(A) There is hereby established the Office of the State Inspector General that consists of the State Inspector General, who is the director of the office, and a staff of deputy inspectors general, investigators, auditors, and clerical employees employed by the State Inspector General as necessary to carry out the duties of the State Inspector General and as are authorized by law. The State Inspector General shall fix the salaries of all staff subject to the funds authorized in the annual general appropriation act.

(B) The State Inspector General is responsible for investigating and addressing allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, misconduct, violations of state or federal law, and wrongdoing in agencies.

(C) The Governor shall appoint the State Inspector General with the advice and consent of the Senate for a term of four years. A Governor may reappoint the State Inspector General for additional terms. The State Inspector General's compensation must not be reduced during the State Inspector General's uninterrupted continued tenure in office.

(D) The State Inspector General:

(1) may be removed from office only by the Governor as provided in Section 1-3-240(C);

(2) must be selected without regard to political affiliation and on the basis of integrity, capability for strong leadership, and demonstrated ability in accounting, auditing, financial analysis, law, management analysis, public administration, investigation, or criminal justice administration or other closely related fields;

(3) is entitled to receive compensation set by the Governor and approved by the State Fiscal Accountability Authority.

(E) Upon request of the State Inspector General for information or assistance, all agencies are directed to fully cooperate with and furnish the State Inspector General with all documents, reports, answers, records, accounts, papers, and other necessary data and documentary information to perform the mission of the State Inspector General.

(F) Except for information declared confidential under this chapter, records of the Office of the State Inspector General are subject to public inspection under Chapter 4, Title 30.

HISTORY: 2012 Act No. 105, Section 2, eff January 1, 2012.

Code Commissioner's Note

At the direction of the Code Commissioner, the reference in subsection (F) to "Chapter 4 of this title" was changed to "Chapter 4, Title 30".

At the direction of the Code Commissioner, references in this section to the offices of the former State Budget and Control Board, Office of the Governor, or other agencies, were changed to reflect the transfer of them to the Department of Administration or other entities, pursuant to the directive of the South Carolina Restructuring Act, 2014 Act No. 121, Section 5(D)(1), effective July 1, 2015.