Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking PART VIII and all subsequent PARTS in their entirety, and inserting therein the following:
SECTION 43. Section 1-1-1210 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 1-1-1210. (A) The annual salaries of the state officers listed below are:
Governor $98,000
Lieutenant Governor 43,000
Secretary of State 85,000
State Treasurer 85,000
Attorney General 85,000
Comptroller General 85,000
Superintendent of Education 85,000
Adjutant General 85,000
Commissioner of Agriculture 85,000
(B) These salaries must be increased by two percent on July 1, 1991, and on July first of each succeeding year through July 1, 1994.
(C) A state officer whose salary is provided in this section may not receive compensation for ex officio service on any state board, committee, or commission.
(D) Beginning with Fiscal Year 2018-2019, salaries for the state officers listed in subsection (A) must be based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly."
SECTION 44. Section 1-7-325 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 1-7-325. The solicitors of this state shall be full-time employees of the State of South Carolina, provided, however, that any solicitor serving in office on July 1, 1976, whose term of office expires in the year 1979 shall not be required to be full time as provided by this section until the expiration of his term in 1979. Each solicitor shall receive an annual salary and a monthly expense allowance as is provided by the General Assembly. The annual salary for each solicitor must be based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly in a proviso to the annual appropriations act.
When a solicitor is required to serve out of his circuit, he shall also receive such subsistence and mileage as is authorized by law for circuit judges while holding court without the county in which they reside. Each solicitor shall have one full-time secretary who shall receive such annual salary as may be provided by the General Assembly."
SECTION 45. Section 1-7-360 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 1-7-360. The circuit solicitors of the various judicial circuits of this State shall each receive such annual salary, payable monthly, as may be provided by the General Assembly based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165. Such salaries shall be in lieu of all charges against the State and the counties. All costs from defendants shall be paid over by each solicitor to the county treasurer for the use of the State.
It shall be the duty of the solicitors to perform the services required in Sections 1-7-340 and 1-7-350, and in no instance, civil or criminal, shall they receive for such services any additional compensation, except that they shall be entitled to expense allowance, as provided for State employees and officers, when performing such services outside of their respective circuits."
SECTION 46. Section 1-23-540 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 1-23-540. The chief judge (Seat 1) shall receive as annual salary equal to ninety percent of that paid to the circuit court judges of this State. The and remaining judges shall receive as annual salary equal to eighty percent of that paid to the circuit court judges of this State salaries based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly. They are not allowed any fees or perquisites of office, nor may they hold any other office of honor, trust, or profit. Administrative law judges in the performance of their duties are also entitled to that per diem, mileage, expenses, and subsistence as is authorized by law for circuit court judges.
Each administrative law judge shall devote full time to his duties as an administrative law judge, and may not practice law during his term of office, nor may he during this term be a partner or associate with anyone engaged in the practice of law in this State."
SECTION 47. Section 14-1-200 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 14-1-200. The Based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165, the General Assembly shall establish the salary of the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court in the annual general appropriation act with the salary of the Chief Justice to be one hundred five percent of the salary fixed for Associate Justices of the Supreme Court and shall fix the salaries for the court of appeals, circuit court, and family court according to the following schedule:
(1) The chief judge of the court of appeals shall receive a salary in an amount equal to ninety-nine percent of the salary fixed for Associate Justices of the Supreme Court;
(2) Judges of the court of appeals shall receive a salary in an amount equal to ninety-seven and one-half percent of the salary fixed for Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, and circuit court judges shall receive a salary in an amount equal to ninety-five percent of the salary fixed for Associate Justices of the Supreme Court;
(3) Judges of the family court shall receive a salary in an amount equal to ninety-two and one-half percent of the salary fixed for Associate Justices of the Supreme Court."
SECTION 48. Section 14-11-30 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 14-11-30. The governing body of the county or counties in which a master-in-equity serves shall provide the salary, equipment, facilities, and supplies of the master-in-equity, together with the salaries of support personnel and all other costs for the necessary and proper operation of the master-in-equity's office. The salaries of the masters-in-equity are as follows:
(1) Where the area served has a population of up to thirty-four thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine, according to the latest official United States Decennial Census, the master-in-equity serving that area is part time and must be paid a salary equal to ten percent of that of a circuit judge based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly in a proviso to the annual appropriations act.
(2) Where the area served has a population of between thirty-five thousand and forty-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine, according to the latest official United States Decennial Census, the master-in-equity serving that area is part time and must be paid a salary equal to fifteen percent of that of a circuit judge based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly in a proviso to the annual appropriations act.
(3) Where the area served has a population of between fifty thousand and seventy-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine, according to the latest official United States Decennial Census, the master-in-equity serving that area is part time and must be paid a salary equal to twenty-five percent of that of a circuit judge based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly in a proviso to the annual appropriations act.
(4) Where the area served has a population of between eighty thousand and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine, according to the latest official United States Decennial Census, the master-in-equity serving that area is part time and must be paid a salary equal to forty-five percent of that of a circuit judge based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly in a proviso to the annual appropriations act.
(5) Where the area served has a population of between one hundred thousand and one hundred twenty-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine, according to the latest official United States Decennial Census, the master-in-equity serving that area is part time and must be paid a salary equal to fifty-five percent of that of a circuit judge based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly in a proviso to the annual appropriations act.
(6) Where the area served has a population of between one hundred thirty thousand and one hundred forty-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine, according to the latest official United States Decennial Census, the master-in-equity serving that area is full time and must be paid a salary equal to seventy-five percent of that of a circuit judge based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly in a proviso to the annual appropriations act.
(7) Where the area served has a population of between one hundred fifty thousand and one hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine, according to the latest official United States Decennial Census, the master-in-equity serving that area is full time and must be paid a salary equal to eighty percent of that of a circuit judge based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly in a proviso to the annual appropriations act.
(8) Where the area served has a population of between two hundred thousand and two hundred forty-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine, according to the latest official United States Decennial Census, the master-in-equity serving that area is full time and must be paid a salary equal to eighty-five percent of that of a circuit judge based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly in a proviso to the annual appropriations act.
(9) Where the area served has a population of over two hundred fifty thousand, according to the latest official United States Decennial Census, or where the area served is located in a county which generates four million dollars or more in accommodations tax revenue, the master-in-equity serving that area is full time and must be paid a salary equal to ninety percent of that of a circuit judge based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly in a proviso to the annual appropriations act.
No sitting master-in-equity, whether full time or part time, may have his salary reduced during his tenure in office. Tenure in office continues at the expiration of a term if the incumbent master-in-equity is reappointed."
SECTION 49. Section 17-3-510(C) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(C) By majority vote of its membership, the Circuit Public Defender Selection Panel shall nominate a person to serve as the circuit public defender in the judicial circuit as provided in this article. The commission shall, by majority vote of its members, accept or reject the nomination, but may not substitute the name of another person. Initial appointments of circuit public defenders must be made in order for the first appointees to take office no later than one year from the effective date of this act, for a term of four years. A circuit public defender may be reappointed by the commission to serve successive terms following the same manner of the original appointment. The circuit public defender for each judicial circuit must be a full-time employee of the State and must be compensated and have the same benefits as the circuit solicitor based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly in a proviso to the annual appropriations act. A circuit public defender may not engage in the private practice of law or another full-time business for profit."
SECTION 50. Section 22-8-40(B)(2) and (3) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(2) There is established a base salary for each population category as follows:
(a) for those counties with a population of one hundred fifty thousand and above, according to the latest official United States Decennial Census, the base salary is fifty-five percent of a circuit judge's salary for the state's previous fiscal year;
(b) for those counties with a population of at least fifty thousand but not more than one hundred forty-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine, according to the latest official United States Decennial Census, the base salary is forty-five percent of a circuit judge's salary for the state's previous fiscal year;
(c) for those counties with a population of less than fifty thousand, according to the latest official United States Decennial Census, the base salary is thirty-five percent of a circuit court judge's salary for the state's previous fiscal year.
(3) The provisions of this subsection are effective July 1, 2000 base salaries for each population category of magistrates must be based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly in a proviso to the annual appropriations act."
SECTION 51. Section 42-3-40 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 42-3-40. The annual salary for the commissioners shall be eighty-five percent of the salary paid to the circuit judges of the State based upon the recommendations of the Agency Head Salary Commission as provided in Sections 8-11-160 and 8-11-165 and approved annually by the General Assembly in the annual appropriations act. The commissioners shall receive a subsistence allowance of thirty-five dollars a day while in the performance of their duties outside the Columbia office."
SECTION 52. Section 8-11-160 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 8-11-160. (A) All boards and commissions are required to submit justification of an agency head's performance and salary recommendations to the Agency Head Salary Commission.
(B) This commission consists of four appointees of the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, four appointees of the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and three appointees of the Governor with experience in executive compensation.
(C) Salary increases for agency heads must be based on recommendations by each agency board or commission to the Agency Head Salary Commission and their recommendations to the General Assembly.
(D)(1) Beginning with Fiscal Year 2018-2019 and every four years thereafter, the Agency Head Salary Commission shall conduct a study to recommend a salary range for each state elected and appointed official listed in Section 8-11-163 based on each official's job duties and responsibilities as well as the pay of similar officials in other states. The commission shall then determine a salary for each official within the recommended pay range subject to funding being provided in the annual appropriations act.
(2) The salaries of the officials listed in Section 8-11-163 who are serving in office upon the effective date of this section and continue to serve after the effective date of this section must not be increased or diminished except as authorized in the South Carolina Constitution.
(E)(1) Pursuant to Article IV, Section 16 of the South Carolina Constitution, the salary of each Lieutenant Governor elected in and after 2018 is not established until the General Assembly provides for the salary as authorized in Section 1-3-610 following the Lieutenant Governor's election.
(2) Beginning with the Lieutenant Governor elected in 2018, by no later than December first, the Governor-elect is required to submit a description of the duties of the Lieutenant Governor, as required by Section 1-3-620, to the Agency Head Salary Commission.
(3) Salary increases for the Lieutenant Governor must be based on recommendations by the Governor to the Agency Head Salary Commission and their recommendations to the General Assembly.
(F) Individuals appointed to the Agency Head Salary Commission must recuse themselves from the deliberation and vote regarding their appointer's salary."
SECTION 53. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 8-11-163. For purposes of Section 8-11-160 and the other provisions related to the authority of the Agency Head Salary Commission, the salary recommendations for the following state elected and appointed officials are covered by the authority of the commission:
(1) the state constitutional officers listed in Section 1-1-1210;
(2) the solicitors provided for in Section 1-7-325;
(3) the Administrative Law Judges provided for in Section 1-23-540;
(4) the Supreme Court justices provided for in Section 14-1-200;
(5) the Appeals Court, Circuit Court, and Family Court judges provided for in Section 14-1-200;
(6) the Masters-in-Equity provided for in Section 14-11-30;
(7) the circuit public defenders provided for in Section 17-3-510(C);
(8) the magistrates provided for in Section 22-8-40(B)(2) and (3); and
(9) the Worker's Compensation Commissioners provided for in Section 42-3-40."
SECTION 54. Section 8-11-165 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 8-11-165. It is the intent of the General Assembly that a salary and fringe benefit survey for agency heads and a salary survey for the officials listed in Section 8-11-163 must be conducted by the Office of Human Resources of the Department of Administration State Fiscal Accountability Authority every three four years. The staff of the office shall serve as the support staff to the Agency Head Salary Commission.
It is the intent of the General Assembly that, beginning with the Lieutenant Governor elected in 2018, a salary range survey for the Lieutenant Governor must be conducted by the State Fiscal Accountability Authority based on the duties of the Lieutenant Governor as submitted by the Governor pursuant to Section 8-11-160. The staff of the office shall serve as the support staff to the Agency Head Salary Commission.
No employee of agencies reviewed by the Agency Head Salary Commission may receive a salary in excess of ninety-five percent of the midpoint of the agency head salary range or the agency head actual salary, whichever is greater, except on approval of the State Budget and Control Board Director of the Division of State Human Resources at the Department of Administration, and except for employees of higher education technical colleges, colleges, and universities.
No president of a technical college may receive a salary in excess of ninety-five percent of the midpoint of the agency head salary range or the agency head actual salary, whichever is greater, except on approval of the Agency Head Salary Commission and the State Budget and Control Board.
The Agency Head Salary Commission may recommend to the State Budget and Control Board General Assembly that agency head salaries be adjusted to the minimum of their salary ranges and may recommend to the board that agency head salaries be adjusted when necessary up to the midpoints of their respective salary ranges. These increases must be based on criteria developed and approved by the Agency Head Salary Commission.
All new members appointed to a governing board of an agency where the performance of the agency head is reviewed and ranked by the Agency Head Salary Commission shall attend the training in agency head performance appraisal provided by the commission within the first year of their appointment unless specifically excused by the chairman of the Agency Head Salary Commission."
SECTION 55. (A) There is created the State Officials Salary Study Committee to study matters related to the salaries of South Carolina's constitutional officers, judges, and other public officials whose salaries are dependent upon judicial or other officials' salaries approved by the General Assembly in the annual appropriation act. The Study Committee is authorized to make recommendations concerning which officials' salaries must be reviewed and recommended by the Agency Head Study Committee.
(B) The study committee must be composed of:
(1) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
(2) one member appointed by the Senate President Pro Tempore;
(3) one member appointed by the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee;
(4) one member appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee;
(5) one member appointed by the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee;
(6) one member appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; and
(7) one member appointed by the Governor;
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Senate President Pro Tempore, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee shall provide appropriate staffing for this study committee.
(C) The study committee shall prepare a report for the General Assembly that sets forth findings and recommendations, and submit its report to the General Assembly by no later than December 1, 2017, at which time the study committee must be dissolved.
SECTION 56. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.
SECTION 57. PARTS I and II of this act take effect upon approval by the Governor and are applicable to the 2018 General Election. PARTS III, IV, and V take effect on January 1, 2019. PARTS VIII and IX take effect upon approval by the Governor and are applicable to salary recommendations and procedures for the Fiscal Year 2018-2019 and subsequent fiscal years. All other PARTS take effect upon approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.