South Carolina § 4-8-20 - Authorization to create consolidated government charter commission; creation; membership and appointment; vacancies.

§ 4-8-20. Authorization to create consolidated government charter commission; creation; membership and appointment; vacancies.

(A) The governing body of any county is authorized to create a consolidated government charter commission subject to the provisions of subsection (B) of this section. The commission shall consist of eighteen members, all of whom must be residents of the county.

(1) The governing body of the county shall appoint six members of the commission, at least four of whom shall reside outside the corporate limits of the largest municipality in the county, with no more than two county appointees being elected officials.

(2)(a) Six members of the commission must be residents of the incorporated municipalities within the county.

(b) The total population of all incorporated municipalities within the county, as determined by the most recent United States census, must be divided by six, the result being an apportionate average. The respective population of each municipality in the county must be divided by the apportionate average to determine any appointive index.

(c) Each municipality in the county shall appoint a number of members to the commission equal to the whole number indicated by their appointive index. However, no single municipality may appoint more than four members to the commission. No more than two municipal elected officials may be members of the commission. The option to appoint a municipal elected official is with the two municipalities with the largest population.

(d) When less than six members are selected to the commission in accordance with the prescribed appointive index method, the remaining member or members must be selected in a joint meeting of the charter commission appointees of the municipalities in the county. The member or members must be chosen from among the residents of the municipalities in the county which before this time have not provided a representative for the commission.

(3)(a) Each special purpose district in the county may appoint a member to the commission equal to the nearest whole number indicated by their appointive index. However, no single special purpose district may appoint more than four members to the commission. No more than two officials from special purpose districts in the county may be members of the commission. The option to appoint a special purpose district official is with the two special purpose districts with the largest population. In no case may there be less than one member of the commission representing special purpose districts when a special purpose district exists within the county.

(b) The total population of all special purpose districts within the county, as determined by the most recent United States census, must be divided by six, the result being an apportionate average. The respective population of each special purpose district in the county must be divided by the apportionate average to determine any appointive index.

(c) When less than six members are selected to the commission in accordance with the prescribed appointive index method, the remaining member or members of the charter commission must be selected in a joint meeting of the charter commission appointees of the special purpose districts in the county. The member or members must be chosen from among the residents of the special purpose districts in the county which before this time have not provided a representative for the commission.

(B) If the governing body of any county creates a commission, it must be created in accordance with the procedures specified in subsection (A) and only upon the request of the governing body of the county or upon petition of not less than ten percent of the registered electors within the county. The petition must contain the signatures of not less than ten percent of persons registered to vote in the county. Petitions must be certified as valid or rejected by the county board of registration within thirty days and if certified, must be filed with the governing body which shall create a charter commission within thirty days after certification. If within the thirty-day period one or more of the municipalities or special purpose districts fails or refuses to appoint their proportionate number of members to the commission, the county governing body shall appoint an additional number of members equal to the number that any such municipality or special purpose district is entitled to appoint. A vacancy on the commission must be filled in the manner of the original appointment.

HISTORY: 1992 Act No. 319, SECTION 3, eff April 8, 1992.