For the remainder of the session, the first item in the Friday Report will be labeled "Critical Contact Issues" and will point out those select bills where a number of contacts by county officials may be the difference in the outcome of the issue.

 1.

Critical Contact Issues for the Week of May 13

1. Stormwater Fee Exemptions - H. 4337. H. 4337 is in the Senate Agriculture Committee. This is the legislation which exempts agricultural lands, forest lands and vacant lands from any fee imposed for stormwater, sediment or erosion control. The terms agriculture lands, forest lands and vacant lands are not defined. A Senate Agriculture subcommittee meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 14. The subcommittee members are: Sens. Campbell, Chairman; Campsen; Cromer; McGill and Williams.
    

2. School Capital Projects Sales Tax - S. 1232. This bill would allow a local option sales tax to be imposed for local school and higher education capital projects for up to 15 years. The tax may be imposed in the county upon the adoption of a resolution by the school district board and a favorable referendum result.
   
   S. 1232 is applicable statewide, while H. 4883 applies only to Horry and Charleston Counties. There is a considerable effort being brought to bear by the colleges, universities and technical schools to pass the Senate version of this bill. S. 1232 would most likely appear before the House Ways and Means subcommittee consisting of: Reps. Littlejohn, Chairman; Battle; Edge; Simrill and Leach.

 2.

House Takes Up the Budget

The House took up the Senate-passed budget bill this week and sent it back to the Senate, so that a conference committee can be appointed to work out the differ-ences between the two versions of the budget. The House version fully funds the Local Government Fund.

The strike and insert amendment offered by the House leadership, which forms the basis of the House version of the budget, struck the Senate’s online expenditure registry proviso and inserted the following:

(CG: Transaction Register) The Comptroller General shall make available for use by each county government, municipal government, special purpose district, and all state agencies a transaction register which includes a complete record of all checks written for one hun-dred dollars or more from whatever source for whatever purpose and all credit card expenditures, including expenditures on credit cards issued to state and local officers or employees for official use. The register must be prominently posted on the Comptroller General's Internet website and made available for public viewing and down-loading. The register must not include an entry for salary, wages, or other compensation paid to individual employees. The register must be accompanied by a complete explanation of any codes or acronyms used to identify a payee or expenditure. The register must be searchable and updated at least once a month. Each monthly register must be maintained on the Internet website for one year. If an entity provides the Comptroller General with information, it must be in a mutually agreed upon format. The Comptroller General shall utilize existing appropriations to comply with this provision.

 3.

Taxation and Finance Bills

1. Municipal Capital Projects Sales Tax - H. 4378. This bill was recommitted to the House Ways and Means Committee from the House floor.
    

2. Accommodations and Hospitality Fee Bonds - S. 524. This bill does not affect the items for which these local fees can be spent, but does allow bonds to be issued using these revenue streams. A House Ways and Means subcommittee gave S. 524 a favorable report without amendments, and it will be before the House Ways and Means Committee at its next meeting.
    

3. 90-Day Safe Harbor - S. 422. A House Ways and Means subcommittee adjourned debate on S. 422. This bill would create a 90-day safe harbor allowing those who rent their homes to retain their four percent legal residence ratio, which is an increase from the current 14-day safe harbor.
    

4. Mothballed Plants - S. 1171. A House Ways and Means subcommittee gave a favorable report to S. 1171 with several amendments. The bill exempts manufacturing equipment in a plant which has been shuttered from property tax for four years. S. 1171 was also amended with the contents of H. 4672—which drops the assessment ratio on manufacturing warehouse space from 10.5 percent to six percent, when it is used exclusively for warehousing and is separate from other areas of the plant. The contents of H. 4950, which makes changes to the Textile Communities Revitalization Act, was also added to S. 1171.

 4.

Immigration — H. 3032

The House amended the Senate amendments to H. 3032 and put back in the preemption language which prohibits local governments from enacting any ordinance that is in conflict or otherwise exceeds state and federal immigration law. It also allows a sheriff to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding between the state and the U.S. Department of Justice or Department of Homeland Security, subject to the availability of funds, to have corrections officers and local law enforcement officers trained to enforce federal immigration laws. H. 3032 now goes back to the Senate for consideration of the House amendment.

 5.

General Government Operations and Structure

1. Attorney Fees in Government Initiated Actions - S. 490. This bill puts a set of criteria in the existing statute allowing the award of attorneys' fees in actions initiated by the state or a political subdivision, or in actions to contest a state action, and requires specific findings to be made by the court. A House Judiciary subcommittee gave S. 490 a favorable report.
    

2. Law Enforcement Training Reimbursement - H. 3326. The Senate Judiciary Committee gave a favorable report to H. 3326, which would require an entity that hires a law enforcement officer from another entity within two years of completing the mandatory training to reimburse the other entity for all training costs. For officers hired within one year after training, reimbursement would be 100 percent of the training costs; for officers hired after one year, but before the completion of the second year of service, reimbursement would be 50 percent of the training costs. H. 3326 is pending second reading on the Senate calendar.
    

3. Victim Services Certification - H. 4601. The Senate Judiciary Committee gave this bill a favorable report with an amendment this week. Currently, the bill requires 15 hours for initial certification and 12 hours annually in continuing education. The Committee's proposed amendment allows an individual to receive additional training, if the person or entity wants more training. The amendment also adds the presidents of the Jail Administrators Association and Police Chiefs Association to the Victim Services Coor-dinating Council, which sets policy for the required courses.
    

4. Water District Sewer Service - H. 3030. This bill would allow certain rural water districts to construct and operate sewage systems within the district. The Senate Judiciary Committee amended the bill to require approval by the county governing body before such service is offered, and the extension of service to comply with an applicable comprehensive plan. The committee gave the bill a favorable report.

 6.

1. DNA Database and Evidence Warehousing - S. 890. A House Judiciary subcommittee—through a procedural quirk—gave S. 890 an unfavorable report, and it goes to the House Judiciary Committee. S. 890 builds a DNA database from those charged with a felony carrying a potential sentence of five years. The subcommittee also added the contents of S. 429 to require evidence in homicides, sexual crimes, first degree robbery and first degree burglary to be held: for the term of incarceration for guilty verdict cases; for the lesser of seven years or the term of incarceration for sentences after guilty or nolo contendere pleas; and until execution in capital cases.
    

2. Expungement - S. 110. S. 110 codifies a court order issued by the Chief Justice regarding expungement. A House Judiciary subcommittee adjourned debate on this bill.
    

3. Family Court Privacy Act S. 584. This bill seals the financial declaration filed in the family court, unless a court order is obtained or the requester is a party to the action or an attorney in the action. A House Judiciary sub-committee gave this bill a favorable report, and it goes to the House Judiciary Committee.
    

4. Child Support Garnishment/Centralized Collection - H. 3478. H. 3478 would allow a judge to order wage withholding for a person under a child support order who is not currently ordered to pay through wage withholding or the family court, if payments are at least three months in arrears. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee amended the bill to comply with a federal mandate to create a statewide centralized system for child support collection by 2010 and gave it a favorable report.
    

5. Middle Courts - H. 4309. H. 4309 creates a broad class of offenses, carrying a sentence of one year or more, that would not be eligible for early release from incarceration other than through good time credit. A House Judiciary subcommittee amended the bill to include the creation of a middle court process similar to existing drug courts. The middle court would be available to a person with an active sentence of 90-days or more for a nonviolent crime and having no prior convictions. The House Judiciary Committee further amended H. 4309 to require each solicitor to establish a middle court within 180 days of the effective date of this bill, subject to the availability of funds. The Supreme Court shall appoint middle court judges to serve a term of two years without pay. The General Assembly shall appro-priate funds annually to the solicitor to employ a middle court administrator and pay for other costs associated with the process. The bill does not include detail about the use of courtroom space and court personnel. The committee gave the bill a favorable report as amended.

NACo Steering Committee Nominations

Do you want a voice in creating the national legislative policies of the National Association of Counties? Then consider filling out a NACo nomination form to be appointed to one of their 11 steering committees. The nomination process for membership on NACo policy steering committees is underway. As a steering committee member, you are responsible for debating and creating national policies and priorities affecting counties and serve as NACo’s frontline in their grassroots efforts. Committees meet at the NACo legislative and annual conferences and one other time during the year. You will be responsible for your own travel.

Please contact Kathy Williams at the SCAC Offices, if you would like to receive a nomination form. Completed forms must be received by SCAC no later than Friday, June 13. The nominations will be processed by SCAC and forwarded to NACo for approval by the NACo President after the NACo Annual Conference in July. Appointments will be announced in September.

'Can’t Wait to Get Your Friday Report Each Week, or Missed Your E-mail Version this Week?

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