S 0083 General Bill, By Passailaigue, McConnell, Elliott and Rankin
 A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 61-6-2010, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976,
 RELATING TO MINIBOTTLE PERMITS, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE OPTION OF AN ANNUAL
 FIFTY-TWO WEEK TEMPORARY NON-REFUNDABLE PERMIT FOR A FEE OF THREE THOUSAND
 DOLLARS PER YEAR AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE MUST REIMBURSE COUNTIES AND
 MUNICIPALITIES FOR THE LOSS OF REVENUE CAUSED BY THIS OPTION.

   11/18/98  Senate Prefiled
   11/18/98  Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary
   01/12/99  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-37
   01/12/99  Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-37

TO AMEND SECTION 61-6-2010, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO MINIBOTTLE PERMITS, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE OPTION OF AN ANNUAL FIFTY-TWO WEEK TEMPORARY NON-REFUNDABLE PERMIT FOR A FEE OF THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS PER YEAR AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE MUST REIMBURSE COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES FOR THE LOSS OF REVENUE CAUSED BY THIS OPTION.

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

SECTION 1. Section 61-6-2010 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 61-6-2010. (A) In addition to the provisions of Section 61-6-2000, the department may issue a temporary permit to allow the possession, sale, and consumption of alcoholic liquors in sealed containers of two ounces or less. This permit is valid for a period not to exceed twenty-four hours and may be issued only to bona fide nonprofit organizations and business establishments otherwise authorized to be licensed for sales. The department shall charge a nonrefundable filing fee of one hundred dollars for processing each application and a daily permit fee of fifty dollars for each day for which a permit is approved. An application must be filed for each permit requested. The department must also offer the option of an annual fifty-two week temporary permit for a non-refundable fee of three thousand dollars per year. The department in its sole discretion shall specify the terms and conditions of the permit.

(B)(1) The filing and permit fees must be distributed to the municipality or county in which the retailer who paid the fee is located. The revenue may be used only by the municipality or county for the following purposes:

(a) capital improvements to tourism-related buildings including, but not limited to, civic centers, convention centers, coliseums, aquariums, stadiums, marinas, parks, and recreational facilities;

(b) purchase or renovation of buildings which are historic properties as defined in Section 60-12-10(4) and (5);

(c) festivals which have a demonstrable and significant impact on tourism;

(d) local youth mentor programs to serve juvenile offenders under the jurisdiction of the family court;

(e) contributions to matching funds necessary for a local government or entity to receive funding from the Legacy Trust Fund pursuant to Chapter 22 of Title 51;

(f) contributions to a redevelopment authority pursuant to Section 31-12-10, et seq.

(g) acquiring fee and less than fee interest in land while it is still available to be held in perpetuity as wildlife preserves or believed to be needed by the public in the future for active and passive recreation uses and scenic easements, to include the following types of land: ocean, harbor, and pond frontage in the form of beaches, dunes, and adjoining backlands; barrier beaches; fresh and saltwater marshes and adjoining uplands; land for bicycle paths; land protecting existing and future; public water supply, well fields, highway buffering and aquifer recharge areas; and land for wildlife preserves; and land for future public recreational facilities;

(h) nourishment, renourishment (resanding) and maintenance of beaches;

(i) dune restoration, including the planting of grass, sea oats, or other vegetation useful in preserving the dune system;

(j) maintenance of public beach access;

(k) capital improvements to the beaches and beach related facilities, such as public parking areas for beach access; dune walkovers and rest room facilities, with or without changing rooms, at public beach parks; and

(l) construction and maintenance of drainage systems.

(2) The revenue may not be used for operating expenses of tourism-related buildings.

(C) Permits authorized by this section may be issued only in those counties or municipalities where a majority of the qualified electors voting in a referendum vote in favor of the issuance of the permits. The county or municipal election commission, as the case may be, shall conduct a referendum upon petition of at least ten percent but not more than twenty-five hundred qualified electors of the county or municipality, as the case may be, in not less than thirty nor more than forty days after receiving the petition. The election commission shall cause a notice to be published in a newspaper circulated in the county or municipality, as the case may be, at least seven days before the referendum. The state election laws shall apply to the referendum, mutatis mutandis. The election commission shall publish the results of the referendum and certify them to the South Carolina Department of Revenue. The question on the ballot shall read substantially as follows:

`Shall the South Carolina Department of Revenue be authorized to issue temporary permits in this (county)(municipality) for a period not to exceed twenty-four hours to allow the possession, sale, and consumption of alcoholic liquors in sealed containers of two ounces or less to bona fide nonprofit organizations and business establishments otherwise authorized to be licensed for sales?'

A referendum for this purpose may not be held more often than once in forty-eight months.

The expenses of any such referendum must be paid by the county or municipality conducting the referendum.

(D) Through the State Aid to Subdivisions authorized by Chapter 27 of Title 6, the State shall reimburse the county or municipality for any loss of revenue to the county or municipality caused by the election of the annual permit option authorized in subsection (A)."

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.