South Carolina Code 1-30-10. Departments of State Government
1. Department of Administration
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 1-30-10
- Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
- Agency: means an authority, board, branch, commission, committee, department, division, or other instrumentality of the executive department of state government, including administrative bodies and bodies corporate and politic established as an instrumentality of the State. See South Carolina Code 1-6-10
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Employee: includes an individual who contracts with an agency for personal services. See South Carolina Code 1-6-10
- Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
- Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
- Person: means :
(a) an individual, labor union and organization, joint apprenticeship committee, partnership, association, corporation, legal representative, mutual company, joint-stock company, trust, unincorporated organization, trustee, trustee in bankruptcy, receiver, or other legal or commercial entity located in part or in whole in the State or doing business in the State;
(b) the State and any agency or local subdivision of an agency; or
(c) a political subdivision. See South Carolina Code 1-6-10 - Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
2. Department of Agriculture
3. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services
4. Department of Commerce
5. Department of Corrections
6. Department of Disabilities and Special Needs
7. Department of Education
Text of (A)8 effective until July 1, 2024.
8. Department of Health and Environmental Control
Text of (A)8 effective July 1, 2024.
8. Department of Public Health
9. Department of Health and Human Services
10. Department of Insurance
11. Department of Juvenile Justice
12. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
13. Department of Mental Health
14. Department of Motor Vehicles
15. Department of Natural Resources
16. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism
17. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services
18. Department of Public Safety
19. Department of Revenue
20. Department of Social Services
21. Department of Transportation
22. Department of Employment and Workforce
23. Department on Aging
24. Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
Text of (A)25 effective July 1, 2024.
25. Department of Environmental Services
Text of (B)(1) effective until the approval and ratification of an amendment to Section 7, Article VI of the South Carolina Constitution. The referendum to amend Section 7, Article VI failed on November 6, 2018. See Editor’s Note.
(B)(1) The governing authority of each department shall be:
(i) a director or a secretary, who must be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, subject to removal from office by the Governor pursuant to provisions of § 1-3-240(B); or
(ii) a board to be appointed and constituted in a manner provided for by law; or
(iii) in the case of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education, the State Commissioner of Agriculture and the State Superintendent of Education, respectively, elected to office under the Constitution of this State; or
(iv) in the case of the Department of Transportation, a seven member commission constituted in a manner provided by law, and a Secretary of Transportation appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the Governor.
Text of (B)(1) effective upon the approval and ratification of an amendment to Section 7, Article VI of the South Carolina Constitution. The referendum to amend Section 7, Article VI failed on November 6, 2018. See Editor’s Note.
(B)(1) The governing authority of each department shall be:
(i) a director or a secretary, who must be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, subject to removal from office by the Governor pursuant to provisions of § 1-3-240(B); or
(ii) a board to be appointed and constituted in a manner provided for by law; or
(iii) in the case of the Department of Agriculture, the State Commissioner of Agriculture elected to office under the Constitution of this State; or
(iv) in the case of the Department of Education, the State Superintendent of Education appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, serving at the pleasure of the Governor; or
(v) in the case of the Department of Transportation, a seven member commission constituted in a manner provided by law, and a Secretary of Transportation appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the Governor.
(2) In making an appointment for a governing authority of a department, race, gender, and other demographic factors should be considered to assure nondiscrimination, inclusion, and representation to the greatest extent possible of all segments of the population of this State; however, consideration of these factors in no way creates a cause of action or basis for an employee grievance for a person appointed or for a person who fails to be appointed. The Governor in making the appointments provided for by this section shall endeavor to appoint individuals who have demonstrated exemplary managerial skills in either the public or private sector.
(C) Each department shall be organized into appropriate subdivisions by the governing authority of the department through further consolidation or further subdivision. The power to organize and reorganize the department into divisions lies with the General Assembly in furtherance of its mandate pursuant to Article XII of the South Carolina Constitution, 1895. The dissolution of any division must likewise be statutorily approved by the General Assembly.
(D) The governing authority of a department is vested with the duty of overseeing, managing, and controlling the operation, administration, and organization of the department. The governing authority has the power to create and appoint standing or ad hoc advisory committees in its discretion or at the direction of the Governor to assist the department in particular areas of public concern or professional expertise as is deemed appropriate. Such committees shall serve at the pleasure of the governing authority and committee members shall not receive salary or per diem, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred pursuant to the discharge of official duties not to exceed the per diem, mileage, and subsistence amounts allowed by law for members of boards, commissions, and committees.
(E) The governing authority of a department may appoint deputies to head the divisions of their department, with each deputy managing one or more of the divisions; in the case of the Department of Commerce, the Secretary of Commerce may appoint a departmental executive director and also may appoint directors to manage the various divisions of the Department of Commerce. In making appointments race, gender, and other demographic factors should be considered to assure nondiscrimination, inclusion, and representation to the greatest extent possible of all segments of the population of this State; however, consideration of these factors in making an appointment in no way creates a cause of action or basis for an employee grievance for a person appointed or for a person who fails to be appointed. Deputies serve at the will and pleasure of the governing authority. The deputy of a division is vested with the duty of overseeing, managing, and controlling the operation and administration of the division under the direction and control of the department’s governing authority and performing such other duties as delegated by the department’s governing authority.
(F) In the event a vacancy occurs in the office of the department’s governing authority at a time when the General Assembly is not in session, the Governor temporarily may fill the vacancy pursuant to § 1-3-210.
(G)(1) Department and agency governing authorities must, no later than the first day of the 2015 Legislative Session and every twelve months thereafter, submit to the Governor and General Assembly reports giving detailed and comprehensive recommendations for the purposes of merging or eliminating duplicative or unnecessary divisions, programs, or personnel within each department to provide a more efficient administration of government services. If an agency or department has no recommendations for restructuring of divisions, programs, or personnel, its report must contain a statement to that effect. Upon their receipt by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, these reports must be referred as information to the standing committees of the respective bodies most jurisdictionally related in subject matter to each agency. Alternatively, the House and Senate may provide by rule for the referral of these reports. The Governor periodically must consult with the governing authorities of the various departments and upon such consultation, the Governor must submit a report of any restructuring recommendations to the General Assembly for its review and consideration.
(2) Department and agency governing authorities must, no later than the first day of the 2015 Legislative Session, and, as a part of the agency’s seven-year oversight study and investigation conducted pursuant to Chapter 2 of Title 2, submit to the Governor and the General Assembly a seven-year plan that provides initiatives and/or planned actions that implement cost savings and increased efficiencies of services and responsibilities within the projected seven-year period.
(H) [Repealed].