Current Status Bill Number:3607 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:19950215 Primary Sponsor:Allison, All Sponsors:Allison, Townsend, Stille, Sharpe, Wilkins, Wright and Anderson Drafted Document Number:gjk\21418sd.95 Companion Bill Number:3915 Residing Body:House Current Committee:Education and Public Works Committee 21 HEPW Subject:Higher Education Commission
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
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House 19950215 Introduced, read first time, 21 HEPW
referred to Committee
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TO AMEND SECTION 59-103-10, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE STATE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION, SO AS TO REVISE THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH THE MEMBERS ARE SELECTED; TO ADD SECTION 59-103-45 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION SHALL ESTABLISH PROCEDURES FOR THE TRANSFERABILITY OF UNDERGRADUATE COURSES BETWEEN TWO-YEAR AND FOUR-YEAR INSTITUTIONS, COORDINATE WITH THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION THE APPROVAL OF CERTAIN SECONDARY EDUCATION COURSES, AND REVIEW UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSION STANDARDS FOR IN-STATE AND OUT-OF-STATE STUDENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 59-103-60, RELATING TO RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION TO THE BUDGET AND CONTROL BOARD AND THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE AS A RECIPIENT OF SUCH RECOMMENDATIONS AND DELETE THE BUDGET AND CONTROL BOARD, AND PROVIDE THAT THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE AND THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE AS WELL AS THE BUDGET AND CONTROL BOARD MAY REFER TO THE COMMISSION CERTAIN REQUESTS OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING; TO AMEND SECTION 59-103-90 RELATING TO THE PROFESSIONAL STAFF OF THE COMMISSION, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SHALL BE APPOINTED BY THE COMMISSION TO SERVE AT ITS PLEASURE WITH NO GRIEVANCE RIGHTS, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE OTHER PROFESSIONAL STAFF COMPLEMENT OF THE COMMISSION SHALL BE ESTABLISHED BY THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RATHER THAN THE COMMISSION; AND TO CREATE A JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE TO STUDY THE GOVERNANCE, OPERATION, AND STRUCTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 59-103-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-103-10. There is created the State Commission on Higher Education which shall consist of nineteen members appointed by the Governor. Two members must be appointed by the Governor from each congressional district upon the recommendation of the majority of the legislative delegation members from the district. Six members must be appointed by the Governor from the State at large to represent the public colleges and universities with the advice and consent of the Senate. Equitable representation by sector must be given on the commission by appointing members from public senior research institutions, four-year public institutions of higher learning, and technical colleges or the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education. These six members must be members of the governing boards thereof and serve as ex officio members of the commission. These members shall be appointed as the terms of the six members appointed from the State at large expire. Members must be appointed for terms of four years and until their successors are appointed and qualify. No one member from the congressional districts is eligible to serve on the commission for more than two consecutive terms and those members who represent public colleges, universities, and technical colleges may not serve more than one term. A term served by a member which is less than a full four-year term must not be counted in determining when a member has served the maximum number of terms. No member from a congressional district may be an employee or member of a governing body of a public or private institution of higher learning in this State.
One ex officio member shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate to represent the independent colleges and universities. The individual appointed must be serving as a member of the Advisory Council of Private College Presidents. This member must be appointed for a term of four years, may not serve more than two consecutive terms, and shall serve as a nonvoting member.
The Governor, by his appointments, shall assure that various economic interests and minority groups, especially women and blacks, are fairly represented on the commission and shall attempt to assure that the graduates of no one public or private college or technical college are dominant on the commission. Vacancies must be filled in the manner of the original appointment for the unexpired portion of the term. The chairman of the commission must be elected annually by the members of the commission and may not serve as chairman for more than four consecutive years. Members recommended by the General Assembly must be residents of the appropriate congressional district. If the boundaries of congressional districts are changed, members serving on the commission continue to serve until the expiration of their terms, but successors to members whose terms expire must be appointed from the newly defined congressional district. If a congressional district is added, the commission must be enlarged to include representation from that district. All members of the commission serving in office on the effective date of the provisions of this section providing for the appointment of members to represent public colleges, universities, and technical colleges shall continue to serve until their current terms expire."
SECTION 2. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 59-103-45. In addition to the powers, duties, and functions of the Commission on Higher Education as provided by law, the commission, notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, shall have the following additional duties and functions with regard to the various public institutions of higher education:
(1) establish procedures for the transferability of courses at the undergraduate level between two-year and four-year institutions or schools;
(2) coordinate with the State Board of Education in the approval of secondary education courses for the purpose of determining college entrance requirements; and
(3) review undergraduate admissions standards for in-state and out-of-state students."
SECTION 3. Section 59-103-60 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-103-60. The commission shall make such recommendations to the State Budget and Control Board Governor's Office, and the General Assembly as to policies, programs, curricula, facilities, administration, and financing of all state-supported institutions of higher learning as may be considered desirable. The House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the State Budget and Control Board may refer to the commission for investigation, study, and report any requests of institutions of higher learning for new or additional appropriations for operating and for other purposes and for the establishment of new or expanded programs."
SECTION 4. Section 59-103-90 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 59-103-90. An executive director must be appointed by the commission to manage and carry out the duties of the commission as prescribed by law and assigned by the commission. The executive director is not subject to the State Grievance Procedure Act of 1982 and may be dismissed without cause.
A professional staff complement shall be established by the Commission on recommendation of the executive director which who shall insure ensure that there are persons on the staff who have the professional competence and experience to carry out the duties assigned and to insure ensure that there are persons on the staff who are familiar with the problems and capabilities of all of the principal types of state-supported institutions in the State. Provision shall be made for persons of high competence and strong professional experience in such the areas as of academic affairs, public service and extension programs, business and financial affairs, institutional studies and long-range planning, student affairs, research and development, legal affairs, health affairs, institutional development, and for state and federal programs administered by the commission. The hiring of additional staff members to any position for which funds were not specifically appropriated by the General Assembly shall require prior approval by the General Assembly."
SECTION 5. A joint legislative committee to study the governance and operation of higher education in South Carolina and the institutional structures of higher education is established as follows:
(1) four members of the committee shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from that body and four members shall be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate from that body. At least one member of the committee appointed by the Speaker of the House from that body and at least one member of the committee appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate from that body shall be an African-American, and at least one other member of the committee appointed by the Speaker of the House from that body and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate from that body must be a female. Four members of the committee must be appointed by the Governor, two of whom must represent the business community, one of whom must be an institutional trustee elected by the General Assembly, and one who must be a member of the Commission on Higher Education. A chairman shall be elected from among the membership of the committee. The committee shall be convened no later than July 1, 1995.
(2) The committee shall:
(a) conduct a comprehensive review of the current governance structure of higher education including statewide coordinating and oversight measures currently sustained.
(b) examine:
(i) national trends and reform efforts in higher education governance structures, including the advantages and disadvantages of increasing or decreasing the oversight role of state level governance of higher education;
(ii) the lines of authority and the relationship between the respective boards of trustees and the Commission on Higher Education;
(c) investigate how higher education opportunities are currently provided to South Carolina students by examining the structures of higher education institutions at all levels;
(d) address any other matters the committee considers necessary or appropriate.
(e) solicit topics of inquiry from all public and private institutions in the State and the Commission on Higher Education.
(3) At least one staff person shall be transferred to the committee from the Legislative Audit Council and from the State Reorganization Commission for the duration of the study. The study committee shall use this staff in conjunction with other professional staff. Legislative staff of the committee shall be the lead staff and the staff transferred to the committee from the Legislative Audit Council, and the State Reorganization Commission shall support the lead legislative staff. Upon completion of the workplan of the study and if the committee determines that more staff are needed to ensure a timely report and so requests, one additional professional staff person must be transferred from the Legislative Audit Council and from the State Reorganization Commission. The Commission on Higher Education and the staff of the public institutions of higher education shall cooperate fully with the committee including providing staff support and other in-kind resources as requested by the committee.
(4) The committee shall conclude its work and issue its final report by January 1, 1996, which shall serve as the decennial report of the Commission on Higher Education. The final report shall be submitted to the House Education and Public Works Committee and the Senate Education Committee, and must be considered the first report required by the Decennial section of the commission's Master Assessment plan, and upon submission of its final report, the committee shall be dissolved.
(5) Members of the committee shall receive the usual mileage, subsistence, and per diem paid by law to members of the General Assembly to be paid from approved accounts of both houses.
SECTION 6. (A) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 59-103-10 of the 1976 Code, as contained in Section 1 of this act, or any other provision of law, any vacancy existing on this act's effective date on the Commission on Higher Education from among the members representing congressional districts must be filled by an at-large member if the at-large member is a resident of the congressional district for which there is a vacancy. Additionally, notwithstanding the length of the unexpired portion of the term remaining for a congressional district member to be filled in accordance with this subsection, the term of the congressional district member filled by an at-large member is the length of the term the member would have served if the member remained an at-large member.
(B) Any vacancy that may be created among the at-large members by an at-large member filling a vacancy among the congressional district representatives pursuant to subsection (A) is deemed an expiration of that at-large term and must be filled in the manner provided for in Section 59-103-10 of the 1976 Code, as amended in Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.