(A) There is established the Tourism Expenditure Review Committee consisting of eleven members as follows:
(1) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House;
(2) one member appointed by the President of the Senate;
(3) the Director of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, or his designee, ex officio;
(4) eight members appointed by the Governor as follows:
(a) one member on the recommendation of the South Carolina Association of Tourism Regions;
(b) one member on the recommendation of the South Carolina Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus;
(c) one member on the recommendation of the South Carolina Travel and Tourism Coalition;
(d) one member on the recommendation of the Municipal Association of South Carolina;
(e) one member on the recommendation of the South Carolina Association of Counties;
(f) one member on the recommendation of the Hospitality Association of South Carolina;
(g) one member on the recommendation of the South Carolina Arts Commission; and
(h) one member at large.
Appointed members shall serve for terms of four years and until their successors are appointed and qualify, except that of those first appointed by the Governor, four shall serve for a term of two years and the term must be noted on the appointment. Regardless of the date of appointment, all terms expire July first of the applicable year. Members shall serve without compensation but may receive the mileage, subsistence, and per diem allowed by law for members of state boards, committees, and commissions. Vacancies must be filled in the manner of original appointment for the unexpired portion of the term.
(B)(1)(a) The Tourism Expenditure Review Committee shall serve as the oversight authority on all questionable tourism-related expenditures and to that end, all reports filed pursuant to Section 6-4-25(D)(3) must be forwarded to the committee for review to determine if they are in compliance with this chapter. The municipality or county must be notified if an expenditure is questioned, and the committee may consider any further supporting information the municipality or county may provide. If the committee finds an expenditure to be in noncompliance, it shall certify the noncompliance to the State Treasurer, who shall withhold the amount of the expenditure found in noncompliance from subsequent distributions in accommodations tax revenue otherwise due the municipality or county. An appeal from an action of the committee under this subitem lies with the Administrative Law Judge Division.
(b) If the committee determines that a municipality or county has failed to file the reports required pursuant to Section 6-4-25(D)(3), it may impose a fee of five hundred dollars a month or part of a month for each month the report is not filed, but not more than five thousand dollars. The committee shall certify the penalty to the State Treasurer, who shall withhold the amount of the penalty from subsequent distributions otherwise due the municipality or county. An appeal from an action of the committee under this subitem lies with the Administrative Law Judge Division.
(c) Allocations withheld must be reallocated proportionately to all other recipients.
(2) The committee has jurisdiction to investigate and research facts on written complaints submitted to it with regard to the appropriate tourism-related expenditures and resolve these complaints as provided in item (1) of this subsection.
(3) The committee shall forward copies of information submitted by the local governments and regional tourism agencies pursuant to Section 6-4-25 arising under the tourism provisions of this chapter to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, which shall publish an annual report on the information submitted.
HISTORY: 2001 Act No. 74, Section 3.A; 2003 Act No. 38, Section 1, eff June 2, 2003; 2019 Act No. 1 (S.2), Section 31, eff January 31, 2019.
Editor's Note
2004 Act No. 202, Section 3, provides as follows:
"Wherever the term 'Administrative Law Judge Division' appears in any provision of law, regulation, or other document, it must be construed to mean the Administrative Law Court established by this act."
Effect of Amendment
The 2003 amendment, in subsection (A) substituted "eleven" for "nine" in the introductory paragraph, substituted "eight" for "six" in paragraph (4), added paragraphs (4)(g) and (4)(h), and made nonsubstantive changes.
2019 Act No. 1, Section 31, in (A)(2), substituted "President of the Senate" for "President Pro Tempore of the Senate".