(A)(1) There is created the governing board for the State Department of Mental Health known as the South Carolina Mental Health Commission. The commission shall consist of seven members, one from each congressional district, appointed by the Governor, upon the advice and consent of the Senate.
(2) The Governor shall consider consumer and family representation when appointing members.
(B) The members serve for terms of five years and until their successors are appointed and qualify. The terms of no more than two members may expire in one year. The Governor may remove a member pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-3-240. A vacancy must be filled by the Governor for the unexpired portion of the term.
(C) The commission shall determine policies and promulgate regulations governing the operation of the department and the employment of professional and staff personnel.
(D) The members shall receive the same subsistence, mileage, and per diem provided by law for members of state boards, committees, and commissions.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 32-919; 1964 (53) 2078; 1967 (55) 699; 1991 Act No. 33, Section 1; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1071; 2012 Act No. 222, Section 12, eff June 7, 2012.
Editor's Note
2012 Act No. 222, Section 15, provides as follows:
"SECTION 15. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any person elected or appointed to serve, or serving, as a member of any board, commission, or committee to represent a congressional district, whose residency is transferred to another district by a change in the composition of the district, may serve, or continue to serve, the term of office for which he was elected or appointed; however, the appointing or electing authority shall appoint or elect an additional member on that board, commission, or committee from the district which loses a resident member on it as a result of the transfer to serve until the term of the transferred member expires. When a vacancy occurs in the district to which a member has been transferred, the vacancy must not be filled until the full term of the transferred member expires."