H 3129 Session 110 (1993-1994)
H 3129 General Bill, By Keegan, Kelley, L.M. Martin, J.J. Snow, P.H. Thomas,
Witherspoon and H.G. Worley
Similar(S 215)
A Bill to amend Title 59, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to
education by adding Chapter 136 so as to provide that Coastal Carolina
College, a four-year regional branch of the University of South Carolina,
shall become Coastal Carolina University on July 1, 1993, and shall be a
separate and distinct institution of higher learning of the State of South
Carolina, to provide for a Board of Trustees which shall govern the
University, to provide for the Board's powers, duties, and functions, to
authorize the University to issue revenue bonds, and to provide for certain
transitional provisions including the transfer of personnel, assets,
liabilities, and bonded indebtedness.
01/14/93 House Introduced and read first time HJ-11
01/14/93 House Referred to Committee on Education and Public
Works HJ-11
04/07/93 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Education and Public Works HJ-7
04/14/93 House Objection by Rep. Kirsh, Robinson, Simrill &
Rudnick HJ-85
04/14/93 House Debate adjourned until Thursday, April 15, 1993 HJ-85
04/15/93 House Objection by Rep. Moody-Lawrence, Kelley, Keegan,
Thomas, Witherspoon, HJ-16
04/15/93 House Objection by Rep. Worley & Clyborne HJ-16
04/21/93 House Objection withdrawn by Rep. Rudnick HJ-33
04/27/93 House Special order, set for Tuesday 4/27/93, after
uncontested calendar (Under H.4144) HJ-18
04/28/93 House Amended HJ-26
04/28/93 House Read second time HJ-29
04/28/93 House Roll call Yeas-082 HJ-29
04/29/93 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-21
05/04/93 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-8
05/04/93 Senate Referred to Committee on Education SJ-9
AMENDED
April 28, 1993
H. 3129
Introduced by REPS. Keegan, Martin, Kelley, Witherspoon, Worley,
Snow and Thomas
S. Printed 4/28/93--H.
Read the first time January 14, 1993.
STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED FISCAL
IMPACT
1. Estimated Cost to State-First Year $See Below
2. Estimated Cost to State-Annually
Thereafter $See Below
H. 3129 proposes to amend Title 59, of the S.C. Code of Laws by
adding Chapter 136 so as to provide that Coastal Carolina College,
shall become Coastal Carolina University on July 1, 1993, and shall
be a separate and distinct institution of higher learning of the State of
South Carolina, to provide for a Board of Trustees; to provide for the
Board's powers, duties, and functions; to authorize the University to
issue revenue bonds; and to provide for certain transitional provisions.
Enactment of H. 3129 would have no effect on the State's General
Fund. Coastal Carolina College is currently funded partly by state
funds appropriated by the General Assembly and partly with revenues
generated from tuition and fees. State funding for institutions of
higher learning is appropriated in a lump sum and then distributed
among the institutions based on a funding formula used by the
Commission on Higher Education. In FY93, funding for Coastal
Carolina College totaled $26.7 million of which $9.8 million (36.7%)
was state appropriated funds.
Any increase in state funding for Coastal Carolina would only result
from increased appropriations by the General Assembly and
application of the Commission of Higher Education funding formula.
Prepared By: Approved By:
Kenneth Brown George N. Dorn, Jr.
State Budget Analyst State Budget Division
A BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
1976, RELATING TO EDUCATION BY ADDING CHAPTER 136
SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT COASTAL CAROLINA COLLEGE, A
FOUR-YEAR REGIONAL BRANCH OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
SOUTH CAROLINA, SHALL BECOME COASTAL CAROLINA
UNIVERSITY ON JULY 1, 1993, AND SHALL BE A SEPARATE
AND DISTINCT INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING OF THE
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, TO PROVIDE FOR A BOARD OF
TRUSTEES WHICH SHALL GOVERN THE UNIVERSITY, TO
PROVIDE FOR THE BOARD'S POWERS, DUTIES, AND
FUNCTIONS, TO AUTHORIZE THE UNIVERSITY TO ISSUE
REVENUE BONDS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN
TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS INCLUDING THE TRANSFER OF
PERSONNEL, ASSETS, LIABILITIES, AND BONDED
INDEBTEDNESS.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 136
Coastal Carolina University
Article 1
General Provisions
Section 59-136-100. Coastal Carolina College, a four-year regional
branch of the University of South Carolina, shall become Coastal
Carolina University on July 1, 1993, and shall be a separate and
distinct institution of higher learning of the State of South Carolina.
It shall be governed by a board of trustees for Coastal Carolina
University hereinafter established in this chapter.
Section 59-136-110. The board of trustees for Coastal Carolina
University is composed of the Governor of the State or his designee,
who is an ex officio member of the board, and sixteen members, with
fifteen of these members to be elected by the General Assembly and
one member to be appointed from the State at large by the Governor.
The General Assembly shall elect and the Governor shall appoint these
members based on merit regardless of race, color, creed, or gender and
shall strive to assure that the membership of the board is
representative of all citizens of this State.
Of the fifteen members to be elected by the General Assembly, two
members must be elected from each congressional district and the
remaining three members must be elected from the State at large.
The term of office of the at-large trustee appointed by the Governor
is effective upon certification to the Secretary of State and is
coterminous with the term of the Governor appointing him.
Each position on the board constitutes a separate office and the
seats on the board are numbered consecutively as follows: for the First
Congressional District, Seats One and Two; for the Second
Congressional District, Seats Three and Four; for the Third
Congressional District, Seats Five and Six; for the Fourth
Congressional District, Seats Seven and Eight; for the Fifth
Congressional District, Seats Nine and Ten; for the Sixth
Congressional District, Seats Eleven and Twelve; for the at-large
positions elected by the General Assembly, Seats Thirteen, Fourteen,
and Fifteen. The member appointed by the Governor shall occupy Seat
Sixteen.
The General Assembly shall elect those members of the board of
trustees it elects during its 1993 session. Members initially elected
from Seats One, Three, Five, Seven, Nine, Eleven, Thirteen, and
Fifteen shall be elected for two-year terms and members initially
elected from Seats Two, Four, Six, Eight, Ten, Twelve, and Fourteen
shall be elected for four-year terms. Thereafter, their successors shall
each be elected for four-year terms.
The General Assembly shall hold elections every two years to select
successors of the trustees whose terms are expiring in that year.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no election may be held
before April first of the year in which the successor's term is to
commence. The term of office of an elective trustee commences on
the first day of July of the year in which the trustee is elected and all
members shall serve until their successors are elected or appointed and
qualify.
If an elective office becomes vacant, the Governor may fill it by
appointment until the next session of the General Assembly. The
General Assembly shall hold an election at any time during the
session to fill the vacancy for the unexpired portion of the term. A
vacancy occurring in the appointed office on the board must be filled
for the remainder of the unexpired term by appointment in the same
manner of the original appointment.
Section 59-136-120. Members of the board are entitled to
subsistence, per diem, and mileage authorized for members of state
boards, committees, and commissions.
Section 59-136-130. The board of trustees is constituted a body
corporate and politic under the name of the board of trustees for
Coastal Carolina University. The corporation has the power to:
(1) have perpetual succession;
(2) sue and be sued by the corporate name;
(3) have a seal and to alter it at pleasure;
(4) make contracts and to have, to hold, to purchase, and to lease
real estate and personal property for corporate purposes, and to sell
and dispose of personal property and any building considered by it as
surplus property or not further needed, and any buildings that it may
need to do away with for the purpose of making room for other
construction. The board does not have power to sell or dispose of any
of its real estate, other than buildings, except with the consent of the
State Budget and Control Board;
(5) appoint a chairman and to appoint or otherwise provide for the
appointment of subordinate and assistant officers and agents, faculty
members, instructors, and other employees, prescribing the terms of
their employment and their duties and fixing their compensation;
(6) make bylaws and regulations for the management of its affairs
and its own operations not inconsistent with law;
(7) condemn land for corporate purposes as provided by law;
(8) fix tuition fees and other charges for students attending the
university, not inconsistent with law;
(9) confer degrees upon students and other persons as the board
considers qualified;
(10) accept, receive, and hold all monies or other properties, real,
personal, and mixed, that may be given, conveyed, bequeathed, or
devised to the university and to use them for the benefit of the
university, but in those cases where the money or property is received,
charged with any trust, the money or property must be held and used
strictly in accordance with the terms of the trust. If the terms of the
trust require something to be done other than to administer the trust,
no obligation in receiving the trust over and above its administration
is binding upon the university or the State, except any obligation
accepted by the General Assembly;
(11) assign any member of the faculty without additional salary to
additional duties in any other university department than that in which
the faculty member may at the time be working;
(12) compel by subpoena, rule, and attachment witnesses to appear
and testify and papers to be produced and read before the board in all
investigations relating to the affairs of the university;
(13) adopt measures and make regulations as the board considers
necessary for the proper operation of the university;
(14) appoint for the university a board of visitors of a number as it
may determine, to regulate the terms during which the members of the
board of visitors serve, and to prescribe their functions;
(15) remove any officer, faculty member, agent, or employee for
incompetence, neglect of duty, violation of university regulations, or
conduct unbecoming a person occupying such a position;
(16) appoint an executive committee not exceeding five members
of the board who have the powers of the board during the interim
between meetings of the board but not the power to do anything
inconsistent with the policy or action taken by the board, and the
executive committee at each meeting of the board shall report fully all
action taken by it during the interim;
(17) appoint committees of the board or officers or members of the
faculty of the university with authority and for purposes in connection
with the operation of the university as the board considers necessary;
(18) appoint a president. The president shall report to and seek
approval of his actions and those of his subordinates from the board;
(19) issue revenue bonds as provided by law.
Section 59-136-140. The board shall meet in Conway not less than
four times each year, the time and place to be fixed by the chairman
or as the board provides. The chairman shall preside and, in his
absence, a member shall preside as the board may select. The
chairman or a majority of the members has the power to call a special
meeting and fix the time and place of the meeting. A majority of the
members constitutes a quorum for the transaction of all business of the
board. A majority vote of the whole board is required for the election
or removal of the president. The president, other officers, and faculty
members shall attend meetings of the board when requested to do so.
Notice of the time and place of all meetings of the board must be
mailed by the secretary or his assistant to each trustee not less than
five days before each meeting.
Section 59-136-150. Upon approval of the State Budget and
Control Board, the board is authorized to lease or sell any real
property which may have been or may be donated to the university
during any fund campaign. The proceeds of any lease or sale must be
applied to the original purpose of the donation of the property leased
or sold.
Article 3
Revenue Bonds
Section 59-136-300. For purposes of this article `equipment'
means items with a useful life of at least fifteen years.
Section 59-136-310. Coastal Carolina University, in this article
referred to as the university, may issue revenue bonds of the university
for the purpose of financing or refinancing in whole or in part the cost
of construction, reconstruction, improvement, and equipment of
buildings for the purposes of the university, including, without limiting
the generality of the foregoing, dormitories, apartment buildings,
dwelling houses, dining halls, cafeterias, parking facilities, sports
facilities, and inns or for any one or more of these purposes.
Section 59-136-320. Revenue bonds issued under this article must
be authorized by a resolution or resolutions of the board of trustees of
the university. The resolution of the university may, in the discretion
of the board, contain provisions, which must be a part of the contract
between the university and the several holders of the bonds, as to any
of the following:
(1) the custody, security, use, expenditure or application of the
proceeds of the bonds;
(2) the construction and completion of the building or equipment
for which the bonds are issued;
(3) the use, regulation, operation, maintenance, insurance, or
disposition of the building or equipment for which the bonds are
issued or restrictions on the exercise of the powers of the board of
trustees to dispose of or to limit or regulate the use of the building or
equipment;
(4) the payment of the principal of or interest on the bonds and the
sources and methods of the payment, the rank or priority of the bonds
as to any lien or security or the acceleration of the maturity of the
bonds;
(5) the use and disposition of the revenues derived or to be derived
from the operation of the building or equipment;
(6) the pledging, setting aside, depositing, or trusteeing of the
revenues from which the bonds are made payable to secure the
payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds or the payment
of expenses of operation and maintenance of the building or
equipment;
(7) the setting aside out of the revenues of reserves or sinking
funds and the source, custody, security, regulation, and disposition of
them;
(8) the determination of the definition of the revenues or of the
expenses of operation and maintenance of the building or equipment
for which the bonds are issued;
(9) the rentals, fees, or other charges from students, faculty
members and others using or being served by, or having the right to
use or be served by, the building or equipment for which the bonds
are issued and any parts, extensions, replacements, or improvements
of them constructed or acquired and the fixing, establishment,
collection, and enforcement of them, the amount or amounts of
revenues to be produced by them, and the disposition and application
of the amounts charged or collected;
(10) limitations on the issuance of additional bonds or any other
obligations or the incurrence of indebtedness payable from the same
revenues from which the bonds are payable;
(11) parietal rules to ensure the use of the building or equipment by
students or members of the faculty of the university to the maximum
extent to which the building or equipment is capable of serving the
students or faculty members;
(12) the procedure, if any, by which the terms of any covenant or
contract with, or duty to, the holders of the bonds may be amended or
abrogated, the amount of bonds to which the holders of which must
consent, and the manner in which the consent may be given or
evidenced; and
(13) any other matter or course of conduct which, by recital in the
resolution or resolutions authorizing or providing for the bonds, is
declared to further secure the payment of the principal of or interest
on the bonds.
Section 59-136-330. Revenue bonds may be issued in one or more
series, may bear such date or dates, may mature at such time or times,
not exceeding forty years from their respective dates, may bear interest
at such rate or rates, may be payable in such medium of payment and
at such place or places, may be in such denomination or
denominations, may be in such form, either coupon or registered, may
carry such registration privileges, may be subject to such terms of
redemption before maturity, with or without premium, and may
contain such terms, covenants, and conditions as the resolution
authorizing the issuance of the bonds may provide. The bonds must be
fully negotiable within the meaning of and for all the purposes of the
Uniform Commercial Code.
Section 59-136-340. The bonds must be exempt from state,
county, municipal, and school taxes.
Section 59-136-350. The bonds must be signed in the corporate
name of the university by the chairman of the board of trustees of the
university, under the corporate seal of the university attested by the
secretary of the board of trustees. Interest coupons attached to the
bonds must be signed by the facsimile signatures of these officers.
The bonds may be issued notwithstanding that any of the officials
signing them or whose facsimile signatures appear on the coupons
have ceased to hold office at the time of the issue or at the time of the
delivery of the bonds to the purchaser.
Section 59-136-360. The bonds must be sold at public or private
sale upon such terms and conditions as the board of trustees of the
university considers advisable.
Section 59-136-370. The board of trustees or its proper
administrative officers shall file with the State Treasurer within thirty
days from the date of their issuance a complete description of all
obligations entered into by the board, with the rates of interest,
maturity dates, annual payments, and all pertinent data.
Section 59-136-380. All provisions of a resolution authorizing or
providing for the issuance of the bonds in accordance with Section 59-136-320 and of the covenants and agreements constitute valid and
legally binding contracts between the university and the several
holders of the bonds, regardless of the time of issuance of the bonds,
and is enforceable by the holder or holders by mandamus or other
appropriate action, suit, or proceeding at law or in equity in any court
of competent jurisdiction.
Section 59-136-390. The bonds must be made payable solely from
the revenues derived by the university from the operation of the
building or equipment for which the bonds are issued or, in the
discretion of the board of trustees of the university, from the revenues
and also from any other revenues of the university except revenues
derived from appropriations received from the General Assembly. The
bonds are not obligations of the State.
Article 5
Transitional Provisions
59-136-500. On July 1, 1993, the employees, current
appropriations, assets, and liabilities of Coastal Carolina College of the
University of South Carolina System are transferred to Coastal
Carolina University herein established. All classified or unclassified
personnel employed by Coastal Carolina College on June 30, 1993,
either by contract or by employment at will, shall become employees
of Coastal Carolina University on July 1, 1993, with the same
compensation, classification, grade level, or tenure as applicable until
thereafter changed by the board of Coastal Carolina University acting
through its administration. The Budget and Control Board shall cause
all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish this transfer including,
but not limited to, the filing of deeds, allocation to Coastal Carolina
University of the existing bonded indebtedness of the University of
South Carolina attributable to Coastal Carolina College, and the
allocation to Coastal Carolina University of endowment funds or other
real or personal property donated to the University of South Carolina
for the benefit of Coastal Carolina College, provided that this property
must continue to be applied to the original purpose of the donation if
applicable.
Section 59-136-505. (A) No later than June 30, 1995, the Budget
and Control Board shall issue state institution bonds pursuant to Title
59, Chapter 107, on behalf of Coastal Carolina University to refund
and defease all state institution bonds issued on behalf of the
University of South Carolina which are the Series 1991B and Series
1992C State Institution Bonds. That portion of the State Institution
Bonds to be refunded which were used to provide facilities at Coastal
Carolina University shall be refunded by a series of state institution
bonds issued on behalf of Coastal Carolina University and secured by
pledge of the tuition fees from Coastal Carolina University. The
remaining state institution bonds to be refunded shall be refunded
from the proceeds of state institution bonds issued on behalf of the
University of South Carolina and secured by pledge of tuition fees
collected at the University of South Carolina.
(B) On or before June 30, 1995, Coastal Carolina University shall
issue its revenue bonds to refund the Student and Faculty Housing
Revenue Bonds, Series 1987, issued by the University of South
Carolina and Student and Faculty Housing Revenue Bond Anticipation
Notes, the proceeds of which were used to provide facilities at Coastal
Carolina University. The proceeds from the refunding revenue bonds
shall be applied to defease and refund the outstanding Series 1987
Bonds and Notes. On and after the date of issuance of all refunding
bonds, the pledge of revenues derived from the operation of dormitory
facilities at Coastal Carolina University shall be released from the
pledge securing other student and faculty housing revenue bonds
issued by the University of South Carolina.
(C) Pending the issuance of the bonds described in subsections (A)
and (B) above, the Budget and Control Board and the State Treasurer
shall take all action necessary to continue the application of tuition
fees and dormitory revenues derived by Coastal Carolina University
to satisfy all obligations of the University of South Carolina with
respect to bonds issued to provide facilities at Coastal Carolina
University.
(D) For purposes of Section 59-107-10, Coastal Carolina
University is also considered an institution on behalf of which state
institution bonds may be issued thereunder. The purposes for which
state institution bonds may be issued on behalf of Coastal Carolina
University shall include the refunding of state institution bonds issued
on behalf of the University of South Carolina to provide facilities at
Coastal Carolina University. 59-136-510. Wherever the term
`Coastal Carolina College' or any similar variation appears in any
provision of law, it shall be construed to mean `Coastal Carolina
University'.
59-136-520. The Budget and Control Board, in consultation with
the Commission on Higher Education where necessary, shall prescribe
the manner in which the transfer provided in this chapter shall be
accomplished."
SECTION 2. The provisions of Sections 8 and 9 of Act 272 of
1992 also apply to Coastal Carolina University as established by this
act.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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