The Adjutant General shall:

(1) Appoint the civilian employees of his department and he may remove any of them at his discretion;

(2) keep rosters of all active, reserve, and retired officers of the militia of the State, keep in his office all records and papers required to be kept and filed in his office and submit to the Governor and General Assembly each year an annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of South Carolina that includes the operations and conditions of the National Guard of South Carolina;

(3) on the first day of July of each year, make a statement of the condition of the military fund, showing the amount thereof and setting forth in detail all receipts from whatsoever source and all expenditures of whatsoever nature and the unexpended balance thereof;

(4) cause the military law, the regulations of the National Guard of South Carolina and such other military publications as may be necessary for the military service to be distributed at the expense of the State to commands so that all personnel of the National Guard of South Carolina will have access to same;

(5) keep records on and preserve all military property belonging to the State;

(6) keep just and true accounts of all moneys received and disbursed by him;

(7) attest all commissions issued to military officers of this State;

(8) prepare and transmit all militia reports, returns and communications prescribed by acts of Congress or by direction of the Department of Defense;

(9) have a seal;

(10) make such regulations pertaining to the preparation of reports and returns and to the care and preservation of property in possession of the State for military purposes, whether belonging to the State or the United States, as in his opinion the conditions demand;

(11) attend the care, preservation, safekeeping and repairing of the arms, ordnance, accoutrements, equipment and all other military property belonging to the State or issued to the State by the government of the United States for military purposes, and keep accurate accounts thereof;

(12) issue such military property as the necessity of the services require and make purchase for that purpose. No military property shall be issued or loaned, except upon an emergency, to persons or organizations other than those belonging to the National Guard of South Carolina except to such portions of the unorganized militia as may be called out by the Governor;

(13) keep the reports and returns of troops and all other writings and documents required to be preserved by the State military headquarters;

(14) keep necessary records attesting to the service of individuals of South Carolina forces for the Spanish American War and all subsequent wars and insurrections. The Adjutant General is authorized to make a determination as to when old records have only historical value, and, therefore, transfer them to the State Archives Department for reference and preservation;

(15) those records and relics not required for efficient operation of the military department may be turned over to the Archives Department for preservation;

(16) with the consent of the Governor, have the discretion to order to active duty for not more than fifteen days a member of the National Guard or State Guard who consents to that order and for whose pay and allowances funds, as provided in Section 25-1-2200, are available to the Adjutant General without additional state appropriations;

(17) in his discretion, authorize National Guard personnel to support and assist the National Guard Association of South Carolina and the South Carolina National Guard Foundation in their missions to promote the health, safety, education, and welfare of South Carolina National Guard personnel and their families.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 44-25; 1952 Code Section 44-25; 1950 (46) 1881; 1964 (53) 2241; 1998 Act No. 275, Section 1; 2014 Act No. 289 (S.825), Pt VI, Section 8, eff June 23, 2014; 2015 Act No. 19 (H.3683), Section 1, eff May 7, 2015.

Effect of Amendment

2014 Act No. 289, Section 8, added paragraph (17), relating to support and assistance to the National Guard Association of South Carolina.

2015 Act No. 19, Section 1, rewrote (2).