Current Status Introducing Body:Senate Bill Number:556 Primary Sponsor:Committee (13) Committee Number:25 Type of Legislation:JR Subject:Regulations approved Residing Body:House Current Committee:Judiciary Computer Document Number:GJK/20037AC.93 Introduced Date:19930316 Last History Body:House Last History Date:19930323 Last History Type:Introduced, read first time, referred to Committee Scope of Legislation:Statewide Sponsor Committee:Medical Affairs Sponsor Committee Number:13 Type of Legislation:Joint Resolution
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN Leg Involved
____ ______ ____________ ______________________________ ___ ____________
556 House 19930323 Introduced, read first time, 25
referred to Committee
556 Senate 19930318 Read third time, sent to House
556 Senate 19930317 Read second time
556 Senate 19930316 Introduced, read first time,
placed on Calendar without
reference
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
INTRODUCED
March 16, 1993
S. 556
S. Printed 3/16/93--S.
Read the first time March 16, 1993.
TO APPROVE REGULATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL, RELATING TO PROCEDURES FOR CONTESTED CASES, DESIGNATED AS REGULATION DOCUMENT NUMBER 1477, PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 23, TITLE 1 OF THE 1976 CODE.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. The regulations of the Department of Health and Environmental Control, relating to Procedures for Contested Cases, designated as Regulation Document Number 1477, and submitted to the General Assembly pursuant to the provisions of Article 1, Chapter 23, Title 1 of the 1976 Code, are approved.
SECTION 2. This joint resolution takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
The proposed regulation will revise existing Regulation 61-72, entitled Procedures for Contested Cases, which became effective on December 14, 1976, and has never been amended. This regulation is being revised in its entirety, in an effort to eliminate obsolete terminology and requirements, and to modernize the DHEC contested case procedures so that they will fully comply with federal and state constitutional and statutory mandates, state judicial decisions, DHEC Board decisions, and state court rules. The changes will clarify procedures, conform to recent court decisions, and provide explicit statements of agency practice and Board policy.
Significant changes include:
- eliminating the distinction between "contested cases" as a proceeding "for which the legal rights, duties or privileges of a party are required by law to be determined by an agency after an opportunity for hearing" and other decisions;
- reflecting the fact that, following the cases of Triska v. DHEC and Stono River EPA v. DHEC, many agency decisions affect substantial rights although there may not be any explicit statutory or regulatory grant of a right to hearing;
- stating clearly under what circumstances an appeal stays an agency decision;
- allocating the burden of proof and changing the prior requirement that the DHEC staff present its case last in any adjudicatory hearing;
- eliminating confusion which arose under the present language of R.61-72 as to what constitutes an Initial Pleading and what is necessary to commence an appeal.