State House

Friday Reports — June/July 2008

Issue 23-08: July 2, 2008

Issue 22-08: June 6, 2008

(Back to Other 2008 Reports)


Issue 23-08 — July 2, 2008

This is the final Friday Report for the 2008 session of the General Assembly. All bills which did not pass this year are dead. The two-year cycle of the General Assembly will begin again next January with only bills introduced or re-introduced being considered over the next cycle. Shortly, SCAC will publish Acts Which Affect Counties, which serves as an exhaustive listing of those acts of the General Assembly which touch upon some aspect of county government. There will, of course, be numerous opportunities to hear in depth about selected topics at SCAC's Annual Conference and Institute of Government July 30-Aug. 3.

General Assembly Adjourns

The General Assembly is finished for the most part, having addressed all of the actions taken before the June 25 session. However, they amended the sine die resolution to allow them to come back into session in October, if revenues in the first quarter of the 2008-09 Fiscal Year are 4 percent or more below projections used in the budget. Any October session would be limited to legislation to address shortfalls in revenues, gubernatorial vetoes and resolutions affecting the sine die adjournment date.

SCAC Had a Very Successful Year in the General Assembly

In the second year of the legislative session, it is unlikely for major legislation to be introduced and passed, unless it has already passed one chamber during the previous year. The second year is devoted much more to defense, and a number of legislative proposals which would have been harmful were defeated. Despite that general rule of thumb, there were also several pieces of legislation passed which were supported by SCAC. A brief recap follows:

What Did Not Pass:

  1. Repeal of Home Rule Constitutional Provision – S. 1105. This bill would have repealed the prohibition on single county legislation, which was a cornerstone of the 1973 Home Rule Act. Without this provision, virtually no decision of a county council would be exempt from reversal by the legislative delegation, and special purpose districts would be given a new life. S. 1105 received several hearings at the subcommittee level. Further consideration of S. 1105 was halted to allow for an in-depth study of the concept during the interim. Sen. Larry Martin is said to be Chairman of the study committee, although no formal announcement of appointments to this study committee has been made.
  2. Local Spending Caps – H. 3615 and S. 718. H. 3615 would have imposed a spending limitation of the increase in the Consumer Price Index plus the increase in inflation upon local governments in addition to the existing millage rate cap. H. 3615 did not make it out of the House Ways and Means Committee. S. 718 was drafted as a state spending limitation, but several groups advocated adding local governments. The Senate did move S. 718 forward, but without a local spending cap. This was in large part due to the participation of local officials at the study committee's public hearings last fall.
  3. School District and Municipal Capital Projects Local Option Sales Tax – S. 1232 and H. 4378. S. 1232 (R. 362) will allow Horry and Charleston County school districts to call a referendum for a school project local sales tax, but an amendment to apply that statewide was defeated. H. 4378 would have allowed a municipal only capital projects sales tax, and it was defeated on the House floor.
  4. Online Spending Registry. This proposal—requiring every expenditure of $100 or more to be posted to a searchable website with a detailed explanation and to be updated monthly—was defeated in subcommittee as S. 1144 and in the budget conference committee. The budget proviso was the last proviso considered, and it was only due to the efforts of numerous county officials that neither the House nor Senate version of this proviso was adopted. This avoided a huge expenditure of taxpayer resources in terms of both money and man-hours.
  5. Local Sales Tax Exemption for Food – H. 4355. This bill sailed through the House, making the exemption for food from all local option sales taxes mandatory, and was amended in the Senate to make it optional. The provisions relating to the local sales tax exemption on food were stripped from H. 4355 in conference committee.
  6. Stormwater Fee Exemption – H. 4337. This bill would have exempted agricultural and undeveloped land from stormwater management fees. It died on the Senate floor.

What Passed:

  1. Local Government Fund. The Local Government Fund was fully funded, according to the statutory formula.
  2. E-Recording of Deeds – Act No. 210 (R. 203, H. 3451). This bill authorizes a county to set up an electronic land title recording system.
  3. Law Enforcement Reimbursement for Training – Act No. 269 (R. 321, H. 3326). A jurisdiction which has a law enforcement officer hired away from them by another law enforcement agency would be reimbursed for 100 percent of the training expense within one year of completing mandatory training and 50 percent of the expense if hired less than two years, but more than one year after completing mandatory training. Reimbursement would be paid by the agency hiring the employee.
  4. Illegal Immigration Enforcement – Act No. 280 (R. 327, H. 4400). This act requires all employers to verify the legal status of all new hires through the federal E-verify program or a valid driver's license/ID card issued by SCDMV.
  5. Homestead Exemption Applications – Act No. 184 (R. 203, S. 652). This act allows the assessor to accept application by mail or internet for the elderly and disabled homestead exemption.
  6. Tax Changes – S. 1171 (R. 359). This act amends §12-6-3310 to allow limited liability companies (LLCs) to qualify for certain economic development incentives in the same manner as corporations. The act also allows a county to change the amount of time a boat with multiple state tax situs must be located in South Carolina to become taxable to 180 days in the aggregate.

Jail Recodification — S. 181

S. 181, the jail recodification bill, is one of the big disappointments of the year. The Senate overrode the Governor's veto of S. 181; however, the veto was sustained by a large margin in the House. Several House members spoke in support of the veto, warning of future law suits against the Department of Corrections based on a failure to locate a prisoner close to his county of residence. The provision addressing the location of state inmates within the DOC system which sparked the concerns was not part of the SCAC proposal, but was added to the bill on the Senate floor. S. 181 was a product of several years of work by SCAC's Local Detention Study Committee—which included county jailers, administrators, sheriffs and the Department of Corrections—and was much needed.

Taxation and Finance Bills

  1. Reassessment Delay – H. 3975 (R. 377). This act was signed by the Governor on June 18 and allows a county to postpone reassessment for one additional year.
  2. Residential Improvement Districts (RIDs) – H. 4745 (R. 422). This act became law June 17. The act is based on the county improvement districts in Chapter 35 of Title 4—expanding upon that authorization, which allows assessments to finance public infrastructure and improvements.
  3. Affordable Housing TIFs/Water District Sewer Service – H. 4743 (R. 386). This bill became law when the General Assembly overrode the Governor's veto. The act allows affordable housing to be the focus of a tax increment financing (TIF) district. It also includes the contents of H. 3030 to allow certain rural water districts to construct and operate sewage systems within the district. H. 4743 does not contain the COG provision which was in H. 3030.
  4. Realtor Business Licenses – H. 4554 (R. 421). H. 4554 became law when the Governor's veto was overridden. This act is intended to clarify where realtor income is taxed for business license purposes and to avoid multiple taxation of that income. The act also prohibits a city or county from imposing a business license tax upon the gross receipts of an auctioneer for the first three auctions conducted by the auctioneer in the county or municipality, unless the auctioneer maintains an office in the county or municipality.
  5. Sprinkler Installation Property Tax Credit – H. 4470 (R. 385). The Governor vetoed this bill, but it became law when the General Assembly overrode that veto. This legislation allows a county to grant a property tax credit equal to 25 percent of the cost of installing a fire sprinkler system. For those taxpayers who receive a property tax credit, they will also get a state income tax credit equal to 25 percent of the installation cost of the sprinkler system. There are no caps on the amount of the cost of the sprinkler system. Water tap and maintenance fees for sprinklers are capped at actual costs.

General Government Operations and Structure

  1. Recreational SPD Dissolution – H. 4754 (R. 424). This bill was signed into law on June 16. It allows a special purpose district that only provides recreational services to voluntarily dissolve and transfer its authority to the county. The SPD has to hold a public hearing prior to adopting a resolution and requires a two-thirds majority of the SPD board, county council and the county legislative delegation to approve the dissolution.
  2. Firefighter Background Checks – Act No. 309 (R. 397, H. 5009). This bill provides that no person may volunteer, be hired as a firefighter or perform firefighting duties who has been convicted of, pled guilty or pled nolo contendere to arson within the past 10 years. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 11.
  3. Combined Registration and Election Boards – S. 1106 (R. 352). S. 1106 became law on June 12 and is an effort to combine county registration and election boards in a constitutionally sound manner. The bill codifies the numerous local acts which have been used to combine these boards, without making substantive changes to existing structure in each county.
  4. EMT Background Check – Act No. 304 (R. 381, H. 4334). This act requires a criminal background check before employment as an EMT or upon renewal of an EMT license. It became law on June 11.
  5. Local Sales Tax Food Exemption General Election Funding – H. 4355. A conference committee stripped out all of the tax provisions of the bill and adopted a report appropriating $3 million for the 2008 general election. The balance of the funds provided in the bill will go towards the purchase of new school buses. The bill is awaiting consideration by the Governor.

Courts, Clerks and RODs

  1. Erroneous Mortgage Satisfaction – H. 3033 (R. 409). This bill was signed into law on June 16 and would create a procedure for the filing of a rescission of an erroneous mortgage satisfaction.
  2. Child Support Garnishment and Centralized Child Support Collection – H. 3478 (R. 373). H. 3478 was signed into law on June 11. The act allows a judge to order wage garnishment, if a person is at least three months in arrears on child support. It creates a statewide centralized system for child support collection by 2010, as is mandated by the federal government.
  3. Deed Recording Exemption Fee – Act No. 292 (R. 379, H. 4067). This act exempts from deed recording fees real property deed transfers from a trust to a trust beneficiary. The bill was signed June 11.
  4. Protective Orders – Act No. 303 (R. 380, H. 4312). This act provides that a protective order established by reason of incapacity other than age does not automatically terminate upon the incapacitated person reaching the age of majority. The act also grants persons holding a health care power of attorney the same right of access in a health care facility as immediate family members. This act was signed by the Governor on June 11.
  5. Evidence Warehousing and Unidentified Body Identification – S. 429. S. 429 contains the evidence warehousing requirements supported by the Innocence Project program to allow post-conviction DNA testing for crimes involving death or first degree burglary. This will require clerks of court and sheriffs to retain evidence in these cases for longer periods of time. S. 429 was amended to include the contents of S. 890 that require DNA samples be taken upon a custodial arrest and a requirement that county coroners take DNA samples from unidentified bodies to compare against a missing persons database and transport bodies to MUSC for storage/possible return to families of the deceased. This bill is awaiting action by the Governor.
  6. Textile Communities Revitalization Act – H. 4950. This bill redefines what is an eligible site for incentives under this act to accommodate larger mills which may have to be demolished and redeveloped, rather than rehabilitated. The Governor vetoed this bill, and the veto was unanimously sustained in the Senate. However, a nearly identical bill became law as part of S. 1171 (R.359).

Ratification of Acts

The following bills were passed by both chambers and were sent to the Governor:

(R. 401) S. 181 – Provides for an update of the laws relating to local jails to reflect current practice, court cases and delete obsolete code provisions. The Governor vetoed this bill, and the Senate voted to override the veto, but the veto was sustained by the House.

(R. 4022) S. 530 – Codifies numerous provisos which have been in the budget act for several years. Allows coastal counties and municipalities to adopt, by reference or otherwise, the provisions in the 2006 International Residential Code (IRC) necessary to prevent properties insured by the National Flood Insurance Program (NIFP) from being retrograded to a lower class for purposes of the flood insurance premium discounts allowed jurisdictions participating in the NFIP's community rating system.

(R. 403) S. 577 – Expands the jurisdiction of magistrates court, authorizes a $25 fee to the clerk of court for processing a surety's motion to be relieved on a bond, and requires a courtesy summons to be sent to a person charged with a misdemeanor where the warrant is signed by non law enforcement personnel. The Governor vetoed this bill, but it was overridden by the House and the Senate.

(R. 409) H. 3033 – Provides a procedure for the filing of a rescission of an erroneous mortgage satisfaction.

(R. 410) H. 3094 – Provides that a convicted sex offender cannot live within 1,000 feet of a school, daycare center, children's recreational facility, park or public playground.

(R. 411) H. 3212 – Provides that if a person holds a valid out of state concealable weapons permit by a reciprocal state, it must be honored by this state, if the reciprocal state requires a background check and a course in firearm training and safety.

(R. 414) H. 3623 – Authorizes the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy to take on many of the functions formerly assigned to the Department of Public Safety.

(R. 416) H. 3812 – Creates two additional millage cap limitation exceptions. The Governor vetoed this bill, but the veto was overridden by the General Assembly.

(R. 419) H. 4344 – Creates the Palmetto Pride Nonprofit Corporation, which is authorized to implement statewide and local programs for litter control.

(R. 421) H. 4554 – Provides clarification for where realtor business income is taxed for business license purposes and avoids multiple taxation of that income by giving credit to the jurisdiction where the sale occurs, when the sale is reported to the broker in charge office in another jurisdiction from the jurisdiction where the sale occurred. The Governor vetoed this bill, but the veto was overridden by the General Assembly.

(R. 422) H. 4745 – Expands the authority of residential improvement districts by allowing assessments to finance public infrastructure and improvements.

(R. 424) H. 4754 – Authorizes a special purpose district that only provides recreational services to voluntarily dissolve and transfer its authority to the county.

(R. 429) S. 429 – Provides for post-conviction DNA testing for crimes involving death or first degree burglary and requires DNA samples to be taken upon a custodial arrest. This legislation also authorizes DNA samples to be taken from unidentified bodies to create a missing persons DNA database.


Issue 22-08 — June 6, 2008

At the beginning of every session, we say, "The success of SCAC's legislative program is a direct result of the number of county officials who take an active part in the program." That is the absolute truth. The SCAC staff is very appreciative of the engaged and active membership we work for. Your calls, e-mail messages and contacts with legislators communicate critical information to the General Assembly that enables SCAC to implement the legislative program you adopt. Now is the time to take a minute and have a relaxed conversation with the members of the legislative delegation to thank them for the many times they took your input to heart and took the actions you asked them to take—even if the ultimate result wasn't what was desired. That is how long-term, positive working relationships are built between local and state leaders.

The House and Senate stayed in session all day and into the night all week. The final journals are not yet available to double check staff notes, and there are too many actions to report on in one Friday Report. The next issue will be a more thorough and comprehensive wrap-up of the session.

Sine Die Resolution — S. 838

The General Assembly adopted a Sine Die resolution, which allows them to return for up to three days between June 17 and June 27 to consider: vetoes, adoption of conference and free conference reports, local bills with unanimous consent of the delegation, and appointments. The specific dates are to be determined and announced later. Any statewide legislation that was not enrolled for ratification or did not make it to a conference committee is dead. Any bill which did not pass this year will have to be refiled to be considered again.

There are a number of bills still in conference committees, and there may be meetings on these until June 27. SCAC will monitor these and report any action of interest to counties.

Veto #40 Overridden — Jail Quota Elimination Proviso

Despite the volatile atmosphere on the House floor, they rallied 113-4 to override the Governor's veto of Proviso 51.32. The Senate overrode the veto 44-2. This is the proviso which SCAC worked so hard to get last year to clarify the Department of Corrections' statutory obligation to accept sentenced prisoners on a timely basis. Please thank the members of the General Assembly for their support on this veto override.

Local Option Sales Tax Food Exemption, A&H Tax Bonding and More — H. 4355

The Senate-passed version of H. 4355 had provisions to: allow a county to vote to exempt food from a local option sales tax, instead of requiring all local option sales taxes adopted in the future to exempt food; allow counties with an existing capital projects sales tax to have a referendum to renew it in an odd-numbered year in addition to the general election years; allow the capital projects sales tax to be used to acquire land for conservation, blight remediation and to protect military bases; and allow local accommodations and hospitality taxes to be used to issue bonds for the list of permitted projects. The House amended the bill to strip all Senate amendments, and it went to conference committee Thursday. Senate conferees tried their best, but there were not two votes on the House side of the conference committee for several key provisions of the Senate version. H. 4355 is 99 percent likely to be dead; although, it could be resurrected during the Sine Die session of the General Assembly. Please thank Sens. Hayes, Land and O'Dell for their support and efforts on behalf of counties.

Jail Recodification — S. 181 and S. 590

S. 590 was dead, because of the procedural deadlines and short time remaining in the session. Sen. Fair worked hard to amend S. 181, which was pending concurrence on amendments made by the House on the Senate calendar, with the contents of S. 590. The House concurred in the amendment, and S. 181 has been enrolled for ratification. S. 590, which became S. 181, was the much needed jail recodification bill. The bill is a product of several years' work by the SCAC Local Detention Study Committee—which includes county jailers, administrators, sheriffs and the Department of Corrections. The amendment to make counties responsible for pre-trial detainee medical care was not adopted, although the language regarding inmate care was tweaked after the Hospital Association became involved. Please thank Sen. Fair for his leadership and hard work on this bill. Also, thank Rep. Harrison for his key support to get the legislation through in the waning days of the session.

Evidence Warehousing/Unidentified Body Identification — S. 429 and S. 890

S. 429 contains the evidence warehousing requirements supported by the Innocence Project program to allow post-conviction DNA testing for crimes involving death or first degree burglary. This will require clerks of court and sheriffs to retain evidence in these cases for much longer periods of time. S. 429 was amended in the House with the contents of S. 890 that will require DNA samples to be taken upon a custodial arrest. Another amendment added a program requiring county coroners to take DNA samples from unidentified bodies to compare against a database related to missing persons and transport bodies to MUSC for storage/possible return to families of the deceased. A conference committee was appointed. The Senate adopted a conference report that made no changes in the bill. The House will consider the report when they return.

ATI/Point of Sale — H. 4942
Rent to Own Legal Residence Assessment Ratio — S. 1313

H. 4942, which would have delayed recognition of increases in taxable value of capped property after a transfer of property ownership until the next countywide reassessment, died on the contested Senate calendar.

S. 1313 allows a person who acquires an equitable interest in property through a bond for title, lease-purchase agreement, contract for sale or other type of contractual agreement to qualify for the 4 percent assessment ratio, as long as the person claims the property as their legal residence and is responsible for taxes on the property in question. S. 1313 also allows a single-member LLC—where the single member is an individual and is not taxed for income tax purposes as a corporation—to qualify for the 4 percent assessment ratio, if they meet all the other criteria. Rep. Kirsh sponsored an amendment to tighten up the expansion of the 4 percent legal residence assessment ratio at the request of the assessors, and it was adopted. Another amendment was also adopted to add the House version of H. 4942. S. 1313 went to the Senate late Thursday, but was not considered and it died.

There will likely be a lot of attention on this issue next legislative session.

Taxation and Finance Bills

  1. Reassessment Delay – H. 3975. This bill allows a county to postpone reassessment for one additional year. H. 3975 was ratified this week.
  2. Charitable Property Tax Exemption – H. 3008. This bill allows a charitable entity to hold real property for future use in a property tax exempt status for three years. The Senate amended H. 3008 to delete a provision to give all warehouse facilities the 6 percent assessment ratio and other provisions which came over from the House, but were passed last year in other bills. H. 3008 passed the Senate and was amended with numerous miscellaneous economic development provisions by the House. H. 3008 was ratified. It does not contain the warehouse assessment ratio change reported on last week.
  3. Attorney Fees for Ag Tax Appeals – H. 4499. This bill would impose a standard for awarding attorney fees in ag use valuation appeals on the initial determination decision and decisions to revoke the ag use valuation similar to those in S. 490. H. 4499 died on the contested Senate calendar.
  4. Residential Improvement Districts (RIDs) – H. 4745. This bill is based upon the county improvement districts in Chapter 35 of Title 4, expanding upon that authorization which allows assessments to finance public infrastructure and improvements. H. 4745 was amended with a Loris Hospital provision in the Senate and passed the Senate. The House concurred, and H. 4754 was ratified.
  5. Mothballed Plants and More – S. 1171. This bill exempts from property tax for four years manufacturing equipment in a plant that has been shuttered during the entire property tax year and drops the assessment ratio on manufacturing warehouse space from 10.5 percent to 6 percent, when it is used exclusively for warehousing and is separate from other areas of the plant. The legislation also requires the property tax bill to reflect the estimated value of the school operating expense homestead exemption, and authorizes a county to change the amount of time a boat must be located in South Carolina to become taxable to 180 days in the aggregate. The bill has been ratified.
  6. Textile Communities Revitalization Act – H. 4950. This bill significantly redefines what is an eligible site for incentives under this act to accommodate larger mills which may have to be demolished and redeveloped, rather than rehabilitated. H. 4950 was ratified.
  7. Affordable Housing TIFs/Water District Sewer Service – H. 4743. This bill allows publicly- and privately-owned affordable housing to be the focus of a tax increment financing (TIF) district. The bill was amended in the Senate with the contents of H. 3030 to allow certain rural water districts to construct and operate sewage systems within the district. H. 4743 does not contain the COG provision which was in H. 3030. The House concurred in the Senate amendments, and the bill has been ratified.
  8. Realtor Business Licenses – H. 4554. H. 4554 is intended to clarify where realtor business income is taxed for business license purposes and to avoid multiple taxation of that income. The bill was amended to state that a city or county may not impose a business license fee upon the gross receipts of an auctioneer for the first three auctions conducted by the auctioneer in the county or municipality, unless the auctioneer maintains a principal or branch office in the county or municipality. H. 4554 was enrolled for ratification.
  9. Millage Cap Exceptions for Military Bases and More – H. 3812. This bill amends §6-1-320 to allow two additional millage cap limitation exceptions. First, a county may now exceed the millage cap (upon a two-thirds vote) to purchase undeveloped real property near an operating U.S. military base, if the property has been identified as suitable for residential development but would constitute undesirable residential encroachment upon a U.S. military base. Second, a local government in a county having a population of less than 100,000 persons and having at least 40,000 acres of state forest land may exceed the millage cap to purchase capital equipment and make expenditures related to the installation, operation and purchase of the capital equipment. The House concurred in the Senate amendments, and the bill has been enrolled for ratification.
  10. Sprinkler Installation Property Tax Credit – H. 4470. The House concurred in the Senate amendments to H. 4470 this week, and the bill was ratified. This legislation allows a county to grant a property tax credit equal to 25 percent of the cost of installing a fire sprinkler system. For those taxpayers who receive a property tax credit, they will also get a state income tax credit equal to 25 percent of the installation cost of the sprinkler system. There are no caps on the amount of the cost of the sprinkler system. Water tap and maintenance fees for sprinklers are capped at actual costs.

Infrastructure and Transportation

  1. Stormwater Fees – H. 4337. This bill died on the contested Senate calendar after receiving objections from Sens. Cleary and Fair. These fees support mandated stormwater and sediment control programs. Please thank the Senators for their support.
  2. Removal of Roads from the State System – S. 981. S. 981 gives DOT more options in the transfer of roads (current law requires a state-local swap). A county must agree to any road transfer, so control remains at the local level. The bill was amended to include the provisions of H. 4549 to earmark the sales tax on vehicles for road paving. The House recommitted S. 981 to committee, and it died.
  3. Water District Sewer Service – H. 3030. This bill would allow certain rural water districts to construct/operate sewage systems in the district. H. 3030 was amended with a provision which states that a COG has no authority to determine which entities may or may not provide water and sewer service in its territory. This could affect the COG role in Clean Water Act permitting. H. 3030 died, but the provisions of the bill were put into H. 4743 discussed above.

General Government Operations and Structure

  1. Ballots – S. 913. This bill removes obsolete language regarding paper ballots. The House amended the bill to address multi-party candidates by limiting the candidate's name to appear only once on a ballot. The Senate removed the multi-part candidate provision. S. 913 is in conference committee. The conferees are: Reps. Clemmons, Mulvaney and Scott, and Sens. Martin, Malloy and Sheheen.
  2. Firefighter Background Checks – H. 5009. This bill provides that no person may volunteer, be hired as a firefighter or perform firefighting duties who has been convicted of, pled guilty or pled nolo contendere to arson. The Senate amended the bill to restrict consideration of a conviction or plea to 10 years. The bill was ratified.
  3. Combined Registration and Election Boards – S. 1106. S. 1106 is an effort to combine county registration and election boards in a constitutionally sound manner. The bill codifies the numerous local acts which have been used to combine these boards, without making substantive changes to existing structure in each county. The House gave S. 1106 third reading, and it was enrolled for ratification.
  4. EMT Background Check – H. 4334. This bill requires a criminal background check before employment as an EMT or upon renewal of an EMT's license. H. 4334 was amended on the Senate floor to require DHEC to treat records on persons regarding sexually transmitted diseases as confidential with certain exceptions for medical purposes. The House non-concurred with the Senate amendment. The Senate removed their amendment, and H. 4334 has been enrolled for ratification.
  5. Recreational SPD Dissolution – H. 4754. This bill allows a special purpose district that only provides recreational services to voluntarily dissolve and transfer its authority to the county. The Senate amended the bill to require that the SPD hold a public hearing prior to adopting a resolution and further requiring that a two-thirds majority of the SPD board, the county governing body and the county legislative delegation approve the dissolution. The House concurred with the Senate amendment, and the bill has been enrolled for ratification.
  6. Two Percent COLA – H. 4876. This legislation standardizes the state employee and police officer retirement systems with a 2 percent guaranteed COLA. If the rate of inflation is less than 2 percent, the COLA would be the actual rate of inflation. A .5 percent increase in the employer's contribution would be required to fund the PORS 2 percent guaranteed COLA. H. 4876 also brings the retirement system statutes into compliance with IRS regulations. The Governor vetoed this legislation, and both the House and Senate overrode the veto.

Courts, Clerks and RODs

  1. Erroneous Mortgages Satisfaction – H. 3033. This bill would create a procedure for the filing of a rescission of an erroneous mortgage satisfaction. The Senate Judiciary Committee amended H. 3033 to add a 24-hour waiting period for the document of rescission to become effective, as a safe harbor for the innocent buyer who comes in with a deed of title during the time period between the recording of the erroneous satisfaction and the recording of the document of rescission. The House concurred with the Senate amendment, and the bill was ratified
  2. Child Support Garnishment/Centralized Collection – H. 3478. H. 3478 would allow a judge to order wage garnishment, if a person is at least three months in arrears on child support. The Senate Judiciary Committee amendment creates a statewide centralized system for child support collection by 2010, as mandated by the federal government. The House concurred with the Senate amendment, and the bill was enrolled for ratification.
  3. 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 action contesting a state action, and requires specific findings to be made by the court. The House amendment also allows parties an additional 120 days to serve a defendant in civil suits with the payment of an additional fee and addresses payment of attorney fees for the Layman/TERI suit. The Senate did not take up S. 490 to consider the House amendment, and it died.
  4. Expungement – S. 110. S. 110 codifies a court order issued by the Chief Justice regarding expungement. A House Judiciary subcommittee amended S. 110 to require cases handled by magistrates be expunged at the magistrate court level, rather than by the solicitor. S. 110 died in the House.
  5. Deed Recording Fee Exemption – H. 4067. This bill would exempt from deed recording fees real property deed transfers from a trust to a trust beneficiary. The bill was ratified.
  6. Protective Orders – H. 4312. This bill provides that a protective order established by reason of incapacity other than age does not automatically terminate upon the incapacitated person reaching the age of majority. The bill was amended to grant persons holding a health care power of attorney the same right of access in a health care facility as immediate family members. The House concurred with the Senate amendment, and the bill has been enrolled for ratification.

Budget Proviso Codification and Flood Codes — S. 530

S. 530 codifies numerous provisos which have been in the budget act for several years. This bill went to a conference committee this week, was approved by both chambers and was enrolled for ratification. The ratified version of S. 530 contains the section which states that coastal counties and municipalities may adopt, by reference or otherwise, the provisions in the 2006 International Residential Code (IRC) necessary to prevent properties insured by the National Flood Insurance Program (NIFP) from being retrograded to a lower class for purposes of the flood insurance premium discounts allowed jurisdictions participating in the NFIP's community rating system.

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.

Ratification of Acts

The following bills were passed by both chambers and are awaiting action by the Governor:

(R. 338) S. 88 – Prohibits surcharges on parking violations, and fines can't be increased for a period of 30 days.

(R. 342) S. 472 – Provides for the installation of an interlock device on vehicles owned by a person convicted of DUI. The device is paid for by the offender or from a monthly monitoring fee charge if the person is indigent.

(R. 348) S. 980 – Provides for the creation of a county guardian ad litem program.

(R. 352) S. 1106 – Codifies the provisions of law that created and combined voter registration boards and election commissions into a single entity.

(R. 359) S. 1171 – Exempts from property tax for four years manufacturing equipment in a plant that has been shuttered during the entire property tax year; and drops the assessment ratio on warehouse space from 10.5 percent to 6 percent, when it is used exclusively for warehousing and is separate from the other areas of the plant.

(R. 362) S. 1232 – Authorizes a 1 cent capital improvement sales tax by referendum for school districts and colleges located in a county.

(R. 368) H. 3008 – Authorizes a charitable organization to hold real property for future use in a property tax exempt status for three years.

(R. 376) H. 3880 – Provides a tax credit for individuals or entities that acquire environmentally contaminated property and engage in a voluntary cleanup program.

(R. 380) H. 4312 – Provides that a protective order established by reason of incapacity other than for being a minor does not automatically terminate upon the incapacitated person reaching the age of majority.

(R. 381) H. 4334 – Requires a background check before employment as an EMT and upon renewal of an EMT certification.

(R. 385) H. 4470 – Provides for a property tax credit equal to 25 percent of the cost for the installation of a commercial or residential fire sprinkler system.

(R. 386) H. 4743 – Allows publicly- and privately-owned affordable housing to be the focus of a tax increment financing (TIF) district, and allows certain rural water districts to construct and operate sewage systems within the district.

(R. 394) H. 4847 – Authorizes code enforcement officers to dispose of abandoned or derelict vehicles on public or private property.

(R. 398) H. 5009 – Provides that no person may volunteer or be hired as a firefighter—or perform firefighting duties—who has been convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to arson.

Acts

The following bills were passed by both chambers and signed into law by the Governor:

(R. 271, Act. 231) S. 642 – This act relates to authorized investments by political subdivisions and the collateral required to secure the uninsured funds on deposit of a local government entity.

(R. 282, Act. 241) S. 638 – The Public Prayer and Invocation Act. This act establishes procedures for local governments for the opening of sessions with a lawful public prayer or invocation.

(R. 305) S. 996 – Authorizes counties to operate and maintain public ferry service and to contract with private entities for such service.

(R. 313) S. 1182 – Establishes a study committee to study the feasibility of construction, operation and maintenance of transportation infrastructure through the utilization of public/private partnerships.

(R. 314) S. 1221 – Provides that a student arrested for a misdemeanor by a school resource officer must receive a bond hearing within 24 hours of arrest and that they may receive a courtesy summons.

(R. 321) H. 3326 – Authorizes law enforcement agencies ability to seek reimbursement for training costs, including salary, for law enforcement officers hired by other agencies within two years of training.

(R. 324) H. 4065 – Amends the procedure for appointment of representatives in probate court to add the term "General" before personal representative.

(R. 329) H. 4601 – Makes changes to the certification of victim services providers by requiring not more than 15 hours of education for initial certification and 12 hours of annual continuing education.

(R. 333) H. 4900 – Requires that cigarettes and papers be manufactured to reduce burn propensity and establishes a state firefighter protection fund.

(R. 334) H. 4921 – Increases criminal penalties for animal cruelty and the killing or injury of a police dog or horse.