S*1085(Rat #0234, Act #0229 of 2014)  General Bill, By Campbell, Grooms, 
Matthews, McGill, O'Dell and Bennett
 AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 4-37-30, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
 1976, RELATING TO THE USE OF LOCAL SALES AND USE TAX OR TOLL REVENUES TO
 FINANCE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN A COUNTY, SO AS TO PROVIDE A
 PROCEDURE FOR THE GOVERNING BODY OF A COUNTY IN WHICH THE TRANSPORTATION
 INFRASTRUCTURE LOCAL SALES AND USE TAX IS CURRENTLY IMPOSED FOR LESS THAN THE
 TWENTY-FIVE YEAR MAXIMUM IMPOSITION PERIOD, UPON REFERENDUM APPROVAL, MAY
 EXTEND WITHOUT INTERRUPTION THE INITIAL IMPOSITION PERIOD FOR UP TO SEVEN
 YEARS FOR NOT MORE THAN TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE AGGREGATE, INCLUDING THE
 ORIGINAL IMPOSITION PERIOD, TO PROVIDE WHAT QUESTIONS MUST APPEAR ON THE
 REFERENDUM BALLOT FOR THE EXTENSION, AND TO PROVIDE THAT REFERENDUMS TO IMPOSE
 OR EXTEND THE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE SALES AND USE TAX MUST BE HELD AT
 THE TIME OF THE GENERAL ELECTION. - ratified title

   03/05/14  Senate Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 4)
   03/05/14  Senate Referred to Committee on Finance
                     (Senate Journal-page 4)
   03/26/14  Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment
                     Finance (Senate Journal-page 30)
   04/02/14  Senate Committee Amendment Adopted (Senate Journal-page 19)
   04/03/14  Senate Read second time (Senate Journal-page 21)
   04/03/14  Senate Roll call Ayes-32  Nays-3 (Senate Journal-page 21)
   04/08/14  Senate Read third time and sent to House
                     (Senate Journal-page 16)
   04/09/14  House  Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 12)
   04/09/14  House  Referred to Committee on Ways and Means
                     (House Journal-page 12)
   05/15/14  House  Committee report: Favorable Ways and Means
                     (House Journal-page 48)
   05/28/14  House  Read second time (House Journal-page 19)
   05/28/14  House  Roll call Yeas-104  Nays-0 (House Journal-page 19)
   05/29/14  House  Read third time and enrolled (House Journal-page 20)
   05/29/14         Ratified R 234
   06/02/14         Signed By Governor
   06/13/14         Effective date 06/02/14
   06/16/14         Act No. 229

(A229, R234, S1085)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 4-37-30, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE USE OF LOCAL SALES AND USE TAX OR TOLL REVENUES TO FINANCE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN A COUNTY, SO AS TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR THE GOVERNING BODY OF A COUNTY IN WHICH THE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE LOCAL SALES AND USE TAX IS CURRENTLY IMPOSED FOR LESS THAN THE TWENTY-FIVE YEAR MAXIMUM IMPOSITION PERIOD, UPON REFERENDUM APPROVAL, MAY EXTEND WITHOUT INTERRUPTION THE INITIAL IMPOSITION PERIOD FOR UP TO SEVEN YEARS FOR NOT MORE THAN TWENTY-FIVE YEARS IN THE AGGREGATE, INCLUDING THE ORIGINAL IMPOSITION PERIOD, TO PROVIDE WHAT QUESTIONS MUST APPEAR ON THE REFERENDUM BALLOT FOR THE EXTENSION, AND TO PROVIDE THAT REFERENDUMS TO IMPOSE OR EXTEND THE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE SALES AND USE TAX MUST BE HELD AT THE TIME OF THE GENERAL ELECTION.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Transportation infrastructure sales and use tax, extension of imposition, referendum date

SECTION    1.    Items (2) and (4) of Section 4-37-30(A) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 368 of 2000, are further amended to read:

"(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 the initial imposition of the sales and use tax within a county pursuant to this chapter and all subsequent referendums to impose, extend, or renew the tax 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.

(4)(a)    If a county has imposed a tax pursuant to this chapter for less than the maximum twenty-five year term allowed and the tax remains in effect, the governing body of the county at any time may call for a referendum to extend the term of the tax for up to seven years, and thereafter call for referendums to extend the term of the tax for up to seven years, for an aggregate total not to exceed twenty-five years. The referendum to extend the term of the tax must be held at the general election. A separate question must be included on the referendum ballot for each purpose which purpose, as determined by the governing body of a county, may be set forth as a single question relating to several of the projects and the question must indicate whether the project is an existing project or new project. A new project or projects only may be listed on the ballot to the extent that the county has, or will, complete existing projects. The question must read substantially as follows:

'I approve the extension of a special sales and use tax in the amount of (fractional amount of one percent) (one percent) to be imposed in (county) not to exceed ___ years to fund the completion of the following existing project or projects and/or to fund the following new project or projects:

Project (1) for _________ $ ____________ (new or existing)

Project (2), etc.'

(b)    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 reimposition of the tax pursuant to this article is approved in the referendum, the new or existing tax must be imposed, extended, or renewed immediately following the termination of the earlier imposed tax. If the certification is not made timely to the Department of Revenue, the imposition is postponed for twelve months."

Time effective

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 29th day of May, 2014.

Approved the 2nd day of June, 2014.