S 383 Session 112 (1997-1998)
S 0383 General Bill, By Bryan and Leventis
A BILL TO AMEND ARTICLE 13, CHAPTER 13, TITLE 8, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CAMPAIGN PRACTICES, BY ADDING SECTION 8-13-1315,
SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A CANDIDATE MAY CHOOSE TO LIMIT HIS CAMPAIGN
EXPENDITURES TO SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS PER CONSTITUENT AND TO PROVIDE FOR A STATE
INCOME TAX DEDUCTION FOR CONTRIBUTORS AS LONG AS THE CANDIDATE ADHERES TO HIS
PLEDGE; TO AMEND SECTION 12-6-1140 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO DEDUCTIONS IN
COMPUTING INDIVIDUAL TAXABLE INCOME, SO AS TO MAKE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN
CONTRIBUTIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 8-13-1315 TAX DEDUCTIBLE; AND TO
AMEND ARTICLE 9, CHAPTER 6, TITLE 12 OF THE 1976, RELATING TO TAXABLE INCOME
CALCULATION , BY ADDING SECTION 12-6-1230 SO AS TO PROVIDE ALL TAXPAYERS THE
INCOME TAX DEDUCTION FOR POLITICAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH
SECTION 8-13-1315.
02/18/97 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-4
02/18/97 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-4
A BILL
TO AMEND ARTICLE 13, CHAPTER 13, TITLE 8, CODE OF
LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO
CAMPAIGN PRACTICES, BY ADDING SECTION 8-13-1315, SO
AS TO PROVIDE THAT A CANDIDATE MAY CHOOSE TO
LIMIT HIS CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES TO SEVENTY-FIVE
CENTS PER CONSTITUENT AND TO PROVIDE FOR A STATE
INCOME TAX DEDUCTION FOR CONTRIBUTORS AS LONG
AS THE CANDIDATE ADHERES TO HIS PLEDGE; TO AMEND
SECTION 12-6-1140 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO
DEDUCTIONS IN COMPUTING INDIVIDUAL TAXABLE
INCOME, SO AS TO MAKE POLITICAL CAMPAIGN
CONTRIBUTIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION
8-13-1315 TAX DEDUCTIBLE; AND TO AMEND ARTICLE 9,
CHAPTER 6, TITLE 12 OF THE 1976, RELATING TO TAXABLE
INCOME CALCULATION , BY ADDING SECTION 12-6-1230
SO AS TO PROVIDE ALL TAXPAYERS THE INCOME TAX
DEDUCTION FOR POLITICAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS
IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 8-13-1315.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 13, Chapter 13, Title 8 of the 1976 Code is
amended by adding:
"Section 8-13-1315. (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, a candidate may pledge to limit the amount of expenditures and
expenditures incurred, or any combination thereof, in an election
cycle to seventy-five cents per constituent, as defined in subsection
(B). Expenditures by party committees or expenditures by legislative
caucus committees based upon party affiliation are included in this
limit. An election cycle is determined for expenditure limits as it is
determined for contribution limits pursuant to Section 8-13-1300(10).
If a candidate chooses to limit such expenditures according to this
section, he must sign a pledge within ten days of the close of filing.
The candidate must file the pledge in the same manner as the
statement of economic interests provided for in Section 8-13-1356.
If the candidate adheres to the limits set forth in his pledge, then a
contributor to his campaign during the election cycle in which he
signed the pledge may deduct the amount of his contribution from his
state taxable income pursuant to Section 12-6-1140. If a candidate
signs such a pledge and fails to adhere to it and exceeds the pledged
limit, at the time he files his final report in accordance with 8-13-920,
he must notify each of his campaign's contributors that they are not
eligible for the tax deduction.
(B) For the purposes of this section, the number of constituents is
determined by population, as determined by the last official decennial
census adopted by the State. For offices which represent more than
one county, the number of constituents is determined by the statewide
population divided by the number of districts or circuits there are for
that particular office. For local single-member district candidates, the
number of constituents is determined by the population of the entire
local area divided by the number of districts for that particular office.
For candidates running at large the number of constituents is
determined by the population of the area the office represents."
SECTION 2. Section 12-6-1140 of the 1976 Code is amended by
adding an appropriately numbered item at the end to read:
"( ) contributions to political campaigns in accordance with
Section 8-13-1315."
SECTION 3. Article 9, Chapter 6, Title 12 of the 1976 Code is
amended by adding:
"Section 12-6-1230. A taxpayer may deduct from state taxable
income the amount of contributions to political campaigns in
accordance with the provisions of Section 8-13-1315."
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor
and is effective for taxable years beginning after 1996.
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