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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

S. 304

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Leatherman, Alexander, Land, Campsen and Grooms
Document Path: l:\s-financ\drafting\hkl\001revb.dag.hkl.docx

Introduced in the Senate on January 27, 2009
Introduced in the House on March 25, 2009
Last Amended on May 13, 2009
Currently residing in conference committee

Summary: Revenue bonds

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1/27/2009  Senate  Introduced and read first time SJ-13
   1/27/2009  Senate  Referred to Committee on Finance SJ-13
   1/28/2009  Senate  Referred to Subcommittee: O'Dell (ch), Peeler, Reese, 
                        Fair, Elliott
   3/11/2009  Senate  Committee report: Favorable Finance SJ-12
   3/12/2009          Scrivener's error corrected
   3/17/2009  Senate  Read second time SJ-11
   3/24/2009  Senate  Read third time and sent to House SJ-23
   3/25/2009  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-13
   3/25/2009  House   Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-14
    4/1/2009  House   Recalled from Committee on Ways and Means HJ-106
    4/2/2009  House   Recommitted to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-48
   5/12/2009  House   Recalled from Committee on Ways and Means HJ-57
   5/13/2009  House   Amended HJ-24
   5/13/2009  House   Read second time HJ-25
   5/14/2009  House   Read third time and returned to Senate with amendments 
                        HJ-31
   5/14/2009  Senate  Non-concurrence in House amendment SJ-56
   5/20/2009  House   House insists upon amendment and conference committee 
                        appointed Reps. Edge, Cobb-Hunter, and Loftis HJ-6
   5/20/2009  Senate  Conference committee appointed O'Dell, McGill, and 
                        Mulvaney SJ-16
   6/16/2009  Senate  Free conference powers granted SJ-98
   6/16/2009  Senate  Free conference committee appointed O'Dell, McGill, and 
                        Mulvaney SJ-98
   6/16/2009  Senate  Free conference report adopted SJ-98
   6/16/2009  House   Free conference powers rejected HJ-159

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

1/27/2009
3/11/2009
3/12/2009
4/1/2009
5/12/2009
5/13/2009

Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

AMENDED

May 13, 2009

S. 304

Introduced by Senators Leatherman, Alexander, Land, Campsen and Grooms

S. Printed 5/13/09--H.

Read the first time March 25, 2009.

TO AMEND SECTION 6-1-760 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO REVENUE BONDS, TO PROVIDE THAT THE PROCEEDS OF LOCAL ACCOMMODATIONS FEES, HOSPITALITY FEES, AND STATE ACCOMMODATIONS FEES MAY BE PLEDGED AS SECURITY, AND TO AMEND SECTION 6-4-10, RELATING TO STATE ACCOMMODATIONS FEES, TO PROVIDE THAT FEES ALLOCATED FOR ADVERTISING AND PROMOTING TOURISM MAY NOT BE PLEDGED AS SECURITY.

Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION    1.    Section 6-1-760 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 6-1-760.    Notwithstanding any provision of this article, any ordinance enacted by county or municipality prior to March 15, 1997, imposing an accommodations fee which does not exceed the three percent maximum cumulative rate prescribed in Section 6-1-540, is calculated upon a base consistent with Section 6-1-510(1), and the revenue from which is used for the purposes enumerated in Section 6-1-530, remains authorized and effective after the effective date of this section. and the enacting Any county or municipality is authorized to issue bonds, pursuant to Article X, Section 14(10) of the Constitution of this State, utilizing the procedures of Section 4-29-68, Section 6-17-10, et seq., or Section 6-21-10, et seq., for the purposes enumerated in Section 6-1-530, to pledge as security for such bonds and to retire such debt using bonds with the proceeds of such an accommodations fee ordinance accommodations fees imposed under Article 5 of this chapter, hospitality fees imposed under this chapter, state accommodations fees allocated pursuant to Section 6-4-10(1), (2), and (4), or any combination thereof, and the pledge of such other non-tax revenues as may be available for those purposes that are to attract tourists and are for capital projects used primarily by out-of-market visitors who live at least fifty miles outside the local area as demonstrated by visitor surveys or other scientific research substantiating that the purpose will be used more by out-of-market visitors than local residents. Fees allocated pursuant to Section 6-4-10(3) must be allocated to a special fund and used only for advertising and promotion of tourism to develop and increase tourist attendance through the generation of publicity, and not used to pledge as security for bonds and to retire bonds."

SECTION    2.    Section 6-4-10(3) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(3)    Thirty percent of the balance must be allocated to a special fund and used only for advertising and promotion of tourism to develop and increase tourist attendance through the generation of publicity. To manage and direct the expenditure of these tourism promotion funds, the municipality or county shall select one or more organizations, such as a chamber of commerce, visitor and convention bureau, or regional tourism commission, which has an existing, ongoing tourist promotion program. If no organization exists, the municipality or county shall create an organization with the same membership standard in Section 6-4-25. To be eligible for selection the organization must be organized as a nonprofit organization and shall demonstrate to the municipality or county that it has an existing, ongoing tourism promotion program or that it can develop an effective tourism promotion program. Immediately upon an allocation to the special fund, a municipality or county shall distribute the tourism promotion funds to the organizations selected or created to receive them. Before the beginning of each fiscal year, an organization receiving funds from the accommodations tax from a municipality or county shall submit for approval a budget of planned expenditures. At the end of each fiscal year, an organization receiving funds shall render an accounting of the expenditure to the municipality or county which distributed them. Fees allocated pursuant to this subsection must not be used to pledge as security for bonds and to retire bonds."

SECTION    3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

This web page was last updated on June 17, 2009 at 10:29 AM