Current Status Bill Number:32 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19950110 Primary Sponsor:Ford All Sponsors:Ford and Glover Drafted Document Number:RES9423.RF Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Judiciary Committee 11 SJ Subject:Heritage Act of 1995
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________
Senate 19950110 Introduced, read first time, 11 SJ
referred to Committee
Senate 19940919 Prefiled, referred to Committee 11 SJ
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TO AMEND CHAPTER 1, TITLE 10, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 3, SO AS TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA HERITAGE ACT OF 1995" TO PROVIDE FOR THE PERMANENT PLACEMENT OF THE CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAG AND TO CREATE A COMMISSION TO ESTABLISH AND ERECT A CIVIL RIGHTS MONUMENT ON THE GROUNDS OF THE CAPITOL COMPLEX; AND TO AMEND SECTION 53-5-10, RELATING TO LEGAL HOLIDAYS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT MARTIN LUTHER KING'S BIRTHDAY AND CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY SHALL BE REGULAR, RATHER THAN OPTIONAL, HOLIDAYS AND TO DELETE REFERENCES TO ROBERT E. LEE'S BIRTHDAY AND JEFFERSON DAVIS' BIRTHDAY AS OPTIONAL HOLIDAYS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 1, Title 10 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 10-1-200. This article may be cited as the `South Carolina Heritage Act of 1995'.
Section 10-1-210. To honor and recognize the history and heritage of this State and the many contributions of its diverse citizenry, it is necessary and appropriate to codify the placement of certain symbols on the Capitol Complex and within the State House which salute the contributions and sacrifices to our constitutional history. Effective May 2, 1995, and continuously thereafter, the Confederate Flag atop the State House must be relocated as provided in this section.
The South Carolina Infantry Battle Flag of the Confederate States of America [the Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia (General Robert E. Lee's Army)] shall be displayed at the Confederate Soldier's Monument on the State House grounds. This flag is square with a St. Andrews Cross of blue, edged with white, with thirteen equal five-pointed stars, upon a red field; with the whole banner bordered in white. The total outside measurement of the flag is to be fifty-two inches square, inclusive of the white border. The blue arms of the cross are 7.5 inches wide and the white border around the flag proper is 1.5 inches wide. The stars are five-pointed, inscribed within a circle six inches in diameter, and are uniform in size. This flag may be larger than described above as may be aesthetically necessary.
The First National Flag of the Confederacy (Stars and Bars) shall be displayed at the Women's Monument to the Confederacy on the State House grounds and shall measure approximately four feet by six feet.
The Division of General Services of the Budget and Control Board, or its successor in interest, shall ensure that the flags authorized above shall be placed at all times as directed in this section and shall replace the flags at appropriate intervals as may be necessary due to wear. The respective flags may only be removed during times of renovation and/or repair of the State House and the flags shall be returned upon completion of any such work.
Section 10-1-220. A Civil Rights Monument Commission is hereby created to design and establish an appropriate monument to be placed on the grounds of the Capitol Complex to honor and recognize the efforts made to afford and guarantee equal rights and opportunities for all South Carolinians irrespective of race or ethnic origin. The commission is empowered and directed to raise private funds, to receive gifts and grants to carry out the purpose for which it is created, and to designate the location of the monument. The commission shall promptly designate the location of the monument by the placement of the red, black, and green flag of Marcus Garvey, herein entitled `The Black Liberation Flag'. By January 1, 1996, the commission shall report the proposed design of the monument to the General Assembly for approval. Upon the dedication of this monument, the commission shall dissolve. Upon dissolution, the State shall ensure proper maintenance of the monument as is done for other historical monuments on the grounds of the Capitol Complex.
Three members must be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and three members must be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Notwithstanding Section 8-13-770, members of the General Assembly may be appointed to this commission. The President Pro Tempore and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint a seventh member as chairman who shall vote only in cases of a tie.
Members of the commission may receive per diem and subsistence from the respective approved accounts of each body while attending meetings of the commission. All other expenses relating to the establishment and placement of the monument shall be paid for from funds derived as provided in the first paragraph of this section.
Section 10-1-230. No monument, marker, or memorial located on public property of the State or its political subdivisions or any street, highway, or park honoring the memory of the Confederacy or individuals who served in the Confederate Army, Navy, and Marine Corps or the Women of the Confederacy or the memory of the civil rights struggle or individuals who participated in such struggle may be removed or renamed without two-thirds vote of each branch of the General Assembly.
Section 10-1-240. As provided by the rules of the respective bodies, a statement shall be placed in the Journals of the House of Representatives and the Senate explaining the heritage represented by the Battle Flags of the Confederacy as military banners and that they are displayed as such and are not racist emblems per se."
SECTION 2. Section 53-5-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 53-5-10. The first day of January, the fifteenth day of third Monday in January, the nineteenth day of January, the third Monday in February, the tenth day of May, the last Monday of May, the third day of June, the Fourth day of July, the first Monday in September, the eleventh day of November, National Thanksgiving Day and the day after, and the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth days of December in each year are legal holidays.
State employees may select, prior to the first day of January, in writing on a form provided by their employer, one of the following nonnational holidays: Martin Luther King's birthday, January 15; Robert E. Lee's birthday, January 19; Confederate Memorial Day, May 10; or Jefferson Davis' birthday, June 3, or, in the alternative, select a day of their choice.
All general election days are legal holidays in addition to the above."
SECTION 3. Sections 10-1-10 through 10-1-175 are designated as Article 1, entitled "General Provisions".
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.