Current Status Introducing Body:Senate Bill Number:698 Primary Sponsor:Elliott Committee Number:06 Type of Legislation:GB Subject:Infrastructure improvements, admissions tax Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Finance Computer Document Number:JIC/5777HC.93 Introduced Date:19930415 Last History Body:Senate Last History Date:19930415 Last History Type:Introduced, read first time, referred to Committee Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:Elliott Rankin Greg Smith Type of Legislation:General Bill
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN Leg Involved
____ ______ ____________ ______________________________ ___ ____________
698 Senate 19930415 Introduced, read first time, 06
referred to Committee
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TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 12-21-2423 SO AS TO DEDICATE ONE-FOURTH OF ADMISSIONS TAX REVENUES FROM THE FIRST FIFTEEN YEARS OF OPERATION OF A MAJOR TOURISM OR RECREATION FACILITY TO THE COUNTY OR MUNICIPALITY IN WHICH THE FACILITY IS LOCATED FOR ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, TO DEDICATE AN ADDITIONAL ONE-FOURTH OF SUCH ADMISSIONS TAXES FOR FIFTEEN YEARS TO A SPECIAL TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT FUND WHICH MUST BE USED TO PROVIDE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS TO LOCAL UNITS OF GOVERNMENT WITHIN FIVE MILES OF A MAJOR TOURISM OR RECREATION FACILITY, TO DEFINE "MAJOR TOURISM OR RECREATION FACILITY", "ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS", AND "DESIGNATED DEVELOPMENT AREA", AND TO AMEND SECTION 41-45-20, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE COORDINATING COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, SO AS TO GIVE THE COUNCIL AUTHORITY TO APPROVE LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 17, Chapter 21, Title 12 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 12-21-2423. (A) As used in this section:
(1) `Major tourism or recreation facility' means an establishment or designated development area to which an aggregate investment inland and new capital assets or in refurbishing or expanding an existing facility of at least twenty million dollars is made within a five-year period and which is used for a theme park, an amusement park, an historical, an educational, or a trade museum, a botanical or zoological garden, a cultural center, a theater, a motion picture production studio, a convention center, an arena, an auditorium, a golf course, or other spectator or participatory sports facility nd similar establishments. One or more such establishments may be included within a predetermined development area as part of the aggregate investment of at least twenty million dollars.
Secondary support facilities such as hotels, food, and retail services located within the development area or immediately adjacent to and which directly support the primary tourism or recreation facility are included as part of the aggregate investment of at least twenty million dollars for the primary tourism or recreation facility. The aggregate investment totaling at least twenty million dollars may include private or public sector funds or a combination of private and public sector funds.
(2) `Additional infrastructure improvement' means a public-owned road, a right-of-way, a bridge, a parking area, a water or sewer facility, an electric or a gas facility, a landfill or waste treatment facility, a telephone or communications system, a hospital or other medical facility, a transportation facility, or similar infrastructure facility including, but not limited to, a public-owned tourism or recreation facility which generated the admissions tax from which funds were paid to a county, municipality, or special purpose district.
(3) `Designated development area' includes, but is not limited to, a downtown or waterfront redevelopment area, a local historic district, redevelopment of a closed military facility, or a newly-designated economic development site that includes tourism or recreation facilities as described in this section. This designated development area and its boundaries must be determined in advance by municipal or county ordinance, or both.
(B) An amount equal to one-fourth of the license tax on admissions to a major tourism or recreation facility collected by the South Carolina Tax Commission beginning when admissions taxes are first paid with respect to any of the facilities and ending fifteen years thereafter must be paid to the county or municipality in which the major tourism or recreation facility is located to be used directly or indirectly for additional infrastructure improvements. If the facility is located in an unincorporated area of a county, the payment must be made to the county governing body and, if located within the corporate limits of a municipality, the payment must be made to the municipal governing body. The county or municipal governing body may share funds received from these payments with another county, special purpose district, or municipal governing body to provide additional infrastructure facilities or services in support of the tourism or recreation facility that generates the admission tax revenues responsible for the payments. An additional amount equal to one-fourth of the license tax on admissions to a major tourism or recreation facility collected by the Tax Commission beginning when admissions taxes are first paid with respect to any of the facilities and ending fifteen years thereafter must be transferred to the State Treasurer to be deposited into a special tourism infrastructure development fund and distributed pursuant to the approval of the South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development as provided in this section. Deposits into the fund must be separated into special accounts based on which facility generated the transfer. Local units of governments within five miles of a major tourism or recreation facility may apply to the council for infrastructure development grants from the special account for which they are eligible. The amount of the funds received by each of the eligible local governments must be determined by the council based upon its review of a grant application submitted by each government. Preference must be given to applications for projects which directly or indirectly serve the generating facility or other development occurring as a result of the generating facility. Grants may run for more than one year and may be based upon a specified dollar amount or a percentage of the funds annually deposited into the special account. After approval of a grant application the council may approve the release of funds to eligible local governments. Funds must be used directly or indirectly for additional infrastructure improvements provided in this section. The council shall adopt guidelines to administer the fund including, but not limited to, tourism infrastructure development grant application criteria for review and approval of grant applications. Expenses incurred by the council in administering the fund may be paid from the fund.
(C) If an existing establishment or designated development area which includes facilities that generate admissions tax revenues is expanded with an aggregate investment in new land and new capital assets of at least twenty million dollars, the amount of admissions tax revenues to be returned to local governments for a fifteen-year period under the terms of this section is the amount in excess of the annual admissions tax revenues previously generated by the establishment or establishments within the development area. This amount is determined by using the average of the admissions tax revenues generated during the two fiscal years preceding the first year of new and expanded land and capital assets of at least twenty million dollars."
SECTION 2. Section 41-45-20 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 171 of 1991, is further amended by adding an appropriately lettered item to read:
"( ) Approval of infrastructure development grants for local units of government pursuant to Section 12-21-2423."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 1993, and applies to any major tourism or recreation facility as defined in Section 12-21-2423 of the 1976 Code as added by Section 1 which opens to the general public on or after January 1, 1993.