South Carolina § 48-4-30 - Governing board; composition; removal; terms; filling vacancies; oath.

§ 48-4-30. Governing board; composition; removal; terms; filling vacancies; oath.

(A) The department must be governed by a board consisting of nonsalaried board members to be appointed and constituted in a manner provided by law. The Governor shall appoint one member to serve as chairman, upon the advice and consent of the Senate. The appointment to chairman is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, even if the person appointed to serve as chairman is already a current member of the board.

(B) All board members must be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. One member must be appointed from each congressional district of the State.

(C) Notwithstanding subsection (B), membership on the board also shall include the at-large board member serving on the board on March 1, 2012. The at-large board member may continue to serve on the board until that board member's term expires, he is removed from the board as provided by law, or he resigns from the board. At the expiration of the at-large board member's term, or upon his removal from or resignation from the board, the provisions of this subsection no longer apply to the composition of the membership of the board.

(D) 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 the 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. Board members must possess sound moral character, superior knowledge in the fields of wildlife, marine, and natural resource management, and proven administrative ability.

(E) The Governor may remove any board member pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-3-240.

(F) Terms of the members must be for four years and until their successors are appointed and qualify. If a vacancy occurs when the General Assembly is not in session, it must be filled by the Governor's appointment for the unexpired term, subject to confirmation by the Senate at the next session of the General Assembly.

(G) Each board member, within thirty days after notice of appointment and before taking office, shall take and file with the Secretary of State the oath of office prescribed by the State Constitution.

(H) Notwithstanding subsection (E), the terms of members representing congressional districts serving on the board on March 1, 2012, shall terminate on the dates provided in this subsection. The terms of the members representing the Fourth and the Sixth Congressional Districts shall expire July 1, 2012. The terms of the members representing the First, Second, Third, and Fifth Congressional Districts shall expire on July 1, 2014.

(I) Notwithstanding subsection (E), the initial term of the member representing the Seventh Congressional District shall expire July 1, 2016.

HISTORY: 1993 Act No. 181, SECTION 1174; 2012 Act No. 215, SECTION 1, eff June 7, 2012; 2012 Act No. 279, SECTION 17, eff June 26, 2012.

Code Commissioner's Note

At the direction of the Code Commissioner, the 2012 amendments were read together. The text of the section as amended by Act 279 is set forth above; Act 215 differs from Act 279 only in nonsubstantive respects.

Editor's Note

2012 Act No. 215, SECTION 4, provides as follows:

"Notwithstanding another provision of law to the contrary, a person appointed to serve, or serving, as a member of the Department of Natural Resources Board to represent a congressional district, whose residency is transferred to another district by a change in the composition of the district, may serve, or continue to serve, as the representative of the district to which he was transferred for the term of office for which he was appointed; however, the appointing authority shall appoint an additional member to the board from the district which loses a resident member on it as a result of the transfer to serve until the term of the transferred member expires. When a vacancy occurs in the district to which a member has been transferred, the vacancy must not be filled until the full term of the transferred member expires."

2012 Act No. 279, SECTION 33, provides as follows:

"Due to the congressional redistricting, any person elected or appointed to serve, or serving, as a member of any board, commission, or committee to represent a congressional district, whose residency is transferred to another district by a change in the composition of the district, may serve, or continue to serve, the term of office for which he was elected or appointed; however, the appointing or electing authority shall appoint or elect an additional member on that board, commission, or committee from the district which loses a resident member as a result of the transfer to serve until the term of the transferred member expires. When a vacancy occurs in the district to which a member has been transferred, the vacancy must not be filled until the full term of the transferred member expires. Further, the inability to hold an election or to make an appointment due to judicial review of the congressional districts does not constitute a vacancy."

Effect of Amendment

The 2012 amendments rewrote the section.