Senator Bennett proposes the following amendment (SR-768.KM0001S):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 1, by striking Section 12-37-253(A) and (B) and inserting:

 (A) Any eligible person may claim an exemption from county, municipal, school and special assessment real property equal to one hundred fifty thousand dollars of the fair market value on the person's dwelling place. A person may not claim this exemption and the exemption set forth in Section 12-37-250 and a person must be eligible for this exemption to claim the exemption set forth in Section 12-37-250. For purposes of eligibility, application, and reimbursement, this exemption must be administered in the same manner as the exemption allowed pursuant to Section 12-37-250, including the application of other laws affecting the exemption allowed pursuant to Section 12-37-250, mutatis mutandis. For a person eligible for this exemption pursuant to subsection (B)(1), the previous application for the exemption allowed pursuant to Section 12-37-250 must be considered the application for this exemption.
 (B) A person becomes eligible for this additional exemption if the person has been a resident of this State for at least one year and is between eighteen and thirty years old.:
  (1) if the person was eligible to claim the exemption pursuant to Section 12-37-250 in property tax year 2025 and remains eligible thereafter; or
  (2)(a) when the person meets the requirements of Section 12-37-250(A)(1)(i), (ii), or (iii); and
   (b) when the person has been a resident of this State for the entire five property tax years immediately preceding the application.

Amend the bill further, by striking SECTION 2 and inserting:

SECTION X. Section 12-37-250(A)(1) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 (A)(1)(a) The first fifty one hundred thousand dollars of the fair market value of the dwelling place of a person is exempt from county, municipal, school, and special assessment real estate property taxes when the person:
    (i) has been a resident of this State for at least one yearfive years and has reached the age of sixty-five years on or before December thirty-first;
    (ii) has been classified as totally and permanently disabled by a state or federal agency having the function of classifying persons; or
    (iii) is legally blind as defined in Section 43-25-20, preceding the tax year in which the exemption is claimed and holds complete fee simple title or a life estate to the dwelling place. A person claiming to be totally and permanently disabled, but who has not been classified by one of the agencies, may apply to the state agency of Vocational Rehabilitation. The agency shall make an evaluation of the person using its own standards.; or
    (iv) the person was eligible to claim the exemption provided in this section in property tax year 2025 and remains eligible thereafter.
   (b) By ordinance, a governing body of a county may increase the exemption allowed by this section, however, any taxes not collected as a result of the increase in the exemption are not eligible for reimbursement.

SECTION X. Section 12-37-3140 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 12-37-3140. (A)(1) For property tax years beginning after 20062025, the fair market value of real property is its fair market value applicable for the later of:
   (a) the base year, as defined in subsection (C)(B) of this section;
   (b) December thirty-first of the year in which an assessable transfer of interest has occurred;
   (c) as determined on appeal; or
   (d) as it may be adjusted as determined in a countywide reassessment program conducted pursuant to Section 12-43-217, but limited to increases in such value as provided in subsection (B)Article 27 of this sectionchapter.
  (2) To the fair market value of real property as determined at the time provided in item (1) of this subsection, there must be added the fair market value of subsequent improvements and additions to the property.
 (B) Any increase in the fair market value of real property attributable to the periodic countywide appraisal and equalization program implemented pursuant to Section 12-43-217 is limited to fifteen percent within a five-year period to the otherwise applicable fair market value. This limit must be calculated on the land and improvements as a whole. However, this limit does not apply to the fair market value of additions or improvements to real property in the year those additions or improvements are first subject to property tax, nor do they apply to the fair market value of real property when an assessable transfer of interest occurred in the year that the transfer value is first subject to tax.
 (C)(B) For purposes of determining a "base year" fair market value pursuant to this section, the fair market value of real property is its appraised value applicable for property tax year 2007.
 (D)(C) Real property valued by the unit valuation concept is excluded from the limits provided pursuant to subsection (B) of this section.
 (E)(D) Value attributable to additions and improvements, and changes in value resulting from assessable transfers of interest occurring in a property tax year are first subject to property tax in the following tax year except as provided pursuant to Section 12-37-670(B).

SECTION X. Chapter 37, Title 12 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Article 27

Taxpayer Transparency and Infrastructure Accountability

 Section 12-37-3310. For the purposes of this article, "eligible new growth" means the fair market value of all new construction, improvements, and property subject to an assessable transfer of interest during the preceding year.

 Section 12-37-3320. (A) In conjunction with the quadrennial reassessment, the county auditor in each county shall calculate a certified revenue-neutral rate for each taxing entity with the county. The rate shall be the millage required to generate the same total property tax revenue as the preceding year based solely on the assessed value of preexisting property. The county auditor shall exclude the value of all eligible new growth from the calculation's denominator.
 (B) Taxing entities may apply the current millage rate to eligible new growth to capture incremental revenue, which shall be prioritized for infrastructure and emergency services necessitated by the new growth.

 Section 12-37-3330. (A) If a taxing entity proposes a millage exceeding the certified revenue-neutral rate, the taxing entity must provide direct-mail notice to every affected property owner. The notice must include a bill-to-bill comparison of the property owner's taxes at the neutral rate to the proposed rate.
 (B) A proposed millage exceeding the certified revenue-neutral rate may not be imposed by a taxing entity without a public, recorded vote following a separate public hearing concerning the proposed rate.
 (C) At least thirty days prior to voting to impose a proposed millage in excess of the certified revenue-neutral rate, the taxing entity proposing the excess millage shall hold a public hearing concerning the proposed millage. The date, time, and location of the public hearing must be included in the direct-mail notice required pursuant to subsection (A) and must be posted in a prominent place on the taxing entity's website.

SECTION X. Section 11-11-150(A)(1) and (2) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 (A) In calculating estimated state individual and corporate income tax revenues for a fiscal year the Board of Economic Advisors shall deduct amounts sufficient to pay the reimbursement required pursuant to:
  (1) ReservedSection 12-37-270 for the homestead exemption for persons between the ages of eighteen and thirty, but not including the portion attributable to school operating millage pursuant to Section 12-37-253;
  (2) Section 12-37-270 for the homestead exemption for persons over age sixty-five or disabled, but not including the portion attributable to school operating millage pursuant to Section 12-37-250;

SECTION X. Section 12-37-270(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 (A) As provided in Section 11-11-150, there must be credited to the Trust Fund for Tax Relief in a fiscal year an amount sufficient to pay the reimbursement provided by this section. From the trust fund, the department annually shall pay to the county treasurer of the county in which the dwelling is situate for the account of each county, school district, or special district in it a sum equal to the amount of taxes that was not collected for the county, school district, or special district by reason of the exemption provided for in Section 12-37-250 and Section 12-37-253 for the property tax year beginning after 2025. Thereafter, the reimbursement rate shall decrease by ten percentage points each property tax year, calculated from the initial reimbursement rate of one hundred percent, until the reimbursement rate equals fifty percent. The department also annually, from the trust fund, shall pay to the governing body of the municipality in which the dwelling is situate a sum equal to the amount of taxes that was not collected for the municipality by reason of the exemption provided for in Section 12-37-250 and Section 12-37-253 property tax years beginning after 2025. Thereafter, the reimbursement rate shall decrease by ten percentage points each property tax year, calculated from the initial reimbursement rate of one hundred percent, until the reimbursement rate equals fifty percent. However, no reimbursement must be paid pursuant to this section for revenue for school operations not collected because of the exemption allowed pursuant to Section 12-37-250. The county treasurer and municipal governing body shall furnish the department on or before April first following the tax year, or during an extension authorized by the department not to exceed sixty days, an accounting or statement as prescribed by the department that reflects the amount of county, municipal, school district, or special district taxes that was not collected because of the exemption. Funds paid by the department as the result of an erroneous or improper application must be returned to the department for deposit in the general fund of the State.

Renumber sections to conform.

Amend title to conform.