(A) The Department of Corrections is hereby authorized to sell mature trees and other timber suitable for commercial purposes from lands owned by the department. Prior to such sales, the director shall consult with the State Forester to determine the economic and environmental feasibility of and obtain approval for such sales. Funds derived from timber sales shall be utilized by the Department of Corrections to maintain and expand the agricultural program subject to the approval of the Department of Administration or at the discretion of the director, for projects or services benefiting the general welfare of the inmate population.

(B) The Department of Corrections is hereby authorized to sell horticultural products suitable for commercial purposes that are grown or produced through the department's horticulture program. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the proceeds from the sale of horticultural products by the Department of Corrections shall be retained by the agency to fund services benefiting the general welfare of all inmates.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 55-340; 1969 (56) 100; 1981 Act No. 148, Section 8; 1982 Act No. 293, Section 1; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 388; 2008 Act No. 353, Section 2, Pt 14.C, eff July 1, 2009.

Code Commissioner's Note

At the direction of the Code Commissioner, references in this section to the offices of the former State Budget and Control Board, Office of the Governor, or other agencies, were changed to reflect the transfer of them to the Department of Administration or other entities, pursuant to the directive of the South Carolina Restructuring Act, 2014 Act No. 121, Section 5(D)(1), effective July 1, 2015.

Effect of Amendment

The 2008 amendment designated subsection (A) and added subsection (B) relating to horticultural products; and, in subsection (A), deleted the second sentence which limited sales to fifty thousand dollars in any one year, in the second sentence added "and environmental", and added the clause at the end of the third sentence following "Budget and Control Board".