S 831

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 831
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
Conference Report Adopted - Not Printed
May 12, 2026
S. 831
Introduced
by Senators Grooms, Jackson, Kimbrell, Sutton and Bennett
S. Printed 5/12/26--S.
Read the first time January 20, 2026
________
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING
SECTION 57-1-410, RELATING TO THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE GOVERNOR SHALL APPOINT THE SECRETARY
INSTEAD OF THE COMMISSION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; TO DEVOLVE THE
DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION UPON THE SECRETARY
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; BY AMENDING SECTION 1-30-10, RELATING TO
THE DEPARTMENTS OF STATE GOVERNMENT AND THEIR GOVERNING BODIES, SO AS TO DELETE
THE PROVISION THAT PROVIDES THAT PART OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE DEPARTMENT
OF TRANSPORTATION IS A SEVEN-MEMBER COMMISSION; BY AMENDING SECTION 1-30-105,
RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, SO AS TO
PROVIDE THAT THE GOVERNING AUTHORITY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION IS THE
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION; BY AMENDING SECTIONS 11-43-140 AND 11-43-150, BOTH
RELATING TO THE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE BANK, SO AS TO REMOVE THE
CHAIRMAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION AS A DIRECTOR, TO
PROVIDE THAT THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION IS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD; AND TO
MAKE A CONFORMING CHANGE; BY AMENDING SECTIONS 57-1-10, 57-1-40, 57-1-430,
57-1-500, 57-3-50, 57 1 90, 57-3-210, 57-3-700, 57-5-10, 57-5-50, 57-5-90,
57-5-310, 57-5-340, 57-13-10, 57-13-20, 57-13-40, 57-13-50, 57 25 120,
57-25-140, 57-25-150, 57-25-170, 57-25-200, 57-25-210, AND 57-1-370, ALL
RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, AND ITS DUTIES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES REGARDING THE COMMISSION; BY
REPEALING SECTIONS 57-1-310, 57-1-320, 57-1-325, 57-1-330, 57-1-340, 57-1-350,
AND SECTIONS 6, 7, AND 8 OF ACT 114 OF 2007 ALL RELATING TO THE CREATION AND
FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND ITS COMMISSION; BY AMENDING
SECTION 57-1-360, RELATING TO AUDITS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, SO AS
TO SET FORTH CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CHIEF INTERNAL AUDITOR AND TO REQUIRE
AN INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF THE DEPARTMENT EVERY FOUR YEARS; TO AMEND SECTION 57 3
20, RELATING TO THE DIVISIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, SO AS TO
ESTABLISH CERTAIN DEPUTY SECRETARIES; BY ADDING SECTION 57-3-205 SO AS TO
AUTHORIZE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
AND OTHER ENTITIES AND TO SET FORTH CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS; BY AMENDING SECTION
57-3-615, RELATING TO CERTAIN TOLLS AND USAGE CHARGES, SO AS TO SPECIFY THE
CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH TOLLS AND USAGE CHARGES MAY BE IMPOSED; BY ADDING
SECTION 57-3-790 SO AS TO WAIVE THE STATE'S IMMUNITY UNDER THE 11TH AMENDMENT
OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION FOR CERTAIN ACTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION AND TO SPECIFY THE CIRCUMSTANCES FOR WAIVING IMMUNITY; BY ADDING
SECTION 57-3-800 SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO ENTER
INTO CERTAIN RECIPROCAL AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER JURISDICTIONS AND TO SPECIFY THE
CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH AGREEMENTS ARE ENFORCEABLE; BY ADDING SECTION
57-5-1345 SO AS TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO COORDINATE WITH
THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO ADMINISTER AND COLLECT TOLLS AND USAGE
CHARGES; BY AMENDING SECTIONS 57-5-820 AND 57-5-830, BOTH RELATING TO
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS AND MUNICIPALITIES, SO AS TO SET FORTH
THE PROCESS BY WHICH A MUNICIPALITY MAY OBJECT TO THE PROJECT; BY AMENDING
SECTIONS 57-5-1320, 57-5-1330, 57-5-1335, 57-5-1340, 57-5-1350, 57-5-1360,
57-5-1370, 57-5-1380, 57-5-1390, 57-5-1400, 57-5-1410, 57-5-1420, 57-5-1430, 57
5-1440, 57-5-1450, 57-5-1460, 57-5-1470, 57-5-1480, 57-5-1490, AND 57-5-1495,
ALL RELATING TO TURNPIKE PROJECTS, SO AS TO CHANGE THE NAME OF SUCH PROJECTS TO
CHOICE LANE FACILITIES, TO SPECIFY THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH CHOICE LANE
FACILITIES MAY BE CONSTRUCTED, TO SPECIFY THE MANNER IN WHICH BONDS MAY BE
ISSUED FOR SUCH CHOICE LANE FACILITIES PROJECTS, AND TO MAKE CONFORMING
CHANGES; BY ADDING SECTION 57-5-1710 SO AS TO SET FORTH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO SELECT AND AWARD A CONTRACT TO A PHASED
DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTOR; BY ADDING SECTION 57-5-1720 SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE
DEPARTMENT TO AWARD HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS USING A CONSTRUCTION
MANAGER/GENERAL CONTRACTOR PROCEDURE; BY AMENDING SECTIONS 56-5-4210 AND
56-5-4220, BOTH RELATING TO CERTAIN ROAD RESTRICTIONS ON LOCAL ROADS, SO AS TO
SPECIFY THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH RESTRICTIONS MAY BECOME EFFECTIVE; BY
AMENDING SECTION 11-35-710, RELATING TO EXEMPTIONS FROM THE CONSOLIDATED
PROCUREMENT CODE, SO AS TO SPECIFY THE EXEMPTION FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION AND TO EXEMPT CERTAIN ROAD-RELATED ACQUISITIONS BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; BY AMENDING SECTION 12-28-2740, RELATING TO "C"
FUNDS, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COUNTY
TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEES AND PROCEDURES FOR USING "C" FUND REVENUES; BY
AMENDING SECTION 12-28-2920, RELATING TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF CERTAIN ROADS, SO
AS TO SPECIFY THE USE OF USAGE CHARGE REVENUES; BY ADDING SECTION 57-5-1800 SO
AS TO ESTABLISH THE POTHOLE MITIGATION PROGRAM FOR THE PUBLIC REPORTING OF
POTHOLE LOCATIONS; AND BY ADDING SECTION 57-1-375 SO AS TO SET FORTH A PROCESS
BY WHICH COUNTY-FUNDED PROJECTS MAY REPRIORITIZE THE STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION
PLAN WITHIN THE COUNTY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of
South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  Section 57-1-410 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-1-410.  The commission Governor
shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Secretary of
Transportation who shall serve at the pleasure of the commissionGovernor. A person appointed to this position shall
possess practical and successful business and executive ability and be
knowledgeable in the field of transportation. The Secretary of Transportation
shall receive such compensation as may be established under the provisions of
Section 8-11-160 and for which funds have been authorized in the general appropriations
act.
SECTION 2.  Notwithstanding
Section 57-1-410, as amended by this act, thea Secretary, who is currently
serving and has been confirmed by the Senate immediately before the effective
date of SECTION 1, shall continue in that capacity
until a successor has been appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the
Senate.
SECTION 3.  Section 1-30-10(B)(1)(iv) of the S.C. Code is amended
to read:
    (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.
SECTION 4.  Effective
January 1, 2027, the Commission of the Department of Transportation is
abolished and its functions, powers, duties, responsibilities, and authority
are devolved upon the Secretary of the Department of Transportation unless
otherwise provided for in this act.
SECTION 5.  Section 1-30-105 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
1-30-105.  (A) Effective on July 1, 1993, the following agencies,
boards, and commissions, including all of the allied, advisory, affiliated, or
related entities as well as the employees, funds, property, and all contractual
rights and obligations associated with any such agency, except for those
subdivisions specifically included under another department, are hereby
transferred to and incorporated in and shall be administered as part of the
Department of Transportation to be initially divided into divisions for Mass Transit,
Construction and Maintenance, Engineering and Planning, and Finance and
Administration;  however, the State Highway Commission as constituted on June
30, 1993, under the provisions of Title 56, shall be the governing authority
for the department until February 15, 1994, or as soon as its successors are
elected or appointed and qualified, whichever is later.
    Department of Highways
and Public Transportation, except the Motor Vehicle Division, which was
established as the Department of Motor Vehicles by Section 56-1-5, and the
State Highway Patrol, formerly provided for at Section 56-1-10, et seq.
    (B) Notwithstanding another provision
of law, effective January 1, 2027, the governing authority of the Department of
Transportation is the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to Section 57-1-410.
SECTION 6.  Section 11-43-140 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
11-43-140. The board of directors is the governing board of the bank. The board
consists of seven voting directors as follows:  the ChairmanSecretary of the Department of Transportation Commission, ex officio; one director appointed by the
Governor who shall serve as chairman;  one director appointed by the Governor;
one director appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;  one
member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker, ex officio;
one director appointed by the President of the Senate;  and one member of the
Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, ex officio. Directors
appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President of the
Senate shall serve terms coterminous with those of their appointing authority.
The terms for the legislative members are coterminous with their terms of
office. The vice chairman must be elected by the board. Any person appointed to
fill a vacancy must be appointed in the same manner as the original appointee
for the remainder of the unexpired term.
SECTION 7.  Section 11-43-150(D) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:
    (D) Before providing a loan or other financial assistance to a
qualified borrower on a qualified project, the board of directors must submit
the decision to the Department of Transportation Commission for its
consideration. The Department of Transportation Commission can approve or
reject the board of directors' decisions or request additional information from
the board of directors. This requirement does not apply to decisions by the
board that relate to any payment or contractual obligations that the Department
of Transportation has to the bank that are pledged to any bonds issued by the
bank.
SECTION 8.  Section 57-1-10 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-1-10. For the purposes of this title, the
following words, phrases, and terms are defined as follows:
    (1) "Commission" means the administrative and governing authority of
the Department of Transportation Reserved.
    (2)
"Department" means the Department of Transportation (DOT).
    (3)
"Secretary of Transportation" means the Chief Administrative Officer of the
Department of Transportation.
SECTION 9.  Section 57-1-40 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-1-40. (A) It is unlawful for a member of the commission oran
official, an engineer, agent, or other employee, acting for or on behalf
of the department or commission, to accept or agree
to accept, receive or agree to receive, or ask or solicit, either directly or
indirectly, with the intent to have his decision or action on any question,
matter, cause, or proceeding which at the time may be pending or which by law may
be brought before him in his official capacity or in his place of trust or
profit influenced, any:
       (1)
money;
       (2)
contract, promise, undertaking, obligation, gratuity, or security for the
payment of money or for the delivery or conveyance of anything of value;
       (3)
political appointment or influence, present, or reward;
       (4)
employment; or
       (5)
other thing of value.
    A person violating the
provisions of subsection (A) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must
be imprisoned not more than five years and is disqualified forever from holding
any office of trust or profit under the Constitution or laws of this State.
    (B) It
is unlawful for a person to give or offer to give, promise, or cause or procure
to be promised, offered, or given, either directly or indirectly, to a member of the commission oran
official, an engineer, agent, or other employee acting for or on behalf
of the commission or department with the intent to
have his decision or action on any question, matter, cause, or proceeding which
at the time may be pending or which by law may be brought before him in his
official capacity or in his place of trust or profit influenced, any:
       (1)
money;
       (2)
contract, promise, undertaking, obligation, gratuity, or security for the
payment of money or for the delivery or conveyance of anything of value;
       (3)
political appointment or influence, present, or reward;
       (4)
employment; or
       (5)
other thing of value.
    A person violating the
provisions of subsection (B) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must
be imprisoned not more than five years and is disqualified forever from holding
any office of trust or profit under the Constitution or laws of this State.
    (C) The members and employees of the commission and employeesAny official or employee of the department are subject to
the provisions of Chapter 13, Title 8, the State Ethics Act, and the provisions
of Chapter 78, Title 15, the South Carolina Tort Claims Act.
SECTION 10. Section 57-1-430(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:
    (A) The secretary is charged with the
affirmative duty to establish and carry out the
policies of the commissiondepartment,
to administer the day-to-day affairs of the department, to direct the
implementation of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program and the
Statewide Mass Transit Plan, and to ensure the timely completion of all
projects undertaken by the department, and routine operation and maintenance
requests, and emergency repairs. HeThe secretary must represent the department in its
dealings with other state agencies, local governments, special districts, and
the federal government. The secretary must prepare an
annual budget for the department that must be approved by the commission before
becoming effective.
SECTION 11. Section 57-1-500 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-1-500.  The secretary must provide for a workshop of at least two biennial
contact hours concerning ethics and the Administrative Procedures Act for the commissioners, the secretary, the chief internal
auditor, and senior management employees of the Department of Transportation;
and a biennial ethics workshop of at least two contact hours for all other
department employees.
SECTION 12. Section 57-3-50 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-3-50. The commissiondepartment
may establish such highway districts as in its opinion shall
beare necessary for the proper and efficient
performance of its duties. The commissiondepartment, every ten years, must review the number of
highway districts and the territory embraced within the districts and make such changes asthat may be necessary for the proper and efficient
operation of the districts.
SECTION 13. Section 57-1-90(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    (A) In formulating transportation
policy, promulgating regulations, allocating funds, and planning, designing,
constructing, equipping, operating and maintaining transportation facilities,
no action of the South Carolina Transportation Commissionsecretary, or the South Carolina Department of
Transportation shall have the effect of discriminating against motorcycles,
motorcycle operators, or motorcycle passengers. No regulation or action of the commissionsecretary, or
department shall have the effect of enacting a prohibition or imposing a
requirement that applies only to motorcycles or motorcyclists, and the
principal purpose of which is to restrict or inhibit access or motorcycles and
motorcyclists to any highway, bridge, tunnel, or other transportation facility.
SECTION 14. Section 57-3-210(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:
    (A) The department is authorized to
utilize public transit funds to contract directly with private operators of
public transit systems to provide service to the general public, provided that
the private operators have established a plan of service that has been approved
by the local governmental entity that has jurisdiction over the area to be
served, the department, the commission, and the
federal government.
SECTION 15. Section 57-3-700 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-3-700.  With the approval of the commissionSecretary of Transportation, the county officials may
designate the department, acting through its agents and employees, as agents of
the county in securing necessary rights-of-wayrights of way and other lands.
SECTION 16. Section 57-5-10 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-5-10. The state highway system shall consist of a
statewide system of connecting highways that shall be constructed to the
Department of Transportation's standards and that shall be maintained by the
department in a safe and serviceable condition as state highways. The
department may utilize funding sources including, but not limited to, the State
Non-Federal Aid Highway Fund and the State Highway Fund as established by
Section 57-11-20 in carrying out the provisions of this section. The complete
state highway system shall mean the system of state highways as now
constituted, consisting of the roads, streets, and highways designated as state
highways or designated for construction or maintenance by the department
pursuant to law, together with the roads, streets, and highways added to the
state highway system by the Commission of the DepartmentSecretary of Transportation, and the roads, streets, and
highways that may be added to the system pursuant to law. Roads and highways in
the state highway system are classified into three classifications:
    (1)
interstate system of highways;
    (2)
state highway primary system; and
    (3)
state highway secondary system.
SECTION 17. Section 57-5-50 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-5-50. The commissionSecretary
of Transportation may transfer any route or section of route from the
state highway secondary system to the state highway primary system, or vice
versa, when, in itsthe
secretary's judgment, such transfer is advisable to better serve the
traveling public.
SECTION 18. Section 57-5-90 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-5-90. The commissiondepartment
may establish such belt lines or spurs as it deems proper and construct and
maintain such belt lines and spurs from funds otherwise provided by law for the
construction and maintenance of the state highway system, but the total length
of such belt lines and spurs to be established or constructed in any county
shall not exceed two miles in any one fiscal year;  provided, that should the commissiondepartment fail to
establish belt lines or spurs during a fiscal year the allocation to the counties
shall be continued from year to year and the mileage shall be cumulative.
Provided, further, that any mileage that accumulated prior to June 30, 1972,
under this section shall remain to the credit of the county to which it
accumulated.
SECTION 19. Section 57-5-310 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-5-310.  The commission and the Department of
Transportation may own such real estate, in fee simple or by lease, as shall be
deemed necessary for the purpose of facilitating the proper operation of the
department or for the building and maintenance of the public highways in the
state highway system.
SECTION 20. Section 57-5-340 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-5-340.  The department shall continuously inventory all of its real
property. When, in the judgment of the department any real estate acquired as
provided in this chapter is no longer necessary for the proper operation of the
department or highway systems, the department shall vigorously attempt to sell
the property by advertising for competitive bids in local newspapers or by
direct negotiations, but in every case of the sale or transfer of any real
estate by the commission or the department, the
sale or transfer shall be made public by publishing notice of it in the minutes of the next succeeding meeting of the commissionon the website maintained by the department. The commission and the department shall convey by deed,
signed by the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and the Deputy
Director of the Division of Finance and Administration, any real estate
disposed of under this section. Any funds derived from the sale of surplus
property by authority of this section shall be credited to the funding category
from which funds were drawn to finance the department's acquisition of the
property.  However, any funds derived from the sale
of right-of-wayright of way,
which the department has purchased, in excess of the department's cost shall be
distributed among the counties as C funds pursuant to Section 12-28-2740.
SECTION 21. Sections 57-13-10 through 57-13-20 of the S.C. Code are
amended to read:
    Section
57-13-10.  The commissionSecretary
of Transportation may cooperate and negotiate with the proper
authorities of adjoining states in the construction, purchase, acquisition and
maintenance of bridges constructed or to be constructed across streams which
constitute boundaries between this State and such adjoining states and may
expend for such purposes not exceeding one half of the total cost of such
bridges and approaches thereto and bear a proportionate part of the maintenance
thereof, such expenditures to be made from the funds available for the
construction and maintenance of highways and bridges in the state highway
system.
    Section
57-13-20.  Any county may, with the approval of the Commissiondepartment, provide the funds necessary for participation
in the construction, purchase or acquisition of any such bridge as is described
in Section 57-13-10 and shall be entitled to reimbursement therefor under the
provisions of Article 1, of Chapter
11 of this Title.
SECTION 22. Sections 57-13-40 through 57-13-50 of the S.C. Code are
amended to read:
    Section
57-13-40.  The commissiondepartment
may permit any person, county or municipality, or any combination thereof, to
construct toll bridges and appertaining structures suitable for highway traffic
on any roads of the state highway system. But before any such permit is issued
an agreement satisfactory to the Department of Transportation must be executed
by the person receiving such permit fixing conditions under which the bridge is
to be constructed, the character and design of the structure, the rate of toll
to be charged traffic using it and the terms according to which it can be
acquired by the State or counties concerned.
    Section
57-13-50.  NoA permit shallmay not be issued by the
Commissiondepartment
under the authority of Section 57-13-40 except after advertisement of all the
terms and conditions affecting such permit in at least five daily newspapers of
this State and after the county legislative delegation of every county directly
adjacent to the bridge has been given formal notice, describing such terms and
conditions, and has approved such terms and conditions.
SECTION 23. Section 57-25-120(4)(d) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:
    (d) land on the opposite side of a
nonfreeway primary highway which is designated scenic by the commissiondepartment.
SECTION 24. Section 57-25-140(D)(4) and (J) of the S.C. Code is
amended to read:
       (4) scenic areas designated by the commissiondepartment or other
state agency having and exercising that authority.
    (J)
Signs permitted under items (1), (2), (3), and (4) of subsection
(A)(1), (2), (3), and (4) must comply with the
regulations promulgated by the commissiondepartment in accordance with uniform national standards.
SECTION 25. Section 57-25-150(A) and (D) of the S.C. Code is
amended to read:
    (A) The commissiondepartment shall issue permits for the erection and
maintenance of outdoor advertising signs coming within the exceptions contained
in items (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (A) of Section
57-25-140(A)(1), (2), and (3), consistent with the
safety and welfare of the traveling public necessary to carry out the policy of
the State declared in this article and consistent with the national standards
promulgated by the Secretary of Transportation or other appropriate federal
official pursuant to Title 23, United States CodeU.S.C. Title 23.
    The commissiondepartment also
shall promulgate regulations governing the issuance of the permits and
standards for size, spacing, and lighting of the signs and their messages.
    (D)
The commissiondepartment
shall promulgate regulations governing the issuance of permits which must
include mandatory maintenance to ensure that all signs are always in a good
state of repair.  Signs not in a good state of repair are illegal.
SECTION 26. Section 57-25-170 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-25-170. The commissiondepartment
may provide within the right-of-way right of way for areas at appropriate distances from
interchanges on the interstate system and controlled access roads on the
federal-aid primary system on which signs, displays, and devices giving
specific information in the interest of the traveling public may be erected and
maintained under standards and regulations authorized to be adopted and
promulgated by the commissiondepartment.
The standards and regulations may provide for cooperative agreements between
the Department of Transportation and private interests for the use and display
of names for FOOD, LODGING, and GAS information signs on the highway right-of-wayright of way.
SECTION 27. Section 57-25-200(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:
    (A) Within the requirements of this
article the commissionSecretary
of Transportation may enter into agreements with other governmental
authorities relating to the control of outdoor advertising in areas adjacent to
the interstate and primary highway systems, including the establishment of
information centers and safety rest areas and take action in the name of the
State to comply with the terms of the agreements.
SECTION 28. Section 57-25-210 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-25-210. The commissiondepartment
is not required to expend funds for the removal of outdoor advertising under
this article until federal funds are made available to the State for the
purpose of carrying out the provisions of this article and the department commission has
entered into an agreement with the Secretary of Transportation as authorized by
Section 57-25-200department and as provided by the
Highway Beautification Act of 1965.
SECTION 29. Sections
57-1-310, 57-1-320, 57-1-325, 57-1-330, 57-1-340, and 57-1-350 of the S.C.
Code, and Sections 6, 7, and 8 of Act 114 of 2007 are repealed.
SECTION 30. Sections 57-1-360(B) through Section 57-1-370 of the
S.C. Code are amended to read:
    Section
57-1-360.  (B)(1) The chief internal auditor must be
a certified public accountantCertified
Public Accountant, a certified internal auditor, or
a certified fraud examiner, and possess any other experience the State
Auditor may require. The chief internal auditor must establish, implement, and
maintain the exclusive internal audit function of all departmental activities.
The State Auditor shall set the salary for the chief internal auditor as
allowed by statute or applicable law.
       (2)
The audits performed by the chief internal auditor must comply with recognized
governmental auditing standards. The scope of internal
audit services shall cover the entire department, including all the department's
activities, assets, and personnel. The scope of internal audit activities also
encompasses all, but is not limited to, objective examinations of evidence to
provide independent assurance on the adequacy, effectiveness, and efficiency of
governance, risk management, control processes, and compliance for the department.
The department and any entity contracting with the department must fully
cooperate with the chief internal auditor in the discharge of his duties and
responsibilities and must timely produce all books, papers, correspondence,
memoranda, and other records considered necessary in connection with an
internal audit. All final audit reports must be submitted to the secretary, commission and the
Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, the Chairman of the Senate
Finance Committee, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Education and
Public Works Committee, and the Chairman of the House of Representatives Ways
and Means Committee before being made public. All final audit reports shall be
published on the department's and the State Auditor's websites.
       (3)
The State Auditor is vested with the exclusive management and control of the
chief internal auditor.
       (4) Every four years the State Auditor
shall employ an independent external firm to perform a performance and
organizational audit on the Department of Transportation. The audit firm must
be selected by the State Auditor. A report from the independent external firm
must be completed by January 15, 2028, and every four years after that time.
Upon completion, the report must be submitted to the Governor, the President of
the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chairman of the
Senate Finance Committee, the Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee,
the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and the Chairman of the
House Education and Public Works Committee.
    Section
57-1-370.  (A) The commissiondepartment must
develop the long-range Statewide Transportation Plan, with a minimum
twenty-year forecast period at the time of adoption, that provides for the
development and implementation of the multimodal transportation system for the
State. The plan must be developed in a manner consistent with all federal laws
or regulations and in consultation with all interested parties, particularly
the metropolitan planning organizations and the nonmetropolitan planning
organization area local officials. The plan may be revised from time to time as
permitted by and in the manner required by federal laws or regulations.
    (B)
Concerning the development, content, and implementation of the Statewide
Transportation Improvement Program, the commissiondepartment must:
       (1)
develop a process for consulting with nonmetropolitan local officials, with
responsibility for transportation, that provides an opportunity for their
participation in the development of the long-range Statewide Transportation
Plan and the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program;
       (2)
approve the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program and ensure that it is
developed pursuant to federal laws and regulations and approve an updated
Statewide Transportation Improvement Program from time to time as permitted by
and in the manner required by federal laws or regulations;
       (3)
develop and revise the transportation plan for inclusion in the Statewide
Transportation Improvement Program, for each nonmetropolitan planning area in
consultation with local officials with responsibility for transportation;
       (4)
work in consultation with each metropolitan planning organization to develop
and revise a transportation improvement program for each metropolitan planning
area;
       (5)
select from the approved Statewide Transportation Improvement Program the
transportation projects undertaken in nonmetropolitan areas in consultation
with the affected nonmetropolitan local officials with responsibility for
transportation;
       (6)
select projects to be undertaken, in consultation with each metropolitan
planning organization, from the metropolitan planning organization's approved
transportation improvement plan in metropolitan areas not designated as a
transportation management area;
       (7)
consult with each metropolitan planning organization, in metropolitan areas
designated as transportation management areas, concerning the projects selected
to be undertaken from the approved transportation improvement program and in
accordance with the priorities approved by the transportation improvement
program;  and
       (8)
when selecting projects to be undertaken from nontransportation management area
metropolitan planning organizations' transportation improvement programs, or
selecting the nonmetropolitan area projects to be undertaken that are included
in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, and when consulting with
metropolitan planning organizations designated as transportation management
areas, the commissiondepartment
shall establish a priority list of projects to the extent permitted by federal
laws or regulations, taking into consideration at least the following criteria:
  (a)
financial viability including a life cycle analysis of estimated maintenance
and repair costs over the expected life of the project;
  (b)
public safety;
  (c)
potential for economic development;
  (d)
traffic volume and congestion;
  (e)
truck traffic;
  (f)
the pavement quality index;
  (g)
environmental impact;
  (h)
alternative transportation solutions;  and
  (i)
consistency with local land use plans.
    (C)(1) To the extent that state
funds are available to address the needs of the state highway system, the
commission must develop a comprehensive plan specifying objectives and
performance measures for the preservation and improvement of the existing system.
The projects included in this plan must be supported solely by state funds
including the Non-Federal Aid Highway Fund or other state revenue source. When
developing the plan required by this subsection, the commission must consider,
but is not limited to, considering the criteria in subsection (B)(8).
        (2)(C) When state funding is programmed for a project selected from the plan to be undertaken, the department
may use federal law, regulations, or guidelines relevant to the type of project
being undertaken to be eligible for federal matching funds.
    (D) The commission must approve
the department's annual budget.
    (E)(D) The commissiondepartment shall have any other rights, duties,
obligations, or responsibilities as specifically provided by law.
SECTION 31. Section 57-3-20 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-3-20. The responsibilities and duties of the
following division deputy directors deputy secretaries must include, but not be limited to, the following:
    (1) division deputy director for finance and administration Deputy Secretary for Finance and Administration:
       (a)
financial planning and management;
       (b)
accounting systems necessary to comply with all federal and/or state laws
and/or regulations as well as all policies established by the Comptroller
General;  and
       (c)
administrative functions, including recording proceedings
of the commission and developing policy and procedures to ensure compliance with these policies and procedures; and
       (d) financial management of funding from
federal, state, and local transit, rail, and other intermodal transportation.
    (2) division deputy director for construction, engineering, and
planningDeputy Secretary for Engineering:
       (a)
develop statewide strategic highway plans;  andoperations operation and management of the department's highway districts;
       (b)
direct highway engineering activities, including preconstruction,
construction, design, construction
oversight, and maintenance of state highways; and
       (c) establish project and program
priority lists.
    (3) division deputy director for intermodal and freight programsDeputy Secretary for Intermodal and Freight Programs:
       (a)
develop a statewide public transit system;
       (b)
coordinate the preservation and revitalization of existing rail corridors;
       (c)
develop and coordinate a statewide passenger and freight rail system, including
the development of a comprehensive state rail plan for passenger and freight
railroads and rail infrastructure services;
       (d)
plan, develop, and coordinate
and implement a comprehensive intermodal transportation program for the
movement of passengers and freight through integrated highway, railroad, port,
airport, and other transit systems; and
       (e) financial management of funding from
federal, state, and local transit, rail, and other intermodal sources;  and
       (f)(e) manage the Office of Railroads and the Office of
Public Transit.
    (4) Deputy Secretary for Planning:
       (a) develop statewide strategic
transportation plans; and
       (b) coordinate statewide plans with
federal and state-funded regional and local transportation planning
organizations.
SECTION 32. Article 2, Chapter 3, Title 57 of the S.C. Code is
amended by adding:
    Section
57-3-205.  (A) The department may enter
into public-private partnership arrangements between or among the department
and any public or private entity for the purpose of planning, designing,
financing, constructing, operating, or maintaining
the highways, roads, streets, bridges, public transit, and work, improvements or facilities incidental or related
thereto under the jurisdiction of the department. The provisions of this
section may be used with any other provisions of state law to accomplish one or
more projects.
    (B)
Public-private partnership arrangements may take the form of design-build
agreements, design-build-operate agreements, design-build-operate-maintain
agreements, design-build-finance-operate-maintain agreements, franchise
agreements, pre-developmentpredevelopment
agreements, usage charge services service agreements, direct agreements, guarantees,
concession agreements, lease agreements, availability payments agreements,
performance-based payments agreements, or any other form of contract approved
by the department, or other similar arrangements or agreements pursuant to
which the design, right-of-wayright
of way acquisition, relocation of structures or utilities, construction,
financing, management, maintenance, and operation, or any combination thereof,
of a public highway, road, streetsstreet, buildings and facilities owned by the department,
broadband technology, bridge, public transit project and work, improvements or
facilities incidental or related thereto is accomplished by the department or
on behalf of the department by any public or private entities or methods. Additionally,
such agreements may:
       (1)
be short-term or long-term agreements, but not exceed sixty years;
       (2)
authorize the establishment, adjustment, indexation, and enforcement of fares, usage
charges, or other user fees, including time-of-day or dynamic pricing,
consistent with policies adopted by the department, which may allow enforcement
through photo monitoring, cashless charges, charge-by-mail, and
charge-by-license plate. Such enforcement tools are authorized for projects
under this section as well as on a choice lane facility designated under
Article 9, Chapter 5, Title 57;
       (3)
specify a revenue application waterfall, reserves, rate covenants, and
collection and enforcement measures; and
       (4)
be structured on a revenue-risk, availability-payment, or hybrid basis,
including usage-based performance components.
    (C)
Subject to Section 57-3-615, any contracts entered into pursuant to this
section may authorize funding to be established, set, modified, adjusted, and
retained by the private entity, may include fares, usage charges, or other user
fees for use of the project that is the subject of the arrangement, and the department
may provide enforcement and collection services for the benefit of a
public-private partnership arrangement. The funding may be distributed among
the participants in the project as may be provided for by contract. Multiyear
payment obligations may be appropriation backed availability payments or
milestone payments and may include standard non-appropriation clauses and
termination-for-non-appropriation remedies with predefined compensation
formulas.
    (D)
The department may:
       (1)
take any action to obtain federal, state, or local assistance for a qualifying
project that serves the public purpose and the public-private partnership
arrangements authorized by this section and may enter into any contracts
required to receive such assistance;
       (2)
determine that it serves the public purpose and the public-private partnership
arrangements authorized by this section for all or any portion of the costs of
a project to be paid, directly or indirectly, from the proceeds of a grant or
loan made by federal, state, or local government or any agency or
instrumentality thereof. Such assistance includes, but is not limited to,
assistance under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act,
railroad rehabilitation and improvement financing, private activity bonds, and
other federal credit or tax-exempt financing programs; and
       (3)
cooperate with private partners to obtain allocations or approvals necessary
for the issuance of private activity bonds and similar instruments, and may
establish or incorporate, or assist in the establishment and incorporation of,
a not-for-profit corporation or entity for the purpose
of borrowing funds through a governmental conduit bond issuer for the benefit
of a project procured by the department.
    (E)
Any contract entered into pursuant to this section shall require the private
partner or each of its prime contractors to provide performance and payment
security to the extent deemed necessary by the department or required by the
financing parties. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the penal sum or
amount of such security may be less than the price of the contract involved,
such as the value of the construction elements of the contract, based upon the department's
determination on a project-by-project basis of what sum may be required to
adequately protect the department, the stateState, and the contracting and subcontracting parties.
    (F)
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, proposals under this
section, with respect to public highway, road, bridge, building, facility, or
public transit projects or work incidental or related thereto that the department
determines can be more efficiently accomplished by any of the means enumerated
in this section, may be evaluated and awarded by the department based on
qualifications of participants or best value, or both, as evaluated by
procedures of the department and taking into consideration the best interest of
the State of South Carolina. Projects authorized under a predevelopment
agreement may be authorized without specifying or finalizing the full or final
scope of work to be performed under the procurement or pre-developmentpredevlopment agreement. The department may utilize a
two-step request for qualifications or request for proposals process with
shortlisting, conduct competitive dialogue or confidential meetings with
proposers, solicit and accept alternative technical concepts, and make
best-value tradeoffs without mandated formulaic weights.
    (G)(1) To the extent not authorized by
statutory provisions other than this section, the solicitation pursuant to
subsection (B) for a given project must be submitted to the Joint Bond Review
Committee for review and comment prior to advertisement of the solicitation.
       (2)
The contract may include an agreement to make payments to a development entity
on a multi-yearmultiyear
basis, provided either that payment and performance obligations for succeeding
fiscal periods are subject to the availability and appropriation of funds for
such periods, or that specific, limited revenues are identified in a
solicitation which has received review and comment by the Joint Bond Review
Committee prior to the solicitation of the procurement and such revenues are
payable solely from a revenue-producing project or from a special source, which
source does not involve revenues from any tax.
       (3)
The department may set up separate accounts, which may be with a commercial
trustee, to account for any such funds and provide for the deposit and
disbursement of moneys therein under the public-private partnership
arrangement.
       (4)
The department shall notify the Joint Bond Review Committee within thirty days
of execution of the public-private partnership arrangement and shall provide
the Joint Bond Review Committee an annual report within one hundred twenty days
of the end of each fiscal year regarding the status of all public-private
partnership arrangements outstanding.
    (H) When
the department proposes to enter into a public-private partnership arrangement
under this section, it shall, prior to the execution and delivery of the
contract documents for the public-private partnership arrangement, file a copy
of the documents in the office Office of the Secretary of State. It is the duty of the
Secretary of State to file and index the filing in a special book to be kept by
such officer for such purpose. The Secretary of State shall be authorized to
prepare and deliver certified copies of the filed documents and to deliver them
to interested parties. For each certification a reasonable fee may be charged.
No action shall be commenced on account of the validity of a public-private
partnership arrangement after the expiration of twenty days from the date of
the filing and indexing of the proposed contract documents for the
public-private partnership arrangement in the office Office of the Secretary of State. The period within which
such actions may be commenced shall not begin to run until such records have
been filed as prescribed in this section.
    (I)(1) Before entering into any
public-private partnership arrangement structure, the department shall
promulgate regulations governing the solicitation, evaluation, award,
financing, and oversight of such projects.
       (2)
Notwithstanding item (1), subsection (J), or any
other provision of law, the department may enter into agreements with an
adjoining state to administer a public-private partnership arrangement
structure in the state State as
long as such agreement has been submitted to the Joint Bond Review Committee
for review and comment prior to execution.
       (3)
The department may promulgate other regulations to implement the provisions of
this section.
    (J) No toll or usage charge may be
imposed on an existing roadway unless expressly authorized by the General
Assembly. Any such structure must be disclosed before the execution of the
agreement and must include rate limitations or other mechanisms to protect the
public.
SECTION 33. Section 57-3-615 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-3-615.  If a toll is
administered on a project by the Department of Transportation, the toll must be
used to pay for the construction, maintenance costs, and other expenses for
only that project.  A toll project that is in excess of one hundred fifty
million dollars may only be initiated as provided in Chapter 37 of Title 4.
    No
toll may be imposed on passage of any vehicle on federal interstate highways in
this State which were in existence as of January 1, 1997, unless the imposition
is otherwise affirmatively approved by the General Assembly in separate
legislation enacted solely for that purpose.
    (A) No toll or usage charge may be
imposed on the passage of any vehicle on any publicly owned or controlled road,
bridge, highway, or interstate in this State except as provided by this
section. Any toll or usage charge imposition must be allowed by or not contrary
to federal law. Tolls or usage charges may be imposed on a publicly owned or
controlled road, bridge, highway, or interstate under any of the following
circumstances:
       (1) the toll or usage charge imposition
is specifically authorized by the General Assembly;
       (2) the toll
usage charge imposition is on managed or choice
lane facilities designated as a choice lane facility under Article 9, Chapter
5, Title 57; or
       (3) the usage charge imposition is
reviewed by the Joint Bond Review Committee and approved by the State Fiscal
Accountability Authority in connection with an agreement under Section 57-3-200
or 57-3-205 for managed or choice lane facilities prior to the solicitation of
proposals for the agreement. The manner and method of usage charge imposition
and rate setting are not required to be reviewed or approved, but must be set
forth in the agreement, as may be amended from time to time.
    (B) Usage charges imposed under
subsection (A)(2) or (3) of this section may only be imposed on managed or
choice lane facilities that increase the capacity of the applicable road,
bridge, highway, or interstate. Managed or choice lane facilities are those
facilities that are actively managed to achieve more effective and efficient
use of a road, bridge, highway, or interstate using various strategies
including, but not limited to, pricing, vehicle eligibility, and access
control; the managed or choice lane facilities shall be in addition to and not
in place of existing lanes. Usage charges are charges imposed for the use of,
or right to use, managed or choice lane facilities.
    (C) Usage
chargesTolls may continue to be imposed on the
passage of vehicles on any publicly owned or controlled road, bridge, highway,
or interstate in this State on which tolls or usage charges were imposed as of
January 1, 2026.
SECTION 34. Article 7, Chapter 3, Title 57 of the S.C. Code is
amended by adding:
    Section
57-3-790.  (A) The State waives its
immunity under the 11th Amendment of the United States Constitution and
consents to suit in a federal court for lawsuits arising out of the
department's compliance, discharge, or enforcement of responsibilities assumed
pursuant to 23 U.S.C. Sections 326 and 327. The waiver of immunity under this
section is valid only if:
       (1)
the Secretary of Transportation executes a memorandum of understanding with the
United States Department of Transportation accepting the jurisdiction of the
federal courts as required by 23 U.S.C. Sections 326(c) and 327(c);
       (2)
before execution of the memorandum of understanding under subsection (A), the
South Carolina Attorney General has issued an opinion letter to the Secretary
of Transportation and the administrator of the Federal Highway Administration
that the memorandum of understanding and the waiver of immunity are valid and
binding upon the State;
       (3)
the act or omission that is the subject of the lawsuit arises out of or relates
to compliance, discharge, or enforcement of responsibilities assumed by the
department pursuant to 23 U.S.C. Sections 326 and 327; and
       (4)
the memorandum of understanding is in effect when the act or omission that is
the subject of the federal lawsuit occurred.
    (B)
Within one year of submitting an application to assume administration of 23
U.S.C. Sections 326 and 327, otherwise known as the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) Assignment Program pursuant to this section, the secretary
shall issue a NEPA Manual detailing the manner in which the department will
carry out its NEPA responsibilities. The department must provide a public
comment period of at least thirty days on a draft NEPA Manual prior to issuance
of a final NEPA Manual.
    (C)
The department must annually publish a report describing the department's
assumption of NEPA responsibilities. The annual report must be made available
to the public and posted on the department's website. That report shall
include, but not be limited to, an analysis of time savings, an analysis of
positive and negative financial impacts, and a summary of any legal actions
challenging the department's actions under the program.
    (D) The
Secretary of Transportation is given the authority to coordinate with the
Director of the Department of Environmental Services, the Director of the
Department of Natural Resources, the Director of the Department of Archives and
History, and any other agency head whose agency may impact the issuance of
environmental decisions necessary to expedite the delivery of transportation
projects. Such agency heads must be responsive to such requests of the
Secretary of Transportation. The department shall include in the report
required in subsection (C) on all state agency activities related to permit and
environmental decisions related to transportation projects.
SECTION 35. Article 7, Chapter 3, Title 57 of the S.C. Code is
amended by adding:
    Section
57-3-800.  The Department of Transportation may enter
into reciprocal agreements with other jurisdictions including the federal
government and any state, or agencies or departments thereof, to enforce toll
or usage charge violations. The agreement shall provide that, when another
jurisdiction certifies that the owner of a vehicle registered in this State has
failed to pay a toll or usage charge, processing fee, or civil penalty due to
that jurisdiction, the unpaid toll or usage charge, processing fee, or civil
penalty may be enforced by placing a registration suspension as if the owner of
the motor vehicle has an outstanding judgment for failure to pay a toll or
usage charge under Section 56-3-1335, upon electronic notification by the
Department of Transportation to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The agreement
shall only be enforceable to the extent that:
    (1)
the other jurisdiction has its own reciprocal procedure for toll or usage
charge violation enforcement and does, in fact, reciprocate in enforcing toll
or usage charge violations within this State by withholding the registration
renewal of registered owners of motor vehicles from such jurisdiction, and the
other jurisdiction provides due process and appeal protections to avoid the
likelihood that a false, mistaken, or unjustified claim will be pursued against
the owner of a vehicle registered in this State;
    (2)
drivers and vehicles licensed or registered in this State, while operating on
the highways and bridges of the other jurisdiction, shall receive the benefits,
privileges, and exemptions of a similar kind with regard to toll or usage
charge enforcement as are extended to the drivers and vehicles licensed or
registered in the other jurisdiction while they are operating on the highways
and bridges of this State;
    (3)
the owner of a vehicle registered in this State may present evidence to the
other toll or usage charge agency or jurisdiction by mail or other means to
invoke rights of due process without having to appear personally in the
jurisdiction where the violation allegedly occurred;
    (4)
the reciprocal violation enforcement arrangement between the department and the
other toll or usage charge agency provides that each party shall charge the
other for costs associated with registration holds, or the like, in their
respective jurisdictions.
SECTION 36. Article 9, Chapter 5, Title 57 of the S.C. Code is
amended by adding:
    Section
57-5-1345. (A) In order to
administer, collect, and enforce any toll or usage charge, toll or usage charge
violation, processing fee, civil penalty, or registration-based enforcement
mechanism authorized by this title, the Department of Transportation shall
coordinate with the Department of Motor Vehicles to ensure access to current
motor vehicle and owner registration data.
    (B)
The Department of Transportation shall, at a minimum, receive updated toll and
usage charge related vehicle data from the Department of Motor Vehicles
monthly. The data shall include, but is not limited to, vehicle identifiers,
registration status indicators, and any information necessary to support toll
or usage chargeusage charge
billing, notice, enforcement actions, or registration renewal blocks authorized
by law.
    (C)
The Department of Transportation and the Department of Motor Vehicles shall
enter into a memorandum of understanding governing:
       (1)
the frequency, format, and method of data exchange;
       (2)
data security standards and confidentiality requirements;
       (3)
limitations on use of the data solely for toll or usage charge administration
and enforcement purposes; and
       (4)
procedures to ensure data accuracy, error resolution, and due process
protections for registered vehicle owners.
    (D)
No toll or usage charge enforcement action that relies upon registration
suspension, renewal block, or similar Department of Motor Vehicles action may
be initiated unless the vehicle data relied upon has been updated in accordance
with this section.
    (E)
Nothing in this section authorizes the disclosure of personal information
except as otherwise permitted by state and federal law.
SECTION 37. Sections 57-5-820 through 57-5-830 of the S.C. Code are
amended to read:
    Section
57-5-820.  (A) As used in this section and Section 57-5-830:
        (1) "Structurally deficient"
means not adequate to handle the vehicle weights authorized on roads leading to
them.
        (2) "Functionally obsolete"
means narrow clearances or sharp roadway approach angles that make passage
difficult or hazardous, or with too few lanes for existing traffic needs.
    (B)(1) All work to be performed by
the Departmentdepartment
on state highways within a municipality must be with the consent and approval
of the proper municipal authorities, except that work performed or to be
performed on a bridge and its approaches, certified by the Departmentdepartment as
functionally obsolete or structurally deficient, to remove, replace, or improve
such bridge and its approaches shall not require prior consent and approval of
a municipal authority if the bridge crosses the intracoastal waterway.
       (2) A decision by a municipality to not
consent and approve the work must be communicated in writing to the department
within one hundred eighty days of receiving notice of the work from the
department. A decision to disapprove of the work shall result in the
cancellation of the project, unless the project is determined by the Governor
to be in the best interest of the State.
       (3) Failure to provide consent and
approval within one hundred eighty days shall be deemed acceptance of the work.
       (4) A municipality shall not
conditionally approve the work to be performed by the department.
    Section
57-5-830.  In every case of a proposed permanent improvement, construction,
reconstruction, or alteration by the Departmentdepartment of any highway or highway facility within a
municipality, the municipality may review and approve the plans before the work
is started, but in no event shall such review and approval
of the plans delay the project schedule as communicated by the department to
the municipality; except that a municipality may not have the right to
review and approve plans to remove, replace, or improve a bridge and its
approaches within its limits where such bridge and its approaches have been
certified by the Departmentdepartment
to be functionally obsolete or structurally deficient and if the bridge crosses
the intracoastal waterway. Any costs incurred by the
department caused by the unreasonable delay in the review and approval of the
plans shall be the responsibility of the municipality.
SECTION 38. Sections 57-5-1320 through 57-5-1360 of the S.C. Code
are amended to read:
    Section
57-5-1320. As used in this article: Unless the
context indicates another meaning or intent:
    (1)
"Department" means the Department of Transportation;
    (2)
"Turnpike Choice lane facility"
means any express highway or limited access highway
constructed or any specified lanes or portion
thereof, designated and ratified or approved as such under the
provisions of this article by the department,
whether or not financed with turnpike bonds,
including any bridge, tunnel, overpass, underpass, interchange, entrance plaza,
approach, toll access house,
service station and administration and storage and other buildings and
facilities which the department considers necessary or desirable.  A turnpike choice lane facility
constitutes a portion or extension of any existing or proposed highway in the
state highway system;
    (3)
"Bonds or turnpike bonds" means revenue bonds of
the State authorized under the provisions of this article and Paragraph (9),
Section 13, Article X of the South Carolina Constitution;
    (4)
"Authority" means the State Fiscal Accountability Authority;
    (5)
"Turnpike Choice lane facility
revenues" means all revenues resulting from tolls usage charges or other charges derived from the operation
of a turnpike choice lane facility,
including revenues derived from concession leases or other concessionaire
operated facilities;, and, to
the extent designated by the bond resolution, such nontax revenues or other
legally available funds as are or may be made available to the department from
whatever source for the purpose of operating, financing, enforcing, and
maintaining, or any combination thereof, choice lane facilities;
    (6)
"Bond resolution" means the resolution or resolutions of
the state board authority making
provision for the issuance of turnpike revenue bonds;, as may be supplemented or amended
from time to time;
    (7)
"General obligation bonds" means state highway bonds issued pursuant to
Paragraph (6)(a), Section 13, Article X of the South Carolina Constitution.;
    (8) "State" means the State of South
Carolina.
    Section
57-5-1330. 1.(A) The department may
designate, establish, plan, improve, construct, maintain, operate, and regulate
turnpike choice lane facilities
as a part of the state highway system or any federal aid system whenever the
department determines the traffic conditions, present or future, justify the
facilities, except that the department may not designate as a turnpike choice lane facility
any highway, road, bridge, or other transportation facility funded in whole or
in part by a then imposed local option sales and use
tax as provided in imposed
pursuant to Chapter 37 of Title 4, unless by
agreement with the applicable county government. The department may
utilize choice lane facilities revenues and funds
available for the maintenance of the state highway system for the maintenance and operation of any turnpike choice lane facility financed
pursuant to this article. The authority to
designate choice lane facilities under this section shall at all times be
subject to the provisions of Section 57-3-615, and such designation shall not
be effective until ratified or approved by the State Fiscal Accountability
Authority.
    2.(B) In every highway construction
project, except federal and state secondary projects, rehabilitation and
widening of federal and state primary and secondary road and bridge projects
and highway safety projects, the Department shall consider making all or part
of the highway construction a turnpike facility and financing it by the use of
turnpike bonds.  It shall make an entry in the construction project file
indicating whether or not it determines making all or part of the project a
turnpike facility.  If the department determines it is feasible to make
all or part of the any construction
project a turnpike choice lane
facility, then it may engage in the
preliminary estimates and studies incident to the determination of the
feasibility or practicability of constructing any toll
roadchoice lane facility as it from time to
time considers necessary and the cost of the preliminary estimates and studies
must be paid from the general highway fund and must be reimbursed from funds
provided under this authority only if the studies and estimates lead to the
construction of a toll roadchoice
lane facility.
    3.(C) The department may acquire
such lands and property including rights of access as may be needed for turnpike choice lane facilities
by gift, devise, purchase, or condemnation by easement or in fee simple in the
same manner as now or hereafter authorized by law for acquiring property or
property rights in connection with other state highways.
    4.(D) In designating, establishing, planning, abandoning,
improving, constructing, maintaining and regulating turnpike
choice lane facilities the department may exercise such
authorizations as are granted to the department by the provisions of other statute law
applicable to the state highway system, except as they may be inconsistent with
the provisions included herein.
    5.(E)(1) The Departmentdepartment may
contract with any person, partnership, association or corporation desiring the
use of any part of the turnpike choice lane facility, including the right-of-wayright of way adjoining the paved portion, for placing
thereon telephone, telegraph, electric light or power lines, gas stations,
garages, stores, hotels and restaurants or for any other purpose, except tracks
for railroad or railway use and to fix the terms, conditions, rents and rates
of charges for such use provided that a sufficient number of the aforementioned
facilities shall be authorized to be established in each service area along any
such turnpike choice lane project
to permit reasonable competition by private business in the public interest.
Revenues from these contracts would be included in turnpike
choice lane facility revenues.
       (2) The department may contract with
any political subdivision desiring to assist the department, whether
financially, in kind, or otherwise, in any of the designating, establishing,
planning, abandoning, financing, improving, constructing, maintaining, and
regulating choice lane facilities as may be set forth in a short-term or
long-term intergovernmental agreement between the department and the political
subdivision. Revenues from these contracts may be pledged for the term thereof
and may be included in choice lane facility revenues should the contract so
provide. The right to receive any payments under such an intergovernmental
agreement may be maintained by the department or assigned to the trustee for
the  bonds, as may be provided or authorized in the bond resolution. The
authority to enter into such an intergovernmental agreement is concurrent and
supplementary to those general powers granted political subdivisions and the department
in the South Carolina Code of Laws, including, without limitation, Title 57.
    Section
57-5-1335. The Department of Transportation department, before constructing a bridge or replacing an
existing bridge which qualifies is or is anticipated to be designated as a turnpike choice lane facility as defined in Section 57-5-1320, shall conduct the
feasibility study required by referenced
in Section 57-5-1330 and shall forward copies of the study to the
Chairman of the Transportation and Finance Committees of the Senate and the
Education and Public Works and Ways and Means Committees of the House of
Representatives within fifteen days of the completion of the study.
    Section
57-5-1340. In addition to the powers listed above,
the South Carolina Department of Transportation may:
    1.(1) Requestrequest the issuance of turnpike bonds
for the purpose of paying all or any part of the cost of any one or more turnpike choice lane projects;
    2.(2) Fixfix
and revise from time to time and charge and collect a
program of tolls usage
charges for transit over each designated turnpike choice lane facility; constructed by it; and each program may provide for dynamic charges, scheduled
charges, variable charges, uniform charges, or some combination thereof, and
may take into account the weight and class of certain vehicles, real-time and
planned usage, and any other factors deemed appropriate by the department;
    3.(3)  Combinecombine, for the purposes of financing the any choice lane facilities,
any two or more turnpike choice
lane facilities;
    4.(4) Controlcontrol access to turnpike choice lane facilities;
    5.(5) Toto
the extent permitted by a bond resolution, expend turnpike
choice lane facility or
facilities revenues in advertising the choice lane facilities
and services of the turnpike choice
lane facility or facilities to the traveling public;
    6.(6) Receivereceive and accept from any federal agency grants for or
in the aid of the construction of any turnpike choice lane facility;
    7.(7) Establishestablish a separate division to administer turnpike choice lane facilities
and a separate turnpike choice
lane facility account.;
    8.(8) Dodo
all acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly
granted in this article.
    Section
57-5-1350. Whenever it becomes necessary that monies
be raised for a turnpike choice
lane facility, the commission department may make request to the State Fiscal
Accountability Authority for the issuance of turnpike bonds.  The request may be in the form of resolution adopted at any
regular or special meeting of the commission.  The request shall set
forth on the face thereof or by schedule attached thereto:
    1.(1) the turnpike choice lane facility proposed to be constructed or designated;
    2.(2) the amount required for feasibility studies, planning,
design, right-of-wayright of
way acquisition, and construction of the turnpike choice lane facility;
    3.(3) a tentative time schedule setting forth the period of
time for which the sum request must requested is expected to be expended;
    4.(4) a debt service table showing the estimated annual
principal and interest requirements for the requested turnpike
bonds;
    5.(5) any feasibility study obtained by the commission department relating
to the proposed turnpike choice
lane facility;
    6.(6) the commission's department's recommendations relating to any covenant to
be made in the bond resolution of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority respecting
competition between the proposed turnpike choice lane facility and possible future highways whose
construction would have an adverse effect upon the turnpikechoice lane facility revenues which would otherwise be
derived by the proposed turnpike choice lane facility.
    Section
57-5-1360. Following the receipt of a request pursuant to Section 57-5-1350,
the State Fiscal Accountability Authority shall review the request and, to the
extent that it approves the request, it may effect, by
bond resolution duly adopted, the issuance of turnpike
bonds, or pending their issuance, may effect the issuance of bond
anticipation notes pursuant to Title 11, Chapter 17.  A
resolution approving any proposed turnpike bonds may not be adopted unless
before approval the state board conducts, after not less than ten days'
published notice, a public hearing in the City of Columbia.
SECTION 39. Sections 57-5-1380 through 57-5-1460 of the S.C. Code
are amended to read:
    Section
57-5-1380. (A) For the payment of the principal of and interest on
all turnpike bonds, there is irrevocably pledged all turnpike revenues derived from the turnpike choice lane facility revenues financed by the bonds to
the extent and in the manner prescribed by the bond resolution. Any interest
earned on turnpike choice lane
facility account balances must be credited to the turnpike
choice lane facility account as prescribed in the bond resolution.
    (B) The bonds authorized by this
article are special limited obligations of the State. The principal and
interest are payable solely out of the choice lane facility revenues. The bonds
issued do not constitute an indebtedness of the State, State Fiscal
Accountability Authority, or department within the meaning of any state
constitutional provision or statutory limitation, except indebtedness payable
solely from a revenue producing source or from a special source that does not
include revenues from any tax within the meaning of Paragraph (9), Section 13,
Article X of the South Carolina Constitution. The full faith, credit, and
taxing powers of the State, State Fiscal Accountability Authority, or department
are not pledged to the payment of the bonds and this fact must be plainly
stated on the face of each bond. The State Fiscal Accountability Authority and
the department each lack taxing power. The General Assembly finds that choice
lane facilities constitute a revenue producing project for the purposes of
Paragraph (9), Section 13, Article X of the South Carolina Constitution.
    Section
57-5-1390. Turnpike bondsBonds
shall bear interest, payable on occasions prescribed by the State Fiscal
Accountability Authority, at a rate not exceeding the maximum prescribed by Section 11-9-350 the bond
resolution. Each issue of turnpike bonds
shall mature on the occasion prescribed by the State Fiscal Accountability
Authority, not exceeding forty years from the date the bonds bearare issued.  Turnpike bondsBonds may, in
the discretion of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority, be made subject to
redemption at par and accrued interest, plus such redemption premium as it
approves and on occasions and under conditions it prescribes. Turnpike bondsBonds are not
redeemable before maturity unless they contain a statement to that effect.
    Section
57-5-1400. Turnpike bondsBonds
must be sold at private or public sale under conditions prescribed by the bond resolutionState Fiscal
Accountability Authority.  For the purpose of bringing about successful
sales of the bonds, the State Fiscal Accountability Authority may do, or cause to be done, all things ordinarily and
customarily done in connection with the sale of state or municipal bonds.  All
expenses incident to the sales of the bonds must be paid from the proceeds of
the sale of the bonds or choice lane facility revenues.
    Section
57-5-1410. All turnpike bonds must be executed in
the name of and on behalf of the State of South Carolina
and must be signed by the Governor and the State Treasurer. The Great Seal of
the State must be affixed to, impressed, or reproduced upon each of them and
they must be attested by the Secretary of State.  If approved by the State
Fiscal Accountability Authority, any one or two of
the officers may, in lieu of manually signing, employ the use of the facsimile
of their signatures in executing any turnpike bonds.
    Section
57-5-1420. The proceeds derived from the sale of turnpike bonds
must be applied only to the purposes for which bonds are
issuedauthorized by this article and provided in
the bond resolution.
    Section
57-5-1430. Turnpike bondsBonds
must each be in the denomination of one thousand or five
thousand dollars or some multiple thereof or such
larger denominations as may be authorized by the State Fiscal Accountability
Authority in the bond resolution.
    Section
57-5-1440. Turnpike bonds
issued pursuant to this article may be in the form of negotiable coupon bonds,
payable to bearer, with the privilege to the holder of having them registered
in his name on the books of the State Treasurer as to principal only, or as to
both principal and interest, and the principal or both principal and interest,
as the case may be, thus made payable to the registered holder, subject to
conditions the State Fiscal Accountability Authority prescribes.  Turnpike
bonds so registered as to principal in the name of the holder may thereafter be
registered as payable to bearer and made payable accordingly.
    Turnpike bondsBonds may also be issued as fully registered bonds with both
principal and interest made payable only to the registered holder. The fully
registered bonds are subject to transfer under conditions the State Fiscal
Accountability Authority prescribes.  The fully registered
bonds may, if the proceedings authorizing their issuance so provide, be
convertible into negotiable coupon bonds with the attributes set forth in the
first paragraph of this section.
    Section
57-5-1450. (A) The State Fiscal Accountability Authority, by bond resolution duly adopted, may make provision for the
issuance of turnpike bonds. In the bond resolution, the State Fiscal Accountability Authority
may prescribe:
       (1)
the amount, denomination, and numbering of turnpike bonds
to be issued;
       (2)
the date as of which they must be issued method or manner of dating the bonds;
       (3)
the estimated maturity schedule for the retirement
of the turnpike bonds and a
pro forma table of anticipated principal and interest payments for such bonds;
       (4)
the form or forms of the bonds of the particular issue;
       (5)
the redemption provisions or manner of determining the
same, if any, applicable to the bonds;
       (6)
the maximum rate or rates of interest the bonds shall bear;
       (7)
the specific purposes for which the bonds must be issued;
       (8)
the purposes for which the proceeds of the bonds must be expended, in the
discretion of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority, a portion of the
proceeds may be used as capitalized interest during the period of construction
and initial operation and for the creation of appropriate debt service reserves and other funds and accounts as the State Fiscal Accountability
Authority deems necessary or expedient from the bonds and the proper operation
and functioning of the choice lane facilities;
       (9) the method and conditions by which
turnpike revenues from the turnpike facility so financed must be collected and
utilized;
       (10)(9) the extent to which and the conditions under which
additional parity bonds may be issued;
       (11)(10) any covenant considered necessary protecting the turnpike choice lane facility
so financed from possible future competition from other highways or comparable
facilities;
       (12)(11) the authorized method or methods by which the bonds must be sold and such other
matters as may be considered necessary in order to effect the sale, issuance,
and delivery of the bonds.;
       (12)  the conditions under which
refunding bonds may be issued.
    (B) Except as otherwise provided in
this article, all expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this
article are payable solely from funds provided under the authority of this
article or from any funds provided by the federal government or from other
special sources and no liability or obligation may be incurred by the
department beyond the extent to which money has been provided under the
provisions of this article.
    (C)(B) The bond resolution shall
set forth further a finding on the part of the State Fiscal Accountability
Authority that the estimate of turnpike choice lane facility revenues made by the commission department and
approved by the State Fiscal Accountability Authority indicates that collection
from turnpikechoice lane
facility revenues for applicable fiscal years is expected
to be not less than that required for annual debt service requirements
of the requested turnpike bonds. In making such finding, the department and the authority may
rely in whole or in part on the work product of third-party professionals
engaged to provide financial, feasibility, or practicability studies related to
the choice lane facilities or the financing thereof through bonds.
    (C) The authority, by bond resolution
duly adopted, may ratify and approve, in whole or in part, or modify in any
way, the designation of choice lane facilities proposed pursuant to Section
57-5-1350.
    (D) The authority, by bond resolution
duly adopted, may ratify and approve, in whole or in part, the combining of any
choice lane facilities then existing or proposed pursuant to Section 57-5-1350;
provided, however, that prior to ratifying and approving such a combination
from time to time the authority shall make a finding that it is in the best
interest of the State after taking into account factors including, but not
limited to, geographic connection, regional transportation planning,
operational efficiencies, revenue stability, bonding capacity, and such other
factors as it finds relevant.
    Section
57-5-1460. If following presentation of a certified copy of the bond resolution
it appears to the satisfaction of the Governor and the State Treasurer that the
estimated collection from the sources of revenue choice lane facility revenues in applicable future fiscal
years are not less than that required for annual debt service requirements for
the requested turnpike bonds, then
the Governor and State Treasurer may effect the delivery of bonds in
accordance with the bond resolution.
SECTION 40. Sections 57-5-1480 through 57-5-1495 of the S.C. Code
are amended to read:
    Section
57-5-1480. It is lawful for all executors, administrators, guardians, and other
fiduciaries and all sinking fund commissions, including the State Fiscal Accountability Authority Retirement System Investment Commission and Public
Employee Benefit Authority in their capacities as cotrustees of the funds of
the South Carolina Retirement System and as any manager and administrator of other
state sinking funds, to invest any monies in their hands in turnpike bonds.
    Section
57-5-1490. Any person who uses any turnpike project
choice lane facility and fails or refuses to pay the any usage charge toll provided therefor then due shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more
than two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days, and
in addition thereto the Departmentdepartment shall have a lien upon the vehicle driven by
such person for the amount of such toll usage charge and may take and retain possession thereof.
    Section
57-5-1495. (A) As used in this
section:
       (1)
"Electronic toll collection system" means a system
of collecting tolls orusage
charges which is capable of charging an account holder or
person the appropriate toll orusage charge by electronic means transmission of information from an electronic device on a
motor vehicle to the toll lane, which information is used to charge the account
the appropriate toll or charge.
       (2)
"Lessor" means any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency, association,
or organization renting or leasing vehicles to a lessee under a rental
agreement, lease, or otherwise wherein the said lessee has the exclusive use of
the vehicle for any period of time.
       (3)
"Lessee" means any person, corporation, firm, partnership, agency, association,
or organization that rents, leases, or contracts for the use of one or more
vehicles and has exclusive use of the vehicles for any period of time.
       (4)
"Owner" means a person or an entity who, at the time of a
toll violation and with respect to the vehicle involved in the violation, is
the registrant or co-registrant of the vehicle with the Department of Motor
Vehicles of this State or another state, territory, district, province, nation,
or jurisdiction, other than a lienholder, having
the property interest in or title to a vehicle. The term includes a person
entitled to the use and possession of a vehicle subject to a security interest
in another person, but excludes a lessee under a lease not intended as security.
       (5)
"Photo-monitoring system" means a vehicle sensor installed to work in
conjunction with a toll collectionchoice lane facility which automatically produces one or
more photographs, one or more microphotographs, a videotape, or other recorded
images of a vehicle at the time it is used or operated in violation of toll usage charge collection
regulations.
       (6)
"Toll violationViolation"
means the passage of a vehicle through a toll usage fee collection point without payment of the
required tollcharge.
       (7)
"Vehicle" means a device in, upon, or by which a person or
property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices used
exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks."Motor
vehicle" or "vehicle" means every vehicle which is self-propelled.
    (B)
Notwithstanding another provision of law, when a vehicle is driven through a turnpike choice lane facility
without payment of the required tollcharge, the owner and operator of
the vehicle is jointly and severally liableresponsible to the Department of Transportation to pay
the required tollcharge,
administrative fees, and civil penalty as provided in this section. The
department or its authorized agent may enforce collection of the required toll charge as provided for
in this section.
    (C)
A certificate, sworn to or affirmed by an agent of the department, or a
facsimile of it, that a toll violation has occurred, based upon inspection of
photographs, microphotographs, videotape, or other recorded images, or other electronic means, produced by a
photo-monitoring system, is prima facie evidence of the violation and is
admissible in any proceeding charging a toll violation pursuant to this
section. A photograph, microphotograph, videotape, or other recorded image
evidencing a violation must be available for inspection by the party charged
and is admissible into evidence in a proceeding to adjudicate liability for a
violation.
    (D)
The department or its authorized agent may assess and collect administrative
fees of:
       (1)
not more than ten dollars for the first toll violation
within a period of one year;
       (2)
not more than twenty-five dollars for each subsequent toll
violation within a period of one year.
    (E)
Upon failure to pay the required toll charge and administrative fees to the department within
thirty days of the notice, the owner or operator may be cited for failure to
pay a toll charge pursuant
to this subsection and, upon an adjudication of liability, is subject to a
civil penalty not to exceed fifty dollars for each violation as contained in
subsection (F). Upon an adjudication of liability, a judgment must be entered
against the owner or operator, and the court must mail a copy of the judgment
to the owner or operator unless the owner has opted into
receiving electronic notifications based on the Department of Motor Vehicles'
records, at which time the court must notify the owner electronically.
Upon failure to satisfy the judgment within thirty days, the court shall notify
via electronic methods pursuant to the Department of Motor
Vehicles' standards, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the authorized
agent, and the department Department
of Motor Vehicles shall suspend the registration of the vehicle that was
operated when the toll charge was
not paid and deny the vehicle's registration or reregistration pursuant to
Section 56-3-1335. The suspension shall remain in effect until the judgment is
satisfied and evidence of its satisfaction has been
electronically submitted presented to the
Department of Motor Vehicles and the authorized agent, and
the owner pays the applicable reinstatement fee pursuant to Section 56-3-1335.
An owner or operator who has been convicted of a violation of Section 57-5-1490
is not liable for the penalty imposed by this subsection.
    (F)
If a magistrate or municipal judge determines that the person or entity charged
with liability under this section is liable, the magistrate or municipal judge
shall collect the unpaid tolls charges and administrative fee and forward them to the
department or its authorized agent. The magistrate or municipal judge also may
impose a civil penalty of up to fifty dollars for each violation, plus court
costs and attorney's fees. The civil penalty must be distributed in the same
manner as other fines and penalties collected by the magistrate.
Notwithstanding another provision of law:
       (1)
adjudication of liability pursuant to this section must be made by the
magistrate's court of the county in which the toll facility is located or the
municipal court of the city in which the toll choice lane facility is located; and
       (2)
an imposition of liability pursuant to this section must be based upon a
preponderance of evidence submitted and is not a conviction as an operator
pursuant to Section 57-5-1490.
    (G)
The department or its authorized agent shall send:
       (1)
a "First Notice to Pay Tollof
Violation" to the owner or operator of a vehicle which, on one occasion
in any twelve-month period, is identified as having been involved in a toll violation. The first notice must require payment to
the department of the required tollcharge, plus an administrative fee as provided for in
subsection (D), within thirty days of the mailing of the notice;
       (2)
a "Second Notice to Pay Tollof
Violation" to the owner or operator of a vehicle which is identified as
having been involved in a second toll violation in
a twelve-month period, or who has failed to respond to a "First Notice to Pay Tollof Violation"
within the required time period. The second notice must require payment to the
department of the required tollscharges, plus an administrative fee as provided for in
subsection (D) for each violation within thirty days of the mailing or sent date of the notice;
       (3)
a "Failure to Pay a Toll" citation to the owner or
operator of a vehicle which is identified as having been involved in a third toll violation in a twelve-month period, or who has
failed to respond to the second notice within the required time period. The
citation requires payment to the department of the unpaid tollscharges, plus an administrative fee of not more than
twenty-five dollars for each violation, within thirty days, or the recipient's
appearance in magistrate's court of the county in which the violation occurred
or the municipal court of the city in which the violation has occurred to
contest the citation. A "Failure to Pay a Toll"
citation constitutes the summons and complaint for an action to recover the toll charges and all
applicable fees allowed pursuant to this section; and
       (4)
notwithstanding another provision of law, the notices and citation required by this subsection (G) by
first-class mail to the owner or operator of the vehicle identified as being
involved in the toll violation,
unless the owner has opted into receiving electronic notification based on the
Department of Motor Vehicles' records, at which time the court must notify the
owner electronically. If a vehicle is registered in two or more names,
the notices or citation must be mailed  sent to the first name listed on the registration
records. Notwithstanding another provision of law, personal delivery of the
notices and citation is not required. A manual or automatic record of the
mailing or sending of the notices or citation
prepared in the ordinary course of business is prima facie evidence of the
mailing of the notices or citation;
       (5)
the notices and citation required by this subsection must contain the following
information:
  (a)
the name and address of the person or entity alleged to be liable for a failure
to pay a toll charge pursuant
to this section;
  (b)
the registration number of the vehicle involved in the toll
violation;
  (c)
the location where the toll violation took place;
  (d)
the date and time of the toll violation;
  (e)
the identification number of the photo-monitoring system which recorded the
violation or other document locator number;
  (f)
information advising of the manner and time in which liability may be
contested;
  (g)
warning advising that failure to contest liability in the manner and time
provided in this section is an admission of liability;  and
  (h)
information advising that failure to pay a toll charge may result in the suspension of vehicle
registration.
    (H)
If a vehicle owner receives a notice or citation pursuant to this section for a
period during which the vehicle involved in the toll violation was:
       (1)
reported to a any law
enforcement division agency as
having been stolen, a valid defense to an allegation of liability for a failure
to pay a toll charge is
that the vehicle had been reported to a any law enforcement division agency as stolen before the time the violation occurred
and had not been recovered by the time of the violation. If an owner receives a
notice or citation pursuant to this section for a violation which occurred
during a time period in which the vehicle was stolen, but which had not been
reported to a any law
enforcement division agency as
having been stolen, a valid defense to an allegation of liability for a toll violation pursuant to this section is that the
vehicle was reported as stolen within two hours after the discovery of the
theft by the owner. For purposes of asserting the defense provided by this subitemitem, a certified copy
of the police report on the stolen vehicle, sent by first-class mail or submitted electronically to the department, its agent,
the Department of Motor Vehicles or the
magistrate's court or the municipal court having jurisdiction of the citation
within thirty days after receipt of the notices or citation, is sufficient;
       (2)
leased to another person or entity, the lessor is not liable for the violation
if the lessor sends to the department or to the court having jurisdiction over
the citation a copy of the rental, lease, or another contract document covering
the vehicle on the date of the violation, with the name and address of the
lessee clearly legible, within thirty days after receiving the notices or
citation. Failure to send the information within the thirty-day period renders
the lessor liable for the unpaid tolls charges and any administrative fees or penalties assessed
pursuant to this section. If the lessor complies with the provisions of this subitemitem, the lessee of
the vehicle on the date of the violation is subject to liability for the
failure to pay the toll charge
if the department or its agent mails a notice of liability to the lessee
within thirty days after receipt of a copy of the rental, lease, or other
contract document.
    (I)
If a person or entity receives a notice or citation pursuant to this section,
it is a valid defense to liability that the person or entity that receives the
notice was not the owner of the vehicle at the time of the toll violation.
    (J)
If an owner who pays the required tollscharges, fees, or penalties, or all of them pursuant to
this section was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of the violation,
the owner may maintain an action for indemnification against the operator.
    (K)
An owner of a vehicle is not liable for a penalty imposed pursuant to this
section if the operator of the vehicle has been convicted of a violation of
Section 57-5-1490 for the same incident.
    (L)
On turnpike choice lane facilities
where electronic toll charge collection
systems are utilized:
       (1)
a person who wants to make payment of tolls charges electronically must apply to the department or
its authorized agent to become an account holder. The department or its
authorized agent, in its discretion, may deny the application of a person. A
person whose application is accepted must execute an account holder's
agreement. The terms of the account holder's agreement must be established by
the department;
       (2)
the department shall ensure that adequate and timely notice is given to all
electronic toll charge collection
system account holders to inform them when their accounts are delinquent. The
owner of a vehicle who is an account holder under the electronic toll charge collection system
is not liable for a failure to pay a toll charge pursuant to the provisions of this section unless
the department or its authorized agent has first sent a notice of delinquency
to the account holder and the account holder was delinquent at the time of the
violation;
       (3)
the department shall not sell, distribute, or make available the names and
addresses of electronic toll charge
collection system account holders, without the account holder's consent,
to any entity that uses the information for commercial purposes. However, this
restriction does not preclude the exchange of this information between entities
with jurisdiction over or operating a toll highway bridge or tunnel;
       (4)
information or data collected by the department or its authorized agent for the
purpose of establishing and monitoring electronic toll charge collection accounts is not subject to disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act;
       (5)
notwithstanding another provision of law, all information, data, photographs,
microphotographs, videotape, or other recorded images prepared pursuant to this
section must be for the exclusive use of the department or its authorized agent
in the discharge of its duties under this section and must not be open to the
public, subject to the disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, nor
used in a court in an action or a proceeding pending unless the action or
proceeding relates to the imposition of or indemnification for liability
pursuant to this section.
    (M)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, school buses transporting school
children for a school event, shall be exempt from the payment of any tolls or usage charges.
SECTION 41. Article 11, Chapter 5, Title 57 of the S.C. Code is
amended by adding:
    Section
57-5-1710. (A) As used in this
section, "phased design-build" means a project delivery method that uses a
stepped or progressive qualifications-based selection process, followed by a
progression to a contract price. The department must select the phased
design-build contractor exclusively on qualifications and technical approach,
without consideration of schedule or costs, which must deliver the project in
multiple phases.
       (1)
The phased design-build contractor is initially under contract for
preconstruction activities including, but not limited to, project validation,
designing and developing plans, performing constructability reviews, and
developing construction schedules and pricing.
       (2)
The department and the phased design-build contractor shall establish a
guaranteed maximum construction cost. The guaranteed maximum construction cost
is the total dollar amount within which the phased design-build contractors contractor shall
complete the final design and construction of the project including the
contractor's direct costs, overhead, and profit, plus any authorized
contingency. Upon agreement of the guaranteed maximum construction cost, the
department and the phased design-build contractor will execute a second
contract or an amendment to the initial contract for completion of the final
designs and construction of the project consistent with subsection (C). Before
execution of a construction contract, the department shall retain an independent
third party to develop a cost estimate to verify the guaranteed maximum price
submitted by the contractor.
       (3)
If the department and phased design-build contractor cannot reach agreement on
a guaranteed maximum construction cost, then the department shall take
ownership and assume liability of the design work product. Nothing shall
prohibit the department from pursuing the project under any other legally
allowed method.
    (B)
The department may only award a contract under this section if the department:
       (1)
determines that it is in the public's interest to use the phased design-build
project delivery method; and
       (2)
prequalifies the prime contractor and lead designer firm that will be awarded
the contract.
    (C)
The method for the department to award a contract using phased design-build
procedures shall be:
       (1)
Prior to the initiating a phased design-build procurement under this section,
the department shall submit a report to the Joint Bond Review Committee on the
nature and scope of the project and the reasons the phased design-build
procurement project delivery method will best serve the public interest. The
department shall not initiate a procurement until the Joint Bond Review
Committee has provided its review and comment.
       (2)
Upon completion of a project awarded under subsection (B), the department shall
submit a post-completionpostcompletion
report to the Joint Bond Review Committee detailing the project results,
including any cost and time efficiencies achieved using the phased design-build
project delivery method. This report must include a cost analysis comparing the
use of phased design-build for awarding contracts with the award of contracts
under the existing procedure.
    (D)
The department may promulgate regulations to implement the phased design-build
method.
    Section
57-5-1720. (A) The department may
award highway construction contracts using a construction manager/general
contractor (CM/GC) procedure. Under a CM/GC contract, the department shall
perform preconstruction services via department personnel or via contract. A
CM/GC contractor is responsible for providing advisory preconstruction services
of the department's design including, but not limited to, constructability
review, scheduling, pricing, and phasing. The CM/GC contractor shall be able to
perform construction should the department and the contractor agree to a
guaranteed maximum price.
    (B)
Should a guaranteed maximum price agreement be reached, construction services
shall commence under a subsequent contract instrument. The contract instrument
may be in the form of a CM/GC contract, a franchise agreement, or any other
form of contract approved by the department. Before execution of a construction
contract, the department shall retain an independent third party to develop a
cost estimate to verify the guaranteed maximum price submitted by the
contractor.
    (C)
Selection criteria shall include the contractor's cost for preconstruction
services associated with the project, contractor qualifications, experience,
past performance, best value, or any combination of the aforementioned
criteria, or any other combination of selection criteria considered appropriate
by the department.
    (D)
The department may promulgate regulations to implement the CM/GC project
delivery method.
SECTION 42. Sections 56-5-4210 through 56-5-4220 of the S.C. Code
are amended to read:
    Section
56-5-4210. (A) Anything in this article to the contrary
notwithstanding, the Department of Transportation with respect to state
highways and local authorities with respect to highways under their
jurisdiction may prescribe, by notice as herein provided, loads and weights and
speed limits lower than the limits prescribed in this chapter and other laws,
whenever in their judgment any road or part thereof or any bridge or culvert
shall by reason of its design, deterioration, rain or other climatic or natural
causes be liable to be damaged or destroyed by motor vehicles, trailers or
semitrailers, if the gross weight or speed limit thereof shall exceed the
limits prescribed in such notice.  And the Department of Transportation or such
local authority may, by like notice, regulate or prohibit, in whole or in part,
the operation of any specified class or size of motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer on any highways or specified parts
thereof under its jurisdiction, whenever in its judgment, such regulation or
prohibition is necessary to provide for the public safety and convenience on
such highways or parts thereof by reason of traffic density, intensive use
thereof by the traveling public or other reasons of public safety and
convenience.  The notice or the substance thereof shall be posted at
conspicuous places at terminals of and all intermediate cross-roads and road
junctions with the section of highway to which such notice shall apply.  After
any such notice shall have been posted, the operation of any motor vehicle or
combination contrary to its provisions shall constitute a violation of this
chapter.
    (B) The imposition of any restrictions
pursuant to subsection (A) must first be approved by the Department of
Transportation on any highways transferred to local authorities after July
2026.
    Section
56-5-4220. No limitation shall be established by any county, municipal, or other local authority pursuant to the provisions of
Section 56-5-4210 that would interfere with or interrupt traffic as authorized
hereunder over along public state
highways, including officially established detours for such highways and cases
where such traffic passes over roads, streets or thoroughfares within the sole
jurisdiction of such county, municipal, or other
local authority, unless such limitations and further restrictions shall have
first been approved by the Department of Transportation, except that with
respect to county roads, other than such as are in use as state highway
detours, the respective county road authorities shall have full power and
authority to further limit the weights of vehicles upon bridges and culverts that have failed to meet the National Bridge Inspection
Standards as administered by the Department of Transportation upon such
public notice as they deem sufficient, and existing laws applicable thereto
shall not be affected by the terms of this article.
SECTION 43. Section 11-35-710 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
11-35-710. (A) The board, upon the
recommendation of the chief procurement officer, may exempt governmental bodies
from purchasing certain items through the respective chief procurement
officer's area of responsibility. The board may exempt specific supplies,
services, information technology, or construction from the purchasing
procedures required in this chapter and for just cause by unanimous written
decision limit or may withdraw exemptions provided for in this section. The
following exemptions are granted from this chapter:
       (1)
the construction, maintenance, and repair of bridges,
highways, and roads;  vehicle and road equipment maintenance and repair;  and
other emergency-type parts or equipment utilized by the Department of
Transportation or the Department of Public Safety the
acquisition by the Department of Transportation of: transportation planning;
the construction, maintenance, design, financing, operation, and repair of
bridges, highways, roads, and other improvements within the state state's rights of way;
technology related to operations within the state state's rights of way; and vehicle and road equipment
maintenance and repair and other emergency-type parts and equipment;
       (2)
the purchase of raw materials by the South Carolina Department of Corrections,
Division of Prison Industries;
       (3)
South Carolina State Ports Authority;
       (4)
Division of Public Railways of the Department of Commerce;
       (5)
South Carolina Public Service Authority;
       (6)
expenditure of funds at state institutions of higher learning derived wholly
from athletic or other student contests, from the activities of student
organizations, and from the operation of canteens and bookstores, except as the
funds are used for the procurement of construction, architect-engineer,
construction-management, and land surveying services;
       (7)
livestock, feed, and veterinary supplies;
       (8)
articles for commercial sale by all governmental bodies;
       (9)
fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, milk, and eggs;
       (10)
South Carolina Arts Commission and South Carolina Museum Commission for the
purchase of one-of-a-kind items such as paintings, antiques, sculpture, and
similar objects. Before a governmental body procures the objects, the head of
the purchasing agency shall prepare a written determination specifying the need
for the objects and the benefits to the State. The South Carolina Arts
Commission shall review the determination and forward a recommendation to the
board for approval;
       (11)
published books, periodicals, and technical pamphlets;
       (12)
South Carolina Research Authority;
       (13)
the purchase of supplies, services, or information technology by state offices,
departments, institutions, agencies, boards, and commissions or the political
subdivisions of this State from the South Carolina Department of Corrections,
Division of Prison Industries;
       (14)
Medical University Hospital Authority, if the Medical University Hospital
Authority has promulgated a procurement process in accordance with its enabling
provision;
       (15)
if approved in writing by the State Engineer in advance, and if some aspect of
the overall transaction is otherwise approved by the board in advance of the
acquisition, an acquisition of construction from an eleemosynary corporation or
foundation, or a wholly owned business thereof, established solely for the
governmental body's benefit, but only if the eleemosynary corporation or
foundation acquires the construction on behalf of or for the use of the
governmental body and does so pursuant to this code, as required by Section
11-35-40(4);.
       (16) the acquisition by the
Department of Public Safety of vehicle and road equipment maintenance and
repair and other emergency-type parts and equipment.
    (B)
The State Fiscal Accountability Authority shall maintain and post publicly a
running list of all currently effective actions taken by the board pursuant to
subsection (A).;
SECTION 44. Section 12-28-2740 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
12-28-2740.  (A) The proceeds from
two and sixty-six three and
ninety-nine one-hundredths cents a gallon of the user fee on gasoline
only as levied and provided for in this chapter must be deposited with the
State Treasurer and expended for purposes set forth in this section. The monies
must be apportioned among the counties of the State in the following manner:
       (1)
one-third distributed in the ratio which the land area of the county bears to
the total land area of the State;
       (2)
one-third distributed in the ratio which the population of the county bears to
the total population of the State as shown by the latest official decennial
census;
       (3)
one-third distributed in the ratio which the mileage of all rural roads in the
county bears to the total rural road mileage in the State as shown by the
latest official records of the Department of Transportation. The Department of
Revenue shall collect the information required pursuant to Section 12-28-1390
regarding the number of gallons sold in each county for use in making
allocations of donor funds as provided in subsection (H)(I). The Department of Revenue shall submit the
percentage of the total represented by each county to the Department of
Transportation and to each county transportation committee annually by May
first of the following calendar year. Upon request of a county transportation
committee, the Department of Transportation shall continue to administer the
funds allocated to the county.
    (B) All interest earnings
on the County Transportation Fund in the State Treasury must be added to the
distribution to counties under this section in proportion to each county's
portion of the entire County Transportation Fund. Except for those funds being
used in connection with highway projects administered by the Department of
Transportation on behalf of counties administering their own "C" funds, these
distributions of earnings and the calculation required to determine the
appropriate amount shall not include those counties administering their own "C"
funds.
    (B)(C)(1) The
funds expended must be approved by and used in furtherance of a countywide
transportation plan adopted by a county transportation committee.
       (2) The county legislative delegation
shall appoint the county transportation committee, and shall ensure that the
committee includes fair representation from municipalities and unincorporated
areas of the county. All members of the county transportation committee must be
residents of the county. The Department of Transportation shall publish a
register on its website of members of the respective county transportation
committees. The county transportation committee shall publish on the county
website the members of the county transportation committee.
       (3) The countywide transportation
plan shall list the criteria by which projects shall be selected by the county
transportation committee. The criteria shall include, but not be limited to,
the condition of state and local highway roads and bridges, safety, efficient
traffic operations, and economic development. The plan shall be updated at
least every four years. Expenses related to preparing a plan may be incurred
from "C" funds. This subsection does not prohibit the county legislative
delegation from making project recommendations to the county transportation
committee. The county transportation committee shall publish on the county
website the countywide transportation plan.
       (4) County transportation
committees may join in approving a regional transportation plan, and the funds
must be used in furtherance of the regional transportation plan. The regional transportation plan shall be updated every four
years. Expenses related to preparing a plan may be incurred from "C" funds.
This subsection does not prohibit the county legislative delegation from making
project recommendations to the county transportation committee.
       (5) A county transportation
committee may expend from the funds allocated under this section an amount not
to exceed twoten
thousand dollars for reasonable administrative expenses directly related to the
activities of the committee. Administrative expenses may include costs
associated with copying, mailings, public notices, correspondence, and
recordkeeping but do not include the payment of per diem or salaries for
members of the committee.
       (6) A county transportation committee
shall comply with notice requirements under Section 30-4-80(a). The agenda
shall include the proposed actions of the county transportation committee and
include the requested amount of "C" funds to be allocated.
       (7) A county transportation committee
shall comply with the minutes requirements of Section 30-4-90. The minutes
shall include the final amount of "C" funds allocated to each recipient.
       (8) A county transportation committee
shall meet at least twice annually.
    (C)(D) At least twenty-five percent of a
A At least thirty-three
percent of a county's apportionment of "C" funds, based on a biennial
averaging of expenditures, must be expended on the state highway system for
construction, improvements, and maintenance. The Secretary
of Transportation, or his designee, shall approve the proposed expenditure
based on the anticipated improvement to the existing condition and operations
of the state highway system. The Department of Transportation shall
administer all funds expended on the state highway system unless the department
has given explicit authority to a county or municipal government or other agent
acting on behalf of the county transportation committee to design, engineer,
construct, and inspect projects using their own personnel. The county
transportation committee, at its discretion, may expend up
to seventy-five percent of up to sixty-seven
percent of "C" construction funds for activities including other local
paving or improving county roads, for street and traffic signs, and for other
road and bridge projects.
    (D)(E) The funds allocated to the county also may be used to
issue county bonds or state highway bonds as provided in subsection (J)(K), pay directly for
appropriate highway projects, including engineering, contracting, and project
supervision, and match federal funds available for appropriate projects.
Beginning July 1, 2002, for any new "C" fund allocations received on or after
this date, the balance of uncommitted funds carried forward from one year into
the next may not exceed three hundred percent of the county's total
apportionment for the most recent year. Expenditures must be documented on a
per-project basis upon the completion of each project in reports to the
respective county transportation committees. This documentation must be
provided by the agency or local government actually expending the funds and it
shall include a description of the completed project and a general accounting
of all expenditures made in connection with the project summaries of these
reports then must be forwarded by each county transportation committee to the
department using guidelines established by the department and the department
shall compile these reports into an annual statewide report to be submitted to
the General Assembly by the second Tuesday of January of each year. The
documentation and reporting requirements of this subsection apply only to
counties administering their own "C" funds. For purposes of this section,
"uncommitted funds" means funds held in the county's "C" fund account that have
not been designated for specific projects.
    (E)(F) All unexpended "C" funds allocated to a county remain
in the account allocated to the county for the succeeding fiscal year and must
be expended as provided in this section.
    (F)(G) The countywide and regional transportation plans
provided for in this section must be reviewed and approved by the Department of
Transportation. Before the expenditure of funds by a county transportation
committee, the committee shall adopt specifications for local road projects. In
counties electing to expend their allocation directly pursuant to subsection
(A), specifications of roads built with "C" funds are to be established by the
countywide or regional transportation committee. In counties in which the
county transportation committee elects to have "C" funds administered by the
Department of Transportation, primary and secondary roads built using "C" funds
must meet Department of Transportation specifications.
    (G)(H) This section must not be construed as affecting the
plans and implementation of plans for a Statewide Surface Transportation System
as developed by the Department of Transportation.
    (H)(I)(1) For
purposes of this subsection, "donor county" means a county that contributes to
the "C" fund an amount in excess of what it receives under the allocation
formula as stated in subsection (A). In addition to the allocation to the
counties pursuant to subsection (A), the Department of Transportation annually
shall transfer to the donor counties an amount equal to seventeen million
dollars in the ratio of the individual donor county's contribution in excess of
"C" fund revenue allocated to the county under subsection (A) to the total
excess contributions of all donor counties.
       (2)
A county is eligible for an additional allocation from the Department of
Transportation if the county contributed to the "C" fund an amount in excess of
what it receives under the allocation formula as stated in subsection (A) plus
what it receives under item (1). The Department of Transportation annually
shall transfer to the eligible counties an amount up to three and one-half
million dollars in the ratio of the individual eligible county's contribution
to the "C" fund in excess of the eligible county's total allocations under
subsection (A) and item (1) to the total excess contributions of all eligible
counties remaining after all allocations under subsection (A) and item (1) have
been made. Under no circumstances can an allocation under this item result in
an eligible county receiving total allocations in excess of what the county
contributed to the "C" fund.
    (I)(J)(1) In
expending funds pursuant to this section, counties that administer their own
"C" funds shall use a procurement system that requires competitive sealed bids,
no bid preferences not required by state or federal law, and public
advertisement of all projects. All bids for contracts in excess of one hundred
thousand dollars must be accompanied by certified bid bonds, and all work
awarded under the contracts must be covered by performance and payment bonds
for one hundred percent of the contract value. Bid summaries must be published
in a newspaper of general distribution following each award.
       (2)
The requirement of a bond for bid security or a bond for payment and
performance may not include the requirement that the surety bond be furnished
by a particular surety company or through a particular agent or broker.
    (J)(K) State highway bonds may be issued for the completion
of projects for which "C" funds may be expended for projects as determined by
the county transportation committee. The applicable source
for payment of principal and interest on the bonds is the share of "C" fund
revenues available for use by the county transportation committee. The
application for the bonds must be filed by the county transportation committee
with the Commission of the Department of
Transportation and the State Treasurer, which shall forward the application to
the State Fiscal Accountability Authority. The Department
of Transportation shall review the request and ensure it includes the
information and schedules contemplated by Section 57-11-220 and that estimated
principal and interest on the proposed bonds may be met from such county's "C"
funds, and if it, through the Secretary of Transportation, finds that such
request, as submitted or as supplemented by the department, includes the
required information, demonstrates that available "C" funds will satisfy
estimated principal and interest on the proposed bonds, and does not
unreasonably impact the published plans of the Department of Transportation, then
it shall submit such request for state highway bonds to the State Fiscal
Accountability Authority. The State Fiscal Accountability Authority
shall consider the applicationrequest
in the same manner that it considers state highway bonds, mutatis mutandis. The county transportation committee shall allocate and apply
from its share of "C" fund revenues available for use by the county
transportation committee the amount of principal and interest on the state
highway bonds. The department shall provide notice of the debt service
requirements of such state highway bonds upon the issuance thereof to the
county transportation committee.
    (K)(L) Members of the committee are insulated from all
personal liability arising out of matters related directly to and within the
scope of the performance of official duties and functions conferred upon the
committee pursuant to this section.
    (L) In Berkeley County, appointments
made pursuant to this section are governed by the provisions of Act 159 of
1995.
    (M) In Dorchester County,
appointments made pursuant to this section are governed by the provisions of
Act 512 of 1996.  In addition to the members and appointment procedures of the
Dorchester County Transportation Committee as provided by this section and
subsection, two additional members of the county transportation committee must
be appointed from that portion of the Town of Summerville in Dorchester County
and that portion of the City of North Charleston in Dorchester County.  These
members must be residents of the designated municipalities and of the county,
and notwithstanding another provision of this subsection, must be appointed by
the governing body of the respective municipality.
    (N) In Georgetown County,
appointments made pursuant to this section are governed by the provisions of
Act 515 of 1996 and Section 2, Act 141 of 2001.
    (O) (M) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, the
legislative delegation of a county may by delegation resolution abolish the county transportation committee and devolve
its powers and duties to appoint the members of the
committee to on the governing body of the
county. This devolution may be reversed and the county
transportation committee reestablished by a subsequent delegation
resolution. The exercise of county transportation
committee powers and duties by a county governing body is not deemed to
constitute dual office holding.
    (P)(N) The Department of Transportation shall perform reviews
to ensure compliance with subsections (C)(3), (C)(4), (C)(5),
(C)(6), (C)(7), (C)(8), (C)(D), (D)(E),
(F)(G), and (I)(J). A county failing to
comply with these subsections must have all subsequent "C" fund allocations
withheld until the requirements of those subsections are met. If a county fails
to comply with those subsections within twenty-four months, then the county forfeits fifty percent of its allocations
for the following year and the forfeited amount must be divided among the other
counties as provided in subsection (A).
    (Q)(O) A county subject to a proposed withholding or
forfeiture of "C" fund allocations pursuant to this section must be notified in
writing of the department's decision. The county, within sixty days of receipt
of notice of the decision, may request a review of the decision by a panel
consisting of the state highway engineer or his designee, the chairman of the
affected county's transportation committee or his designee, and a third person
named by mutual agreement between the state highway engineer and the county
transportation committee chairman. The panel shall meet and render a decision
within ninety days of the request by the county transportation committee. The
decision of the panel may be appealed by requesting a contested case hearing
before the Administrative Law Court pursuant to Section 1-23-600 and the rules
of procedure for the Administrative Law Court. The request for a hearing must
be made within thirty days of receipt of the panel's decision.
    (R)(P) The legislative delegation of the county, by
resolution, may rename the county transportation committee established by this
section as the (insert name of county) Legislative Delegation transportation
committee. Upon the adoption of such a resolution, all references in this
section and any other provisions of law to the county transportation committee,
for purposes of that county, are deemed references to that county's legislative
delegation transportation committee.
    (S) Notwithstanding the provisions of
subsection (A), on July 1, 2018, and each July first thereafter until after
July 1, 2021, the amount of proceeds of the user fee on gasoline only as levied
for in this chapter that must be deposited with the State Treasurer and
expended for the purposes of this section must be increased by .3325 cents a
gallon, until such time as the total amount equals three and ninety-nine
one-hundredths cents a gallon. Any increase in proceeds resulting from the
provisions of this subsection must be used exclusively for repairs,
maintenance, and improvements to the state highway system.
    (Q) It is unlawful for a member of a
county transportation committee, an engineer, agent, or other employee, acting
for or on behalf of a committee, to accept or agree to accept, receive or agree
to receive, or ask or solicit, either directly or indirectly, with the intent
to have his decision or action on any question, matter, cause, or proceeding
which at the time may be pending or which by law may be brought before him in
his official capacity or in his place of trust or profit influenced, any:
       (1) money;
       (2) contract, promise, undertaking,
obligation, gratuity, or security for the payment of money or for the delivery
or conveyance of anything of value;
       (3) political appointment or
influence, present, or reward;
       (4) employment; or
       (5) other thing of value.
    A
person violating the provisions of subsection is guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction, must be imprisoned not more than five years and is disqualified
forever from holding any office of trust or profit under the Constitution or
laws of this State.
    (R) Any official or employee of a
county transportation committee is subject to the provisions of Chapter 13,
Title 8, the State Ethics Act.
SECTION 45. Section 12-28-2920 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
12-28-2920.  The department shall review projects
for the possibility of constructing toll roads financed with usage charges to
defray the cost of these projects pursuant to the authority granted the
department in Section 57-5-1330 Article 9, Chapter 5, Title 57, as well as Section Sections 57-3-200 and
57-3-205. No project may be funded in whole or in
part by means of imposing a toll usage charge on the users of the project unless in conjunction with federal funds authorized for use on toll
roads it is determined to be substantially feasible by the department, taking into account all funding sources.  The funds
derived from tolls usage
charges must be:
    (1)
credited to the State Highway Fund or;
    (2) retained and applied by
the entity or entities developing the toll applicable road pursuant to an agreement authorized under
Section 57-3-200 or 57-3-205 for the purpose of
funding the cost of construction, financing, operation, and maintenance of the toll applicable project;  or
    (2)(3) used to service bonded indebtedness for highway
transportation purposes incurred pursuant to Paragraph 9, Section 13, Article X
of the South Carolina Constitution.; or
    (4) used to pay for the operation and
maintenance costs of the applicable project.
    Upon repayment of the cost
of construction and financing, toll charges shall cease.
SECTION 46. Article 11, Chapter 5, Title 57 of the S.C. Code is
amended by adding:
    Section
57-5-1800. (A) There is established
within the Department of Transportation the Pothole Mitigation Program for the
purposes of public reporting of pothole locations along the state highway
system. The department must implement the program in each county.
    (B)
The Pothole Mitigation Program must provide means for the public to report the
location of potholes to the department via telephone, the internet, a website
application, or other electronic means as determined by the department.  Within
one year of adoption of this act, the department shall make available on the
commercial mobile application stores a free application that allows the public
to report the location of a pothole. The department must post notices in
conspicuous locations including the department website, the State Highway Map,
rest areas, and other facilities that provide information about the means for
the public to report potholes.
    (C)
The department must ensure that, within seven days of receiving notice of the
location of a pothole, the pothole is repaired. Each pothole repair must be a
permanent repair unless weather conditions, emergency events, supplier
availability, or other exigent circumstance requires a temporary repair until a
permanent repair can be made. The department may use its own personnel or may
contract with outside parties for pothole repair pursuant to the Pothole
Mitigation Program.
    (D)
From the Infrastructure Maintenance Trust Fund, the department shall annually
allocate fifteen million dollars for full depth pavement repairs of repetitive
potholes as identified in subsection (B). These funds shall be in addition to
existing funds allocated for pavement rehabilitation.
SECTION 47. Section 57-5-1370 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-5-1370. Turnpike bondsBonds
may be issued from time to time under the conditions prescribed by this
article.
SECTION 48. Section 57-5-1470 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
57-5-1470. All turnpike bonds issued under this
article, and the interest thereon, are exempt from all state, county,
municipal, school district, and other taxes or assessment, direct or indirect,
general or special, imposed by the State of South Carolina, whether imposed for
the purpose of general revenue or otherwise, except inheritance, estate, or
transfer taxes.  Each turnpike choice lane facility constitutes a portion of the state
highway system and as such is not subject to ad valorem or other forms of
taxation by the State or any of its political subdivisions.
SECTION 49. Chapter 1, Title 57 of the S.C. Code is amended by
adding:
    Section
57-1-375.  (A) Upon notification from
a county that the county has appropriated funds for projects to improve the
state highway system, the department must review the priority list for projects
to be undertaken pursuant to Section 57-1-370(B)(8) to see if the projects
proposed by the county are also on the department's priority list of projects
to be undertaken pursuant to Section 57-1-370(B)(8).
    (B) The
department shall provide certification within ninety days to the county if a
project proposed to be funded from funds appropriated by that county is also on
the department's priority list of projects to be undertaken pursuant to Section
57-1-370(B)(8).
    (C) In
the event the county funds in its entirety a project certified by the
department pursuant to subsection (B), the department shall reprioritize the
next project within that county that is also on the department's priority list
of projects to be undertaken pursuant to Section 57-1-370(B)(8) in place of the
project funded by the county. This subsection does not apply to bridges that
are closed, load posted, or structurally deficient.
SECTION 50. Article
9, Chapter 5, Title 57 of the S.C. Code is redesignated "Choice Lane Facilities.".
SECTION 51.The General Assembly finds that the
sections presented in this act constitute one subject as required by Article
III, Section 17 of the South Carolina Constitution, in particular finding that
each change and each topic relates directly to or in conjunction with other
sections to the subject of improving the state's transportation system as
clearly enumerated in the title.  The General Assembly further finds that
a common purpose or relationship exists among the sections, representing a
potential plurality but not disunity of topics, notwithstanding that reasonable
minds might differ in identifying more than one topic contained in the act.
SECTION 52.If any section, subsection,
paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for
any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not
affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act,
the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and
each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause,
phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other
sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases,
or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise
ineffective.
SECTION 53. (A)(1) The amendments made to the
following S.C. Code Sections, as contained in this act, take effect January 1,
2027: Sections 57-1-410, 1-30-10, 1-30-105, 11-43-150, 57-1-10, 57-1-40,
57-1-430, 57-1-500, 57-3-50, 57-1-90, 57-3-210, 57-3-700, 57-5-10, 57-5-50,
57-5-90, 57-5-310, 57-5-340, 57-13-10, 57-13-20, 57-13-40, 57-13-50, 57-25-120,
57-25-140, 57-25-150, 57-25-170, 57-25-200, 57-25-210, 57-1-360, 57-1-370, and
57-5-1800.
       (2) The
uncodified provisions relating to the currently serving,
Secretary of the Department of Transportation, the abolition of the Commission
of the Department of Transportation, and the repeal of certain statutes, as
contained in SECTIONS 2, 4, and 29, take effect January 1, 2027.
    (B) The amendments
made to the following S.C. Code Sections or additions thereto, as contained in
this act, take effect on July 1, 2026: Section 11-43-140, 57-3-205, 57-5-1480,
57-5-1710, 57-5-1720, and 11-35-710.
    (C) Except where specified
otherwise, this act takes effect July 1, 2027. County legislative delegations
have ninety days from the effective date of this act to comply with the
provisions of Section 12-28-2740(C)(2).
/s/Sen. Grooms  /s/Rep.
Bannister
/s/Sen. Bennett  /s/Rep.
Erickson
/s/Sen. Walker  /s/Rep.
Brewer
    On Part of the Senate  On
Part of the House
----XX----
This web page was last updated on May 12, 2026 at 08:16 PM