South Carolina General Assembly
122nd Session, 2017-2018

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H. 3093

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Loftis, Clyburn, Elliott, Long, G.M. Smith, Whipper, Brown, Gilliard and S. Rivers
Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\9549dg17.docx
Companion/Similar bill(s): 587

Introduced in the House on January 10, 2017
Introduced in the Senate on April 5, 2017
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Finance

Summary: Property assessment ratios

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  12/15/2016  House   Prefiled
  12/15/2016  House   Referred to Committee on Ways and Means
   1/10/2017  House   Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 70)
   1/10/2017  House   Referred to Committee on Ways and Means 
                        (House Journal-page 70)
   3/29/2017  House   Committee report: Favorable Ways and Means 
                        (House Journal-page 46)
   3/30/2017  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Whipper, Brown
    4/4/2017  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Gilliard, 
                        S.Rivers
    4/4/2017  House   Read second time (House Journal-page 28)
    4/4/2017  House   Roll call Yeas-100  Nays-2 (House Journal-page 29)
    4/5/2017  House   Read third time and sent to Senate (House Journal-page 8)
    4/5/2017  Senate  Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 7)
    4/5/2017  Senate  Referred to Committee on Finance (Senate Journal-page 7)

View the latest legislative information at the website

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/15/2016
3/29/2017

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

COMMITTEE REPORT

March 29, 2017

H. 3093

Introduced by Reps. Loftis, Clyburn, Elliott, Long and G.M. Smith

S. Printed 3/29/17--H.

Read the first time January 10, 2017.

            

THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

To whom was referred a Bill (H. 3093) to amend Section 12-43-220, as amended, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to assessment ratios, so as to provide that when an, etc., respectfully

REPORT:

That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass:

W. BRIAN WHITE for Committee.

            

STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT

Explanation of Fiscal Impact

Introduced on January 10, 2017

Local Revenue

This bill continues the special owner-occupied assessment ratio for property in a probate estate at the death of the homeowner until the deceased's estate is closed or upon recording of the deed or deed of distribution from the estate, so long as the property was assessed at the special owner-occupied assessment ratio at the time of the deceased's death. This provision only applies if the property is not rented and applies to property tax years beginning after 2016.

Based on the estimated average owner-occupied value of $151,740 and a statewide millage rate of 343.5 for tax year 2017, the average reduction to local property tax would be $1,042 per incident for the reduced assessment ratio and $1,022 for property tax exemptions for school operations on owner-occupied property, for a total of $2,064 per incident.

Based on prior communication with the South Carolina Court Administration, 35,773 probate cases for deceased persons were closed in FY 2014-15, but they did not know how many of those cases were open for more than a year. The South Carolina Association for Counties was also not able to determine the frequency in which this incident may occur. However, based on the structure of South Carolina Probate Code, Title 62, most probate estates open and close within one year and therefore would not be subject to a change in the assessment ratio from four percent to six percent. Furthermore, we are unsure how a county would become aware that a property should be reassessed until such time as the deed is recorded due to a transfer of ownership. Due to the limited information available and difficulty in determining the prevalence of this situation occurring, the impact to local property tax statewide is undetermined.

Frank A. Rainwater, Executive Director

Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 12-43-220, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO ASSESSMENT RATIOS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT WHEN AN OWNER RECEIVING THE FOUR PERCENT ASSESSMENT RATIO DIES, THE PROPERTY SHALL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THE SPECIAL ASSESSMENT RATE UNTIL THE DECEASED'S ESTATE IS CLOSED, SO LONG AS THE PROPERTY IS NOT RENTED.

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

SECTION    1.    Section 12-43-220(c) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 251 of 2016, is further amended by adding an appropriately numbered subitem at the end to read:

"( )    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when an owner receiving the special assessment rate pursuant to item (c) dies, the property shall continue to receive the special assessment rate until the deceased's estate is closed, or upon recording of a deed or deed of distribution out of the estate, whichever occurs first. This subitem only applies if the property is not rented."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to property tax years beginning after 2016.

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This web page was last updated on April 11, 2017 at 10:46 AM