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In This Section

• June 2009
• May 2009
• April 2009
• March 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009

Friday Reports — May 2009

Issue 19-09 — May 22, 2009
Issue 18-09 — May 15, 2009
Issue 17-09 — May 8, 2009
Issue 16-09 — May 1, 2009


Issue 19-09 — May 22, 2009 

The General Assembly adjourned sine die at 5 p.m. Thursday, but went until 9 p.m. finishing budget vetoes. They will return June 16 for up to three days to consider vetoed bills, consider reports from any conference committees which have yet to wrap up their work, and take up local bills. This is the first year of a two-year cycle at the General Assembly, so bills that did not pass this year will be taken up where they were left on Thursday.

It was a tough session for counties, but thanks to the active involvement of hundreds of county officials it was much better than it might otherwise have been. To begin with, a $122 million cut in the statutory formula was reduced to $50 million and possibly to $40 million. Thanks to numerous timely calls and visits, the provisions of legislation were changed for the positive in other instances as well. Participation by county officials in the legislative program is the key to a successful year!

Now is the time to go back and thank the members of the General Assembly who made points of order, raised questions about the effect on county government, made tough votes, sponsored positive legislation and responded to your calls. If you need reminders of the positive things your members did, please contact SCAC staff and we’ll be happy to help you.

ATI/Point of Sale Still Pending Second Reading in the Senate

H. 3272 will be pending second reading in special order status on the Senate calendar, when the General Assembly reconvenes in January. H. 3272, as reported by the Senate Finance Committee, would exempt from taxation any property tax valuation increase greater than 15 percent caused by an assessable transfer of interest (ATI). That value would then be subject to the constitutional 15 percent cap at reassessment. This special exemption would sunset in five years. Although H. 3272 is not retroactive, the fiscal impact in the first year would be $44 million and grow by $44 million each year. This will be in addition to an even greater reduction in the Local Government Fund under the statutory formula for FY 2010-11.

The Senate did not debate H. 3272, because of a calendar crunch and a lengthy debate on an unrelated bill. The talks with the realtors were very frustrating, because they made several offers and withdrew them—then asked to have substantive talks over the summer and within hours sent out an alert to their members to push for passage of the bill as it stood. SCAC staff will be working with the realtors, MASC, school boards and other groups over the summer to find a compromise. There may be further alerts on this topic during the off session.

Please take time to thank the senators who wanted to modify this bill to avoid significant threats to locally funded services.

State Budget Vetoes Dealt With; Now Off to Federal Court

The General Assembly took up and disposed of the Governor’s vetoes on the budget this week. Few of the vetoes dealt with county government. Both bodies overrode a veto which would have removed control of Water Recreation Funds from the legislative delegation. Additionally, a veto which would have struck Proviso 86.6, to require the county to fund the legislative delegation office at 2003 levels, was overridden. A detailed summary of the provisions of the state budget will be sent out shortly.

The Governor brought suit in federal court over the use of stimulus funds; however, that issue does not affect funding to any county program. A detailed summary of the provisions of the state budget will be sent out shortly.

The Governor signed H. 3581 this week, authorizing the General Assembly to reduce the Local Government Fund (LGF) in the budget. As discussed earlier, the LGF was reduced by $50 million this fiscal year. It is possible that $10 million will be returned, if the Department of Revenue sees increased collections as a result of an increase in their appropriated funds.

Revenue and Finance Items

• Homebuilder Property Tax Exemption – H. 3018. This bill allows homebuilders who have received a Certificate of Occupancy for an unsold single-family home to have the structure exempt from property taxes for five years. Another provision changes the legal residence assessment ratio qualification limitation to prevent members of a household receiving a legal residence assessment ratio who are younger than 18 years of age from receiving a legal residence ratio. H. 3018 passed the Senate, and the House concurred in the Senate amendments.
• Airplane Economic Development Incentive – H. 3482. This is an incentive bill to exempt certain airplanes and personal property from property tax to fulfill an economic development commitment. The Senate amended the bill to narrow its scope to apply to that project only. It was also amended with the contents of S. 405 in the Senate. The House stripped H. 3482 of the provision to clarify that a houseboat which qualifies for a 4 percent or 6 percent assessment ratio cannot also receive a reduction in the value of the boat pursuant to §12-37-220(B)(38)(b). That provision also authorized county council to make a boat taxable in their county after its presence in this state for a total of 90 days or 180 days. The Senate concurred in the House amendment, and the ratified bill will only contain the economic development provision.
• Local Accommodations and Hospitality Fees Bonds – S. 304. S. 304 went to conference committee this week, and the General Assembly will be able to consider the legislation when they return in June. As passed by the Senate, S. 304 amended §6-1-760 to clarify that local accommodations and hospitality fees could be pledged as security for bonds. The House amended S. 304 to state that these fees may only be pledged if they:
  
  "are to attract tourists and are for capital projects used primarily by out-of-market visitors who live at least fifty miles outside the local area as demonstrated by visitor surveys or other scientific research substantiating that the purpose will be used more by out-of-market visitors than local residents.”
  
  The House amendment severely limits the use of these funds. A county project would have to attract more than 50 percent of visitors from 50 miles outside the county boundaries. (i.e., Abbeville couldn’t count tourists from large portions of Anderson or Greenville as “out of market visitors;” Lancaster couldn’t count many visitors from Charlotte or Columbia as “out of market visitors.”) These tourists would count against a local project attempting to substantiate the out of market visitor requirement dictated by the House-passed bill.
  
  A project popular locally would count against you, if utilizing the House-passed version of S. 304. For instance, a project which entailed large amounts of local school children—or even bordering county school children—as visitors might not make the "primarily" requirement, because the children would be clearly within this 50 mile radius. Additionally, if the capital project is intended to be utilized by local businesses or organizations, that would count against you in terms of "primary" use.
  
  At the initial conference committee meeting, proponents of the House language acknowledged that their language might be unworkable, but that they would like the opportunity to utilize S. 304 to define “tourist” for the purpose of using accommodations fee money. The conferees asked all stakeholders to discuss the bill before the General Assembly returns.
  
  The conferees are Sens. O’Dell, McGill and Mulvaney and Reps. Edge, Cobb-Hunter and Loftis.
• Comprehensive Tax Reform Commission – S. 12. S. 12, which creates a committee to study and recommend comprehensive tax reform went to conference committee this week. Central differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill appear to be the question of minority party representation on the committee and if the commission will be a continuing body or have a dissolution date. The conferees are Sens. Setzler, Alexander and Shoopman, and Reps. White, Battle and Merrill.

Land Use Items

• Regulation of Forestry Activities – H. 3651. H. 3651 is pending ratification, after a Senate amendment was accepted by the House. The Senate amendment clarified that if a county ordinance does not require a delay between final cutting and a request for a development permit, the one-year delay in the bill would not apply.
• Stormwater Fees – S. 453. This bill, which was the vehicle for several amendments, has passed with an additional amendment. The Senate changed the limits to appeal a DHEC issued permit for agricultural facility from a person one mile to within two miles from the site. The stormwater portion remained unchanged with the current programs grandfathered. Fees may be raised but the increase will not apply to farm, forestry or vacant lands. The House concurred in the Senate amendment, and S. 453 is pending ratification.
• Sex Offender Residences – H. 3087. This bill provides that a local government may not enact an ordinance that either expands or contracts the boundaries of the areas in which a sex offender may or may not reside. The Senate passed H. 3087, and the House concurred. H. 3087 is pending ratification.

Jail Records and Expungement – H. 3022

This bill deals with expungement of criminal records. The bill allows local detention facilities to retain inmate medical records for three years after an expungement order. The records must be kept under seal and opened only upon a court order for litigation purposes. H. 3022 was amended on the House floor to give jail administrators further discretion in retaining the records past the three-year deadline in the case of an ongoing contested matter. The House also provided that the records may only be disclosed pursuant to a subpoena filed in a civil action. The Senate concurred in the House amendments, and the bill is enrolled for ratification.

Issue 18-09 — May 15, 2009

The General Assembly adjourns for the year at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 21. The Governor’s veto message is due by midnight on Tuesday, and there are several bills which are vying for attention on the Senate calendar.

ATI/Point of Sale Set for Special Order in the Senate

Thursday, H. 3272 was set for special order on the Senate calendar. H. 3272, as reported by the Senate Finance Committee, would exempt from taxation any property tax valuation increase greater than 15 percent caused by an assessable transfer of interest (ATI). That value would then be subject to the constitutional 15 percent cap at reassessment. This special exemption would sunset in five years. Although H. 3272 is not retroactive, the fiscal impact in the first year would be $44 million and grow by $44 million each year.

Placing H. 3272 in special order status puts the bill behind the pay day lending bill for debate and virtually assures that debate on H. 3272 will begin on Tuesday. Talks with the realtors have centered on a phase-in of the full fair market value, instead of exempting 85 percent of the increase in valuation triggered by assessable transfer of interest (ATI).

Several senators have said they will filibuster H. 3272 and intend to use many of the arguments on the attached talking points. Given that Thursday is the final day of the session, interest in finding an alternative to the Finance Committee version of H. 3272 may increase, despite the fact that the bill is in special order status.

SCAC Staff is scheduled to have another meeting with the realtors Monday, although talks with them to find an alternative to the Senate Finance Committee version of H. 3272 have not been especially productive. The talks have centered around a phase-in of the valuation increase following an ATI, instead of exempting any increase over 15 percent following an ATI. The realtors have insisted on a 5-year phase-in period, although the assessors tell us three years is about the limit they can handle—given the fact that much of the work to implement a phase-in will have to be done manually with reduced staffs.

WHAT CAN YOU DO? 1) Call your senator and discuss the attached talking points with him; 2) Ask your senator to encourage the realtors to more actively participate in the talks to find an alternative to the Finance Committee version of H. 3272; 3) Come to the State House Tuesday to have a conversation with your senator about H. 3272.

State Budget is Sent to the Governor

The House amended the Senate-passed budget bill, and the Senate concurred in that amendment. The Governor now has until midnight Tuesday to deliver his veto message.

The Local Government Fund (LGF) was funded in the main part of the budget bill with a $50 million cut from the formula amount. However, the biggest surprise in the House amendment was a pleasant one in the form of a potential additional $10 million in funding for the LGF, which is expected to come from additional money collected as a result of funding for DOR to bring in additional auditors. The general consensus is that there will be enough money collected, at some point next fiscal year, to fund the additional $10 million LGF appropriation. It would be inadvisable to build this additional revenue into the county budget, unless it is made contingent upon receipt of the funds, until the revenue is collected. The earliest the revenue may be available is the third or fourth quarter of next fiscal year. It is our understanding the Rep. Harry Ott and Sen. Yancey McGill worked hard with Chairmen Dan Cooper and Chairman Hugh Leatherman to get this item into the budget. Please take time to thank all of those involved.

The big disappointment in the House amendment to the budget was the exclusion of Proviso 86.7. This proviso was only in the Senate version of the budget and would have allowed counties to reduce their support to any state-mandated program or requirement by up to a percentage equal to the percentage reduction in the actual amount appropriated to the LGF as compared to the last completed fiscal year.

A detailed summary of the provisions of the state budget will be sent out shortly.

Revenue and Finance Items

• Seamless Renewal of Capital Project Sales Tax – S. 360. This bill changes the amount of time for which the tax may be imposed from seven to eight years for original impositions; and until April 30^th of an odd-number year, not to exceed seven years, for a reimposition. S. 360 also allows a referendum at a time other than a general election for reimposition of a capital projects tax adopted before June of 2009. Two amendments were adopted in the House. The first amendment exempts unprepared foods from the capital projects taxes enacted after the effective date of the act. The second amendment adds technical colleges as approved entities for which the tax may be collected. The Senate has concurred in the House amendments, and it is enrolled for ratification.
• Boat Tax Assessment Ratio – S. 405. S. 405 clarifies that a houseboat which qualifies for a 4 percent or 6 percent assessment ratio cannot also receive a reduction in the value of the boat pursuant to §12-37-220(B)(38)(b). That section authorizes county council to exempt 42.75 percent of the value of a boat from the property tax. The bill also authorizes county council to make a boat taxable in their county after its presence in this state for a total of 90 days or 180 days. S. 405 has passed the Senate and is in House Ways and Means Committee. The contents of S. 405 were also amended into H. 3482, discussed below.
•  Airplane Economic Development Incentive – H. 3482. This is an incentive bill to exempt certain airplanes and personal property from property tax to fulfill an economic development commitment. The Senate amended the bill to narrow the scope of the bill to apply to that project only. It was also amended with the contents of S. 405 in the Senate. H. 3482 will be before the House to concur or nonconcur in the Senate amendments next week. If the House nonconcurs, H. 3482 will go to a conference committee. The airplane economic development project provision was also amended into H. 3722, which is pending second reading on the Senate calendar.

• County Waiver of Property Tax Penalties – S. 278. This authorizes county council, by resolution, to create a system to waive or reduce penalties for late property tax payments for property tax years 2008 and 2009—as long as the full property tax payment is made by April 15 of the applicable tax year. Each local taxing entity of the county must consent to the resolution. The county must refund any taxpayer who paid the late payments or penalties once the resolution is adopted, if the taxpayer would have otherwise been eligible to receive the waiver or reduction. The bill was recalled from committee to the House floor and passed by the House. S. 278 is now enrolled for ratification.

• Home Builder Property Tax Exemption – H. 3018. This bill originally allowed home builders who have gotten a Certificate of Occupancy for an unsold single-family home to have the structure exempt from property taxes for three years. H. 3018 was heard in subcommittee and Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, where the exemption was lengthened to five years and the legal residence assessment ratio qualification limitation was changed—to prevent members of a household receiving a legal residence assessment ratio who are younger than 18 years of age from receiving a legal residence ratio. Several amendments were offered on the floor but withdrawn. H. 3018 is pending third reading in the Senate.

Land Use Items

• Regulation of Forestry Activities – H. 3651. H. 3651 would prohibit local regulation of forestry activity, such as tree ordinances and stream buffers, including existing ordinances. It is awaiting third reading with special allowance to amend it on the contested Senate calendar. Objections remain on the bill, but other parties—namely the Greenville home builders—are now involved. Meetings will be held next week to discuss the bill.
• Planning Decision School Input – S. 249. The Senate gave S. 249, as amended, third reading. S. 249 would require the planning commission to get input from school district officials for proposed residential developments larger than 25 acres or with a density greater than the average in the district. The amendment applies the bill only to counties where the school district is otherwise required by law to provide planning input. That appears to only apply to Dorchester County. It is in a House committee.
• Stormwater Fees – S. 453. This bill prohibits local regulation of poultry and livestock confinement practices. The committee amendment on stormwater fees grandfathers all counties imposing such fees on farm, forest or undeveloped lands but would prohibit increases in the future on those properties. The House also added an amendment limiting the right to appeal DHEC permits for poultry or livestock to folks living within one mile of the permitted facility and an amendment dealing with vaccines given to polo ponies. The bill now goes to the Senate, where they must either concur or nonconcur with the House amendments.
• Sex Offender Residences – H. 3087. This bill provides that a local government may not enact an ordinance that either expands or contracts the boundaries of the areas in which a sex offender may or may not reside. SCAC supported amending the bill to allow local governments to further restrict sex offender residency, but it was rejected. H. 3087 was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee this week and is now pending second reading in the Senate.

Other Items of Interest

• Jail Records and Expungement – H. 3022. The Senate gave third reading to H. 3022, which deals with expungement of criminal records, with an amendment to allow local detention facilities to retain inmate medical records for three years after an expungement order. The records must be kept under seal and opened only upon a court order for litigation purposes. The house must now either concur or nonconcur in the Senate amendment to allow jails to retain these records.
• Solid Waste Demonstration of Need (DON) Regulation – R. 3198. The House Agriculture Committee adjourned debate on these regulations, because they would become effective at the end of June after being published in the State Register. One effect of the regulations was to put tonnage limits on landfills.

• Landfill Moratorium – S. 324. The purpose of this bill was to stop new permits from being issued for purposed "mega landfills." The moratorium was to be for two years or until the demonstration of need (DON) regulations were effective. A House Ag subcommittee recommended an amendment that would have allowed a moratorium to remain in effect if the regulations were challenged and then adjourned debate, because the DON regulation is about to take effect.

• Municipal Annexation – H. 3253. This bill was moved to full House Judiciary Committee. That committee will not meet again this year, but the subcommittee requested that interested parties see if there is any room for agreement during the summer. SCAC requested that the following items be included in any annexation bill: 1) a ban on adhesion contracts (requiring annexation for utilities); 2) respecting the density requirements of the county (ban forum shopping); 3) a freezing of business license income in annexed areas (the county would continue to receive the current revenues, and the city would get the growth); and 4) a provision for de-annexation where the city does not provide promised services.
• Voter Photo ID – H. 3418. This bill requires a voter to produce a valid state or federal photo ID card in order to vote. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee proposed an amendment to H. 3418 to allow early voting for 15 days prior to the election date to end three days before the election—with at least one Saturday early voting date—and allowing absentee voting only by mail. The Senate Judiciary Committee adopted the subcommittee amendment and gave the bill a favorable report. It is pending second reading on the contested Senate calendar. 

S. 806 – Provides for a resolution to approve DHEC regulations relating to solid waste management demonstration of need.

S. 808 – Provides that an arresting officer must direct a driver of a vehicle involved in an accident that causes the death of another person to submit to chemical test to determine whether the driver was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

S. 812 – Provides that the parent or legal guardian of a student must arrange for the student to attend a school in an adjacent county where authorized, rather than the authorities in the child’s county of residence.

S. 816 – Authorizes the General Assembly after adjournment on May 21, 2009 to meet upon mutual agreement of the chambers for up to three additional days—no later than June 30, 2009—to take up certain matters; and that unless otherwise agreed, the General Assembly shall stand adjourned sine die no later than noon on Jan. 12, 2010.

S. 834 – Authorizes the General Assembly after adjournment on May 21, 2009 to meet upon mutual agreement of the chambers for up to three additional days—no later than June 30, 2009—to take up certain matters; and that unless otherwise agreed, the General Assembly shall stand adjourned sine die no later than noon on Jan. 12, 2010.

S. 835 – Provides that for purposes of equalization and reassessment, “member of my household” is redefined for purposes of certification that only one residence has qualified for a special assessment ratio.

S. 837 – Prohibits the resale of food subject to time and temperature controls that has been served or sold to and possessed by a consumer—and is subsequently returned by the consumer. 

Issue 17-09 — May 8, 2009

The House was on furlough this week and will return Tuesday. The Senate was busy as the annual end of session push has begun. There are several major Senate debates vying for attention and sponsors of numerous secondary bills trying to get attention in between those major items. The major items are pay day lending, the cigarette tax, potentially an abortion bill, requiring voter photo identification, and the ATI /point of sale bills.

Budget May Conclude Without a Conference Committee

It is looking more and more likely that the chairmen of House Ways and Means and Senate Finance may be able to reach agreement on an amendment to be offered on the House floor and send the budget to the Governor without having a conference committee. There is no word on the level of the cut in the Local Government Fund (LGF) that may come out in that amendment, although both versions of the budget contain a $50 million cut below the formula amount. There has been a little confusion over the individual county distribution amounts under the LGF with the $50 million cut, so we are providing the estimate sheet again.

It would be prudent to contact your House and Senate members to emphasize the negative effects of any additional cut to the LGF and to reiterate support for the two provisos below, which are designed to give the county flexibility in dealing with the LGF cut. Ask them to relay their support to Chairmen Dan Cooper and Hugh Leatherman.

Proviso 86.7. This proviso is only in the Senate version of the budget and states that a political subdivision may reduce its support to any state mandated program or requirement by up to a percentage equal to the percentage reduction in the actual amount appropriated to the Local Government Fund as compared to the last completed fiscal year.

Proviso 85.1/86.4. The Senate adopted Proviso 86.4, in place of the House-passed Proviso 85.1, which prohibits cuts in auditor and treasurer salary supplements and authorizes reductions in the operation of certain county offices after consultation with the official in charge of that office. The Senate version is slightly different than the House version, and it is placed in a different section than the House version.

Assessable Transfers of Interest (ATI)/Point of Sale — H. 3272 

H. 3272 was taken up in Senate Finance subcommittee on Tuesday, rewritten by amendment and given a favorable report. The full Senate Finance Committee gave H. 3272 a favorable report as amended. H. 3272 was not debated on the Senate floor, because it is now on the contested calendar with Sens. Yancey McGill, Kent Williams, John Matthews and Phil Leventis having placed their names on the bill to object to its consideration. Please take time to thank these senators.

Immediately after this was done, the Realtors came to talk about an alternative approach to what was passed out of Finance Committee. SCAC staff will be working with the Realtors, and Sens. Mulvaney, Massey and Hutto to find some version of the bill which will alleviate the Realtors’ concerns without bankrupting counties, cities and schools. It is important to keep in contact with your senator and to make sure they understand the concerns about the Finance version of H. 3272. There could be a motion to place H. 3272 in special order status to allow the bill to be debated this year, even though it is contested. The concerns with H. 3272 are summarized in the attached sheet.  It would also be a good idea to share the attached sheet with your school officials, as many of them have had great concern about the impact of H. 3272 on the Index of Taxpaying Ability and their state school funding. 

What the Amended H. 3272 Does:

H. 3272, as it came out of Senate Finance Committee, would exempt the value of property over a 15 percent increase in the previous taxable value when a property undergoes an assessable transfer of interest. That taxable valuation would be in place until the next regular reassessment, instead of going to the full fair market value as happens under the current law. The taxable value could increase up 15 percent at the next regular reassessment. The taxable values on the books for properties which had an ATI prior to Jan. 1, 2009, would remain on the books. However, an ATI which occurred after Jan. 1, 2009, would be subject to the 15 percent cap in H. 3272. A sunset provision was placed in the bill and would expire after property tax year 2014.

H. 3272, as reported out by Senate Finance Committee, would still have a fiscal impact of $44 million in an average tax year, beginning with the tax bills sent out in 2010. That fiscal impact would grow by $44 million each year.

Revenue and Finance Items

• Seamless Renewal of Capital Project Sales Tax – S. 360. This bill is pending second reading on the House calendar. S. 360 changes the amount of time for which the tax may be imposed from seven to eight years for original impositions; and until April 30 of an odd-number year, not to exceed seven years, for a reimposition. S. 360 also allows a referendum at a time other than a general election for reimposition of a capital projects tax adopted before June of 2009. An amendment to exempt unprepared foods from the capital projects taxes enacted after the effective date of the act is expected to be offered on the floor of the House. If that exemption causes concern, you need to contact the members of the House directly.

• Boat Tax Assessment Ratio – S. 405. S. 405 clarifies that a houseboat which qualifies for a 4 percent or 6 percent assessment ratio cannot also receive a reduction in the value of the boat pursuant to §12-37-220(B)(38)(b). That section authorizes county council to exempt 42.75 percent of the value of a boat from the property tax. The bill also authorizes county council to make a boat taxable in their county after its presence in this state for a total of 90 days or 180 days. The Finance Committee amended the bill by deleting a provision that allowed sole proprietorships, partnerships, and 'S' corporations to qualify for the houseboat assessment ratio classification and reported the bill out. S. 405 is pending second reading on the Senate calendar.

Land Use Items

• Regulation of Forestry Activities – H. 3651. The Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee sent this bill to the Senate floor. H. 3651 would prohibit local regulation of forestry activity, such as tree ordinances and stream buffers, including existing ordinances. It is awaiting second reading on the contested Senate calendar. If a Senator objects to a bill, it will remain contested until the name is removed. Currently there is an objection on the bill, but it is unclear as to why they have objected. Other objections can be added at anytime. If it remains on the contested calendar, its chances for passage are diminished.

• Planning Decision School Input – S. 249. The Senate Judiciary Committee gave S. 249 a favorable report with an amendment. S. 249 would require the planning commission to get input from school district officials for proposed residential developments larger than 25 acres or with a density greater than the average in the district. The amendment applies the bill only to counties where the school district is otherwise required by law to provide planning input. That appears only to apply to Dorchester County. It is now on the Senate floor pending second reading.

• Stormwater Fees – S. 453. This is the bill that has the Farm Bureau amendment seeking to ban future stormwater or sediment control fees for undeveloped and farm land. SCAC opposes the amendment. It is pending second reading on the House floor.

Elections Items

• Photo Voter – H. 3418. This bill requires a voter to produce a valid state or federal photo ID card in order to vote. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee proposed an amendment to H. 3418 to allow early voting. Although the amendment was not available for review, the committee discussed requiring early voting for 15 days prior to the election date with at least one Saturday early voting date and allowing absentee voting only by mail. The bill with the proposed amendment will be before the Senate Judiciary Committee at its next meeting.
• Petition Candidates – S. 590. This bill prohibits a person who voted in a primary from signing a petition for a candidate to run in the general election following that primary. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee amended the bill to reduce the required number of signatures for a petition to add a candidate to the ballot and gave it a favorable report.

Other Items of Interest

• Jail Records and Expungement – H. 3022. The Senate Judiciary Committee gave a favorable report to H. 3022, which deals with expungement of criminal records with a proposed amendment to allow local detention facilities to retain inmate medical records for three years after an expungement order. The records must be kept under seal and opened only upon a court order for litigation purposes. H. 3022 is pending second reading on the Senate calendar.
• Solid Waste Demonstration of Need (DON) Regulations – R. 3198. The Senate Medical Affairs Committee granted DHEC the authority to withdraw and resubmit these regulations with amendments. This means that the regulations, if the submission was timely done, will be before the full Senate on Tuesday. The amendment put tonnage limits on facilities in an effort to stem the tide of out of state waste. A possible side effect is that there may be facilities that could be impacted, if they have to exceed their tonnage limits. The regulations should be effective at the end of June. Applications for limit increases that are pending prior to the effective date may be exempted, if a DON has been made by DHEC prior to the effective date of the regulation.
• Municipal Annexation – H. 3253. It is possible that this bill will be up for hearing in a House Judiciary subcommittee. SCAC plans to testify and will request the consideration of several amendments, before the bill goes to full committee. 

Sine Die Resolution — S. 4000

The Senate passed S. 4000, the sine die resolution which sets adjournment and special return to session rules. The bill will go back to the House for consideration of the Senate amendments.

The House version proposed an adjournment date of May 21, with the General Assembly to return on June 16 to consider vetoes; conference reports; appointments; matters related to the stimulus funds; and matters relating to S. 351, the State Ports Authority bill. After the week of June 16, they would adjourn for the year—unless called back because of a revenue shortfall, because of a veto of any of the above referenced matters, or to deal with stimulus funds.

The Senate version proposes an adjournment date of May 21; however, the General Assembly could continue in session after May 21 on matters dealing with the appropriations bill. The House and Senate would return on June 9 to consider vetoes; conference reports; appointments; matters related to the stimulus funds; matters relating to S. 351, the State Ports Authority bill; and S. 576, the Capitol Police bill. After the week of June 9, they would adjourn for the year—unless called back because of a revenue shortfall, because of a veto of any of the above referenced matters, or to deal with stimulus funds.

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

The Friday Report is usually available on the web by 3 p.m. on Friday. The Friday Report can also be sent to you directly via e-mail. We also use this e-mail list for Legislative Alerts. If you stop getting the e-mail version of the Friday Report, call us. We may have an old 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.

S. 791 – Requires the S.C. Building Codes Council to adopt certain seismic and wind maps for the state until 2012 with an opt out clause under certain circumstances.

Issue 16-09 — May 1, 2009

Assessable Transfers of Interest (ATI)/Point of Sale — H. 3272 and S. 435

A Senate Finance subcommittee announced that it intends to meet on H. 3272 next  Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., and the full Finance Committee is expected to meet at 3 p.m. Tuesday. Contacts with members of the Senate Finance Committee and the subcommittee members in particular are necessary. A Senate Finance Committee list, noting the subcommittee members, is attached.

The House-passed version of H. 3272 would recognize assessable transfers of interest (ATI) only in the year of implementation of reassessment. The bottom line of that approach is to cut out any revenue growth for property tax dependent entities. Instead of recognizing the full fair market value of a transferred property, the transferred property would be taxed at the former owner’s capped value until the next implementation of a reassessment. The rollback millage calculation would then wash out any revenue increase attributable to increases in valuation from reassessment or ATI recognition. The estimated fiscal impact of H. 3272 is $44 million.

 S. 435 would recognize a 15 percent increase in the taxable value of the property transferred upon the occurrence of an ATI. The fiscal impact of S. 435 is estimated at $44 million in the first year.

The Senate Finance subcommittee members are Sens. Tom Alexander, Chairman; Dick Elliott; Danny Verdin and Nikki Setzler.

Ratification of Acts

The following bill has been passed by both chambers and is now before the Governor for signature or veto:

(R. 43) H. 3856 – Excludes public infrastructure projects from the limitations on disposition of heritage trust property.