Committee advances overhaul of foster‑care reviews and a slate of regulatory updates, forwarding items to full committee
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Summary
A legislative committee on regulatory matters unanimously moved several updated regulations to the full committee, including an overhaul of foster care review rules not updated in 25 years, testing-equivalency changes for Palmetto Fellows, residency rule clarifications for in‑state tuition, updated university parking rules, Clemson golf‑cart parity rules and deletions of outdated archival retention regs.
A legislative regulatory committee on Tuesday voted to send a package of regulatory updates to the full committee, approving changes that range from a rewrite of foster care review rules to university parking and golf‑cart regulations.
Lindsey Taylor, director of the Foster Care Review Division, told the committee the foster‑care review regulations had not been revised in more than 25 years and that the proposed overhaul is intended to align regulations with current practice, increase transparency and make procedures timelier. "The regulations haven't been updated in over 25 years," Taylor said, adding that many review processes moved to virtual platforms during the COVID period and that technology and practice changes prompted the rewrite. Chairman Bradley questioned why the five‑year statutory review schedule had not been followed; Taylor said the division was created in 2019 and she joined the agency in 2021 and did not have earlier records of revisions. The committee moved to approve the overhaul and forwarded it to the full committee.
The commission that oversees higher education presented two related items. A representative from the State Commission on Higher Education, identified in the record as Dr. Perez, proposed making the SAT and ACT equivalent for Palmetto Fellows eligibility by removing the ACT science requirement so both tests would be judged on math and reading. "The sciences remain important. STEM fields are important," Perez said, adding that the change is intended to prevent disadvantaging students who take one test over the other. The committee approved the change and forwarded it to the full committee.
The same presenter described revisions to residency rules used to determine in‑state tuition and scholarship eligibility, consolidating domicile, South Carolina driver's license, vehicle registration and state income tax criteria into a single, clearer section and adding an appeals process for students denied in‑state status. Perez said campuses retain final authority over residency determinations, and the change is meant to reduce confusion that currently draws legislators into individual campus disputes.
University of South Carolina officials asked the committee to modernize parking and transportation regulations. Craig Parks said the proposed changes update obsolete language, allow electronic delivery of violation notices, permit online payments and move fee schedules to campus websites while leaving fee‑setting authority with trustees. Parks acknowledged that portions of the fee schedule are being removed from the regulation text but said the fees remain governed by separate college statutes and board action.
Clemson University parking services director Jared Breuder said Clemson's golf‑cart regulation changes are intended to align university rules with the City of Clemson ordinance so nighttime operations are lawful and consistent on contiguous streets. A staff member told the committee the Senate has asked Clemson to withdraw and resubmit the regulation to remove misdemeanor language copied from the municipal code; Breuder clarified the university did not intend to criminalize violations of university policy but to align campus rules with state law.
The committee also approved deleting a set of outdated archival retention regulations (Regs 53‑73 through 53‑81). A staff presenter explained that Act 47 of 2003 transferred authority for general retention schedules from regulation to agency directors; Eric Emerson, director of archives, told the committee the department prepared new general retention schedules with state and local stakeholders.
Votes on each item were procedural approvals to forward the regulations; all items were moved to the full committee for further consideration. The committee adjourned after completing the agenda.
Votes at a glance
- Foster Care Review regulation overhaul (Doc 54‑32): motion to approve and forward to full committee; outcome: forwarded. - Palmetto Fellows testing equivalency (Doc 54‑05): motion to approve and forward to full committee; outcome: forwarded. - Residency rules (Doc 54‑43): motion to approve and forward to full committee; outcome: forwarded. - USC parking and transportation updates (Doc 54‑12): motion to approve and forward to full committee; outcome: forwarded. - Clemson golf cart regulations (Doc 54‑33): committee asked to withdraw and resubmit to remove misdemeanor language; presenter clarified intent; motion forwarded to full committee. - Archival retention deletions (Regs 53‑73 through 53‑81): motion to delete and replace with updated schedules; outcome: forwarded.
What happens next
Each item is scheduled for consideration by the full committee. Where the Senate requested a resubmission (Clemson golf cart regulation), the presenter said language will be revised to remove or clarify misdemeanor references before resubmittal.