S*1149 Session 108 (1989-1990)
S*1149(Rat #0670, Act #0545 of 1990) General Bill, By F. Gilbert, D.L. Hinds,
Land, Leatherman, McGill and Saleeby
A Bill to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Article 9
to Chapter 11, Title 55 so as to create the Pee Dee Regional Airport District
composed of Florence, Darlington, Marion, and Dillon Counties, establish the
Pee Dee Airport Authority, provide for the powers, duties, and authority of
the Authority, confer on the District the authority to issue revenue and
general obligation bonds, exempt the property and income of the District from
certain taxes, exempt the city of Florence and each of the counties comprising
the District from liability in any neglect or mismanagement in the operation
and maintenance of the airport; and to repeal Act 482 of 1973 relating to the
creation of the Florence City-County Airport Commission upon the conveyance of
certain properties owned by Florence County or the city of Florence and
provide transition provisions.-amended title
01/25/90 Senate Introduced, read first time, placed on calendar
without reference SJ-8
01/31/90 Senate Read second time SJ-26
01/31/90 Senate Unanimous consent for third reading on next
legislative day SJ-27
02/01/90 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-12
02/06/90 House Introduced and read first time HJ-17
02/06/90 House Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and
Industry HJ-18
05/17/90 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment Labor,
Commerce and Industry HJ-16
05/22/90 House Amended HJ-42
05/23/90 House Read second time HJ-6
05/24/90 House Read third time and returned to Senate with
amendments HJ-41
05/30/90 Senate Concurred in House amendment and enrolled SJ-5
06/05/90 Ratified R 670
06/06/90 Signed By Governor
06/06/90 Effective date 06/06/90
06/06/90 Act No. 545
07/06/90 Copies available
(A545, R670, S1149)
AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING
ARTICLE 9 TO CHAPTER 11, TITLE 55 SO AS TO CREATE THE PEE DEE REGIONAL
AIRPORT DISTRICT COMPOSED OF FLORENCE, DARLINGTON, MARION, AND DILLON
COUNTIES, ESTABLISH THE PEE DEE AIRPORT AUTHORITY, PROVIDE FOR THE
POWERS, DUTIES, AND AUTHORITY OF THE AUTHORITY, CONFER ON THE DISTRICT
THE AUTHORITY TO ISSUE REVENUE AND GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS, EXEMPT
THE PROPERTY AND INCOME OF THE DISTRICT FROM CERTAIN TAXES, EXEMPT THE
CITY OF FLORENCE AND EACH OF THE COUNTIES COMPRISING THE DISTRICT FROM
LIABILITY IN ANY NEGLECT OR MISMANAGEMENT IN THE OPERATION AND
MAINTENANCE OF THE AIRPORT; AND TO REPEAL ACT 482 OF 1973 RELATING TO
THE CREATION OF THE FLORENCE CITY-COUNTY AIRPORT COMMISSION UPON THE
CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN PROPERTIES OWNED BY FLORENCE COUNTY OR THE CITY
OF FLORENCE AND PROVIDE TRANSITION PROVISIONS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Findings
SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that the public interest
may be served by the establishment, within the district created by the
provisions of this act, of modern air transport facilities capable of
providing service for all modern air transport, and that, in
conjunction with a joint industrial or business park established by
the counties of Florence, Darlington, Marion, and Dillon pursuant to
Article VIII, Section 13(D) of the Constitution of this State, the
modern air transport facilities may be efficiently and independently
established and operated as an airport district consisting of the
territories of those counties. The General Assembly has, therefore,
determined to constitute all of the territory embraced by the counties
of Florence, Darlington, Marion, and Dillon into an airport district,
to commit to the district the functions of planning the establishment
of the regional airport facility and proposing an agreement for the
creation of the joint industrial and business park, and additionally,
upon the approval of the joint industrial or business park by the
governing bodies of each of the counties of Florence, Darlington,
Marion, and Dillon, the functions of acquiring, constructing,
operating, and maintaining adequate air transport facilities of
suitable size and with suitable equipment to enable all types of air
transport to utilize it; to authorize the airport district to finance
all costs that may be incurred by it in the acquisition, construction,
and equipment of the facilities through the issuance as defined in
this act of general obligation bonds and revenue bonds of the
district; and to authorize the district to operate, maintain, and
develop the industrial or business park.
Transition provisions
SECTION 2. (A) The territory of the counties of Florence,
Darlington, Marion, and Dillon is constituted an airport district and
a political subdivision of this State, the functions of which are
public and governmental and the inhabitants of the territory are
constituted a body politic and corporate. The corporate name of the
airport district is the Pee Dee Regional Airport District and by that
name the airport district may sue and be sued.
(B) The corporate powers and duties of the Pee Dee Regional
Airport District must be exercised and performed by an authority to be
known as the Pee Dee Regional Airport Authority which consists of nine
members. One member must be a resident of the City of Florence
appointed by the Governor upon recommendation of the Florence City
Council. Two members must be residents of each of the counties of
Florence, Darlington, Marion, and Dillon appointed by the Governor on
the recommendation of the respective county councils. Terms of office
are for four years, except that of those initially appointed one
member from each of the four counties must be appointed for two-year
terms. All members shall serve until their successors are appointed
and qualify. Vacancies on the authority must be filled in the manner
of their original appointment for the unexpired term. The authority
shall elect its own officers with terms and duties as determined by
the authority. The members of the authority must be compensated at
the rate of fifty dollars a meeting, not to exceed twelve meetings a
year.
(C) Before July 1, 1992, the authority shall perform the
functions of: studying the current airport facilities within the
district; planning the establishment of regional airport facilities
and the transfer of necessary properties; and proposing an agreement
for a joint industrial or business park pursuant to Article VIII,
Section 13(D) of the Constitution of this State among the counties of
Florence, Darlington, Marion, and Dillon; and, upon the approval of
the agreement by the governing bodies of each of those counties,
effecting the transfer of such properties as may be necessary for the
establishment of the regional airport facilities and the establishment
of the joint industrial or business park. Until June 30, 1992, the
authority may additionally:
(1) adopt, use, and alter a corporate seal;
(2) make bylaws for the management and regulation of its
affairs, define a quorum for its meetings, and appoint subcommittees
as it considers appropriate from within and without the authority to
advise the authority;
(3) appoint officers, agents, employees, and servants and
prescribe the duties of them, including the right to appoint persons
charged with the duty of enforcing the regulations promulgated
pursuant to the provisions of this article, fix their compensation,
and determine if, and to what extent, they must be bonded for the
faithful performance of their duties;
(4) employ or contract for services of a technical or
professional nature as may be necessary or desirable for the
performance of the duties of the authority;
(5) apply for, accept, receive, receipt for, disburse, and
expend federal, state, county, or municipal monies and other monies,
public or private, made available by grant, to accomplish, in whole or
in part, any of the purposes of this subsection;
(6) acquire, by gift, devise, or other transfer that does
not require payment by the district, any properties, real or personal,
or any interest in them, and may lease, sell, transfer, and otherwise
dispose of any or all of the property;
(7) direct the auditors of each of Florence, Darlington,
Marion, and Dillon counties to levy a tax in fiscal year 1990-91 on
all properties within the district, to be collected by the treasurers
of Florence, Darlington, Marion, and Dillon counties, in an amount
equal to one mill, to be expended for the purposes and functions
described above in this subsection, including use as seed or matching
money for purpose of obtaining grants or other funds.
(D) Upon the approval of an agreement by each of the counties of
Florence, Darlington, Marion, and Dillon, for the establishing of a
joint industrial or business park consisting of not less than all of
the property to be owned by the Pee Dee Regional Airport District
Authority other than such property actually used or held for use as a
part of the airport facilities, the Florence City-County Airport
Commission shall have prepared, within ninety days of the date of the
approval, a final audit of the financial matters of the commission,
which audit must be presented to the Florence County and City
Councils. In the event that the Pee Dee Regional Airport is to be
located at the existing Florence Regional Airport, within ninety days
after the completion of the audit, all properties owned by the City of
Florence or Florence County in connection with the existing Florence
Regional Airport must, to the extent required by the agreement, be
conveyed to the authority and when it is conveyed Act 482 of 1973 is
repealed. Upon the completion, approval, and execution of the joint
industrial or business park agreement and the effecting of all
transfers contemplated by this subsection, Section 3 of this act
becomes effective, and is not effective until that time.
Pee Dee Regional Airport District
SECTION 3. Chapter 11, Title 55 of the 1976 Code is amended by
adding:
"Article 9
Florence, Darlington, Marion, and Dillon Counties
Section 55-11-610. The territory of the counties of Florence,
Darlington, Marion, and Dillon is constituted an airport district and
a political subdivision of this State, the functions of which are
public and governmental and the inhabitants of the territory are
constituted a body politic and corporate. The corporate name of the
airport district is the Pee Dee Regional Airport District, and by that
name the airport district may sue and be sued.
Section 55-11-620. The corporate powers and duties of the Pee Dee
Regional Airport District must be exercised and performed by an
authority to be known as the Pee Dee Regional Airport Authority which
consists of nine members. One member must be a resident of the City
of Florence appointed by the Governor upon recommendation of the
Florence City Council. Two members must be residents of each of the
counties of Florence, Darlington, Marion, and Dillon appointed by the
Governor on the recommendation of the respective county councils.
Terms of office are for four years, except that of those initially
appointed one member from each of the four counties must be appointed
for two-year terms. All members shall serve until their successors
are appointed and qualify. Vacancies on the authority must be filled
in the manner of their original appointment for the unexpired term.
The authority shall elect its own officers with terms and duties as
determined by the authority. The members of the authority must be
compensated at the rate of fifty dollars a meeting, not to exceed
twelve meetings a year.
Section 55-11-630. (A) The authority shall perform the
functions of planning, establishing, developing, constructing,
enlarging, improving, maintaining, equipping, operating, regulating,
protecting, and policing such airports, air navigation, railroad, and
other facilities as are necessary to serve the people of the district
and the public generally. The authority may:
(1) have and enjoy perpetual succession;
(2) adopt, use, and alter a corporate seal;
(3) make bylaws for the management and regulation of its
affairs, and define a quorum for its meetings, and appoint such
subcommittees as it considers appropriate from within and without the
authority to advise the authority;
(4) plan, establish, develop, construct, enlarge, improve,
maintain, including the power to establish a reasonable reserve for
maintenance, equip, operate, regulate, protect, and police in
accordance with Section 55-9-230 its airports and air navigation
facilities under such reasonable regulations as the authority may
promulgate;
(5) construct, maintain, and extend runways, terminals,
maintenance shops, access roads, parking facilities, utilities
systems, concessions, accommodations, and other facilities of whatever
nature or kind for the comfort and accommodation of air travelers and
air freight; to purchase and sell supplies, goods, and commodities as
an incident to the operation of its airport facilities; and for all
these purposes, the authority may, by purchase, gift, devise, lease,
eminent domain proceedings, or otherwise, acquire, hold, develop, and
use, as well as lease, mortgage, sell, transfer, and dispose of any
property, real or personal, or any interest in it, including easements
in or over land needed to prevent airport hazards, or land outside the
boundaries of its airports and air navigation facilities necessary to
permit the removal, elimination, obstruction-marking, or
obstruction-lighting of airport hazards, or to prevent the
establishment of airport hazards. However, the authority may not
dispose of any interest in real property without first notifying the
chairman of each of the governing bodies of Florence, Darlington,
Marion, and Dillon counties and conducting a public hearing which
hearing must be advertised not less than seven days prior to the
hearing in a newspaper or newspapers of general circulation in the
district. For the purpose of this article, utilities systems means
only facilities for the connection with and the provision of water or
sewer services by the water and sewer systems of the City of Florence,
its successors, and assigns;
(6) license, lease, sublease, rent, sell, or otherwise
provide for the use of any personal property of its airport facilities
or of facilities auxiliary to it, including the privilege of supplying
goods, commodities, things, services, or facilities at the airport by
itself or by any qualified persons or corporations, on terms and
conditions as its discretion may dictate. The public may not be
deprived of its rightful, equal, and uniform use of its airports and
air navigation facilities;
(7) (a) promulgate regulations pursuant to and in
accordance with Section 55-9-240 and Federal Aviation Regulations,
Part 77;
(b) apply to any court of general
jurisdiction within the district for the enforcement of the regulation
through the means of mandatory injunctions and other remedial
proceedings, and these courts are specifically empowered to render
mandatory injunctions and other remedial orders as it appears to them
to be just and reasonable;
(8) exercise the power of eminent domain for any corporate
function through procedure prescribed in Chapter 2 of Title 28;
(9) appoint officers, agents, employees, and servants and
prescribe the duties of them, including the right to appoint persons
charged with the duty of enforcing the regulations promulgated
pursuant to the provisions of this article, fix their compensation,
and determine if, and to what extent, they must be bonded for the
faithful performance of their duties;
(10) employ or contract for services of a technical or
professional nature as may be necessary or desirable to the
performance of the duties of the authority;
(11) contract for the construction, erection, maintenance, and
repair of the facilities in its charge, through any procedure
prescribed by law;
(12) acquire, construct, maintain, equip, and operate connecting,
switching, terminal, or other railroads. The term 'railroad'
includes, but is not limited to, tracks, spurs, switches, terminal,
terminal facilities, road beds, rights-of-way, bridges, stations,
railroad cars, locomotives, or other vehicles constructed for
operation over railroad tracks, crossing signs, lights, signals,
storage, administration, and repair buildings, and all structures and
equipment which are necessary for the operation of a railroad;
(13) develop, with the approval of the governing bodies of each
of Florence, Darlington, Marion, and Dillon counties and in accordance
with Section 55-11-720, not less than all of the lands leased by,
subleased by, owned by, or under the jurisdiction of the authority
other than lands used or held for use as a part of the airport
facilities as an industrial or business park under the provisions of
Section 13 of Article VIII of the Constitution of this State;
(14) direct the auditors of each of Florence, Darlington, Marion,
and Dillon counties to levy a tax on all properties within the
district, to be collected by the treasurers of Florence, Darlington,
Marion, and Dillon counties, in an amount approved in each fiscal year
by ordinance of the county councils of each of those counties.
Section 55-11-640. (A) The authority is authorized to adopt
and promulgate regulations governing the use of roads, streets, and
parking facilities upon the lands leased by, subleased by, owned by,
or under the jurisdiction of the authority. All state laws are
declared to be applicable to the roads, streets, and parking
facilities under the control of the authority.
(B) The authority may employ police officers to be commissioned
by the Governor who shall enforce all laws and regulations authorized
under the provisions of this article and, in addition, shall have
authority to issue summonses for violations of them in the manner
provided for South Carolina State Highway Patrolmen.
(C) Persons violating any of the applicable laws within a
magistrate's jurisdiction or any of the regulations of the authority
must be tried by magistrates having jurisdiction of the area in which
the violation occurred.
(D) Any person violating the provisions of any of the
regulations of the authority is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction, must be fined not more than two hundred dollars or
imprisoned for not more than thirty days.
(E) All fines and forfeitures collected under the provisions of
this article must be forwarded to the authority to be credited to the
general operating fund of the district. All court costs collected
with the fines and forfeitures collected under the provisions of this
article must be remitted to the general fund of the county where the
final disposition of the case is made.
Section 55-11-650. (A) For the purpose of this article, the
authority may:
(1) deposit monies derived from the sale of bonds
authorized to be issued under the provisions of this article or from
revenue-producing facilities in any bank or trust company having an
office within the district, and to withdraw them for the purpose of
operating, maintaining, constructing, improving, and extending any
facility in its charge.
(2) apply for, accept, receive, receipt for, disburse, and
expend federal, state, county, or municipal monies and other monies,
public or private, made available by grant or loan, or both, to
accomplish, in whole or in part, any of the purposes of this article,
and, to this end, to continue to prosecute any application previously
filed with the Federal Aviation Agency, or any other federal agency,
by the Florence City-County Airport Commission, and to pay from the
funds of the district any costs incurred for any services rendered
since the date the application was filed, in connection with the
procuring or processing of the application which is found by the
authority to legitimately inure to the benefit of the district. All
federal monies accepted under this section must be accepted and
expended by the authority upon those terms and conditions prescribed
by the United States, and consistent with state law. All other monies
accepted under this section must be accepted and expended by the
authority upon the terms and conditions prescribed by the State or
other sources.
(3) accept donations of all sorts, including a deed of
conveyance by any landowners of the landowner's right, title, and
interest in and to lands within the district, and to accept
relinquishments of any leasehold interest or estate now possessed by
the City or County of Florence on or in lands or property on airport
property.
(B) The district may issue negotiable bonds, notes, and other
evidences of indebtedness payable solely from the gross revenues or
net revenues derived from the operation of any revenue-producing
facility, or facilities, in its charge. The sums borrowed may be
those needed to pay the costs of any extension, addition, or
improvement to its airport facility. The proceeds of the bonds may,
in addition, be used to refund any bonds issued under the provisions
of this article, to pay interest during the estimated construction
period of the project being financed, to fund any necessary reserves
for the bonds, to purchase any necessary credit enhancement for the
bonds, and to pay costs of issuance of the bonds. If the method of
financing authorized by this subsection is used, neither the faith and
credit of the State of South Carolina, nor of any county lying within
the district, nor of the district itself, may be pledged to the
payment of the principal and interest of the obligations, and there
must be on the face of the obligation a statement, plainly worded, to
that effect. Neither the members of the authority nor any person
signing the obligations are personally liable on them. In order that
a convenient procedure for borrowing money pursuant to this subsection
may be prescribed, the authority may use the provisions of Chapter 21,
Title 6, and Chapter 17, Title 6. In exercising the powers conferred
upon the district by those code provisions, the authority may make all
pledges and covenants authorized by the provisions of them, and may
confer upon the holders of its securities all rights and liens
authorized by these code provisions. Specifically, and
notwithstanding contrary provisions in those code provisions, the
district may:
(1) provide that the bonds, notes, or other evidences of
indebtedness are payable, both as to principal and interest, from the
gross revenues or net revenues derived from the operation of any
revenue-producing facility or facilities, as the gross revenues or net
revenues may be defined by the authority, and to impose a lien upon
the facilities the revenues of which are pledged to the payment of the
bonds enforceable to the same extent and in the same manner as the
statutory lien described in Sections 6-21-330 through 6-21-360;
(2) provide that the bonds must be issued as serial or
term bonds, maturing in equal or unequal amounts, at such times and on
occasions as the authority determines. They must bear such rates of
interest, payable on such occasion, as the authority prescribes, and
the bonds are in such denominations, are payable in such medium of
payment, and at such place as the authority prescribes. All bonds may
be issued with a provision permitting their redemption prior to their
respective maturities. Bonds made subject to redemption before their
stated maturities may contain a provision requiring the payment of a
premium for the privilege of exercising the right of redemption, in
such amount or amounts as the authority prescribes. All bonds that
are subject to redemption must contain a statement to that effect on
the face of each bond. The resolution authorizing their issuance must
contain provisions specifying the manner of call and the notice of
call that must be given. Notwithstanding anything in this chapter to
the contrary, the authority may issue bonds which, in lieu of paying
current interest periodically, pay an accreted value at maturity;
(3) authorize the officer or officers of the authority to
execute the bonds, by manual or facsimile signature, as the authority
considers necessary; bonds may be in the form of registered bonds or
may be issued in coupon form, payable to bearer, or, in the discretion
of the authority, may be issued as fully registered uncertificated
book-entry securities;
(4) covenant and agree that upon its being adjudged in
default as to the payment of any installment of principal and interest
upon any obligation issued by it or in default as to the performance
of any covenant or undertaking made by it, that in that event the
principal of all obligations of the issue may be declared immediately
due and payable, notwithstanding that any of them may not have then
matured, and that any court having jurisdiction in any proper action
may appoint a receiver to administer and operate the facilities whose
revenues must be pledged for the payment of the bonds, with power to
fix rates and charges for the facilities, sufficient to provide for
the payment of the expense of operating and maintaining such
facilities, and to apply the income and revenues of the facilities to
the payment of the bonds, and the interest on them;
(5) confer upon a corporate trustee the power to make
disposition of the proceeds from all borrowings and also all
revenue-producing facilities whose revenues are pledged for the
payment of the obligations, in accordance with and in the order of
priority prescribed by resolutions adopted by the authority as an
incident to the issuance of any notes, bonds, or other evidences of
indebtedness;
(6) dispose of its obligations at public or private sale
and upon such terms and conditions as it approves;
(7) covenant and agree that a reserve fund must be
established to further secure the payment of principal and interest of
any obligation;
(8) covenant and agree that it will not enter into any
agreements with any person, firm, corporation, or with the government
of this State, the United States, or any of the political subdivisions
of the same, for the furnishing of free services where the services
are ordinarily charged for;
(9) prescribe the procedure, if any, by which the terms of
the contract with the holders of its obligations may be amended, the
number of obligations whose holders must consent to it, and the manner
in which the consent must be given;
(10) prescribe the evidence of default and conditions upon which
all or any obligation becomes or may be declared due before maturity
and the terms and conditions upon which the declaration and its
consequences may be waived;
(11) covenant to establish and maintain such system of rules as
will insure the continuous use and occupancy of the facilities whose
revenues are pledged to secure any bonds;
(12) covenant that an adequate schedule of charges will be
established and maintained for the facilities designated by the
authority, whose revenues must be pledged to secure any bonds, to the
extent necessary to produce sufficient revenues to:
(a) pay the cost of operating and maintaining the
facilities, whose revenues or net revenues must be pledged for the
payment of the bonds, including the cost of fire, extended coverage,
and use and occupancy insurance;
(b) pay the principal and interest of the bonds as
they respectively become due;
(c) create and at all times maintain an adequate debt
service reserve fund to meet the payment of the principal and
interest; and
(d) create and at all times maintain an adequate
reserve for contingencies and for major repairs and replacements.
(C) The authority, on behalf of the district, may issue general
obligation bonds of the district, whose proceeds must be used to
defray the cost of constructing and establishing an airport facility
within the district. In order that a convenient procedure for
borrowing money pursuant to this subsection may be prescribed, the
authority may use the provisions of Sections 6-11-810 through
6-11-1040. For the purpose of this section, the term 'construct and
establish' means the cost of direct construction, the cost of all
land, property, rights, easements, and franchises acquired (in
addition to property conveyed to the district by the City or County of
Florence) which are considered necessary for the construction and use
of runways, terminal buildings, maintenance shops, freight depots,
service establishments, and any and all facilities incident, or in any
way appurtenant, to an airport facility, and all machinery and
equipment needed for it, payments to contractors, laborers, or others
for work done or material furnished, financing charged, interest
incurred in connection with it, interest on the bonds authorized by
this article, cost of engineering services, architectural services,
legal services, legal and engineering expenses, plans, specifications,
surveys, projections, drawings, brochures, administrative expenses,
and such other expenses as may be necessary or incident to the
construction of any airport facility within the district, incurred for
the purposes for which the district is created.
(D) The district shall do all other acts and things necessary or
convenient to carry out any function or power committed or granted to
the district.
(E) All bonds issued pursuant to this article and all interest
to become due on them have the tax-exempt status prescribed by Section
12-1-60.
(F) It is lawful for all executors, administrators, guardians,
and fiduciaries, all sinking fund commissions, the State Budget and
Control Board, as trustee of the South Carolina Retirement System, and
all other governmental entities within the State, to invest any monies
in their hands in the bonds issued pursuant to this chapter.
Section 55-11-660. All revenues derived by the authority from
the operation of any revenue-producing facility, including revenues,
other than payments in lieu of taxes, derived from the operations of,
or leasing of property in, any industrial or business park or
facilities of them created pursuant to Section 55-11-630(A)(13), which
may not be required to operate, maintain, enlarge, and improve its
airport facilities, or to create any necessary reserves for them, or
to pay obligations incurred in the issuance of any revenue bonds sold
pursuant to the authorizations in this article or necessary to fund
any obligations established by the authority pursuant to resolution or
resolutions adopted by it in connection with the issuance of the bonds
may, in the discretion of the authority, either (1) be utilized in
accordance with the provisions of Section 6-11-990; or (2) be
disbursed to the treasurers of Florence, Darlington, Marion, and
Dillon counties on a pro-rata basis in proportion to the last
completed assessed values of each of the counties as certified by the
auditors of the respective counties.
Section 55-11-670. The rates charged for services furnished by
any revenue-producing facility of the district as constructed,
improved, enlarged, or extended is not subject to supervision or
regulation of any state bureau, commission, board, or other
instrumentality or agency of it.
Section 55-11-680. Property and income of the district is
exempt from all taxes levied by the State, county, or any
municipality, division, subdivision, or agency of them, directly or
indirectly. However, nothing in this article prohibits the authority
from constituting all or a part of the lands owned by, leased by,
subleased by, or under the jurisdiction of the authority as an
industrial or business park under the provisions of Section 13 of
Article VIII of the Constitution of this State.
Section 55-11-690. For the period the district is indebted to a
person on any bonds, notes, or other obligations issued pursuant to
the provisions of this article, the powers granted to the district and
the authority may not be diminished. The provisions of this article
are considered a part of the contract between the district and the
holders of the obligations.
Section 55-11-700. The provisions of this article do not
prohibit the operation of any public or private airport located within
the district by any other public agency or governmental authority, or
by any private agency or person.
Section 55-11-710. Neither the City of Florence nor the
counties of Florence, Darlington, Marion, or Dillon are liable in
damages for any neglect or mismanagement in the operation and
maintenance or otherwise of the airport.
Section 55-11-720. Nothing in this article may be construed to
affect the rights and duties of electric utilities and electrical
suppliers under the provisions of Chapter 27 of Title 58.
Section 55-11-730. (A)(1) Before the establishment of an
industrial or business park pursuant to Section 55-11-630(A)(13), the
governing body of each of Florence, Darlington, Marion, and Dillon
counties shall approve and execute a written agreement among each of
the four counties providing for:
(a) the segregation of the payments in lieu of taxes
to be received from such industrial or business park in the hands of
the Florence County Treasurer;
(b) the definition and method of calculating shared
expenses pursuant to Article X, Section 13(D) of the Constitution of
this State;
(c) the payment of all of the expenses, or so much of
them as may be paid, from the segregated fund described in subitem (a)
of this section;
(d) the disbursal of excess payments in lieu of
taxes, or the contributions of shared expenses exceeding the payments,
to or from each of the four counties in specific proportions.
'Specific proportions' means either predetermined numerical
percentages or readily determinable percentages based on each county's
proportionate share at the time of a determination of total district
population based on the most recent decennial census of the United
States, total district assessed value based on the most recently
completed fiscal year for which final assessed values are available,
or other similar measure; and
(e) the procedure for determining the distribution to
be made of any excess revenues or taxes received from the joint
industrial or business park among the taxing districts within each
county.
(2) The written agreement may be amended at any time by
unanimous consent of the governing bodies of the four counties.
(B) For purposes of bonded indebtedness and for purposes of
computing the index of taxpaying ability pursuant to any provision of
law which measures the relative fiscal capacity of a school district
to support its schools based on the assessed valuation of taxable
property in the district as compared to the assessed valuation of the
taxable property in all school districts of this State, the allocation
of assessed value must be made in accordance with Section
4-1-170."
Provisions not severable
SECTION 4. The provisions of this act are, and are intended by
the General Assembly to be, unitary and interdependent. If any
provision of it relating to the joint or several authority of
Florence, Darlington, Marion, and Dillon counties is determined to be
invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the provision is
expressly determined to be not severable and the validity of this
entire act depends on it.
Time effective
SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Approved the 6th day of June, 1990.
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