South Carolina General Assembly
107th Session, 1987-1988

Bill 1001


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               1001
Ratification Number:       516
Act Number                 465
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   To provide for the Compliance Review Act
                           of 1988
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


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

(A465, R516, S1001)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 22 TO TITLE 1 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE COMPLIANCE REVIEW ACT OF 1988 BY CREATING A FORMAL, STRUCTURED PROCESS TO BE CONDUCTED BY A COMPLIANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE TO DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF AGENCY COMPLIANCE WITH THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS CONTAINED IN LEGISLATIVE AUDIT COUNCIL REPORTS AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE CHAPTER TO APPLY TO ANY AUDIT OR REPORT RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC AFTER DECEMBER 31, 1988.

Whereas, it is the purpose of the Legislative Audit Council, as provided in Section 2-15-60 of the 1976 Code, to investigate and study any fiscal matter referred to it by the General Assembly or its members and submit a report containing its findings and recommendations to each member of the General Assembly; and

Whereas, it is the aim of the State Reorganization Commission, as provided in Section 1-19-80 of the 1976 Code, to examine each of the executive and administrative agencies of state government, including its organization and functions, to determine the presence of duplication and overlapping and recommend methods to increase efficiency and effectiveness; and

Whereas, the General Assembly, in order to ensure greater agency accountability, finds a need to determine agency compliance with the reports, findings, and recommendations of the Legislative Audit Council; and

Whereas, the General Assembly believes that an independent, systematic process should be established to determine agency compliance with the Legislative Audit Council reports, findings, and recommendations. Now, therefore,

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

Purpose

SECTION 1. It is the purpose of Chapter 22 of Title 1 of the 1976 Code, as added by this act, to create a formal, structured process to determine the degree of agency compliance with the findings and recommendations contained in the reports of the Legislative Audit Council. This process should be conducted by a Compliance Review Committee as defined in Section l-22-20(6) of the 1976 Code. The role of the Reorganization Commission staff is to provide analysis, research, and support to the committee on agency compliance with the Legislative Audit Council's recommendations in order to ensure the effectiveness of agency operations.

Compliance Review Act of 1988

SECTION 2. Title 1 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"CHAPTER 22

Compliance Review Act of 1988

Section 1-22-10. This chapter may be cited as the 'Compliance Review Act of 1988'.

Section 1-22-20. For the purpose of this chapter:

(1) 'State agencies' means all officers, departments, boards, commissions, institutions, universities, colleges, bodies politic and corporate of the State, and any other person or administrative division of state government or corporate outgrowth of state government expending or encumbering state funds by virtue of an appropriation from the General Assembly, handling money on behalf of the State, or holding any trust funds from any source derived, but does not mean counties.

(2) 'Audit' means a broad-scope examination of and investigation into all state agency matters relating to:

(a) compliance by state agencies with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations;

(b) the efficiency and the economy of state agency operations;

(c) the effectiveness of state agencies in achieving desired program results.

(3) 'Council' means the Legislative Audit Council.

(4) 'Commission staff' means the staff of the State Reorganization Commission.

(5) 'Commission' means the State Reorganization Commission.

(6) 'Committee' means the Compliance Review Committee which must be composed of three members of the House of Representatives, as selected by the chairman of the appropriate standing committee of the House; three members of the Senate, as selected by the chairman of the appropriate standing committee of the Senate; and three members of the Reorganization Commission appointed by its chairman.

(7) 'Preliminary Compliance Review Report' means a written document which states the degree to which an agency has implemented the recommendations of the council as contained in an audit report and which is approved by the committee.

(8) 'Final Compliance Review Report' means a written document, as approved by the committee, which states the degree to which an agency has implemented the recommendations of the council as contained in an audit report. Any recommendations, including proposed legislation and changes in the agency's regulations and practices, based on testimony received, must be included in the report.

(9) 'Records' include, but are not limited to, books, papers, maps, photographs, cards, tapes, recordings, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, prepared, owned, used, or in the possession of or retained by the council, commission staff, and committee.

Section 1-22-30. Upon the public release of any audit report or study conducted by the council, the council shall deliver three copies to the President of the Senate, three copies to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and three copies to the chairman of the commission.

Section 1-22-40. Upon receipt of any audit report or study by the council, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall submit the audit report to the appropriate standing committee of each respective body within fourteen days. The chairman of each standing committee immediately shall appoint three members of the standing committee to serve on the Compliance Review Committee. The chairman of the commission immediately shall appoint three members of the commission to serve on the Compliance Review Committee. The committee shall meet and select a chairman from its members within fourteen days after the appointment of all members.

Section 1-22-50. The staff of the commission shall provide all research and analytical support to the committee. The committee and the commission staff shall have access to all documents and working papers and state agency documents and records regarding any audit report or study after it is published.

Section 1-22-60. All records of the committee, commission staff, and the council, with the exception of the Preliminary and Final Compliance Review Reports provided for in Sections 1-22-120 and 1-22-160, are confidential and must not be disclosed to the public.

Any person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both, in the discretion of the court. If the person convicted is an officer or employee of the State, he must be dismissed from office or employment and is ineligible to hold any public office in this State for a period of five years after conviction.

Section 1-22-70. In the performance of their compliance review duties, the committee and the commission staff are subject to the statutory provisions and penalties regarding the confidentiality of records of the agency under review.

Section 1-22-80. In order to carry out the provisions of this chapter, all state agencies or governmental entities shall cooperate by answering all information requests within a period of time specified by the committee or in an alternative format approved in advance by the committee.

Section 1-22-90. The commission staff shall examine, as necessary, all pertinent documents, working papers, and studies, conduct interviews and surveys, and use any other appropriate methods to determine agency compliance with council recommendations as contained in the audit reports or studies as directed by the committee.

Section 1-22-100. Upon a majority vote of the full committee, the committee may subpoena from any state agency or institution all relevant information, reports, or other data and require, pursuant to a subpoena duces tecum, the appearance before it of any officer or employee of any state agency or institution or the production of any relevant document or record within the custody of any state agency or institution.

The committee may order the opening of records and their full access by members of the committee or commission staff. No violation of the privacy provisions of any state or federal law may result from this access to agency records.

The committee shall address all informational requests to the chief administrative officer of the agency examined, and he is held accountable for the swift compliance with the requests. Any wilful noncompliance with an informational request is considered misfeasance in office and subjects the administrative officer to the penalties for misfeasance.

Section 1-22-110. The commission staff, as directed by the committee, shall complete all studies necessary to determine compliance no later than one year after the public issuance of the audit report or study by the council.

Section 1-22-120. The committee shall produce a Preliminary Compliance Review Report on agency compliance with the council audit report recommendations no later than three months after the completion of the one-year period established in Section 1-22-110. The agency which is the subject of the report must be given access to the report. If the agency wishes to respond to the findings of the report, it shall provide a written copy of its response within ten working days of its receipt. The agency's response must be made an appendix to the Preliminary Compliance Review Report.

Section 1-22-130. Within three months of the issuance of a Preliminary Compliance Review Report, the committee shall hold public hearings and receive testimony regarding the findings and recommendations of the report. However, the committee may waive a public hearing if the Preliminary Compliance Review Report demonstrates that the agency is in compliance with the audit recommendations.

Section 1-22-140. The committee may administer all necessary oaths, and any person who, after being sworn before the committee, testifies falsely is guilty of perjury and, upon conviction, must be punished accordingly. All testimony given before the committee is privileged, and no witness is liable for prosecution based upon any transaction as to which testimony is required of him by the committee under this chapter, except in a prosecution for perjury committed in giving the testimony.

Section 1-22-150. If any officer or employee of any state agency or institution fails or refuses to answer the summons, a notice, or a question of the committee, to permit the examinations provided for in Section 1-22-90, or to act on the order or notice of the committee to produce books, papers, or other documents or writings he is considered to be in contempt of the authority of the committee and may be imprisoned under the order of the committee after review by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Section 1-22-160. Based on the findings and recommendations of the Preliminary Compliance Review Report, the testimony given in the public hearing process, and the recommendations of the committee, the committee shall approve and issue a Final Compliance Review Report to the appropriate standing committees, the General Assembly, and the public. Any recommendations, including proposed legislation and changes in the agency's regulations and practices, must be included in the report.

Section 1-22-170. The committee shall forward all Final Compliance Review Reports to the House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Governor.

Section 1-22-180. Agency sunset reviews conducted by the council, as provided for in Section 1-20-10, are excluded from this chapter.

Section 1-22-190. Mileage, subsistence, per diem, and other expenses for members serving on the committee must be paid by their respective body, their representative committee, or the commission."

Application

SECTION 3. Chapter 22 of Title 1 of the 1976 Code, as added by this act, applies to any audit or report released to the public by the Legislative Audit Council after December 31, 1988.

Time effective

SECTION 4. This act takes effect January 1, 1989.