(A) There is established the South Carolina Children's Education Endowment. The revenue received pursuant to Section 48-46-40(E)(3) must be deposited by the State Treasurer in a fund separate and distinct from the state general fund entitled the "Children's Education Endowment". All interest or income earned by the fund shall be retained in the fund and used for its stated purposes, which are to provide funding for Public School Facilities Assistance and Higher Education Scholarship Grants. It is the intent of the General Assembly that in creating this endowment that its funds be managed so as to establish and fund these programs permanently.

(B) Upon receipt of monies transferred to the Children's Education Endowment by the State Treasurer, thirty percent of these monies must be allocated to Higher Education Scholarship Grants and seventy percent must be allocated to Public School Facility Assistance. Earnings on each allocation shall accumulate for the benefit of that particular program. The Comptroller General shall record low-level radioactive waste tax revenues collected from the Barnwell waste facility on the accrual basis; however, no expenditure may be made against these accrued revenues until the related cash is deposited with the State. These revenues must be distributed in the manner prescribed by Section 48-48-140.

(C) Funds made available for Need-based Grants and Palmetto Fellows Scholarships through the Higher Education Scholarship Grants allocation must be no more than the prior year's earned revenue and must be released for use on July first and January first of each fiscal year. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, any unspent balance in the Higher Education Scholarship Grants allocation of the Children's Education Endowment Fund, including interest and low-level radioactive waste tax revenue from previous years' collections, may be made available for Need-based Grants and Palmetto Fellows Scholarships.

(D) Funds made available from the public school facilities program allocation must be no more than the funds earned and received for that allocation through the most recently completed quarter.

HISTORY: 1995 Act No. 145, Part II, Section 82; 1996 Act No. 458, Part II, Section 4B; 2008 Act No. 353, Section 2, Pt 1.C.1, eff July 1, 2008.

Effect of Amendment

The 2008 amendment designated subsections (A) to (D); and, in subsection (C), added the second sentence relating to disposition of any unspent balance in the Higher Education Scholarship Grants allocation of the Children's Education Endowment Fund.