H*3684 Session 103 (1979-1980)
H*3684(Rat #0588, Act #0481 of 1980) General Bill, By J.G. Felder,
T.W. Mitchell and J.H. Toal
Similar(S 969)
A Bill to amend Chapter 3 of Title 42, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
as amended, relating to the Industrial Commission, so as to restructure the
executive and administrative authority of the Commission and its Chairman,
increase the term of the Chairman, eliminate the mandatory rotation of the
Chairmanship, provide for the appointment of the Administrative Director by
the Commission rather than the Governor and further define his duties; provide
that Commission policies relating to certain fees shall be implemented by
regulations approved by Concurrent Resolutions of the General Assembly; and to
provide that employees appointed by the Governor serving on the effective date
of this Act shall not be discharged by the Commission.-at
03/19/80 House Introduced and read first time HJ-1479
03/19/80 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-1480
04/03/80 House Recalled from Committee on Judiciary HJ-1859
04/09/80 House Read second time HJ-1942
04/10/80 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-1985
04/10/80 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-10
04/10/80 Senate Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and
Industry SJ-10
05/22/80 Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment Labor,
Commerce and Industry SJ-10
05/28/80 Senate Read second time SJ-32
05/28/80 Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of
amendments SJ-32
06/03/80 Senate Amended SJ-13
06/03/80 Senate READ THIRD TIME SJ-13
06/03/80 Senate Returned SJ-13
06/03/80 House Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled HJ-3464
06/04/80 House Ratified R 588 HJ-3603
06/05/80 Signed By Governor
06/05/80 Effective date 07/01/80
06/05/80 Act No. 481
06/24/80 Copies available
(A481, R588, H3684)
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 3 OF TITLE 42, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976,
AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION, SO AS TO RESTRUCTURE THE
EXECUTIVE AND ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION AND ITS CHAIRMAN,
INCREASE THE TERM OF THE CHAIRMAN, ELIMINATE THE MANDATORY ROTATION OF THE
CHAIRMANSHIP, PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR BY
THE COMMISSION RATHER THAN THE GOVERNOR AND FURTHER DEFINE HIS DUTIES; PROVIDE
THAT COMMISSION POLICIES RELATING TO CERTAIN FEES SHALL BE IMPLEMENTED BY
REGULATIONS APPROVED BY CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY; AND TO
PROVIDE THAT EMPLOYEES APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR SERVING ON THE EFFECTIVE DATE
OF THIS ACT SHALL NOT BE DISCHARGED BY THE COMMISSION.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Industrial Commission restructured
Section 1. Chapter 3 of Title 42 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act
522 of 1978, is further amended to read:
"Chapter 3
Industrial Commission
Section 42-3-10. There is hereby created the South Carolina Industrial
Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission, composed of a judicial
and administrative department and constituted and administered as provided for
in this title.
Section 42-3-20. The Commission shall consist of seven members appointed by
the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate for terms of six years
and until their successors are appointed and qualify. The Governor with the
advice and consent of the Senate shall designate one commissioner as chairman
for a term of two years and the chairman may serve two terms in his six-year
term but not consecutively.
The commissioners shall hear and determine all contested cases, conduct
informal conferences when necessary, approve settlements, hear applications
for full Commission reviews and handle such other matters as may come before
the department for judicial disposition. Full Commission reviews shall be
conducted by six commissioners only, with the original hearing commissioner
not sitting at such reviews. When one commissioner is temporarily
incapacitated or a vacancy exists on the Commission, reviews may be conducted
by the five remaining commissioners but in such cases decisions of the hearing
commissioner shall not be reversed except on the vote of at least four
commissioners.
Section 42-3-25. The chairman shall ,be the chief executive officer of the
Commission and shall execute the policies established by the Commission in its
capacity as the governing body of the judicial and administrative departments.
The executive assistant for the judicial department and the administrative
director of the administrative department shall report and be responsible to
the chairman.
Section 42-3-30. The Commission shall promulgate all regulations relating to
the administration of the workmen's compensation laws of this State necessary
to implement the provisions of this title and consistent therewith.
Section 42-3-40. The annual salary for the commissioners shall be
eighty-five percent of the salary paid to the circuit judges of the State. The
commissioners shall receive a subsistence allowance of thirty-five dollars a
day while in the performance of their duties outside the Columbia office.
Section 42-3-50. The commissioners shall appoint an executive assistant for
the judicial department, to serve at their pleasure, who shall prepare all
dockets for hearings, informal conferences and full Commission reviews,
maintain liaison with the director of the administrative department, receive
all files from that department when they are ready for hearing, informal
conference, settlement or other disposition, and perform such other duties as
shall be assigned to him by the Chairman to whom the executive assistant shall
be solely responsible.
The executive assistant with the approval of the chairman of the commission
shall be authorized to employ and, if necessary, discharge all support
personnel required to exercise the functions herein prescribed for his office.
Section 42-3 60. Each commissioner shall be authorized to employ a secretary
and a court reporter to serve at his pleasure.
Section 42-3-80. The administrative department of the Commission shall be
under the direction of the administrative director. The director shall be
appointed by the Commission and serve at its pleasure and shall receive an
annual salary of eighty-five percent of the salary paid to the circuit judges
of the State.
The administrative director shall receive and be responsible for all files
and records of the Industrial Commission and shall refer all claims to the
judicial department for disposition and receive from that department reports,
information and statistics as to the disposition of claims. He shall also be
responsible for the referral to the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation
Department of all industrially injured persons that need vocational counseling
or vocational evaluation, personal adjustment, training and placement.
In the performance of his duties, the director is authorized to:
(a) With the approval of the chairman of the Commission, appoint and
discharge, if necessary, all support personnel within the administrative
department except division directors;
(b) Compile all statistics and reports concerning the administration of
workmen's compensation laws and the disposition of claims related thereto;
(c) Conduct administrative operations of the Commission in accordance with
the provisions of this title and regulations promulgated thereunder.
Section 42-3-90. There shall be established within the administrative
department the following divisions, each headed by a division director
recommended by the administrative director with the concurrence of the
chairman and subject to the approval of the Commission:
(1) The Division of Coverage and Compliance,
(2) The Division of Claims and Statistics,
(3) The Division of Medical Services.
Each division shall perform such functions and duties as may be assigned to
it by the director of the administrative department subject to the provisions
of Section 42-3-25.
Section 42-3-100. The commissioners shall annually prepare and the chairman
shall annually submit to the State Budget and Control Board and the General
Assembly a budget for the Industrial Commission.
Section 42-3-110. The commissioners of the judicial department and the
director of the administrative department shall approve all expense and travel
vouchers for their respective departments.
Section 42-3-120. There is hereby created the advisory committee for
improvement of the workmen's compensation laws of South Carolina, consisting
of five members appointed by the Governor for terms of five years and until
successors are appointed and qualify. One member shall be an attorney
experienced in practice representing claimants, one member shall be an
attorney experienced in practice representing defendants, one member shall be
a representative of industry, one member shall be a representative of labor
and one member shall be a representative of the general public. A chairman
shall be elected by the committee. The committee shall meet at least quarterly
to consider improvements in workmen's compensation laws and monitor the
effectiveness of existing law. Recommendations for changes in the law shall be
recommended annually to the General Assembly. Committee members shall serve
without compensation but shall receive mileage, subsistence and per diem as
provided by law for boards, committees and commissions payable from an annual
appropriation from the general fund of the State.
Section 42-3-130. The county sheriffs and their respective deputies shall
serve all subpoenas of the Commission or its deputies and shall receive the
same fees as are provided by law for like services. Provided, however, if the
witness is in another county, the subpoena may be served by any person
authorized to serve subpoenas in the county where the action originated. Each
witness who appears in obedience to such subpoena of the Commission shall
receive for attendance the fees and mileage for witnesses in civil cases in
courts of the county in which the hearing is held.
Section 42-3-140. The Commission or any member thereof, or any person
deputized by it, may, for the purpose of this title, subpoena witnesses,
administer or cause to be administered oaths and examine or cause to be
examined such parts of the books and records of the parties to proceedings as
relate to questions in dispute.
Section 42-3-150. The Commission in the discharge of its duties may
administer oaths and affirmations, take depositions and issue
subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books,
papers, correspondence, memoranda and other records deemed necessary in
connection with any proceeding under this title.
No person shall be excused from attending and testifying or from producing
books, papers, correspondence, memoranda or other records before the
commission on the ground that the testimony or evidence, documentary or
otherwise, required of him may tend to incriminate him or subject him to a
penalty or forfeiture. But no individual shall be prosecuted or subjected to
any penalty or forfeiture for or on account of any transaction, matter or
thing concerning which he is compelled, after having claimed his privilege
against self-incrimination, to testify or produce evidence, documentary or
otherwise, except that such individual so testifying shall not be exempt from
prosecution and punishment for perjury committed in so testifying or from
civil prosecution, penalties or forfeitures pursuant to the provisions of this
title.
In case of contumacy by any person or refusal to obey a subpoena issued to
any person, the Commission may issue to such person an order requiring him to
appear before the Commission to produce evidence if so ordered or to give
testimony touching the matter under investigation. Any failure to obey any
order of the Commission may be punished as a contempt thereof.
Any person who shall without just cause fail or refuse to attend and
testify, to answer any lawful inquiry or to produce books, papers,
correspondence, memoranda and other records, if it is in his power to do so in
accordance with a subpoena of the Commission, shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than
twenty nor more than two hundred dollars or by a term of imprisonment for not
more than thirty days. Each failure to obey a subpoena shall constitute a
separate offense. Subpoenas shall be issued in the name of the Commission and
shall be signed by a commissioner. Subpoenas shall be issued to such persons
as the Commission may designate.
In addition, the Commission may punish for contempt in the manner authorized
by this section any person whose disorderly conduct in any Commission
proceeding interferes with the orderly process of such proceeding.
Section 42-3-160. Any party to a proceeding pending under this title or his
attorney may cause the depositions of witnesses, either within or without the
State, to be taken either by commission or de bene esse. Such depositions
shall be taken in accordance with and subject to the same provisions,
conditions and restrictions as apply to the taking of like depositions in
civil actions at law in the courts of common pleas and the same rules with
respect to the giving of notice to the opposite party, the taking and
transcribing of testimony and the transmission and certification thereof and
matters of practice relating thereto shall apply. In any case in which
testimony shall be taken by commission, such commission shall be issued, upon
request of the party or his attorney, by some member of the Commission. The
provisions of this section shall not be so construed as to prevent the
Commission or any deputy commissioner from issuing commissions for the taking
of testimony, even in the absence of any application therefor, when in its or
his judgment it is deemed necessary or appropriate.
Section 42-3-170. Hearings before the Commission shall be open to the public
and shall be stenographically reported and the Commission may contract for the
reporting of such hearings. The Commission shall by regulation provide for the
preparation of a record of the hearings and other proceedings.
Section 42-3-180. All questions arising under this title, if not settled by
agreement of the parties interested therein with the approval of the
Commission, shall be determined by the Commission, except as otherwise
provided in this title.
Section 42-3-185. Any policies or procedures implementing the provisions of
Section 42-15-90 shall become effective only when such implementation is
accomplished by regulations promulgated in accordance with the Administrative
Procedures Act, which proposed regulations shall have before promulgation
received approval of the Judiciary Committees of the Senate and House of
Representatives and also by Concurrent Resolution of the General Assembly.
Section 42-3-190. The Commission shall prepare, cause to be
printed and upon request furnish, free of charge to any employee,
such blank forms and literature as it shall deem requisite to facilitate or
prompt the efficient administration of this title.
Section 42-3-200. The Commission shall make studies and investigations with
respect to safety provisions and the causes of injuries in employments covered
by this title and shall from time to time make to the General Assembly and to
employers and carriers such recommendations as it may deem proper as to the
best means of preventing such injuries. In making such studies and
investigations, the Commission may:
(1) Cooperate with any agency of thee United States charged with the duty of
enforcing any law securing safety against injury in any employment covered by
this title or with any state agency engaged in enforcing any laws to assure
safety for employees;
(2) Permit any such agency to have access to the records of the Commission.
In carrying out the provisions of this section, the Commission or any
officer or employee of the Commission may enter at any reasonable time upon
any premises, tracks, wharf, dock or other landing place or any building in
which an employment covered by this title is being carried on and may examine
any tool, appliance or machinery used in such employment.
Section 42-3-210. The Commission shall tabulate the accident reports
received from employers in accordance with Sections 42-19-10 and 42-19-20 and
shall publish them in the annual report of the Commission and as often as it
may deem advisable, in such detailed or aggregated form as it may deem best.
The name of the employer or employee shall not appear in such publications and
the employers' reports shall be private records of the Commission and shall
not be open for public inspection except for the inspection of the parties
directly involved, and then only to the extent of such interest, including
third party interests. These reports shall not be used as evidence by or
against any employer in any suit at law brought by any employee for the
recovery of damages, except by order of the court for good cause shown.
Section 42-3-220. The Commission may, by civil action brought in its own
name, enforce the collection of any fines or penalties provided by this title
and such fines and penalties shall be used for the purpose of paying salaries
and expenses of the Commission.
Section 42-3-230. The Commission may from time to time as it may deem
advisable destroy any of its inactive files that are at least five years old.
No files of the Commission shall be deemed inactive until the Commission is
satisfied that they will be of no further use.
Section 42-3-240. The Commission shall publish annually for free
distribution a reports of the administration of this title, together with such
recommendations as the Commission deems advisable, and shall submit annually
to the Governor and the General Assembly a report showing receipts,
expenditures and disbursements of the Commission for the fiscal year
terminating on June thirtieth preceding the time of such report."
Certain employees not to be discharged
Section 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 3 of Title 42 of the
1976 Code, as amended by Section 1 of this act, no person employed by the
Industrial Commission who is appointed by the Governor and serving on the
effective date of this act shall be discharged by the Commission.
Time effective
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 1980. |