Current Status Bill Number:View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.3681 Ratification Number:477 Act Number:408 Introducing Body:House Subject:Authorize counties to provide fire protection services and issue general obligation bonds
(A408, R477, H3681)
AN ACT TO REENACT CHAPTER 19 OF TITLE 4, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE COUNTIES TO PROVIDE FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES AND ISSUE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS WITHOUT THE NECESSITY OF HOLDING AN ELECTION FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FIRE PROTECTION WITHIN CERTAIN AREAS OF THE COUNTY, TO PRESCRIBE THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THE BONDS MAY BE ISSUED AND THE PURPOSES FOR WHICH THEIR PROCEEDS MAY BE EXPENDED, AND TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THEIR REPAYMENT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Findings
SECTION 1. The General Assembly enacted Act 1167 of 1974 authorizing counties to provide fire protection services in the unincorporated areas of the county, which were not served by other governmental entities, without the necessity of holding an election.
In an opinion issued in City of Myrtle Beach et al v. Richardson, et al (Opinion No. 22034 filed January 19, 1984) the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the provisions of Act 1167 of 1974 were repealed by implication by Act 283 of 1975 (Home Rule Act) because of the difference in the procedures to initiate a special tax district.
The General Assembly finds that there are still many areas of the various counties in the State which do not have adequate fire protection services and as a consequence many fire losses occur within the State where fire fighting services are unavailable or arrive too late to be effective.
The provision of fire protection is a valuable and essential governmental service and the General Assembly purposely established a means to provide such a service in Act 1167 of 1974. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the provisions of Act 1167 of 1974, which are reenacted by this legislation, must be made available to counties in their efforts to provide this essential service.
The General Assembly has determined to reenact this legislation under which counties may provide fire protection service within the unincorporated areas of such counties where no fire protection service is presently offered by any existing special purpose district or municipality and to provide for the issuance of general obligation bonds of the particular county to defray the cost.
Chapter 19 of Title 4, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
reenacted
SECTION 2. Chapter 19 of Title 4, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, is reenacted as follows:
"CHAPTER 19
Fire Protection Services
Section 4-19-10. The governing body of each county has the following powers:
(a) To establish, operate, and maintain a system of fire protection.
(b) To designate, subject to the provisions of Section 4-19-20, the areas of the county where fire protection service may be furnished by the county under the provisions of this chapter (referred to in this chapter as service areas); provided, however, that these service areas shall exclude those areas where fire protection is then being furnished by some other political subdivision unless an agreement be entered into between the county and such other political subdivision for the joint exercise of fire protection powers within the service area of such political subdivision and the sharing of the costs thereof.
(c) To buy such fire-fighting equipment as the governing body deems necessary for the purpose of controlling fires within the service areas.
(d) To select sites or places within the service areas where the fire-fighting equipment must be kept.
(e) To employ all necessary fire protection personnel and fix their compensation.
(f) To employ and supervise the training of firemen to insure that the equipment is utilized for the best interest of all service areas within the county.
(g) To be responsible for the purchase, acquisition, upkeep, maintenance, and repairs of all fire-fighting equipment and fire stations and the sites of the stations.
(h) To promulgate such regulations as it may deem proper and necessary to insure that the equipment is being used to the best advantage of the county and to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
(i) To construct the necessary buildings to house the equipment authorized by this chapter, and all fire stations necessary to provide an adequate fire protection system.
(j) To place into effect and to revise, whenever it so wishes or may be required, a schedule of rates and charges for the furnishing of fire protection services within each service area.
(k) To appoint officers, agents, employees, and servants, to prescribe the duties of such, to fix their compensation and to determine if and to what extent they must be bonded for the faithful performance of their duties.
(l) To effect the levy and collection of ad valorem taxes without limit as to rate or amount upon all taxable property in each service area where fire protection services are furnished to effect the payment of principal and interest of all bonds issued pursuant to this chapter or required for the maintenance and operation of the fire protection system.
(m) To exercise any and all other powers necessary to operating and maintaining a system of fire protection.
Section 4-19-20. Prior to the imposition of ad valorem taxes upon any service area, the governing body must comply with the following requirements:
(1) The governing body shall, by resolution duly adopted, ordera public hearing to be held for the purpose of making a determination as to the area to be included in the service area to be taxed.
(2) Notice of the foregoing action must be published once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and such notice shall state:
(i) The time of the public hearing, which must be not less than sixteen days following the first publication of the notice;
(ii) The place of the hearing; and
(iii) The area included in the service area to be taxed, including a brief description of the boundary lines.
(3) The hearing must be conducted publicly and both proponents and opponents of the proposed action must be given full opportunity to be heard.
(4) Following the hearing the governing body shall, by resolution, make a finding as to whether the service area must be established as a taxing district.
(5) The governing body shall cause notice of its action to be published once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within the county which shall state the results of its action.
(6) Any person affected by the action of the governing body may, by action de novo instituted in the court of common pleas for the county, within the twenty days following the last publication of the notice prescribed by item (5) of this section, but not afterwards, challenge the action of the governing body.
Section 4-19-30. As a condition precedent to the issuance of any bonds under this chapter, the governing body shall provide for either:
(a) The levy and collection of an annual ad valorem tax within the service areas where fire protection services will be furnished from the proceeds of the bonds to be issued which will be sufficient to provide for the payment of the principal and interest on the bonds to be issued; or
(b) The imposition of rates and charges for the furnishing of fire protection services within each service area where fire protection services will be furnished from the proceeds of the bonds to be issued which will be sufficient to provide for the payment of the principal and interest on the bonds to be issued.
The finding by the governing body that one of these conditions precedent to the issuance of bonds hereunder has been met shall be conclusive.
Section 4-19-40. No election is prescribed as a condition precedent to the issuance of bonds pursuant to this chapter, and no action other than that prescribed in this chapter need be taken to effect the issuance of the bonds herein authorized, nor is the governing body required to obtain the approval of any public agency to any action taken pursuant to the authorizations of this chapter, nor is the publication of any ordinance or resolution providing for the issuance of any bonds under this chapter required.
Section 4-19-50. In order to provide a means by which a county may raise monies to establish, maintain, and operate a fire protection system as provided by this chapter and to purchase the necessary fire-fighting equipment and to construct, acquire, and build the necessary fire stations and acquire sites for the stations, the governing body of any county is empowered to issue as a single issue, or from time to time as several separate issues, general obligation bonds of the county, without the necessity of holding an election, to such extent as, on the occasion of the issuance of any such bonds, is permitted by the constitutional debt limitation applicable to the county.
Section 4-19-60. All bonds issued pursuant to this chapter shall mature in such annual series or installments as the governing body shall prescribe, except that the first maturing bonds shall mature within three years from the date of the issue, and no bond shall mature later than thirty years from the date of issue.
Section 4-19-70. Any bond issued pursuant to this chapter may be issued with a provision permitting its redemption prior to its stated maturity, at par and accrued interest, plus such redemption premium as may be prescribed by the governing body, but no bond is redeemable prior to its stated maturity unless it contains a statement to that effect. In the proceedings authorizing the issuance of such bonds, provision must be made specifying the manner of call and the notice thereof that must be given as to bonds redeemable prior to their stated maturities.
Section 4-19-80. The bonds issued pursuant to this chapter must be in the form of negotiable coupon bonds, payable to bearer, but may be issued with the privilege to any holder of having them registered as to principal on the books of the county treasurer upon such conditions as the governing body may prescribe. Except when registered, all bonds issued pursuant to this chapter shall have all attributes of negotiable instruments under the law merchant and the Uniform Commercial Code. Provided, however, that any bonds issued under this chapter and purchased by the United States of America, or any agency or department thereof, may be in fully registered form as to both principal and interest and registered on the books of the county treasurer.
Section 4-19-90. The bonds issued pursuant to this chapter must be made payable at such place or places, within or without the State, as the governing body shall provide.
Section 4-19-100. Bonds issued pursuant to this chapter shall bear interest at a rate or rates determined by the governing body, not in excess of that permitted by the general law of the State prescribing limitations upon the rate of interest borne by obligations of the State and its political subdivisions, which interest may be payable at such intervals as the governing body may prescribe.
Section 4-19-110. The bonds and the coupons to be attached to the bonds must be in such form and denomination and be executed in such manner as the governing body shall prescribe.
Section 4-19-120. Bonds issued pursuant to this chapter must be sold at a price of not less than par and accrued interest to the date of their respective deliveries. They must be sold after public advertisement of their sale in a newspaper of general circulation in South Carolina, or in a financial journal published in the city of New York. Such published notice shall appear not less than seven days prior to the occasion set for opening bids; provided, however, that any bonds issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may be sold at private sale to the United States of America or any agency or department thereof.
Section 4-19-130. The governing body may provide in the ordinance or resolution, which makes provision for the issuance of any bonds under this chapter, that such bonds may be additionally secured by all or any portion, designated in the ordinance or resolution, of the revenues to be derived from the rates and charges for fire protection services.
Section 4-19-140. For the payment of the principal of and interest on all bonds issued pursuant to this chapter, as they respectively mature, and for the creation of the sinking fund as may be necessary for the fund, the full faith, credit, and taxing power of the county must be irrevocably pledged, and there must be levied annually by the county auditor and collected by the county treasurer a tax sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds as they respectively mature and to create such sinking fund as may be necessary; provided, however, that in the event that suchrevenues from the ad valorem tax levied in the service areas under the provisions of item (1) of Section 4-19-10 or from the rates and charges for fire protection services must be available for the payment of debt service on such bonds (whether or not such revenues have been pledged for that purpose), and must be delivered to the county treasurer for the payment of such principal and interest and for no other purpose, prior to the occasion when the county auditor fixes the annual tax levy, the annual ad valorem tax to be levied for the payment of the principal and interest on such bonds may be reduced in each year by the amount of such revenues derived from such taxes levied in the service areas or from such rates and charges which are actually in the hands of the county treasurer at the time the tax for the year is required to be levied; provided, further that bonds issued for a service area subject to the imposition of taxes, must be primarily the obligation of the service area and for the payment of principal and interest thereof, as the same mature, there must be levied and collected service charges, assessments, or ad valorem taxes upon all taxable property in the service area, and resort to the tax levy required by the preceding paragraph of this section must be made only in the event that funds from the sources required by this paragraph prove insufficient to meet the payment of the principal and interest.
Section 4-19-150. The principal of and interest on bonds issued pursuant to this chapter shall have the tax-exempt status prescribed by Section 12-1-60.
Section 4-19-160. The proceeds derived from the sale of any bonds issued pursuant to this chapter must be paid to the county treasurer, to be deposited in a separate bond account fund, and must be expended from time to time and made use of as follows:
(a) Any accrued interest must be applied to the payment of the first installment of interest to become due on such bonds.
(b) Any premium must be applied to the payment of the first installment of principal of such bonds.
(c) The remaining proceeds must be expended, upon the warrant or order of the governing body, for the following purposes:
(1) To defray the costs of issuing the bonds authorized by this chapter;
(2) To pay interest on such bonds for a period of not exceeding two years; and
(3) To provide for fire protection services for the county.
(d) If, after the final completion of any fire protection system, the governing body shall certify to the county treasurer that any remaining balance in the bond account is no longer needed for its fire protection program, then the balance must be held by the treasurer and used to effect the retirement of bonds then outstanding, which have been issued pursuant to this chapter. Provided, however, that the purchaser of the bonds is not responsible for the proper application of the proceeds to the purposes for which the bonds are issued.
Section 4-19-170. The powers and authorizations conferred upon the governing body are in addition to all other powers and authorizations previously vested in the governing body and may be availed of pursuant to action taken at one regular or special meeting of the governing body.
Section 4-19-180. The authorizations granted by this chapter shall remain of full force and effect until they are rescinded by subsequent enactment and no time limit is set for the issuance of bonds pursuant to this chapter."
Provisions cumulative
SECTION 3. The provisions of this act are cumulative and are not to be construed as repealing or amending any existing statute of this State with respect to the subject matter of any of the provisions of this act.
Time effective
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.