House Amendment 1
H 4023 - Session 125 (2023-2024)
First Steps

Rep. Erickson proposes the following amendment (LC-4023.WAB0001H):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding an appropriately numbered SECTION to read:

SECTION X. Chapter 152, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 59-152-45.Beginning after the vacancy of the current Executive Director of First Steps for School Readiness, the Executive Director must be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Executive Director shall serve at the pleasure of the First Steps Board of Trustees.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 3, by striking Section 59-152-70(D) and inserting:

(D) To be designated a First Steps partnership, the local partnership must be a private nonprofit corporation organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 4, by striking Section 59-152-150(A) and inserting:

(A) The Office of South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness shall develop and require local partnerships to adopt and implement a standard fiscal accountability system including, but not limited to, a uniform, standardized system of accounting, internal controls, payroll, fidelity bonding, chart of accounts, and contract management and monitoring. Additionally, the accountability system shall require competitive bids for the purchase or procurement of goods and services of ten thousand dollars or more. A bid other than the lowest bid may be accepted by a majority vote of the partnership board if other considerations outweigh the cost factor; however, written justification must be filed with the Office of First Steps.The Office of First Steps shall develop procurement policies and procedures and obtain approval of the policies and procedures from the Office of State Procurement. Local partnerships shall adopt these policies and procedures for the purchase and procurement of goods and services. The Office of First Steps may contract with outside firms to develop and ensure implementation of this standard fiscal accountability system, and the Office of First Steps may inspect fiscal and program records of partnerships and developing partnerships to ensure their compliance with the required system. The Office of First Steps may contract with a state entity with existing means for developing contracts and disbursing funds in order to make use of the existing infrastructure, if it is efficient and not administratively burdensome to partnerships.