South Carolina State Government - Cabinet Agencies

South Carolina Department of Commerce

Mission Statement: As South Carolina's leading economic development agency, the Department of Commerce works to recruit new businesses and to help existing business to grow.

  
Robert M. Hitt, III
Secretary of Commerce
Year Established: 1993
Phone Number: (803) 737-0400
Current Website: sccommerce.com
Click Here
Number of Employees: Not Known Number of Facilities: 1


1201 Main Street, Suite 1600
Columbia, SC 29201

The Department of Commerce Includes:
International Presence - more than 1,200 international firms have facilities located in South Carolina. The Department has offices in Munich, Germany and Shanghai, China. 
Commuinity Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) - provides grants to units of local government in areas of the state that do not directly receive their own funding from HUD.
Small Business & Rural Development - works with counties and rural communities throughout South Carolina to plan and develop industrial parks and sites that will suit the needs of businesses looking to locate or expand in the state. The agency also works with local communities to address water, wastewater, infrastructure and more. 
Recycling Market Development Advisory Council - this 14 member, Governor-appointed council advises on building the growth of the state's recycling industry and makes recycling market program recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly each year.
SC Aeronautics Commission - established by Act 11 of 2005 to assist the Secretary of Commerce in the operation of and to oversee the Division of Aeronautics. Effective July 1, 2009, in accordance with Act 23 of 2009, all assets and resources of the Division of Aeronautics within the Department of Commerce were transferred to the State Budget & Control Board, operating as the SC Aeronautics Commission.
SC Coordinating Council for Economic Development - established in 1986 by the General Assembly, was formed in response to a general need for improved coordination of economic development efforts by those state agencies involved in the recruitment of new business and the expansion of current enterprises throughout the state. The Council consists of the heads or board chairs of 11 state agencies concerned with economic development: S.C. Department of Commerce, State Ports Authority, S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism, S.C. Department of Agriculture, S.C Technical College System, S.C. Research Authority, S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce, S.C. Department of Revenue, S.C. Jobs-Economic Development Authority, S.C. Department of Transportation and Santee Cooper.
SC Public Railways Commission - this commission was repealed in 1993 and no longer exists. However, the oversight of the Division of Public Railways still resides officially within the Department of Commerce. The Division includes three (3) state-owned short-line railroads - Port Utilities Commission of Charleston (PUCC), Port Terminal Railroad (PTR) and East Cooper & Berkeley Railroad (ECBR). In 2013, South Carolina Public Railways changed its name to Palmetto Railroads to streamline administrative and marketing functions and clarify vagaries regarding the regulatory status of the railroad.

SC Code of Law Authority for the Department

SECTION 1-30-25. Department of Commerce.

The following agencies, boards, and commissions, including all of the allied, advisory, affiliated, or related entities as well as the employees, funds, property, and all contractual rights and obligations associated with any such agency, except for those subdivisions specifically included under another department, are transferred to and incorporated in and must be administered as part of the Department of Commerce to be initially divided into divisions for Aeronautics, Advisory Coordinating Council for Economic Development, State Development, Public Railways, and Savannah Valley Development:

(A) South Carolina Aeronautics Commission, formerly provided for at Section 55-5-10, et seq.;

(B) Coordinating Council for Economic Development, formerly provided for at Section 41-45-30, et seq.;

(C) Savannah Valley Authority, formerly provided for at Section 13-9-10, et seq.;

(D) Existing divisions or components of the Department of Commerce formerly a part of the State Development Board excluding the South Carolina Film Commission; and

(E) South Carolina Public Railways Commission, formerly provided for at Section 58-19-10, et seq.

HISTORY: 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1; 1999 Act No. 100, Part II, Section 71; 2000 Act No. 387, Part II, Section 73; 2004 Act No. 299, Section 5, eff July 1, 2004; 2005 Act No. 56, Section 3, eff May 9, 2005, applicable to taxable years beginning July 1, 2004; 2008 Act No. 313, Section 6.A, eff upon approval (became law without the Governor's signature on June 12, 2008); 2008 Act No. 359, Section 1, eff July 1, 2008.

2008 Act No. 313, Section 6.C and 2008 Act No. 359, Section 3 provide as follows:

"(1) Where the provisions of this section transfer the South Carolina Film Commission from the Department of Commerce to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, the employees, authorized appropriations, and assets and liabilities of the South Carolina Film Commission are also transferred to and become part of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. All classified or unclassified personnel employed by the South Carolina Film Commission on the effective date of this section, either by contract or by employment at will, shall become employees of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, with the same compensation, classification, and grade level, as applicable. The State Budget and Control Board shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish this transfer in accordance with state laws and regulations.

"(2) Regulations promulgated by the South Carolina Film Commission are continued and are considered to be promulgated by the South Carolina Film Commission as a division of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

"(3) The Code Commissioner is directed to change or correct all references to the South Carolina Film Commission to reflect its transfer to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. References to the name of the South Carolina Film Commission in the 1976 Code or other provisions of law are considered to be and must be construed to mean appropriate references."

Effect of Amendment

The 2004 amendment, in subsection (D), in the introductory sentence substituted "South Carolina Film Commission" for "South Carolina Film Office" in two places and added paragraph (10).

The 2005 amendment, in the introduction to subsection (D), substituted "Department of Commerce" for "State Development Board" and deleted "formerly provided for in Section 13-3-10, et seq.," following "South Carolina Film Commission".

The first 2008 amendment, in subsection (A), substituted "The" for "Effective on July 1, 1993, the" and made nonsubstantive changes; and rewrote subsection (D).

The second 2008 amendment made identical changes.

History of the Department of Commerce:

Created by the Government Restructuring Act of 1993, the Department of Commerce's mission is to provide an exceptional climate for economic development, increase the wealth generation of the state's business base, ensure that the benefits of increased wealth generation are realized across all regions of the state, and ensure that development of the state's economic development resources keep pace with the needs of its existing and prospective businesses. Prior to 1993, it was part of the State Development Board.

Established by Act 122 of 1945, the State Development Board was created to provide leadership in creating and sustaining a climate which serves private sector development and expansion in South Carolina for the purpose of improving the economic well-being of the citizens of this state.

Past Secretaries of the Department of Commerce

Secretary of Commerce

Year(s)

Robert M. Hitt, III

2011 to Present

Joe E. Taylor, Jr.

2007 - 2011

Robert A. Faith

2003 - 2006

Charles S. Way, Jr.

1999 - 2003

Robert V. Royall, Jr.

1995 - 1999

Wayne L. Stirling

Interim 1994

Past Directors of the State Development Board

Director

Year(s)

Wayne L. Stirling

1989 - 1993

J. Mac Holladay

1986 - 1989

Vacant

1985

Robert E. Leak

1983 - 1984

Max Moses Heller

1978 - 1983

W. Milton Folds

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Will add others when they become identified.
   
   
   


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