Terms Used In South Carolina Code 44-6-1020

  • Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
  • Department: means the State Department of Health and Human Services. See South Carolina Code 44-6-5
  • Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
The committee shall adopt bylaws that include, at a minimum, the length of membership. A chairman and a vice chairman shall be elected on an annual basis from the committee membership. Committee members must not be compensated for service to the committee. However, committee members may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred by discharging committee duties in an amount not to exceed the mileage and subsistence amounts allowed by law for members of boards, commissions, and committees. The committee must meet at least quarterly and may meet at other times in the chairman’s or the director’s discretion. Committee meetings are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. The department shall publish notice of regular business meetings of the committee at least thirty days before the meeting. However, the director or chairman may call special meetings of the committee and provide notice as soon as practical. The committee must provide for public comment, including comment on clinical and patient care data from Medicaid providers, representatives of the pharmaceutical industry, and patient advocacy groups. Proprietary information as defined in the trade secret law shall not be discussed. Trade secrets as defined in § 30-4-40(a)(1) and relevant federal law must not be publicly disclosed.