H 4942 General Bill, By Kelley, Quinn, Wilkins, Robinson, Sandifer, Seithel, 
Whatley, Knotts, Tripp, Allison, Rodgers, Gilham, Stuart, Gamble, Huggins, 
Simrill, Meacham-Richardson, Lucas, Haskins, Altman, Barfield, Barrett, 
H. Brown, Campsen, Cato, Chellis, Cooper, Dantzler, Davenport, Edge, Frye, 
Harrell, Harrison, Hawkins, Hinson, Keegan, Klauber, Koon, Law, Leach, 
Limehouse, Littlejohn, Loftis, Martin, McGee, Rice, Riser, Sharpe, D. Smith, 
R. Smith, Taylor, Townsend, Trotter, Witherspoon and Young-Brickell
 A BILL TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA SENIOR CITIZENS HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION RELIEF
 ACT OF 2000", INCLUDING PROVISIONS TO AMEND SECTION 12-37-250, AS AMENDED,
 CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION FOR
 TAXPAYERS OVER AGE SIXTY-FIVE, TOTALLY AND PERMANENTLY DISABLED OR LEGALLY
 BLIND, SO AS TO RAISE THE EXEMPTION FROM TWENTY TO THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.

   04/13/00  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-51
   04/13/00  House  Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-51

TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA SENIOR CITIZENS HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION RELIEF ACT OF 2000", INCLUDING PROVISIONS TO AMEND SECTION 12-37-250, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION FOR TAXPAYERS OVER AGE SIXTY-FIVE, TOTALLY AND PERMANENTLY DISABLED OR LEGALLY BLIND, SO AS TO RAISE THE EXEMPTION FROM TWENTY TO THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Senior Citizens Homestead Exemption Relief Act of 2000".

SECTION 2. The General Assembly finds:

(1) the homestead exemption for persons who have attained age sixty-five, or who are legally blind or otherwise permanently and totally disabled, was first enacted in 1971 with an exemption amount of five thousand dollars, increased to ten thousand dollars beginning in 1973, twelve thousand dollars in 1978, and fifteen thousand dollars in 1979;

(2) the current exemption amount of twenty thousand dollars was enacted in 1984; and

(3) since the last increase in the homestead exemption amount in 1984, the cost of living, as measured by the consumer price index calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor has risen more than sixty percent, which means that the homestead exemption amount, if it had kept up with inflation, would now need to equal at least thirty thousand dollars.

SECTION 3. The first paragraph of Section 12-37-250 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 530 of 1990, is further amended to read:

"The first twenty thirty 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 has been a resident of this State for at least one year and has reached the age of sixty-five years on or before December thirty-first, the person has been classified as totally and permanently disabled by a state or federal agency having the function of classifying persons, or the person 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. The exemption includes the dwelling place when jointly owned in complete fee simple or life estate by husband and wife, and either has reached sixty-five years of age, or is totally and permanently disabled, or legally blind under this section, before January first of the tax year in which the exemption is claimed, and either has been a resident of the State for one year. The exemption must not be granted for the tax year in which it is claimed unless the person or his agent makes written application for the exemption before July sixteenth of that tax year. If the person or his agent makes written application for the exemption after July fifteenth, the exemption must not be granted except for the succeeding tax year for a person qualifying under this section when the application is made. However, if application is made after July fifteenth of that tax year but before the first penalty date on property taxes for that tax year by a person qualifying under this section when the application is made, the taxes due for that tax year must be reduced to reflect the exemption provided in this section. The application for the exemption must be made to the auditor of the county and to the governing body of the municipality in which the dwelling place is located upon forms provided by the county and municipality and approved by the Comptroller General, and a failure to apply constitutes a waiver of the exemption for that year. Beginning with tax year 1979, the auditor, as directed by the Comptroller General, shall notify the municipality of all applications for a homestead exemption within the municipality and the information necessary to calculate the amount of the exemption. 'Dwelling place' means the permanent home and legal residence of the applicant."

SECTION 4. Upon approval by the Governor, this act is effective for property tax years beginning after 1999.