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H 3307
Session 114 (2001-2002)


H 3307  General Bill, By Scott, Knotts, Jennings, Carnell, Govan, Whatley, Dantzler, 
Lee, Miller, Snow, Breeland, Hosey, Rutherford, J.E.Smith, Rivers, Weeks and 
Rhoad

Similar(S 177, S 304)
A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 57 TO TITLE 33 SO AS TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA EDUCATION LOTTERY ACT"; TO PROVIDE FOR A STATE LOTTERY AND TO CREATE THE SOUTH CAROLINA EDUCATION LOTTERY CORPORATION TO CONDUCT THE STATE LOTTERY; TO PROVIDE FOR THE CORPORATION'S BOARD MEMBERSHIP, DUTIES, AND POWERS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF A LOTTERY RETAILERS ADVISORY COMMITTEE; TO PROVIDE FOR THE METHOD OF CONTRACTING WITH VENDORS AND RETAILERS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE SALE OF LOTTERY GAME TICKETS AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES; TO PROVIDE FOR ALLOCATION OF LOTTERY PROCEEDS WHICH MUST BE USED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES AND PROGRAMS; TO PROVIDE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR SELLING A LOTTERY TICKET TO A MINOR, PURCHASING A LOTTERY TICKET AS A MINOR, AND DEFRAUDING OR OTHERWISE TAMPERING WITH THE LOTTERY OR MAKING MATERIAL REPRESENTATIONS IN AN APPLICATION OR REPORT IN CONNECTION WITH THE LOTTERY; TO CREATE A SOUTH CAROLINA EDUCATION LOTTERY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE; TO PROVIDE FOR SET-OFF DEBT COLLECTION FROM PRIZE WINNINGS; TO ESTABLISH THE SOUTH CAROLINA EDUCATION LOTTERY ACCOUNT INTO WHICH THE NET REVENUE RECEIVED FROM THE STATE EDUCATION LOTTERY MUST BE DEPOSITED AND TO PROVIDE APPROPRIATIONS FROM THE EDUCATION LOTTERY ACCOUNT BEGINNING IN FISCAL YEAR 2001-02 FOR SPECIFIED PURPOSES; AND TO AMEND SECTION 1-3-240, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE ENTITIES FROM WHICH AN APPOINTEE BY THE GOVERNOR MAY BE REMOVED IN CERTAIN CONDITIONS, SO AS TO ADD THE SOUTH CAROLINA EDUCATION LOTTERY CORPORATION TO THAT LIST OF ENTITIES.
View full text 01/23/01 House Introduced and read first time HJ-9 01/23/01 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-10 04/26/01 House Committee report: Majority favorable with amend., minority unfavorable Ways and Means HJ-2 05/02/01 House Amended HJ-14 05/02/01 House Rejected HJ-288 05/02/01 House Roll call Yeas-57 Nays-61 HJ-288 05/03/01 House Reconsider vote whereby rejected HJ-318 05/03/01 House Roll call Yeas-69 Nays-49 HJ-322 05/03/01 House Amended HJ-325 05/03/01 House Read second time HJ-337 05/03/01 House Roll call Yeas-64 Nays-53 HJ-337 05/08/01 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-115 05/08/01 House Roll call Yeas-59 Nays-57 HJ-118 05/09/01 Senate Introduced, read first time, placed on calendar without reference SJ-9 05/14/01 Senate Amended SJ-33 05/30/01 Senate Read second time SJ-14 05/30/01 Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of amendments SJ-14 01/09/02 Senate Special order not to be taken up before 1/23/02 SJ-18 02/07/02 Senate Debate adjourned SJ-33 02/14/02 Senate Debate interrupted SJ-56 02/19/02 Senate Debate interrupted SJ-43 02/20/02 Senate Debate interrupted SJ-78 02/21/02 Senate Debate interrupted SJ-16 02/26/02 Senate Debate interrupted SJ-24 02/27/02 Senate Amended SJ-29 02/27/02 Senate Debate interrupted SJ-29 02/28/02 Senate Read third time and returned to House with amendments SJ-57 03/06/02 House Debate adjourned until Tuesday, March 12, 2002 HJ-24 03/19/02 House Senate amendment amended HJ-32 03/19/02 House Returned to Senate with amendments HJ-46 03/20/02 Senate Non-concurrence in House amendment SJ-36 03/26/02 House House insists upon amendment and conference committee appointed Reps. Harrell, Kelley and Scott 03/27/02 Senate Conference committee appointed Sens. Moore, Leatherman, McConnell SJ-16




Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

AMENDED--NOT PRINTED IN THE HOUSE

Amt. No. 1A (Council\dka\amend\4793mm02)

March 19, 2002

    H. 3307

Introduced by Reps. Scott, Knotts, Jennings, Carnell, Govan, Whatley, Dantzler, Lee, Miller, Snow, Breeland, Hosey, Rutherford, J.E. Smith, Rivers, Weeks and Rhoad

S. Printed 2/28/02-S.

Read the first time May 9, 2001.

            

A BILL

TO APPROPRIATE FISCAL YEAR 2002-2003 CERTIFIED NET LOTTERY PROCEEDS AND INVESTMENT EARNINGS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2002, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF ACT 59 OF 2001; TO APPROPRIATE FISCAL YEAR 2002-2003 NET LOTTERY PROCEEDS AND INVESTMENT EARNINGS IN EXCESS OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2002-2003 CERTIFIED NET LOTTERY PROCEEDS AND INVESTMENT EARNINGS; TO APPROPRIATE FISCAL YEAR 2001-2002 CERTIFIED NET LOTTERY PROCEEDS AND INVESTMENT EARNINGS; TO APPROPRIATE FISCAL YEAR 2001-2002 NET LOTTERY PROCEEDS AND INVESTMENT EARNINGS IN EXCESS OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2001-2002 CERTIFIED NET LOTTERY PROCEEDS AND INVESTMENT EARNINGS; TO APPROPRIATE UNCLAIMED PRIZE MONEY; AND TO REGULATE THE EXPENDITURE OF SUCH FUNDS.

    Amend Title To Conform

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1.    The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

    "Section 59-150-355.    (A)    There is appropriated annually from the Education Lottery Account as prescribed to the following education purposes and programs and transferred by the Budget and Control Board as directed below. These appropriations must be used to supplement and not supplant existing funds for education. Distributions from the Education Lottery Account must be made on a quarterly basis by the last day of January, April, July, and October of each year, beginning in July 2002 if the account has accrued more than $35,000,000 in net proceeds by that date. The Budget and Control Board is directed to prepare the subsequent Lottery Expenditure Account detail budget to reflect the appropriations of the Education Lottery Account as provided in this section.

        (1)     Of the net proceeds from the Education Lottery Account:

            (a)    $23,903,683 must be appropriated for Education Accountability Act Initiatives including homework centers ($1,598,440); retraining grants ($4,737,000); external review teams ($1,516,872); teacher specialists ($12,781,069); principal specialists ($2,270,302); and Palmetto Gold and Silver Awards Program ($1,000,000);

            (b)    $30,000,000 must be used to fund endowed research chairs for the current fiscal year as provided in Chapter 75 of Title 2.

            (c)    $42,076,817 must be used to fund an increase attributableNext to enhanced LIFE Scholarship awards to a maximum level of $4,500 a year as provided in Chapter 149 of Title 59.

            (d)    $3,500,000 must be used to provide Palmetto Fellows Scholarships to all eligible applicants as provided in Section 59-104-20 in the amount of $5,500 each.

            (e)    $27,519,500 to the State Board of Education must be used to implement programs in kindergarten through fifth grades for reading, mathematics, social studies, and science to enhance student achievement in these areas. Of the reading, mathematics, social studies, and science appropriation, $500,000 must be used for teacher in-service training and professional development related to Project Read.

            (f)     $18,500,000 must be used for ETV Digitalization.

            (g)    $35,000,000 must be used for the purchase of new school buses, including six appropriately equipped school buses for the School for the Deaf and Blind, and the repair of existing school buses. Of the allocation for the purchase of new school buses, two new nineteen-passenger activity buses must be purchased for John de la Howe.

            (h)    $13,700,000 to the Commission on Higher Education must be used for a College Technology Investment Matching Grant Program to fund matching grants for technology infrastructure including, but not limited to, connectivity, upgrade, hardware, software, management, maintenance, installation, and training at this state's public four-year and two-year institutions of higher learning, branches of the University of South Carolina, and technical schools, as defined in Sections 59-103-15(B)(2), (3), and (4), not to include the state's three senior research universities, the Medical University of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina, and Clemson University, such funds to be divided equally between the four-year and two-year institutions to which it applies in the aggregate and the state's Technical and Comprehensive Educational System. The State Technical and Comprehensive Education System for this matching grant program includes also the sixteen individual technical colleges on an institution-by-institution basis. The monies must be allocated to the Commission on Higher Education for distribution in the amount of at least $100,000 to eligible institutions according to a competitive application process based on objective criteria developed by the Commission on Higher Education, which includes a certification from the applicant that the matching funds from a nonstate appropriated source are in hand. Up to one percent of the allocated amount may be used by the Commission on Higher Education to fund its administration of the program.

        (2)    The South Carolina Lottery Commission may enter into a multi-state agreement for the sale of instant game tickets, online game tickets, and related multi-state lottery products including game shows and promotional products. Procedures for ticket sales and validation, prize redemption, and other details of the commission's participation in the multi-state lottery games must be governed by the terms of the agreement entered into by the commission. For purposes of this provision, the lottery games that may be subject to a multi-state participation agreement by the commission are those defined at Section 59-150-20(7). Further, the multi-state tickets and products may be sold only through a licensed lottery retailer, pursuant to Section 59-150-150, or through the commission.

        (3)    An amount up to and including the first one million dollars of unclaimed prize money as described in Section 59-150-230(I) is appropriated to the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS) or an established nonprofit public or private agency recognized as an affiliate of the National Council on Problem Gambling to receive monies for the prevention and treatment of compulsive gambling disorder and educational programs related to that disorder, including a gambling hotline, which must be used for prevention programs including, in part or in totality, mass media communications. The State Budget and Control Board may contract with any combination of agencies, including a combination that includes DAODAS, that meets the criteria for treatment of compulsive gambling disorder and educational programs related to that disorder, including a gambling hotline for these services with these funds. The director of the selected agency or agencies must report to the board on programs implemented and persons served. Remaining unclaimed prize monies are appropriated to the Department of Education for the purchase of new school buses.

    (B)    The legislative intent for a long-term funding commitment to the education programs initiated from lottery proceeds requires a temporary deferral in the implementation of the programs established in Section 59-150-360, Section 59-150-370, Section 59-150-380, and the Youth Education Scholarships as defined in Section 59-150-350(D). These sections are not funded for the 2002-03 fiscal year.

    (C)    Of the additional net proceeds that may be generated by multi-state lottery games, $6,000,000 must be appropriated to the College and University Technology Grant Program and funds must be awarded to the branches of the University of South Carolina and public four-year universities, excluding the University of South Carolina-Columbia, Clemson University, and the Medical University of South Carolina. Grants must be available for award to institutions with grant proposals supporting the development of technology or technology infrastructure, or both. The review process, to include the awarding of grants, is as determined by the Commission on Higher Education; $2,000,000 to the Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission to be used for tuition grants; $1,500,000 to the South Carolina State Library to be allocated for county public library aid; $1,500,000 to the Commission on Higher Education to be used for the National Guard Tuition Repayment Program as described in Section 59-111-75; $2,000,000 to the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education Technology Grant Program to be used for technology upgrades across the TEC system; and the remainder to the Department of Education to be used to enhance reading, mathematics, social studies, and science programs and student achievement in grades K-5.

    (D)    This section constitutes the entire appropriation of net lottery proceeds and implementation of lottery programs beginning in fiscal year 2002-03. Appropriations made in this section are declared to be maximum, conditional, and proportionate, the purpose being to authorize expenditures for educational purposes and programs in amounts not to exceed the amounts named in this section, but only if the aggregate revenues available in the Education Lottery Account during the period for which the appropriations are made are sufficient to pay them in full. The State Budget and Control Board is directed to survey the progress of the collection of revenue and the expenditure of funds in the Education Lottery Account. If the State Budget and Control Board determines that a year-end aggregate deficit may occur by virtue of a projected shortfall in anticipated revenues, it shall take the necessary action to restrict the rate of expenditure for educational programs, consistent with this section. Any institution, activity, program, item, special appropriation, or allocation for which the General Assembly has provided funding in this section must not be discontinued, deleted, or deferred by the State Budget and Control Board. A reduction of the rate of expenditure by the State Budget and Control Board, pursuant to authority of this section, must be applied as uniformly as is practicable, except that a reduction must not be applied to the funding of scholarships in this section. Any unspent surplus resulting from the collection of revenues in an amount in excess of that anticipated must remain in the Education Lottery Account and must be allocated for and appropriated to educational purposes and programs only as determined by the General Assembly."

SECTION    2.    Section 59-149-10(E) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 59 of 2001, is amended to read:

    "(E)(1)    Beginning with school year 2002-2003, the annual amount of a LIFE Scholarship for eligible resident students PreviousattendingNext a four-year public or independent institution as defined in this chapter is increased to the cost of tuition for thirty credit hours a year or its equivalent plus a three hundred dollar per a year book allowance. Tuition for this purpose means the amount charged for registering for credit hours of instruction and shall not include other fees, charges, or costs of textbooks, except for the referenced three hundred dollar book allowance, and may not exceed four thousand two hundred dollars for each student for each year, plus the book allowance.

        (2)    Beginning with school year 2002-2003, the annual amount of a LIFE Scholarship for eligible resident students PreviousattendingNext a four-year independent institution must be the cost of PreviousattendanceNext up to a maximum of the average annual cost of tuition at the state's four-year public institutions of higher learning in the corresponding academic year. In addition, and notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (D) above, beginning with school year 2002-2003, eligible resident students PreviousattendingNext two-year independent institutions may not receive an annual LIFE scholarship of more than the maximum cost of tuition at two-year regional public institutions for thirty credit hours a year or its equivalent. An eligible student PreviousattendingNext a two-year technical college shall receive the three hundred dollar book allowance in addition to his cost of tuition."

SECTION    3.    Section 59-149-50(A) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 59 of 2001, is further amended to read:

    "(A)    To be eligible for a LIFE Scholarship, a student must be either a member of a class graduating from a high school located in this State on or after May, 1995, a home school student who has successfully completed a high school home school program in this State in the manner required by law on or after May, 1995, or a student graduating from a preparatory high school outside this State on or after May, 1995, while a dependent of a parent or guardian who is a legal resident of this State and has custody of the dependent, and these students must also meet the requirements of subsection (B). In addition, beginning with the 1998-99 school year for those students who graduate from high school on or after May, 1998, the student must have graduated from high school with a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade average on a 4.0 scale, and have scored 1000 or better on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or have the equivalent ACT score, 1050 or better, beginning with school year 2000-2001, and 1100 or better, beginning with school year 2002-2003; provided that, if the student is to PreviousattendNext such a public or independent two-year college or university in this State, including a technical college, the SAT requirement does not apply. If a student chooses to PreviousattendNext such a public or independent institution of this State and does not make the required SAT score or the required high school grade point average, as applicable, the student may earn a LIFE Scholarship after his freshman year if he meets the grade point average and semester credit hour requirements of subsection (B)."

SECTION    4.    Section 59-149-60 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 418 of 1998, is amended to read:

    "Section 59-149-60.    The student may receive a LIFE Scholarship for not more than ten semesters for a five-year degree program, eight semesters for a four-year degree program, or four semesters for a two-year degree program. In addition, students in order to be eligible for these scholarships must enroll in an eligible institution within two years of graduating from high school."

SECTION    5.    Title 2 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

    "CHAPTER 75

    South Carolina Research Centers of Economic Excellence

    Section 2-75-05.    (A)    This chapter is known and may be cited as the "South Carolina Research Centers of Economic Excellence Act".

    (B)    The General Assembly finds that:

        (1)    it is in the public interest to create incentives for the senior research universities of South Carolina consisting of Clemson University, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the University of South Carolina to raise capital from the private sector to fund endowments for professorships in research areas targeted to create well-paying jobs and enhanced economic opportunities for the people of South Carolina;

        (2)    these endowed professorships should be used to recruit and maintain leading scientists and engineers at the senior research universities of South Carolina for the purposes of developing and leveraging the research capabilities of the universities for the creation of well-paying jobs and enhanced economic opportunities in knowledge-based industries for all South Carolinians;

        (3)    in communities across the United States in which better paying jobs and enhanced economic development in knowledge-based industries has flourished, the local or state government has created incentives and made a long-term commitment to public and private funding for a significant number of endowments for professorships in targeted knowledge-based industries;

        (4)    the South Carolina Education Lottery provides a source of funding and an incentive for the senior research universities to raise, in dollar-for-dollar matching amounts, sums from private sources sufficient to create endowed professorships;

        (5)    these endowed professorships should be awarded to the senior research universities through a competitive application process, provided that the competitive process must encourage the senior research universities to submit cooperative applications with one another as well as in cooperation with other institutions of higher education; and

        (6)    these endowed professorships, funded equally from the South Carolina Education Lottery and from other private sources, provide a foundation for the creation of centers of economic excellence.

    Section 2-75-10.    There is created the Research Centers of Excellence Review Board. The board shall consist of nine members. Of the nine members, three must be appointed by the Governor, three must be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and three must be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The terms of members are three years, and members are eligible to be appointed for no more than two additional terms. Of the members initially appointed by the Governor, the President Pro Tempore, and the Speaker of the House, one shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, and one for a term of three years, the initial term of each member to be designated by the Governor, President Pro Tempore, and Speaker of the House when making the appointments. The Governor, the President Pro Tempore, and the Speaker of the House shall appoint persons with substantial experience in business, law, accounting, technology, manufacturing, engineering, or other professions and experience which provide an understanding of the purposes of this chapter. The board shall be responsible for recommending annually to the Budget and Control Board for approval a schedule by which applications for funding are received and awarded on a competitive basis, the awarding of matching funds as provided in Section 2-75-60, and for oversight and operation of the fund created by Section 2-75-30. The review board must provide an annual report to the Budget and Control Board, which shall include an audit performed by an independent auditor.

    Section 2-75-20.    The presidents of the senior research universities shall serve as ex officio nonvoting members of the board.

    Section 2-75-30.    There is created the Centers of Excellence Matching Endowment. The endowment must be funded annually by appropriations from the South Carolina Education Lottery Account in the amounts provided by the General Assembly. The fund must be managed by the State Treasurer, subject to awards from the endowment as provided in this chapter. Interest earnings of the endowment must remain in the fund.

    Section 2-75-40.    The senior research universities, individually, in conjunction with one or more other senior research universities or with other South Carolina higher education institutions, may make application for awards from the endowment as provided in this chapter.

    Section 2-75-50.    An application for an award from the endowment shall:

        (1)    provide to the board documentation of private matching funds, on hand, in an amount equal to the amount for which application is made;

        (2)    provide to the board documentation that all matching funds have been committed and raised exclusively from sources other than South Carolina tax dollars, and that the funds have been committed and raised after January 1, 2002;

        (3)    be in an amount of not less than two million dollars and not more than five million dollars;

        (4)    document that the application has significant potential to provide for enhanced economic development for the citizens of South Carolina in a specified knowledge-based industry or field of commerce; and

        (5)    provide specific partnering activities with other institutions, businesses, or the community.

    Section 2-75-60.    Upon a determination by the board that the provisions of Section 2-75-50 have been met, the board must appoint a panel of experts chosen from outside South Carolina for their expertise in the respective research field to review the application. The members appointed to the panel shall have no affiliation with the senior research universities. The panel will convene in the State to review the proposals and to conduct site visits to ensure that appropriate research infrastructure exists at the applying university. The panel shall make a report and recommendation to the board as to the merits of the application not more than ninety days after submission to the panel. The board shall then make a determination as to whether or not to award the matching funds and the amount of the award.

    Section 2-75-70.    Staff and support for the operations of the board and the panels must be provided by the Budget and Control Board. The Budget and Control Board shall approve all necessary funds for the prudent operation of the board, including per diem, subsistence, and mileage expenses of board members as provided by law for members of state boards, committees, and commissions, and for the costs and expenses of the panel members. The expenditures authorized by this section must be provided from the fund created by Section 2-75-30 upon approval by the Budget and Control Board.

    Section 2-75-80.    If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this chapter 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 section, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this section, 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    6.    Section 59-150-350(D) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 59 of 2001, is amended to read:

    "(D)    At the beginning of the first fiscal year after the state lottery becomes operational, the Comptroller General shall certify the amount of net proceeds including investment earnings on the net proceeds credited to and accrued in the Education Lottery Account during the preceding fiscal year. The sum of certified net proceeds and investment earnings must be designated as annual lottery proceeds. Appropriations from the Education Lottery Account must be allocated only for educational purposes and educational programs by the General Assembly in its annual general appropriations bill or any bill appropriating monies for previous or current fiscal years. Funds made available from the Education Lottery Account must be used to provide Palmetto Fellows Scholarships to all eligible applicants, to provide LIFE Scholarships for eligible resident students PreviousattendingNext four-year public institutions in those amounts provided by law; up to one percent of net proceeds to the South Carolina State Library for public library state aid, to be distributed to county public libraries on a per capita basis and to be used for educational technology delivery, upgrade, and maintenance; to the Commission on Higher Education for free tuition at state technical colleges and two-year public institutions; for the SC HOPE Scholarship Program; to the Department of Education to be allocated to K-12 school technology; to the Department of Education for school-based grants for pilot programs, to include programs providing deregulation as requested by school districts with an overall absolute or improved designation of average or better, with first priority given to schools reported as average, below average, or unsatisfactory in accordance with the Education Accountability Act; to the Department of Education to fund homework centers, and these funds must be allocated to the local school districts based on a per pupil basis and may be used for salaries for certified teachers and for transportation costs, provided that priority in the distribution of funds must be given to schools designated as below average or unsatisfactory in accordance with the Education Accountability Act; to the Commission on Higher Education for higher education assistance, including need-based grants, grants to teachers for advanced education with priority to annual grants earmarked for teachers working toward their masters' degree or advanced education in their areas of certification, or both; for the National Guard Tuition Repayment Program; and funding for elementary and secondary public education as determined pursuant to the Education Accountability Act of 1998 and education improvement legislation enacted into law after the effective date of this chapter; new programs enacted by the General Assembly for public institutions of higher learning, including public four-year colleges and universities and their branches and two-year colleges, as defined in Section 59-103-5, and state technical colleges, which programs may include the creation of endowed chairs at the state's universities, with an emphasis in the areas of, but not limited to, engineering, computer science, and the sciences; to the State Department of Education for the purchase of school buses; to the South Carolina Educational Television Commission for digitalization; and to the Higher Education Tuition Grants commission to administer tuition grants and Youth Education Scholarships of up to and not to exceed one thousand dollars, to be determined in the annual general appropriations bill to resident parents of a four-year-old who PreviousattainsNext the age of four years by September first of the school year the scholarship is received and who PreviousattendsNext a public or private, for profit or nonprofit kindergarten, preschool, home school, or child development center program provided in this State. The scholarship is payable from the lottery proceeds through the Department of Education directly to the school in the name of the Previousattending child after the department confirms that the program meets the following criteria that include, but are not limited to, language and literacy programs that help the child understand and tell stories, recognize pictures and words, learn the alphabet, and understand that writing is communication; math concepts that teach the child to count and sort objects into groups, recognize shapes, and make comparisons of size, shape, length, and weight; science concepts that teach the child to explore the natural environment, observe seasonal changes, communicate observations, and use tools to measure; art concepts that help the child express ideas and thoughts in creative ways, paint, draw, and sculpt, listen to music and sing songs, and recognize colors; and physical development activities that help the child move with balance and coordination, participate in indoor and outdoor physical activity, and use writing tools, puzzles, scissors, blocks, clay, and computers. The proportion of total recurring general fund and special fund revenues of the State expended for the total of public elementary, secondary, and higher education allocations in any fiscal year must not be less than the proportions in the fiscal year immediately before the fiscal year in which education revenues are first received from a state lottery and must not be reduced or supplanted later by revenues received from a state lottery."

SECTION    7.    The first paragraph of Section 59-104-20 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 289 of 2000, is further amended to read:

    "The Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Program is established to foster scholarship among the state's post-secondary students and retain outstanding South Carolina high school graduates in the State through awards based on scholarship and achievement. Measures must be taken to ensure equitable minority participation in this program. Recipients of these scholarships are designated Palmetto Fellows. Each Palmetto Fellow shall receive a scholarship in an the amount designated by the Commission on Higher Education of five thousand five hundred dollars. The commission shall promulgate regulations and establish procedures to administer the program and request annual state appropriations for the program."

SECTION    8.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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