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COMMITTEE REPORT
March 22, 2007
H. 3505
Introduced by Reps. Harrell, W.D. Smith, Cato, Chellis, Cooper, Harrison, Walker, Witherspoon, Merrill, Cotty, Duncan, Hagood, Huggins, Scarborough, Haley, Davenport, Ballentine, Bannister, Battle, Bedingfield, Bingham, Bowen, Brady, Breeland, G. Brown, Ceips, Clemmons, Crawford, Dantzler, Delleney, Gambrell, Gullick, Hamilton, Haskins, Hayes, Hinson, Hiott, Kelly, Kirsh, Knight, Leach, Littlejohn, Lowe, Lucas, Mahaffey, Moss, Mulvaney, Owens, Perry, Pinson, E.H. Pitts, M.A. Pitts, Shoopman, Simrill, Skelton, G.M. Smith, G.R. Smith, Spires, Stavrinakis, Stewart, Talley, Taylor, Thompson, Toole, Umphlett, White, Whitmire, Young, Hodges, Viers and Rice
S. Printed 3/22/07--S.
Read the first time March 8, 2007.
To whom was referred a Joint Resolution (H. 3505) to direct the State Ports Authority to continue and bring to its earliest conclusion the condemnation action it has begun involving approximately one thousand eight hundred acres, etc., respectfully
That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass with amendment:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, Page 4, SECTION 5, by striking line 1 and inserting:
/ the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President Pro /
Amend the bill further, as and if amended, Page 4, SECT ION 6, by striking lines 25-43, and Page 5, by striking lines 1-4 and inserting:
/ (B) The commission shall be composed of eight members as follows:
(1) the Governor or his designee;
(2) the Speaker of the House of Representatives or his designee;
(3) the President Pro Tempore of the Senate or his designee;
(4) the Attorney General of South Carolina or his designee;
(5) the Chairman of the Board of Health and Environmental Control or his designee;
(6) the Chairman of the Board of Natural Resources or his designee;
(7) the Chairman of the State Ports Authority or his designee; and
(8) one resident of Jasper County appointed by the Jasper County Council to serve at the pleasure of the council.
The Governor or his designee shall serve as chairman of the commission.
(C) Any state, county, or municipal officeholder named or designated to serve on the commission shall serve ex officio. Notwithstanding Section 8-13-770 of the 1976 Code, members of the General Assembly may be appointed to serve on this commission as the designee of an appointing official. /
Amend the bill further, by adding an appropriately numbered new SECTION to read:
/ SECTION ___. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.
Majority favorable. Minority unfavorable.
W. GREG RYBERG CLEMENTA C. PINCKNEY
For Majority. For Minority.
TO DIRECT THE STATE PORTS AUTHORITY TO CONTINUE AND BRING TO ITS EARLIEST CONCLUSION THE CONDEMNATION ACTION IT HAS BEGUN INVOLVING APPROXIMATELY ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED ACRES IN JASPER COUNTY NEEDED TO DEVELOP NEW TERMINAL FACILITIES; TO PROVIDE THAT THE POWER AND AUTHORITY OF JASPER COUNTY TO UNDERTAKE ANY CONDEMNATION ACTION REGARDING THIS APPROXIMATELY ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED ACRES IN JASPER COUNTY OR ANY OTHER CONDEMNATION ACTION IN REGARD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF TERMINAL FACILITIES IN JASPER COUNTY IS SUSPENDED FOR A PERIOD OF THREE YEARS FROM THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS JOINT RESOLUTION; TO DIRECT THE STATE PORTS AUTHORITY TO CONTINUE AND COMPLETE CERTAIN OTHER ACTIONS BEGUN BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS JOINT RESOLUTION IN REGARD TO THESE NEW TERMINAL FACILITIES; AND TO DIRECT THE STATE PORTS AUTHORITY TO BEGIN SPECIFIC NEW UNDERTAKINGS WITHIN A STIPULATED TIME FRAME UPON FINAL CONCLUSION INCLUDING ALL APPEALS OF THE ABOVE CONDEMNATION ACTION.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. (A) The General Assembly acknowledges that in the case of South Carolina State Ports Authority v. Jasper County, (368 S.C. 388, 629 S.E.2d 624) the South Carolina Supreme Court held that the South Carolina State Ports Authority had the superior right over Jasper County and other competing interests to develop new terminal facilities on the Savannah River in Jasper County, including the superior right to undertake condemnation of lands in South Carolina now owned by the State of Georgia needed for these new terminal facilities.
(B) The General Assembly by this joint resolution desires to enact legislation to augment the court's decision referenced above and further to establish by statute a comprehensive plan and timetable for the creation and development of these new terminal facilities by the State Ports Authority.
SECTION 2. (A) The State Ports Authority is directed to continue and bring to its earliest conclusion the condemnation action it has begun involving approximately one thousand eight hundred acres in Jasper County needed for these new terminal facilities.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary or the holding of South Carolina State Ports Authority v. Jasper County (368 S.C. 388, 629 S.E.2d 624) giving it secondary authority to condemn, the power and authority of Jasper County to undertake any condemnation action regarding this approximately one thousand eight hundred acres in Jasper County or any other condemnation action in regard to the developing of terminal facilities in Jasper County is suspended for a period of three years from the effective date of this joint resolution.
SECTION 3. The State Ports Authority is directed to continue and complete the following actions begun before the effective date of this joint resolution in regard to these new terminal facilities:
(1) preparation of market feasibility studies;
(2) awarding of a contract for geotechnical analysis of the site; and
(3) upon receipt of the initial geotechnical work, completion of advance preliminary site analysis to preliminary engineering and design work.
SECTION 4. The State Ports Authority is directed to begin the following new undertakings upon final conclusion including all appeals of the condemnation action it has begun in Jasper County regarding the one thousand eight hundred acres referenced above:
(1) within one hundred eighty days of the final conclusion, complete the site acquisition;
(2) within one hundred eighty days of the final conclusion, complete the preliminary design work and update market demand forecasts;
(3) following site acquisition, file for the necessary state and federal permits including hydrodynamics, navigation, and harbor draft studies;
(4) upon filing of the permit application with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, undertake the hiring of an environmental consultant to produce the draft environmental impact statement;
(5) adhere to the steps outlined within the National Environmental Policy Act process during all applicable phases;
(6) secure a Department of Health and Environmental Control water quality permit;
(7) secure a record of decision on the permit application;
(8) within one hundred eighty days of receipt of the record of decision, conduct and complete detailed engineering and design work and terminal construction cost analysis;
(9) within one hundred eighty days of receipt of the record of decision, determine the interest of customers of the State Ports Authority in regard to participating in the development and construction of the new Jasper County Ports Facility;
(10) upon completion of the engineering and design work, initiate soil consolidation and other preconstruction requirements;
(11) upon completion of the site preparation, proceed with construction of the port facility, and incorporate the terminal design needs of the private sector in the terminal development; and
(12) the terminal construction phase shall be complimented by all necessary supporting infrastructure construction such as roads, rail, water, sewer, and other utilities required to be undertaken by entities other than the State Ports Authority and coordinate and cooperate with these entities in these other construction requirements.
SECTION 5. The General Assembly recognizes that the actions required to be undertaken and completed by the State Ports Authority under this joint resolution are subject to a number of contingencies, including actions by federal and state agencies beyond the control of the State Ports Authority and the availability or appropriation of sufficient state or other funding. The General Assembly therefore provides that if a particular action or undertaking cannot be completed within the time lines provided in this joint resolution, the State Ports Authority is required to notify the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Executive Director of the State Budget and Control Board, the Chairman of Jasper County Council, and the Chairman of the Savannah River Maritime Commission in writing at least thirty days before the required completion date of the anticipated inability of the State Ports Authority to complete the action and the reasons for the anticipated inability to complete the requirement by the stipulated completion date.
SECTION 6. (A) In addition to the above provisions of this joint resolution, a commission to be known as the Savannah River Maritime Commission is hereby established to represent this State in all matters pertaining to the navigability, depth, dredging, wastewater and sludge disposal, and related collateral issues in regard to the use of the Savannah River as a waterway for ocean-going container or commerce vessels. The commission as an instrumentality of this State is empowered to negotiate on behalf of the State of South Carolina and enter into agreements with the State of Georgia, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and other involved parties in regard to the above which bind the State of South Carolina; provided, however, that any such agreements which require state funding are subject to the funding being provided by the General Assembly in a general or supplemental appropriations act or in a bond bill.
(B) The commission shall be composed of eight members as follows:
(1) the Governor or his designee;
(2) the Speaker of the House of Representatives or his designee;
(3) the President Pro Tempore of the Senate or his designee;
(4) the Attorney General of South Carolina or his designee;
(5) the Chairman of the Board of Health and Environmental Control to serve ex officio or his designee;
(6) the Chairman of the Board of Natural Resources to serve ex officio or his designee;
(7) the Chairman of the State Ports Authority to serve ex officio or his designee; and
(8) one resident of Jasper County appointed by the Jasper County Council to serve at the pleasure of the council.
The Governor or his designee shall serve as chairman of the commission.
(C) Commission membership does not constitute an office for purposes of the prohibition on dual office holding provided in Section 3, Article VI of the Constitution of this State. Notwithstanding Section 8-13-770 of the 1976 Code, members of the General Assembly may be appointed to serve on this commission as the designee of an appointing official.
(D) Professional and clerical services for the commission must be provided by the staff of the Attorney General's office and supplemented by the staffs of other public officials serving on the commission as required by the commission.
(E) Members serving on the commission shall receive such mileage, subsistence, and per diem as is provided by law for members of state boards, commissions, and committees when engaged in the exercise of their duties as members of the commission to be paid from their approved accounts or the approved accounts of their appointing authority.
(F) Except as provided below, nothing in this section shall supersede the authority of other state agencies, departments, or instrumentalities including the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Health and Environmental Control, or the State Ports Authority to exercise all powers, duties, and functions within their responsibilities as provided by law. However, on an interstate basis and specifically in regard to the State of Georgia, the responsibilities granted to the Savannah River Maritime Commission in this joint resolution supersede any other concurrent responsibilities of a particular state agency or department. Any requirements for permitting and constructing new terminal facilities on the Savannah River in Jasper County are declared not to be the responsibility of this commission, except as they may relate to this state's responsibility for the navigability or depth of the South Carolina portion of the Savannah River.
(G) The Savannah River Maritime Commission established herein shall exist for a period of twenty-five years after the effective date of this joint resolution and may be continued for additional periods as provided by the General Assembly by law.
SECTION 7. This joint resolution takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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