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H*3993 Session 113 (1999-2000) H*3993(Rat #0421, Act #0368 of 2000) General Bill, By Rodgers, Clyburn, Gilham, Gourdine, Hinson, Kelley, Lloyd and Kennedy A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 4-37-30, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE FINANCING OF LOCAL TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES THROUGH THE USE OF TAXES OR TOLLS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE SALES AND USE TAX THAT THE GOVERNING BODY OF A COUNTY MAY IMPOSE BY ORDINANCE MAY NOT EXCEED ONE PERCENT, TO PROVIDE THAT THE PROCEEDS OF THE TAX MAY BE USED FOR MASS TRANSIT SYSTEMS AND GREENBELT PROJECTS, TO DELETE THE PROVISION THAT REFERS TO THE HOLDING OF A REFERENDUM ON THE QUESTION OF IMPOSING AN OPTIONAL SALES AND USE TAX PURSUANT TO AN ORDINANCE RECEIVED BY A COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSION BEFORE JANUARY 1, 1998, TO PROVIDE THAT A SINGLE QUESTION RELATING TO THE FUNDING OF SEVERAL PROJECTS MAY BE PLACED ON A REFERENDUM BALLOT BY A COUNTY GOVERNING BODY TO DETERMINE WHETHER VOTERS APPROVE A SPECIAL SALES AND USE TAX OF NOT MORE THAN ONE PERCENT TO FUND THOSE PROJECTS, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE GOVERNING BODY OF A COUNTY MAY INCLUDE IN THE REFERENDUM A QUESTION ON THE AUTHORIZATION OF CERTAIN GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS SO THAT REVENUES DERIVED FROM THE IMPOSITION OF THE OPTIONAL SALES AND USE TAX MAY BE PLEDGED TO THE REPAYMENT OF THE BONDS; TO AMEND SECTION 4-37-40, RELATING TO THE CONDUCTING OF A REFERENDUM REGARDING A SALES AND USE TAX IN A COUNTY WHICH HAS PREVIOUSLY IMPOSED A LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX, SO AS TO DELETE THIS PROVISION, AND TO PROVIDE THAT ANY PORTION OF A COUNTY MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO MORE THAN A ONE PERCENT SALES TAX LEVIED PURSUANT TO TITLE 4, CHAPTER 37, OR TITLE 4, CHAPTER 10, ARTICLE VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
March 14, 2000 March 28, 2000 March 29, 2000 May 4, 2000 May 31, 2000 June 1, 2000 (A368, R421, H3993)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 4-37-30, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE FINANCING OF LOCAL TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES THROUGH THE USE OF TAXES OR TOLLS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE SALES AND USE TAX THAT THE GOVERNING BODY OF A COUNTY MAY IMPOSE BY ORDINANCE MAY NOT EXCEED ONE PERCENT, TO PROVIDE THAT THE PROCEEDS OF THE TAX MAY BE USED FOR MASS TRANSIT SYSTEMS AND GREENBELT PROJECTS, TO DELETE THE PROVISION THAT REFERS TO THE HOLDING OF A REFERENDUM ON THE QUESTION OF IMPOSING AN OPTIONAL SALES AND USE TAX PURSUANT TO AN ORDINANCE RECEIVED BY A COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSION BEFORE JANUARY 1, 1998, TO PROVIDE THAT A SINGLE QUESTION RELATING TO THE FUNDING OF SEVERAL PROJECTS MAY BE PLACED ON A REFERENDUM BALLOT BY A COUNTY GOVERNING BODY TO DETERMINE WHETHER VOTERS APPROVE A SPECIAL SALES AND USE TAX OF NOT MORE THAN ONE PERCENT TO FUND THOSE PROJECTS, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE GOVERNING BODY OF A COUNTY MAY INCLUDE IN THE REFERENDUM A QUESTION ON THE AUTHORIZATION OF CERTAIN GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS SO THAT REVENUES DERIVED FROM THE IMPOSITION OF THE OPTIONAL SALES AND USE TAX MAY BE PLEDGED TO THE REPAYMENT OF THE BONDS; TO AMEND SECTION 4-37-40, RELATING TO THE CONDUCTING OF A REFERENDUM REGARDING A SALES AND USE TAX IN A COUNTY WHICH HAS PREVIOUSLY IMPOSED A LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX, SO AS TO DELETE THIS PROVISION, AND TO PROVIDE THAT ANY PORTION OF A COUNTY MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO MORE THAN A ONE PERCENT SALES TAX LEVIED PURSUANT TO TITLE 4, CHAPTER 37, OR TITLE 4, CHAPTER 10, Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina: Financing of local transportation facilities SECTION 1. Section 4-37-30(A) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 93 of 1999, is further amended to read: "(A) Subject to the requirements of this section, the governing body of a county may impose by ordinance a sales and use tax in an amount not to exceed one percent within its jurisdiction for a single project or for multiple projects and for a specific period of time to collect a limited amount of money. (1) The governing body of a county may vote to impose the tax authorized by this section, subject to a referendum, by enacting an ordinance. The ordinance must specify: (a) the project or projects and a description of the project or projects for which the proceeds of the tax are to be used, which may include projects located within or without, or both within and without, the boundaries of the county imposing the tax and which may include: (i) highways, roads, streets, bridges, mass transit systems, greenbelts, and other transportation-related projects facilities including, but not limited to, drainage facilities relating to the highways, roads, streets, bridges, and other transportation-related projects; (ii) jointly-operated projects, of the type specified in sub-subitem (i), of the county and South Carolina Department of Transportation; or (iii) projects, of the type specified in sub-subitem (i), operated by the county or jointly-operated projects of the county and other governmental entities; (b) the maximum time, stated in calendar years or calendar quarters, or a combination of them, not to exceed twenty-five years or the length of payment for each project whichever is shorter in length, for which the tax may be imposed; (c) the estimated capital cost of the project or projects to be funded in whole or in part from proceeds of the tax and the principal amount of bonds to be supported by the tax; and (d) the anticipated year the tax will end. (2) Upon receipt of the ordinance, the county election commission shall conduct a referendum on the question of imposing the optional special sales and use tax in the jurisdiction. A referendum for this purpose must be held at the time of the general election. The commission shall publish the date and purpose of the referendum once a week for four consecutive weeks immediately preceding the date of the referendum in a newspaper of general circulation in the jurisdiction. A public hearing must be conducted at least fourteen days before the referendum after publication of a notice setting forth the date, time, and location of the public hearing. The notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least fourteen days before the date fixed for the public hearing. (3) A separate question must be included on the referendum ballot for each purpose which purpose may, as determined by the governing body of a county, be set forth as a single question relating to several of the projects, and the question must read substantially as follows: 'I approve a special sales and use tax in the amount of (fractional amount of one percent) (one percent) to be imposed in (county) for not more than (time) to fund the following project or projects: Project (1) for __________ $ __________
Project (2), etc.'
In addition, the referendum, as determined by the governing body of a county, may contain a question on the authorization of general obligation bonds under the exemption provided in Section 14(6), 'I approve the issuance of not exceeding $_____ of general obligation bonds of _____ County, maturing over a period not to exceed ___ years to fund the _____ project or projects.
If the referendum on the question relating to the issuance of general obligation bonds is approved, the county may issue bonds in an amount sufficient to fund the expenses of the project or projects. (4) 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 section; otherwise, the tax is not imposed. The election commission shall conduct the referendum pursuant to the election laws of this State, mutatis mutandis, and shall certify the result no later than November thirtieth after the date of the referendum to the appropriate governing body and to the Department of Revenue. Included in the certification must be the maximum cost of the project or projects or facilities to be funded in whole or in part from proceeds of the tax, the maximum time specified for the imposition of the tax, and the principal amount of bonds to be supported by the tax receiving a favorable vote. Expenses of the referendum must be paid by the jurisdiction conducting the referendum. If the tax is approved in the referendum, the tax is imposed effective the first day of May following the date of the referendum. If the certification is not made timely to the Department of Revenue, the imposition is postponed for twelve months. (5) The tax terminates on the earlier of: (a) the final day of the maximum time specified for the imposition; or (b) the end of the calendar month during which the Department of Revenue determines that the tax has raised revenues sufficient to provide the greater of either the cost of the project or projects as approved in the referendum or the cost to amortize all debts related to the approved projects. (6) When the optional sales and use tax is imposed, the governing body of the jurisdiction authorizing the referendum for the tax shall include by definition more than one item as defined in (a)(i) and (a)(ii) to describe the single project or multiple projects for which the proceeds of the tax are to be used. (7) Amounts collected in excess of the required proceeds first must be applied, if necessary, to complete each project for which the tax was imposed. Any additional revenue collected above the specified amount must be applied to the reduction of debt principal of the imposing political subdivision on transportation infrastructure debts only. (8) The tax levied pursuant to this section must be administered and collected by the Department of Revenue in the same manner that other sales and use taxes are collected. The department may prescribe the amounts which may be added to the sales price because of the tax.
(9) The tax authorized by this section is in addition to all other local sales and use taxes and applies to the gross proceeds of sales in the applicable jurisdiction which are subject to the tax imposed by Chapter 36 of Title 12 and the enforcement provisions of Chapter 54 of Title 12. The gross proceeds of the sale of items subject to a maximum tax in Chapter 36 of Title 12 are exempt from the tax imposed by this section. The gross proceeds of the sale of food lawfully purchased with United States Department of Agriculture food stamps are exempt from the tax imposed by this section. The tax imposed by this section also applies to tangible personal property subject to the use tax in
(10) Taxpayers required to remit taxes pursuant to (11) Utilities are required to report sales in the county in which consumption of the tangible personal property occurs. (12) A taxpayer subject to the tax imposed by Section 12-36-920, who owns or manages rental units in more than one county shall report separately in his sales tax return the total gross proceeds from business done in each county. (13) The gross proceeds of sales of tangible personal property delivered after the imposition date of the tax levied pursuant to this section in a county, either pursuant to the terms of a construction contract executed before the imposition date, or a written bid submitted before the imposition date, culminating in a construction contract entered into before or after the imposition date, are exempt from the special local sales and use tax provided in this section if a verified copy of the contract is filed with the Department of Revenue within six months after the imposition of the special local sales and use tax. (14) Notwithstanding the imposition date of the special local sales and use tax authorized pursuant to this section, with respect to services that are billed regularly on a monthly basis, the special local sales and use tax is imposed beginning on the first day of the billing period beginning on or after the imposition date. (15) The revenues of the tax collected in each county pursuant to this section 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 of administering the tax, not to exceed one percent of the revenues, the State Treasurer shall distribute the revenues and all interest earned on the revenues while on deposit with him quarterly to the county in which the tax is imposed and these revenues and interest earnings must be used only for the purpose stated in the imposition ordinance. The State Treasurer may correct misallocation costs or refunds by adjusting later distributions, but these adjustments must be made in the same fiscal year as the misallocation. However, allocations made as a result of city or county code errors must be corrected prospectively. (16) The Department of Revenue shall furnish data to the State Treasurer and to the counties receiving revenues for the purpose of calculating distributions and estimating revenues. The information which must be supplied to counties upon request includes, but is not limited to, gross receipts, net taxable sales, and tax liability by taxpayers. 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. (17) The Department of Revenue may promulgate regulations necessary to implement this section." Sales tax SECTION 2. Section 4-37-40 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 52 of 1995, is amended to read:
"Section 4-37-40. At no time may any portion of the county area be subject to more than one percent sales tax levied pursuant to this chapter, Regional transportation authority SECTION 3. Section 58-25-35 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 43 of 1997, is further amended to read: "Section 58-25-35. The members of a regional transportation authority created under authority of this chapter must be the municipalities within the service area as defined by this chapter and the counties within the unincorporated areas of the service area of the authority." Regional transportation authority SECTION 4. Section 58-25-40 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 43 of 1997, is further amended to read: "Section 58-25-40. The authority's board members, officers, and staff must be as follows: (1) The members of the authority must be represented on the governing board of the authority by appointees of the governing bodies of the municipalities and counties within the service area as set forth in Section 58-25-35. The appointees may be elected officials of these local governing bodies and if so would serve in an ex officio capacity. The governing board of the authority must be made up of not more than two times the number of authority governmental members and up to three additional members appointed by the legislative delegation as provided in this section. There must be at least five board members. The membership of the governing board must be apportioned among the member municipalities and counties proportionate to population within the authority's service area. As many as three additional members of the governing board of a transportation authority may be appointed by the legislative delegations of the member counties if approved in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 58-25-30. If the authority receives a grant of the state funds from the general fund or the highway fund, the delegation shall appoint three additional members. Unless the agreement provides otherwise, the members of the governing board appointed by the delegation must be apportioned as determined by a majority of the delegation members, including the resident senator, provided, however, if there is no resident senator, then by a majority of the Senate delegation representing the county. No member government, regardless of population, may have less than one member on the board. County population must be determined after subtracting the member municipality population in that county. The terms of the representatives serving on the governing board of the authority must be staggered so that the terms of approximately one-third of the governing board expire each year. After the initial terms as set forth in the agreement to achieve staggered terms, subsequent terms must be for three years. Members of the governing board of the authority may be reimbursed for expenses incurred in connection with their service on the authority but they may not receive salaries, per diem, or other compensation. Members shall adopt and abide by rules governing meeting attendance. (2) No county or municipality may be a member in more than one authority except that a metropolitan government may be a member of more than one authority when the services provided by the authorities are different. (3) Subsequent to the activation of the authority, contiguous counties or municipalities not participating initially may become members of the authority with the same benefits as the initial members pursuant to the procedure set forth in Section 58-25-30 and with the approval by a majority vote of the board of the authority. If an election is required, it must be held only in the contiguous counties or municipalities that are seeking to become members of the authority. (4) The board of the authority shall elect one of its members as chairman, one as vice-chairman, and other officers as may be necessary, to serve for one year in that capacity or until their successors are elected and qualify. A majority of the board constitutes a quorum. A vacancy on the board does not impair the right of the authority to exercise all of its rights and perform all of its duties. Upon the effective date of his appointment, or as soon after appointment as practicable, each board member shall enter upon his duties. (5) A board member of the authority may be removed from office by the governing body which appointed him for misconduct, malfeasance, or neglect of duty in office. Any vacancy so created must be filled as provided above. (6) The authority may employ an executive director, who may serve as secretary or treasurer, to serve at the pleasure of the authority. The executive director may employ any employees as may be necessary for the proper administration of the duties and functions of the authority and may determine the qualifications of the persons. The authority shall adopt compensation plans for employees." South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Board SECTION 5. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Board accept applications for major highway and transportation projects submitted to the board, including the Bobby Jones Expressway Extension Application. Time effective SECTION 6. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. Ratified the 8th day of June, 2000. Approved the 14th day of June, 2000.
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