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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
COMMITTEE REPORT
May 16, 2007
S. 524
S. Printed 5/16/07--S.
Read the first time March 6, 2007.
To whom was referred a Bill (S. 524) to amend Section 6-1-760 of the 1976 Code, relating to revenue bonds, to provide that the proceeds of accommodations fees, hospitality fees, and state accommodations, etc., respectfully
That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass:
HUGH K. LEATHERMAN, SR. for Committee.
EXPLANATION OF IMPACT:
The State Treasurer's Office reports this bill will have no impact on the General Fund of the State or on federal and/or other funds.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT IMPACT:
The bill would have no direct impact on local expenditures. The bill allows local governments to pledge accommodations fees and hospitality fees as security for revenue bonds.
Approved By:
Harry Bell
Office of State Budget
REVENUE IMPACT 1/
This bill is not expected to impact state general fund revenue in FY2007-08.
Explanation
This bill would amend Section 6-1-760 to allow a county or municipality to pledge revenue generated from the local accommodations tax, the local hospitality tax, and the local share of the state accommodations tax as security for issuing bonds and to use the proceeds from these revenue sources to retire outstanding bonds. Currently, pursuant to Section 6-1-530, counties and municipalities may issue bonds and use the proceeds for tourism-related purposes. This bill would allow counties and municipalities to use bond proceeds for "cultural" uses such as the arts, historical preservation, museums, and festivals, as well as, "hospitality" uses including areas directly involved in the service segment of the travel and tourism industry such as lodging facilities, restaurants, attractions, recreational amenities, transportation facilities and services, and travel information and promotion entities, as described in Section 6-4-5. According to the Department of Revenue, revenue from the two-cent state accommodations tax amounted to $40,429,703 in FY2005-06. The Office of Research and Statistics reports in the "Local Government Finance Report" that counties and municipalities collected $25,526,503 from the local accommodations tax and $74,582,108 from the local hospitality tax in FY2002-03. This bill would allow counties and municipalities to pledge $140,538,314 as security against the issuance of bonds to fund local tourism, cultural, and hospitality projects in their communities. Because this bill would allow local authorities to decide how to allocate locally-generated tax revenue, it is not expected to impact state general fund revenue in FY2007-08.
Approved By:
William C. Gillespie
Board of Economic Advisors
1/ This statement meets the requirement of Section 2-7-71 for a state revenue impact by the BEA, or Section 2-7-76 for a local revenue impact or Section 6-1-85(B) for an estimate of the shift in local property tax incidence by the Office of Economic Research.
TO AMEND SECTION 6-1-760 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO REVENUE BONDS, TO PROVIDE THAT THE PROCEEDS OF ACCOMMODATIONS FEES, HOSPITALITY FEES, AND STATE ACCOMMODATIONS FEES MAY BE PLEDGED AS SECURITY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 6-1-760 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 6-1-760. Notwithstanding any provision of this article, any ordinance enacted by county or municipality prior to March 15, 1997, imposing an accommodations fee which does not exceed the three percent maximum cumulative rate prescribed in Section 6-1-540, is calculated upon a base consistent with Section 6-1-510(1), and the revenue from which is used for the purposes enumerated in Section 6-1-530, remains authorized and effective after the effective date of this section. and the enacting Any county or municipality is authorized to issue bonds, pursuant to Article X, Section 14(10) of the Constitution of this State, utilizing the procedures of Section 4-29-68, Section 6-17-10 et seq., or Section 6-21-10 et seq., for the purposes enumerated in Section 6-1-530, to pledge as security for such bonds and to retire such debt using bonds with the proceeds of such an accommodations fee ordinance accommodations fees imposed under Article 5 of this chapter, hospitality fees imposed under this chapter, state accommodations fees allocated pursuant to Section 6-4-5 et seq., or any combination thereof, and the pledge of such other non-tax revenues as may be available for those purposes."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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