Download This Bill in Microsoft Word format
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
A8 of 2005, R406, H3530
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Cato, Wilkins, Sandifer, Young, Cotty, Edge and Owens
Document Path: l:\council\bills\gjk\20165mm03.doc
Introduced in the House on February 6, 2003
Introduced in the Senate on March 4, 2003
Last Amended on June 2, 2004
Passed by the General Assembly on June 3, 2004
Became law without Governor's signature, January 13, 2005
Summary: Public Service Commission; authority, revisions
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2/6/2003 House Introduced and read first time HJ-8
2/6/2003 House Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry
HJ-9
2/6/2003 Scrivener's error corrected
2/13/2003 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Cotty
2/19/2003 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment Labor,
Commerce and Industry HJ-2
2/20/2003 House Requests for debate-Rep(s). Cato, Richardson, Trotter,
Rice, Scarborough, Skelton, Bowers, JE Smith,
Sandifer, EH Pitts, Moody-Lawrence, Jennings, Hayes,
Clyburn and Branham HJ-22
2/20/2003 Scrivener's error corrected
2/26/2003 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Edge, Owens
2/26/2003 House Amended HJ-37
2/26/2003 House Read second time HJ-95
2/26/2003 House Roll call Yeas-103 Nays-8 HJ-96
2/26/2003 House Ordered to third reading with notice of amendments HJ-94
2/27/2003 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-25
2/27/2003 Scrivener's error corrected
3/4/2003 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-12
3/4/2003 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-12
4/9/2003 Senate Recalled from Committee on Judiciary SJ-13
5/28/2003 Senate Read second time SJ-40
5/28/2003 Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of amendments SJ-40
5/29/2003 Senate Debate interrupted SJ-131
6/3/2003 Senate Debate interrupted SJ-76
6/4/2003 Senate Amended
6/4/2003 Senate Read third time and returned to House with amendments
6/4/2003 House Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry
HJ-155
6/2/2004 House Recalled from Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry
HJ-105
6/2/2004 House Amended HJ-107
6/2/2004 House Read second time HJ-107
6/3/2004 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-19
6/3/2004 Senate Concurred in House amendment and enrolled SJ-37
6/3/2004 Ratified R 406
1/13/2005 Became law without Governor's signature
1/19/2005 Copies available
1/19/2005 Effective date 01/13/05
2/16/2005 Act No. 8
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
2/6/2003
2/6/2003-A
2/19/2003
2/20/2003
2/26/2003
2/27/2003
4/9/2003
6/4/2003
6/2/2004
(A8, R406, H3530 of 2004)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 58-9-2200, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS IN CONNECTION WITH MUNICIPAL CHARGES TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDERS, SO AS TO FURTHER DEFINE "SERVICE ADDRESS" TO INCLUDE THE ORIGINATION POINT OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SIGNAL FOR POSTPAID CALLING SERVICES AND TO DEFINE "POSTPAID CALLING SERVICE"; TO AMEND SECTION 58-9-2220, RELATING TO MAXIMUM RATES FOR BUSINESS LICENSE TAXES FOR RETAIL TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES, SO AS TO REVAMP THE CALCULATIONS OF THE MAXIMUM BUSINESS LICENSE TAX A MUNICIPALITY MAY LEVY ON THE SALE OF RETAIL COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES TO ONE PERCENT OF THE GROSS INCOME DERIVED FROM THE SALE; AND TO AMEND SECTION 58-9-2230, RELATING TO PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE FRANCHISE OR CONSENT FEE AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE CHARGED IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF A PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY ARE INSTEAD OF A PERMIT FEE OR OTHER FEE ASSESSED ON A TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROVIDER FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE PROVIDER'S OCCUPATION OF OR WORK WITHIN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Definitions
SECTION 1. Section 58-9-2200(6) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 112 of 1999, is amended to read:
"(6) 'Service address' means the location of the telecommunications equipment from which telecommunications services are originated or at which telecommunications services are received by a retail customer. If this location is not a defined location, as in the case of mobile phones, paging systems, maritime systems, and the like, 'service address' means the location of the retail customer's primary use of the telecommunications equipment or the billing address the customer gives to the service provider, provided that the billing address is within the licensed service area of the service provider. A sale of postpaid calling services is sourced to the origination point of the telecommunications signal as first identified by either (i) the seller's telecommunications system; or (ii) information received by the seller from its service provider, if the system used to transport such signals is not that of the seller."
Definitions
SECTION 2. Section 58-9-2200 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 112 of 1999, is amended by adding an appropriately numbered item at the end to read:
"( ) 'Postpaid calling service' means the telecommunications service obtained by making a payment on a call-by-call basis either through the use of a credit card or payment mechanism such as a bank card, travel card, credit card, or debit card, or by charge made to a telephone number that is not associated with the origination or termination of the telecommunications service."
Maximum business license tax
SECTION 3. Section 58-9-2220(2) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 112 of 1999, is amended to read:
"(2) The maximum business license tax that may be levied by a municipality on the gross income derived from the sale of retail telecommunications services for the preceding calendar or fiscal year which either originate or terminate in the municipality and which are charged to a service address within the municipality regardless of where these amounts are billed or paid and on which a business license tax has not been paid to another municipality for a business license tax year beginning after 2003 is one percent of gross income derived from the sale of retail telecommunication services."
Public rights of way
SECTION 4. Section 58-9-2230 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 112 of 1999, is amended to read:
"Section 58-9-2230. (A) A municipality shall manage its public rights of way on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis and may impose a fair and reasonable franchise or consent fee on a telecommunications company for use of the public streets and public property to provide telecommunications service unless the telecommunications company has an existing contractual, constitutional, statutory, or other right to construct or operate in the public streets and public property including, but not limited to, consent previously granted by a municipality. A fair and reasonable franchise or consent fee imposed upon a telecommunications company shall not exceed the annual sum set forth in the following schedule based on population:
Tier I--1--1,000--$ 100.00
Tier II--1,001--3,000--$ 200.00
Tier III--3,001--5,000--$ 300.00
Tier IV--5,001--10,000--$ 500.00
Tier V--10,001--25,000--$ 750.00
Tier VI--Over 25,000--$1,000.00
This franchise or consent fee is in lieu of any permit fee, encroachment fee, degradation fee, or other fee assessed on a telecommunications provider for its occupation of or work within the public right of way.
(B) A municipality shall manage its public rights of way on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis and may impose an administrative fee upon a telecommunications company that is not subject to subsection (A) in this section and that constructs or installs or has previously constructed or installed facilities in the public streets and public property to provide telecommunications service. The fee imposed on a telecommunications company shall not exceed the annual sum set forth in the following schedule based on population:
Tier I--1--1,000--$ 100.00
Tier II--1,001--3,000--$ 200.00
Tier III--3,001--5,000--$ 300.00
Tier IV--5,001--10,000--$ 500.00
Tier V--10,001--25,000--$ 750.00
Tier VI--Over 25,000--$1,000.00
This administrative fee is in lieu of any permit fee, encroachment fee, degradation fee, or other fee assessed on a telecommunications provider for its occupation of or work within the public right of way.
(C) A municipality shall not levy any tax, license, fee, or other assessment on a telecommunications service, other than (1) the business license tax authorized by this article, and (2) franchise fees as defined and regulated under 47 U.S.C. Section 542; provided, however, that nothing in this subsection restricts the right of a municipality to impose ad valorem taxes, sales taxes, or other taxes lawfully imposed on other businesses within the municipalities. This subsection does not prohibit a municipality from assessing upon a telecommunications company fees of general applicability such as sanitation fees, building permit fees, and zoning permit fees that are not related to the telecommunications company's occupation of or work within the public right of way.
(D) A telecommunications company, including a mobile telecommunications company providing mobile telecommunications services, is not considered to be using public streets or public property unless it has constructed or installed physical facilities in public streets or on public property. The use of public streets or public property under lease, site license, or other similar contractual arrangement between a municipality and a telecommunications company does not constitute the use of public streets or public property for purposes of this article. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, a telecommunications company is not considered to be using public streets or public property for purposes of this article solely because of its use of airwaves within a municipality. If a telecommunications company, including a telecommunications company providing mobile telecommunications services, requests of a municipality permission to construct or install physical facilities in public streets or on public property, that request must be considered by the municipality in a manner that is competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory as among all telecommunications companies."
Time effective
SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Ratified the 3rd day of June, 2004.
Became law without the signature of the Governor -- 1/13/05.
This web page was last updated on Monday, December 7, 2009 at 10:27 A.M.