Download This Bill in Microsoft Word format
A359, R392, H4815
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Harrell, Merrill, Thompson, Brady, Stavrinakis, Haley, Ballentine, Cato, Cooper, Delleney, Harrison, Limehouse, Sandifer, Scarborough, Shoopman, Taylor, Viers, Walker, Young, Mahaffey, Neilson, Bales, R. Brown, Herbkersman, Edge, Bingham, Simrill, Whipper, Bedingfield and Bowers
Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\10423htc08.doc
Companion/Similar bill(s): 1309, 4887
Introduced in the House on March 5, 2008
Introduced in the Senate on April 29, 2008
Last Amended on May 29, 2008
Passed by the General Assembly on June 4, 2008
Governor's Action: June 11, 2008, Vetoed
Legislative veto action(s): Veto overridden
Summary: Motion Picture Incentive Act of 2008
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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3/5/2008 House Introduced and read first time HJ-97
3/5/2008 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-97
3/26/2008 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Mahaffey
4/17/2008 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment Ways and
Means HJ-4
4/21/2008 Scrivener's error corrected
4/22/2008 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Neilson, Bales
4/23/2008 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: R.Brown,
Herbkersman, Edge, Bingham, Simrill, Whipper
4/23/2008 House Debate adjourned until Thursday, April 24, 2008 HJ-14
4/24/2008 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Bedingfield,
Bowers
4/24/2008 House Amended HJ-33
4/24/2008 House Read second time HJ-47
4/24/2008 House Unanimous consent for third reading on next legislative
day HJ-47
4/25/2008 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-1
4/25/2008 Scrivener's error corrected
4/29/2008 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-13
4/29/2008 Senate Referred to Committee on Finance SJ-13
5/28/2008 Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment Finance SJ-18
5/29/2008 Senate Committee Amendment Adopted SJ-50
5/29/2008 Senate Amended SJ-50
5/29/2008 Senate Read second time SJ-50
5/30/2008 Scrivener's error corrected
6/3/2008 Senate Read third time and returned to House with amendments
SJ-23
6/4/2008 House Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled HJ-36
6/5/2008 Ratified R 392
6/11/2008 Vetoed by Governor
6/25/2008 House Veto overridden by originating body Yeas-93 Nays-0
6/25/2008 Senate Veto overridden Yeas-29 Nays-9
7/10/2008 Copies available
7/10/2008 Effective date 07/01/08
7/14/2008 Act No. 359
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
3/5/2008
4/17/2008
4/21/2008
4/24/2008
4/25/2008
5/28/2008
5/29/2008
5/30/2008
(A359, R392, H4815)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 1-30-25, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND SECTION 1-30-80, RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, RECREATION AND TOURISM, SO AS TO MOVE THE SOUTH CAROLINA FILM COMMISSION FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, RECREATION AND TOURISM AND PROVIDE TRANSITION PROVISIONS; AND TO AMEND CHAPTER 62 OF TITLE 12, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA MOTION PICTURE INCENTIVE ACT, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING AMENDMENTS REFLECTING THE TRANSFER OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA FILM COMMISSION.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
South Carolina Film Commission transferred
SECTION 1. Section 1-30-25 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 56 of 2005, is further amended to read:
"Section 1-30-25. The following agencies, boards, and commissions, including all of the allied, advisory, affiliated, or related entities as well as the employees, funds, property, and all contractual rights and obligations associated with any such agency, except for those subdivisions specifically included under another department, are transferred to and incorporated in and must be administered as part of the Department of Commerce to be initially divided into divisions for Aeronautics, Advisory Coordinating Council for Economic Development, State Development, Public Railways, and Savannah Valley Development:
(A) South Carolina Aeronautics Commission, formerly provided for at Section 55-5-10, et seq.;
(B) Coordinating Council for Economic Development, formerly provided for at Section 41-45-30, et seq.;
(C) Savannah Valley Authority, formerly provided for at Section 13-9-10, et seq.;
(D) existing divisions or components of the Department of Commerce formerly a part of the State Development Board excluding the South Carolina Film Commission; and
(E) South Carolina Public Railways Commission, formerly provided for at Section 58-19-10, et seq."
South Carolina Film Commission transferred
SECTION 2. Section 1-30-80 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 1-30-80. (A) The following agencies, boards, and commissions, including all of the allied, advisory, affiliated, or related entities as well as the employees, funds, property, and all contractual rights and obligations associated with any such agency, except for those subdivisions specifically included under another department, are transferred to and incorporated in and must be administered as part of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism to include a Parks, Recreation and Tourism Division.
Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, formerly provided for at Sections 51-1-10, 51-3-10, 51-7-10, 51-9-10, and 51-11-10, et seq.
(B)(1) Effective July 1, 2008, the South Carolina Film Commission of the Department of Commerce is transferred to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism and becomes a separate division of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
(2) The South Carolina Film Commission as established in this section as a division of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism and transferred to it shall ensure that funds made available to film projects through the South Carolina Film Commission are budgeted and spent so as to further the following objectives:
(a) stimulation of economic activity to develop the potentialities of the State;
(b) conservation, restoration, and development of the natural and physical, the human and social, and the economic and productive resources of the State;
(c) promotion of a system of transportation for the State, through development and expansion of the highway, railroad, port, waterway, and airport systems;
(d) promotion and correlation of state and local activity in planning public works projects;
(e) promotion of public interest in the development of the State through cooperation with public agencies, private enterprises, and charitable and social institutions;
(f) encouragement of industrial development, private business, commercial enterprise, agricultural production, transportation, and the utilization and investment of capital within the State;
(g) assistance in the development of existing state and interstate trade, commerce, and markets for South Carolina goods and in the removal of barriers to the industrial, commercial, and agricultural development of the State;
(h) assistance in ensuring stability in employment, increasing the opportunities for employment of the citizens of the State, devising ways and means to raise the living standards of the people of the State;
(i) enhancement of the general welfare of the people; and
(j) encouragement and consideration as appropriate so as to consider race, gender, and other demographic factors to ensure nondiscrimination, inclusion, and representation of all segments of the State to the greatest extent possible."
Transition provisions
SECTION 3. (A) Where the provisions of this act transfer the South Carolina Film Commission from the Department of Commerce to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, the employees, authorized appropriations, and assets and liabilities of the South Carolina Film Commission are also transferred to and become part of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. All classified or unclassified personnel employed by the South Carolina Film Commission on the effective date of this act, either by contract or by employment at will, shall become employees of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, with the same compensation, classification, and grade level, as applicable. The State Budget and Control Board shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish this transfer in accordance with state laws and regulations.
(B) Regulations promulgated by the South Carolina Film Commission are continued and are considered to be promulgated by the South Carolina Film Commission as a division of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
(C) The Code Commissioner is directed to change or correct all references to the South Carolina Film Commission to reflect its transfer to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. References to the name of the South Carolina Film Commission in the 1976 Code or other provisions of law are considered to be and must be construed to mean appropriate references.
South Carolina Motion Picture Incentive Act conformed
SECTION 4. Chapter 62, Title 12 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
Section 12-62-10. This chapter may be cited as the 'South Carolina Motion Picture Incentive Act'.
Section 12-62-20. For purposes of this chapter:
(1) 'Company' means a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other business entity.
(2) 'Department' means the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
(3) 'Motion picture' means a feature-length film, video, television series, or commercial made in whole or in part in South Carolina, and intended for national theatrical or television viewing or as a television pilot produced by a motion picture production company. The term 'motion picture' does not include the production of television coverage of news and athletic events or a production produced by a motion picture production company if records, as required by 18 U.S.C. 2257, are to be maintained by that motion picture production company with respect to any performer portrayed in that single media or multimedia program.
(4) 'Motion picture production company' means a company engaged in the business of producing motion pictures intended for a national theatrical release or for television viewing. 'Motion picture production company' does not mean or include a company owned, affiliated, or controlled, in whole or in part, by a company or person that is in default on a loan made by the State or a loan guaranteed by the State.
(5) 'Payroll' means salary, wages, or other compensation subject to South Carolina income tax withholdings.
(6) 'Director' means the director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, or his designee.
Section 12-62-30. A motion picture production company that intends to expend in the aggregate two hundred fifty thousand dollars or more in connection with the filming or production of one or more motion pictures in the State of South Carolina within a consecutive twelve-month period, upon making application for, meeting the requirements of, and receiving written certification of that designation from the department as provided in this chapter, shall be relieved from the payment of state and local sales and use taxes administered and collected by the Department of Revenue on funds expended in South Carolina in connection with the filming or production of a motion picture or pictures. The production of television coverage of news and athletic events is specifically excluded from the provisions of this chapter.
Section 12-62-40. (A) A motion picture production company that intends to film all or parts of a motion picture in South Carolina and desires to be relieved from the payment of the state and local sales and use taxes, administered and collected by the Department of Revenue, as provided in this chapter shall provide an estimate of total expenditures expected to be made in South Carolina in connection with the filming or production of the motion picture. The estimate of expenditures must be filed with the department before the commencement of filming in South Carolina.
(B) At the time the motion picture production company provides the estimate of expenditures to the department, it also shall designate a member or representative of the motion picture production company to work with the department and the Department of Revenue on reporting of expenditures and other information necessary to take advantage of the tax relief afforded by this chapter.
(C)(1) An application for the tax relief provided by this chapter must be accepted only from those motion picture production companies that report anticipated expenditures in the State in the aggregate equal to or exceeding two hundred fifty thousand dollars in connection with the filming or production of one or more motion pictures in the State within a consecutive twelve-month period.
(2) The application must be approved by the director.
(3) Once the application is approved by the director, the Department of Revenue shall issue a sales and use tax exemption certificate to the motion picture production company as evidence of the exemption. The exemption is effective on the date the application is approved by the director.
(D) A motion picture production company that is approved and receives a sales and use tax exemption certificate but fails to expend two hundred fifty thousand dollars within a consecutive twelve-month period is liable for the sales and use taxes that would have been paid had the approval not been granted; except, that the motion picture production company must be given a sixty-day period in which to pay the sales and use taxes without incurring penalties. The sales and use taxes are considered due as of the date the tangible personal property was purchased in or brought into South Carolina for use, storage, or consumption.
(E) Upon completion of the motion picture, the motion picture production company must return the sales and use tax exemption certificate to the Department of Revenue and submit a report to the department of the actual expenditures made in South Carolina in connection with the filming or production of the motion picture.
Section 12-62-50. (A)(1) The South Carolina Film Commission may rebate to a motion picture production company a portion of the South Carolina payroll of the employment of persons subject to South Carolina income tax withholdings in connection with production of a motion picture. The rebate may not exceed fifteen percent of the total aggregate South Carolina payroll for persons subject to South Carolina income tax withholdings employed in connection with the production when total production costs in South Carolina equal or exceed one million dollars during the taxable year. The rebates in total may not annually exceed ten million dollars and shall come from the state's general fund. For purposes of this section, 'total aggregate payroll' does not include the salary of an employee whose salary is equal to or greater than one million dollars for each motion picture.
(2)(a) For purposes of this section, an employee is an individual directly involved in the filming or post-production of a motion picture in South Carolina and who is an employee of a:
(i) motion picture production company that is directly involved in the filming or post-production of a motion picture in South Carolina; or
(ii) personal service corporation retained by a motion picture production company to provide persons used directly in the filming or post-production of a motion picture in South Carolina; or
(iii) payroll services or loan out company that is retained by a motion picture production company to provide employees who work directly in the filming or post-production of a motion picture in South Carolina.
(b) For his wages to qualify for the rebate, the employee must be certified by the department as a qualifying employee and the employee must have had South Carolina income tax withholding withheld and remitted to the Department of Revenue by a company described in item (2)(a).
(3) The rebate applies with respect to an employee described in subitem (a)(ii) or (iii) only if, before commencement of filming in South Carolina, the personal services corporation, payroll services company, or loan out company is approved and certified by the department, and makes an irrevocable assignment of its rebate to the motion picture production company that produced the motion picture. The assignment must be made on a form provided by the Department of Revenue, which must include a waiver of confidentiality pursuant to Section 12-54-240. Upon assignment, the rebate may be paid only to the motion picture production company.
(B)(1) The rebate provided in subsection (A) is available to the motion picture production company at the end of all filming in South Carolina in connection with the motion picture. The motion picture production company producing the motion picture must apply to the department for a certificate of completion once filming in South Carolina is complete. The motion picture production company must provide the information the department considers necessary to determine if the one million dollar expenditure requirement has been met.
(2) A motion picture production company may claim the rebate by filing a request for rebate with the department once the certificate of completion is obtained. The request for rebate must be filed by the last day of February of the year following the year in which the certificate of completion is obtained. To claim the rebate, the motion picture production company and all companies described in subsection (A)(2)(a)(ii) or (iii) must be current with respect to all taxes due and owing the State at the time of filing the request for rebate. If the motion picture production company or a company described in subsection (A)(2)(a)(ii) or (iii) is not current with respect to all taxes due and owing the State, the motion picture production company is permanently barred from claiming the rebate.
(3) The motion picture production company must attach to its request for rebate a copy of the certificate of completion and a copy of all assignments of the rebate, if applicable.
(C) A motion picture production company claiming a rebate pursuant to this section, and all companies described in subsection (A)(2)(a)(ii) or (iii), must make payroll books and records available for inspection to the commission and the department at the times requested by the commission or the department. Each motion picture production company claiming the rebate, at the time of filing, must provide a report to both the commission and the department that includes the project's name, the name of each employee that worked on the motion picture, the social security number for each employee, the dates employed, the dates the employee worked on the motion picture, a job description for each employee, the total gross wages for each employee, the South Carolina taxable wages subject to withholding for each employee, the amount of rebate attributable to that employee, and other information considered necessary by the commission or the department. The report also must contain the total amount of withholding attributable to all employees that worked on the motion picture in South Carolina.
(D) For purposes of this section, and as an exception to Section 12-54-240, a motion picture production company and a company described in subsection (A)(2)(a)(ii) or (iii) agree that the commission and the department may share or provide information concerning the request for rebate and the certificate of completion among the respective taxpayers and the respective agencies.
Section 12-62-55. At the time the motion picture production company is certified by the department, it may make an irrevocable assignment of future payments attributable to the rebates made pursuant to Section 12-62-40 or 12-62-50 to a designated trustee. For purposes of this chapter, 'designated trustee' means the single financier or financial institution designated by the council to receive all assignments of payments made pursuant to this chapter and to the terms of an agreement entered into by the qualifying motion picture production company. If a qualifying motion picture production company elects to assign payments to the designated trustee, the election must be made on a form provided by the department, including a waiver of confidentiality pursuant to Section 12-54-240, and the payments may be paid only to the designated trustee. The qualifying motion picture production company must file an application for the assignment with the director no later than thirty days after filming begins in South Carolina.
Section 12-62-60. (A)(1) An amount equal to twenty-six percent of the general fund portion of admissions tax collected by the State of South Carolina for the previous fiscal year must be funded annually by September first to the department for the exclusive use of the South Carolina Film Commission. The department may rebate to a motion picture production company up to fifteen percent of the expenditures made by the motion picture production company in the State if the motion picture production company has a minimum in-state expenditure of one million dollars. The distribution of rebates may not exceed the amount annually funded to the department for the South Carolina Film Commission from the admissions tax collected by the State.
(2) This subsection does not apply to payroll paid for motion picture production employees subject to Section 12-62-50 or money paid to the companies described in Section 12-62-50(A)(2)(a)(ii) or (iii). Unexpended funds from this source may be carried over to the next and succeeding fiscal years.
(B) Up to seven percent of the amount provided to the department in subsection (A) may be used exclusively for marketing and special events.
(C) The allocations to motion picture production companies contemplated by this chapter must be made by the department. The department may adopt rules and promulgate regulations for the application for and award of the rebate.
(D) One percent of the general fund portion of admissions tax collected by the State of South Carolina must be funded to the department for the exclusive use of the South Carolina Film Commission for the promotion of collaborative production and educational efforts between institutions of higher learning in South Carolina and motion picture related entities. The department, in conjunction with the South Carolina Film Commission, shall adopt rules and promulgate regulations necessary to administer this section. Unexpended funds from this source may be carried over to the next and succeeding fiscal years.
(E) The department shall report annually to the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee on the use of all funds pursuant to this section. The report is a public record pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, Chapter 4 of Title 30 and must be posted annually on the commission's web site by January first.
Section 12-62-70. (A)(1) Upon a determination by the director of the Office of General Services Division of the State Budget and Control Board of the underutilization of state property by a state agency, the department may negotiate below-market rates for temporary use, no more than twelve months, of space for the underutilized property. The negotiations and temporary use are exempt from the provisions of the State Consolidated Procurement Code. The motion picture production company shall reimburse costs at normal and customary rates incurred by the state agency to the state agency, including costs required to repair any damage caused by the motion picture production company to real or personal property of the State.
(2) The state agency or local political subdivision that owns the property determined to be underutilized may appeal that determination of underutilization to the State Budget and Control Board.
(B) The State or its political subdivisions may not charge a location or facility fee for properties they own if the properties are used for seven or fewer days as a location or facility in the production of a motion picture. A property may be used for a total of only twenty-one days without location or facility fees in a calendar year. The motion picture production company may be on site no longer than seven days within a thirty-day period without a location or facility fee charge. State-owned or political subdivision-owned properties may recoup all costs they expend on behalf and at the direction of the motion picture production company. State-owned or political subdivision-owned properties also may recoup a location or facility fee, after the first seven days, not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars a day. State-owned or political subdivision-owned properties also may recoup costs required to repair damage caused by the motion picture production company to real or personal property of the state agency or political subdivision. The motion picture production company shall reimburse all costs, at the property's normal and customary rates, to the state agency or political subdivisions incurring the costs within twenty-one calendar days of completion of production activities on site. The motion picture production company may use the publicly owned property only on the days agreed to and approved by the state agency or political subdivision.
Section 12-62-80. The department may form a South Carolina Film Foundation to solicit donations for the recruitment of motion pictures in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter.
Section 12-62-90. The end credit roll of a motion picture that utilizes a South Carolina tax credit or rebate must recognize the State of South Carolina with the following statement: 'Filmed in South Carolina pursuant to the South Carolina Motion Picture Incentive Act', except that the State of South Carolina reserves the right to refuse the use of South Carolina's name in the credits of a motion picture filmed or produced in the State.
Section 12-62-100. To the extent not already provided, the department may adopt rules and promulgate regulations to carry out the intent and purposes of this chapter."
Time effective
SECTION 5. This act takes effect July 1, 2008.
Ratified the 5th day of June, 2008.
Vetoed by the Governor -- 6/11/08.
Veto overridden by House -- 6/25/08.
Veto overridden by Senate -- 6/25/08.
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