S*0304(Rat #0340, Act #0284 of 2010)  General Bill, By Leatherman, Alexander, 
Land, Campsen and Grooms
 AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 6-1-760, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976,
 RELATING TO MUNICIPAL OR COUNTY ORDINANCES IMPOSING AN ACCOMMODATIONS FEE AND
 THE USE OF THE REVENUE FROM THE FEES INCLUDING THE ISSUANCE OF CERTAIN BONDS
 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE PROCEEDS OF LOCAL ACCOMMODATIONS FEES, HOSPITALITY
 FEES, AND STATE ACCOMMODATIONS FEES MAY BE PLEDGED AS SECURITY FOR THE PAYMENT
 OF BONDS FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS USED TO ATTRACT AND SUPPORT TOURISTS; AND TO
 AMEND SECTION 6-4-10, RELATING TO STATE ACCOMMODATIONS TAXES, SO AS TO PROVIDE
 THAT REVENUES ALLOCATED FOR TOURISM ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION MAY NOT BE
 PLEDGED AS SECURITY FOR CERTAIN BONDS OR TO RETIRE SUCH BONDS. - ratified
 title

   01/27/09  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-13
   01/27/09  Senate Referred to Committee on Finance SJ-13
   01/28/09  Senate Referred to Subcommittee: O'Dell (ch), Peeler,
                     Reese, Fair, Elliott
   03/11/09  Senate Committee report: Favorable Finance SJ-12
   03/12/09         Scrivener's error corrected
   03/17/09  Senate Read second time SJ-11
   03/24/09  Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-23
   03/25/09  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-13
   03/25/09  House  Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-14
   04/01/09  House  Recalled from Committee on Ways and Means HJ-106
   04/02/09  House  Recommitted to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-48
   05/12/09  House  Recalled from Committee on Ways and Means HJ-57
   05/13/09  House  Amended HJ-24
   05/13/09  House  Read second time HJ-25
   05/14/09  House  Read third time and returned to Senate with
                     amendments HJ-31
   05/14/09  Senate Non-concurrence in House amendment SJ-56
   05/20/09  House  House insists upon amendment and conference
                     committee appointed Reps. Edge, Cobb-Hunter, and
                     Loftis HJ-6
   05/20/09  Senate Conference committee appointed O'Dell, McGill,
                     and Mulvaney SJ-16
   06/16/09  Senate Free conference powers granted SJ-98
   06/16/09  Senate Free conference committee appointed O'Dell,
                     McGill, and Mulvaney SJ-98
   06/16/09  Senate Free conference report adopted SJ-98
   06/16/09  House  Free conference powers rejected HJ-131
   06/03/10  House  Free conference powers granted HJ-42
   06/03/10  House  Free conference committee appointed Reps. Edge,
                     Cobb-Hunter, and Loftis HJ-44
   06/03/10  House  Free conference report received and adopted HJ-44
   06/03/10  House  Roll call Yeas-83  Nays-5 HJ-44
   06/15/10  Senate Ordered enrolled for ratification SJ-61
   06/21/10         Ratified R 340
   06/28/10         Became law without Governor's signature
   07/13/10         Effective date 06/28/10
   07/14/10         Act No. 284

(A284, R340, S304)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 6-1-760, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO MUNICIPAL OR COUNTY ORDINANCES IMPOSING AN ACCOMMODATIONS FEE AND THE USE OF THE REVENUE FROM THE FEES INCLUDING THE ISSUANCE OF CERTAIN BONDS SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE PROCEEDS OF LOCAL ACCOMMODATIONS FEES, HOSPITALITY FEES, AND STATE ACCOMMODATIONS FEES MAY BE PLEDGED AS SECURITY FOR THE PAYMENT OF BONDS FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS USED TO ATTRACT AND SUPPORT TOURISTS; AND TO AMEND SECTION 6-4-10, RELATING TO STATE ACCOMMODATIONS TAXES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT REVENUES ALLOCATED FOR TOURISM ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION MAY NOT BE PLEDGED AS SECURITY FOR CERTAIN BONDS OR TO RETIRE SUCH BONDS.

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

"Tourist" defined, pledge of revenue of fees

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

"Section 6-1-760.    (A)    With respect to capital projects and as used in this section, 'tourist' means a person who does not reside in but rather enters temporarily, for reasons of recreation or leisure, the jurisdictional boundaries of a municipality for a municipal project or the immediate area of the project for a county project.

(B)    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. Any county or municipality is authorized to issue bonds, pursuant to Section 14(10), Article X of the Constitution of this State, utilizing the procedures of Section 4-29-68, Section 6-17-10 and related sections, or Section 6-21-10 and related sections, for the purposes enumerated in Section 6-1-530, to pledge as security for such bonds and to retire such bonds with the proceeds of 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 nontax revenues as may be available for those purposes for capital projects used to attract and support tourists."

State accommodations tax, use of revenues

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. Also, fees allocated pursuant to this subsection 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."

Time effective

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

Ratified the 21st day of June, 2010.

Became law without the signature of the Governor -- 6/28/2010.