2017 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 5 - Municipal Corporations
CHAPTER 31 - ELECTRICITY, WATER, NATURAL GAS AND SEWERAGE SYSTEMS
Section 5-31-235. Abolition of commissions of public works.

(A) If the commissioners of public works unanimously, by resolution, petition the municipal council to abolish the commission, the municipal council may, after a public hearing, adopt an ordinance abolishing the commission of public works.

(B) The municipal council of any municipality shall, upon receiving a petition signed by thirty percent of the registered voters of the qualified voters of the municipality, call for a binding referendum to determine whether or not the Commission of Public Works must be abolished. The referendum must be held in accordance with the general election laws of this State. The question on the ballot must be as follows: "Shall the Commission of Public Works of the municipality of (name of the appropriate municipality) be abolished?"

Yes []

No []

(C) If a majority of the voters who vote in that referendum determines that the Commission of Public Works be abolished, then the municipal council shall adopt an ordinance abolishing the Commission of Public Works and the municipality shall assume all the rights, duties, responsibilities, assets, and liabilities of the former Commission of Public Works. The Commission of Public Works shall cease to exist as of the date of the final passage of the ordinance abolishing it, and the municipality shall assume the rights, duties, responsibilities, assets, and liabilities of the former Commission of Public Works at the same instant. The referendum provided for in subsection (B), whether successful or unsuccessful, may not be conducted more often than every thirty-six months.

(D) As an alternative to the procedure provided in subsections (B) and (C), a commission of public works may be abolished by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the commission transferring the rights, duties, responsibilities, assets, and liabilities of the former commission to a municipality. The transfer is effective when the municipality adopts an ordinance accepting the transfer.

(E) The provisions of subsections (B), (C), and (D) of this section apply only to a municipality which has been created as a result of the consolidation of two or more municipalities.

HISTORY: 1984 Act No. 376; 1993 Act No. 145, Section 1.