(A) If the State Inspector General has reasonable cause to believe that fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, misconduct, or wrongdoing has occurred or is occurring, he must report the suspected conduct to:

(1) the Governor; and

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 1-6-40

  • Agency: means an authority, board, branch, commission, committee, department, division, or other instrumentality of the executive department of state government, including administrative bodies and bodies corporate and politic established as an instrumentality of the State. See South Carolina Code 1-6-10
  • Employee: includes an individual who contracts with an agency for personal services. See South Carolina Code 1-6-10
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: means :

    (a) an individual, labor union and organization, joint apprenticeship committee, partnership, association, corporation, legal representative, mutual company, joint-stock company, trust, unincorporated organization, trustee, trustee in bankruptcy, receiver, or other legal or commercial entity located in part or in whole in the State or doing business in the State;

    (b) the State and any agency or local subdivision of an agency; or

    (c) a political subdivision. See South Carolina Code 1-6-10
  • Wrongdoing: means action by an agency which results in substantial abuse, misuse, destruction, or loss of substantial public funds or public resources. See South Carolina Code 1-6-10

(2) the head of the agency affected by the conduct or employing the person allegedly engaged in the suspected conduct.

(B) In addition to the reporting requirements in subsection (A), if the State Inspector General has reasonable cause to believe that a crime has occurred or is occurring, he must report the conduct to the appropriate state or federal law enforcement agencies and prosecuting authorities that have jurisdiction over the matter.

(C) In addition to fully cooperating with the State Inspector General’s investigation, the head of the agency employing a person allegedly engaged in the suspected conduct is responsible for submitting a report to the State Inspector General describing any and all actions taken with the employee and within the agency to prevent the alleged conduct from occurring again.