Current Status Bill Number:4294 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:19950601 Primary Sponsor:Kelley All Sponsors:Kelley, Townsend and Cooper Drafted Document Number:dka\4075cm.95 Residing Body:House Current Committee:Education and Public Works Committee 21 HEPW Subject:Employee grievance, Transportation Department employees
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________
House 19950601 Introduced, read first time, 21 HEPW
referred to Committee
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TO AMEND SECTION 8-17-370, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO EXEMPTIONS FROM THE STATE EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE, SO AS TO INCLUDE CERTAIN EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; TO AMEND SECTIONS 57-1-10, 57-1-40, AND 57-1-310, ALL AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, SO AS TO ELIMINATE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, PERMIT THE GOVERNOR TO APPOINT THE DEPARTMENT'S DIRECTOR, AND TO ESTABLISH AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE; TO AMEND SECTION 57-5-1620, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO ADVERTISEMENT AND AWARD OF CERTAIN CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS AND EMERGENCY CONSTRUCTION, REPAIRS, OR PURCHASES, SO AS TO REVISE THE PERIOD WHEN THESE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS MUST BE DISCLOSED TO THE PUBLIC; TO AMEND SECTION 57-5-1630, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE EXTENSION OF CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL WORK, SO AS TO REVISE THE CONDITIONS UPON WHICH CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS MAY BE EXTENDED; TO AMEND SECTION 57-11-210, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO STATE HIGHWAY BONDS DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO DELETE THE TERM "COMMISSION"; TO AMEND SECTION 57-13-110, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE WANTON OR WILFUL INJURY TO OR DESTRUCTION OF BRIDGES, SO AS TO REVISE THE TYPE OF BRIDGES COVERED BY THIS PROVISION; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 57-1-320, 57-1-325, 57-1-330, 57-1-340, 57-1-350, 57-1-410, 57-1-430, ALL RELATING TO THE ELECTION POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, 57-21-10, 57-21-20, 57-21-30, 57-21-40, 57-21-50, 57-21-60, 57-21-70, 57-21-80, 57-21-90, 57-21-100, 57-21-110, 57-21-120, 57-21-130, 57-21-140, 57-21-150, 57-21-160, 57-21-170, 57-21-180, 57-21-190, 57-21-200, 57-21-210, AND 57-21-220, ALL RELATING TO ESTABLISHMENT, POWERS, AND DUTIES OF CERTAIN PAVING DISTRICTS; AND TO REQUIRE THE CODE COMMISSIONER TO CHANGE CERTAIN REFERENCES IN THE CODE.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 8-17-370 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 452 of 1994, is further amended by adding at the end:
"(12) Department of Transportation employees, including the executive director, all persons who serve at or above the organizational level of assistant directors of the individual program components, and all district engineers."
SECTION 2. Section 57-1-10 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"Section 57-1-10. For the purposes of this title, the following words, phrases, and terms are defined as follows:
(1) "Commission" means the administrative and governing body of the Department of Transportation.
(2)`Department' means the Department of Transportation (DOT).
(3)(2) `Director' means the chief administrative officer of the Department of Transportation."
SECTION 3. Section 57-1-40 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Acts 181 and 184 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"Section 57-1-40. (A) It is unlawful for the director, a member of the commission or advisory committee, engineer, agent, or other another employee, acting for or in behalf of the department or commission advisory committee, to accept or agree to accept, receive or agree to receive, or ask or solicit, either directly or indirectly, with the intent to have his decision or action on any a question, matter, cause, or proceeding which at the time may be pending or which by law may be brought before him in his official capacity or in his place of trust or profit influenced, any:
(1) money;
(2) contract, promise, undertaking, obligation, gratuity, or security for the payment of money or for the delivery or conveyance of anything of value;
(3) political appointment or influence, present, or reward;
(4) employment; or
(5) other thing of value.
A person violating the provisions of subsection (A) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than five years and is disqualified forever from holding any an office of trust or profit under the Constitution or laws of this State.
(B) It is unlawful for a person to give or offer to give, promise, or cause or procure to be promised, offered, or given, either directly or indirectly, to the director, a member of the commission advisory committee or an engineer, agent, or other employee acting for or on behalf of the commission advisory committee or department with the intent to have his decision or action on any a question, matter, cause, or proceeding which at the time may be pending or which by law may be brought before him in his official capacity or in his place of trust or profit influenced, any:
(1) money;
(2) contract, promise, undertaking, obligation, gratuity, or security for the payment of money or for the delivery or conveyance of anything of value;
(3) political appointment or influence, present, or reward;
(4) employment; or
(5) other thing of value.
A person violating the provisions of subsection (B) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than five years and is disqualified forever from holding any an office of trust or profit under the Constitution or laws of this State."
SECTION 4. Section 57-1-310 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"Section 57-1-310. The congressional districts of this State are constituted and created Department of Transportation districts of the State, designated by numbers corresponding to the numbers of the respective congressional districts. The Commission of the Department of Transportation shall be composed of one member from each transportation district elected by the delegations of the congressional district and one member appointed by the Governor, upon the advice and consent of the Senate, from the State at large. Such elections or appointment, as the case may be,
(A) The Governor shall appoint the director of the Department of Transportation who shall serve at the Governor's pleasure. He shall receive compensation as may be established under the provisions of Section 8-11-160 and authorized in the annual general appropriations act.
(B) The director must administer the affairs of the department and must represent the department in its dealings with other state agencies, local governments, special purpose districts, and the federal government. The director must appoint a deputy director for each division and employ personnel for each division and prescribe their duties, powers, and functions he considers necessary and as may be authorized by statute and for which funds have been authorized in the annual general appropriations act.
(C) The deputy director for each division shall serve at the pleasure of the director. Each deputy director may receive compensation as established under the provisions of Section 8-11-160 and for which funds have been authorized in the annual general appropriations act.
(D) Appointments shall take into account race and gender so as to represent, to the greatest extent possible, all segments of the population of the State;. However, consideration of these factors in making an appointment or in an election in no way creates does not create a cause of action or basis for an employee grievance for a person appointed or elected or for a person who fails to be appointed or elected.
(E) The director may appoint an advisory committee to advise him on departmental policy. An advisory committee established must consist of one member appointed from each congressional district and not more than five additional members appointed from the state at large. Members shall serve at the pleasure of the director. Advisory committee members are allowed mileage, subsistence, and per diem as provided by law for members of state boards, committees, and commissions to be paid from the state highway fund. The director shall designate a committee chairman and other officers necessary for the operation of the committee."
SECTION 5. Section 57-5-1620 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"Section 57-5-1620. Awards by the department of construction contracts for ten thousand dollars and more shall must be made only after the work to be awarded has been advertised for at least two weeks in one or more daily newspapers in this State, but where circumstances warrant, the department may advertise for longer periods of time and in other publication media. Awards of contracts, if made, shall must be made in each case to the lowest qualified bidder whose bid shall have been formally submitted in accordance with the requirements of the department. However, in cases of emergencies, as may be determined by the director of the Department of Transportation, the department, without formalities of advertising, may employ contractors and others to perform construction or repair work or furnish materials and supplies for such the construction and repair work, but. All such cases of this kind shall must be reported in detail and made public at the next succeeding meeting of the commission within thirty days after construction is initiated."
SECTION 6. Section 57-5-1630 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"Section 57-5-1630. Unless approved in advance by the commission director, no a construction contract may not be extended to include work not contemplated in the original award, except within the limitations imposed by the contract. Where in the judgment of the director of the Department of Transportation it is in the public's interest and prices advantageous to the department are obtained, the department may extend contracts to include additional work in advance of the approval of the commission, if on the other hand to delay an extension until the next commission meeting an advantage to the department would be lost, but in every case, every contract extension must be subject to approval by the commission at the next succeeding meeting. The extension of a contract to include additional work in advance of the approval of the commission may not exceed fifty percent of the total amount of the original contract being so extended or the sum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars, whichever amount is less. Advertisement in the case of extensions of contracts under this section shall consist of detailed reports of the transactions made public at open meetings of the commission."
SECTION 7. Section 57-11-210 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"Section 57-11-210. The terms defined herein shall have the meanings hereinafter set forth For purposes of this article:
(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' means the tax levied pursuant to Chapter 29, Title 12.
(3) `Gasoline tax' means the per gallon tax imposed upon gasoline, gasoline components thereof or substitutes therefor, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 27 of Title 12.
(4) `Commission' means 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 commission pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 3, Title 57.
(5) `Highway transportation purposes' means the construction of roads and bridges now or hereafter made a part of the state highway system, or the reconstruction and improvement of highways and bridges now or hereafter made a part of the state highway system and to provide state funds to obtain matching federal highway funds.
(6)(5) `Motor vehicle license tax' means the annual tax imposed upon a corporation, an individual, and an owner of a motor and other vehicle pursuant to the provisions of Title 56 and Title 57.
(7)(6) `Road tax' means the road tax imposed on motor carriers pursuant to Chapter 31, Title 12.
(8)(7) `Sources of revenue' means the gasoline tax, the fuel oil tax, the road tax, and the motor vehicle license tax.
(9)(8) `State board' means the State Budget and Control Board of South Carolina.
(10)(9) `State highway bonds' means all general obligation bonds of the State of South Carolina designated as state highway bonds, which are now outstanding and which may hereafter be issued pursuant to the authorizations of this article."
SECTION 8. Section 57-13-110 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 57-13-110. Whoever shall A person who wantonly or wilfully injure injures or destroy any destroys a bridge built by authority of the commissioners of any two counties or the director of the Department of Transportation over any a river or creek lying between such the counties, on indictment and conviction of so doing at the court of general sessions in the county in which the offense was committed, shall be is subject to such a fine and imprisonment as directed by the court shall direct. But nothing herein contained shall This section must not be construed to extend to any a toll bridge established by law. Any A person who shall wilfully or maliciously injure injures or destroy and destroys a bridge on any a public road in this State shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall must be fined in a sum not less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars or be imprisoned not less than thirty nor more than ninety days, in the discretion of the court. Nothing herein contained The provisions contained in this section shall not affect the right of action for damages in a civil suit against the person so injuring or destroying any such a bridge."
SECTION 9. Sections 57-1-320, 57-1-325, 57-1-330, 57-1-340, 57-1-350, 57-1-410, 57-1-430, 57-21-10, 57-21-20, 57-21-30, 57-21-40, 57-21-50, 57-21-60, 57-21-70, 57-21-80, 57-21-90, 57-21-100, 57-21-110, 57-21-120, 57-21-130, 57-21-140, 57-21-150, 57-21-160, 57-21-170, 57-21-180, 57-21-190, 57-21-200, 57-21-210, and 57-21-220 of the 1976 Code are repealed.
SECTION 10. When funds are available, the South Carolina Code Commissioner shall change references to "department" and the "Department of Highways and Public Transportation" in the 1976 Code to "Department of Transportation" when appropriate and references to "commission" to "director" when the term refers to the Department of Transportation Commission.
SECTION 11. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.