South Carolina Coastal Council v. South Carolina State Ethics Com'n
| Decision Date | 12 June 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 23496,23496 |
| Court | South Carolina Supreme Court |
| Parties | SOUTH CAROLINA COASTAL COUNCIL and John C. Hayes, III, in his representative capacity as Chairman of the South Carolina Coastal Council, Petitioners, v. SOUTH CAROLINA STATE ETHICS COMMISSION, Respondent. . Heard |
C.C. Harness, III, General Counsel of South Carolina Coastal Council, Charleston, for petitioners.
Charles E. Carpenter, Jr., of Richardson, Plowden, Grier & Howser, Columbia, for respondent.
Petitioners South Carolina Coastal Council and John C. Hayes, III, Chairman of Coastal Council, petitioned this Court to exercise its original jurisdiction in this matter to determine whether S.C.Code Ann. § 8-13-450 (1986) of the State Ethics Law applies to the membership of Coastal Council. We granted petitioners' motion pursuant to Rule 229, SCACR. We find that this provision does not apply to the membership of Coastal Council.
Section 8-13-450 of the State Ethics Act provides in pertinent part that "no person shall serve as a member of a government regulatory agency that regulates any business with which that person is associated." The dispositive question in this case is whether Coastal Council "regulates any business." Respondent South Carolina Ethics Commission contends that Coastal Council regulates a variety of businesses and that anyone associated with any of these businesses is prohibited, by Section 8-13-450, from being a member of Coastal Council. Coastal Council, on the other hand, contends that it does not regulate any business, but regulates the environment, and that it is not prohibited from having members who may be associated with a business affected by Coastal Council's regulation of the environment. In order to determine whether Coastal Council "regulates any business," we must examine the regulatory duties of Coastal Council.
Coastal Council was created by the South Carolina Coastal Management Act of 1977 (Act), codified at S.C.Code Ann. § 48-39-10 et seq. (1987). The Coastal Council was created to implement the legislatively declared State policy "to protect the quality of the coastal environment and to promote the economic and social improvement of the coastal zone and of all the people of the State." S.C.Code Ann. § 48-39-30 (1987). In order to implement this policy, the Act requires Coastal Council to develop "a comprehensive coastal management program," and gives Coastal Council "the responsibility for enforcing and administering the program...." S.C.Code Ann. § 48-39-80 (1987). The Act further provides that, in developing the program, Coastal Council shall provide a regulatory system for the "critical area" environment, which includes coastal waters, tidelands, beaches, and the beach/dune system, and shall develop a system to review, and certify or deny, all State and federal permits for activities within the coastal zone. Id.
Pursuant to the Act, Coastal Council promulgated rules and regulations which establish a permitting process, general guidelines for all critical areas, and specific project standards for projects in the critical areas. Under the regulations, any person wishing to alter a critical area must receive a permit from Coastal Council. 1 23 S.C.Code Ann.Reg. 30-2 (1976). The regulations provide general guidelines that Coastal Council will follow in deciding whether to issue a permit for a project in a critical area. 23 S.C.Code Ann.Reg. 30-11 (1976). In addition, the regulations provide standards for certain projects in the critical areas, including: the construction of docks, piers, boat ramps, and bulkheads; the installation of cables, pipelines, and transmission lines; the location and design of marinas; the location and design of transportation projects; the creation and maintenance of navigation channels and access canals; and the disposal of dredged material. 23 S.C.Code Ann.Reg. 30-12 (1976). By regulating activities that take place in the critical areas, Coastal Council affects innumerable businesses, such as marinas, developers, hotels, seafood processors, and dredging companies. In fact, Coastal Council's regulatory authority affects almost every industry or business that operates in the coastal zone. 2
The Ethics Commission asserts that any business which is affected by Coastal Council's regulation of the coastal zone is, in fact, regulated by Coastal Council, and that any person associated with such a business cannot serve as a member of Coastal Council under Section 8-13-450. We disagree.
The State Ethics Law does not define the term "governmental agency that regulates any business." However, in deciding whether Section 8-13-450 applies to other state agencies, the Ethics Commission has determined that an agency regulates a business if it "has authority to promulgate rules or regulations or administer legislatively enacted rules and regulations that govern or direct entry into a business, conditions for remaining in that business, and the manner in which the business may be conducted." Ethics Opinion No. 79-018, October 5, 1978. 3 Under the Ethics Commission's own definition, we think it is clear that Coastal Council is not a "governmental agency that regulates any business."
After reviewing the Act, which defines Coastal Council's regulatory duties, and after examining Coastal Council's regulations, we conclude that Coastal Council regulates the preservation and utilization of coastal resources. Coastal Council's regulations are aimed at mitigating environmental loss by assuring that projects are compatible with the environment. Unquestionably, Coastal Council's regulation of the critical areas affects any business which undertakes a project in the coastal zone. However, Coastal Council regulates the use of critical areas by a business and not the way in which a business is operated. Although Coastal Council may incidentally affect various aspects of a business, it does not specifically regulate any particular business.
Furthermore, even if we disregard the Ethics Commission's definition, we would still conclude that Coastal Council does not regulate any business. As we noted above, we find that the provisions of the Act demonstrate that Coastal Council was created to regulate the environment rather than any business. In addition, we find that the Ethics Commission's reading of Section 8-13-450 does not comport with general principles of statutory interpretation. The interpretation of a term set forth in a statute should support the statute and should not lead to an absurd result. Hamm v. S.C. P.S.C., 287 S.C. 180, 336 S.E.2d 470 (1985). Further, in interpreting a statute, one does not look merely at...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Whitner v. State
...in conjunction with the purpose of the whole statute and the policy of the law. E.g., South Carolina Coastal Council v. South Carolina State Ethics Comm'n, 306 S.C. 41, 410 S.E.2d 245 (1991). Finally, there is a basic presumption that the legislature has knowledge of previous legislation as......
-
Ogburn-Matthews v. Loblolly Partners
...set forth in a statute should support the statute and should not lead to an absurd result. South Carolina Coastal Council v. South Carolina State Ethics Comm'n, 306 S.C. 41, 410 S.E.2d 245 (1991). The federal definition of "isolated wetland" is found in 33 C.F.R. § Isolated waters [includin......
-
HAWKINS & GRYPHON, INC. v. Bruno Yacht Sales, Inc.
...meaning in conjunction with the purpose of the whole statute and policy of the law); South Carolina Coastal Council v. South Carolina State Ethics Comm'n, 306 S.C. 41, 45, 410 S.E.2d 245, 247 (1991) ("[I]n interpreting a statute, one does not look merely at a particular clause in which a wo......
-
State v. Gordon, 25737.
...read it in conjunction with the purpose of the whole statute and the policy of the law. South Carolina Coastal Council v. South Carolina State Ethics Comm'n, 306 S.C. 41, 44, 410 S.E.2d 245, 247 (1991). Courts will reject the plain and ordinary meaning of statutory language when to accept i......