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H. 3513
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Barfield and Clemmons
Document Path: l:\council\bills\dka\3193dw03.doc
Introduced in the House on February 5, 2003
Currently residing in the House Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry
Summary: Electronic Government Services Act
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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2/5/2003 House Introduced and read first time HJ-11
2/5/2003 House Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry
HJ-11
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 77 TO TITLE 39 SO AS TO ENACT THE ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT SERVICES ACT, TO PROHIBIT A GOVERNMENT AGENCY FROM ENGAGING IN ELECTRONIC COMMERCE SERVICE ACTIVITY, AND TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that the growth of private enterprise is essential to the health, welfare, and prosperity of this State, and that government competes with the private sector when it provides goods and services to the public. It is the intent of the General Assembly and the purpose of this chapter to protect economic opportunities for private industry against unfair competition by government agencies and enhance the efficient provision of public goods and services.
SECTION 2. Title 39 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 39-77-110. This chapter may be cited as the 'Electronic Government Services Act'.
Section 39-77-120. As used in this chapter:
(1) 'Electronic commerce services' means services that are the same, similar to or overlapping those information technology-based services provided by the private sector to the general public, for example, any transaction completed over a computer network such as the buying of goods and services on the internet.
(2) 'Commercial activity' means performing services or providing goods that normally may be obtained from private enterprise.
(3) 'Direct costs' means all costs, whether capital costs, operating costs, or otherwise, that are eliminated if the service or function to which they relate are discontinued.
(4) 'Full cost accounting' means, in accordance with applicable generally accepted accounting principles, accounting for all direct and indirect costs, including capital costs, which are incurred in the ownership, management, or operation of an electronic service.
(5) 'Government agency' means the State, a unit of state government, and a political subdivision of the State and may not be construed to exclude an entity which is not majority owned as private property and which is established under the Constitution of this State, statutes, ordinances or any other order or action by these entities or its officers.
(6) 'Indirect costs accounting' means all costs, whether capital costs, operating costs, or otherwise, that are not direct costs. Indirect costs that support multiple services or functions may be allocated among those services and functions in proportion to the relative burden each service or function places on the cost category and by a reasonable method consistent with applicable generally accepted accounting principles.
(7) 'Private enterprise' means any individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, corporation, association, or other legal entity engaging in the manufacturing, processing, sale, offering for sale, rental, leasing, delivery, dispensing, distributing, or advertising of goods or services for profit.
(8) 'Private sector' means two or more competing privately-owned companies.
Section 39-77-130. If the private sector provides electronic commerce services to the public, government may not start or carry on any activity to provide or offer these services, expand similar services at government expense or provision with the exception of electronic educational courses offered by school districts or higher education institutions and developed to meet curriculum requirements of the Education Accountability Act or courses of study approved by the Commission on Higher Education. Nothing in this chapter prohibits government from providing electronic commerce services to the public in the absence of the private sector provision of these services.
Section 39-77-140. (A) A government agency may provide duplicative or competing electronic commerce services if the head of the agency that proposes to provide duplicative or competing electronic commerce services to the general public provides public notice and the opportunity of the public to comment on the agency's proposed services. The notice must include the agency's proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law describing the reasons why it believes it is necessary and in the public interest to provide duplicative or competing electronic commerce services. The agency shall specify:
(1) the initial and total lifecycle costs of the proposed government services, which include but are not limited to all technology, infrastructure, services, contracts, and direct and indirect personnel costs;
(2) the individual per taxpayer cost of the services on an annualized basis, and the cost of the services per user on an annualized basis;
(3) a description of the agency's reasons for believing that the cost benefits of providing the services require the expenditure of public funds;
(4) identification of unmet needs in the consumer marketplace, which the government service offers fulfill;
(5) a description of how the proposed government service offers differ from those provided by the private sector; and
(6) an economic impact analysis demonstrating that the offering of proposed electronic commerce services by government are not anti-competitive in its effect on the existing industry and do not impact adversely or distort the private sector marketplace for the same or similar electronic commerce services.
(B) Before receiving the comments of the public, if the head of the agency wishes to proceed with duplicative or competing services, the head of the agency shall sign factual and legal conclusions enumerating all of the factors described in subsection (A).
(C) A provider of electronic commerce services, who resides within or does business in the State, has standing to challenge judicially the factual and legal sufficiency of the findings in subsection (A) pursuant to the state's procedures for hearing and resolving complaints filed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(D) A provider of electronic commerce services, who resides within or does business in the State, has standing to challenge judicially the provision of electronic commerce services by the government agency not made in conformance with this chapter pursuant to the state's procedures for hearing and resolving complaints filed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
Section 39-77-150. Nothing contained in this chapter may be construed to prohibit a government agency from offering electronic government services to the general public services before the enactment of this chapter.
Section 39-77-160. If an agency elects to provide electronic services in a jurisdiction where a private enterprise delivers the same electronic service, the agency shall prepare and publish before January first of each year, an annual report on its electronic services. The report must be substantially in accordance with full cost accounting and must include disclosure of the amount, source, and cost of working capital utilized for its electronic services."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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