South Carolina General Assembly
113th Session, 1999-2000

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Bill 4543


                    Current Status

Bill Number:                      4543
Ratification Number:              291
Act Number:                       269
Type of Legislation:              General Bill GB
Introducing Body:                 House
Introduced Date:                  20000203
Primary Sponsor:                  Miller
All Sponsors:                     Miller
Drafted Document Number:          l:\council\bills\nbd\11657ac00.doc
Date Bill Passed both Bodies:     20000412
Date of Last Amendment:           20000406
Governor's Action:                S
Date of Governor's Action:        20000501
Subject:                          County, municipal taxpayer or financial 
                                  information; confidentiality requirements; 
                                  Taxation, Political Subdivisions


                        History

Body    Date      Action Description                     Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  ______________________________________ _______ ____________
------  20000516  Act No. A269
------  20000501  Signed by Governor
------  20000426  Ratified R291
House   20000412  Concurred in Senate amendment, 
                  enrolled for ratification
------  20000410  Scrivener's error corrected
Senate  20000407  Read third time, returned to House
                  with amendment
Senate  20000406  Amended, read second time, 
                  Unanimous consent for third 
                  reading on Friday, 20000407
Senate  20000405  Committee report: Favorable with       11 SJ
                  amendment
Senate  20000309  Introduced, read first time,           11 SJ
                  referred to Committee
House   20000308  Read third time, sent to Senate
House   20000307  Amended, read second time
House   20000301  Committee report: Favorable with       25 HJ
                  amendment
House   20000203  Introduced, read first time,           25 HJ
                  referred to Committee


              Versions of This Bill
Revised on March 1, 2000 - Word format
Revised on March 7, 2000 - Word format
Revised on April 5, 2000 - Word format
Revised on April 6, 2000 - Word format
Revised on April 10, 2000 - Word format

View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A269, R291, H4543)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 6-1-120, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CONFIDENTIALITY OF COUNTY OR MUNICIPAL TAXPAYER INFORMATION, SO AS TO CLARIFY THAT FINANCIAL INFORMATION, OR OTHER INFORMATION INDICATIVE OF UNITS OF GOODS OR SERVICES SOLD, PROVIDED IN A RETURN, REPORT, OR APPLICATION FILED WITH A COUNTY OR MUNICIPALITY IS CONFIDENTIAL BUT DOES NOT PROHIBIT THE SHARING OF DATA BETWEEN PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES, AND TO FURTHER PROVIDE THAT A PERSON IS SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PENALTIES IF THE PERSON KNOWINGLY VIOLATES THIS SECTION.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Confidentiality of county or municipal taxpayer information

SECTION 1. Section 6-1-120 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 111 of 1999, is amended to read:

"Section 6-1-120. (A) Except in accordance with a proper judicial order or as otherwise provided by the Freedom of Information Act, it is unlawful for an officer or employee of a county or municipality, or the agent of such an officer or employee to divulge or make known in any manner the financial information, or other information indicative of units of goods or services sold, provided by a taxpayer included in a report, tax return, or application required to be filed by the taxpayer with that county or municipality pursuant to a county or municipal ordinance imposing a:

(1) tax authorized under Article 5 or Article 7;

(2) business license tax authorized under Section 4-9-30(12) or Section 5-7-30;

(3) fee the measure of which is:

(a) gross proceeds of sales of goods or services; or

(b) paid admissions to a place of amusement.

(B) Nothing in this section prohibits the:

(1) publication of statistics classified to prevent the identification of particular reports, returns, or applications and the information on them;

(2) inspection of reports, returns, or applications and the information included on them by an officer or employee of the county or municipality, or an agent retained by an officer or employee, in connection with audits of the taxpayer, appeals by the taxpayer, and collection efforts in connection with the tax or fee which is the subject of the return, report, or application;

(3) sharing of data between public officials or employees in the performance of their duties.

(C) A person who knowingly violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. In addition, if the person convicted is an officer or employee of the county or municipality, the offender must be dismissed from the office or position held and is disqualified from holding a public office in this State for five years following the conviction."

Time effective

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 26th day of April, 2000.

Approved the 1st day of May, 2000.

__________


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