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A137, R148, H4111
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. Hayes
Document Path: l:\council\bills\ggs\22900ssp07.doc
Introduced in the House on May 17, 2007
Introduced in the Senate on May 23, 2007
Last Amended on June 5, 2007
Passed by the General Assembly on June 6, 2007
Became law without Governor's signature, June 15, 2007
Summary: Dillon County sales and use tax referendum
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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5/17/2007 House Introduced, read first time, placed on calendar without
reference HJ-3
5/22/2007 House Amended HJ-13
5/22/2007 House Read second time HJ-14
5/23/2007 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-19
5/23/2007 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-47
5/23/2007 Senate Referred to Committee on Finance SJ-47
6/5/2007 Senate Recalled from Committee on Finance SJ-16
6/5/2007 Senate Amended SJ-16
6/5/2007 Senate Read second time SJ-16
6/5/2007 Senate Unanimous consent for third reading on next legislative
day SJ-16
6/6/2007 Scrivener's error corrected
6/6/2007 Senate Read third time and returned to House with amendments
SJ-34
6/6/2007 House Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled HJ-111
6/7/2007 Ratified R 148
6/15/2007 Became law without Governor's signature
6/20/2007 Copies available
6/20/2007 Effective date 06/15/07
7/30/2007 Act No. 137
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
5/17/2007
5/17/2007-A
5/22/2007
6/5/2007
6/6/2007
(A137, R148, H4111)
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE DILLON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION TO ACQUIRE, CONSTRUCT, RENOVATE, REPAIR, FURNISH, AND EQUIP SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND OTHER FACILITIES RELATING TO THE PROVISION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN DILLON COUNTY BY MEANS OF ACQUISITION AGREEMENTS IN AN AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED SIXTY MILLION DOLLARS SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF A SALES AND USE TAX TO BE IMPOSED IN DILLON COUNTY; TO AUTHORIZE A REFERENDUM TO BE CONDUCTED IN DILLON COUNTY TO IMPOSE A SALES AND USE TAX FOR THE PURPOSE OF COLLECTING REVENUES TO PAY FOR EXPENSES RELATED TO THESE ACQUISITION AGREEMENTS AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE METHOD OF IMPOSING, ADMINISTERING, AND COLLECTING THE TAX; TO AUTHORIZE EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT IN DILLON COUNTY TO ISSUE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS WITHIN THE GENERAL OBLIGATION DEBT LIMIT IMPOSED BY SECTION 15, ARTICLE X OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1895, OR PURSUANT TO THE FAVORABLE RESULTS OF A REFERENDUM IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED TEN MILLION DOLLARS BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2018, TO PROVIDE THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THESE BONDS MAY BE ISSUED, AND TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF THE PROCEEDS OF THESE BONDS TO MAKE PAYMENTS WITH RESPECT TO ACQUISITION AGREEMENTS ENTERED INTO BY THE DILLON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION OR TO DEFRAY THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, RENOVATION, REPAIR, FURNISHING, AND EQUIPPING OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND OTHER FACILITIES RELATING TO PUBLIC EDUCATION BY EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT; AND TO REPEAL ACT 197 OF 2005 RELATING TO THE IMPOSITION OF A SALES AND USE TAX FOR SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Preamble
SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that:
(1) There is a definite and compelling need for new and renovated school facilities in Dillon County, inasmuch as many of the existing school facilities therein are dilapidated and obsolete.
(2) The use of appropriation-based acquisition agreements to provide for such schools is necessary and appropriate in light of such conditions.
(3) A sales and use tax authorized by referendum shall reduce property tax burdens in Dillon County and alleviate the disparity in property tax rates, if any, among the several school districts therein.
Acquisition agreements authorized
SECTION 2. (A)(1) The Dillon County Board of Education is authorized to acquire, construct, renovate, repair, furnish, and equip school buildings and other facilities relating to the provision of public education in Dillon County by means of acquisition agreements in the principal amount not to exceed, in the aggregate, sixty million dollars. Each such acquisition agreement shall be approved by resolution of the Dillon County Board of Education. The term of any agreement entered into in connection with such acquisition agreements shall not exceed forty years from the date of delivery thereof. The Chairman and Secretary of the Dillon County Board of Education are authorized to execute and deliver all such documents as shall be necessary or convenient to accomplish the purposes of this act. An acquisition agreement undertaken pursuant to this section may be refinanced in the discretion of the Dillon County Board of Education, provided that such refinancing results in a debt service savings.
(2) In connection with such acquisition agreements, the Dillon County Board of Education is authorized, without the prior review or consent of any person or other entity, to:
(a) enter into leases of real property and improvements thereupon, as determined by the Dillon County Board of Education;
(b) procure insurance, guarantees, letters of credit, reserve fund surety bonds, and other forms of collateral or security or credit support from any public or private entity for the payment of amounts due under any acquisition agreement authorized by this act, including the power to pay premiums or fees on any insurance, guarantees, letters of credit, and other forms of collateral or security or credit support and to, from time to time, make such reimbursements and replenishments as may be required thereby;
(c) enter into contracts and expend funds to obtain accounting, management, legal, financial consulting, bond underwriting, trusteeship, and other professional services necessary or convenient to the fulfillment of the purposes of this act;
(d) enter into leases and other contracts with each of the school districts in Dillon County for the use by the latter of school facilities financed in accordance with this act; and
(e) enter into all contracts or agreements and make such covenants as are necessary, proper, or convenient for the effectuation of the powers granted herein and purposes of this act.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, no acquisition agreement shall be entered into pursuant hereto unless, prior to the entry into such agreement, the Dillon County Board of Education shall project that the revenues from the sales tax provided for herein and the proceeds of any general obligation bonds of any of the several school districts as provided for in this act shall be sufficient to pay all amounts owed under such agreement and all other such agreements entered into pursuant hereto then in effect.
(C) During the time that any authorized acquisition agreement hereunder remains in effect, the school buildings and other facilities financed thereby shall be titled in the name of the Dillon County Board of Education. The title to any real property to be improved pursuant to any acquisition agreement authorized hereunder which is presently titled in the name of a school district in Dillon County shall be transferred to the Dillon County Board of Education prior to the effective date of the acquisition agreement applicable thereto. Upon the termination of an acquisition agreement and all leases related thereto, title to such school buildings and other facilities shall be transferred to the boards of trustees of the respective school districts in which such buildings and facilities are situated.
(D) Any payment obligations under any such acquisition agreement entered into by the Dillon County Board of Education pursuant to this act shall be subject to annual appropriation by the Dillon County Board of Education.
(E) In the event that any acquisition agreements shall consist of or include financing leases between the Dillon County Board of Education and the several school districts in Dillon County or any of them, lease payments under such leases may be apportioned to each such school district according to the value of the improvements financed in each district pursuant to such acquisition agreements as may be agreed to by the Dillon County Board of Education and each such district. Any amounts paid to the Dillon County Treasurer pursuant to subsection (F) of Section 3 of this act may be credited, at the option of the Dillon County Board of Education and subject to the conditions of said subsection (F) of Section 3 of this act, pro rata to each such district with respect to the amounts owed by such district to the Dillon County Board of Education pursuant to such lease.
(F) The Dillon County Board of Education shall make a full record of the proceedings connected with each acquisition agreement authorized hereunder, and a copy of the record of such proceedings shall be filed and indexed in the office of the Clerk of Court for Dillon County in the same manner and book as is used for such filing and indexing pursuant to Section 11-15-10 of the 1976 Code. No action shall be commenced on account of the entry by the Dillon County Board of Education into such an acquisition agreement after the expiration of twenty days from the date of such filing and indexing.
Referendum for sales and use tax
SECTION 3. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Board" means the Dillon County Board of Education and each of the boards of trustees of the three school districts in Dillon County, as the case may be.
(2) "County" means Dillon County, South Carolina.
(3) "County auditor" means the Dillon County Auditor.
(4) "County treasurer" means the Dillon County Treasurer.
(5) "Department" means the South Carolina Department of Revenue.
(B) Subject to the requirements of this section and notwithstanding the limitations provided in Section 4-10-310 of the 1976 Code, the board by resolution may impose a sales and use tax not exceeding two percent within the county for a specified period of time to collect revenues to pay the principal of, interest on, and redemption premium, if any, payable pursuant to an acquisition agreement entered into by the board pursuant to Section 2 of this act.
(C)(1) The board by resolution may vote to impose the tax authorized by this section, but the tax must not be levied unless the voters approve the question presented in a referendum. The board shall determine the date upon which a referendum may be held. The resolution must:
(a) identify the improvements to be financed through the proceeds of the tax and the priority of such improvements; and
(b) the maximum time, stated in calendar years or calendar quarters, or a combination of them, for which the tax may be imposed.
(2) Upon receipt of the resolution, the election authorities in Dillon County shall conduct a referendum on the question of imposing the optional special sales and use tax in the county, including information that the amount generated will exceed the debt limitation of the school districts. Notice of the election must be provided in the manner provided by the general election law. Expenses of the referendum must be paid by the school districts of the county in proportion to their relative one hundred thirty-five day membership for the 2006-2007 school year.
(3) The question to be voted upon in a referendum must read substantially as follows:
"Must a special sales and use tax in the amount of [specify percent; not exceeding two percent] be imposed in Dillon County for not more than [specify years/quarters] in order to raise revenues which will be applied to payments due pursuant to undertakings of the Dillon County Board of Education, in a principal amount not exceeding [amount; not to exceed $60,000,000], which undertakings would exceed the aggregate amount of the general obligation indebtedness limit of the several school districts in Dillon County by [specify amount] in order to provide funds for the acquisition, construction, renovation, repair, furnishing, and equipping of the following school facilities in Dillon County in the following order of priority: [describe improvements]?
Those voting in favor of the question shall deposit a ballot with a check or cross mark in the square after the word 'Yes', and those voting against the question shall deposit a ballot with a check or cross mark in the square after the word 'No'."
The ballot, in the discretion of the board, may contain a short explanation of the question to be voted upon in a referendum.
(4) Upon receipt of the returns of the referendum, the Dillon County Election Commission shall certify the results and file the certification with the Dillon County Clerk of Court. The certification also must be filed with the department. The certified results of a referendum are not open to question except by a civil action instituted within twenty days of the filing of the certificate with the clerk of court. If a majority of the votes cast is in favor of imposing the tax, then the tax is imposed as provided pursuant to this act; otherwise, the tax is not imposed. A referendum on the imposition of the tax authorized pursuant to this section must not be held more than once in a period of twelve consecutive months. The aggregate percentage rate of the sales and use tax authorized pursuant to this act may be imposed pursuant to one or more referendums held in accordance with the provisions of this act.
(D)(1) If the tax is approved in a referendum, the tax must be imposed beginning on the first day of the month following the termination of the capital project sales tax imposed in the county as of the effective date of this act pursuant to Article 3, Chapter 10, Title 4 of the 1976 Code or, if later, the first day of the fourth full month following the date of the referendum.
(2) The tax terminates upon the earlier of the:
(a) receipt of revenues sufficient to pay amounts owed pursuant to the aggregate amount of acquisition agreements approved by the referendum;
(b) final day of the maximum time specified for the imposition;
(c) the final day of the first full month following the later of:
(i) the failure by the board to appropriate payments to be made with respect to any acquisition agreement entered into by the board pursuant to this act; and
(ii) at any time that the failure is not subject to cure under the applicable acquisition agreement; or
(d) the payment of the final installment of interest of any acquisition agreement undertaken by the board pursuant to Section 2 of this act.
The board shall notify the department within ten days of the occurrence of an event that causes the termination of the tax pursuant to subitem (D)(2).
(E)(1) The tax levied pursuant to this section must be administered and collected by the department in the same manner that other sales and use taxes are collected. The department may prescribe the amounts that may be added to the sales price because of the tax.
(2) The tax authorized by this section is in addition to all other local sales and use tax and applies to the gross proceeds of the sales in the county which are subject to the tax imposed by Chapter 36, Title 12 of the 1976 Code and the enforcement provisions of Chapter 54, Title 12 of the 1976 Code. The gross proceeds of the sale of items subject to a maximum tax in Chapter 36, Title 12 of the 1976 Code are exempt from the tax imposed by this section. The gross proceeds of the sale of unprepared food, which may be purchased with United States Department of Agriculture food coupons, are exempt from the tax imposed by this section. The tax imposed by this section also applies to tangible personal property subject to the use tax in Article 13, Chapter 36, Title 12 of the 1976 Code.
(3) Taxpayers required to remit taxes pursuant to Article 13, Chapter 36, Title 12 of the 1976 Code shall identify the county in which the tangible personal property purchased at retail is stored, used, or consumed in this State.
(4) Utilities are required to report sales in the county in which consumption of the tangible personal property occurs.
(5) A taxpayer subject to the tax imposed by Section 12-36-920 of the 1976 Code who owns or manages rental units in more than one county separately shall report in his sales tax return the total gross proceeds from business done in each county.
(6) The gross proceeds of sales of tangible personal property delivered after the imposition date of the sales and use tax levied pursuant to this section in the county, either under the terms of a construction contract executed before the imposition date, or a written bid submitted before the imposition date, culminating in a construction contract entered into before or after the imposition date, are exempt from the sales and use tax provided in this section if a verified copy of the contract is filed with the department within six months after the imposition of the sales and use tax.
(7) Notwithstanding the imposition date of the sales and use tax authorized pursuant to this section, regarding services that regularly are billed on a monthly basis, the sales and use tax is imposed beginning on the first day of the billing period beginning on or after the imposition date.
(F)(1) The revenues of the tax collected in the county pursuant to this section must be remitted to the State Treasury and credited to a fund separate and distinct from the general fund of the State. After deducting the amount of refunds made and costs to the department of administering the tax, not to exceed one percent of the revenues, the State Treasurer shall distribute the revenues quarterly to the county treasurer, who shall hold these revenues on behalf of and subject to the appropriation by the board. Upon the termination of the sales and use tax pursuant to subitem (D)(2), all revenues then held or thereafter delivered to the county treasurer and not then payable by the board under an acquisition agreement shall be distributed to the several school districts of the county in proportion to the most recently measured one hundred thirty-five day average daily memberships and applied to capital improvements.
(2) The county treasurer, on February 15 of each year, shall determine the amount of proceeds of the sales and use tax held by him. Proceeds of the sales and use tax in excess of the amount required to make payments under all acquisition agreements entered into by the board pursuant to Section 2 of this act, first shall be applied, within the next following eighteen months and taking into account the receipts of the ad valorem tax imposed pursuant to Section 3 of this act, to replenish any reserve fund established in connection with acquisition agreements entered into pursuant to Section 2 of this act, with any remaining amount applied to the prepayment or the defeasance of amounts payable under these acquisition agreements or to defray the cost of capital improvements for the several school districts in Dillon County as directed by the board.
(3) The State Treasurer shall correct misallocation costs or refunds by adjusting subsequent distributions, but these adjustments must be made in the same fiscal year that the misallocation occurred.
(G) The department shall furnish data to the State Treasurer and to the school districts for the purpose of calculating distributions and estimating revenues. The information that must be supplied to the board upon request includes, but is not limited to, gross receipts, net taxable sales, and tax liability by taxpayers. Information about a specific taxpayer is considered confidential and is governed by the provisions of Section 12-54-240 of the 1976 Code. A person violating this section is subject to the penalties provided in Section 12-54-240 of the 1976 Code.
General obligation bonds authorized
SECTION 4. (A) Each Dillon County School District is authorized to issue general obligation bonds of the school district in an aggregate amount not to exceed ten million dollars prior to January 1, 2018.
(B) The proceeds of the general obligation bonds of each school district may be used by the district to either:
(1) pay, to the extent not prohibited by general law, a portion of any amounts due under any acquisition agreement of the Dillon County Board of Education under this act as may be allocated to the cost of improvements within each school district pursuant to an agreement between the school district and the Dillon County Board of Education or any similar agreement with the State of South Carolina or any agency or political subdivision thereof or any other entity authorized by law to undertake such financing; or
(2) pay directly the cost of acquiring, constructing, renovating, repairing, furnishing, and equipping school buildings and other facilities relating to the provision of public education in such district and the costs of issuance relating to such bonds.
(C) Any bonds issued by a district shall be within the debt limit applicable to the school district pursuant to Section 15, Article X of the Constitution of South Carolina, 1895, or the favorable results of a referendum.
(D) Any bonds issued pursuant to this act shall, unless otherwise provided for in this act, be subject to the terms and conditions made applicable to general obligation bonds of school districts pursuant to Chapter 71, Title 59 of the 1976 Code and Chapter 27, Title 11 of the 1976 Code.
Repeal
SECTION 5. Act 197 of 2005 is repealed.
Severability clause
SECTION 6. If any article, subarticle, section, subsection, item, subitem, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of the chapter, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed each and every article, subarticle, section, subsection, item, subitem, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other articles, subarticles, sections, subsections, items, subitems, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.
Time effective
SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Ratified the 8th day of June, 2007.
Became law without the signature of the Governor -- 6/15/07.
This web page was last updated on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 3:43 P.M.