South Carolina Administrative Code

52-502. Responsibility of Persons Accepting Declarations of Candidacy or Petitions for Nomination. A. This regulation applies to candidates to publicly elected offices and does not apply to persons appointed or elected on advice and consent of either or both houses of the General…

52-503. Committees Receiving or Spending Funds to Influence Elections Must Register. A. A committee must file an initial Statement of Organization and an amended Statement of Organization to record a change in any information previously reported in the initial Statement of Organi…

52-504. Candidate’s and Committee’s Campaign Reports. A. Contributions and expenditures to candidates and committees are reported on the Commission’s ‘‘Campaign Disclosure Form.’’ This form is the official form required to be filed to satisfy the reporting requirements under the …

52-505. Committees Registered with the Federal Election Commission. A. Committees registered with the Federal Election Commission may, in lieu of filing the Campaign Disclosure Form, file a copy of the appropriate FEC report. B. A committee electing this method of reporting shall…

52-506. Administrative Enforcement of Candidate’s and Committee’s Registration and Reporting Requirements. A. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, the Commission shall assess a civil penalty as provided in the Act against any person or committee who fails to file or …

52-602. Persons Required to File Statements of Economic Interests and Agencies Re- quired to File Contract Disclosure Forms. A. The Commission sends each governmental entity an Entity Listing Form annually. The Entity Listing Form solicits information about those persons associat…

52-603. Confidential Statements of Economic Interests. A. A public official or public employee who is required to file a statement of economic interests and who accepts from a lobbyist’s principal pursuant to Section 2-17-90(A)(6) lodging, transportation, entertainment, food, mea…

52-604. Reporting by Persons Not Required to File a Statement of Economic Interest. A. A public official or public employee who is not required to file a Statement of Economic Interests but who is paid or reimbursed actual expenses for a speaking engagement must report the inform…

52-605. Approval for Out-of-State Expenses. A. If out of state expenses are incurred by a public official or public employee for speaking before a public or private group prior written approval for the payment or reimbursement must be obtained from the appropriate approving offic…

52-606. Consultant’s Disclosure Forms. A. A consultant shall file the original and one copy of a Consultant’s Disclosure Form no later than twenty-one days after entering into a contractual relationship with the State or a political subdivision of the State. B. A consultant shall…

52-607. Candidates’ and Incumbents’ Statements of Economic Interests. A. This regulation governs the filing of a Statement of Economic Interest for all candidates for public office in this State except for members of or candidates to the office of State Senator and State Represen…

52-608. Administrative Enforcement. A. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, the Commission may impose a penalty as provided in R. 52-506 for failure to file or filing late the forms required under this regulation and the Act. B. [Reserved] HISTORY: Added by State Reg…

52-702. Initiating a Complaint. A. A complaint may be filed against any person covered by the Act. B. Jurisdiction over complaints concerning a Probate Judge or candidates for the office of Probate Judge extend to allegations of the campaign practices, campaign disclosure, and di…

52-703. Parties to the Proceeding. A. Upon receipt of a complaint, the complaint shall be captioned to show the name of the person against whom the complaint is filed as the Respondent and the person, if any, filing the complaint as the Complainant. B. The Commission may file a c…

52-704. Complaint Procedures. A. Upon receipt of a complaint, the Commission sends a copy of the complaint to the Respondent advising that a complaint has been received. (1) The Executive Director or his designee reviews the complaint and determines if there are facts sufficient …

52-705. Investigation of Complaints. A. The purpose of an investigation is to determine whether probable cause exists to believe a violation of law has occurred which may subject the Respondent to sanctions by the Commission, criminal prosecution by the State, and/or civil liabil…

52-706. Amendment and Withdrawal of Complaint. A. A complaint may be amended at any time prior to a hearing on the merits with proper notice to all parties. B. At the hearing, the complaint may be amended with the approval of the hearing panel. When a complaint is amended, either…

52-707. Hearing Notice. A. A notice of hearing is issued at least thirty days before the scheduled hearing. The Notice contains the file number, the name and address of the Commission’s attorney, and the date, time and place at which the Respondent shall appear and defend the cha…

52-708. Request for Remediation. A. Upon a finding of probable cause and the issuance of a hearing notice, a request to remedy the alleged violation may be made. B. Upon receipt of a request for remediation, the Respondent may take the remedial action recommended by the Commissio…

52-709. Respondent’s Answer to Complaint. A. Upon the issuance of a hearing notice, the Respondent may, but is not required, to file an answer. B. Each allegation made in the complaint and hearing notice is deemed denied; provided, however that special and affirmative defenses sh…

52-710. Discovery. A. In addition to the information previously gathered in the course of the investigation, the parties may engage in additional discovery. B. All parties to the proceedings are entitled to engage in discovery as provided in the Administra- tive Procedures Act an…

52-711. Admission of Expert’s Reports and Other Forms of Written Evidence. A. Expert’s reports and other evidence in written form including affidavits may be considered at the hearing as provided below. (1) A notice and a copy of the writing must be served on the Commission and a…

52-712. Presentation of Evidence. A. All available evidence and testimony shall be presented at the scheduled hearing or a party must move for adjournment. B. Adjournment may be granted in order to take the testimony by deposition or at a hearing reconvened at a later date. HISTO…

52-713. Conduct of Hearings. A. A hearing is held before three members of the State Ethics Commission randomly selected from the entire Commission membership. One Commissioner is designated the Panel Chair who shall have the authority to hear preliminary and interlocutory matters…

52-714. Burden of Proof. A. The Commission panel shall consider the evidence and testimony presented at the hearing and enter their decision with a statement of the findings of fact, conclusions of law and other matters pertinent to the questions at issue. The decision and order …

52-715. Continuance, Postponement and Adjournment. A. The Panel Chair may grant a continuance, postpone a hearing or adjourn a hearing to a later date or to a different place by order or upon motion at a hearing. B. Failure of a party to appear at a hearing may result in the Hear…

52-716. Final Disposition and Order. A. At the close of the case, the Commissioners shall confer and together enter their decision by written order. B. The panel’s decision and order shall be the final disposition of a complaint. HISTORY: Added by State Register Volume 21, Issue …

52-717. Record of Hearing and Transcripts. A. The Commission will cause all proceedings to be recorded and maintained for a period of four years after the completion of the proceeding. B. A person may request a transcript of a hearing by writing the Commission. The Commission wil…

52-718. Confidentiality of Proceedings. A. The Respondent may waive the confidentiality of the proceeding in writing filed with the Commission. B. The requirements of confidentiality do not apply to the following: (1) Providing the identity of the Complainant to the Respondent. (…

52-801. Filing an Appeal. A. The Respondent may request a review of the panel’s decision and order by filing a request for review in writing with the Commission within ten days of the date of service of the panel’s decision and order. The ten day period is jurisdictional and may …

52-802. Notice of Appellate Hearing. A. The Commission serves a notice of appeal hearing at least thirty days prior to the date of the appellate hearing. B. The notice states the date, place and time of the hearing. The Appellant shall file a brief within ten days of the date of …

52-803. Briefs. A. The appellant shall file the brief with proof of service with the Commission within ten days of the date of service of the Appellate Hearing notice. B. The Commission may file a responsive brief and proof of service on the Appellant within ten days of the servi…

52-804. Oral Argument. A. Oral argument will be granted unless waived in writing prior to the scheduling of same. B. The appellant shall open and close the argument. The opening argument shall include a statement of the relevant facts. Unless otherwise permitted by the Commission…

52-805. Composition of the Panel for Full Commission Review. A. Full Commission review is conducted by a panel of the remaining members of the commission excluding the original hearing Commissioners. The order of review panel is the final disposition of the case. B. The Commissio…

52-806. Standard of Review. A. The Commission shall review the three member hearing panel’s decision and order and reconsider the evidence, receive further evidence, rehear the parties or their representatives, and enter an order amending, affirming or modifying the panel’s decis…

52-807. Additional Evidence. A. When additional evidence is necessary for the completion of the record in a case on review, the Commission may, in its discretion, order such evidence taken before a single commissioner or a panel. B. A party seeking to admit additional evidence in…

52-901. General. A. A Blind Trust is any trust in which a public official, public member, public employee, candidate for elective office, or a member of his household has a beneficial interest in the principal or income and the trustee of the trust is a financial institution, an …

52-902. Requirements of Trust Instrument. A. The trust instrument which establishes the trust must provide: (1) that the trustee has full and complete authority to manage and control, including the transfer and sale of the assets of the trust, without consulting or notifying any …

52-903. Effect. A. A public employee, public member or public official is not be prohibited from taking actions or making decisions concerning a financial interest in a blind trust organized and administered in accordance with this regulation, provided that the Commission has on …

53-10. Registration Determination. Registration will be determined on a basis of individual, personal qualifications and no firm, company, partnership, or corporations shall be licensed. That is, only natural persons shall be licensed to practice forestry in this state. 53-11. Re…

53-12. Address Requirement. Each registrant shall notify the Board of his current mailing address. The registrant shall notify the Board of any change of address within 10 days of such change. Service or notice by mail shall be sufficient notice for purposes of this act and regul…

53-14. Exceptions. Exceptions to the prohibited acts stated in Section 48-27-120 of the 1976 Code shall be: (A) Marking timber as a member of a crew, under the supervision of a registered forester, without responsibility for determination of objectives, volumes, values or other p…

53-15. Code of Ethics. The most current version of the Code of Ethics as recommended by the Society of American Foresters is hereby adopted as the standards of professional conduct for all foresters in this state. HISTORY: Amended by State Register Volume 36, Issue No. 6, eff Jun…

53-16. Repealed. HISTORY: Former Regulation, titled Licensure Fees, had the following history: Amended by State Register Volume 40, Issue No. 5, Doc. No. 4627, eff May 27, 2016; repealed by SCSR 42-5 Doc. No. 4769, eff May 25, 2018.

53-20. Continuing Education Requirements. (A) Continuing Forestry Education: Each registered forester is required to meet the Continuing Education Requirements of the Board of Registration prior to registration renewal each biennium. (B) Biennial Requirements: A total of 20 Conti…

53-3. Meetings. Regular meetings of the Board will be held in Columbia at least twice each year. Special meetings of the Board will be called by the Chairman by giving notice as required by S.C. Code Section 30-4-80. HISTORY: Amended by SCSR 45-5 Doc. No. 5012, eff May 28, 2021.

53-4. Quorum. A quorum means a simple majority of the constituent membership of a public body. HISTORY: Amended by SCSR 48-5 Doc. No. 5187, eff May 24, 2024.

53-5. Seals. The Seal of the Board was adopted at the meeting on October 13, 1961. It shall be used on all official papers, registration certificates and other formal documents of the Board. Each registered forester may use an impression seal or stamp on his plans, maps, specific…

53-7. Application for Registration. Requests for registration will be made to the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, State Board of Registration for Foresters. Application forms will be supplied upon request. Applicants shall supply all information requested on the fo…

53-8. Requirements for Registration. The following shall be considered as minimum evidence satisfactory to the Board that the applicant is qualified for registration as a registered forester: (A) Examination. All applicants shall take and pass the examination for registration. Th…