South Carolina General Assembly
119th Session, 2011-2012
S. 183
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senator Rose
Document Path: l:\s-res\mtr\010pars.mrh.mtr.docx
Introduced in the Senate on January 11, 2011
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Finance
Summary: State contracts
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
12/1/2010 Senate Prefiled
12/1/2010 Senate Referred to Committee on Finance
1/11/2011 Senate Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 86)
1/11/2011 Senate Referred to Committee on Finance (Senate Journal-page 86)
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
12/1/2010
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9 A BILL
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11 TO AMEND CHAPTER 35, TITLE 11 OF THE 1976 CODE, BY
12 ADDING SECTION 11-35-1600, TO PROVIDE THAT ANY
13 STATE AGENCY ENTERING INTO A CONTRACT FOR
14 LEGAL SERVICES IN EXCESS OF ONE MILLION DOLLARS
15 MUST AWARD THE CONTRACT BY COMPETITIVE
16 SEALED BIDDING, TO CREATE THE PRIVATE ATTORNEY
17 RETENTION COMMITTEE AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE
18 COMMITTEE‟S DUTIES AND POWERS, TO PROVIDE THE
19 CONTRACT REVIEW PROCESS FOR LEGAL SERVICE
20 CONTRACTS IN EXCESS OF ONE MILLION DOLLARS,
21 AND TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS.
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23 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
24 Carolina:
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26 SECTION 1. Chapter 35, Title 11 of the 1976 Code is amended
27 by adding:
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29 “Section 11-35-1600. (A) Any state agency or state agent
30 desiring to enter into a contract in excess of one million dollars for
31 the retention of legal services must award the contract by
32 competitive sealed bidding, pursuant to Section 11-35-1520. For
33 the purposes of this section, a contract in excess of one million
34 dollars is one in which the fee paid to an attorney or group of
35 attorneys and their expenses exceeds or can be reasonably
36 expected to exceed one million dollars. „Fees‟ shall include any
37 compensation for legal services however measured including, but
38 not limited to, flat, hourly, and contingent fees. „State agency‟
39 means all officers, departments, boards, commissions, institutions,
40 universities, colleges, and all persons and administrative units of
41 state government except the Attorney General and members of the
42 judiciary.
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1 (B) There is hereby created a six member joint committee of
2 the General Assembly to be known as the Private Attorney
3 Retention Committee to review contracts for legal services in
4 excess of one million dollars. The committee shall consist of the
5 following members:
6 (1) one member appointed by the President Pro Tempore of
7 the Senate;
8 (2) one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of
9 Representatives;
10 (3) one member appointed by the Chairman of the Senate
11 Judiciary Committee;
12 (4) one member appointed by the Chairman of the House
13 Judiciary Committee;
14 (5) one member appointed by the Chairman of the Senate
15 Finance Committee;
16 (6) one member appointed by the Chairman of the House
17 Ways and Means Committee.
18 Terms of members of the committee are coterminous with the
19 term of the appointing authority. The review committee must meet
20 as soon as practicable after appointment and organize itself by
21 electing one of its members as chairman and other officers as the
22 review committee may consider necessary.
23 The expenses of the committee must be paid from approved
24 accounts of both houses. The review committee must use clerical
25 and professional employees of the General Assembly for its staff,
26 who must be made available to the review committee.
27 (C) No state agency or state agent may enter into a contract for
28 legal services exceeding one million dollars without the
29 opportunity for review of the terms of the contract by the
30 committee.
31 (D) Except as provided in subsection (F), any state agency or
32 state agent proposing to enter into a contract for legal services
33 exceeding one million dollars shall file a copy of the proposed
34 contract with the committee and shall also accompany the
35 proposed contract with a written statement that identifies:
36 (1) the reasons the State should retain private counsel and
37 the consideration of alternatives;
38 (2) the bidding process that has been undertaken with
39 respect to the proposed legal services;
40 (3) the reasons for the selection of the lawyer or law firm
41 that is the proposed contracting party;
42 (4) the past or present relationship, if any, between the
43 lawyer, law firm, or any partner or other principal in the law firm
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1 and the state agency or state agent proposing to enter into the
2 contract; and
3 (5) if the contract contemplates that all or part of the fee is
4 contingent on the outcome of the legal proceeding, the reasons the
5 contingent fee arrangement is believed to be in the State‟s interest
6 and any efforts undertaken to obtain private counsel on a
7 non-contingent fee basis.
8 (E) Within forty-five days after the filing of the proposed
9 contract and statement with the committee, the committee may
10 hold a public hearing on the proposed contract and, whether or not
11 a public hearing is held, shall issue a report to the referring state
12 agency or state agent. The report shall include any recommended
13 changes to the proposed contract approved by the committee.
14 (1) If the reviewing committee recommends no changes to
15 the proposed contract within forty-five days of the initial filing of
16 the proposed contract with the committee, the referring state
17 agency or state agent may enter into the proposed contract.
18 (2) If the report of the reviewing committee recommends
19 changes to the proposed contract, the state agency shall review the
20 report and may prepare a revised contract deemed appropriate by
21 the state agency and file with the committee a copy of the revised
22 contract.
23 (3) If the revised contract does not contain any or all of the
24 changes recommended by the committee, the referring state agency
25 or state agent shall include with the revised contract
26 correspondence stating the reasons why the recommended changes
27 were not adopted. The committee may hold additional hearings
28 and issue additional reports in its discretion. Not earlier than
29 forty-five days after the filing of any correspondence and revised
30 contract with the committee, the referring state agency or state
31 agent may enter into the revised contract. Notwithstanding any
32 provision of this section, any revised contract containing terms not
33 previously reviewed or recommended by the committee that can
34 reasonably be expected to increase the fees and expenses to be paid
35 shall be treated as a new proposed contract and shall be filed and
36 reviewed in accordance with this section.
37 (F) In the event that a state agency determines that the bidding
38 or review process required by this section would result in
39 substantial prejudice to the state‟s position in any legal proceeding,
40 the state agency may immediately retain counsel. Any contract
41 entered into by a state agency pursuant to this subsection must
42 contain a provision that the contract is subject to review by the
43 committee, and the terms and conditions of the agreement are
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1 subject to change based on any recommendations made by the
2 committee.
3 (G)(1) At the conclusion of any legal proceeding for which a
4 state agency retained outside counsel on a contingent fee basis, the
5 State shall receive from counsel a statement of the hours worked
6 on the case, expenses incurred, the aggregate fee amount, and a
7 breakdown as to the hourly rate, based on hours worked divided
8 into fees recovered, less expenses to the state agency.
9 (2) In no case shall the State incur fees and expenses in
10 excess of one thousand dollars per hour for legal services. In cases
11 where a disclosure submitted in accordance with subsection (A) of
12 this section indicates an hourly rate in excess of one thousand
13 dollars per hour, the fee amount must be reduced to an amount
14 equivalent to one thousand dollars per hour.
15 (H) Nothing in this act shall be construed to expand the
16 authority of any state agency to enter into contracts where no
17 authority previously existed.”
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19 SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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