Bill 2591

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               2591
Ratification Number:       702
Act Number                 605
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Notice of a drafting period for
                           regulations

(A605, R702, H2591)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 1-23-110, 1-23-120, AND 1-23-125, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES ACT, SO AS TO REQUIRE A PRELIMINARY IMPACT STATEMENT WHEN A REGULATION IS PROPOSED, TO LIMIT THE TIME FOR SUBMITTING A REGULATION AFTER PUBLISHING THE DRAFTING NOTICE TO ONE YEAR OR LESS, TO PROVIDE THAT THE INTRODUCTION OF THE FIRST JOINT RESOLUTION DISAPPROVING A REGULATION TOLLS THE RUNNING OF THE ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-DAY PERIOD AFTER WHICH AUTOMATIC APPROVAL OCCURS, TO REQUIRE THE SUBCOMMITTEE TO TAKE ACTION ON A REGULATION WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OR IT MUST BE CONSIDERED BY THE FULL COMMITTEE AT ITS NEXT MEETING, AND TO PROVIDE THAT A REGULATION WITHDRAWN MUST BE RESUBMITTED WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OR IT IS PERMANENTLY WITHDRAWN, TO PROVIDE FOR COPIES OF REGULATIONS AND AMENDMENTS TO BE GIVEN TO MEMBERS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES TO WHICH THEY ARE ASSIGNED AND TO REQUIRE A TWENTY-DAY PERIOD AFTER AMENDMENT AND RECEIPT OF THE AMENDMENT FOR CONSIDERATION BEFORE THE REGULATION TAKES EFFECT.

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

Notice of a drafting period for regulations

SECTION 1. Section 1-23-110(b) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(b) Prior to the promulgation, amendment, or repeal of any regulations, an agency shall:

(1) Give notice of a drafting period by publication of a notice in the State Register. The notice shall include the time when, the place where, and the manner in which interested persons may present their views during the initial drafting procedures before the regulations are submitted as proposed.

(2) Give at least thirty days' notice of intended action by publication of a notice in the State Register. The notice shall include either the text or a synopsis of the proposed regulation, the statutory authority for its promulgation, the time when, the place where, and the manner in which interested persons may present their views on it and a preliminary fiscal impact statement prepared by the agency reflecting estimates of costs incurred by the State and its political subdivisions in complying with the proposed regulation; provided, however, this requirement of a preliminary fiscal impact statement shall not apply to those regulations which are not subject to general assembly review under the provisions of Section 1-23-120. The notice must be mailed to all persons who have made timely requests of the agency for advance notice of proposed promulgation of regulations.

(3) Afford all interested persons reasonable opportunity to submit data, views, or arguments, orally or in writing. Opportunity for oral hearing must be granted if requested by twenty-five persons, by a governmental subdivision or agency, or by an association having not less than twenty-five members. The agency shall fully consider all written and oral submissions respecting the proposed regulation."

Legislative review of regulations

SECTION 2. Section 1-23-120 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 1-23-120. All regulations except those specifically exempted under this article must be submitted to the General Assembly for review in accordance with the provisions of the article, but no regulation may be submitted to the General Assembly more than one year after publication of the drafting notice initiating the regulation pursuant to Section 1-23-110(b). To initiate the process of review, the agency shall file with the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a copy of any regulations promulgated along with a request for review and a copy of the preliminary fiscal impact statement prepared by the agency as required in Section 1-23-110(b)(2). Upon receipt of the request, the President and Speaker reviewing the request shall submit it for consideration to the standing committees of the Senate and House which are most concerned with the function of the promulgating agency. A copy of the regulation or a synopsis of it must be given to each member of the committee. The committees have one hundred twenty days from the date regulations are submitted to the General Assembly to consider regulations so referred and determine their actions on the regulations. If a regulation is referred to a committee and no action occurs in that committee on the regulation within sixty calendar days of receipt of the regulation by the appropriate committee, the regulation must be placed on the agenda of the full committee beginning with the next scheduled full committee meeting; provided, however, only those calendar days occurring during sessions of the General Assembly shall be included in computing the days elapsed. If no action is taken by either the Senate or House of Representatives' committee to introduce a resolution to approve or disapprove the regulations within one hundred twenty days after submission to the General Assembly, the regulations are effective upon publication in the State Register. Upon (1) introduction of the first joint resolution disapproving a regulation by a standing committee to which the regulation was referred for review, or (2) a negative vote by either the Senate or House of Representatives on a resolution approving the regulations and the notification in writing of such negative vote to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate by the clerk of the House in which the negative vote occurred, the one-hundred-twenty-day period for automatic approval is tolled, and the remainder of the period begins to run upon the next convening of the General Assembly excluding special sessions as called by the Governor, if a resolution is not enacted approving or disapproving the regulation. If the remainder of the period is less than sixty days, additional days must be added to the remainder to equal sixty days. The introduction of a resolution by the committee of either House does not prevent the introduction of a resolution by the committee of the other House to either approve or disapprove the regulations concerned.

The one-hundred-twenty-day period of review begins on the date the regulation is filed with the President and Speaker. Sine die adjournment of the General Assembly tolls the running of the period of review, and the remainder of the period begins to run upon the next convening of the General Assembly excluding special sessions called by the Governor.

Any member may introduce a joint resolution approving or disapproving a regulation or group of regulations thirty days following the date the regulations concerned are submitted to a standing committee for review and no committee resolution approving or disapproving the regulations has been introduced and the regulations concerned have not been withdrawn by the promulgating agency pursuant to Section 1-23-125, but the introduction does not toll the one-hundred-twenty-day period of automatic approval.

General Assembly review is not required for regulations promulgated to maintain compliance with federal law including, but not limited to, grant programs. Review also is not required for regulations promulgated by the State Board of Financial Institutions in order to authorize state-chartered banks, state-chartered savings and loan associations, and state-chartered credit unions to engage in activities that are authorized pursuant to Section 34-1-110. Review is not required for regulations promulgated by the South Carolina Tax Commission to adopt regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, and technical advice memoranda of the Internal Revenue Service so as to maintain conformity with the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. All regulations submitted to the General Assembly for approval must have attached to them a brief synopsis or analysis of the regulations submitted explaining the content and any changes in existing regulations resulting from the regulations. The synopsis or analysis must include citations of federal law, if any, mandating changes in the regulations. The one-hundred-twenty-day period of review provided for in this section does not begin to run until the synopsis or analysis is attached to regulations submitted."

Withdrawal of regulations

SECTION 3. Section 1-23-125 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 1-23-125. The legislative committee to which a regulation is submitted is not authorized to amend a particular regulation and then introduce a joint resolution approving the regulation as amended; however, this provision does not prevent the introduction of a resolution disapproving one or more of a group of regulations submitted to the committee and approving others submitted at the same time or deleting a clearly separable portion of a single regulation and approving the balance of the regulation in the committee resolution.

If a majority of a committee determines that it cannot approve a regulation in the form submitted it shall notify the promulgating agency in writing along with its recommendations as to changes that would be necessary to obtain committee approval. The agency may:

(a) withdraw the regulation from the General Assembly and resubmit it with the recommended changes to the Speaker and the Lieutenant Governor, but any regulation not resubmitted within thirty days is considered permanently withdrawn;

(b) withdraw the regulation permanently;

(c) take no action and abide by whatever action is taken or not taken by the General Assembly on the regulation concerned.

The notification tolls the one-hundred-twenty-day period for automatic approval, and when an agency withdraws regulations from the General Assembly prior to the time a committee resolution to approve or disapprove the regulation has been introduced, the remainder of the period begins to run only on the date the regulations are resubmitted to the General Assembly. Upon resubmission of the regulations, additional days must be added to the days remaining in the review period for automatic approval, if less than twenty days, to equal twenty days and a copy of the amended regulation must be given to each member of the committee. If an agency decides to take no action pursuant to item (c), it shall notify the committee in writing and the remainder of the period begins to run only upon this notification.

The provisions of this section, as they apply to approval, disapproval, or modification of regulations, do not apply to joint resolutions introduced by other than the committees to which regulations are initially referred by the Lieutenant Governor or the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

When any regulation, when finally promulgated, includes a substantive change in the content of the regulation as proposed and published in the State Register, and the substantive change was not raised, considered, or discussed by public comment required in Section 1-23-110, the regulation must be refiled by the agency with the Legislative Council and published as revised in the State Register and processed as a new regulation in accordance with the provisions of this article."

Time effective with respect to notices

SECTION 4. This act is effective with respect to notices of proposed regulations published in the State Register after June 30, 1988.