S 1148 Session 110 (1993-1994)
S 1148 General Bill, By M.T. Rose
A Bill to amend Title 6, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to
local government, by adding Chapter 14, so as to enact the Local Option
Gasoline Tax Act.
02/09/94 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-6
02/09/94 Senate Referred to Committee on Finance SJ-6
A BILL
TO AMEND TITLE 6, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976,
RELATING TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, BY ADDING CHAPTER 14, SO
AS TO ENACT THE LOCAL OPTION GASOLINE TAX ACT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 6 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 14
Local Option Gasoline Tax
Section 6-12-10. This chapter may be cited as the Local Option
Gasoline Tax Act.
Section 6-12-20. Subject to the requirements of this chapter, the
governing body of a county or municipality may by ordinance impose a tax
of not more than five cents a gallon on retail sales of gasoline within its
jurisdiction for a specific purpose and for a specific period of time to
collect a limited amount of money.
Section 6-12-30. (A) The governing body of a county or municipality
may vote to impose the tax authorized by this chapter, subject to a
referendum, by enacting an ordinance. The ordinance must specify:
(1) the purpose for which the proceeds of the tax is to be used,
which may include projects located within or without, or both within and
without, the boundaries of the county or municipality imposing the tax and
which may include:
(a) highways, roads, streets, and bridges;
(b) water, sewer, and water and sewer projects;
(c) retirement of existing general obligation debt of the county
or municipality issued for any combination of subitems (a) and (b) of this
item; and
(d) any combination of the projects described in subitems (a)
through (c) of this item;
(2) the maximum time, stated in calendar years or calendar quarters,
or a combination thereof, not to exceed seven years, for which the tax may
be imposed; and
(3) the maximum cost of the project or facilities funded from
proceeds of the tax and the maximum amount of net proceeds to be raised
by the tax.
(B) Upon receipt of the ordinance, the county election commission or
municipal election commission shall conduct a referendum on the question
of imposing the optional gasoline tax in the jurisdiction. The referendum
must be held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. The
commission shall cause the date and purpose of the referendum to be
published once a week for four consecutive weeks immediately preceding
the date of the referendum, in a newspaper of general circulation in the
jurisdiction.
(C) A separate question must be included on the referendum ballot for
each purpose and the question must read substantially as follows:
`Must a cent(s) a gallon gasoline tax be imposed in
(county or municipality) for not more than (time) to
raise the amounts specified for the following purposes:
(1) $ for
Yes []
No []
(2) etc.'
(D) All qualified electors desiring to vote in favor of imposing the tax
for a particular purpose shall vote `yes' and all qualified electors opposed
to levying the tax for a particular purpose shall vote `no'. If a majority of
the votes cast are in favor of imposing the tax for one or more of the
specified purposes, then the tax is imposed as provided in this chapter;
otherwise the tax is not imposed. A subsequent referendum on this
question must not be held more than once in twelve months and any
referendum must be held on the date specified in subsection (B). The
election commission shall conduct the referendum under the election laws
of this State, mutatis mutandis, and shall certify the result no later than
December thirty-first to the appropriate governing body and to the
Department of Revenue and Taxation. Included in the certification must be
the total of the project costs receiving a favorable vote. Expenses of the
referendum must be paid by the jurisdiction conducting the referendum.
Section 6-12-40. (A) If the tax is approved in the referendum, the tax
is imposed on May first following the date of the referendum. If the
certification is not timely made to the Department of Revenue and
Taxation, the imposition is postponed for twelve months.
(B) The tax terminates on the earlier of:
(1) the final day of the maximum time specified for the imposition;
or
(2) the end of the calendar month during which the Department of
Revenue and Taxation determines that the tax has raised revenues sufficient
to provide the county or municipality net proceeds equal to or greater than
the amount specified as the amount to be raised by the tax.
(C) When the local gasoline tax is imposed for more than one purpose,
the governing body of the jurisdiction authorizing the referendum for the
tax shall determine the priority for the expenditure of the net proceeds of
the tax for the purposes stated in the referendum.
(D) Amounts collected in excess of the required proceeds must first
be applied, if necessary, to complete a project for which the tax was
imposed; otherwise, the excess amounts must be credited to the general
fund of the jurisdiction imposing the tax.
Section 6-12-50. The tax levied pursuant to this chapter must be
administered and collected by the Department of Revenue and Taxation in
the same manner that the sales and use tax is administered and collected.
The sales tax return shall contain a line reporting gallons of gasoline sold
for the purpose of calculating the tax. Every establishment selling gasoline
at retail in a jurisdiction imposing the tax shall obtain a retail sales license.
Section 6-12-60. The revenues of the tax collected in each county or
municipality under this chapter must be remitted to the State Treasurer and
credited to a fund separate and distinct from the general fund of the State.
After deducting the amount of refunds made and costs to the Department
of Revenue and Taxation of administering the tax, not to exceed one
percent of the revenues, the State Treasurer shall distribute the revenues
quarterly to the county or municipality in which the tax is imposed and
these revenues must be used only for the purpose stated in the imposition
ordinance. The State Treasurer may correct misallocation costs or refunds
by adjusting subsequent distributions, but these adjustments must be made
in the same fiscal year as the misallocation.
Section 6-12-70. The Department of Revenue and Taxation shall furnish
data to the State Treasurer and to the counties and municipalities receiving
revenues for the purpose of calculating distributions and estimating
revenues. Information about a specific taxpayer is considered confidential
and is governed by the provisions of Section 12-54-240. A person
violating this section is subject to the penalties provided in Section 12-54-240.
Section 6-12-80. The Department of Revenue and Taxation may
promulgate regulations necessary to implement this chapter."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
-----XX----- |