member shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The at-large commission member may be appointed from any county in the State unless another commission member is serving from that county. Failure by the at-large commission member to maintain residence in the State shall result in a forfeiture of his office.
(C) All elected commission members may be removed from office as provided in Section 1-3-240(C)(1).
Section 57-1-340. Each commission member, within thirty days after his election or appointment, and before entering upon the discharge of the duties of his office, shall take, subscribe, and file with the Secretary of State the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution of the State.
Section 57-1-350. (A) The commission may adopt an official seal for use on official documents of the department.
(B) The commission shall elect a chairman and adopt its own rules and procedures and may select such additional officers to serve such terms as the commission may designate.
(C) Commissioners must be reimbursed for official expenses as provided by law for members of state boards and commissions as established in the annual general appropriations act.
(D) All commission members commissioners are eligible to vote on all matters that come before the commission.
Section 57-1-360. (A) The commission must appoint a chief internal auditor and other professional, administrative, technical, and clerical personnel as the commission determines to be necessary in the proper discharge of the commission's duties and responsibilities provided by law. The commission also must provide professional, administrative, technical, and clerical personnel, as the commission determines to be necessary, for the chief internal auditor to properly discharge his duties and responsibilities authorized by the commission or provided by law. Except as otherwise provided, any employees hired pursuant to this section shall serve at the pleasure of the commission.
(B)(1) The chief internal auditor shall serve for a term of four years and may be removed by the commission only for malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetency, absenteeism, conflicts of interest, misconduct, persistent neglect of duty in office, or incapacity. The chief internal auditor must be a Certified Public Accountant and possess any other experience the commission may require. The chief internal auditor must establish, implement, and maintain the exclusive internal audit function of all departmental activities. The commission shall set the salary for the chief internal auditor as allowed by statute or applicable law.
(2) The audits performed by the chief internal auditor must comply with recognized governmental auditing standards. The department and any entity contracting with the department must fully cooperate with the chief internal auditor in the discharge of his duties and responsibilities and must timely produce all books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, and other records considered necessary in connection with an internal audit. All final audit reports must be submitted to the commission and the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the chairman of the House of Representatives Education and Public Works Committee, and the chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee before being made public.
(3) The commission is vested with the exclusive management and control of the chief internal auditor.
(C) The department, at its own expense, must provide appropriate office space within its headquarters, building, and facility service, including janitorial, utility and telephone services, computer and technology services, and related supplies, for the chief internal auditor and his support staff.
Section 57-1-370. (A) The commission must develop the long-range Statewide Transportation Plan, with a minimum twenty-year forecast period at the time of adoption, that provides for the development and implementation of the multimodal transportation system for the State. The plan must be developed in a manner consistent with all federal laws or regulations and in consultation with all interested parties, particularly the metropolitan planning organizations and the nonmetropolitan planning organization area local officials. The plan may be revised from time to time as permitted by and in the manner required by federal laws or regulations.
(B) Concerning the development, content, and implementation of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, the commission must:
(1) develop a process for consulting with nonmetropolitan local officials, with responsibility for transportation, that provides an opportunity for their participation in the development of the long-range Statewide Transportation Plan and the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program;
(2) approve the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program and ensure that it is developed pursuant to federal laws and regulations and approve an updated Statewide Transportation Improvement Program from time to time as permitted by and in the manner required by federal laws or regulations;
(3) develop and revise the transportation plan for inclusion in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, for each nonmetropolitan planning area in consultation with local officials with responsibility for transportation;
(4) work in consultation with each metropolitan planning organization to develop and revise a transportation improvement program for each metropolitan planning area;
(5) select from the approved Statewide Transportation Improvement Program the transportation projects undertaken in nonmetropolitan areas in consultation with the affected nonmetropolitan local officials with responsibility for transportation;
(6) select projects to be undertaken, in consultation with each metropolitan planning organization, from the metropolitan planning organization's approved transportation improvement plan in metropolitan areas not designated as a transportation management area;
(7) consult with each metropolitan planning organization, in metropolitan areas designated as transportation management areas, concerning the projects selected to be undertaken from the approved transportation improvement program and in accordance with the priorities approved by the transportation improvement program; and
(8) when selecting projects to be undertaken from nontransportation management area metropolitan planning organizations' transportation improvement programs, or selecting the nonmetropolitan area projects to be undertaken that are included in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, and when consulting with metropolitan planning organizations designated as transportation management areas, the commission shall establish a priority list of projects to the extent permitted by federal laws or regulations, taking into consideration at least the following criteria:
(a) financial viability including a life cycle analysis of estimated maintenance and repair costs over the expected life of the project;
(b) public safety;
(c) potential for economic development;
(d) traffic volume and congestion;
(e) truck traffic;
(f) the pavement quality index;
(g) environmental impact;
(h) alternative transportation solutions; and
(i) consistency with local land use plans.
(C)(1) To the extent that state funds are available to address the needs of the state highway system, the commission must develop a comprehensive plan specifying objectives and performance measures for the preservation and improvement of the existing system. The projects included in this plan must be supported solely by state funds including the Nonfederal Aid Highway Fund or other state revenue source. When developing the plan required by this subsection, the commission must consider, but is not limited to considering, the criteria in subsection (B)(8).
(2) When state funding is programmed for a project selected from the plan to be undertaken, the department may use federal law, regulations, or guidelines relevant to the type of project being undertaken to be eligible for federal matching funds.
(D) To the extent permitted by federal laws or regulations, the commission has the authority to award all federal enhancement grants. Annually, the commission must submit a report to the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, and the chairman of the House of Representatives Education and Public Works Committee describing the number of federal enhancement grants that were awarded and the recipients of the federal enhancement grants.
(E) The commission must give its prior authorization to any consulting contracts advertised for or awarded by the department and authorize the selection of consultants by department personnel.
(F) Roads may not be added to or removed from the state highway system without prior authorization from the commission.
(G) The department shall conduct a public hearing in each county in which a public hearing is required by federal regulations to allow the department to share information regarding the project with the local community and to allow the local community to address its concerns with department officials. The hearing must include the opportunity for members of the public to address a hearing officer in a format in which comments can be heard by the general public.
(H) The department shall promulgate, by regulation, procedures not inconsistent with federal laws for applying the criteria contained in subsection (B)(8) for prioritizing projects.
(I) The department may not sell surplus property without prior authorization from the commission.
(J)(D) The commission must approve the department's annual budget.
(K) The department may not dedicate or name highway facilities without prior authorization from the commission.
(L) The department may not enter into any contract with a value in excess of five hundred thousand dollars without the prior authorization of the commission.
(M) The commission shall give prior approval to any additional contracts the department wishes to be entered into during a fiscal year with an entity that has already received individual contracts during that fiscal year that in the aggregate value are at least five hundred thousand dollars.
(N) Any request made for resurfacing, installation of new signals, curb cuts on primary roads, bike lanes, or construction projects under ten million dollars must be reviewed and approved by the commission who certify that the request is needed based upon objective and quantifiable factors before work may proceed.
(O) The commission shall have any other rights, duties, obligations, or responsibilities as provided by law."
SECTION 2. Section 57-1-410 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 57-1-410. The Governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Secretary of Transportation who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The commission shall appoint a Secretary of Transportation who shall be the administrative head of the department. The commission, after consultation with and with the approval of the Governor, must submit the name of its appointee to the Senate for the Senate's advice and consent. A person appointed to this position shall possess practical and successful business and executive ability and be knowledgeable in the field of transportation. The Secretary of Transportation shall receive such compensation as may be established under the provisions of Section 8-11-160 and for which funds have been authorized in the general appropriations act."
SECTION 3. A. Section 57-1-720(C) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(C) The review committee must meet as soon as practicable after appointment and organize itself by electing one of its members as chairman and such other officers as the review committee may consider necessary. Thereafter, the review committee must meet as necessary to screen candidates for election appointees to the commission and. The review committee may also meet at the call of the chairman or by a majority of the members. A quorum consists of six members."
B. Section 57-1-730 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 57-1-730. The review committee has the following powers and duties:
(1) to screen each candidate applying for election gubernatorial appointee to the commission;
(2) in screening candidates appointees and making its findings, the review committee must give due consideration to:
(a) ability, area of expertise, dedication, compassion, common sense, and integrity of each candidate appointee; and
(b) the impact that each candidate appointee would have on the racial and gender composition of the commission, and each candidate's appointee's impact on other demographic factors represented on the commission, such as residence in rural or urban areas, to assure nondiscrimination to the greatest extent possible of all segments of the population of the State; and
(3) to determine if each candidate appointee is qualified and meets the requirements provided by law to serve as a member of the Department of Transportation Commission, make findings concerning whether each candidate appointee is qualified, and deliver its findings to the Clerk of the Senate, and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, and to the Senate Transportation Committee for confirmation hearings.; and
(4) to submit the names of all qualified candidates to the congressional district delegation for election."
SECTION 4. A. Chapter 6, Title 1 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 1-6-110. (A) There is established within the Office of Inspector General a division that provides the exclusive internal audit function for the Department of Transportation. The division shall be headed by a director who is appointed by the Inspector General. The director must be a Certified Public Accountant and possess any other experience the Inspector General may require.
(B)(1) The division must establish, implement, and maintain the exclusive internal audit function of all Department of Transportation activities.
(2) The audits performed by the division must comply with recognized governmental auditing standards. The department and any entity contracting with the department must fully cooperate with the division in the discharge of its duties and responsibilities and must timely produce all requested information, including, but not limited to books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, and other records the division considers necessary in connection with an internal audit. All final audit reports must be submitted to the Department of Transportation Commission, the Secretary of Transportation, the Joint Transportation Review Committee, the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the chairman of the House of Representatives Education and Public Works Committee, and the chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee before being made public.
(3) The Inspector General is vested with the exclusive management and control of the division.
(C) The department must reimburse the Inspector General for all reasonable expenses associated with the operation and management of the division."
B. This section takes effect sixty days after the effective date of this act.
SECTION 5. (A) Members of the Department of Transportation Commission serving as of the effective date of this act who were elected by a congressional delegation may continue to serve until the end of the term to which they were elected. At the expiration of the term the Governor shall fill the vacancy as provided in this act. A vacancy in one of those seats prior to the expiration of the term to which the commissioner was elected shall be filled as provided in this act for a full term commencing on the date of confirmation and ending as provided by law.
(B) Upon the effective date of this act, the Governor must appoint two members to the commission as provided in this act. The Governor may appoint the current commissioner serving at her pleasure.
(C) The provisions contained in SECTION 4 related to establishing a division within the Office of Inspector General shall take effect upon the approval of the Governor. The Chief Internal Auditor shall be the initial director of the division and shall remain in that position until the expiration of the term to which he was hired. Thereafter, the Inspector General shall hire a division director as provided in this act.
SECTION 6. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
This web page was last updated on March 17, 2015 at 12:45 PM