Title 1, Administration of the Government

(A) Upon written request by two members of the General Assembly, made before submission of a promulgated regulation to the General Assembly for legislative review, a regulation that has a substantial economic impact must have an assessment report prepared pursuant to this section…

(A) All regulations except those specifically exempted pursuant to subsection (H) must be filed with Legislative Council for submission to the General Assembly for review in accordance with this article; however, a regulation must not be filed with Legislative Council for submiss…

(A) The legislative committee to which a regulation is submitted is not authorized to amend a particular regulation and then introduce a joint resolution approving the regulation as amended; however, this provision does not prevent the introduction of a resolution disapproving on…

An interested person may petition an agency in writing requesting the promulgation, amendment or repeal of a regulation. Within thirty days after submission of such petition, the agency shall either deny the petition in writing (stating its reasons for the denial) or shall initia…

(A) If an agency finds that an imminent peril to public health, safety, or welfare requires immediate promulgation of an emergency regulation before compliance with the procedures prescribed in this article or if a natural resources related agency finds that abnormal or unusual c…

(a) In addition to other requirements imposed by law, each agency shall: (1) Adopt and make available for public inspection a description of its organization, stating the general course and method of its operations and the methods whereby the public may obtain information or make…

(a) Any person may petition an agency in writing for a declaratory ruling as to the applicability of any regulation of the agency or the authority of the agency to promulgate a particular regulation. The agency shall, within thirty days after receipt of such petition, issue a dec…

All regulations of state agencies promulgated according to law and filed with the Secretary of State as of January 1, 1977, shall have the full force and effect of law. All regulations of state agencies promulgated under this article and effective as of June 30, 1994 shall have t…

The Legislative Council is charged with the custody, printing and distribution of the documents required or authorized to be published in this article and with the responsibility for incorporating them into a State Register. Such Register shall include proposed as well as finally…

(A) This article may be cited as the "South Carolina Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Act of 2004". (B) As used in this article "small business" means a commercial retail service, industry entity, or nonprofit corporation, including its affiliates, that: (1) is, if a commerc…

(A)(1) There is established a Small Business Regulatory Review Committee within the South Carolina Department of Commerce. For purposes of this article, "committee" is the Small Business Regulatory Review Committee and "department" is the South Carolina Department of Commerce. (2…

(A) For promulgated regulations, the committee may file a written petition with the agency that has promulgated the regulations opposing all or part of a regulation that has a significant adverse impact on small business. (B) Within sixty days after the receipt of the petition, t…

The original and either two additional originals or two certified copies of each document authorized or required to be published in the State Register by this article shall be filed with the Legislative Council by the agency by which it is promulgated. Filing may be accomplished …

This article does not apply to emergency regulations promulgated pursuant to Section 1-23-130 or regulations promulgated pursuant to Chapter 9 of Title 46 or Chapter 4 of Title 47 or to proposed regulations by an agency to implement a statute or ordinance that does not require an…

As used in this article: (1) "Administrative law judge" means a judge of the South Carolina Administrative Law Court created pursuant to Section 1-23-500; (2) "Agency" means each state board, commission, department, or officer, other than the legislature, the courts, or the Admin…

(A) In a contested case, all parties must be afforded an opportunity for hearing after notice of not less than thirty days, except in proceedings before the Department of Employment and Workforce, which are governed by the provisions of Section 41-35-680. (B) The notice must incl…

In contested cases: (1) Irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded. Except in proceedings before the Industrial Commission the rules of evidence as applied in civil cases in the court of common pleas shall be followed. Agencies shall give effect to th…

When in a contested case a majority of the officials of the agency who are to render the final decision have not heard the case or reviewed the record, the decision, if adverse to a party to the proceeding other than the agency itself, shall not be made until a proposal for decis…

A final decision or order adverse to a party in a contested case shall be in writing or stated in the record. A final decision shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law, separately stated. Findings of fact, if set forth in statutory language, shall be accompanied by a…

Unless required for the disposition of ex parte matters authorized by law, members or employees of an agency assigned to render a decision or to make findings of fact and conclusions of law in a contested case shall not communicate, directly or indirectly, in connection with any …

(a) When the grant, denial or renewal of a license is required to be preceded by notice and opportunity for hearing, the provisions of this article and Article 1 concerning contested cases apply. (b) When a licensee has made timely and sufficient application for the renewal of a …

A party who has exhausted all administrative remedies available within the agency and who is aggrieved by a final decision in a contested case is entitled to judicial review pursuant to this article and Article 1. This section does not limit utilization of or the scope of judicia…

An aggrieved party may obtain a review of a final judgment of the circuit court or the court of appeals pursuant to this article by taking an appeal in the manner provided by the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules as in other civil cases.

There shall be filed with the Legislative Council and published in the State Register: (1) All regulations promulgated or proposed to be promulgated by state agencies which have general public applicability and legal effect, including all of those which include penalty provisions…

The provisions of this article shall not apply to any matters pending on June 13, 1977. The provisions of SECTIONS 1-23-360 and 1-23-370 shall not apply to any agency which under existing statutes have established and follow notice and hearing procedures which are in compliance w…

The Legislative Council shall establish procedures for carrying out the provisions of this article relating to the State Register and the form and filing of regulations. These procedures may provide among other things: (1) The manner of certification of copies required to be file…

There is created the South Carolina Administrative Law Court, which is an agency and a court of record within the executive branch of the government of this State. The court shall consist of a total of six administrative law judges. The administrative law judges shall be part of …

As used in this article: (1) "Administrative law judge" means a judge of the South Carolina Administrative Law Court created pursuant to Section 1-23-500. (2) "Agency" means a state agency, department, board, or commission whose action is the subject of a contested case hearing o…

(A) The judges of the division must be elected by the General Assembly in joint session, for a term of five years and until their successors are elected and qualify; provided, that of those judges initially elected, the chief judge, elected to Seat 1 must be elected for a term of…

No person is eligible for the office of law judge of the division who does not at the time of his election meet the qualification for justices and judges as set forth in Article V of the Constitution of this State.

No member of any General Assembly who is not otherwise prohibited from being elected to an administrative law judge position may be elected to such position while he is a member of the General Assembly and for a period of four years after he ceases to be a member of the General A…

The judges of the division shall qualify after the date of their election by taking the constitutional oath of office.

The Administrative Law Court shall have a seal with a suitable inscription, an impression of which must be filed with the Secretary of State.

The chief judge (Seat 1) shall receive as annual salary equal to ninety percent of that paid to the circuit court judges of this State. The remaining judges shall receive as annual salary equal to eighty percent of that paid to the circuit court judges of this State. They are not…

All vacancies in the office of administrative law judge must be filled in the manner of original appointment. When a vacancy is filled, the judge elected shall hold office only for the unexpired term of his predecessor.

Administrative law judges are bound by the Code of Judicial Conduct, as contained in Rule 501 of the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules. The sole grounds for discipline and sanctions for administrative law judges are those contained in the Code of Judicial Conduct in Rule 502, …

The Chief Judge of the Administrative Law Judge Division is responsible for the administration of the division, including budgetary matters, assignment of cases, and the administrative duties and responsibilities of the support staff. The chief judge shall assign judges of the di…

(A) A clerk of the division, to be appointed by the chief judge, must be appointed and is responsible for the custody and keeping of the records of the division. The clerk of the division shall perform those other duties as the chief judge may prescribe. (B) Each administrative l…

The General Assembly in the annual general appropriations act shall appropriate those funds necessary for the operation of the Administrative Law Judge Division.

A document or regulation required by this article to be filed with the Legislative Council shall not be valid against a person who has not had actual knowledge of it until the document or regulation has been filed with the office of the Legislative Council, printed in the State R…

(A) An administrative law judge shall preside over all hearings of contested cases as defined in Section 1-23-505 or Article I, Section 22, Constitution of the State of South Carolina, 1895, involving the departments of the executive branch of government as defined in Section 1-3…

(A)(1) For judicial review of a final decision of an administrative law judge, a notice of appeal by an aggrieved party must be served and filed with the court of appeals as provided in the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules in civil cases and served on the opposing party and t…

(A) Each administrative law judge of the division has the same power at chambers or in open hearing as do circuit court judges and to issue those remedial writs as are necessary to give effect to its jurisdiction. (B) An administrative law judge may authorize the use of mediation…

The court shall maintain its principal offices in the City of Columbia. However, judges of the court shall hear contested cases at the court's offices or at a suitable location outside the City of Columbia when determined by the chief judge.

(A) Rules governing the internal administration and operations of the Administrative Law Court must be: (1) proposed by the chief judge of the court and adopted by a majority of the judges of the court; or (2) proposed by any judge of the court and adopted by seventy-five percent…

(A) There is created within the Administrative Law Court the Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings. The chief judge of the Administrative Law Court shall serve as the director of the Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings. The duties, functions, and responsibilities of all hearing officers …