H 4606 Session 109 (1991-1992)
H 4606 General Bill, By L.S. Whipper, H. Brown, Cobb-Hunter, J.L. Harris,
H.H. Keyserling, D.E. McTeer, T.F. Rogers and C.Y. Waites
A Bill to amend Chapter 13, Title 31, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by
adding Article 4 so as to enact the Housing Trust Fund Act of 1992 and to
provide definitions, to create the Fund and an advisory committee, to provide
for the duties of an Executive Director; and to provide for the purpose, use,
and operation of the fund; to amend Section 12-21-380, relating to tax on
instruments conveying realty, so as to increase the tax from one dollar ten
cents to one dollar sixty cents on each five hundred dollars of consideration
paid for the property and to provide that this fifty cent increase be paid to
the Housing Trust Fund; to redesignate Article 3, Chapter 3, Title 31 as
Article 1, Chapter 13, Title 31; to redesignate Sections 31-3-110 through
31-3-180 as 31-13-20 through 31-13-90, respectively; to redesignate Section
31-13-160 as 31-13-10; and to designate Sections 31-13-170 through 31-13-340
as Article 3, Chapter 13, Title 31.
03/25/92 House Introduced and read first time HJ-17
03/25/92 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-17
04/07/92 House Committee report: Majority favorable with amend.,
minority unfavorable Ways and Means HJ-6
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
COMMITTEE REPORT
April 7, 1992
H. 4606
Introduced by REPS. Whipper, Waites, Cobb-Hunter, Keyserling,
Rogers, J. Harris, McTeer and H. Brown
S. Printed 4/7/92--H.
Read the first time March 25, 1992.
THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS
To whom was referred a Bill (H. 4606), to amend Chapter 13, Title
31, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Article 4 so as to
enact the Housing Trust Fund Act of 1992 and to provide definitions,
etc., respectfully
REPORT:
That they have duly and carefully considered the same, and
recommend that the same do pass with amendment:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, Section 31-13-430(c) by adding
at the end of the subsection /The advisory committee shall adopt rules
concerning meeting attendance by its members./ so when amended the
subsection reads:
"(C) The advisory committee shall meet at least four times
a year to advise the board of particularly critical housing needs, to
recommend to the board those areas of the State in which requests for
proposals for developments should be published, the type of
development for which proposals should be solicited, and to provide
other pertinent information to the board as the members of the advisory
committee consider appropriate. The advisory committee shall adopt
rules concerning meeting attendance by its members."
Amend further by deleting Section 31-13-430(D) and inserting:
/(D) The members of the advisory committee are not eligible for
reimbursement for travel, lodging, meals, or per diem./
Amend further, Section 12-21-380, page 9, by deleting on lines 18
and 20 /ten sixty/ and inserting /ten
thirty/; by deleting on line 25 / Fifty/ and inserting
/Twenty/; and on line 27 by deleting /fifty/ and
inserting /twenty/. so when amended this section reads:
"Section 12-21-380. A deed, instrument, or writing whereby
any lands, tenements, or other realty sold is granted, assigned,
transferred, or otherwise conveyed to, or vested in, the purchaser or any
other person by his the purchaser's direction when the
consideration or value of the interest or property conveyed exclusive of
the value of any lien or encumbrance remaining thereon on
the interest or property at the time of sale exceeds one hundred
dollars and does not exceed five hundred dollars must be taxed one
dollar and ten thirty cents and for each additional five
hundred dollars, or fractional part thereof, one dollar and ten
thirty cents. Ten cents of the tax on those sales over one
hundred dollars but not exceeding five hundred dollars and ten cents of
the tax on each additional increment of five hundred dollars must be
paid to the Heritage Land Trust Fund. Twenty cents of the tax on
those sales over one hundred dollars but not exceeding five hundred
dollars and twenty cents of the tax on each additional increment of five
hundred dollars must be paid to the South Carolina Housing Trust
Fund. Any A deed, instrument, or writing whereby
any lands, tenements, or other realty is granted, assigned, transferred, or
otherwise conveyed to, or vested in, the State of South Carolina, or any
of its political subdivisions and departments, for highway or other public
purposes is exempted from the documentary tax requirements of this
section, and any clerk of court or register of mesne conveyances may
record these deeds or other instruments without revenue stamps affixed
and without penalty."
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Majority favorable. Minority unfavorable.
WILLIAM D. BOAN JARVIS R.KLAPMAN
For Majority. HERBERT KIRSH
For Minority.
STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED FISCAL
IMPACT
House Bill 4606 amends Chapter
13, Title 31, by adding Article 4 so as to enact the Housing Trust Fund
Act of 1992 and to provide definitions, to create the fund and an
advisory committee, to provide for the duties of an executive director;
and to provide for the purpose, use, and operation of the fund; to amend
Section 12-21-380, relating to tax on instruments conveying realty, so
as to increase the tax from one dollar ten cents to one dollar sixty cents
on each five hundred dollars of consideration paid for the property and
to provide that this fifty cent increase be paid to the Housing Trust Fund;
to redesignate Article 3, Chapter 3, Title 31 as Article 1, Chapter 13,
Title 31; to redesignate Sections 31-3-110 through 31-3-180 as 31-13-20
through 31-13-90, respectively; to redesignate Section 31-13-160 as 31-13-10; and to designate Sections 31-13-170 through 31-13-340 as
Article 3, Chapter 13, Title 31.
This Bill would place in the
Housing Trust Fund approximately $2,400,000 per year.
Approved By:
A. Crawford Clarkson, Jr.
S.C. Tax Commission
A BILL
TO AMEND CHAPTER 13, TITLE 31, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 4 SO AS TO ENACT
THE HOUSING TRUST FUND ACT OF 1992 AND TO PROVIDE
DEFINITIONS, TO CREATE THE FUND AND AN ADVISORY
COMMITTEE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE DUTIES OF AN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE PURPOSE,
USE, AND OPERATION OF THE FUND; TO AMEND SECTION
12-21-380, RELATING TO TAX ON INSTRUMENTS CONVEYING
REALTY, SO AS TO INCREASE THE TAX FROM ONE DOLLAR
TEN CENTS TO ONE DOLLAR SIXTY CENTS ON EACH FIVE
HUNDRED DOLLARS OF CONSIDERATION PAID FOR THE
PROPERTY AND TO PROVIDE THAT THIS FIFTY CENT
INCREASE BE PAID TO THE HOUSING TRUST FUND; TO
REDESIGNATE ARTICLE 3, CHAPTER 3, TITLE 31 AS ARTICLE
1, CHAPTER 13, TITLE 31; TO REDESIGNATE SECTIONS 31-3-110
THROUGH 31-3-180 AS 31-13-20 THROUGH 31-13-90,
RESPECTIVELY; TO REDESIGNATE SECTION 31-13-160 AS
31-13-10; AND TO DESIGNATE SECTIONS 31-13-170 THROUGH
31-13-340 AS ARTICLE 3, CHAPTER 13, TITLE 31.
Whereas, the availability of affordable, safe, and sanitary housing for all
citizens is essential to the social and economic well-being of the State
of South Carolina; and
Whereas, there exists in the State of South Carolina a serious shortage
of residential housing available at affordable sale or rental prices to
persons and families of very low and lower income; and
Whereas, the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy for the
State of South Carolina has identified further the critical shortage of
affordable housing for special needs populations such as the homeless,
persons with disabilities, very low income elderly, and persons and
families needing transitional housing; and
Whereas, the provision of affordable housing by innovative partnerships
between government, nonprofit sponsors, and the private sector requires
the dedication of state financial resources to supplement and leverage
other public and private resources; and
Whereas, participation in the various programs authorized by the
National Affordable Housing Act will require that the State of South
Carolina make certain financial resources available to be used as
matching funds; and
Whereas,the General Assembly finds that the creation of a Housing
Trust Fund to provide state financial resources to assist in the provision
of affordable housing affirms the commitment of state government that
all citizens of South Carolina will have access to safe, decent, sanitary,
and affordable housing. Now, therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 13, Title 31 of the 1976 Code is amended by
adding:
"Article 4
Housing Trust Fund
Section 31-13-400. This article may be cited as the South
Carolina Housing Trust Fund Act.
Section 31-13-410. As used in this article:
(1) `Affordable housing' means residential housing that, so long
as the same is occupied by lower or very low income households,
requires payment of monthly housing costs of no more than thirty
percent of one-twelfth adjusted annual income.
(2) `Annual income' means the anticipated total income from all
sources received by the family head and spouse and by each additional
member of the household, including all net income derived from assets.
(3) `Authority' means the South Carolina State Housing Finance
and Development Authority.
(4) `Board' means the Board of Commissioners of the South
Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority.
(5) `Executive director' means the executive director of the
authority.
(6) `Lower income household' means a single person, family, or
unrelated persons living together whose annual income adjusted for
household size is more than fifty percent, but less than eighty percent,
of the median income of the area of residence as determined by the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(7) `Substandard unit' means a housing unit which, by reason of
dilapidation, deterioration, age or obsolescence, inadequate provision for
ventilation, light, air, sanitation, or open spaces, high density of
population and overcrowding, unsanitary or unsafe conditions, or the
existence of conditions which endanger life or property by fire and other
causes, or any combination of these factors, is conducive to ill health,
transmission of disease, or has an adverse effect upon the public health,
safety, morals, or welfare of its inhabitants.
(8) `Trust fund' or `fund' means the South Carolina Housing Trust
Fund.
(9) `Very low income household' means a household that has an
annual income adjusted for household size of less than fifty percent of
the median income of the area of residence as determined by the United
States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Section 31-13-420. (A) There is established the South Carolina
Housing Trust Fund. The State Treasurer shall serve as trustee for the
fund and shall hold the monies deposited in the fund separate and
distinct from the general funds of the State. The trust fund consists of
monies received under this article and any other sources of revenue,
public or private, including donations, dedicated for inclusion in the
trust fund. The State Treasurer shall deposit the funds in a separate
account to be administered by the authority in accordance with the
guidelines and purposes established by this article. Interest, repayment,
or other increment resulting from investment must be deposited in the
fund.
(B) The monies in the trust fund must be paid out only upon the
signature of the chairman of the board or a designee of the board and the
signature of the executive director, upon the written warrants of the
Comptroller General drawn on the State Treasurer to the payee
designated in the requisition. The authority shall maintain separate
records and books of accounts for all monies deposited into the fund.
The authority is entitled to reimbursement for the costs or expenses
incurred in the administration and operation of the fund from monies
deposited into the fund.
(C) The board shall make a separate annual report to the Governor
and the General Assembly with respect to the fund pursuant to Article
11, Chapter 1 of Title 1.
Section 31-13-430. (A) An advisory committee is established
consisting of nine members, three of whom must be selected by the
board and must include one member of a very low income household,
one member of a lower income household, a representative of a
nonprofit organization which pursues housing programs, and one
representative of each of the following:
(1) South Carolina Low Income Housing Coalition;
(2) South Carolina Citizens for Housing;
(3) South Carolina Association of Housing Authority
Executive Directors;
(4) South Carolina Community Development Association;
(5) South Carolina Housing Partnership; and
(6) South Carolina Association of Regional Councils.
(B) On or before the first day of January of each year the presiding
officer of each organization represented on the advisory committee shall
notify the chairman of the authority of the name, mailing address, and
telephone number of its representative on the advisory committee. It is
the duty of the chairman to ensure that timely notification of each
meeting of the advisory committee is provided to each of its members.
(C) The advisory committee shall meet at least four times a year
to advise the board of particularly critical housing needs, to recommend
to the board those areas of the State in which requests for proposals for
developments should be published, the type of development for which
proposals should be solicited, and to provide other pertinent information
to the board as the members of the advisory committee consider
appropriate.
(D) Members of the advisory committee are entitled to per diem
and mileage as provided by law for members of state boards,
committees, and commissions.
Section 31-13-440. (A) Pursuant to this article and in accordance
with the procedures adopted by the board, the executive director is
responsible for the day-to-day operations of the fund.
(B) The executive director shall:
(1) develop and implement a comprehensive program for the
use of the fund, which ensures the equitable distribution of monies in the
fund between urban and rural areas of South Carolina;
(2) develop and implement an application and selection system
to identify housing sponsors and affordable housing developments
which qualify to receive assistance from the fund;
(3) provide technical assistance to prospective applicants;
(4) monitor developments receiving assistance from the fund
to ensure that the developments are operated in a manner consistent with
this article and in accordance with the representations made by the
sponsors of these developments to the fund; and
(5) ensure that all developments receiving assistance from the
fund are operated in a manner consistent with the South Carolina Fair
Housing Law.
(C) The executive director may utilize members of the authority
staff as considered necessary to discharge the executive director's
responsibilities under this section.
Section 31-13-450. (A) Except as otherwise provided in this
section, all monies deposited in the fund must be used to increase the
supply of safe, decent, and affordable housing for members of the very
low or lower income households within this State. These monies must
be used to:
(1) encourage affordable home ownership and rental housing
opportunities for the very low and lower income individuals and
households;
(2) to assist in the creation and preservation of safe, decent,
affordable, and sanitary housing for very low and lower income persons
through the provision of loans and grants; (3) to increase the
availability of affordable rental and owner-occupied housing for special
needs populations, including housing for the elderly, the handicapped,
and the homeless;
(4) to promote creativity and flexibility in the design of
programs at the local level to bring about the creation of safe, decent,
affordable, and sanitary home ownership and rental housing in quality
living environments;
(5) to maximize the utilization of federal housing assistance
programs and to leverage all other public and private resources; and
(6) establish a spirit of partnership between government,
nonprofit, and for-profit concerns and those in need of affordable
housing.
(B) Monies deposited in the fund must be used to finance, in
whole or in part, affordable housing projects and developments eligible
under this section. Monies deposited in the fund may be used to make
loans, grants, or provide for matching funds to secure financial
assistance made available through federal funding and other programs
to eligible applicants for the provision of affordable housing. Only
nonprofit sponsors are eligible to receive grants for the implementation
of an affordable housing proposal. Funds for resident services programs
which further independence and responsibility may be included in a
proposal submitted to the fund but may not exceed two percent of the
total funds requested in the proposal.
(C) In evaluating proposals for the use of monies deposited in the
fund, the board shall ensure, to the extent feasible, that monies are
allocated to affordable housing for home ownership or rental housing
developments which provide housing to members of very low income
households. No project or development is eligible to receive assistance
from the fund unless the housing units located in the project or
development are reserved exclusively for the use of members of very
low or lower income households for not less than thirty years, beginning
on the date on which ten percent of the units in the development or
project become occupied.
(D) The board shall ensure that monies deposited in the fund are
allocated only to projects which are eligible projects. An eligible project
consists of one or more residential buildings containing similarly
constructed units, the site on which the building is located, and any
functionally related facilities. Multiple buildings may constitute a
project only if bounded together as a result of proximate location or
common ownership and financing.
(E) The board may approve the withdrawal of monies deposited
in the fund for the acquisition and rehabilitation of substandard housing
units, new construction of housing units, to provide assistance for the
construction or rehabilitation of shelters for the homeless, or for such
other programs which increase the supply of safe, decent, and affordable
housing for members of very low or lower income households which the
board considers appropriate to meet the purposes stated in this section.
Section 31-13-460. Units of state, regional, and local governments,
including municipal corporations and nonprofit and for-profit housing
sponsors, are eligible to apply to receive monies from the fund for the
development of affordable housing.
Section 31-13-470. (A) Monies within the fund must be allocated
to eligible applicants, who have submitted proposals for eligible
projects, in accordance with funding cycles established at least annually
by the board.
(B) In allocating monies within the fund, priority must be given
to applications which provide for one or more of the following:
(1) affordable housing proposals which serve very low income
households;
(2) local government contributions to project costs, including
infrastructure improvements, contributions of publicly-owned land for
housing development, and the provision of funds for resident services;
(3) proposals which utilize financial assistance available
through federal funding or other programs to leverage monies available
from the fund;
(4) applicant contributions to project costs;
(5) proposals submitted by nonprofit sponsors for the
provision of affordable housing;
(6) coordination with other housing and infrastructure
investments in the community;
(7) provision of housing to persons whose current housing
fails to meet basic standards of health and safety and who have little
prospect of improving the condition of their housing.
SECTION 2. Section 12-21-380 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 12-21-380. A deed, instrument, or writing whereby
any lands, tenements, or other realty sold is granted, assigned,
transferred, or otherwise conveyed to, or vested in, the purchaser or any
other person by his the purchaser's direction when the
consideration or value of the interest or property conveyed exclusive of
the value of any lien or encumbrance remaining thereon on
the interest or property at the time of sale exceeds one hundred
dollars and does not exceed five hundred dollars must be taxed one
dollar and ten sixty cents and for each additional five
hundred dollars, or fractional part thereof, one dollar and ten
sixty cents. Ten cents of the tax on those sales over one
hundred dollars but not exceeding five hundred dollars and ten cents of
the tax on each additional increment of five hundred dollars must be
paid to the Heritage Land Trust Fund. Fifty cents of the tax on those
sales over one hundred dollars but not exceeding five hundred dollars
and fifty cents of the tax on each additional increment of five hundred
dollars must be paid to the South Carolina Housing Trust Fund.
Any A deed, instrument, or writing whereby any lands,
tenements, or other realty is granted, assigned, transferred, or otherwise
conveyed to, or vested in, the State of South Carolina, or any of its
political subdivisions and departments, for highway or other public
purposes is exempted from the documentary tax requirements of this
section, and any clerk of court or register of mesne conveyances may
record these deeds or other instruments without revenue stamps affixed
and without penalty."
SECTION 3. (A) Article 3 of Chapter 3, Title 31 of the 1976 Code
is redesignated as Article 1 of Chapter 13, Title 31 and entitled
"State Housing Finance and Development Authority" and
Sections 31-3-110 through 31-3-180 are redesignated as Sections
31-13-20 through 31-13-90 respectively.
(B) Section 31-13-170 of the 1976 Code is redesignated as Section
31-13-10 and placed in Article 1 of Chapter 13, Title 31 as designated
by Section 3(A) of this act.
(C) Sections 31-13-160 through 31-13-340 of the 1976 Code are
designated as Article 3 of Chapter 13, Title 31 to be entitled
"Issuance of Bonds and Other Obligations".
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the
Governor.
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