Bill 1045

                    Current Status

Bill Number:                       1045
Type of Legislation:               Concurrent Resolution CR
Introducing Body:                  Senate
Introduced Date:                   19980218
Primary Sponsor:                   Ford
All Sponsors:                      Ford, Patterson, Leventis,
                                   Rankin, Glover, J. Verne Smith,
                                   Bryan, Land, Jackson, Matthews,
                                   Elliott, Hutto, Holland, Saleeby,
                                   Russell, Anderson, McGill, and Reese
                                   
Drafted Document Number:           jud9048.rf
Residing Body:                     Senate
Current Committee:                 Judiciary Committee 11 SJ
Subject:                           Attorney General not to appoint
                                   private counsel, contingency fee
                                   agreements; Courts, State
                                   Government, Requests

Body    Date      Action Description                       Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  _______________________________________  _______ ____________

Senate  19980218  Introduced, referred to Committee        11 SJ

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

TO REQUEST THAT BEFORE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL ENTERS INTO ANY FUTURE CONTINGENCY FEE AGREEMENTS WITH OUTSIDE COUNSEL FOR REPRESENTATION ON BEHALF OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FORWARD TO THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE AND THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE THESE AGREEMENTS FOR THEIR REVIEW AND APPROVAL.

Whereas, the State of South Carolina has joined a number of states in suing large cigarette companies in order to be reimbursed for the health costs associated with smoking-related illnesses; and

Whereas, the Attorney General negotiated contracts with seven firms to handle the lawsuit on behalf of the State and set the fees that these firms could receive; and

Whereas, it has been projected that a settlement of South Carolina's lawsuit against the cigarette companies could result in more than a three billion dollar recovery by the State of South Carolina; and

Whereas, these original contracts negotiated by the Attorney General could have generated fees for those law firms of perhaps eight hundred million dollars despite the fact that most of the difficult legal issues had been dealt with by attorneys in other states; and

Whereas, the public outcry over the questionable manner of selection of these law firms and the potential enormous attorney's fees they could generate led the Attorney General to hire an African-American firm and to renegotiate the attorney's fees; and

Whereas, these eight law firms could share under the renegotiated contracts attorney's fees of upwards of three hundred million dollars or approximately thirty-eight million dollars per firm; and

Whereas, this money could be used by the State to fund myriad programs for the benefit of all South Carolinians including the building of low-cost housing, roads, bridges, schools, and funding of scholarships for our state's children; and

Whereas, the Attorney General's Office possesses adequate experience, personnel, and resources to competently protect the interests of the State of South Carolina in this matter without resorting to the hiring of private counsel. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

That before the Attorney General's Office enters into more contingency fee agreements with outside counsel for representation on behalf of the State of South Carolina that the Attorney General forward that agreement to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee for their review and approval.

Be it further resolved, that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Attorney General.