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The South Carolina Government Transparency & Performance Act (SC-GT&P)

South Carolina state companion to GT&P. Extends the SC Freedom of Information Act (Ch. 30-4), State Inspector General oversight, and the South Carolina False Claims Act.

THE SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY & PERFORMANCE ACT (SC-GT&P)

Vehicle: State passage. South Carolina General Assembly, regular session. Primary referral to House Legislative Oversight / Judiciary and Senate Judiciary / Finance.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the “South Carolina Government Transparency & Performance Act (SC-GT&P).”

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT

The General Assembly finds that South Carolina operates the Freedom of Information Act under S.C. Code Ch. 30-4 (public records and meetings); that the Office of the State Auditor operates under S.C. Code Title 11 Ch. 7; that the State Inspector General operates under S.C. Code Title 1 Ch. 6; that the Legislative Audit Council operates under S.C. Code Title 2 Ch. 15; that state-agency performance reporting operates under the State Budget and Control Board / Executive Budget Office framework and legislative oversight by the House Legislative Oversight Committee under S.C. Code Sec. 2-2-50; that whistleblower protection operates under S.C. Code Sec. 8-27-10 et seq.; and that the South Carolina False Claims Act under S.C. Code Ch. 32-5-10 provides a state qui tam reward mechanism. This Act extends these frameworks.

TITLE I — DEFINITIONS & COORDINATION WITH SOUTH CAROLINA LAW

Sec. 101. Definitions

  1. (a) “State agency” means a department, board, commission, institution, or other entity of State government.
  2. (b) “SIG” means the State Inspector General under S.C. Code Title 1 Ch. 6.
  3. (c) “SCFCA” means the South Carolina False Claims Act under S.C. Code Ch. 32-5-10.

Sec. 102. Coordination with Existing South Carolina Law

  1. (a) Consistent with:
  • S.C. Code Ch. 30-4 (FOIA).
  • S.C. Code Title 11 Ch. 7 (State Auditor).
  • S.C. Code Title 1 Ch. 6 (State Inspector General).
  • S.C. Code Title 2 Ch. 15 (Legislative Audit Council).
  • S.C. Code Sec. 2-2-50 (legislative oversight).
  • S.C. Code Sec. 8-27-10 et seq. (whistleblower protection).
  • S.C. Code Title 8 Ch. 17 (State Human Resources).
  • S.C. Code Ch. 32-5-10 (SCFCA).
  • S.C. Code Title 1 Ch. 23 (Administrative Procedures Act).

TITLE II — STATE-AGENCY OUTCOME PUBLICATION

Sec. 201. South Carolina Agency Outcome Dashboard

  1. (a) The Executive Budget Office, in coordination with the State Auditor and SIG, shall maintain a South Carolina Agency Outcome Dashboard (“SC-AOD”).
  2. (b) Each State agency shall publish, for each major program in its budget submission, machine-readable performance data on cost per unit, output volume, and outcome measurement.
  3. (c) Updated at least quarterly.

Sec. 202. Integration with Budget Submissions

  1. (a) Each State agency shall include SC-AOD data in its annual budget submission and in its Legislative Oversight Committee reporting under Sec. 2-2-50.

TITLE III — STATE CIVIL-SERVICE ACCOUNTABILITY

Sec. 301. Published Performance Expectations

  1. (a) S.C. Code Title 8 Ch. 17 shall be applied so that each executive-level and director-level position’s appointing authority establish and publish annual performance expectations tied to agency program performance measures.
  2. (b) Failure to satisfy for two consecutive review cycles constitutes grounds for non-retention.

TITLE IV — REGULATORY PARTICIPATION

Sec. 401. South Carolina Regulatory Participation Dashboard

  1. (a) The Legislative Council, in coordination with agencies that adopt rules under S.C. Code Title 1 Ch. 23 (APA), shall publish a South Carolina Regulatory Participation Dashboard.
  2. (b) Informational.

TITLE V — WHISTLEBLOWER REWARDS

Sec. 501. South Carolina False Claims Act Reward Alignment

  1. (a) S.C. Code Sec. 32-5-50 (relator share) is hereby amended so that a qui tam relator under SCFCA may receive a share aligned with the federal range under 31 U.S.C. Sec. 3730(d).
  2. (b) Amounts payable drawn from amounts recovered to the State.

TITLE VI — IMPLEMENTATION & GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 601. Severability

If any provision is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect the remainder.

Sec. 602. Effective Date

This Act shall take effect July 1 of the year following enactment.

Canonical federal version: GT&P. Other South Carolina bills: SC-ACSA, SC-MEWRA, SC-AI-Workforce.