S 68 Session 110 (1993-1994)
S 0068 General Bill, By Passailaigue and M.T. Rose
A Bill to amend Articles 1, 3, 5, and 7, Chapter 3, Title 57, Code of Laws of
South Carolina, 1976, relating to the establishment of the South Carolina
Department of Highways and Public Transportation, the election and composition
of the State Highway and Public Transportation Commission, and the appointment
of the Executive Director and other Department personnel so as to provide for
the reorganization of the Department, by changing the name of the South
Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation to the Department of
Transportation, by providing for definitions, by providing for the creation of
certain divisions within the Department and the appointment of division
directors, by providing for the method and manner for appointing highway
commissioners and their term of office, by providing for the creation of
administrative highway districts, and by providing for the appointment of
other department personnel; to amend Section 2-63-10, relating to the Joint
Legislative Committee to Review Intrabudgetary Transfer, so as to provide that
the Committee shall review the budget of the Department; to amend Article 1,
Chapter 11, Title 57, relating to finances of the Department so as to provide
for the creation of a State Highway Bond Fund and a State Highway Bond Fund
Debt Service Account; to amend Section 12-27-400, relating to the distribution
and use of "C" Funds so as to provide that a county council of a county must
approve the roads upon which all "C" Fund construction monies are expended
within the county and to change the formula by which "C" Fund monies are
apportioned among the counties; to provide that the Code Commissioner change
certain references in the 1976 Code; to provide for the creation of an
ombudsman within the Department; and to repeal Sections 12-27-1260,
12-27-1280, and 12-27-1300, relating to the Strategic Highway Plan for
Improving Mobility and Safety.
01/12/93 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-44
01/12/93 Senate Referred to Committee on Transportation SJ-45
A BILL
TO AMEND ARTICLES 1, 3, 5, AND 7, CHAPTER 3, TITLE 57,
CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS AND PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION, THE ELECTION AND COMPOSITION OF
THE STATE HIGHWAY AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
COMMISSION, AND THE APPOINTMENT OF THE EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR AND OTHER DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL SO AS TO
PROVIDE FOR THE REORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT,
BY CHANGING THE NAME OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, BY PROVIDING
FOR DEFINITIONS, BY PROVIDING FOR THE CREATION OF
CERTAIN DIVISIONS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT AND THE
APPOINTMENT OF DIVISION DIRECTORS, BY PROVIDING FOR
THE METHOD AND MANNER FOR APPOINTING HIGHWAY
COMMISSIONERS AND THEIR TERM OF OFFICE, BY
PROVIDING FOR THE CREATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE
HIGHWAY DISTRICTS, AND BY PROVIDING FOR THE
APPOINTMENT OF OTHER DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL; TO
AMEND SECTION 2-63-10, RELATING TO THE JOINT
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE TO REVIEW INTRABUDGETARY
TRANSFER, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMMITTEE SHALL
REVIEW THE BUDGET OF THE DEPARTMENT; TO AMEND
ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 11, TITLE 57, RELATING TO FINANCES
OF THE DEPARTMENT SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION
OF A STATE HIGHWAY BOND FUND AND A STATE HIGHWAY
BOND FUND DEBT SERVICE ACCOUNT; TO AMEND SECTION
12-27-400, RELATING TO THE DISTRIBUTION AND USE OF
"C" FUNDS SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A COUNTY
COUNCIL OF A COUNTY MUST APPROVE THE ROADS UPON
WHICH ALL "C" FUND CONSTRUCTION MONIES
ARE EXPENDED WITHIN THE COUNTY AND TO CHANGE THE
FORMULA BY WHICH "C" FUND MONIES ARE
APPORTIONED AMONG THE COUNTIES; TO PROVIDE THAT
THE CODE COMMISSIONER CHANGE CERTAIN REFERENCES
IN THE 1976 CODE; TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF AN
OMBUDSMAN WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT; AND TO REPEAL
SECTIONS 12-27-1260, 12-27-1280, AND 12-27-1300, RELATING
TO THE STRATEGIC HIGHWAY PLAN FOR IMPROVING
MOBILITY AND SAFETY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 1, Title 57 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"CHAPTER 1
Article 1
Section 57-1-10. The terms `highway', `street' and `road' as used
herein shall be general terms denoting a public way for the purpose of
vehicular travel, including the entire area within the right of way, and
the terms shall include roadways, pedestrian facilities, bridges, tunnels,
viaducts, drainage structures and all other facilities commonly
considered component parts of highways, streets or roads. The term
`roadway' shall mean that portion of a highway improved, designed or
ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the shoulder or berm.
In the event a highway includes two or more separate roadways, the term
`roadway' as used herein shall refer to any such roadways separately but
not to all such roadways collectively. The term `public transportation'
shall mean every conveyance of human passengers by bus, van or any
other ground surface vehicle which is provided to the general public, or
selected groups thereof, on a regular and continuing basis.
Wherever the term `South Carolina State Highway Department' or
`State Highway Department' or `Highway Department' appears in the
Acts and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly or the 1976 Code,
it shall mean `South Carolina Department of Highways and Public
Transportation'.
Wherever the term `State Highway Commission' appears in the Acts
and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly or the 1976 Code, it shall
mean `State Highway and Public Transportation Commission'.
Wherever the term `Chief Highway Commissioner' appears in the
Acts and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly or the 1976 Code,
it shall mean `Executive Director of the Department of Highways and
Public Transportation'. For the purposes of this title, the
following words, phrases, and terms are defined as follows:
(1) `Administrative Highway District' means the geographic area
established by Section 57-3-20.
(2) `Commission' means the administrative and governing
body of the Department of Transportation.
(3) `Department' means the Department of
Transportation (DOT).
(4) `District' means the geographic area as established
by Section 57-3-210.
(5) `District Director' means an employee of the
department who is assigned to and responsible for the day-to-day
management and supervision of the operation of the department's
services, personnel, and administrative activities, including budgeting,
procurement, records management, and payroll in a highway
district.
(6) `Highway', `street', or `road' are general terms
denoting a public way for the purpose of vehicular travel, including the
entire area within the right-of-way, and the terms shall include
roadways, pedestrian facilities, bridges, tunnels, viaducts, drainage
structures, and all other facilities commonly considered component parts
of highways, streets, or roads.
(7) `Mass transit' shall mean every conveyance of human
passengers by bus, van, or any other ground surface vehicle which is
provided to the general public, or selected groups thereof, on a regular
and continuing basis.
(8)`Roadway' shall mean that portion of a highway improved,
designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the
shoulder or berm. In the event a highway includes two or more separate
roadways, the term `roadway' as used herein shall refer to any such
roadways separately but not to all such roadways collectively.
(9) `Secretary of Transportation' means the chief
administrative officer of the Department of Transportation.
Section 57-1-20. The assent of the State is hereby given to the
terms and provisions of an act of Congress, approved July 11, 1916,
entitled "An Act to Provide that the United States Shall Aid the
States in the Construction of Rural Post Roads and for Other
Purposes," and acts amendatory thereof and any other act
providing for Federal aid to the states for the construction of highways
and other related projects. The good faith of the State is hereby pledged
to provide sufficient funds to meet the requirements of said Federal act,
so as to acquire the benefits thereof. The Department of
Transportation is established as an administrative agency of state
government. The Department shall have such functions and powers as
provided for by law.
Section 57-1-30. The South Carolina Department of Highways
and Public Transportation may number and renumber State highways
whenever it considers it necessary or desirable. This specifically
authorizes the change in the numbers of routes as numbered by the State
Highway Act of 1924, known as the Pay-As-You-Go Act, and other acts
designating highways by numbers. The authority herein given to the
Department to renumber the highways mentioned and described in the
Highway Act of 1924, commonly known as the Pay-As-You-Go Act,
and all other acts shall not in any way relieve the Department in the
construction of the roads mentioned and described therein. The
department shall have as its functions and purposes the systematic
planning, construction, maintenance, and operation of the state highway
system, the regulation of traffic thereon, the administration and
enforcement of traffic, driver and motor vehicle laws, and other laws
relating to such subjects, the coordination of all state and federal
programs relating to mass transit among departments, agencies, and
other bodies politic and legally constituted agencies of this State and the
performance of such other duties and matters as may be delegated to it
pursuant to law. The department shall not be charged with any
regulatory duties or responsibilities delegated by law to the Public
Service Commission, except that within one hundred eighty days of the
effective date of this act, the Public Service Commission shall transfer
to the department within the Division of Inspections, Permits and
Enforcement all duties and responsibilities and all monies appropriated
to and full-time equivalent positions associated with the Transportation
Division of the Public Service Commission as provided in the annual
general appropriation act.
Section 57-1-40. All names given prior to June 13, 1951 to
highways or bridges pursuant to legislative action shall be retained.
The department shall have the following duties and powers:
(1) lay out, build, and maintain public highways and
bridges, including the exclusive authority to establish design criteria,
construction specifications, and standards required to construct and
maintain highways and bridges;
(2) acquire such lands and road building materials and
rights-of-way as may be needed for roads and bridges by purchase, gift,
or condemnation;
(3) cause the state highways to be marked with
appropriate directions for travel and regulate the travel and traffic along
such highways, subject to the laws of the State;
(4) number or renumber state highways;
(5) initiate and conduct such programs and pilot projects
to further research and development efforts, and promote training of
personnel in the fields of planning, construction, maintenance, and
operation of the state highway system, the regulation of traffic thereon,
the administration and enforcement of traffic, driver and motor vehicle
laws and public transportation;
(6) cooperate with the federal government in the
construction of federal-aid highways, in the development of improved
mass transit service, facilities, equipment, techniques, and methods and
in planning and research in connection therewith; and seek and receive
such federal aid and assistance as may from time to time become
available except for funds designated by statute to be administered by
the Chief Executive Officer of the State;
(7) instruct, assist, and cooperate with the agencies,
departments and bodies politic and legally constituted agencies of the
State in street, highway, traffic, and mass transit matters when requested
to do so, and, if requested by such government authorities, supervise or
furnish engineering supervision for the construction and improvement
of roads and bridges, provided such duties do not impair the attention to
be given the highways in the state highway system;
(8) carry out highway and mass transit safety
programs;
(9) license and register motor vehicles and administer
the collection of license and registration fees and penalties;
(10) examine and license motor vehicle drivers;
(11) engage in driver training and safety activities;
(12) enforce the traffic, motor vehicle and related
laws;
(13) promulgate such rules and regulations for the
administration and enforcement of the powers delegated to the
department by law, which rules and regulations shall have the full force
and effect of law upon filing in accordance with the Administrative
Procedures Act;
(14) grant churches the right to cross over, under, along, and
upon any public roads or highways and rights-of-way related thereto;
(15) erect such signs as requested by a local governing body, if the
department deems the signs necessary for public safety and welfare,
including `Deaf Child' signs and `Crime Watch Area' signs; and
(16) do all other things required or provided by law.
Section 57-1-45. Whenever a road, bridge, or other highway
facility is dedicated and named in honor of an individual by act or
resolution of the General Assembly, the Department of Highways and
Public Transportation must be reimbursed all expenses incurred by the
Department to implement the dedication.
Reimbursement for expenses incurred by the Department must first be
approved by a majority of each county legislative delegation in which
the road, bridge, or facility is located. Reimbursement must be from the
State Secondary "C" Apportionment Fund of the county or
counties in which the road, bridge, or facility is located, and expenses
under this section are limited to five hundred dollars.
Reimbursement for expenses incurred by the Department to name
and dedicate a highway facility pursuant to a request from other than the
General Assembly must be by agreement between the requesting entity
and the Department.
Article 3
Section 57-1-50. The State Electrician shall permit the
Department to use so much of the surplus current as is referred to in the
preamble of Act No. 1194 of the 1930 Acts for the purpose of lighting
the Congaree River bridge, until such time as the State shall need such
surplus current for the purposes of State institutions. No contractual
obligation is hereby assumed by the State for the purpose of lighting said
bridge, and this section is intended to permit the use of such surplus
current only until it is needed by the State. No funds of the Department
shall in any way be involved in lighting said bridge, other than to
maintain the lighting structures already erected on said bridge. The
maintenance of such lighting structures shall be provided by the
Department as other maintenance for the bridge. The State Electrician
shall not make any charge for the use of such current, any law or rule to
the contrary notwithstanding. The State Electrician shall discontinue the
lighting of said bridge at such a time as it may appear to the State
Electrician that the State needs the current for ordinary purposes of the
State. The assent of the State is hereby given to the terms and
provisions of any act providing for federal aid to the states for the
construction of highways and other related transportation projects. The
good faith of the State is hereby pledged to provide sufficient funds to
meet the requirements of said federal act, so as to acquire the benefits
thereof.
Section 57-1-60. Whoever, being a member of the State Highway
and Public Transportation Commission or engineer, agent or other
employee, acting for or in behalf of the Department or Commission,
shall accept or agree to accept, receive or agree to receive or ask or
solicit, either directly or indirectly, and any person who shall give or
offer to give or promise or cause or procure to be promised, offered or
given, either directly or indirectly, to any member of the Commission or
any engineer, agent or other employee acting for or on behalf of the
Commission or Department (a) any moneys, (b) any contract, promise,
undertaking, obligation, gratuity or security for the payment of money
or for the delivery or conveyance of anything of value, (c) any political
appointment or influence, present or reward, (d) any employment or (e)
any other thing of value, with the intent to have his decision or action on
any question, matter, cause or proceeding which may at the time be
pending or which may by law be brought before him in his official
capacity or in his place of trust or profit influenced thereby, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be imprisoned in the
Penitentiary not less than one nor more than five years and shall forever
after be disqualified from holding any office of trust or profit under the
Constitution or laws of this State. The Governor, in addition to
other duties and responsibilities conferred upon him by the Constitution
and laws of this State, is charged with the responsibility for the
administration of the state's highway safety programs and is further
charged with the duty of contracting and doing all other things necessary
on behalf of this State and, in so doing, to work with federal and state
agencies, agencies private and public, interested .organizations, and
with individuals to effectuate that purpose. The Governor shall be the
official of this State having the ultimate responsibility for dealing with
the federal government with respect to highway safety transportation
programs and activities. To that end the Governor shall coordinate the
activities of any and all departments and agencies of this State and its
subdivisions.
Section 57-1-70. The Governor, in addition to other duties and
responsibilities conferred upon him by the Constitution and laws of this
State, is charged with the responsibility for the administration of the
State's highway safety program and is further charged with the duty of
contracting and doing all other things necessary in behalf of this State
under the National Highway Safety Act of 1966, and, in so doing, to
work with Federal and State agencies, agencies private and public,
interested organizations, and with individuals to effectuate the purposes
of that enactment. The Governor shall be the official of this State having
the ultimate responsibility for dealing with the Federal Government with
respect to programs and activities pursuant to the National Highway
Safety Act of 1966. To that end the Governor shall coordinate the
activities of any and all departments and agencies of this State and its
subdivisions relating thereto. The Department of Transportation
should comply with Section 105(f) of the Federal Surface Transportation
Assistance Act of 1982 (STAA-1982). The department is directed to
effectuate and assure the compliance through contract documents and
regulations as may be necessary and such input from the Governor's
Office (Office of Small and Minority Business Assistance) in the
promulgation of the regulations.
Section 57-1-80. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the
South Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation may,
in its sole discretion, grant to churches the right to cross over, under,
along and upon any of the public roads or highways and rights-of-way
related thereto. No member of the commission, employee of the
department, or agent of the department, acting for or in behalf of the
department or commission, shall accept or agree to accept, receive, or
agree to receive or ask or solicit, either directly or indirectly, and any
person who shall give or offer to give or promise or cause or procure to
be promised, offered or given, either directly or indirectly, to any
member of the commission, employee of the department or agent of the
department acting for or in behalf of the commission or department: (a)
any monies; (b) any contract, promise, undertaking, obligation, gratuity
or security for the payment of money or for the delivery or conveyance
of anything of value; (c) any political appointment or influence, present
or reward; (d) any employment; or (e) any other thing of value, with the
intent to have his decision or action on any question, matter, cause, or
proceeding which may at the time be pending or which may by law be
brought before him in his official capacity or in his place of trust or
profit influenced thereby, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction, shall be imprisoned for not less than one nor more than five
years and shall forever after be disqualified from holding any office of
trust or profit under the Constitution or laws of this State.
Section 57-1-90. Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, signs not exceeding three feet by four feet may be placed on
highway rights-of-way outside of a community designating the
community as a Crime Watch Area if the governing body of the county
where the signs are placed passes an ordinance authorizing the signs in
accordance with Department of Highways and Public Transportation
regulations.
Section 57-1-100. The Department, at the request of a
municipal or county council, may erect "Deaf
Child--Caution" signs in residential areas where they are deemed
to be needed.
Section 57-1-110. Before a county or municipal
corporation may accept a deed to a newly-constructed road or agree to
maintain a newly-constructed road it shall obtain an affidavit from the
donor and the contractor who constructed the road that all construction
costs have been paid and that the road is free of all encumbrances.
Provided, however, a county council or city council may, in its
discretion, waive the requirement of an affidavit under this section.
A donor or contractor who knowingly submits a false affidavit
affirming that all construction costs have been paid for a road or that a
road is free of all encumbrances, or both, is guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction, must be fined not more than two hundred dollars or
imprisoned for not more than thirty days.
For the purposes of this section, a "newly-constructed
road" is one which has been completed within two years of the
date of the city's or county's consideration of whether to accept the deed
or to maintain a newly-constructed road.
Section 57-1-140. Before building new or expanding
existing primary highways, roads, and streets, the South Carolina
Department of Highways and Public Transportation shall consider and
make a written determination whether it is financially and physically
feasible to include:
(1) high occupancy vehicle lanes, when the construction or
expansion is in a metropolitan area;
(2) pedestrian walkways or sidewalks; and
(3) bicycle lanes or paths. A copy of this determination must be
submitted to the State Energy Office."
SECTION 2. Article 1, Chapter 3, Title 57 of the 1976 Code is
amended to read:
"Article 1
Section 57-3-10. There is hereby established as an administrative
agency of the state government the South Carolina Department of
Highways and Public Transportation. Its functions and purposes shall be
the systematic planning, construction, maintenance and operation of the
state highway system, the regulation of traffic thereon, the
administration and enforcement of traffic, driver and motor vehicle laws
and other laws relating to such subjects, the coordination of all state and
federal programs relating to public transportation among the
departments, agencies and other bodies politic and legally constituted
agencies of this State and the performance of such other duties and
matters as may be delegated to it pursuant to law, except that the
Department shall not be charged with any duties or responsibilities
delegated by law to the Public Service Commission. The
department must be divided into such divisions as the commission may
prescribe but must consist of the following principal divisions: finance
and administration; construction, engineering, and planning; motor
vehicle; law enforcement; inspection, permits, and enforcement; and
mass transit. The commission may establish other divisions, or ancillary
or service divisions as may be necessary for the efficient and economic
operation of the division and to carry out the functions and purposes of
the department.
Section 57-3-20. The Department is governed by the State
Highways and Public Transportation Commission and the Executive
Director of the Department of Highways and Public Transportation.
The commission may establish such administrative highway districts
as in its opinion shall be necessary for the proper and efficient
performance of its duties. The commission, every ten years, must review
the number of administrative highway districts and the territory
embraced within the districts and make such changes as may be
necessary for the proper and efficient operation of the districts.
Section 57-3-30. A. The Department must be divided into such
divisions as the Commission or the Executive Director of the
Department of Highways and Public Transportation may prescribe but
shall consist of at least four principal divisions; one of which shall be the
engineering division, another the motor vehicle division, another the law
enforcement division, and another the public transportation division. The
motor vehicle division and the law enforcement division may be
combined under one director. Other ancillary or service divisions may
be set up by the Department as may be necessary for the efficient and
economical operation of the Department and to carry out the functions
and purposes of the Department. The Department is also authorized to
process all payments for goods and services for the Interagency Council
on Public Transportation.
B. The Department is authorized to develop a general public
transportation plan and policy for the State in order to encourage the
efficient development, implementation, operation, evaluation, and
monitoring of public transportation systems, both public and private. All
departments, boards, public authorities, or other agencies of the State or
its political subdivisions, local government, transportation authorities,
and other local public entities shall cooperate with the Department,
provide assistance, data, and advice upon request. The
commission must develop a general mass transit program and policy for
the State in order to encourage the efficient development,
implementation, operation, evaluation, and monitoring of mass transit
systems, both public and private. All departments, boards, public
authorities, or other agencies of the State or its political subdivisions,
local government, transportation authorities, and other local public
entities must cooperate with the department, provide assistance, data,
and advice upon request and must reimburse any such entity necessary
cost in the event of any expense.
Section 57-3-35. It is the sense of the General Assembly
that the Department of Highways and Public Transportation should
comply with Section 105(f) of the Federal Surface Transportation
Assistance Act of 1982 (STAA-1982). The department is directed to
effectuate and assure the compliance through contract documents and
regulations as may be necessary and such input from the Governor's
Office (Office of Small and Minority Business Assistance) in the
promulgation of the regulations.
Section 57-3-40. There is hereby created a division for
erosion control which will operate under the supervision and control of
the South Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation.
The division shall be charged with research of methods of combatting
erosion and of devising such means as will arrest the erosion of the shore
line of the State, and of putting into effect the necessary controls.
Section 57-3-50. The South Carolina Department of
Highways and Public Transportation shall organize the division to
perform the duties required by Section 57-3-40, and is authorized to
employ such professional and clerical assistance as may be necessary,
consistent with such appropriations as may be provided by law for this
purpose."
SECTION 3. Article 3, Chapter 3, Title 57 of the 1976 Code is
amended to read:
"Article 3
Section 57-3-210. The several judicial circuits of the State are
for the purposes of this Title hereby constituted and created highway
districts of the State; designated by numbers corresponding to the
numbers of the respective judicial circuits. For each of such highway
districts there shall be chosen in the manner and for the terms of office
herein provided a highway commissioner to be known as a district
highway commissioner. Two commissioners, upon the advice and
consent of the Senate, shall be appointed by the Governor from the State
at large, whose terms shall be coterminous with that of the Governor
appointing. The several commissioners so chosen shall constitute as a
body the State Highway Commission and Public Transportation
Commission. The congressional districts of this State are
constituted and created highway districts of the State, designated by
numbers corresponding to the numbers of the respective congressional
districts. The Governor shall appoint one commissioner for each
highway district and one commissioner from the State at large. All
commissioners must be appointed in the manner and for the terms of
office as provided for in this article. The commissioners so chosen
constitute the Commission of the Department of Transportation.
Section 57-3-215. The commission shall provide for the
administrative organization of the department in an economic and
efficient manner and shall provide for the necessary planning,
construction, maintenance, and operation of an integrated statewide
highway transportation system for the economical and safe
transportation of people and goods.
Section 57-3-220. Upon the expiration of the terms of office of
the present district highway commissioners (the terms of the
commissioners for the second, ninth, tenth, twelfth and fourteenth
districts expiring April 15, 1962, those for the third, eighth, eleventh and
thirteenth districts April 15, 1963 and those for the first, fourth, fifth,
sixth and seventh districts April 15, 1964), the district highway
commissioners shall be chosen as provided herein for a term of office of
four years, which shall expire on April fifteenth of the appropriate year.
The legislative delegations representing the counties of each highway
district herein created shall meet upon written call of a majority of the
members of the delegations of each highway district at a time and place
to be designated in such call for the purpose of electing a highway
commissioner to represent such highway district. A majority present,
either in person or by written proxy, of the members of the county
legislative delegations from a given highway district shall constitute a
quorum for the purpose of electing a district highway commissioner, but
no person shall be declared elected district highway commissioner who
shall fail to receive a majority vote of all the members of the county
legislative delegations from the highway district. The joint county
legislative delegations of each highway district shall be organized by the
election of a chairman and a secretary, and such joint legislative
delegations shall, subject to the provisions of Section 57-3-240, adopt
such rules as they deem proper to govern the election. Any absentee
may vote by written proxy. When the election is completed, the
chairman and secretary of the joint county legislative delegations of each
highway district shall immediately transmit the name of the person
elected to the Secretary of State, who shall forthwith issue to such
person, after he has taken the usual oath of office, a certificate of
election as district highway commissioner. The Governor shall
thereupon forthwith issue a commission to such person, and pending
such issuance the aforementioned certificate of election shall be a
sufficient warrant to such person to perform all of the duties and
functions of his office as commissioner. Each district highway
commissioner shall serve until his successor shall have been elected and
qualified.
(A) Any county that is divided among two or more congressional
districts, for purposes of appointment of a district highway
commissioner, is deemed to be considered in the district which contains
the largest number of residents from that county.
(B) No county within a highway district shall have a resident
commissioner for more than one consecutive term and in no event shall
any two persons from the same county serve as a commissioner
simultaneously. No person may be eligible to serve as a commissioner
if they have previously served as a highway commissioner.
(C) A member of the General Assembly or a former member of
the General Assembly is prohibited from serving on the commission or
as secretary for a period of one year after terminating his or her
office.
Section 57-3-230. Any vacancy as district highway
commissioner occurring by death, resignation or removal shall be filled
by election in the manner provided in Section 57-3-220 for the
unexpired term only. Any vacancy as district highway commissioner
occurring or approaching on account of the expiration of the term of
office may be filled by election as provided in this section at any time
within sixty days prior to the expiration of such term of office or
afterwards.
(A) All commissioners must be appointed for a term of
office of four years or until their successors are appointed and confirmed
by the Senate. No person is eligible to serve as a district highway
commissioner who is not a resident of that district at the time of his
appointment, except that the at large commissioner may be appointed
from any county in the state that does not have a resident district
highway commissioner. Failure by a district commissioner to maintain
residency in the district for which he is appointed shall result in the
forfeiture of his office. The term of office for a commissioner shall begin
April first of the appropriate year, except that the term of office of the
at large commissioner shall begin sixty-five days from the date on which
the Governor's term of office begins. The at large commissioner, upon
confirmation, shall serve as chairman of the commission.
(B) The terms of the initial members of the commission
appointed from congressional districts are as follows:
(1) commissioners appointed to represent odd numbered
congressional districts two years; and
(2) commissioners appointed to represent even numbered
congressional districts four years.
Section 57-3-240. Representation of a given highway district on
the commission shall be rotated among the counties of the district,
except by unanimous consent of all members of the county legislative
delegations from the district. No district highway commissioner elected
under the provisions of this article shall succeed himself in office except
by unanimous consent of the members of the county legislative
delegations from the district. The legislative delegation of any county
entitled to a district highway commissioner under the provisions of this
section shall nominate at least three suitable persons for the office, one
of whom shall be elected district highway commissioner by a majority
vote of all of the members of the county legislative delegations
representing the district.
(A) The Governor by January fifteenth of the year in
which a commission member's term of office expires must forward to the
Senate for advice and consent the name of his appointee to fill that
office, except that the Governor must forward the name of his at large
appointee to the Senate within five days of the beginning of his term of
office.
(B) The Senate may not confirm a gubernatorial appointee to the
office of commissioner until the Senate Transportation Committee holds
a hearing in accordance with procedures established in the Senate rules
or in accordance with the procedures set forth for the operation of the
Joint Screening Committee as provided in Chapter 19 of Title 2 of the
1976 Code, as amended.
(C) The Senate Transportation Committee must
begin holding hearings in accordance with item (B) no later than thirty
days after receiving notice of an appointment from the Governor.
(D) If the Senate fails to act or confirm an appointee within sixty
days of receiving notice of the appointment, the appointment shall be
rejected and the Governor shall offer another appointee to fill the office
of commissioner.
Section 57-3-250. Each district highway commissioner shall
receive such compensation as may be provided by the General Assembly
per annum, and official expenses as provided by law for members of
state boards and commissions. Should a vacancy on the
commission occur when the General Assembly is not in session, it shall
be filled in the same manner of the original appointment for the
unexpired term, subject to confirmation by the Senate at the next session
of the General Assembly as required in Section 57-3-240. If the Senate
does not consent to such appointment within sixty days of the General
Assembly convening for an annual session, the office shall be vacant
irrespective of the provisions provided herein for holdover status until
a successor is appointed and qualified.
Section 57-3-260. The State Highway Commission shall select
its chairman and other officers to serve for such terms as the
Commission may designate. The Commission shall adopt its own rules
and procedures. The Secretary-Treasurer of the South Carolina
Department of Highways and Public Transportation shall act as secretary
of the Commission. Any or all members of the commission may,
with the advice and consent of the Senate, be removed by the Governor
for cause shown. And if cause for such removal shall arise when the
Senate is not in session, the Governor may suspend one or more of the
commissioners and shall fill the vacancies thus created until the General
Assembly shall next convene. Upon convening the Senate must act on
the suspension within thirty days or the office must be declared
vacant.
Section 57-3-270. The Commission department
may adopt an official seal for use on official documents of the
Department department.
Section 57-3-280. The commission shall adopt its own rules and
procedures and may select such additional officers to serve such terms
as the commission may designate.
Section 57-3-290. Each commissioner within thirty days
after his appointment, and before entering upon the discharge of the
duties of his office, shall take, subscribe, and file with the Secretary of
State the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution of the State.
Section 57-3-300. Commissioners must be reimbursed
for official expenses as provided by law for members of state boards and
commissions as established in the annual general appropriation
act."
SECTION 4. Article 5, Chapter 3, Title 57 of the 1976 Code is
amended to read:
"Article 5
Section 57-3-410. The Executive Director of the Department of
Highways and Public Transportation shall be appointed by the State
Highway and Public Transportation Commission to serve for a four-year
term. A person appointed to this position shall be a citizen of practical
and successful business and executive ability. His compensation shall be
fixed by the Commission. The right to remove or discharge a person
holding the position of Executive Director of the Department of
Highways and Public Transportation shall be reserved to the
Commission.
(A) The secretary is the executive and administrative
head of the Department of Transportation. He must carry out the policies
of the commission and administer the affairs of the department and may
exercise all powers belonging to the commission within the guidelines
and policies established by the commission, when the commission is not
in session. He must represent the department in its dealings with other
state agencies, local governments, special districts, and the federal
government.
(B) The secretary may employ such personnel as may be
authorized by statute and for which funds have been authorized in the
annual general appropriation act.
Section 57-3-420. The Executive Director of the Department of
Highways and Public Transportation shall take and return the oath of
office as prescribed for all State officers. Immediately upon qualification
for office he shall give bond to the State in the sum of fifty thousand
dollars for the faithful performance of his duties. The secretary
shall appoint two deputy secretaries who shall serve at the pleasure of
the secretary. The duties and responsibilities of the deputy secretaries
include, but are not limited to:
(A) the operation and management of administrative
highway districts, including the implementation of uniform departmental
policies, rules, procedures, and standards in order to ensure that each
highway district uses its resources in an efficient and effective manner.
This deputy secretary is the direct supervisor of each district director and
must annually develop a needs assessment plan for administrative
district offices; and
(B) the operation and management of each division,
including establishing uniform departmental policies, rules, procedures,
and standards in order to ensure uniform compliance and quality
performance. The deputy secretary is the direct supervisor of each
division director and must annually develop a needs assessment plan for
each division. If the secretary is unable, absent, or fails to perform his
required duties, he must perform the duties of the secretary.
Section 57-3-430. The Executive Director of the
Department of Highways and Public Transportation shall be the
executive and administrative head of the South Carolina Department of
Highways and Public Transportation. He shall carry out the policies
defined by the State Highway and Public Transportation Commission
and shall administer the affairs of the Department. When the
Commission shall not be in session, the said Executive Director of the
Department of Highways and Public Transportation shall have and may
exercise all powers belonging to the Commission.
Section 57-3-440. The Executive Director of the Department of
Highways and Public Transportation may appoint such assistants,
deputies and employees as he considers necessary to the proper
administration of the affairs of the Department and may prescribe their
duties, powers and functions. The secretary must appoint a
district director for each administrative highway district. The district
director is the chief administrative officer of an administrative highway
district and serves at the pleasure of the secretary. He is responsible for
coordinating and managing all aspects of the department's operations at
the administrative district level, including personnel, budgeting, and
strategic planning.
Section 57-3-450. There is a Director of Finance and
Administration of the Department who is the fiscal and administrative
officer of the department. The Director of Finance and Administration,
in addition to his duties as fiscal officer, must record the proceedings of
the Commission. The Director of Finance and Administration must be
appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the executive director of the
department. He may receive compensation as established under the
provisions of Section 8-11-160 and for which funds have been
authorized in the general appropriation act.
Section 57-3-460. The Secretary-Treasurer shall, before entering
upon the duties of his office, give bond to the State in the sum of fifty
thousand dollars for the faithful performance of his duties. He shall take
and return the oath of office as prescribed for all State officers.
The divisions established in Section 57-3-10 must be administered
by a division director who shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary.
The responsibilities and duties of the following division directors must
include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) Director of Finance and Administration:
a. financial planning and management, including
recording the proceedings of the commission;
b. establish accounting systems necessary to
comply with all federal and/or state laws and/or regulations as well as all
policies established by the Comptroller General; and
c. administrative functions, including
developing policy and procedures to ensure compliance with the
provisions of this item;
(2) Director of Construction, Engineering, and Planning:
a. development of statewide strategic highway plans;
b. construction, design, construction oversight,
and maintenance of state highways;
c. acquisition and management of transportation
rights-of-ways;
(3) Director of Motor Vehicle Services:
a. development of statewide motor vehicle
services,including licensing, registration, and titling of motor
vehicles;
(4) Director of Mass Transit:
a. development of statewide modal system plan, including
mass transit systems;
(5) Director of Inspections, Permits and Enforcement:
a. administer all statutes and regulations that authorize
or require the department to issue or regulate permits or licenses other
than driver's licenses;
b. administer programs necessary to enforce compliance with
statutes, regulations, and department policy governing weight, size,
length, width, and height requirements and limitations; the conditions or
qualifications established in the issuance of department permits or
licenses as herein specified and the forfeiture of any records, licenses,
or other property under the department's jurisdiction; and
c. inspection and investigation of any business or activity which
the department by law is required to regulate.
The secretary is required to transfer all programs, activities, or
personnel which are necessary to comply with the provisions of this
section; and
(6) Director for Law Enforcement:
a. Enforcement of motor vehicle and traffic safety laws.
Section 57-3-470. There is a Director of State Highway
Engineering. The Director of State Highway Engineering is the
administrative head of the engineering division and, as such, directs the
highway engineering work of the department and the activities of the
engineering division. The Director of State Highway Engineering must
be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the executive director of the
department. He may receive compensation as established under the
provisions of Section 8-11-160 and for which funds have been
authorized in the general appropriation act. A person appointed to the
position of Director of State Highway Engineering must be a competent
engineer, skilled and experienced in highway planning, design,
construction and maintenance, and must be an engineering graduate of
a college or university with an accredited course in engineering. The
selection of the Director of State Highway Engineering may be based
upon a civil service examination, under rules and regulations to be made
and promulgated by the department. There is established within
the department, an administrative panel to ensure the department's
efficiency, effectiveness, and proper administration. The administrative
panel is composed of the secretary, deputy secretaries, and each division
directors. The panel is chaired by the director and is charged with such
responsibility as delegated by the commission, except that the council
must continually review and monitor the department's programs and
policies. The administrative panel shall meet at the call of the secretary,
but not less than once a quarter.
Section 57-3-480. Appointments of persons to
employment within the Department and promotions, demotions,
transfers, separations, leaves and similar matters may be based upon a
merit system of personnel administration which the Department may
institute pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated therefor by the
Commission. The secretary is charged with the responsibility
of continually reviewing and monitoring the department's programs and
policies, including all independent and external audits. The secretary
must brief the commission on all such audits and publish a summary of
his findings and any resulting corrective action taken in the department's
annual report.
Section 57-3-490. The Department may furnish all necessary
first aid to employees of the Department who may be injured while
engaged in the discharge of official duties assigned them by the
Department. Such first aid may consist of medical and surgical attention
ordinarily incident to physical injuries of the kind sustained, together
with necessary hospitalization. Claims for medical and surgical attention
for hospital care given employees of the Department on account of
injuries of the kind contemplated in this section may be submitted
directly to the Department for payment after verification. But if any such
claim may in the judgment of the Department appear excessive in
amount, considering the character and extent of the service rendered,
then such claim shall be submitted to the Department of Health and
Environmental Control for examination as to reasonableness, and the
Department shall pay on account of the claim only such amounts as the
Department of Health and Environmental Control may approve as
reasonable and proper under the circumstances and shall not be liable on
account of such claim.
(A) There is established an office of ombudsman which must
be located within the department. The secretary must appoint an
ombudsman who shall report to and serve at the pleasure of the
secretary.
(B) The ombudsman is authorized to receive and investigate any
problem or complaints on behalf of any interested individual relating to
the department, except that internal investigations shall be exclusively
within the authority and jurisdiction of the secretary and the
commission. He shall have the authority to carry out any such
investigation and to request and receive written statements, documents,
exhibits, and other items pertinent to the investigation. At the
conclusion of any such investigation, he may issue such report and
recommendations to the commission as in his opinion will assist the
department in improving its operation.
Section 57-3-500. The Department may pay from State
highway funds claims of employees of the Department, arising under the
provisions of the Workers' Compensation Law, which are recommended
for payment by the Department and have the approval of the South
Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission.
Section 57-3-510. Sections 57-3-490 and 57-3-500 have
no purpose other than to authorize the Department to give reasonable
attention to its employees who may be injured in the discharge of their
official duties and leave with the Department full discretion to determine
the reasonable necessities in each case. None of the provisions thereof
shall serve to increase any responsibility or liability imposed upon the
Department by existing laws, nor shall they affect or impair in any way
the effects or operation of the State workers' compensation laws.
Section 57-3-520. Legal representation for the Department of
Highways and Public Transportation's workers' compensation claims
program shall be provided by a chief claims counsel and such staff
attorneys as are necessary, to be appointed by the Executive Director of
the Department of Highways and Public Transportation with the
approval of the Attorney General. Any extra legal services that may be
required shall be performed by attorneys selected by the Executive
Director of the Department of Highways and Public Transportation with
the approval of the Attorney General. The Department is authorized to
retain independent adjusters for purposes of investigating and adjusting
claims and suits arising under workers' compensation, motor vehicle
damage and personal injury damage programs involving Department
liability exposure and recovery potential. Expenses for the
administration and implementation of this section shall be paid from the
State Highway Fund. The secretary shall have the exclusive
authority to employ a chief counsel and such staff attorneys and support
staff as are necessary to represent the department in legal matters,
including workers' compensation, condemnation procedures, and other
such litigation. Any extra legal services that may be required shall be
performed by attorneys selected by the secretary. The department is
authorized to retain independent adjusters for purposes of investigating
and adjusting claims and suits arising under workers' compensation,
motor vehicle damage, and personal injury damage programs involving
department liability exposure and recovery potential. Expenses for the
administration and implementation of this section shall be paid for from
the State Highway Fund."
SECTION 5. Article 7, Chapter 3, Title 57 of the 1976 Code is
amended to read:
"Article 7
Section 57-3-600. Before a county or municipal
corporation may accept a deed to a newly constructed road or agree to
maintain a newly constructed road it shall obtain an affidavit from the
donor and the contractor who constructed the road that all construction
costs have been paid and that the road is free of all encumbrances.
A donor or contractor who knowingly submits a false affidavit
affirming that all construction costs have been paid for a road or that a
road is free of all encumbrances, or both, is guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction, must be fined not more than two hundred dollars or
imprisoned for not more than thirty days.
For the purposes of this section, a `newly constructed road' is one
which has been completed within two years of the date of the city's or
county's consideration of whether to accept the deed or to maintain a
newly constructed road.
Section 57-3-610. The Department of Highways and Public
Transportation may:
(1) Lay out, build and maintain public highways and bridges;
(2) Acquire such lands and road building materials and rights of way
as may be needed for roads and bridges by purchase, gift or
condemnation;
(3) Cause the state highways to be marked with appropriate
directions for travel and regulate the travel and traffic along such
highways, subject to the laws of the State;
(4) Initiate and conduct research programs and pilot projects to
further research and development, and promote training of personnel in
the fields of planning, construction, maintenance and operation of the
state highway system, the regulation of traffic thereon, the
administration and enforcement of traffic, driver and motor vehicle laws
and public transportation;
(5) Cooperate with the federal government in the construction of
federal-aid highways, in the development of improved public
transportation service, facilities, equipment, techniques and methods and
in planning and research in connection therewith; and seek and receive
such federal aid and assistance as may from time to time become
available except for funds designated by statute to be administered by
the Chief Executive Officer of the State;
(6) Instruct, assist and cooperate with the agencies, departments and
bodies politic and legally constituted agencies of the State in street,
highway, traffic and public transportation matters when requested to do
so, and, if requested by such government authorities, supervise or
furnish engineering supervision for the construction and improvement
of roads and bridges, provided such duties do not impair the attention to
be given the highways in the state highway system;
(7) Carry out highway and public transportation safety programs;
(8) License and register motor vehicles and administer the collection
of license and registration fees and penalties;
(9) Examine and license motor vehicle drivers;
(10) Engage in driver training and safety activities;
(11) Enforce the traffic, motor vehicle and related laws;
(12) Promulgate such rules and regulations for the administration and
enforcement of the powers delegated to Department by law, which rules
and regulations shall have the full force and effect of law upon filing
according to law; and
(13) Do all other things required or provided by law.
Whenever a road, bridge, or other highway facility is dedicated
and named in honor of an individual by act or resolution of the General
Assembly, the Department of Transportation must be reimbursed all
expenses incurred by the department to implement the dedication.
Reimbursement for expenses incurred by the department must first be
approved by a majority of each county legislative delegation in which
the road, bridge, or facility is located. Reimbursement must be from the
State Secondary `C' Apportionment Fund of the county or counties in
which the road, bridge, or facility is located, and expenses under this
section are limited to five hundred dollars.
Reimbursement for expenses incurred by the department to name
and dedicate a highway facility pursuant to a request from other than the
General Assembly must be by agreement between the requesting entity
and the department.
Section 57-3-620. The Department department may
enter into such contracts as may be necessary for the proper discharge
of its functions and duties and may sue and be sued thereon.
Section 57-3-630. The Department department may
bring suits in its name, whenever a cause of action shall accrue to the
State by reason of the injury, damage, destruction, or
obstruction of any road in the State state highway
system, any bridge, culvert, ditch, causeway, embankment, wharf,
tollgate, tollhouse, or other facility or any equipment,
apparatus, or property, real or personal, belonging to the
State state highway system. It may also bring suits in its
name whenever subrogation shall arise by reason of payments made to
officers or employees of the Department department
pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Law. Suits for the recovery of
appropriate damages, and other proceedings incident thereto, shall be
instituted in any court of competent jurisdiction, for and in behalf of the
State state in the name of the Department
department as plaintiff. Complaints and other pleadings
requiring verification may be verified by the Executive Director of
the Department of Highways and Public Transportation
secretary or any other person duly authorized by him.
Section 57-3-640. The Department department may
construct and maintain necessary driveways and roads in State
state parks. All work to be performed by the Department
department pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be
with the consent and approval of the Department of Parks, Recreation
and Tourism, and such work shall not result in the assumption by the
Department department of any liability whatsoever on
account of damages to property, injuries to persons or death growing out
of or in any way connected with such work. Such driveways and roads
taken over in State state parks shall not affect the
respective counties' portion of mileage to be taken over by the
Department department under any other statute. The
construction and maintenance work by the Department
department authorized by this section shall be paid for from the
State state highway fund.
Section 57-3-650. (a) Highway construction and maintenance by
the South Carolina Department of Highways and Public
Transportation department as authorized in this
Title title shall include the authority to acquire strips of
land along highways and to landscape and develop the strips and other
lands within the highway right of way right-of-way in
order to restore, preserve, and enhance the scenic beauty along the
highways. The Department department may construct
and maintain on such land public rest and recreational areas, roadside
parks, sanitary and other facilities reasonably necessary to accommodate
the traveling public.
(b) In order to provide information in the specific interest of the
traveling public, the South Carolina Department of Highways and
Public Transportation department is authorized to construct
and maintain such information centers at the aforesaid recreational and
rest areas as it may deem desirable. For the purpose of informing the
public of places of interest within the State and providing such other
information as may be considered desirable, these centers shall distribute
maps, informational directories and advertising pamphlets. Information
centers shall be staffed by persons hired and paid by the Department of
Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
(c) The South Carolina Department of Highways and Public
Transportation department is authorized to enter into
agreements with the United States Secretary of Commerce as provided
for in Title 23 of the United States Code, relating to the establishment
and operation of information centers at rest and recreational areas, and
to take action in the name of the State to comply with the terms of such
agreements.
Section 57-3-660. The Department department may
hard surface and otherwise improve such streets, roads and driveways,
including sidewalks, at State state institutions as the
Department department, together with the board of
trustees or other governing body of any such State state
institution, may deem necessary. The cost of such improvements shall
be paid for out of the State state highway fund.
Section 57-3-670. The Department department
shall may cooperate and enter into contracts with the
United States Bureau of Public Roads and do any and all things
necessary to carry out the provisions of the any
Federal-Aid Highway Act mentioned in Section 57-1-20 and
amendments thereto, including, but not limited to, the planning,
construction, and maintenance of Federal-aid
federal-aid highways, access roads, flight strips, and
all other eligible projects, regardless of whether such projects are a part
of the State state highway system and may condemn or
otherwise acquire lands necessary for rights of way
rights-of-way in connection therewith under the procedure
prescribed by law in condemning and acquiring lands for State
state highway purposes.
Section 57-3-680. If any such project to be constructed under the
provisions of Section 57-3-670 is not a part of the State
state highway system, no part of the actual costs of right of
way rights-of-way, construction, or maintenance
shall be paid for from State state highway
funds. Any political subdivision having jurisdiction over a project not
a part of the State state highway system shall deposit
with the Department department its estimated share of
the cost of such project before the contract is awarded, except that
State state highway funds may be advanced to meet
current payments to contractors and others when existing agreements
provide for reimbursements by the Federal Government
federal government of such funds advanced by the
Department department. Article 13 of Chapter 5 of this
Title title shall not apply to any project that is not a part
of the State state highway system.
Section 57-3-690. Whenever the Department
department shall with Federal federal funds,
undertake the construction of any county road or shall, in anticipation of
Federal federal funds becoming available for such
purpose, establish the location of any such road, the lawfully authorized
officials of the county concerned shall provide, without cost to the
Department department, all necessary rights of
way rights-of-way for such construction, including lands
for borrow and material pits. In order to secure such rights of
way rights-of-way and other necessary lands such county
officials may exercise any or all of the usual powers of condemnation
lawfully authorized to be exercised by them in the case of other county
roads.
Section 57-3-700. With the approval of the Highways and Public
Transportation Commission commission, the county
officials may designate the Department department,
acting through its agents and employees, as agents of the county in
securing necessary rights-of-way and other lands.
Section 57-3-710. All payments to be made or obligated on account
of rights of way rights-of-way and other lands acquired
for the purposes contemplated by Section 57-3-690 shall be made by the
county on order of the Department department. Any
person having any claim on account of damages to property, injuries to
person or death growing out of any such construction as is contemplated
in said section shall have such right of action against the county
concerned as is authorized by law, and the remedy thus afforded shall be
exclusive.
Section 57-3-720. The South Carolina Department of Highways
and Public Transportation department is authorized to
construct and maintain street and road access facilities to State
state ports shipping and warehousing facilities, airports, railroad
marshalling yards and trucking terminals, the cost of same to be paid
from the State state highway fund; provided, however,
that all such construction and maintenance shall be limited to work on
publicly owned property.
Section 57-3-730. The Department department may
cooperate with any drainage district within the State, organized in
accordance with the laws of the State, in order to carry drainage canals
across State state highways. But the cost to be assumed
by the Department department incident to any such
crossing shall not exceed the actual cost of the structure necessary to
carry the waters of the drainage canal across the State
state highway.
Section 57-3-750. A full account of each road project shall be kept
by the Department department so that it may ascertain
at any time the expenditures or liabilities against all projects. The
Department department shall also keep records of
contracts and force account work. The account records, together with all
supporting documents, shall be open at all times to the inspection of the
Governor, or other proper State
state officials, or their agents and the
public.
Section 57-3-760. The department, at the beginning of each during each regular session of the General Assembly, shall
make a full, printed, detailed report to the General Assembly showing
an analysis of:
(1) the department's accomplishments in the past year;
(2) a ten-year plan detailing future needs of the State in the fields of
planning, construction, maintenance, and operation of the state highway
system;
(3) a five-year plan detailing the regulation of traffic which includes
the administration and enforcement of traffic, driver, and motor vehicle
laws and other laws relating to such subjects, the coordination of state
and federal programs relating to public transportation mass
transportation among the departments, agencies, and other bodies
politic and legally constituted agencies in the State;
(4) a listing of all firms, companies, or businesses of any type doing
business with the department and the amount of such contracts entered
into by the department; and
(5) an accounting aggregated by county of the receipts of gasoline
taxes and motor vehicle license fees, disbursements of the department,
and such other data as may be of interest in connection with the work of
the department.
Section 57-3-770. The South Carolina Department of Highways
and Public Transportation department when cleaning or
removing dirt and topsoil from ditches or roadbeds along roads,
highways, and highway rights-of-way under its jurisdiction is authorized
to give this dirt and topsoil to the landowner whose property adjoins the
road which is being cleaned. The Department
department is further authorized to haul this dirt and topsoil to
a location on the adjoining landowner's property which location is
designated by him; provided, that this location must be within one
hundred yards of the road being cleaned.
Section 57-3-780. Before building new or expanding existing
primary highways, roads, and streets, the South Carolina Department of
Highways and Public Transportation shall consider and make a written
determination whether it is financially and physically feasible to include:
(1) high occupancy vehicle lanes, when the construction or
expansion is in a metropolitan area;
(2) pedestrian walkways or sidewalks; and
(3) bicycle lanes or paths. A copy of this determination must be
submitted to the State Energy Office.
Section 57-3-790. The department may pay from state
highway funds claims of employees of the department, arising under the
provisions of the Workers' Compensation Law, which are recommended
for payment by the department and have the approval of the Workers'
Compensation Commission."
SECTION 6. Section 2-63-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 2-63-10. (1) There is hereby created a six-member
committee to review the annual budget and the intrabudgetary
transfers of funds of the Department of Highways and Public
Transportation. Three members of the committee shall be members of
the Senate Transportation Committee appointed by the chairman of that
committee and three members shall be members of the House Education
and Public Works Committee appointed by the chairman of that
committee. Terms of the members shall be coterminous with their terms
as Senators and members of the House of Representatives.
(2) Based on its review of the budget and intrabudgetary
transfers of funds, the committee provided for in subsection (1) shall
annually report to the General Assembly its recommendations as to
needed legislation relating to such fund transfers. The first report of
the committee shall be furnished to the General Assembly no later than
April 1, 1982. The Highways and Public Transportation
Commission commission shall assist and cooperate with the
committee in the conduct of its budget review and fund transfer
reviews.
(3) The committee may establish dates for the submission of any
information necessary to conduct a review pursuant to this section. Any
review or recommendation made by the committee must be completed
prior to the time the department is required to make its annual budget
request to the Budget and Control Board."
SECTION 7. Article 3, Chapter 11, Title 57 of the 1976 Code is
amended to read:
"Section 57-11-210. The terms defined herein shall have the
meanings hereinafter set forth:
(1) `Fiscal year' means the fiscal year upon which the affairs of the
State of South Carolina are then being conducted. As of the date of this
enactment it is that which begins on July first and ends on June thirtieth
of the succeeding calendar year.
(2) `Fuel oil tax' shall mean the tax levied pursuant to Chapter 29,
Title 12.
(3) `Gasoline tax' shall mean not less than 7.09 cents of the 8.09
cents per gallon tax imposed upon gasoline, components thereof or
substitutes therefor, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 27 of Title 12,
except Section 12-27-240. In the event that by legislation enacted
subsequent to July 1, 1977, the tax imposed by Section 12-27-230 shall
be increased to more than 8.09 cents per gallon, then in such event all of
such increase shall be embraced within the definition `gasoline tax' as
used in this section unless in the initial enactment subsequent to July 1,
1977, the General Assembly shall prescribe some other use for all or
some portion of such increase in such tax.
(4) `Highway commission' `Commission' shall mean
that agency of government now composed in accordance with the
provisions of Articles 3 and 5 of Chapter 3, Title 57, and any other
commission or agency of government hereafter exercising the powers
granted to the State Highway and Public Transportation
Commission commission pursuant to the provisions of
Chapter 3, Title 57.
(5) `Highway construction purposes' shall mean the construction of
roads now or hereafter made a part of the State state
highway system, or the reconstruction and improvement of highways
now or hereafter made a part of the State state highway
system.
(6) `Motor vehicle license tax' shall mean the annual tax imposed
upon the owner of every motor and other vehicle pursuant to the
provisions of Articles 5, 7, 21 and 25, Chapter 3, Title 56.
(7) `Road tax' shall mean the road tax imposed on motor carriers
pursuant to Chapter 31, Title 12.
(8) `Sources of revenue' shall mean the gasoline tax, the fuel oil tax,
the road tax, and the motor vehicle license tax.
(9) `State board' shall mean the State Budget and Control Board of
South Carolina.
(10) `State highway bonds' shall mean all general obligation bonds of
the State of South Carolina designated as State state
highway bonds, which are now outstanding and which may hereafter be
issued pursuant to the authorizations of this article.
Section 57-11-220. Whenever it shall become necessary that
moneys be raised for highway construction purposes, or construction
and equipment of headquarters administrative facilities, including
moneys to be used to refund any State highway bonds then outstanding,
the Highway and Public Transportation Commission may make request
to the State Board for the issuance of State highway bonds pursuant to
this article. Such request may be in the form of a resolution adopted at
any regular or special meeting of the Highway and Public Transportation
Commission. Such request shall set forth (on the face thereof or by
schedules attached thereto):
(1) The amount then required for highway construction;
(2) A tentative time schedule setting forth the period of time during
which the sum requested will be expended.
(3) A debt service table showing the annual principal and interest
requirements for all State highway bonds then outstanding.
(4) The amount of revenues derived from each of the sources of
revenue during the preceding fiscal year; and
(5) The amount as estimated by the Highway and Public
Transportation Commission which will be derived from the sources of
revenue during the then current and the next ensuing fiscal years during
which it is expected that the State highway bonds then sought to be
issued will be outstanding, but in estimating the amount to be derived
from the sources of revenue the Highway and Public Transportation
Commission shall not assume that the revenues for the then current
fiscal year or any future fiscal year will be more than five percent in
excess of the actual sums derived from the sources of revenue in the
preceding fiscal year, nor that in the sixth or subsequent years there will
be any increase over the estimated revenues for the fifth fiscal year
following the last completed fiscal year.
State highway bonds issued for the purpose of highway
construction or other such purposes of the department as the General
Assembly may authorize shall be issued in accordance with the
provisions of Chapter 17 of Title 11 of the 1976 Code, as amended, and
Chapter 47 of Title 2 of the 1976 Code, as amended.
In addition to the requirements of Chapter 17 of Title 11 and
Chapter 47 of Title 2 of the 1976 Code, the department shall, in each
odd-numbered year, review the construction needs for the state highway
programs. Upon conclusion of this review, the department shall
recommend to the General Assembly, such projects for construction as
it deems advisable to consider in the ensuing year. The department, in
making its review and recommendations, may consider socioeconomic
and transportation factors to include, but not be limited to:
(1) per capita employment;
(2) farm aces per square mile;
(3) per capita income;
(4) population per square mile;
(5) existing interstate and primary road mileage per square mile;
(6) average daily traffic (ADT);
(7) roadway width;
(8) shoulder width;
(9) surface width;
(10) gradient;
(11) curvature;
(12) sight distance;
(13) truck traffic;
(14) economic benefit.
Section 57-11-230. Following the receipt of any request
pursuant to Section 57-11-220, the State Board shall review the same
and to the extent that it shall approve such request, it shall be
empowered, by resolution duly adopted, to effect the issuance of State
highway bonds, or pending the issuance thereof, effect the issuance of
bond anticipation notes pursuant to Sections 11-17-10 to 11-17-110, as
amended.
Section 57-11-240. The outstanding aggregate principal
indebtedness on account of State The maximum annual debt
service on general obligation bonds issued or outstanding as state
highway bonds shall not exceed the debt service limits established
in Article X, Section 13 of the South Carolina Constitution. one
hundred fifty million dollars, exclusive of a maximum of seven million
dollars of bonds that are hereby authorized for construction and
equipment of headquarters administrative facilities. The
limitation herein imposed shall not be deemed to be an obligation of the
contract made between the State and the holders of bonds issued
pursuant to this article, and the limitation herein imposed may be
enlarged or reduced from time to time by acts amendatory hereof.
Within such limitations State state highway bonds may
be issued from time to time under the conditions prescribed by this
article and as authorized under Section 2-7-105 of the 1976 Code,
as amended.
Section 57-11-250. For the payment of the principal of and interest
on all State state highway bonds (whether now
outstanding or hereafter issued), there shall be pledged the full faith,
credit and taxing power of the State of South Carolina and in addition
thereto, but subject to the limitations hereafter set forth, all of the
moneys derived from taxes levied in Sections 12-27-1210 through
12-27-1240 of the 1976 Code the sources of revenue. All
moneys realized from the sources of revenue which may be
forthwith used by the State Treasurer, without further action of the
Highway and Public Transportation Commission
commission, for the payment of the principal and interest of
State state highway bonds, as the same respectively
mature.
Section 57-11-260. All revenue received from the sources
of revenue during each fiscal year shall be discharged from the pledge
made by Section 57-11-250 when payment, or provision for payment,
has been made for all installments of principal or interest of all State
highway bonds maturing in such fiscal year, and thereafter such moneys
may be applied as hereinafter provided.
Section 57-11-270. The pledge of moneys monies
derived from the sources of revenue set aside in the state highway
bond fund shall not preclude the General Assembly from revising
the quantum of any tax included in the sources of revenue,
except that, so long as any State state highway bonds
shall be outstanding, the gasoline tax shall be not less than the
amount needed to fund the general operations budget of the
department in addition to the tax levied and collected under the
provisions of Section 12-27-1210 through 12-27-1240 of the 1976 Code,
as amended greater of 5.67¿ per gallon, or the larger amount to
which it shall be raised by legislation enacted subsequent to January 1,
1973, the fuel oil tax shall be not less than eight cents per gallon, the
road tax not less than eight cents per gallon, and the schedule of motor
vehicle license tax shall not be revised in such fashion as to reduce the
aggregate to be received therefrom.
Section 57-11-280. In order to effect the issuance of bonds pursuant
to this article, the State Board may adopt a resolution providing for the
issuance of State state highway bonds and may transmit
a certified copy thereof to the Governor and to the State Treasurer, with
the request that they issue and deliver State state
highway bonds in accordance with the terms and conditions of such
resolution. Such resolution shall set forth the following:
(1) The the amount, denomination and numbering
of State state highway bonds to be issued;
(2) The the date as of which the same shall be
issued;
(3) The the maturity schedule for the retirement of
such State state highway bonds;
(4) The the redemption provisions, if any,
applicable to such bonds;
(5) The the maximum rate or rates of interest the
bonds shall bear which shall not be in excess of that permitted by Act
423 of 1969 as now constituted or as hereafter amended;
(6) The the purposes for which the bonds are to be
issued;
(7) The the occasion on which bids shall be
received for the sale of such bonds;
(8) The the form of advertisement of sale;
(9) The the form of the bonds of the particular
issue; and
(10) Such such other matters as may be deemed
necessary in order to effect the sale, issuance and delivery thereof.
Such resolution shall further set forth a finding on the part of the State
Board that the revenues credited to the state highway bond fund
actual receipts, for the preceding fiscal year, from the sources
of revenue equaled or exceeded one hundred fifty percent of
the maximum annual debt service requirements for all State
state highway bonds then outstanding and all State
state highway bonds thereafter to be outstanding and that the
estimate made by the Highway and Public Transportation
Commission commission and approved by the State Board
indicates that collections from the sources of revenue in the then current
and in applicable future fiscal years, will not be less than one hundred
fifty percent of maximum annual interest and principal requirements of
all State state highway bonds then outstanding and all
State state highway bonds thereafter to be outstanding.
Section 57-11-290. If following a presentation of a certified copy of
the resolution of the State Board it shall appear to the satisfaction of the
Governor and the State Treasurer that:
(a) The the amount of revenues derived from the
sources of revenue, during the preceding fiscal year, did in fact exceed
one hundred fifty percent of the maximum annual principal and interest
requirements of all State state highway bonds then
outstanding and all State state highway bonds thereafter
to be outstanding; and
(b) That the estimated collections from the sources of
revenue in the then current and in applicable future fiscal years, will be
not less than one hundred fifty percent of the maximum annual debt
service requirements of all State state highway bonds
then outstanding and all State state highway bonds
thereafter to be outstanding, then the Governor and State Treasurer shall
be empowered to issue bonds in accordance with the request of the
resolution of the State Board.
Section 57-11-300. State highway bonds shall be issued in such form
and with such provisions as to time, place or places and medium of
payment as may be determined by the State Board, subject to the
provisions of this article.
Section 57-11-310. State highway bonds shall each be in the
denomination of one thousand dollars or some multiple thereof.
Section 57-11-320. State highway bonds issued pursuant to this
article may be in the form of negotiable coupon bonds, payable to
bearer, with the privilege to the holder of having them registered in his
name on the books of the State Treasurer as to principal only, or as to
both principal and interest, and such principal, or both principal and
interest, as the case may be, thus made payable to the registered holder,
subject to such conditions as the State Board may prescribe. State
highway bonds so registered as to principal in the name of the holder
may thereafter be registered as payable to bearer and made payable
accordingly.
State highway bonds may also be issued as fully registered bonds with
both principal and interest thereof made payable only to the registered
holder. Such fully registered bonds shall be subject to transfer under
such conditions as the State Board shall prescribe. Such fully registered
bonds may, if the proceedings authorizing their issuance so provide, be
convertible into negotiable coupon bonds with the attributes set forth in
the first paragraph of this section.
Section 57-11-330. State highway bonds shall bear interest, payable
on such occasions as shall be prescribed by the State Board, at a rate
or rates not exceeding the maximum prescribed by Act No. 423 of 1969,
as such act is now constituted or as such act may hereafter be constituted
following amendment or revision thereof. Each issue of
State state highway bonds shall mature in annual series
or installments, the first of which annual series or installments shall
mature not more than two years after the date of the bonds and the last
of which shall mature not more than twenty-five thirty
years after such date. Such installments or series may be equal or
unequal in amount. State highway bonds may, in the discretion of the
State Board, be made subject to redemption at par and accrued interest,
plus such redemption premium as it shall approve and on such occasions
as it may prescribe. State highway bonds shall not be redeemable before
maturity unless they contain a statement to that effect.
Section 57-11-340. All State state highway bonds
issued under this article, and the interest thereon, shall be exempt from
all State state, county, municipal, school district, and
other taxes or assessments, direct or indirect, general or special, imposed
by the State of South Carolina, whether imposed for the purpose of
general revenue or otherwise, except inheritance, estate or transfer taxes.
Section 57-11-350. All state highway bonds issued under this article
must be signed by the Governor and the State Treasurer. The Governor
and the State Treasurer may sign these obligations by a facsimile of their
signatures. The Great Seal of the State must be affixed to, impressed, or
reproduced upon each of them and each must be attested by the
Secretary of State. All coupons that may be attached to state highway
bonds must be authenticated by facsimile signature of the State
Treasurer who is in office on the date which the state highway bonds
bear or on the date on which the state highway bonds are converted into
coupon bonds. State highway bonds so executed and authenticated are
valid notwithstanding any changes in officers or seal occurring after the
execution or authentication.
Section 57-11-360. State highway bonds may be privately placed as
an investment of the State Retirement System, if the terms and
conditions of such disposition shall be approved by resolution duly
adopted by the State Board.
Otherwise, State state highway bonds shall be sold
by the Governor and the State Treasurer upon sealed proposals, after
publication of notice of such sale one or more times at least seven days
before such sale, in a newspaper of general circulation in the State and
also in a financial paper published in New York City which regularly
publishes notices of sale of State state or municipal
bonds. The bonds shall be awarded to the highest bidder at a price of not
less than par and accrued interest to the date of delivery, but the right
shall be reserved to reject all bids and to readvertise the bonds for sale
and to waive technicalities in the bidding.
For the purpose of bringing about successful sales of such bonds, the
State Board may do all things ordinarily and customarily done in
connection with the sale of State state or municipal
bonds. All expenses incident to the sales of such bonds shall be paid
from the proceeds of the sale of such bonds.
Section 57-11-370. It shall be lawful for all executors, administrators,
guardians, and other fiduciaries and all sinking fund
commissions, including the State Budget and Control Board of South
Carolina in its capacities as trustee of the funds of the South Carolina
Retirement System and as manager and administrator of other
State state sinking funds, to invest any moneys
monies in their hands in State state highway
bonds.
Section 57-11-380. The proceeds of the sale of State
state highway bonds shall be received by the State Treasurer
and applied by deposited to the credit of the state highway
bond fund account him to the purposes for which issued,
except that the accrued interest, if any, shall be used to discharge in part
the first interest to become due on such bonds, and the premium, if any,
shall be used to discharge the payment of the first installment of
principal to become due on such bonds, but the purchasers of such bonds
shall in no wise be liable for the proper application of the proceeds to the
purposes for which they are intended.
Section 57-11-390. The proceeds derived from the sale of
State state highway bonds shall be applied only to the
purposes for which the bonds are issued.
Section 57-11-400. There is established a separate and distinct
state highway bond fund and a state highway bond fund debt service
account. The revenue derived from the tax levied by Section
12-27-1210, 12-27-1220, 12-27-1230, and 12-27-1240 must be remitted
to the State Treasurer to be credited to the state highway bond fund debt
service account. The state highway bond fund and the state highway
bond fund debt service account must be separate and distinct from the
state general fund and other highway funds. The proceeds of all
issuances of state highway bonds must be deposited to and must remain
part of the state highway bond fund. All earnings on investments of any
monies deposited to the credit of the state highway bond fund and the
state highway bond fund debt service account must accrue to and be
deposited in the respective account. Money from the state highway
bond fund may be expended only for the purposes delineated in the
resolution authorizing the issuance. The State Highways and
Public Transportation Commission commission is
authorized to make a request to the State Budget and Control Board for
the authority to issue up to one hundred twenty-five million dollars
in additional bonds pursuant to the this chapter
provisions of Article 3, Chapter 11, Title 57 of the 1976 Code to be
used exclusively for the Strategic Highway Plan for Improving Mobility
and Safety Program. and These these
bonds must be retired over a twenty-year thirty-year
period from revenue generated by the additional taxes levied in Sections
12-27-1210 through 12-27-1240 of the 1976 Code."
SECTION 8. Section 12-27-400 of the 1976 Code of Laws is amended
to read:
"Section 12-27-400. The monies collected by the
Commission commission pursuant to the provisions of
Section 12-27-240 must be deposited with the State Treasurer and
expended on the State Highway Secondary System for construction,
improvements, and maintenance and, together with any other funds
made available for the purpose, must be apportioned among the counties
of the State in the following manner: one-third in the ratio which the
land area of the county bears to the total land area of the State;
one-third in the ratio which the population of the county bears to the
total population of the State as shown by the latest official decennial
census; and one-third in the ratio which the mileage of all rural
public roads in the county bears to the total rural road mileage in the
State as shown by the latest official records of the Department of
Highways and Public Transportation.
Seventy-five percent of a county's apportionment of `C' construction
funds may be expended for local paving or improving county roads and
for street and traffic signs and other paving projects. A majority of the
county council members legislative delegation members,
including a majority of the senators and a majority of the members of the
House of Representatives representing the county in which the
expenditures are to be made must approve the roads upon which `C'
construction funds are to be expended as permitted by this paragraph and
they may contract for the improvements. Roads which are improved
using the seventy-five percent `C' construction funds must be maintained
by the governing body of the county. Roads constructed of rock using
`C' construction funds must consist of not less than one inch nor more
than two and one-half inches of rock or its equivalent. The construction,
improvement, and maintenance of the farm-to-market or state secondary
highway program and of roads using the seventy-five percent `C'
construction funds must be at least equal to the amount of revenue
derived from the tax of 2.66 cents on motor fuel. The expenditure of
funds known as `C' construction funds must have the approval of a
majority of the county council members legislative
delegation members of the county in which the expenditures are to
be made. The approval of the expenditure of `C' funds must be in an
equitable manner in the incorporated and unincorporated areas of the
county. Each county council legislative delegation must
be notified by the department no later than July 30
thirtieth of each year as to the balance of any unexpended
C `C' funds from the previous fiscal year. All
unexpended C `C' fund monies must remain in that
account for the succeeding fiscal year and must be expended as provided
for in this section."
SECTION 9. Whenever the term Strategic Highway Plan for
Improving Mobility and Safety Program or Strategic Highway Plan for
Improving Mobility and Safety appears in the Code of Laws of South
Carolina, it shall mean Highway Bond Fund. The Code Commissioner
is directed to change all such references at such time and in such manner
as may be timely and cost effective.
SECTION 10. Sections 12-27-1260, 12-27-1280, and 12-27-1300 are
repealed.
SECTION 11. Upon the effective date of this act, the commission of
the department must review all pending construction projects under the
Strategic Highway Plan for Improving Safety and Mobility Program,
including projects which have been let and projects which are under
construction. From this review, the commission shall prepare a written
report that details all such projects including the approximate location
of the project and the estimated cost of completing such projects. The
commission must issue this written report to the Joint Bond Review
Committee and the Budget and Control Board. All funds not approved
by the commission for the continuation of construction projects shall be
transferred to the highway bond fund as established in Section
57-11-400 and all funds approved by the commission for the
continuation of construction projects shall be transferred to the state
highway fund to be used for the completion of such projects.
SECTION 12. Section 2-7-105 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 2-7-105. State capital improvement bonds may be
authorized by the General Assembly in odd-numbered years. State
highway bonds may be authorized by the General Assembly in
even-numbered years."
SECTION 13. Item (a) of Section 11-17-10 of the 1976 Code is
amended to read:
"(a) The term `bonds' shall mean general obligation bonds
payable from ad valorem taxes, general obligation bonds additionally
secured by any pledge of any assessments, or any pledge of revenues
derived by the borrower from any revenue-producing facility, bonds
payable solely from the revenues of any revenue-producing facility, and
bonds payable solely from any assessments. The term `bonds' shall
also include state highway bonds as defined pursuant to the provisions
of item (10) of Section 57-11-210 of the 1976 Code, as
amended."
SECTION 14. Chapter 27, Title 12 of the 1976 Code is amended by
adding:
"Section 12-27-35. The commission, in addition to other
reporting requirements of this chapter, shall require that the taxes
imposed pursuant to Chapter 27 of Title 12 be collected, reported, and
aggregated by county. This information must be submitted to the
commission on forms prescribed by the commission in conjunction with
reports that are submitted pursuant to Section 12-27-30."
SECTION 15. Wherever the term Department of Highways and
Public Transportation appears in the Acts and Joint Resolutions of the
General Assembly or the 1976 Code of Laws of South Carolina, it shall
mean Department of Transportation. The Code Commissioner is
directed to change all such references at such time and in such manner
as may be timely and cost effective.
SECTION 16. Wherever the term Executive Director appears in the
Acts and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly or the 1976 Code
of Laws of South Carolina, it shall mean Secretary of Transportation.
The Code Commissioner is directed to change all such references at such
time and in such manner as may be timely and cost effective.
SECTION 17. To minimize the cost in implementing the provisions
of this bill, the department must utilize to the extent practicable rather
than discard any supplies, materials, or other items which bear a
reference to the department or a division of the department which must
be renamed pursuant to this bill. For items which have a useful life of
more than five years, the department shall implement a program which
requires the phase-in of any new name or logo which may be compelled
by the provisions of this bill.
SECTION 18. Any member of the South Carolina Department of
Highways and Public Transportation Commission whose term does not
expire before the effective date of this act shall continue to serve until
the expiration of their term of office.
SECTION 19. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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