Rep. PACE proposes the following Amendment No. to H.4025 as introduced by Ways & Means

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EXPLANATION: All vacant FTEs shall be removed. Funds for State FTEs removed shall be deposited in the Income Tax Relief Fund.

Amend the bill, as and if amended, Part IB, Section 117, GENERAL PROVISIONS, page 553, after line 23, by adding an appropriately numbered proviso to read:

/ (GP: Vacant FTE Removal) A) Not later than ninety days after the passage of the General Appropriations Act or by October 1, whichever comes later, the Executive Budget Office (EBO), in consultation with the State Division of Human Resources (DSHR) shall eliminate all vacant FTE positions in each agency which have been vacant for at least 12 months or longer. Agencies shall consult with EBO and DSHR to identify which vacant positions should be eliminated, but the eliminations must align to the funding source for the identified vacant FTE positions. EBO must report the number of FTEs deleted by agency, program, and funding source to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee by December 1st of the current fiscal year.

B) For each State FTE removed, the agency's base budget shall be reduced by the real appropriated amount for the FTE, which shall be transferred into an Income Tax Relief Trust Fund that shall be established and administered by the State Treasurer's Office. The State Treasurer shall maintain these funds in a separate, interest-bearing account, and no funds deposited may be expended or transferred without authorization by the General Assembly. Any interest accrued shall be retained by the fund for the purpose of income tax relief.

C) The following agencies are exempt from this provision:

(1) Section 59 � Office of the Attorney General;

(2) Section 60 � S.C. Commission on Prosecution Coordination;

(3) Section 61 � Commission on Indigent Defense;

(4) Section 100 � Office of the Adjutant General;

(5) Section 101 � Department of Veterans' Affairs;

(6) Section 5 � Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School;

(7) Section 6 � School for the Deaf and the Blind;

(8) Section 35 � Department of Mental Health;

(9) Section 36 � Department of Disabilities and Special Needs;

(10) Section - Department of Public Safety

(11) Section 38 � Department of Social Services;

(12) Section 41 � Department of Children's Advocacy;

(13) Section 7 � Governor's School for Agriculture at John De La Howe;

(14) Section 65 � Department of Corrections;

(15) Section 66 � Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services;

(16) Section 67 � Department of Juvenile Justice;

(17) Section 64 � Law Enforcement Training Council;

(18) Section 84 � Department of Transportation; and,

(19) Section 23 � Medical University of South Carolina./

Renumber sections to conform.

Amend totals and titles to conform.