1. (A) There is established the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children to be composed of three members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House, three members of the Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate, and three members to be appointed by the Governor. The Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Director of the Department of Social Services, the Office Director of the Office of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the Superintendent of the Department of Education, the Office Director of the Office of Mental Health, the Office Director of the Office of Substance Use Services, the Director of the Department of Health and Environmental Control, the Director of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Office of South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness, and the State Child Advocate serve as ex officio, nonvoting members of the committee. Members appointed by the Governor must not be employees of the State. Members serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. The committee shall study issues relating to children as the committee may undertake or as may be requested or directed by the General Assembly. The committee may contract for all necessary legal research and support services, subject to funding as provided in subsection (E).
2. (B) The committee shall submit an annual report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House no later than the first of February. The report must detail the work of the committee, account for the committee's expenditures, and provide findings and recommendations the committee develops relating to children's issues it has studied.
3. (C) The staffing for the committee must be provided by the Children's Law Center of the University of South Carolina School of Law, subject to funding as provided in subsection (E).
4. (D) The committee members may not receive compensation but are entitled to mileage, subsistence, and per diem as allowed by law for members of state boards, committees, and commissions.
5. (E) The committee shall receive funding as may be provided in the annual general appropriations act or from any other source.

HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 251, SECTION 1; 2014 Act No. 245 (S.872), SECTION 1, eff June 6, 2014; 2019 Act No. 1 (S.2), SECTION 76, eff January 31, 2019; 2022 Act No. 123 (H.3211), SECTIONS 1, 2, eff March 14, 2022; 2023 Act No. 9 (S.299), SECTION 1, eff May 8, 2023.

Code Commissioner's Note

At the direction of the Code Commissioner, certain references in the S.C. Code to the State Department of Mental Health, South Carolina Mental Health Commission, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs Commission, Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and other related terms were changed to reflect the restructuring of these agencies into component offices under the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, pursuant to 2025 Act No. 3, SECTION 18.

Effect of Amendment

2014 Act No. 245, SECTION 1, in subsection (A), inserted "of the Senate"; in subsection (B), deleted the prior first sentence, relating to when the committee becomes operative, deleted "written" before "report" in the first sentence, deleted "commencing in 2009" at the end of the first sentence, and deleted "any" before "findings" in the last sentence; in subsection (D), substituted "may not receive compensation but are entitled to mileage, subsistence, and per diem as allowed" for "are eligible for per diem and mileage as provided"; in subsection (F), substituted "2023" for "2015"; and made other nonsubstantive changes.

2019 Act No. 1, SECTION 76, in (A), in the first sentence, substituted "President of the Senate" for "President Pro Tempore of the Senate"; and in (B), in the first sentence, substituted "President of the Senate" for "President Pro Tempore of the Senate".

2022 Act No. 123, SECTION 1, in (A), in the second sentence, substituted "the Director of the Department of Mental Health, the Director of the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, the Director of the Department of Health and Environmental Control, the Director of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Director of the Office of South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness serve as ex officio" for "and the Director of the Department of Mental Health serve as ex officio".

2022 Act No. 123, SECTION 2, repealed (F), which related to the termination of the committee effective December 31, 2023.

2023 Act No. 9, SECTION 1, in (A), in the second sentence, substituted "the Director of the Office of South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness, and the State Child Advocate" for "and the Director of the Office of South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness".