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Friday Reports — February 2008

Issue 8-08: Feb. 29, 2008

Issue 7-08: Feb. 22, 2008

Issue 6-08: Feb. 15, 2008

Issue 5-08: Feb. 8, 2008

Issue 4-08: Feb. 1, 2008

(Back to Other 2008 Reports)

Issue 8-08 — Feb. 29, 2008

SPD Dissolution

Constitutional Amendment – H. 4578. Thanks to calls from county officials, the House Judiciary Committee agreed to table a proposed amendment to permit local legislation amending the statutes creating special purpose districts (SPDs). It is as important to call to thank the members of the House Judiciary Committee for this outcome, as it was to ask them to vote to table the sub-committee amendment. The bill, as it passed the House Judiciary Committee, permits local legislation to abolish SPDs. It will probably be held up, pending further conversations among the interested parties. H. 4578 can be amended, and further contacts may be necessary.

Recreation SPD Dissolution – H. 4754. This bill addresses only county-wide recreation districts and provides that they may, by resolution, transfer their functions to the county. The bill makes allowance for the millage cap. The measure received a favorable report in a House Judiciary subcommittee.

Fire Sprinklers — S. 860

Last week, a Senate LCI subcommittee adopted in concept a complete rewriting of S. 860 to eliminate the mandatory retrofitting of commercial buildings and grant taxpayers a property tax credit equal to 80 percent of the cost for the installation of sprinkler systems.

The amendment is still not available, but one or two details are now available. The credit would not be available to a taxpayer required by code to install sprinklers. The credit would apply to commercial or residential owners installing a sprinkler system and would be available in equal installments not to exceed 50 percent of the total property tax bill over a four-year period. It is not clear which portions of the tax bill would be affected by the credit or what the application procedure would be. Tap fees, including recurring fees, for water service for sprinkler systems charged by public and private utility providers would be capped at actual costs. There is no estimate of the fiscal impact to local governments on this proposal. The Senate LCI Committee is expected to meet next Wednesday to consider S. 860.

Amendment to Home Rule Constitutional Provisions — S. 1105

S. 1105 is a constitutional amendment making changes to one of the cornerstones of the Home Rule Act adopted in 1973. It replaces the prohibition on laws for a specific county with another provision allowing acts of the General Assembly for a specific county if: "1) they are necessary to implement traditional state functions as determined by the General Assembly, or 2) concern entities created by legislative enactment passed prior to March 3, 1973, and provide for a change in the boundaries or service area of the entity, change in membership or composition of the board governing the entity, dissolution of the entity, or devolution of all powers, duties, and responsibilities that affect the entity upon the local governing body of a county or municipality."

Item 2 of the amendment addresses SPDs. Item 1 addresses numerous county functions and is extremely broad. Consider that the county budget, referred to as the county supply bill, was once a local act passed by the General Assembly; and acts can be found throughout legislative history which cover virtually all aspects of county government operations.

Although no meeting is scheduled, the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on S. 1105 consists of Sens. Martin (Chair), Malloy, Campsen, Williams and Massey. There will be an additional mailing solely on this legislation. Now is the time to begin having discussions with your Senator about S. 1105, whether they serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee or not.

S. 1105 destroys Home Rule for counties and returns to the legislative delegation the authority to oversee and provide local government services. In other words, why have local elected county councils? This is a return to total legislative delegation control of local service provision. Government decision-making from Columbia—not the county seat.

Other Items of Interest

Common Law Marriage – H. 3427. This bill would discontinue common law marriages entered into after a certain date, unless a court determines that they were in effect prior to the effective date of the bill. The dates currently in the bill have already passed. This bill has been set for special order on the Senate calendar, making it fairly certain to get debate on the Senate floor.

DUI Probation Monitoring – S. 333. S. 333 gives the judge the discretion of having the defendant wear an alcohol detection bracelet while on probation. The cost (expected to be $10-12 per day) would be paid by the defendant, unless he is indigent—and then it would be paid by the jurisdiction making the arrest from the jurisdiction's alcohol offense fines. This bill has been set for special order on the Senate calendar, making it fairly certain to get debate on the Senate floor.

Weapons Discharge Ordinances – S. 1039. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee amended S. 1039 to prohibit local government ordinances that restrict a landowner from discharging a firearm on his property of 25 acres or more to protect people or property. S. 1039 was given a favorable report as amended.

County Option Homestead Exemption – H. 3210. H. 3210 was originally drafted as local legislation permitting the governing body of Oconee County to increase the homestead exemption for persons 65 or older, permanently and totally disabled, or legally blind to $100,000. Last year, the bill was amended on the House floor to have a statewide impact, and then committed to the Ways and Means Committee. A Ways and Means subcommittee adjourned debate on the bill this week.

Homestead Application – S. 652. This legislation amends §12-37-250 to allow a person to apply for the homestead exemption in person at the auditor's office; by mail when accompanied by a copy of documentation of age, disability or legal blindness; or by internet in those instances where the auditor has access to official records documenting the appropriate eligibility standard. A Ways and Means subcommittee gave S. 652 a favorable report this week, and it will be on the Ways and Means Committee agenda on March 5.

Expungement – S. 110. This bill would preclude any fee for an expungement within one year of a defendant being found not guilty or the charges being dismissed. There must be a notice to this effect on the bond notice or courtesy summons. The House Judiciary Committee gave this bill a favorable report, and it is pending second reading in the House. It is rumored that the provisions of S. 110 will be inserted into the conference committee report on H. 3623.

Criminal Catchall Bill – H. 3623. The conference committee meeting on H. 3623 was cancelled this week, and there is no word on the rescheduled meeting.

Limited Attorney's Fees – S. 490. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee took up S. 490 Thursday and gave it a favorable report. The bill would limit the amount of attorney fees in state-initiated actions to a reasonable time expended and a reasonable hourly rate. The subcommittee adopted an amendment to limit the hourly rate not to exceed $125 per hour, which is based upon the current federal court rate.

Candidate Drug Testing – S. 1070. The Senate Judiciary Committee ran out of time before taking up this constitutional amendment to require candidates for elected office to submit a negative drug test result.

Bail Denial – S. 1053 and S. 1055. S. 1053 is a bill to allow a judge to deny bail to a person who commits a violent offense while previously released on bail. The Senate Judiciary Committee reported this bill favorably. S. 1055, which is a constitutional amendment to deny bail to repeat offenders, was carried over by the committee.

Attorney Probate Judge – S. 861. This legislation would require future probate judges to be attorneys for five years prior to being elected. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee carried over the bill and will work with the probate judges to craft a new bill for next session.

Tethering Dogs – S. 833. This legislation would prohibit the tethering or otherwise restraint of dogs for 12 hours or more during a 24-hour period. The bill currently would allow local government to enact more stringent ordinances; however, there was concern that this provision would violate state laws prohibiting local governments from enacting criminal laws different from state statute. The Senate Judiciary Committee carried over this bill until next week.

Estreatment Proceeds – H. 4438. The Senate Judiciary Committee ran out of time before taking up discussion of H. 4438—a bill to give 25 percent of funds from an estreated bond to the Attorney General when that office prosecutes an estreatment, rather than the solicitor's office.

EMT Background Check – H. 4334. This bill requires a criminal background check before employment as an EMT or upon renewal of an EMT license. The House 3M Committee gave H. 4334 a favorable report.

Smoking Ban – S. 103. This bill would prohibit smoking in pubic places, except in certain prescribed areas. A House Judiciary subcommittee amended the bill to remove the local government preemption and gave it a favorable report.

State Highway Fund – H. 4549. H. 4549 credits the sales tax on automobiles to the State Highway Fund. A Ways and Means subcommittee reported the legislation out favorably this week. The Ways and Means Committee will consider this bill on March 5.

Upcoming Meetings of Interest

The following are legislative meetings to consider bills of interest to counties. A full listing of meetings for next week will be posted to the website usually by late Friday afternoon with changes posted anytime thereafter.

Senate Judiciary Subcommittee – Wednesday, March 5 at 9:30 a.m. in Room 308 of the Gressette Building:

H. 3451 – The Uniform Real Property Recording Act. Subcommittee members are Sens. Martin (Chair), Malloy, Campsen, Williams and Massey.

Immigration Conference Committee – Tuesday, March 4 at 10 a.m., in Room 105 of the Gressette Building. The conference committee for S. 392 includes Sens. Campsen, Sheheen and Ritchie, and Reps. Harrison, Delleney and Viers.

Senate Corrections Committee – Thursday, March 6 at 10 a.m. in Room 207 of the Gressette Building:

S. 590 – Jail Recodification bill.

SCAC Lobby Days Schedule

Please mark your calendar, and plan to come to Columbia on the following Tuesday for the Lobby Day scheduled for your county. You may certainly come on a different or additional Tuesdays, if your schedule allows or requires it. Each Lobby Day will begin at 10 a.m. in the SCAC office with a briefing on the specific meetings scheduled at the State House and the issues which you might make the most impact upon. We will then adjourn at 11 a.m. to visit the General Assembly. If you call ahead of time, it is also a good idea to schedule lunch with one or more of your delegation members.

March 4

March 11

March 18

March 25

'Can't Wait to Get Your Friday Report or Missed Your E-mail Version This Week?

Information has a short shelf life in the legislative arena. The sooner you receive legislative updates, the sooner you are able to contact the members of the General Assembly to thank them for doing helpful things or give them the information they need to make better decisions. The Friday Report is usually available on the website by 3 p.m. on Friday. The Friday Report can also be sent to you directly. Just fax the enclosed form, or follow e-mail request instructions. If you stop receiving the e-mail version of the Friday Report, call us. We may have an e-mail address that is no longer valid.

Newly-Introduced Legislation

Note: If you would like copies of any of the bills or if you would like to offer comments to the SCAC staff, please call us toll-free at 1-800-922-6081, fax to 1 (803) 252-0379 or send e-mail. You can view or download bills by clicking on the bill number.

House Bills

H. 4751 – eliminates the authority of a railroad company to acquire property by condemnation.

H. 4754 – authorizes a special purpose district that provides recreational services to dissolve and transfer its assets and liabilities to the county. Upon transfer, the millage rate set by the SPD will be treated as if it had been imposed by the county.

H. 4757 – provides that closely-held business entities under shared control must be held to a single, maximum aggregate campaign contribution limit.

H. 4761 – provides a state sales tax exemption on energy-efficient appliances costing $2,500 or less. The exemption only applies for sales during the period from Oct. 1-Oct.31, 2008 and from April 1-30, 2009. The State Energy Office shall prepare a report on the fiscal and energy impact of sales during the period from Oct. 1-31, which is due Jan. 1, 2009.

H. 4762 – provides for a moratorium on the issuance of permits for construction debris landfills, until DHEC develops regulations and the regulations become effective.

H. 4763 – provides that a manufactured home that meets certain energy-efficient criteria set by the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy is subject to a maximum of $300 in state sales tax, and may qualify for a $750 rebate to be passed on to the purchaser in a reduction of the purchase price. The S.C. Energy Office shall track and report on the fiscal and energy impacts of the program.

H. 4784 – increases the sales and use tax by 1 percent and provides a full property tax exemption for property receiving the homestead exemption, as well as an exemption for the difference between the purchase price or fair market value of real property at the time of sale or transfer and the present tax valuation of the property. Proceeds from the tax increase are to be used for reimbursement to counties, municipalities, school districts and special purpose districts for the loss of revenue. Any balance remaining in the reduction fund will be distributed to the counties on a per capita basis to be used for tax credits against county operating and debt service millage for property assessed at the 4 and 6 percent assessment ratio not otherwise exempt.

H. 4785 – requires that beginning July 1, 2008, 25 percent of proceeds from the sale of timber on specified lands by the Department of Natural Resources must go to the general fund of the school district in which the lands are located. Currently, all of the proceeds are credited to the game protection fund.

Senate Bills

S. 1152 – eliminates the authority of a railroad company to acquire property by condemnation.

S. 1162 – amends the cap on state spending to an amount equal to those appropriations authorized by the spending limit for the previous fiscal year increased by the percentage increase in the gross domestic product of the U.S. in the previous calendar year, as determined by the Bureau of Analysis of the U.S. Commerce Department.

S. 1163 – provides for a moratorium on the issuance of permits for construction debris landfills, until DHEC develops regulations and the regulations become effective.

Issue 7-08 — Feb. 22, 2008

SPD Constitutional Amendment — H. 4578

Originally, H. 4578 created an exception to the constitutional prohibition against single county acts to allow the General Assembly to abolish a special purpose district and transfer its assets and liabilities to an assuming service provider. A House Judiciary subcommittee amended H. 4578 to allow the General Assembly to not only abolish a special purpose service district, but to modify the boundaries or restructure a special purpose district without dissolving it. Currently, there are provisions to allow counties to alter an SPD's boundaries and in some cases alter the governing body of an SPD, but not change the authority or scope of operations of the SPD. The result would likely be revival of special purpose districts. H. 4578 will be before the House Judiciary Committee next week.

Fire Sprinklers — S. 860

A Senate LCI subcommittee rewrote S. 860 to eliminate the mandatory retrofitting of commercial buildings and grant taxpayers a property tax credit equal to 80 percent of the cost for the installation of sprinkler systems. The credit would not be available to a taxpayer required by code to install sprinklers. The credit would be available in equal installments over a four-year period. There was no discussion in the meeting of which portions of the tax bill would be affected by the credit or the application procedure. Tap fees, including recurring fees, for water service for sprinkler systems charged by public and private utility providers would be capped at the actual costs. The amendment did not include local authorization to adopt codes more strict than the state building code standards. The Senate LCI Committee is trying to schedule a meeting next week to consider this and other bills.

Municipal Annexation

No bill has been introduced. Reps. Hagood and Garry Smith are leading an informal discussion, and parties have been meeting to discuss what should or should not be included in a bill. Currently in the discussions besides SCAC are MASC, the Electric Cooperatives, the Coastal Conservation League, the Realtors Association and the City of Greer. Nothing has been decided, nothing agreed to, and all parties have reserved their rights. Some of the issues include: annexation of areas completely surrounded by municipalities, municipal input in county planning around municipalities; initiation of annexation referenda by ordinance for urbanized areas; and several initiatives and requirements. All of these issues are being developed and change from meeting to meeting. SCAC has some serious concerns, and we are working to ensure that the policies developed by our Legislative Policy Process are included.

Ways and Means Completes Work on the Budget

The House Ways and Means Committee completed their work this week, and the floor debate in the House is scheduled to begin March 11.

The Local Government Fund was fully funded in accordance with the statute. Please thank the members of the House Ways and Means Committee for fully funding the Local Government Fund.

With the exception of education, most state agencies were forced to accept a 2.63 percent budget reduction. State employees were given a 1 percent salary increase, and the employee health insurance annualization and growth were funded.

Following are some provisos of interest adopted by the Ways and Means Committee:

Interstate Water Negotiations Study – Proviso 37.18. Last year this proviso was adopted, which directed that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) use their appropriated funds for expenses associated with continuing discussions on creating an interstate compact between South Carolina and Georgia concerning the Savannah River Basin and to develop legislation for that purpose. The department was to concurrently ensure that the state's positions in the FERC re-licensing procedures on the Yadkin/Pee Dee and Catawba Rivers are consistent with the state's positions on the Savannah River. DNR was to prepare a report on the expenditure of the funds by June 30, 2007. This proviso extends the deadline to Dec. 31, 2008.

Coordinating Council Application Fee Deposit – Proviso 40.afd. This proviso states that application fees received by the Department of Commerce must be deposited within five business days from the Coordinating Council application approval date. Current policy requires checks to be deposited within five days of receipt.

Alterative Homestead Exemption Trust Fund Payment – Proviso 72.new. This proviso allows a county-wide school district to elect an alternate distribution of revenue to be used for school operating purposes, if: 1) at least 75 percent of the 135-day average daily membership of students from FY 2006-2007 qualify for free or reduced lunch; 2) the school district is not eligible to receive the $2.5 million minimum tier three reimbursement; and 3) the governing body of the county-wide school district adopts a resolution to elect the alternate distribution. The alternate distribution is only available if sufficient funds are appropriated to the Homestead Exemption Fund from the General Fund, and is equal to the 1 percent sales tax estimated to be collected in the county under Act 388 plus an amount equal to the total tier one and tier two reimbursements paid to each school district in the county. This proviso currently only applies to Darlington County, and $1 million dollars was placed on the line for this purpose.

Expungement and Destruction of Criminal Records – Proviso 72.new. This proviso states that if a criminal charge is discharged, dismissed, or a person is found innocent of the charge, the arrest and booking record, files, mug shots and fingerprints of the person must be destroyed; and no evidence of the record pertaining to the charge may be retained by the county or state law enforcement agency. The proviso further states that a county or state agency, including a circuit solicitor's office or clerk of court, may not collect a fee for the destruction or expungement of records or processing of an application for destruction or expungement of records.

Failure to Remit Court Fine Reports – Proviso 73.pnr. This proviso states that if the State Treasurer receives an audit report from a county that contains a significant finding related to court fine reports to the State Treasurer's Office, the requirements of proviso 89.72 shall be followed if an amount due is specified. Proviso 89.72 is the assessment audit proviso, Proviso 72.75 last year. The requirements of 89.72 are as follows:

"If the error is determined to have been made by the county or municipal treasurer's office, the State Auditor shall notify the State Office of Victim Assistance for the crime victim portion and the chief administrator of the county or municipality of the findings and, if full payment has not been made by the county or municipality within ninety [90] days of the audit notification, the State Treasurer is directed to adjust the authority's aid to subdivisions funding in an amount equal to the amount determined by the State Auditor to be the state's portion. . ."

If an amount due is not specified, new proviso 73.pnr authorizes the State Treasurer to withhold 25 percent of all state payments to the county, until the estimated deficiency has been satisfied. Additionally, the proviso states that if a county is more than 90 days delinquent in remitting monthly court fines, the State Treasurer shall withhold 25 percent of state funding for that county, until all monthly reports are current. After 90 days, the funds being held by the Treasurer's Office will be made available to the State Auditor to conduct an audit of the entity for determining an amount due, if any.

Mileage Reimbursement – Proviso 89.25. The standard mileage reimbursement rate increases from 44.5 cents to 50.5 cents.

New $5 Traffic Ticket Surcharge – Proviso 90.cja. This proviso adds a $5 surcharge on all misdemeanor traffic tickets and non-moving violations. The revenue from the surcharge is for the Criminal Justice Academy. This proviso would mean that all magistrate court traffic tickets will have a 107.5 percent assessment, a $25 surcharge for law enforcement funding, and a $5 surcharge for the academy. A $50 ticket would become $133.75 after surcharges and assessments are added.

Spending Caps — S. 718

The Senate Judiciary subcommittee on spending caps met again, and the focus of the deliberations was solely on a state budget revenue stabilization mechanism. The subcommittee has asked their staff to draft another version of what they considered this week for their next meeting. Members of the subcommittee are: Sens. Gregory, (Chair), Ford, Martin, Ritchie, Sheheen, Lourie and Campbell.

Other Items of Interest

Immigration – S. 392. S. 392 is headed for a conference committee. Both versions of S. 392 preempt local ordinances on immigration, although with different language. The Senate has appointed Sens. Campsen, Sheheen and Ritchie as conferees. The House conferees will be named next week.

Proof of Citizenship to Vote – H. 3343. This bill would require a person to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. A House Judiciary subcommittee gave H. 3343 a favorable report.

DUI – H. 3496. The Senate passed its version of the DUI bill, and H. 3496 is awaiting concurrence or further amendment in the House. The Senate-passed version increases the sentences for a first offense to a minimum of 30 days and maximum of 90 days, if the blood alcohol content (BAC) is .16 or greater. The minimum sentence for a BAC lower than .16 would be 48 hours. In lieu of the minimum sentence, the court can sentence a person to 30 days of community service. The Senate version also added a $25 fee for administration of tests, paid by a person upon conviction.

Veterans' Tuition – S. 909. S. 909 would allow members of the National Guard or Reserve that are awarded a Bronze Star Medal or higher award for combat operations to receive free tuition for any state-supported college, university or tech school. S. 909 was referred to Senate Finance this week.

Photo Voter Card – H. 4352.This bill would require the voter board of registration to create a photo registration card for each registered voter, to be used in place of the voter registration card. The State Election Commission would set up the procedure for taking photographs and is authorized to access the photo database of other state agencies, such as DMV, to be used for the registration card. A House Judiciary subcommittee adjourned debate again on this bill.

Lot Clearing Liens – H. 3875. This legislation would grant counties the same authority that municipalities have had for years to create a lien for lot clearing charges. The House Judiciary Committee recommitted the bill to subcommittee for further study, after questions were raised by several members.

Victim Services Training – H. 4601. The House Judiciary Committee gave this bill a favorable report after an amendment to set maximum mandatory training hours. The amendment limits the number of hours required for initial certification to 15 hours and continuing education to 12 hours annually.

Limited Attorney's Fees – S. 490. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee amended and reported out S.490 favorably this week. The legislation, as amended, caps judgments awarding attorney's fees in actions brought against the state or its political subdivisions to a reasonable time expended and a reasonable hourly rate. This substantially reflects the Supreme Court's decision in Layman v. State, the TERI lawsuit.

Candidate Drug Testing – S.853 and S. 1070. The proposed constitutional amendment, S. 1070, was reported out of subcommittee and will be before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week. Because the requirements for elected offices are in the constitution, the constitutional amendment is needed to add a requirement that all candidates (including judges) submit a negative drug test result at the time of filing for office. S. 853, the statutory bill, was carried over.

Upcoming Meetings of Interest

The following are legislative meetings to consider bills of interest to counties. A full listing of meetings for next week will be posted to the website, usually by late Friday afternoon, with changes posted anytime thereafter.

House Ways and Means Property Tax Subcommittee – Tuesday, Feb. 26, one and 1/2 hours after adjournment of the House in Room 523 of the Blatt Building:

H. 3210 allows a county, by ordinance, to adopt an additional homestead property tax exemption sufficient to exempt $100,000 of the fair market value of the dwelling place of a person who is 65 and has lived in South Carolina for a year, or is totally and permanently disabled, or is legally blind. This would be a locally-absorbed homestead exemption as currently written.

S. 652 would amend §12-37-250 to allow a person to apply for the homestead exemption in person at the auditor's office; by mail, when accompanied by a copy of documentation of age, or disability, or legal blindness; or by internet in those instances where the auditor has access to official records documenting the appropriate eligibility standard. Currently, the application must be made in person to the auditor.

House Ways and Means Sales and Income Tax – Tuesday, Feb. 26, one and 1/2 hours after adjournment of the House in Room 511 of the Blatt Building:

H. 4549 credits the sales tax on automobiles to the State Highway Fund.

Senate Judiciary Committee – Wednesday, March 5 at 9:30 a.m. in Room 308 of the Gressette Building:

H. 3451 The Uniform Real Property Recording Act. Subcommittee members are Sens. Martin (Chair), Malloy, Campsen, Williams and Massey.

Conference Committee on H.3623 – Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 11 a.m. in Room 209 of the Gressette Building:

H. 3623 – initially made housekeeping changes to complete the separation of the Criminal Justice Academy from DPS. H. 3623 has been sent to conference, because there were several other items put into the bill at the close of last session. One of the provisions prohibits solicitors and clerks of court from collecting a fee for the destruction or expungement of records, or for the application or processing of an application for destruction or expungement of records. The conferees are: Reps. Murrell Smith, Stavrinakis and Thompson, and Sens. Hutto, Hawkins and Bryant.

SCAC Lobby Days Schedule

Feb. 26

March 4

March 11

March 18

March 25

'Can't Wait to Get Your Friday Report or Missed Your E-mail Version This Week?

Newly-Introduced Legislation

House Bills

H. 4713 – reduces the state residency requirement for a veteran or an immediate family member of a veteran to qualify for a plot in a state veterans' cemetery from 20 years to eight years.

H. 4720 – provides for an annual income tax deduction for a volunteer serving as a chaplain for a public law enforcement agency, if the chaplain serves for the entire taxable year and the law enforcement supervisor certifies the chaplain's service in writing.

H. 4721 – provides a property tax exemption for all real and personal property owned by a state or county fair association or society acting as a not-for-profit entity.

H. 4722 – provides that a full-time circuit solicitor shall receive the same salary as a full-time circuit court judge.

H. 4725 – prohibits a candidate's name from being listed on a ballot more than one time; and when the candidate has been nominated by multiple parties or partitions, the name of each party or petition nominating the candidate must be listed under the candidate's name.

H. 4732 – prohibits a school district employee from using district computers, networks or websites, or e-mail lists that advocate for or against a candidate, referendum or another matter. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in a three-month suspension of the employee without pay.

H. 4743 – redefines development project for counties and municipalities under the Tax Increment Financing Act for counties and municipalities to include affordable housing projects where all or a part of new property tax revenues generated in the tax increment financing district are used to provide for or support publicly-owned affordable housing in the district, or for infrastructure to support privately-owned affordable housing in the district. It also repeals the provisions of the law relating to tax increment financing for counties.

H. 4745 – authorizes a county and a municipality to create an improvement district comprised of noncontiguous parcels of land, and to use assessments for improvements located outside the boundaries of the district, as well as for infrastructure and improvements related to new development.

Senate Bills

S. 1119 – exempts tangible personal property sold or leased to public schools and public school districts from state and local sales and use tax.

S. 1136 – amends the state constitution by requiring the General Assembly to provide for the maintenance and support of a free public schools system; and the General Assembly shall establish, organize and support public institutions of learning.

S. 1141 – provides that a manufactured home that meets certain energy efficient criteria set by EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy is subject to a maximum of $300 in sales tax and may qualify for a $750 rebate to be passed on to the purchaser in a reduction of the purchase price.

S. 1142 – provides for a state income tax credit equal to 20 percent of the credit allowed against a taxpayer's federal income tax liability for qualified expenditures on photovoltaic, solar and fuel cell property, and allows a sales tax exemption on machinery purchased for the production of electricity from a renewable energy source.

S. 1143 – provides a sales tax exemption for energy-efficient appliances that cost no more than $2,500 per product. The exemption will apply to sales occurring Oct. 1-31, 2008 and April 1-30, 2009.

S. 1144 – requires all state and local government entities to maintain a transaction record of all expenditures that exceed $100 and to post the transaction record on their website. A monthly statement of all credit cards must also be posted on the website, as well as an annual listing of all full-time employees by class, an average compensation by class, and actual compensation for each employee whose income is $50,000 or more.

Issue 6-08 — Feb. 15, 2008

Spending Caps — S. 718

The Senate Judiciary subcommittee on spending caps will meet again on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 11 a.m. in room 308 of the Gressette Senate Office Building. Members of the subcommittee are: Sens. Gregory (Chair), Ford, Martin, Ritchie, Sheheen, Lourie and Campbell.

Proviso Subcommittee Completes Work

The Ways and Means budget proviso subcommittee completed their work this week. This sub-committee considers all subcommittee provisos, before the House Ways and Means Committee takes up the budget. Very few monetary issues, including questions regarding possible salary increases, have been considered. Some of the provisos of interest follow:

Interstate Water Negotiations Study – Proviso 37.18. Last year this proviso was adopted, which directed that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) use their appropriated funds for expenses associated with continuing discussions on creating an interstate compact between South Carolina and Georgia concerning the Savannah River Basin and develop legislation for that purpose. The department was to concurrently ensure that the state's positions in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission re-licensing procedures on the Yadkin/Pee Dee and Catawba Rivers are consistent with the state's positions on the Savannah River. DNR was to prepare a report on the expenditure of the funds by June 30, 2007. This proviso extends the deadline to Dec. 31, 2008.
Coordinating Council Application Fee Deposit – Proviso 40.afd. This proviso states that application fees received by the Department of Commerce must be deposited within five business days from the Coordinating Council application approval date. Current policy requires checks to be deposited within five days of receipt.
International Residential Code – Proviso 65.ws. This proviso directs the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation to utilize $150,000 to contract with Clemson University's Department of Civil Engineering, in conjunction with the Home Builders Association, to establish a research project to determine the validity of wind and seismic residential building requirements as prescribed in the 2006 International Residential Code. A preliminary report is to be submitted to the Building Codes Council by June 30, 2009.
Failure to Remit Court Fine Reports – 73.pnr. This proviso states that if the State Treasurer receives an audit report from a county that contains a significant finding related to court fines reports to the State Treasurer's Office, the requirements of proviso 89.72 shall be followed if an amount due is specified. Proviso 89.72 is the assessment audit proviso, Proviso 72.75 last year. The requirements of 89.72 are as follows:

"If the error is determined to have been made by the county or municipal treasurer's office, the State Auditor shall notify the State Office of Victim Assistance for the crime victim portion and the chief administrator of the county or municipality of the findings and, if full payment has not been made by the county or municipality within ninety [90] days of the audit notification, the State Treasurer is directed to adjust the authority's aid to subdivisions funding in an amount equal to the amount determined by the State Auditor to be the state's portion. . ."

If an amount due is not specified, new proviso 73.pnr authorizes the State Treasurer to withhold 25 percent of all state payments to the county until the estimated deficiency has been satisfied. Additionally, the proviso states that if a county is more than 90 days delinquent in remitting monthly court fines, the State Treasurer shall withhold 25 percent of state funding for that county until all monthly reports are current. After 90 days, the funds being held by the Treasurer's Office will be made available to the State Auditor to conduct an audit of the entity for determining an amount due, if any.

New $5 Traffic Ticket Surcharge – Proviso 90.cja. The subcommittee adopted this proviso to add a $5 surcharge on all misdemeanor traffic tickets and non-moving violations. The revenue from the surcharge is for the Criminal Justice Academy. This proviso would mean that all magistrate court traffic tickets will have a 107.5 percent assessment, a $25 surcharge for law enforcement funding, and a $5 surcharge for the academy. A $50 ticket would become $133.75 after surcharges and assessments are added.

Immigration — S. 392

There was much debate on S. 392 this week. The Senate amended the House amendments to S. 392 and sent it back to the House. A conference committee will likely be appointed to iron out differences between the two versions. Of note, the Senate amendments provide for the following:

Requires public employers and their contractors that have service contracts that exceed $25,000 in a 12-month period, and political subdivisions and their contractors that have service contracts that exceed $15,000 in a 12-month period, to register and participate in the federal work authorization program beginning on Jan. 1, 2009.
Authorizes the chief of SLED to enter a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Department of Justice or the Department of Homeland Security for the state enforcement of federal immigration laws. County law enforcement can participate in this agreement, and state and local law enforcement will be trained on enforcing federal immigration laws provided there is funding.
Requires verification of lawful U.S. presence of anyone who applies for state and local public benefits, and requires state and local jails to make reasonable efforts to verify the lawful U.S. status of its inmates, with some exceptions for health-related treatment.
Preempts all city, county, municipality, or other local government or political subdivision from enacting ordinances or regulations that exceed or otherwise conflict with state and federal law.

Accommodations and Hospitality Tax Bonds — S. 524 and S. 905

S. 524. The Senate passed S. 524, and it is in House Ways and Means Committee. The legislation specifically authorizes local accommodations fees, local hospitality fees and most state accommodations tax revenue to be pledged as security for bonds. The amendment requires that some of the local portion of the state accommodations tax must be used only for tourism advertising and promotion. Currently, a county receiving more than $50,000 in state accommodations tax revenues must place $25,000 in the local governments general fund. Of the remaining balance, another 5 percent is placed into the general fund, 30 percent is placed in the above-referenced special fund to be used for advertising and promotion of tourism. The remaining balance is allocated to a special fund and used for tourism-related expenditures. Only the 30 percent earmarked for advertising only may not be used to secure bonds.

S. 905. This bill allows local accommodations and hospitality fees and local portions of the state accommodations tax to be used to bond beach renourishment projects. The bill was amended on the Senate floor with an amendment similar to the one adopted in S. 524, which states that the local portion of the state accommodations tax funds allocated for advertising and promotion of tourism—to develop and increase tourist attendance through the generation of publicity—may not be used to pledge as security for bonds. S. 905 is pending third reading in the Senate.

Criminal Records Expungement

Uniform Expungement – S. 110. This bill requires the solicitors to handle record expungement and to collect an administrative fee of $250 for processing an expungement order, along with an additional $25 fee to SLED and a $35 fee to the clerk of court. If the charges against a person are discharged, dismissed, nol prossed or the person is found not guilty, there is no fee for record expungement as long as the application for expungement is made within one year of the disposition of the charges. The House Judiciary adjourned debate on S. 110 for two weeks to see what happens with the expungement provision in H. 3623.

Destruction of Criminal Records – H. 3623. This bill initially made housekeeping changes to complete the separation of the Criminal Justice Academy from DPS. H. 3623 has been sent to conference. One of the amendments provides that solicitors and clerks of court may not collect a fee for the destruction or expungement of records, or for the application or processing of an application for destruction or expungement of records. The conferees are: Reps. Murrell Smith, Stavrinakis and Thompson, and Sens. Hutto, Hawkins and Bryant.

Fire Sprinklers

H. 4470 – The House passed H. 4470, and it will be in the Senate next week. This legislation would offer several tax incentives for installing a sprinkler system, but not mandate them. Tax incentives offered are:

an income tax credit for the installation of a commercial or residential fire sprinkler system;
a prohibition on municipalities or special service districts from charging more than the actual cost of any separate water line installed solely in support of a fire sprinkler system;
an exemption of sprinkler systems from state sales tax;
a five-year county and city operating property tax exemption on the value of a sprinkler system installed or upgraded in facilities built before July 1, 2008; and
the full depreciation, at 20 percent per year, of the value of a sprinkler system.

The State Fire Marshal is responsible for the enforcement of all laws regarding the installation and maintenance of new sprinkler systems in new/existing residential or commercial structures only when the local government has designated the fire marshal as the authority having jurisdiction.

S. 860 – This legislation provides corporate income tax credits and property insurance discounts for the installation of fire sprinkler systems. The subcommittee heard testimony in support of a proposed amendment to allow local governments to enact building codes and appendixes stricter than state standards. The Senate approach so far is to mandate the installation of fire sprinklers. The subcommittee carried over S. 860 for additional debate.

Other Items of Interest

ID Theft – S. 453. This bill has returned to the Senate and is pending action on the House amendments when the Senate returns next week. Among the provisions are a mechanism to allow a citizen to request erasure of Social Security Numbers from previously-recorded documents, such as mortgages, and a uniform procedure for disposal of public computer equipment.

EMT Background Checks – S. 297 and H.4334. These bills require a criminal background check before employment as an EMT or upon renewal of an EMT license. A House 3M subcommittee gave a favorable report to H. 4334, but did not take up S. 297 this week.

DUI – H. 3496. The Senate Judiciary Committee took up this bill and amended it to include graduated penalties based upon the number of prior offenses. A first offense allows for a minimum 48-hour to a maximum 30-day sentence. In lieu of the minimum sentence, the court can sentence a person to 48 hours of community service. A minimum sentence or community service must be served in such a way as not to interfere with a person's regular employment. The court must allow a person to serve community service in the county of their residence, regardless of the county of the sentence. The bill was further amended to include a $25 surcharge for breath and blood tests, paid to SLED upon conviction.

Child Support Wage Garnishment – H. 3478. This legislation would require a person to make child support payments by wage garnishment, if they are more than three months in arrears. The House gave second reading to H. 3478.

Photo Voter Card – H. 4352. This bill would require the voter board of registration to create a photo registration card for each registered voter to be used in place of the voter registration card. The State Election Commission would set up the procedures for taking photographs and accessing the photo database of other state agencies to be used for the registration card. A House Judiciary subcommittee adjourned debate on this bill for one week.

Lot Clearing Liens – H. 3875. This legislation would grant counties the same authority that municipalities have had for years to create a lien for lot clearing charges. A House Judiciary subcommittee gave the bill a favorable report, and it now goes to the House Judiciary Committee.

Victim Services Training – H. 4601. A House Judiciary subcommittee gave a favorable report to H. 4601. Newly-hired service providers would be required to become certified within one year of employment and take continuing education training annually. Several interested parties are working on the number of mandatory training hours required of victim service providers, looking at 15 hours for certification and 10 hours of continuing education. H. 4601 will be before the House Judiciary Committee next week.

Solid Waste Management Regulation – R. 3113/S. 1114. This regulation, which deals with notification and permitting requirements, was approved by the full Senate Medical Affairs Committee. The regulation becomes effective 120 days after introduced, unless approved by both houses before the time lapses. The resolution approving the regulation has been introduced as S. 1114 and will be sent to the House for consideration following action on the floor.

DOT Road Funding – S.891. This legislation would transfer the proceeds from the sale, use and titling of motor vehicles to the State Highway Fund. DOT would make monthly transfers of funds to the State Highway Infrastructure Bank to be used exclusively for highway, road and bridge construction and improvement. Infrastructure Bank funds must be expended half on projects on the DOT priority list and half on projects approved by the Infrastructure Bank Board. A Senate LCI subcommittee ran out of time before discussing this bill.

Veterans' Tuition – S. 909. S. 909 would allow members of the National Guard or Reserve that are awarded a Bronze Star Medal or higher for combat operations to receive free tuition for any state-supported college, university or tech school. The Senate Education Committee amended the bill and gave it a favorable report.

SCAC Lobby Days Schedule

Feb. 19

Feb. 26

March 4

March 11

March 18

March 25

'Can't Wait to Get Your Friday Report or Missed Your E-mail Version This Week?

NACo County Courthouse Award

Information on the 2008 NACo County Courthouse Award is available at www.naco.org, under the Awards section. This award recognizes innovative governance by county elected officials from NACo member counties. Winners receive a plaque and a $5,000 college scholarship to present a graduating high school senior. There are rural, urban and suburban categories, and applications must be postmarked by May 9, 2008. Questions can be directed to Dalen Harris or Erik Johnston at (202) 393-6226.

Newly-Introduced Legislation

House Bills

H. 4672 – creates a construction materials sales tax exemption for construction materials used to construct or expand a manufacturing or distribution facility that has a minimum of $50 million invested in this state. The tax rate on the gross proceeds of qualifying construction materials is 4 percent. The exemption is to become effective July 1, 2008.

H. 4682 – creates a sales tax exemption to any entity of the S.C. state government from state-imposed sales taxes, while making revenue adjustments to hold harmless the EIA Fund and the Homestead Exemption Fund because of the loss of funds due to this exemption. The exemption does not apply to local sales and use tax administered by the Department of Revenue.

H. 4683 – imposes a $25 surcharge that cannot be waived, reduced or suspended on all fines and forfeitures on misdemeanor traffic violations and non-traffic violations imposed in general sessions, magistrates courts and municipal courts. Within 30 days of the receipt of this surcharge, the funds are to be transferred to the State Treasurer—which can withhold actual collection costs up to $40,000 in a fiscal year, with the remaining funds to be disbursed to various state agencies on a quarterly basis. The Prosecution Coordination Commission (solicitors) will get 18.5 percent.

H. 4685 – provides that a boat located in this state for an aggregate of 180 days (current statutes are for 90 days) is subject to property tax. Upon written request by a tax official, the owner of a boat in question must provide documents or logs to the whereabouts of the boat. Failure to provide this documentation creates a rebuttable presumption that the boat is taxable.

H. 4692 – provides that the Budget and Control Board's chief information officer is to provide a wireless cloud over all public school facilities and over a 10-mile radius surrounding the facilities using the existing infrastructure.

H. 4694 – prohibits a person charged with a criminal offense with a maximum penalty of one year or more from serving on a state grand jury.

H. 4696 – authorizes voters to write in names on a primary ballot, and removes the prohibition against write-in names on ballots for the election of the President and Vice President.

H. 4698 – provides that if a vacancy occurs in the county coroner's office more than one year before the next general election for coroners, the Governor shall appoint a person until a special election can be held. The chief deputy or second in command in the coroner's office shall act as coroner until the vacancy is filled. If the coroner is suspended by the Governor for an indictment or other reasons, the chief magistrate of that county shall act as coroner until the coroner is reinstated or a coroner is selected in the next general election, whichever occurs first.

H. 4706 – provides that aircraft servicing facilities that meet certain criteria are eligible to receive an annual jobs tax credit.

Senate Bills

S. 1098 – provides that beginning July 1, 2009, a recycling facility that meets certain criteria is allowed a refundable income tax credit equal to the yearly amount expended for electric service multiplied by 1 percent in the first year the credit is claimed, increasing by 2 percent for each year thereafter, up to a maximum of 8 percent. The credit will only become effective, if the forecast by the Board of Economic Advisors for Feb. 15, 2009 indicates an annual general fund revenue growth that equals at least 5 percent of the most recent estimate by the board for the current fiscal year.

S. 1099 – creates a study committee to review the criminal domestic laws of this state and make recommendations to the General Assembly no later than Jan. 31, 2009, at which time the study will be dissolved.

S. 1105 – amends the state constitution to allow the General Assembly to enact special laws that are necessary to implement traditional state functions as determined by the General Assembly; or, if the laws concern entities created by legislative enactments passed prior to Home Rule, to provide for a change in the governance or composition of the entity and to devolve all powers and duties affecting the entity upon the local governing body of a county or municipality.

S. 1106 – codifies the laws that combined county boards of registration and election commissions into a single entity; and provides that counties that do have combined boards and commissions must have their separate boards and commissions appointed in accordance with current law.

S. 1114 – the DHEC super regulation on solid waste (discussed earlier in the report).

S. 1118 – authorizes the State Election Commission to collect and publish information, by county, on the number of electors who vote a straight party ticket.

Issue 5-08 — Feb. 8, 2008

Spending Caps — S. 718

The Senate Judiciary subcommittee on spending caps met to hear from the Board of Economic Advisors about state spending limitation mechanisms. The subcommittee only had time for the presentation, and no discussion took place. There has been no public discussion of whether local government spending limits should be included in S. 718 or any other legislation.

It is important for all of the members of the General Assembly to hear from their county officials about their tough budget issues under the existing hard millage rate cap and what issues might arise from an additional spending cap being added to that. During discussions on this proposal, many proponents have lumped all local government spending and millage levels together. Legislators may not understand that school district spending and millage patterns are what is being complained of, and county numbers do not follow the same pattern or levels.

Several local chambers of commerce have taken positions opposing local government spending caps. When the budgetary position of the county and/or municipalities and the consequences of a local spending cap are explained, local chambers appear to be responding to oppose the concept of a local spending cap. SCAC encourages you to make these contacts, to ask your local chamber of commerce take a position opposing local spending limits, and to communicate that position to the General Assembly.

2008 SCAC Mid-Year Conference, Legislative Reception and Institute of Government

The Mid-Year Conference and Legislative Reception will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Embassy Suites Hotel in Columbia. If you have not already done so, make an attempt to arrange a meeting with the members of your delegation to discuss legislation which impacts your county. SCAC will also host the General Assembly at a reception Wednesday evening, Feb. 13, at Embassy Suites Hotel. If you can't arrange a meeting during the day, members of the General Assembly always want to know if you will be at a reception for an informal meeting.

Immigration — S. 392 and H. 4400

S. 392 requires public employers and their contractors to participate in the Federal Work Authorization Program and preempts local immigration ordinances that exceed state or federal law. When the bill returned to the Senate this week, there was considerable debate on some of the Senate measures which were deleted by the House. There are several amendments pending, and it will be debated again next week in the Senate. H. 4400 contains the same provisions as the House-passed version of S. 392 and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

House Budget Subcommittees Finishing Their Work

House Ways and Means subcommittees completed all work not related to actual monetary allocations this week. Next week, the Budget Proviso Subcommittee will begin reviewing the provisos, before the full Ways and Means takes up the budget.

Of interest this week was the proviso adopted by the Ways and Means Criminal Justice Subcommittee to add a $5 surcharge on all misdemeanor traffic tickets and non-moving violations. The revenue from the surcharge is for the Criminal Justice Academy. This proviso would mean that all magistrate court traffic tickets will have a 107.5 percent assessment, a $25 surcharge for law enforcement funding and a $5 surcharge for the academy. A $50 ticket would become $133.75 after surcharges and assessments are added.

GASB 45 and Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB)

H. 3789 – The Senate gave final reading to the House bill that creates a trust fund to invest OPEB funds for retired employees of state agencies and school districts. Efforts to have the bill amended to allow participation in the fund by counties, municipalities and special purpose districts were unsuccessful. H. 3789 now goes back to the House for consideration of Senate amendments.

O'Brien v. SC ORBIT – The Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday in a declaratory judgment action regarding whether a trust (SC ORBIT), formed by a coalition of municipalities to fund the members' OPEB liabilities, could invest its funds in the stock market. Article X, § 11 of the state constitution prohibits such investments by the state and its political subdivisions. The recent constitutional amendment voted on allowed equity investments only for the retirement system. The argument in favor of the trust is that it is not a political subdivision of the state and should be allowed to purchase stocks.

Stock investments greatly reduce the amount of funds necessary to fund OPEB liabilities, because they frequently outperform bond investments. S.462, which is currently pending in the House Ways and Means Committee, would amend the constitution to allow such investments; but the change would not be effective until at least 2009. It's always difficult to detect how a court might rule, but the justices did not appear to embrace the arguments made by the trust.

Eminent Domain — H. 4609

This bill places several requirements on counties who want to use eminent domain for slum clearance and redevelopment or the acquisition of air rights and subsurface rights under Section 4-9-30 (15). It requires a detailed cost/benefit analysis and a meeting with all impacted parties. The value to the public must be greater than the just compensation paid to the property owner. The bill is in a House Judiciary subcommittee composed of: Reps. Delleney (Chair), Viers, Harrison, Coleman and Fletcher Smith.

Identity Theft — S. 453

S. 453 enacts the Financial Identity Fraud and Identity Theft Protection Act. The House amended this bill and gave it third reading. The bill is now before the Senate pending concurrence. The legislation:

states that if a person is convicted of identity theft and using that information to commit a crime, the court records must reflect that the person whose identity was falsely used to commit the crime did not commit the crime;
allows a consumer to request that a consumer reporting agency put a security freeze on his/her consumer file. The security freeze does not apply to a governmental entity acting pursuant to a court order, warrant, subpoena, or administrative subpoena, nor to a local official authorized to investigate or collect delinquent amounts owed to a public entity;
provides privacy protections in the use of a person's Social Security Number—including measures governing disposal of personal identifying information, prohibiting the use of personal identifying information on certain public documents, and allowing citizens to request expungement of Social Security Numbers on previously recorded documents such as mortgages; and
provides a uniform procedure for public bodies to dispose of computer equipment containing personal information.

Other Items of Interest

Lot Clearing Liens – H. 3875. This legislation would grant counties the same authority that municipalities have had for years to create a lien for lot clearing charges. A House Judiciary subcommittee ran out of time this week and will take it up at the next sub-committee meeting.

EMT Background Checks – S. 297 and H.4334. These bills require a criminal background check before employment as an EMT or upon renewal of an EMT license. A House 3M subcommittee gave a favorable report to H. 4334, but did not take up S. 297 this week.

Child Support Wage Garnishment – H. 3478. This legislation would require a person to make child support payments by wage garnishment, if they are more than three months in arrears. A House Judiciary subcommittee amended the bill to allow judges to extend child support payments for certain children to age 19 or the successful completion of high school, whichever is later. H. 3478 got a favorable report and will be before the House Judiciary Committee.

Uniform Expungement – S. 110. This bill provides for a uniform procedure for the expungement of criminal records. A House Judiciary subcommittee amended S. 110 to require the solicitors to handle record expungement and gave the bill a favorable report.

Church Christmas Trees – S. 889. This legislation would prohibit enforcement of any section of a building code that prohibits live cut Christmas trees in a place of worship. A Senate LCI subcommittee voted to carry this bill over until their next meeting.

Bond Estreatment Proceeds – H. 4438. The House has passed H. 4438, and it is in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The House-passed version authorizes the Attorney General to receive 25 percent of forfeiture proceeds, if it is the prosecuting agency rather than the solicitor's office. Otherwise, the solicitor receives 25 percent of the proceeds.

Jail Statute Recodification – S. 590. The Senate Corrections and Penology Committee carried over S. 590 after adopting the subcommittee amendment. This bill amends four chapters in Title 24 relating to local detention facilities, replacing obsolete language, updating statutes to reflect current practice, and clarifying ambiguous or confusing language. This legislation is the work product of SCAC's Local Detention Committee, which worked for more than a year on this project.

Community Service Sentences – S. 542. This bill would increase the authority of magistrates to sentence a person to community service from 100 hours to 250 hours. The Senate Judiciary Committee recommitted this bill to subcommittee to work on a more comprehensive bill.

Criminal Records Destruction – H. 3268. This bill allows a court to order payment of all court costs and costs incurred by the accused, if the court finds that criminal charges brought by someone other than a law enforcement officer or court officer were frivolous. A House Judiciary subcommittee adjourned debate on H. 3268.

Dog Tethering – S. 833. The Senate Judiciary subcommittee amendment to this bill would outlaw chaining of dogs for more than 12 hours in a 24-hour period, or 16 hours of a 24-hour period when on a trolley system, and broadens the animal cruelty statute. The amendment also includes specific non-preemption language for local government ordinances.

Beachfront Finance – S. 905. The Senate Finance Committee amended this bill substantially and gave it a favorable report. The committee amendment deleted the provisions which allow certain municipalities and counties to use state accommodations tax money otherwise forwarded to the state for beach renourishment bonds. The bill still allows local accommodations and hospitality fees and local portions of the state accommodations tax to be used to bond beach renourishment projects.

Fire Sprinklers – S. 860. A Senate LCI subcommittee considered S. 860 this week. The bill provides corporate income tax credits and mandatory property insurance discounts for the installation of fire sprinklers. It also limits water utility fees related for sprinkler systems to the standard fees for an applicable structure. The amendment allows local governments to adopt ordinances for existing structures and building code updates and appendices that are stricter than the minimum state standards. The amendment also grants a five-year county operating property tax exemption for these sprinkler systems. The subcommittee will meet again next week.

Candidate Drug Testing – S. 853 and S. 1070. Both of these bills would require mandatory drug testing for all candidates for elected office. Failure to take the test or a positive result would bar a candidate's name from being placed on the ballot. S. 1070 is a constitutional amendment. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee adjourned debate after hearing testimony. The subcommittee wants to take action but needs to address several legal problems stemming from a U.S. Supreme Court decision of a similar statute in Georgia. A meeting is scheduled for next week.

SCAC Lobby Days Schedule

Feb. 19

Feb. 26

March 4

March 11

March 18

March 25

'Can't Wait to Get Your Friday Report or Missed Your E-mail Version This Week?

Newly-Introduced Legislation

House Bills

H. 4630 – creates a new Gang Prevention Study Committee that must produce a report with recommendations to the Governor, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House by Jan. 30, 2010.

H. 4631 – prohibits counties and municipalities from enacting regulations and ordinances to prohibit the discharge of a firearm on a person's property for protection against animals posing a direct threat or danger, as long as the property parcel is at least 25 contiguous acres.

H. 4642 – creates a state sales tax exemption on the sales price of construction material used to construct the headquarters of a manufacturing or distributing facility with a capital investment of at least $100 million in real and personal property at a single site in the state.

H. 4649 – amends the percentage of security deposits a bail bondsman must maintain with the clerk of court from one-fourth to one-sixth. The minimal collateral pledged with the clerk of court also increases from $10,000 to $25,000. As of the effective date of this legislation, licensed bondsmen are not required to increase existing amounts beyond the minimum limits posted as of their date of licensure.

H. 4665 – provides that 25 percent of the remaining balance in the Homestead Exemption Fund must be retained as a reserve to offset shortfalls in the school district funds paid from the general fund, and that the remaining balance must be credited to the Non-federal Aid State Highway Fund. It also repeals the language in current law sending balances to counties.

Senate Bills

S. 1068 – amends the provisions for removing a case from Probate to Circuit Court, provides that appeals from Probate Court go directly to the Court of Appeals, and increases the concurrent jurisdictional amount in Probate Court from $25,000 to $100,000.

S. 1070 – amends the state constitution by adding a provision that would require drug testing for a candidate of a popularly-elected office of the state or political subdivision.

S. 1075 – supplements school districts negatively impacted by the lack of revision in the 2007 Final Index of Taxpaying Ability, and directs that excess funds in those school districts positively affected go towards nonrecurring allowable expenditures.

Ratification of Acts

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

(R.178) S. 94 – allows a surviving spouse to waive their rights to an elective share, homestead exemption, or exempt property provided written disclosure is provided to them of the other spouse's property and financial obligations.

(R.186) H. 3572 – creates the "Traffic Education Program Act," which allows a solicitor to establish a program for persons who commit traffic-related offenses punishable by a fine or a loss of four points or less, and allows the solicitor to contract with a local government to run the program.

Issue 4-08 — Feb. 1, 2008

Spending Caps — S. 718

The Senate Judiciary Spending Caps Subcommittee will meet Thursday, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m. in room 308 of the Gressette Building. The subcommittee members are Sens. Gregory (Chairman), Ford, Martin, Ritchie, Sheheen, Lourie and McConnell. The subcommittee is considering a cap on state government spending proposed as a constitutional amendment in S. 718. There has been no discussion at a subcommittee meeting as to whether a local government cap is to be added to S. 718 or proposed in other legislation. A recent Statehouse Report article discussing the spending caps issue is attached.

It is important for all of the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to hear from their county officials about their tough budget issues under the existing hard millage rate cap and what issues might arise from an additional spending cap being added to that. During discussions on this proposal, many proponents have lumped all local government spending and millage levels together. Members of the Judiciary Committee may not understand that school district spending and millage patterns are what is being complained about, and county numbers do not follow the same pattern or levels.

2008 SCAC Mid-Year Conference, Legislative Reception and Institute of Government

Mid-Year Conference and Legislative Reception to be held Wednesday, Feb. 13. The Mid-Year Conference will be held at Embassy Suites Hotel in Columbia. Registration information has been mailed and is available via the website. Now is the time to start arranging meetings with members of your delegation. SCAC will also host the General Assembly at a reception Wednesday evening, Feb. 13, at Embassy Suites Hotel. Please see the attached flyer for more details about the program.

Institute of Government classes will be held on Thursday, Feb. 14. These informational courses are open to all county officials. The course offerings include Managing and Conducting Meetings, Strategic Planning, the Property Taxation Process, and Developing Leadership Skills. There is a separate registration for these courses, and those materials have been mailed and are available on the website. The first two courses listed are also certified for land use planning official continuing education credit.

Immigration

The General Assembly took action on several immigration bills this week. H. 4400, which requires public employers and their contractors to participate in the Federal Work Authorization Program and preempts local immigration ordinances that exceed state and federal law, received third reading on the House floor and is now in the Senate. S. 392 was amended by the House to mirror H. 4400 and has been sent back to the Senate. The Senate-passed version of S. 392 does not contain the preemption of local ordinances language.

The resolution requesting a U.S. constitutional convention on immigration, S. 856, passed the Senate and is now in the House. The Senate's English-only bill, S. 857, is pending before the House Judiciary Committee. H. 4353, the House's English-only bill, along with H. 4385, which requires jail officials to ascertain and report illegal immigrants that are confined on felony or DUI charges, were both recommitted to subcommittee by the House Judiciary Committee.

House Budget Subcommittees Begin Finishing Their Work

Ways and Means budget subcommittees continued to meet this week. Most of the subcommittees finished hearing from the agencies within their purview this week and considered House member budget requests. They are finishing their work on proviso requests in the next week.

Solid Waste Management Regulation 3113

This document is referred to as the "Super Reg." It updates and streamlines notification and permitting requirements. A major change is that it requires an applicant to provide more information in the early stages of the process. This is the regulation that SCAC, with your assistance, had recalled because it contained a grandfather clause that would have allowed a solid waste company to bypass changes in the county solid waste plan. The offending language has been removed, and the regulation received a favorable vote in a Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee.

Tax Incentives for Fire Sprinklers — H. 4470

This legislation would offer the following tax incentives for installing a sprinkler system:

an income tax credit for the installation of a fire sprinkler system;
a prohibition on municipalities or special service districts from charging more than the actual cost of any separate water line installed solely in support of a fire sprinkler system;
an exemption of sprinkler systems from state sales tax;
a five-year county and city operating property tax exemption on the value of a sprinkler system installed or upgraded in facilities built before July 1, 2008; and
the full depreciation, at 20 percent per year, of the value of a sprinkler system.

The House Ways and Means Committee amended and reported H. 4470 out favorably this week. The amendments clarified that the tax credits applied to residential as well as commercial taxpayers, granted the five-year property tax exemption on the value of the sprinkler system to all facilities—including residential, and stated that the exemption applies to municipal property taxes as well as county property taxes.

Eminent Domain — H. 4609

Other Items of Interest

Traffic Diversion – H. 3572. The House amended H. 3572 to delay its effective date until 90 days after the Governor's signature, and require that the solicitor have a program in place by July 1, 2009. The Senate concurred in that amendment, and it is now awaiting action by the Governor. H. 3572 will allow a first-time traffic offender to avoid a conviction, including the fine and points, if they enter an education or public service pro-gram. All solicitors are responsible to begin a program. The solicitor may enter into a contract with a local government to run the program. The legislation gives the entity which runs the program $140 and holds state agencies harmless for their losses due to diverted traffic tickets.

EMT Background Checks – S. 297 and H.4334. These bills require a criminal background check before employment as an EMT or renewal of an EMT license. S. 297 passed the Senate and is now in the House 3M Committee. A House 3M subcommittee previously voted to give H. 4334 a favorable report pending a fiscal impact report that does not exceed $21,000. That House 3M subcommittee has scheduled a meeting on H. 4334 and presumably will take up S. 297 as well, Feb. 6.

Magistrate Civil Jurisdiction – S. 764. S. 764 would increase the civil jurisdiction in magistrates court from $7,500 to $10,000. After taking testimony, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee ran out of time and will take this bill back up at their next meeting. This issue of magistrate civil court is also addressed in H. 3934 discussed below.

Judicial Enhancement – H. 3934. This bill makes several changes to the judicial system. Of note, it increases the civil jurisdiction in magistrate court from $7,500 to $15,000. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee heard testimony on this bill, but did not take a vote. H. 3934 will be taken up at their next meeting.

Identity Theft — S. 453. After adopting several amendments, the House Judiciary Committee gave a favorable report to S. 453. One of the amendments states that public information obtained from local government records is not considered personal identifying information.

Bond Estreatment Proceeds – H. 4438. This legislation authorizes the prosecuting agency, rather than the solicitor's office, to receive 25 percent of the funds on a bond forfeiture. The House Judiciary Committee gave the bill a favorable report, and it is pending third reading on the House calendar.

Jail Statute Recodification – S. 590. The Senate Corrections Committee will consider S. 590 on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 9:30 a.m. in room 207 of the Gressette Building. S. 590 is a project of the Local Detention Study Committee to update the Code of Laws to reflect court decisions and update terminology which does not reflect actual practice in the field.

Community Service Sentences – S. 542. This bill would increase the authority of magistrates to sentence a person to community service from 100 hours to 250 hours. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to carry over this bill until the next meeting.

Magistrate Warrants – S. 503. This legislation would allow a magistrate in one county to issue a warrant for a person charged with a crime in that county but residing or located in another county, without requiring the warrant to be endorsed by another county. The Senate Judiciary Committee amended the bill to require that a law enforcement officer in a jurisdiction where an arrest warrant is being served that originated from outside the jurisdiction must accompany the agent attempting to serve the warrant. The Senate has adopted the committee amendment and given S. 503 second reading.

SCAC Lobby Days Schedule

Feb. 5

Feb. 19

Feb. 26

March 4

March 11

March 18

March 25

NACo Legislative Conference — March 1-5

The 2008 NACo Legislative Conference is scheduled for March 1-5 in Washington, D.C. Enclosed is the registration form. After January 24, hotel rooms are subject to availability. The South Carolina delegation is hoping for the Hilton Washington.

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Newly-Introduced Legislation

House Bills

H. 4578 – amends the state constitution by authorizing the General Assembly, by special or local law, to abolish a special or public service district and transfer its assets and liabilities to an assuming service provider.

H. 4588 – removes the requirement that a deed exempt from the recording fee be accompanied by an affidavit stating the reason the deed is exempt from this fee.

H. 4593 – allows an employer a yearly $500 tax credit for employing an apprentice in a high school vocational program.

H. 4609 – amends the eminent domain procedures by requiring a county and any agency or political subdivision of a county to first apply to and receive written approval from county council before exercising the power of eminent domain.

H. 4611 – provides that if a majority "no" vote is certified by a county election commission on a referendum held for the question of imposing a local sales and use tax to finance transportation infrastructure, a subsequent referendum cannot be held before the second general election following the certification date of the first referendum.

H. 4623 – establishes a Joint Zero-Base Budget and Agency Evaluation Committee to evaluate state agencies and their subdivisions to determine if the programs have outlived their usefulness or need to be changed to meet the needs of the citizens they serve.

H. 4627 – provides that the revenues from the 5 percent excise tax on on-site alcoholic beverage consumption must be distributed to the state, counties and local entities based on revenues received in FY 2004-2005 rather than revenues allocated.

Senate Bills

S. 1032 – supplements school districts negatively impacted by the lack of revision in the 2007 Final Index of Taxpaying Ability, and directs the excess funds in those school districts positively affected go toward nonrecurring allowable expenditures.

S. 1039 – prohibits counties and municipalities from enacting regulations to prohibit the discharge of a firearm on a person's property for protection against animals posing a direct threat or danger, as long as the property parcel is at least 25 contiguous acres.

S. 1042 – authorizes the state to use emergency support function volunteers to carry out its responsibilities under the State Emergency Operations Plan, and allows for certain benefits to the volunteers such as mileage reimbursement and liability insurance.

South Carolina Association of Counties

In This Section

Friday Reports — February 2008