(A) The Department of Administration shall purchase, acquire, transfer, replace, and dispose of all motor vehicles on the basis of maximum cost-effectiveness and lowest anticipated total life cycle costs.

(B) The standard state fleet sedan or station wagon must be no larger than a compact model and the special state fleet sedan or station wagon must be no larger than an intermediate model. The State Fleet Manager shall determine the types of vehicles which fit into these classes. Only these classes of sedans and station wagons may be purchased by the State for nonlaw enforcement use.

(C) The State shall purchase police sedans only for the use of law enforcement officers, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code. Purchase of a vehicle under this subsection must be concurred in by the State Fleet Manager and must be in accordance with regulations promulgated or procedures adopted under Sections 1-11-220 through 1-11-340 which must take into consideration the agency's mission, the intended use of the vehicle, and the officer's duties. Law enforcement agency vehicles used by employees whose job functions do not meet the Internal Revenue Service definition of "Law Enforcement Officer" must be standard or special state fleet sedans.

(D) All state motor vehicles must be titled to the State and must be received by and remain in the possession of the Program of Fleet Management pending sale or disposal of the vehicle.

(E) Titles to school buses and service vehicles operated by the State Department of Education and vehicles operated by the South Carolina Department of Transportation must be retained by those agencies.

(F) Exceptions to requirements in subsections (B) and (C) must be approved by the State Fleet Manager. Requirements in subsection (B) do not apply to the Department of Commerce.

(G) Preference in purchasing state motor vehicles must be given to vehicles assembled in the United States with at least seventy-five percent domestic content as determined by the appropriate federal agency.

(H) Preference in purchasing state motor vehicles must be given to hybrid, plug-in hybrid, biodiesel, hydrogen, fuel cell, or flex-fuel vehicles when the performance, quality, and anticipated life cycle costs are comparable to other available motor vehicles.

HISTORY: 1978 Act No. 644, Part II, Section 24(J); 1992 Act No. 449, Part V, Section 2, eff July 1, 1992; 1996 Act No. 459, Section 2; 2008 Act No. 203, Section 2, eff upon approval (became law without the Governor's signature on April 17, 2008); 2014 Act No. 121 (S.22), Pt V, Section 7.E.3, eff July 1, 2015.

Effect of Amendment

The 2008 amendment added item (H) relating to purchase of low emission motor vehicles by the State.

2014 Act No. 121, Section 7.E.3, in subsection (A), substituted "Department of Administration" for "State Budget and Control Board"; in subsections (B) and (C), substituted "State Fleet Manager" for "director of the Division of Motor Vehicle Management"; in subsection (D), substituted "Program of Fleet Management" for "Division of Motor Vehicle Management"; and in subsection (F), substituted "State Fleet Manager" for "director of the Division of Motor Vehicle Management" and substituted "Department of Commerce" for "State Development Board".