South Carolina General Assembly
104th Session, 1981-1982

Bill 568


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               568
Ratification Number:       515
Act Number                 414
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   To provide that the number of days in
                           which regulations shall become effective, if
                           no action is taken by either house of the
                           General Assembly
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A414, R515, S568)

AN ACT TO AMEND ACT 176 OF 1977, AS AMENDED, THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES ACT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE NUMBER OF DAYS IN WHICH REGULATIONS SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE, IF NO ACTION IS TAKEN BY EITHER HOUSE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SHALL BE INCREASED FROM NINETY TO ONE HUNDRED TWENTY; TO PROVIDE THAT, UPON INTRODUCTION OF THE FIRST JOINT RESOLUTION DISAPPROVING A REGULATION BY A STANDING COMMITTEE, ADDITIONAL DAYS SHALL BE ADDED TO THE ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-DAY-PERIOD FOR AUTOMATIC APPROVAL, IF LESS THAN SIXTY, TO EQUAL SIXTY DAYS; TO PROVIDE THAT A RESOLUTION TO APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE BY A COMMITTEE OF ONE HOUSE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SHALL NOT PREVENT THE INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTIONS BY A COMMITTEE OF THE OTHER HOUSE; AND TO CHANGE THE PROCEDURE IN COMPUTING THE NUMBER OF DAYS FOR AUTOMATIC APPROVAL WHEN AN AGENCY WITHDRAWS REGULATIONS FROM THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Regulations submitted for review

Section 1. Sections 12 and 12A of Act 176 of 1977, as last amended by Act 442 of 1980 and Act 21 of 1981, are further amended to read:

"Section 12. All regulations except those specifically exempted under this article shall be submitted to the General Assembly for review in accordance with the provisions of the article. To initiate the process of review, the agency shall file with the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a copy of any regulations promulgated along with a request for review. Upon receipt of the request, the President and Speaker reviewing such request shall submit it for consideration to the standing committees of the Senate and House which are most concerned with the function of the promulgating agency. The committees shall have one hundred twenty days from the date regulations are submitted to the General Assembly to consider regulations so referred and determine their r action thereon. If no action is taken by either the Senate or House of Representatives committee to introduce a resolution to approve or disapprove the regulations within one hundred twenty days after submission to the General Assembly, such regulations shall become effective upon publication in the State Register. Upon introduction of the first joint resolution disapproving a regulation by a standing committee to which the regulation was referred for review, additional days shall be added to the days remaining on the one-hundred-twenty- day-period for automatic approval, if less than sixty, to equal sixty days. The introduction of a resolution by the committee of either House shall not prevent the introduction of a resolution by the committee of the other House to either approve or disapprove the regulations concerned.

The one-hundred-twenty-day-period of review shall begin on the date the regulation is filed with the President and Speaker. Sine die adjournment of the General Assembly shall toll the running of the period of review and the remainder of such period shall begin to run upon the next convening of the General Assembly excluding special sessions called by the Governor.

Any member may introduce a joint resolution approving or disapproving a regulation or group of regulations thirty days following the date the regulations concerned are submitted to a standing committee for review and no committee resolution approving or disapproving such regulations has been introduced and the regulations concerned have not been withdrawn by the promulgating agency pursuant to Section 12A but such introduction shall not toll the one-hundred-twenty-day-period of automatic approval.

General Assembly review shall not be required for regulations promulgated to maintain compliance with federal law including but not limited to grant programs. Review shall also not be required for regulations promulgated by the State Board of Financial Institutions in order to authorize state-chartered banks, state-chartered savings and loan associations and state-chartered credit unions to engage in activities that are authorized pursuant to Section 34-1-110 of the 1976 Code. All regulations submitted to the General Assembly for approval shall have attached thereto a brief synopsis or analysis of the regulations submitted explaining the content therein and any changes in existing regulations resulting therefrom. Such synopsis or analysis shall include citations of federal law, if any, mandating changes in such regulations. The one-hundred-twenty-day-period of review provided for in this section shall not begin to run until the synopsis or analysis is attached to regulations submitted.

Section 12A. The legislative committee to which a regulation is submitted is not authorized to amend a particular regulation and then introduce a joint resolution approving the regulation as amended; however, this provision shall not prevent the introduction of a resolution disapproving one or more of a group of regulations submitted to such committee and approving others submitted at the same time or deleting a clearly separable portion of a single regulation and approving the balance thereof in the committee resolution.

If a committee determines that it cannot approve a regulation in the form submitted it may notify the promulgating agency in writing along with its recommendations as to changes that would be necessary to obtain committee approval. The agency may thereupon: (a) Withdraw the regulation from the General Assembly and resubmit it with the recommended changes to the Speaker and the Lieutenant Governor.

(b) Withdraw the regulation permanently.

(c) Take no action and abide by whatever action is taken or not taken by the General Assembly on the regulation concerned.

When an agency withdraws regulations from the General Assembly prior to the time a committee resolution to approve or disapprove such regulations has been introduced, the one-hundred-twenty-day-period for automatic approval shall be tolled and continue only on the date the regulations are resubmitted to the General Assembly.

If an agency fails to withdraw the regulations within ten calendar days, or one-half of the remaining time left on the one-hundred-twenty-day-period if less than ten days remain after the committee request for withdrawal, such agency actions shall be deemed to be a refusal to withdraw.

If after notification by a standing committee that it cannot approve a regulation an agency takes no action pursuant to (c) above, the one-hundred-twenty-day-period in which a regulation becomes automatically effective without General Assembly approval shall be extended from one hundred twenty to one hundred fifty days while the General Assembly is in session.

The provisions of this section, as they apply to approval, disapproval, or modification of regulations, shall not apply to joint resolutions introduced by other than the committees to which regulations are initially referred by the Lieutenant Governor or the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

When any regulation, when finally promulgated, includes a substantive change in the content of the regulation as proposed and published in the State Register, and such substantive change was not raised, considered or discussed by public comment required in Section 11, the regulation shall be refiled by the agency with the Legislative Council and published as revised in the State Register and processed as a new regulation in accordance with the provisions of this article."

Time effective

Section 2. This act shall take effect upon the approval by the Governor.