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TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 22 TO TITLE 31 TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA LOCAL HOUSING TRUST FUND ENABLING ACT", TO MAKE CERTAIN FINDINGS BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS, AND TO ALLOW A LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO CREATE AND OPERATE A "LOCAL HOUSING TRUST FUND" OR A "REGIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND".
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. This chapter may be cited as the "South Carolina Local Housing Trust Fund Enabling Act".
SECTION 2. Title 31 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 31-22-10. (A) The General Assembly finds:
(1) Throughout this State, there is a shortage of adequate shelter for South Carolinians including the availability of an affordable residence or permanent domicile with adequate privacy, space, physical accessibility, security, structural stability and durability, and adequate electrical, plumbing and heating systems.
(2) Private enterprise and investment has not produced, without government assistance, the needed construction of sanitary, decent, and safe residential housing that people with lower incomes can afford to buy or rent.
(3) The public's health, safety, and economic interests are best served by the provision of permanent affordable housing because such housing enables South Carolinians to maintain employment, assists this State's children to succeed in school, and helps this State's economic growth and prosperity.
(B) The purpose of this chapter is to authorize a local government to individually or jointly create and operate a local housing trust fund or Regional Housing Trust fund to promote the development of affordable housing, as defined in this chapter.
Section 31-22-20. For purposes of this chapter:
(1) 'Affordable housing' means residential housing for rent or sale that is appropriately priced for rent or sale to a person or family whose income does not exceed eighty percent of the median income for the local area, with adjustments for household size, according to the latest figures available from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
(2) 'Homeless housing' means emergency, transitional, or permanent residential housing shelter for a person needing special assistance and shelter because he is homeless as defined by HUD or consistent with another definition of homelessness under which a person may receive federal financial assistance, state financial assistance, or another supportive service.
(3) 'Local housing trust fund' (LHTF) means a local government fund separate from the general fund established by the governing authority of a local municipality or county government with one or more dedicated sources of public revenue and authorized expenditures as provided in this chapter.
(4) 'Regional housing trust fund' (RHTF) means a multi-jurisdictional government fund separate from the general fund and established jointly by the governing authorities of one or more municipalities or county governments with one or more dedicated sources of public revenue and authorized expenditures as provided in this chapter.
(5) 'Special needs housing' means housing or shelter provided by private or public entities including privately operated elderly housing, nursing homes, community residential care facilities, and other special needs population housing facilities regardless of purpose or type of facility.
Section 31-22-30. (A) A local government, including a municipality or county, may create and operate an LHTF or RHTF, or join an existing trust fund to implement either a local or regional program for affordable housing as defined in this chapter. A local government may jointly form a regional housing trust fund. A regional housing trust fund created under this chapter is subject to the same requirement and has the same power as a local housing trust fund created by an individual local government.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a LHTF or RHTF may be financed by revenue collected by a local government for a housing trust fund. Funding sources may include bond proceeds, donations, and periodic deposits from a private, federal, or state grant or loan, or other source. A local government creating an LHTF or RHTF may select dedicated sources of revenue to finance the fund. It may amend the ordinance establishing an LHTF or RHTF and alter the source of funding during the annual budget process provided that sufficient funds exist to cover projected debt or operating expenditures authorized in the LHTF or RHTF budget.
(C) A local government operating a LHTF or RHTF shall safeguard the fund in the same manner as the general fund or a separate utility fund established for specific purposes. The LHTF or RHTF may be included in the required financial expense reports or annual audit for each local government.
(D) A local government operating a LHTF or RHTF may allocate funds to a program that promotes the development or rehabilitation of affordable housing as defined in this chapter. Regarding the distribution of funds from an LHTF or RHTF, preference must be given to a program or project that promotes the development or rehabilitation of affordable housing for an individual or family with an annual income below fifty percent of the median income for the local area, adjusted for family size according to current data from HUD, the development or rehabilitation of special needs housing, or the development or rehabilitation of homeless housing.
(E) LHTF or RHTF funds may be used to match other funds from federal, state, or private resources, including the State Housing Trust Fund. A local government should seek additional resources for housing programs and projects to the maximum extent practicable. A local government should administer its housing trust fund through new or existing nonprofit organizations to encourage private charitable donation to the funds. Where an LHTF or RHTF receives such a donation, the donation must be used and accounted for in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(F) A local government may use an established LHTF or RHTF if the LHTF or RHTF is operated in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
Section 31-22-40. The provisions of this chapter must control where inconsistent with the provisions of another law."
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this chapter, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
This web page was last updated on Monday, June 22, 2009 at 2:40 P.M.