Issue 11 - 04
March 26, 2004

The golf course owners association has stated that they want to create a simpler formula for valuing golf course property. There is no problem with creating a valuation system which relies primarily on an income approach. However, the formula arrived at should generate values close to what appealed cases generate. We are scheduled to meet with the golf course owners again Monday to try to reach a consensus.

In the meantime, please contact your senator and ask him to require a multiplier which produces an equivalent value for golf courses in order to avoid a shift to other property tax payers.

The most significant amendment was to delete the references in the bill to regulations to dictate how local money is to be distributed among the local victims’ services providers or require review and approval by a new state agency of the local budget. Several providers also shared this concern.

The redirection of 10% of court revenue from local government to the new state agency was deleted.

However, the costs of victim services will probably still go up as a result of state mandated minimum service levels, additional training costs, and increased reporting requirements.

B. Collateralization of Public Bank Deposits - S. 668. A change to allow banks to use irrevocable letters of credit to secure public bank deposits in excess of FDIC insurance is pending second reading in the Senate.

C. Second Injury Fund - H. 4441. More testimony was taken this week on this bill to close the Second Injury Fund (SIF) by a House LCI subcommittee. Although the bill was carried over, it has strong support in the subcommittee and it should be voted out favorably next week. The SIF is a major cost component of workers’ comp premiums and its elimination is seen as a big cost relief for the S.C. County Workers’ Compensation Trust.

D. Bondsmen Penalties - H. 4785. This measure provides penalties for bondsmen or runners retrieving a bonds list from a jail or retrieving any names and family records from any jail records. H. 4785 was give a favorable report by a House Judiciary subcommittee.

E. Abandoned Vehicles - H. 4869 & S. 984. A House Judiciary subcommittee adjourned debate on H. 4869. The bill provides procedures and penalties relating to the towing, storing, and disposal of unclaimed and abandoned vehicles. H.4869's companion bill, S. 984, has been sent to a Senate Judiciary subcommittee for further consideration.

F. Tattoo Parlors - S. 104. This bill would legalize tattooing. The House amended the bill to put in distance requirements between tattoo parlors and churches, schools, etc... very similar to those for liquor license and gave it second reading. The bill does require compliance with any local zoning ordinance as well.

G. $15 Recording Fee - S. 947. The Senate Judiciary Committee sent S. 947 to a subcommittee. The bill would provide for a single fee for recording a mortgage in lieu of charging a fee at the time the mortgage is initially filed and at the time of filing the satisfaction when the mortgage is paid off.

H. Post Card Voter Application - S. 900. The Senate Judiciary Committee gave a favorable report to S. 900. The bill provides that post card voter registration applications may be used by overseas and military citizens for the next two regularly scheduled general elections.

I. Registration by Mail - S. 901. The Senate Judiciary Committee carried over S. 901. The bill requires that a mail-in voter registration application contain certain information as required by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

J. Division of Property Prior to Tax Sale - S.732. S. 732 would require rather than allow the tax assessor, county treasurer, and county auditor to divide a divisible parcel of real property for purposes of the delinquent tax sale. A House Ways and Means subcommittee adjourned debate on the bill.

K. Brain Injury Surcharge - H. 3917. This bill would have added $10 on certain motor vehicle violations to fund the brain injury trust fund. A Ways & Means subcommittee amended the bill to fund the trust fund with revenue derived from DHEC and DDSN instead of the surcharge on tickets.

L. Pollution Control Act Fines - H. 4456. H. 4456 would have required counties to spend all revenues received from the civil fines under the pollution control act on remediation of environmental damage. The counties would also have to provide an accounting of the expenditures from these revenues. A House Ways and Means subcommittee adjourned debate on the bill this week.

M. Property Tax Exemptions - H. 4474 & S. 769. A Ways and Means subcommittee reported S. 769 out favorably this week with amendment. Current law allows the surviving spouse of a veteran permanently disabled as a result of a service-connected injury to apply that veteran’s property tax exemption on the first newly acquired dwelling of the surviving spouse. S. 769 would allow the spouse to apply the exemption on subsequently acquired dwellings. The bill has a fiscal impact of $40,000. S. 769 was amended by adding the contents of H. 4474. H. 4474 exempts from property taxes the home of a police officer or firefighter who is 100% disabled from a service-connected disability, and extends the exemption to a surviving spouse in the same manner as the veteran’s exemption. This will have a statewide fiscal impact of $591,000. The bill will be before the House Ways & Means Committee at its next meeting.

N. Vacation Time Share Tax - H. 4336. A House Ways and Means subcommittee carried over debate on H. 4336, which would have imposed a daily $5.00 occupation tax on the nonowner occupant of a vacation time sharing unit, which would then be handled and spent as if it were accommodations tax revenue.

O. Homestead Exemption Indexing - H. 4465. The homestead exemption would be indexed in the same manner income tax brackets are indexed for inflation under the provisions of H. 4465. A Ways and Means subcommittee gave the bill a favorable report.

P. Dealer Temporary Tags - H. 4904. A House Education subcommittee gave H. 4904 a favorable report with amendment this week. The bill revises the requirements on how the dealer temporary motor vehicle tags are to look in order to improve the visibility and security of the tags. The amendment deletes a holographic image requirement on the tags.

Q. Textile Town Revitalization - S. 1075. This legislation would allow cities and counties to grant a property tax credit tied to the amount of investment in abandoned textile plants. All affected property tax jurisdictions would be required to consent to the application of credits to their portion of the property tax bill. The bill was given a favorable report.

Newly-Introduced Legislation

House Bills

H. 5019 - Permits the Commission on Indigent Defense to transfer unspent funds to the Office of Appellate Defense to help offset that agency’s budget reductions.

H. 5020 - Provides for the requirements, terms, and conditions of guaranteed energy saving contracts.

H. 5027 - Enacts the Uniform and Fair Golf Course Valuation Act of 2004.

H. 5036 - Treats boats as real estate for property taxation purposes.

H. 5037 - Provides that bonuses and expense reimbursements be included in the definition of wages.

Senate Bills

S. 1090 - Permits counties to impose a flat business license tax up to $15 as an alternative to the graduated business license tax.

S. 1093 - Provides that a person who has served as a state constable for at least 10 years meets the training and experience qualifications for the office of sheriff.

S. 1095 - Relating to bonds and other security for performance of a construction contract, so as to require a determination of unsatisfactory progress before a retainage may be withheld from the contractor.

S. 1096 - Prohibits clauses in construction agreements that do not allow payment of damages caused by delay.
 

Ratification of Acts

The following bills have been passed by both chambers and are now before the Governor for his signature or veto.

(R.222), H. 4642 - Makes the 3^rd Friday of each September "POW/MIA Day".

There are numerous unanswered questions about the impact of these changes, including: How much will millage rates be affected? How many taxpayers will pay more, less or the same amount of property tax because of this type of change? How much more quickly will the property tax millage drivers contained in the EIA and EFA formulas drive up millage rate increases for schools? How will the changes in the assessed valuations of property affect the Index of Taxpaying Ability and the state school aid which is distributed through that formula? These questions are worthy of detailed study before making a dramatic shift in tax policy.

ACTION REQUEST: Contact your Senators to let them know the impact of these proposals on your community and ask them to perform a detailed look at the changes which this legislation would cause.

A. Attorney-Client Relationship Endangered. In an unusual action, the House deleted proviso 73.new, which granted the Attorney General the ability to oversee the work of any attorney engaged by the insurance reserve fund to represent the state, its agencies or political subdivisions, and oversee the work of any bond counsel engaged on a fee basis by the state, its agencies or political subdivisions. House leaders stated from that they intend to place an amended version of the proviso in the budget when it returns from the Senate. The amended proviso will likely include Attorney General oversight of local government bond counsel. This raises questions of who the bond counsel will answer to and owe his loyalty - the Attorney General or his local government client.

B. Local Government Fund Funding Questions. The Local Government Fund (LGF) was not fully funded according to the statutory formula. The LGF is short nearly $200,000 because a proviso to borrow $40 million from the Second Injury Fund was deleted from the budget bill on the House floor and the money was not funded from other sources.

Proviso 73.9 allocates $10 million to the Department of Revenue (DOR) to hire more collectors to increase collections. Stepped up collections are projected to raise $90 million. $458,105 is used to fund the LGF. The proviso was amended to have the funds disbursed on a two tier basis. The first tier must be fully funded before second tier receives funds from the proviso. The $458,105 for the LGF is in the second tier. There are widespread concerns that the DOR will be unable to come up with the full $90 million next fiscal year because of the time it will take to hire and train new collectors.

Action Request: Please contact your senators and ask that they fully fund the LGF at the statutory formula amount.

72.92 - Assessment Audits: All Finger Pointing - No Helping Hand: This proviso allows the State Auditor to audit court assessment, fine and surcharge revenues. If a jurisdiction is found to have remitted an improper amount of fines and assessments to the state and the State Auditor finds that the county treasurer is at fault, then the county’s Aid to Subdivisions money will be withheld in the amount of the shortfall. If a clerk of court or magistrate is found to be at fault, then the clerk or magistrate has 90 days to remit the portion owed, but there is no aid to subdivisions withholding provision. This proviso does nothing to provide implementation and training to help make the system work better on the front end of the process.

Proviso 35.7 - County Contributions for Indigent Defense: This proviso states that no county may reduce its contribution to the local defender corporation below the amount provided for such organization in the prior fiscal year.

Proviso 60.5 - Assessments and Filing Fees: This proviso directs the State Treasurer to identify any jurisdiction it believes is not transmitting assessments and filing fees in a timely manner and to follow up with the county treasurer to determine why the appropriate amounts have not been remitted.

Proviso 73.13 - Circuit and Family Court Filing Fee: The filing fee in circuit court and family court is increased by $50. All of the revenue goes to the Judicial Department and criminal justice agencies. Typically, a percentage of the filing fee goes to the county.

The most significant problem in the proposed bill is the possibility it will still contain provisions which dictate how local money is to be distributed among the local victims’ services providers or require review and approval by a new state agency of the local budget. Several providers have expressed this same concern, including sheriffs’ representatives, local non-profit providers, and solicitor based victim advocates.

The redirection of 10% of court revenue from local government to the new state agency has probably been deleted. However, the costs of victim services would probably go up as a result of state mandated minimum service levels, additional training costs, and increased reporting requirements.

The Senate Judiciary subcommittee includes: Senators Hutto (Chair), Rankin, Martin, Jackson, and Hawkins.

B. Collateralization of Public Bank Deposits - S. 668. A change to allow banks to use letters of credit to secure public bank deposits in excess of FDIC insurance was given a favorable report by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

C. Second Injury Fund - H. 4117 & H. 4441. These bills to close the Second Injury Fund (SIF) were heard by a House LCI subcommittee this week and carried over to consider whether a total closure of the SIF or allowing members to opt out would be the best approach. The SIF is a major cost component of the SCAC workers’ comp premiums and either approach being considered would be a big cost relief for the fund.

D. Vehicle Fleet Tags - S. 764. This measure would reduce the minimum number of vehicles from 200 to 50 to be eligible for fleet vehicle treatment in the property tax billing system. S. 764 was given a favorable report and will be before the House Education and Public Works committee next week.

E. Brain Injury Ticket Surcharge - S. 536. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee considered and carried over this bill to add another $10 to certain traffic tickets.

F. Tattoo Parlors - S. 104. This bill would legalize tattooing. A House 3M subcommittee amended the bill to put in distance requirements between tattoo parlors and churches, schools, etc... very similar to those for liquor license. The bill does require compliance with any local zoning ordinance as well.

This change will be come effective July 1, 2005.

Newly-Introduced Legislation

House Bills

H. 4952 - Provides that the clerk of court or register of deeds is exclusively subject to a penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $500 for each failure to collect and remit the deed recording fee.

H. 4953 - Provides that a separately executed assignment is a separate instrument for purposes of collecting the recording fee.

H. 4954 - Deletes the requirement that a deed be endorsed by the county auditor and assessor.

H. 4955 - Requires a derivation clause be included on a contract of sale or bond for title of real property before it is accepted for recording.

H. 4956 - Deletes requirement that an attorney’s affidavit of satisfaction be probated or acknowledged.

H. 4963 - Provides various changes relating to the retirement system for judges and solicitors.

H. 4964 - Increases the penalties and fines for various driving violations.

H. 4968 - Enacts the Motion Picture Incentive Act, providing for new tax incentives for motion picture production companies.

H. 4973 - Various provisions relating to DUI offenses.

H. 4979 - Enacts the SC Textiles Communities Revitalization Act.

H. 4987 - Enacts the Criminal Gang Prevention Act.

H. 4988 - Provides the means for the owner of a private road to have certain provisions that regulate motor vehicles along the state’s highways apply to a private road.

H. 4989 - Reduces from 2/3 to a majority vote requirement to dissolve a special purpose district.

H. 4991 - Eliminates property taxes on cars and increases the state sales tax.

H. 4992 - Constitutional amendment to eliminate property taxes on cars.

H. 4997 - Establishes the Residential Property Tax Relief Trust Fund.

H. 4998 - Extends the 4% assessment ratio to an owner’s nonadjacent residential property occupied by the owner’s immediate family.

H. 5000 - Replaces car taxes with a uniform fee.

Senate Bills

S. 1072 - Increases the service charge on bad checks from $30 to $70.

S. 1073 - Various provisions relating to the issuance of handicapped license plates and placards.

S. 1075 - Enacts the SC Textiles Communities Revitalization Act.

S. 1080 - Limits fair market value increases in real property to 15% for purposes of county reassessment.

S. 1083 - Gives each circuit solicitor the discretion to authorize the establishment of a pretrial diversion program for high school students who receive traffic tickets.

S. 1085 - Permits the Commission on Indigent Defense to transfer unspent funds to the Office of Appellate Defense to help offset that agency’s budget reductions.

S. 1086 - Provides that a court may direct that an inmate not be allowed to serve a lawsuit under certain circumstances.

Issue 9 - 04
March 12, 2004

The House of Representatives completed their work on the budget at 12:30 a.m. Friday morning. Most of the debate this week dealt with education funding and various attempts to increase revenues to make up for a shortage of money at the state level.

At present, the Local Government Fund (LGF) has not been fully funded according to the statutory formula. In the Ways and Means version of the bill the LGF was funded using two provisos, 73.9 and 73.11.

Proviso 73.11 transferred $40 million from the Second Injury Fund for numerous uses, including $196,426 to the LGF. Proviso 73.11 was tabled, and the money which was to be distributed to the LGF was not funded from other sources.

Proviso 73.9 allocates $10 million to the Department of Revenue (DOR) to hire more enforcement officers and, therefore, increase collections. Stepped up collections are projected to raise $90 million. $458,105 is used to fund the LGF. The proviso was amended to have the funds disbursed on a two tier basis. The first tier must be fully funded before second tier receives funds from the proviso. The $458,105 for the LGF is in the second tier. There are concerns that the DOR will be unable to come up with the full $90 million because of the start-up time it will take to hire and train new DOR staff.

Action Request: Please contact your senators and ask that they fully fund the LGF at the statutory formula amount.

Other provisos of interest:

72.new - Assessment Audits: As reported last week, the SC Victims’ Assistance Network and the Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon, who agreed to compromise on Proviso 72.caa, backed off of the agreement. The House adopted their proposed version of the assessment audits. The amendment allows the State Auditor to audit the assessment, fine and surcharge revenue which are remitted to the state, as well as assessments retained at the county level for victims’ services. If a jurisdiction is found to have remitted an improper amount of fines and assessments, and the State Auditor finds that the county treasurer is at fault, then the county’s Aid to Subdivisions money will be withheld in the amount of the shortfall. If a clerk of court or magistrate is found to be at fault, then the clerk or magistrate has 90 days to remit the portion owed, but there is no aid to subdivisions withholding provision.

Proviso 1.81 - Level of Financial Effort: This proviso suspends the local effort requirements under the EFA for the fiscal year. Proviso 1.81 was adopted.

1A.new - EIA Local Effort Requirement. This proviso suspends for this fiscal year the EIA local effort requirements in Section 59-21-1030 for this fiscal year. Proviso 1A.new was adopted.

Proviso 30.15 - Fee on State Case Management System: This proviso authorizes the Judicial Department to charge a fee for technology support services provided to users of the State Case Management System. The proviso does not place a limit on the amount of the fee to be charged. In their explanation of the proviso, the Judicial Department writes that the amount charged will vary according to the size of the county. Greenville, Charleston and Richland Counties would be charged $50,000. This proviso was adopted.

Proviso 35.7 - County Contributions for Indigent Defense: This proviso states that no county may reduce its contribution to the local defender corporation below the amount provided for such organization in the prior fiscal year. This proviso was adopted.

Proviso 35.14 - Bail Bond Surcharge: This proviso would have imposed a $15 surcharge on all bail bonds in this state to fund the Commission on Indigent Defense. The proviso was deleted from the bill.

Proviso 60.5 - Assessments and Filing Fees: This proviso directs the State Treasurer to identify any jurisdiction it believes is not transmitting assessments and filing fees in a timely manner and to follow up with the county treasurer to determine why the appropriate amounts have not been remitted. Proviso 60.5 was adopted.

Proviso 62.12 - Election Support Services: This proviso increases from $75,000 to $100,000 the amount the State Election Commission may retain of revenue generated by charging a fee for election support services provided to county election commissions. This proviso was adopted.

Proviso 73.new - The House adopted a new proviso to increase the filing fee in circuit court and family court by $50. The revenue is to fund the Judicial Department and criminal justice agencies.

Proviso 73.new - The House adopted this proviso which grants the Attorney General the ability to oversee the work of any attorney engaged by the insurance reserve fund to represent the state, its agencies or political subdivisions, and oversee the work of any bond counsel engaged on a fee basis by the state, its agencies or political subdivisions.

These two bills would have a significant impact upon the property tax base and the share of the property tax burden paid by each taxpayer if adopted. There are numerous unanswered questions about the impact of these changes, including: How much will millage rates be affected by the shift of the tax burden? How many taxpayers will pay more, less or the same amount of property tax because of this type of change? How much more quickly will the property tax millage drivers contained in the EIA and EFA formulas drive up millage rate increases for schools? How will the changes in the assessed valuations of property affect the Index of Taxpaying Ability and the state school aid which is distributed through that formula? These questions are worthy of detailed study before making a dramatic shift in tax policy.

The bills reverse the course of tax policy which has been followed since Act 208 was adopted in the 1970's. Act 208 was adopted to ensure that taxpayers with property worth about the same paid tax on a similar value for property tax purposes.

ACTION REQUEST: H. 4271 and H. 3689 will likely be debated next week by the full House. Contact your House member to let them know the impact of these proposals on your community. Ask that they recommit these bills or delay the debate until the unanswered questions can be examined.

B. Building Codes - S. 895. This legislation would require retrofitting of hotels and other accommodations buildings with fire sprinklers. A Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry subcommittee carried it over for further study.

C. Restructuring State Government - S. 840 & S. 841. These bills were referred to a subcommittee for additional study by the Senate Judiciary Committee this week.

The Mid-Year Conference will be held on Wednesday, March 17. The speakers scheduled for the SCAC Mid-Year Conference include Senators David Thomas, Gerald Malloy, and Larry Martin and Representative Bill Cotty. SCAC will also host the General Assembly at a reception Wednesday evening, March 17th at Embassy Suites Hotel.

The Institute of Government classes will be held on Tuesday, March 16. These courses are open to all county officials.

Newly-Introduced Legislation

House Bills

H. 4910 - Deletes the requirement that the excess portion of the $5 million of local option sales tax revenue collected in a county be distributed to other counties not meeting the minimum collection.

H. 4918 - Requires the Building Codes Council to establish fees based on administration costs as it relates to the enforcement of the Modular Buildings Construction Act.

H. 4921 - Enacts the All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Act.

H. 4934 - Enacts the SC Isolated Wetlands Act of 2004.
 

Senate Bills

S. 1039 - Makes it public policy that state agencies do not provide goods and services in competition with private business.

S. 1041 - Repeals a provision which prohibits write-in votes in special elections and municipal general elections.

S. 1042 - Defines a "governmental health care facility", in the Tort Claims Act, as a nursing home that provides services through medicaid, medicare, or by contract with the veterans administration.

S. 1043 - Various provisions relating to the dissolution of a military facilities redevelopment authority.

S. 1045 - Phases out the state sales tax on food and allows local sales tax on food.

S. 1046 - Requires the Election Commission to hold a referendum on the elimination of the 5% state sales tax on food.

S. 1049 - Provides that a municipality requiring a contract before water and electric services are provided to a nonresident must provide the services at the same rate charged to a resident.

S. 1052 - Exempts persons who have been granted concealed weapons permits by SLED from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

S. 1057 - Enacts the Motion Picture Incentive Act, providing for new tax incentives for motion picture production companies.

RATIFICATION OF ACTS

The following bills have been passed by both chambers and are now before the Governor for his signature or veto.

(R.212), S. 560 - Enacts the SC Life Sciences Act.

(R.213), S. 787 - Eliminates the requirement that bond premiums from general obligation bonds be applied only to the first installment of principal due.

(R.214), H. 3448 - Provides it is public policy that a handbook, personnel manual, policy, procedure, or other document issued by an employer after June 30, 2004 does not create an employment contract if it is conspicuously disclaimed.

(R.217), H. 4037 -Provides that an inmate confined in a regional correctional facility may be served a warrant by a police officer of a county which participates in the funding of the facility without it being countersigned by officials of the county where the correctional facility is located.

As reported last week, the Local Government Fund (LGF) was fully funded according to the statutory formula. However, the LGF was partially funded through two provisos, 73.9 and 73.11. Proviso 73.9 allocates $10 million to the Department of Revenue to increase collections. Stepped up collections are projected to raise revenues by $90 million, of which $458,105 is used to fund the LGF. The funds are to be disbursed on a pro rata basis to those entities funded through the proviso as revenues are received.

Proviso 73.11 transfers $40 million from the Second Injury Trust Fund to the General Fund. Those monies are then distributed to several entities, including $196,426 to the LGF. Proviso 73.11 would close the Second Injury Fund (SIF). This would result in cost savings to participants in the SC Counties Workers Compensation Trust. The SIF was established to protect employers who were willing to hire employees with pre-existing conditions. After adoption of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and HIPPA, the SIF has outlived its usefulness. The Trial Lawyers Association and the SC Chamber of Commerce have apparently prevailed upon the House leadership and Proviso 73.11 will be tabled.

The SC Victims’ Assistance Network and the Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon, who last week agreed to compromise on Proviso 72.caa, are now backing off of the agreement. The compromise reached between the parties last week was to:

(1) delete witholding of Aid to Subdivisions from the proviso;

(2) earmark funds for the training of clerks of court, county treasurers, and magistrates’ staff in the implementation and collection of court revenue;

(3) earmark money for the State Auditor’s office to audit the collection of court revenue fines, assessments, and surcharges by local political subdivisions; and

(4) allow the State Auditor to subcontract the audits to objective auditors.

Proviso 30.15 - Fee on State Case Management System: This proviso authorizes the Judicial Department to charge a fee for technology support services provided to users of the State Case Management System. The proviso does not place a limit on the amount of the fee to be charged. In their explanation of the proviso the Judicial Department writes that the amount charged will vary according to the size of the county. Greenville, Charleston and Richland Counties would be charged $50,000.

Proviso 35.7 - County Contributions for Indigent Defense: This proviso states that no county may reduce its contribution to the local defender corporation below the amount provided for such organization in the prior fiscal year.

Proviso 35.14 - Bail Bond Surcharge: This proviso imposes a $15 surcharge on all bail bonds in this state to fund the Commission on Indigent Defense. The surcharge would not apply to persons released on their own recognizance. In cases where there is a deposit of cash percentage in lieu of bond the surcharge will be collected at the time of posting of the cash percentage by the clerk of court, magistrate or municipal clerk of court for remittance to the State Treasurer on a monthly basis. In cases where an appearance bond is required the bail bondsman or person posting the bond must collect this surcharge. Deposits made in lieu of recognizance shall pay the surcharge to the magistrate or the municipal judge at the time of making the deposit. No bond may be issued unless the surcharge has been paid.

Proviso 60.5 - Assessments and Filing Fees: This proviso directs the State Treasurer to identify any jurisdiction it believes is not transmitting assessments and filing fees in a timely manner and to follow up with the county treasurer to determine why the appropriate amounts have not been remitted.

Proviso 62.12 - Election Support Services: This proviso increases from $75,000 to $100,000 the amount the State Election Commission may retain of revenue generated by charging a fee for election support services provided to county election commissions.

ACTION REQUEST: Contact your senators and ask them to vote no on any motion to set the hog bill for special order.

The objective of the sign companies, who are expending a lot of assets in pursuit of this legislation, is to do away with the use of amortization and require cash payments if a sign must be removed. The bill now goes to the floor of the Senate. If your county uses amortization when you require billboards to be taken down, you should ask your senator to oppose this bill as currently written.

Odds are slim that these bills will be taken up before Tuesday, March 16^th. This should give you additional time to contact the House members to let them know the impact of these various proposals.

There is no discussion of creating a "safe harbor" protection from liability whereby a local government would be immune to liability if they followed the directives of a state crime victim services department nor is there any assurance that the new department would be required to keep mandated costs to levels within the amount of revenue generated by the assessments or existing budgets.

The Senate Judiciary subcommittee on this measure includes: Senators Hutto (Chair), Rankin, Martin, Jackson, and Hawkins. A subcommittee meeting was cancelled this week but will be set again soon.

!A method already exists for municipal capital projects to be funded through a sales tax. Municipalities and counties are given equal representation on the commission to decide which projects will be funded with the existing local option bond penny.

!The proposed legislation precludes residents in the unincorporated areas from receiving the benefit of a Capital Project Sales Tax. Unlike the current Capital Project Sales Tax, the proposed legislation allows the municipal governing body alone to decide which projects would be covered by the additional one cent tax. Citizens living in the county, but outside the city, are given no voice in the selection of projects.

!Because city residents are unlikely to vote for two capital project pennies, a county which wanted to use the Capital Project Sales Tax would be foreclosed from this revenue source.

!Residents within the unincorporated area would be forced to pay a tax which would benefit city residents without the ability to vote in a referendum or any representation on the body determining how the money is to be spent. Citizens who live in the unincorporated areas of a county cannot be equated with out of state residents.

B. Golf Course Property Tax Values - S. 917. This measure would value golf courses solely on the income they generate multiplied by some factor. This approach may have some utility, but the current proposal being advocated does not require production of income tax statements to verify what a course may claim as income, would result in a zero value if a course were closed, does not recognize that there may be a difference in the value of golf course land on the ocean as opposed to a land locked rural setting. Preliminary estimates of the impact of the bill are significant.

C. Nonpartisan School Board Elections -H. 4221. A House Judiciary subcommittee adjourned debate on H. 4221. The bill would require that all elections for school boards and school district boards of trustees be nonpartisan.

D. Assessment Ratio on Boats - S. 793. This bill would authorize a county council to set the assessment ratio for boats as low as 4%. The bill will probably be before the full Senate Finance Committee next week. There will also likely be an amendment offered to allow counties to get apportioned property taxes for commercial boats registered outside South Carolina which are being used in South Carolina in excess of thirty days.

E. Voter Registration Applications in High Schools - H. 4767. A House Judiciary subcommittee gave a favorable report to an amended version of H. 4767. As amended the bill would require that all high schools make voter registration applications available to students. The bill would also require the county board of voter registration to provide the high schools with voter registration applications upon request.

F. State Agency and Private Business Competition - H. 4739. This bill would prohibit state agencies from providing goods and services that compete with private business. Under this bill, written approval from the Budget and Control Board would be required before a state agency could produce or otherwise provide goods and services. A House Judiciary subcommittee adjourned debate on H. 4739.

G. Funding of County Veteran Affairs Offices - S. 638. This bill provides that state aid to veterans affairs officers be sent directly to the county treasurer for the sole use of county veteran affairs offices. Currently the money flows through the Governor’s Office. S. 638 was passed by the Senate.

H. Accommodations and Hospitality Tax Revenue Use - S. 892. This bill would allow the use of up to 50% of local accommodations and hospitality tax revenue for the operation of facilities used by tourism. S. 892 was given a favorable report by a Senate Finance subcommittee this week.

I. Modular Home Appearance Standards - H. 4735. Installation and appearance standards for modular housing would be set in state law under the provisions of this bill. The legislation also grants a sales tax exemption for modular housing. H. 4735 was carried over to allow for work on the tax provision in a House Labor, Commerce and Industry subcommittee this week.

J. Pollution Control Act Fines - H. 4456. Fine revenue from Pollution Control Act violations currently placed in the county general fund would be earmarked exclusively for environmental remediation under the provisions of this legislation. The fiscal impact and administrative costs of this provision are not yet available. H. 4456 was carried over for additional research this week at a Ways & Means subcommittee hearing.

K. Fleet Vehicle Property Tax Mechanism - S. 764. This bill changes the minimum number of vehicles necessary to participate in the fleet vehicle mechanism for property taxation from 200 to 50 corporate-owned motor vehicles. A House Education and Public Works subcommittee carried this bill over this week.

The Mid-Year Conference will be held on Wednesday, March 17. The program will provide a briefing on legislation affecting county government before the General Assembly and give county and state officials an opportunity to discuss those issues.  SCAC will also host the General Assembly at a reception Wednesday evening, March 17th at Embassy Suites Hotel.

The Institute of Government classes will be held on Tuesday, March 16. These informational courses are open to all county officials. For details, call SCAC at 1(800) 922 - 6081 or check the web at www.sccounties.org.

There are essentially two "downtown" hotels, both within walking distance of the convention center:

1) Hyatt Regency – very large convention hotel – $130/night and another $20/night to park in hotel garage (but there are other nearby city garages that are safe and less expensive);

2) Wyndham Phoenix Hotel – older downtown hotel – $114–$124/night.

There is very little nightlife in downtown Phoenix – sparse restaurants, shopping, etc. Most of the newer and better hotels are in the suburbs – about 15 minutes away from the downtown area and convention center. All suburb hotels have lots of nightlife, dining, and shopping. NACo shuttles will run every 15 minutes. We would recommend the following hotels in the order presented:

1) Arizona Biltmore Resort – $111/night – considered the best hotel in Phoenix – built around a golf course and adjacent to lots of shopping, restaurants, etc.;

2) Ritz Carlton Phoenix – $99/night – very nice hotel;

3) Embassy Suites Biltmore – $89/night – typical Embassy Suites.

Newly-Introduced Legislation

House Bills

H. 4847 - Extends the 10 year carry-forward period for unused investment tax credits and provides the requirements necessary to receive the additional carry-forward period.

H. 4848 - Permits the issuance of Vietnam War Veterans special license plates.

H. 4862 - Exempts promotional cars, in connection with a nationally sponsored NASCAR race held in this state, from motor vehicle titling, licensing and registration requirements.

H. 4869 - Various provisions relating to law enforcement towing procedures.

H. 4872 - Provides that the commercial driver’s license of a person must be suspended it that person is arrested for or found guilty or certain crimes.

H. 4888 - Eliminates the TERRI program for persons retiring after June 30, 2004.

H. 4899 - Enacts the SC Rural Infrastructure Bank Act.

H. 4908 - Enacts the SC Put Parents in Charge Act, allows for property tax credits to persons who contribute to scholarship granting organizations.

Senate Bills

S. 1024 - Provides that only the governing body of the jurisdiction where a used car dealership is located can specify the size, design, and construction of the dealership’s facility.

S. 1033 - Permits a person riding a motorcycle to carry a pistol if it secured in a closed saddlebag or similar attachment.

S. 1036 - Enacts the SC Rural Infrastructure Bank Act.

RATIFICATION OF ACTS

The following bills have been passed by both chambers and are now before the Governor for his signature or veto.

(R.207), H. 4687 - Permits an entity to discontinue participation in the state health plan regardless of the four year minimum participation requirement.