Reference is to Printer's Date 3/26/19-H.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking SECTION 3 in its entirety and inserting:
/ section 3. Section 2-2-10(1) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(1) 'Agency' means an authority,
board, branch, commission, committee, department, division, or
other instrumentality of the executive or judicial departments
of state government, including administrative bodies. 'Agency'
includes a body corporate and politic established as an
instrumentality of the State. Notwithstanding another
provision of law, for all oversight, investigation, and review
purposes enumerated in this chapter, 'agency' includes the South
Carolina Public Service Authority. 'Agency' does not
include:
(a) the legislative
department of state government; or
(b) a political
subdivision." /
Amend the bill further, as and if amended, by striking SECTION 4 in its entirety and inserting:
/ SECTION 4. Section 58-31-20 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 58-31-20.
(A) The Public Service Authority
consists of a board of twelve directors who reside in South
Carolina and who have the qualifications stated in this section,
as determined by the State Regulation of Public Utilities Review
Committee pursuant to Section 58-3-530(14), before being
appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the
Senate as follows: one from each congressional district of the
State; one from each of the counties of Horry, Berkeley, and
Georgetown who reside in authority territory and are customers
of the authority; and two from the State at large, one of whom
must be chairman. Two of the directors must have
substantial work experience within the operations of electric
cooperatives or substantial experience on an electric
cooperative board, including one of the two who must have
substantial experience within the operations or board of a
transmission or generation cooperative All members
must meet the qualifications prescribed in subsection (C). A
director shall not serve as an employee or board member of an
electric cooperative during his term as a director. Each
director shall serve for a term of seven years, except as
provided in this section. At the expiration of the term of each
director and of each succeeding director, the Governor, with the
advice and consent of the Senate, must appoint a successor, who
shall hold office for a term of seven years or until his
successor has been appointed and qualified. In the event of a
director vacancy due to death, resignation, or otherwise, the
Governor must appoint the director's successor, with the advice
and consent of the Senate, and the successor-director shall hold
office for the unexpired term. A director may not
receive a salary for services as director until the authority is
in funds, but Each director must be paid his actual
expense in the performance of his duties, the actual
expense to be advanced from the contingent fund of the Governor
until the time the Public Service Authority is in funds, at
which time the contingent fund must be reimbursed. After the
Public Service Authority is in funds,. Directors
shall serve until their successors are appointed and
qualify. The compensation and expenses of each member of the
board must be paid from these authority
funds, and the compensation and expenses must be fixed by the
advisory board established in this section. Members of the board
of directors may be removed for cause, pursuant to Section
1-3-240(C), by the Governor of the State, the advisory board, or
a majority thereof of the advisory
board. A member of the General Assembly of the State of
South Carolina is not eligible for appointment as Director of
the Public Service Authority during the term of his office. No
more than two members from the same county may serve as
directors at any time.
(B) Candidates for
appointment to the board must be screened by the State
Regulation of Public Utilities Review Committee and, prior to
confirmation by the Senate, must be found qualified by meeting
the minimum requirements contained in subsection (C). The review
committee must submit a written report to the Clerk of the
Senate setting forth its findings as to the qualifications of
each candidate. A candidate must not serve on the board, even in
an interim capacity, until he is screened and found qualified by
the State Regulation of Public Utilities Review Committee.
(C) Each member
must possess abilities and experience that are generally found
among directors of energy utilities serving this State and that
allow him to make valuable contributions to the conduct of the
authority's business. These abilities include substantial
business skills and experience, but are not limited to:
(1) general
knowledge of the history, purpose, and operations of the Public
Service Authority and the responsibilities of being a director
of the authority;
(2) the
ability to interpret legal and financial documents and
information so as to further the activities and affairs of the
Public Service Authority;
(3) with the
assistance of counsel, the ability to understand and apply
federal and state laws, rules, and regulations including, but
not limited to, Chapter 4 of Title 30 as they relate to the
activities and affairs of the Public Service Authority; and
(4) with the
assistance of counsel, the ability to understand and apply
judicial decisions as they relate to the activities and affairs
of the Public Service Authority Each member of the
board of directors of the Public Service Authority must have the
following qualifications:
(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; and
(2)
a background of substantial duration and an
expertise in at least one of the following:
(a)
energy issues;
(b)
water and wastewater issues;
(c)
finance, economics, and statistics;
(d)
accounting;
(e)
engineering; or
(f)
law.
In addition to the above qualifications, two of the directors
must have substantial work experience within the operations of
electric cooperatives or substantial experience on an electric
cooperative board with one of these two directors also having
substantial experience within the operations or board of a
transmission or generation cooperative.
(D) For the
assistance of the board of directors of the Public Service
Authority, there is hereby established an advisory board to be
known as the advisory board of the South Carolina Public Service
Authority, to be composed of the Governor of the State, the
Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the Comptroller General,
and the Secretary of State, as ex officio members, who must
serve without compensation other than necessary traveling
expenses. The advisory board must perform any duties imposed on
it pursuant to this chapter, and must consult and advise with
the board of directors on any and all matters which by the board
of directors may be referred to the advisory board. The board of
directors must make annual reports to the advisory board, which
reports must be submitted to the General Assembly by the
Governor, in which full information as to all of the acts of
said the board of directors
shall must be given, together with
financial statement and full information as to the work of the
authority. On July first of each year, the advisory board must
designate a certified public accountant or accountants, resident
in the State, for the purpose of making a complete audit of the
affairs of the authority, which must be filed with the annual
report of the board of directors. The Public Service Authority
must submit the audit to the General Assembly.
(E)(1) The
terms of all twelve present members of the board of directors of
the Public Service Authority serving in office on the effective
date of this subsection expire on the effective date of this
subsection. However, the present members of the board shall
continue to serve in a holdover capacity after the effective
date of this subsection until either reappointed or until their
successors are appointed in the manner provided in this section
qualify and take office.
(2)
The terms of all members of the board appointed
to succeed the present members of the board whose terms expire
as provided in item (1), notwithstanding any other provision of
this section, must be for four years each and until their
successors are appointed and qualify.
(3)
Members of the board, notwithstanding their
terms of office or another provision of law, may be removed or
replaced by the Governor at any time at the Governor's sole
discretion.
(F) A member
of the General Assembly or a member of his immediate family may
not be appointed to the Public Service Authority 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
appointed to the authority 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.
(G) In making
appointments to the authority, the Governor shall ensure that
race, color, gender, national origin, and other demographic
factors are considered to ensure the geographic and political
balance of the appointments, and shall strive to ensure that the
membership of the authority will represent, to the greatest
extent possible, all segments of the population of the
State.
(H) A member
of the Public Service Authority board of directors may not:
(1)
solicit, request, receive, or accept anything of
value from the Public Service Authority in addition to the
member's compensation for serving as a member of the board of
directors; or
(2)
have a business relationship with the Public
Service Authority that is distinct from or in addition to the
member's service on the board of directors.
(I) For
purposes of this section, 'anything of value' shall have the
same meaning as provided in Section 8-13-100(1)."
/
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.