Senators YOUNG, GAMBRELL, and KIMBRELL propose the following amendment (SR-3510.QG0003S):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 1, by striking Section 25-11-40(B) and inserting:

 (B) Subject to the recommendation of a majority of the Senators representing the county and a majority of the House members representing the county, the secretary shall appoint a one county veterans' affairs officer for each county in the State, whose term of office shall begin July first of each odd-numbered year and shall continue for a term of two years and until a successor shall be appointed. Upon securing funding in the annual general appropriations act, the General Assembly shall provide for two full-time employees in each county veterans' affairs office in each county. Qualifications shall be determined by the county legislative delegation upon a majority vote of the Senators representing the county and a majority of the House members representing the county. A county veterans' affairs officer is an at-will employee of the department, subject to removal for cause at any time by the secretary, a majority of the Senators representing the county, and a majority of the House members representing the county.

Amend the bill further, by adding an appropriately numbered SECTION to read:

SECTION X. Section 25-11-45 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 25-11-45. (A) Notwithstanding Section 1-30-110(4), a county veterans' affairs office must be funded with monies appropriated by the General Assembly for that purpose and payable directly to the County Treasurer's Office by the State Treasurer.
(B) Each county veterans' affairs office shall employ a minimum of two full-time equivalents, one of which may be the county veterans' affairs officer, to operate the office.
(C) Any county with a total veteran population of less than two thousand five hundred, as determined by the South Carolina Department of Veterans' Affairs, may apply to the Secretary for financial assistance to assist the county with a portion of the costs of complying with Section 25-11-45(B). Upon receipt of a county's written request for financial assistance and a showing of financial need by the county, the Secretary may grant funds to the county for the purpose of defraying the costs of complying with 25-11-45(B). The Secretary shall fund such grants at his discretion with approval from the South Carolina Senate Finance Committee Chairman, the South Carolina House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman, and the department's operational funds.

Renumber sections to conform.

Amend title to conform.