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Current Status Bill Number:View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.4024 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:20010425 Primary Sponsor:Gilham All Sponsors:Gilham, Allison, Battle, Bowers, Hayes, Jennings, Keegan, Kelley, Lloyd, Miller, Rivers, Rodgers, Sinclair, Snow and Webb Drafted Document Number:l:\council\bills\bbm\10229htc01.doc Residing Body:House Current Committee:Ways and Means Committee 30 HWM Subject:Local option gasoline and motor fuels tax, county may impose by referendum for road maintenance; Taxation, Fuel History Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved ______ ________ ______________________________________ _______ ____________ House 20010425 Introduced, read first time, 30 HWM referred to Committee Versions of This Bill
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 7 IN CHAPTER 10 OF TITLE 4 RELATING TO LOCAL OPTION TAXES, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE A COUNTY BY REFERENDUM TO IMPOSE A GASOLINE AND MOTOR FUELS TAX AT A RATE NOT TO EXCEED FIVE CENTS A GALLON FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND ROAD MAINTENANCE IN THE COUNTY AND TO PROVIDE FOR COLLECTION OF THE TAX AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE REVENUE; AND TO AMEND SECTION 12-28-310, RELATING TO THE STATE GASOLINE AND MOTOR FUELS TAX, SO AS TO ALLOW THE LOCAL GASOLINE TAX AUTHORIZED BY THIS ACT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 10, Title 4 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 4-10-910. For a specific period of time and subject to the referendum and other requirements of this article, the governing body of a county may by ordinance impose a tax not to exceed five cents a gallon for each gallon of gasoline and other motor fuel sold at retail within the county.
Section 4-10-920. (A) When the governing body of a county imposes the tax authorized by this article, it shall forward a copy of the ordinance to the county election commission. The ordinance must specify the tax rate and maximum time, stated in calendar years, not to exceed five years, for which the tax may be imposed.
(B) Upon receipt of the ordinance, the county election commission shall conduct a referendum on the question of implementing the tax. The referendum must be held at the time of the general election. The commission must 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 county.
(C) Only one question may be included on the referendum ballot and the question must read substantially as follows:
'Must an additional tax on gasoline and other motor fuels equal to cent(s) a gallon be imposed in County for ______ year(s) with all revenues of the tax used for road construction and maintenance in the county?
(D) All qualified electors desiring to vote in favor of imposing the tax shall vote 'yes' and all qualified electors opposed to imposing the tax shall vote 'no'. If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of imposing the tax, then the tax is imposed as provided in this article; otherwise, the tax is not imposed. The election commission shall conduct the referendum under the election laws of this State, mutatis mutandis, and shall certify the result to the governing body of the county and to the Department of Revenue.
Section 4-10-930. (A) If the tax is approved in the referendum, the tax is imposed on the first day of March following the date of the referendum.
(B) The tax terminates on the final day of the maximum time specified in the imposition ordinance.
(C) No county may impose at any time more than a five cents a gallon gasoline and other motor fuels tax under this article. A referendum may be held to impose a tax before the expiration of an existing tax, but the reimposition may not occur before the expiration of the tax then in effect, and the referendum must be held at the time of the general election preceding the expiration of the tax.
(D) If the governing body of the county adopts an ordinance to reimpose the tax authorized by this article without interruption at the same rate and for the same duration as the preceding imposition, the provisions of subsections (A), (B), and (D) of Section 4-10-920 apply, but the question must read substantially as follows:
'Must the cent(s) a gallon local gasoline and motor fuels tax currently imposed in County for road construction and maintenance in the county be imposed for an additional ______ year(s)?
Section 4-10-940. The tax imposed by this article applies at the rate provided in the ordinance on each gallon of gasoline and other motor fuels sold at retail in a county subject to the tax imposed pursuant to Section 12-28-310. The tax must be prorated for a quantity less than one gallon. The tax imposed by this article must be reported, paid, collected, and enforced in the manner provided in Chapter 36 of Title 12 for sales and use taxes. The Department of Revenue shall revise sales tax returns to conform to the requirements of this article.
Section 4-10-950. The revenue from the local gasoline tax must be credited to a separate holding fund in the State Treasury established to receive the revenues of the county imposing the tax. There is established in the treasury of a county in which this tax is imposed a county gas tax fund separate from the county general fund and all other funds. Earnings on this gas tax fund must be credited to it. The State Treasurer shall distribute the revenues of the holding fund monthly to the county's gas tax fund and gas tax fund revenues may be expended on the authority of the governing body of the county only for road construction and road maintenance in the county.
Section 4-10-960. The Department of Revenue may promulgate regulations and prescribe forms and procedures as necessary to implement the provisions of this article."
SECTION 2. Section 12-28-310 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 12-28-310. Subject to the exemptions provided in this chapter, a tax of sixteen cents a gallon is imposed on all gasoline used or consumed in this State and upon all diesel fuel used or consumed in this State in producing or generating power for propelling motor vehicles. The tax levied on taxable motor fuels pursuant to this chapter is a levy and assessment on the consumer, and the levy and assessment on other persons as specified in this chapter are as agents of the State for the collection of the tax. This section does not affect the method of collecting the tax as provided in this chapter. The tax imposed by this section must be collected and paid at those times, in the manner, and by those persons specified in this chapter. The license tax imposed by this section shall be is in lieu of all sales, use, or other excise tax which may otherwise be imposed by any municipality, county, or other local political subdivision of the State except a local gasoline and motor fuels tax imposed pursuant to Article 7, Chapter 10 of Title 4."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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