(A) There is created, within the South Carolina Department of Commerce, the South Carolina Venture Capital Authority.

(B)(1) The authority must be governed by a board composed of seven directors, one of whom must be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom must be appointed by the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, one of whom must be appointed by the President of the Senate, one of whom must be appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and three of whom must be appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall serve as chairman. No sitting member of the General Assembly may be appointed to serve on the board in any capacity including an ex officio capacity. Directors must be selected based upon outstanding knowledge and leadership, must be knowledgeable in the management of money and finance, and must possess experience in the management of investments similar in nature and in value to those of the designated investor groups. Directors serve for a term of office of four years and until their successors are appointed and qualify, except that, of the initial directors appointed, the member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall serve for an initial term of two years, the member appointed by the President of the Senate shall serve for an initial term of two years, and one member appointed by the Governor shall serve for an initial term of two years as designated by the Governor so as to allow the terms of the directors to be staggered. Any appointments to the governing board of the South Carolina Venture Capital Fund made prior to the effective date of the creation of the South Carolina Venture Capital Authority as established by this chapter shall expire on the effective date of the creation of the authority, and appointments to the governing board of the authority shall be made as provided in this section and shall supercede these prior appointments.

(2) The directors have the authority to govern the authority in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.

(3) A conflict of interest is considered to exist if a director of the authority, an officer, agent, or employee thereof, or any for-profit firm or corporation in which a director, officer, agent, or employee of the authority, or any member of his immediate family, as defined in Section 2-17-10(7), is an officer, partner, or principal stockholder who engages in business activity with the authority either directly or indirectly in which the director, officer, agent, employee, or firm would personally benefit. In this case, the director, officer, agent, or employee shall refrain from any involvement of any type in regard to the activity including, but not limited to, discussing the proposed activity with another person associated with the entity desiring to engage in the activity with the authority, negotiating any aspects of the proposed activity with the authority, voting on any matter pertaining to the activity, and communicating with other board members, officers, agents, or employees of the authority concerning the activity. When a conflict arises, the director, officer, agent, or employee involved in the conflict, at the discretion of the board, shall resolve the conflict or resign from the position creating the conflict. Directors, officers, agents, and employees of the authority are subject to all provisions of Chapter 17, Title 2 and Chapter 13, Title 8, and the provisions of this item are supplemental to and not in lieu of the provisions of Chapter 17, Title 2 and Chapter 13, Title 8.

(C) Any fees or other amounts received by the authority pursuant to any designated investor contract must be held by the authority in a fund that is separate and distinct from the state general fund. Subject to approval by the board of directors, the fund must be administered by the Department of Commerce to support the economic development goals of this State in accordance with the strategy established by the Department of Commerce.

HISTORY: 2004 Act No. 187, Section 5; 2005 Act No. 125, Section 1; 2019 Act No. 1 (S.2), Section 45, eff January 31, 2019.

Effect of Amendment

2019 Act No. 1, Section 45, in (B)(1), in the first and fourth sentences, substituted "President of the Senate" for "President Pro Tempore of the Senate", and made nonsubstantive changes.