SOUTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE VIII
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Art. VIII §0 | LEGISLATURE'S NOTE ON ARTICLE VIII
Art. VIII §1 | POWERS OF POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS CONTINUED
Editor's Notes
“SECTION 1.1992 Act No. 429, Section 2, added Section 6 11 320, authorizing special purpose districts empowered to provide water services to also provide sewage collection and disposal services under certain prescribed circumstances.(A) As of March 7, 1973, the effective date of Article VIII of the South Carolina Constitution, 1895, many special purpose districts existed throughout the State of South Carolina which had been created to provide water service to the residents living within the boundaries of these districts.
“(B) Section 1 of Article VIII of the South Carolina Constitution provides that the powers possessed by all political subdivisions at the effective date of the article continue until changed in a manner provided by law. Some of those districts which are presently providing water service have determined that, in order to protect the health of the residents residing within the districts, it is necessary that sewer service likewise be provided in their respective areas by a governmental entity. Accordingly, the General Assembly has determined that, as permitted by Article VIII of the South Carolina Constitution, a law empowering these districts to provide sewer services would promote the public health of the State of South Carolina.”
Art. VIII §2 | BOUNDARIES OF COUNTIES
Editor's Notes
Art. VIII §3 | NUMBER OF COUNTIES
Art. VIII §4 | MERGER OF COUNTIES
Editor's Notes
Art. VIII §5 | MERGER OF PARTS OF COUNTIES WITH ADJOINING COUNTIES
Editor's Notes
Art. VIII §6 | REMOVAL OF COUNTY SEAT
Editor's Notes
Art. VIII §7 | ORGANIZATION, POWERS, AND DUTIES OF COUNTIES; SPECIAL LAWS PROHIBITED
Art. VIII §8 | INCORPORATION OF NEW MUNICIPALITIES; READJUSTMENT OF MUNICIPAL BOUNDARIES; MERGER OF MUNICIPALITIES; SPECIAL LAWS PROHIBITED
Editor's Notes
Art. VIII §9 | ORGANIZATION, POWERS, AND DUTIES OF MUNICIPALITIES
Art. VIII §10 | LAW OR EXEMPTION FOR A SPECIFIC MUNICIPALITY PROHIBITED
Art. VIII §11 | ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT OF MUNICIPAL CHARTERS
Art. VIII §12 | CONSOLIDATION OF COUNTIES WITH MUNICIPALITIES AND OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS
The General Assembly shall provide by law for a referendum on such consolidations and for procedures for the framing of a charter for the new political subdivision. Such referendum shall be held only upon the request of the governing body of the county or upon petition of ten percent of the registered electors within the county.
Such consolidation shall not take place unless approved by a majority of the qualified electors voting on the questions of the consolidation and on the charter therefor in the same election or in successive elections held for these purposes. All municipalities and all other political subdivisions within the county not continued by the approved charter shall cease to exist at the effective date of the consolidation.
Any political subdivision created by such a consolidation shall have the power to frame, to publish, to adopt, and to amend a charter setting forth its governmental structure and organization, powers, duties, functions, and responsibilities. No charter so framed shall contain any provision inconsistent with this Constitution or with general law provisions applicable in all municipalities or counties enacted pursuant to Section 14 of this article.
Such charter or charter amendments shall not become effective until approved by a majority of the qualified electors of such political subdivisions voting on the question.
Art. VIII §13 | JOINT ADMINISTRATION OF FUNCTIONS AND EXERCISE OF POWERS
(B) Nothing in this Constitution may be construed to prohibit the State or any of its counties, incorporated municipalities, or other political subdivisions from agreeing to share the lawful cost, responsibility, and administration of functions with any one or more governments, whether within or without this State.
(C) The prohibitions against dual officeholding contained in Article VI of this Constitution do not apply to any elected or appointed official or employee who serves on a regional council of government created under the authority of this section.
(D) Counties may jointly develop an industrial or business park with other counties within the geographical boundaries of one or more of the member counties. The area comprising the parks and all property having a situs therein is exempt from all ad valorem taxation. The owners or lessees of any property situated in the park shall pay an amount equivalent to the property taxes or other in lieu of payments that would have been due and payable except for the exemption herein provided. The participating counties shall reduce the agreement to develop and share expenses and revenues of the park to a written instrument which is binding on all participating counties. Included within expenses are the costs to provide public services such as sewage, water, fire, and police protection. Notwithstanding the above provisions of this subsection, before a group of member counties may establish an industrial or business park as authorized herein, the General Assembly must first provide by law for the manner in which the value of the property in the park will be considered for purposes of bonded indebtedness of political subdivisions and school districts and for purposes of computing the index of taxpaying ability pursuant to any provision of law which measures the relative fiscal capacity of a school district to support its schools based on the assessed valuation of taxable property in the district as compared to the assessed valuation of the taxable property in all school districts of this State.
Art. VIII §14 | GENERAL LAW PROVISIONS NOT TO BE SET ASIDE
(2) election and suffrage qualifications;
(3) bonded indebtedness of governmental units;
(4) the structure for and the administration of the State’s judicial system;
(5) criminal laws and the penalties and sanctions for the transgression thereof; and
(6) the structure and the administration of any governmental service or function, responsibility for which rests with the State government or which requires statewide uniformity.
Art. VIII §15 | CONSENT OF LOCAL GOVERNING BODY TO CERTAIN LAWS REQUIRED
Editor's Notes
Art. VIII §16 | ACQUISITION AND OPERATION OF PUBLIC UTILITY SYSTEMS
Any county or consolidated political subdivision created under this Constitution may, upon a majority vote of the electors voting on the question in such county or consolidated political subdivision, acquire by initial construction or purchase and may operate water, sewer, transportation or other public utility systems and plants other than gas and electric; provided this provision shall not prohibit the continued operation of gas and electric, water, sewer or other such utility systems of a municipality which becomes a part of a consolidated political subdivision.
Editor's Notes
Art. VIII §17 | CONSTRUCTION OF CONSTITUTION AND LAWS
Art. VIII §18 | ASSIGNMENT AND REGULATION OF TERRITORIES FOR ELECTRICAL AND GAS UTILITIES
This material might help you recover from the damages that lawbreaking judges/lawyers/agencies/organizations have inflicted upon you [and/or the public] (see this example of a Florida judge who outright committed perjury).
Perhaps it'll [even] help you navigate through your state's administrative gauntlet. A gauntlet which might include – but not be limited to:
- State Agency Bribery;
- State Agency Corruption;
- State Agency Obstruction; and
- State Agency Self-Discrimination
Sincerely,
www.TextBookDiscrimination.com
