(A) The South Carolina Housing Commission (commission) is hereby established. The purpose of the commission is to provide recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on an annual basis to ensure and foster the availability of safe, sound, and affordable housing and workforce housing for every South Carolinian. The commission also may make recommendations relating to such other housing, real property, and community development issues as it considers desirable.

(B)(1) The commission shall consist of fifteen members. Of these members, five must be members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; five must be members of the Senate to be appointed by the President of the Senate; and five must be nonlegislative members selected by the other legislative members. All members must be qualified electors of this State.

(2) Legislative members shall serve terms concurrent with their terms of office. Nonlegislative members shall serve for terms of four years each. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, must be for the unexpired terms. Legislative and nonlegislative members may be reappointed for successive terms. Vacancies must be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.

(3) The commission shall elect a chairman and vice chairman every two years from among its membership, who must be members of the General Assembly.

(C) A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The meetings of the commission shall be held at the call of the chairman or whenever the majority of the members request.

No recommendation of the commission shall be adopted if a majority of the Senate members or a majority of the House members appointed to the commission vote against the recommendation.

(D) The commission shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) undertake analyses, gather information and data, and pursue such other activities as may be desirable to accomplish its purposes;

(2) report annually on its activities during the preceding year and include a discussion of analyses made and recommendations for administrative or legislative action; and

(3) review newly enacted federal legislation pertaining to mortgage lending and brokering and determine if the federal legislation necessitates amendments to the laws of this State.

(E) The chairman shall submit to the General Assembly and the Governor an annual summary of the activity and work of the commission together with its recommendations no later than the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly.

(F) Staff for the commission shall be provided from the standing committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate with jurisdiction over the subject matter being studied by the commission.

(G) Members of the commission shall serve without compensation, subsistence, per diem, or mileage.

HISTORY: 2009 Act No. 80, Section 1, eff July 1, 2009; 2019 Act No. 1 (S.2), Section 11, eff January 31, 2019.

Effect of Amendment

2019 Act No. 1, Section 11, in (B), inserted the paragraph designators, and in (1), substituted "President of the Senate" for "President Pro Tempore of the Senate".