H 3957 Session 110 (1993-1994)
H 3957 General Bill, By Haskins
A Bill to amend Section 6-11-1610, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
relating to the definition of a special purpose district, so as to add to the
definition a tax district created pursuant to Chapters 9 and 19 of Title 4.
04/14/93 House Introduced and read first time HJ-13
04/14/93 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-13
02/09/94 House Committee report: Favorable Judiciary HJ-18
02/22/94 House Read second time HJ-11
02/23/94 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-23
02/24/94 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-6
02/24/94 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-6
05/18/94 Senate Committee report: Favorable Judiciary SJ-34
06/01/94 Senate Read second time SJ-121
06/01/94 Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of
amendments SJ-121
06/02/94 Senate Amended SJ-84
06/02/94 Senate Read third time and returned to House with
amendments SJ-84
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
AS PASSED BY THE SENATE
June 2, 1994
H. 3957
Introduced by REP. Haskins
S. Printed 6/2/94--S.
Read the first time February 24, 1994.
A BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 6-11-1610, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE DEFINITION OF A
SPECIAL PURPOSE DISTRICT, SO AS TO ADD TO THE
DEFINITION A TAX DISTRICT CREATED PURSUANT TO
CHAPTERS 9 AND 19 OF TITLE 4.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 6-11-1610 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 6-11-1610. For the purposes of this article, `special
purpose district' means any district created by an act of the General
Assembly or pursuant to general law and which provides any local
governmental power or function including, but not limited to, fire
protection, sewerage treatment, water or natural gas distribution,
recreation, and means any rural community water district authorized or
created under the provisions of Chapter 13 of Title 6. Special purpose
districts do not include any state agency, department, or
commission, of the State or school district
or tax district created pursuant to Chapters 9 and 19 of Title
4."
SECTION 2. (A) In furtherance of the powers granted to the counties
of this State pursuant to the provisions of Section 4-9-30, and Section
6-21-10 et seq., of the 1976 Code, each of the counties of this State is
authorized, following the public hearing and referendum required in this
section to establish transportation authorities to finance the cost of
acquiring, constructing, equipping and operating highways, roads,
streets and bridges, either alone or in partnership with the South
Carolina Department of Transportation.
(B) Title 4 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 37
Optional Methods for Financing Transportation
Facilities
Section 4-37-10. (A) Subject to requirements of this chapter and the
referendum described in Section 4-37-30, the governing body of a
county may by ordinance establish a transportation authority with all of
the rights and powers described in Section 4-37-20. If a county chooses
to finance the cost of highways, roads, streets and bridges alone, the
members of the authority board must be appointed by the county
governing body in such manner as it determines.
(B) If a county chooses to enter into a partnership with the South
Carolina Department of Transportation, the South Carolina Highway
Commission shall have designated appointees on the authority board as
provided in an intergovernmental agreement to be entered into by the
partners.
Section 4-37-20. The board of the authority has all the rights and
powers of a public body, politic and corporate of this State including,
without limitation, all the rights and powers necessary or convenient to
manage the business and affairs of the authority and to take action as it
may consider advisable, necessary or convenient in carrying out its
powers including, but not limited to, the following rights and powers:
(1) to have perpetual succession;
(2) to sue and be sued;
(3) to adopt, use and alter a seal;
(4) to make and amend bylaws for regulation of its affairs consistent
with the provisions of this chapter;
(5) to acquire, purchase, hold, use, improve, lease, mortgage, pledge,
sell, transfer, and dispose of any property, real, personal, or mixed, or
any interest in any property, or revenues of the authority as security for
notes, bonds, evidences of indebtedness or other obligations of the
authority;
(6) to borrow money, make and issue notes, bonds and other
evidences of indebtedness; to secure the payment of the obligations or
any part by mortgage, lien, pledge, or deed of trust, on any of its
property, contracts, franchises or revenues;
(7) to make contracts, including service contracts with a person,
corporation or partnership including, without limitation, the South
Carolina Department of Transportation, to provide the facilities and
services provided herein;
(8) to exercise the powers of eminent domain; and
(9) execute all instruments necessary or convenient for the carrying
out of business.
Section 4-37-30. Counties establishing an authority are empowered
to impose one or both of the following sources of revenue:
(A) Subject to the requirements of this section, the governing body
of a county may by ordinance impose a one percent sales and use tax
within its jurisdiction for a specific purpose 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 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 imposing the tax and which may
include:
(i) highways, roads, streets, and bridges;
(ii) jointly operated projects of the county and the South
Carolina Department of Transportation;
(b) the maximum time, stated in calendar years or calendar
quarters, or a combination of them, not to exceed 25 years, for which the
tax may be imposed; and
(c) the maximum cost of the project or facilities to be funded
in whole or in part from proceeds of the tax and the maximum amount
of net proceeds to be raised by the tax.
(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. 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. A public hearing must be conducted at
least fourteen days prior to the referendum, after publication of a notice
setting forth the date, time, and location of the public hearing. The
notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the
county at least fourteen days prior to the date fixed for the public
hearing.
(3) A separate question must be included on the referendum ballot
for each purpose and the question must read substantially as follows:
`Must a special one percent sales and use tax be imposed in
(county) for not more than (time) to
raise the amounts specified for the following purposes:
(1) $_____________ for _________________
Yes []
No []
(2) etc.'
In addition, if the county seeks to pledge revenues from the
optional special sales and use tax to the repayment of general obligation
bonds to be issued for projects authorized herein, there shall be an
additional referendum question on the authorization of such bonds so
that the exemption provided in Article X, Section 14(6) of the South
Carolina Constitution may be made applicable.
(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. A subsequent referendum
on this question must not be held more than once in twelve months. 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. 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.
(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 and Taxation determines that the tax has raised revenues
sufficient to provide the county net proceeds equal to or greater than the
amount specified as the amount to be raised by the tax.
(6) When the optional sales and use 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.
(7) 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.
(8) The tax levied pursuant to this section must be administered
and collected by the Department of Revenue and Taxation 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 which may lawfully be purchased
with United States Department of Agriculture food stamps is 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 Article
13, Chapter 36 of Title 12.
(10) Taxpayers required to remit taxes under Article 13, Chapter
36 of Title 12 shall identify the county in which the tangible personal
property purchased at retail is stored, used, or consumed in this State.
(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
separately report 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 under this section in
a county, either under 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 and Taxation 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 regularly billed 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 under 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 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 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.
(16) The Department of Revenue and Taxation 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 and Taxation may promulgate
regulations necessary to implement this section.
(B) (1) This subsection is intended to provide an additional and
alternative method for the provision of and financing for highways,
roads, streets, and bridges, either alone or jointly with the Department
of Transportation to the end that these transportation facilities may be
undertaken in such manner as may best be calculated to expedite relief
of hazardous and congested traffic conditions on the highways in the
State, including the authorization for turnpike projects undertaken by the
Department of Transportation in Article 9 of Chapter 5 of Title 57.
(2) If the authority enters into a partnership with the Department
of Transportation relating to such turnpike facilities, the authority may
designate, establish, plan, improve, construct, maintain, operate, and
regulate designated highways, roads, streets, and bridges as
"turnpike facilities" as a part of the state highway system or
any federal aid system whenever the authority determines the traffic
conditions, present or future, justifies these facilities. Under such
partnership arrangement, the authority may utilize funds available for the
maintenance of the state highway system, for the maintenance of any
turnpike facility financed pursuant to this chapter. If the authority
determines it is feasible to make all or part of a construction project a
turnpike facility, it may engage in the preliminary estimates and studies
incident to the determination of the feasibility or practicability of
constructing any toll road as it from time to time considers necessary and
the cost of the preliminary estimates and studies may be paid from the
general highway fund and must be reimbursed from funds provided
under this chapter only if the studies and estimates lead to the
construction of a toll road.
(3) Under the partnership arrangement, the authority may acquire
such lands and property, including rights of access as may be needed for
turnpike facilities, by gift, devise, purchase, or condemnation by
easement or in fee simple as authorized by law on or after the effective
date of this chapter for acquiring property or property rights in
connection with other state highways.
(4) In designating, establishing, planning, abandoning, improving,
constructing, maintaining, and regulating turnpike facilities, the
authority may exercise such authorizations as are granted generally to
the Department of Transportation by the provisions of other statute law
applicable to the state highway system, except as they may be
inconsistent with the provisions included in this chapter.
(5) Whenever it becomes necessary that monies be raised for the
transportation facilities described in this chapter, the authority may issue
toll revenue bonds to provide all or a portion of the cost of these
facilities after adopting its resolution setting forth the following:
(a) the toll facility proposed to be constructed;
(b) the amount required for feasibility studies, planning, design,
right-of-way acquisition and construction of the toll facility;
(c) a tentative time schedule setting forth the period of time for
which the toll shall be imposed;
(d) a debt service table showing the estimated annual principal
and interest requirements for the proposed toll revenue bonds;
(e) any feasibility study obtained by the authority relating to
the proposed toll facility;
(f) any covenants to be made in the bond resolution respecting
competition between the proposed toll facility and possible future
highways whose construction would have an adverse effect upon the toll
revenues which would otherwise be derived by the proposed toll facility.
(6) In addition to the powers listed above, the authority may in
connection with such toll facilities:
(a) fix and revise from time to time and charge and collect tolls
for transit over each turnpike facility constructed by it;
(b) combine, for the purpose of financing the facilities any two
or more turnpike facilities;
(c) control access to turnpike facilities;
(d) to the extent permitted by a bond resolution, expend
turnpike facility revenues in advertising the facilities and services of the
turnpike facility or facilities to the traveling public;
(e) receive and accept from any federal agency grants for or in
the aid of the construction of any turnpike facility;
(f) do all acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out
the powers expressly granted in this chapter;
(g) enter into contracts with the Department of Transportation
for sharing the cost of building and the revenues derived from the
facilities authorized herein and for the operation and maintenance of
such facilities.
(C) It is intended that this chapter is an additional and alternative
method of financing highway and bridge projects to those already
provided under the provisions of the State Highway Bond Act (Section
57-11-210); the State Turnpike Bond Act (Section 57-5-1310 et seq.),
the Revenue Bond Act for Utilities (Section 6-21-10 et seq.) and Section
4-9-30(5)."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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