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A188, R212, S503
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Thurmond, Hembree, Campsen, Cleary, Rankin and Ford
Document Path: l:\s-res\pt\005beac.hm.pt.docx
Companion/Similar bill(s): 3390
Introduced in the Senate on March 7, 2013
Introduced in the House on May 14, 2013
Passed by the General Assembly on May 23, 2014
Governor's Action: June 2, 2014, Signed
Summary: Beach Preservation Act
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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3/7/2013 Senate Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 8)
3/7/2013 Senate Referred to Committee on Finance (Senate Journal-page 8)
4/24/2013 Senate Committee report: Favorable Finance
(Senate Journal-page 11)
5/7/2013 Senate Read second time (Senate Journal-page 16)
5/7/2013 Senate Roll call Ayes-29 Nays-11 (Senate Journal-page 16)
5/9/2013 Senate Read third time and sent to House
(Senate Journal-page 11)
5/14/2013 House Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 19)
5/14/2013 House Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources
and Environmental Affairs (House Journal-page 19)
5/16/2013 House Recalled from Committee on Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Environmental Affairs
(House Journal-page 32)
5/16/2013 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means
(House Journal-page 32)
5/15/2014 House Committee report: Favorable Ways and Means
(House Journal-page 41)
5/22/2014 House Read second time (House Journal-page 20)
5/22/2014 House Roll call Yeas-85 Nays-14 (House Journal-page 21)
5/22/2014 House Unanimous consent for third reading on next legislative
day (House Journal-page 22)
5/23/2014 House Read third time and enrolled (House Journal-page 3)
5/29/2014 Ratified R 212
6/2/2014 Signed By Governor
6/6/2014 Effective date 06/02/14
6/10/2014 Act No. 188
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
(A188, R212, S503)
AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 6 TO CHAPTER 1, TITLE 6 SO AS TO ENACT THE "BEACH PRESERVATION ACT", TO ALLOW A QUALIFIED COASTAL MUNICIPALITY TO IMPOSE A FEE NOT TO EXCEED ONE PERCENT ON THE GROSS PROCEEDS DERIVED FROM THE RENTAL OR CHARGES FOR ACCOMMODATIONS FURNISHED TO TRANSIENTS SUBJECT TO THE MUNICIPALITY'S LOCAL ACCOMMODATIONS TAX, TO PROVIDE THAT THE MUNICIPALITY MAY IMPOSE THE FEE ONLY AFTER ITS APPROVAL IN A REFERENDUM HELD IN THE MUNICIPALITY, TO PROVIDE THAT THE FEE IS IN ADDITION TO ALL OTHER LOCAL ACCOMMODATIONS TAXES IMPOSED AND MUST NOT BE DEEMED CUMULATIVE TO OTHER LOCAL ACCOMMODATIONS TAXES IMPOSED BY THE MUNICIPALITY, TO PROVIDE USES FOR WHICH THE FEE REVENUE MUST BE APPLIED, TO PROVIDE FOR REPORTING AND FOR REMITTANCE OF THESE FEES, AND TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Beach Preservation Act
SECTION 1. Chapter 1, Title 6 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 6-1-610. This article may be cited as the 'Beach Preservation Act'.
Section 6-1-620. As used in this article:
(1) 'Beach preservation fee' means a fee imposed on the gross proceeds derived from the rental or charges for accommodations furnished to transients for consideration within the jurisdiction of the governing body which are subject to the tax imposed pursuant to Section 12-36-920(A).
(2) 'Governing body' means the governing body of a qualified coastal municipality.
(3) 'Qualified coastal municipality' means a municipality bordering on the Atlantic Ocean that has a public beach within its corporate limits and which imposes a local accommodations tax pursuant to Section 6-1-520 that does not exceed one and one-half percent pursuant to the limitations imposed pursuant to Section 6-1-540.
Section 6-1-630. (A) The governing body of a qualified coastal municipality by ordinance, subject to a referendum, may impose a beach preservation fee not to exceed one percent.
(B) Upon the adoption of an ordinance calling for a referendum, the county election commission shall conduct a referendum at the time specified in the ordinance on the question of implementing a one percent beach preservation fee. The state election laws apply to the referendum, mutatis mutandis. The county election commission shall publish the results of the referendum to certify them to the governing body. The beach preservation fee must not be imposed unless a majority of the qualified electors residing in the municipality voting in the referendum vote in favor of the referendum.
(C)(1) The ballot must read substantially as follows:
'Must an additional one percent beach preservation fee be added to the accommodations tax for the purpose of nourishment, renourishment, maintenance, erosion mitigation, and monitoring of beaches, dune restoration and maintenance, including planting of grass, sea oats, or other vegetation useful in preserving the dune system, and maintenance of public beach accesses within the corporate limits of _____.
(2) If the question is not approved at the initial referendum, the governing body may, by an ordinance meeting the requirements of this section, call for another referendum on the question. However, following the initial referendum, a referendum for this purpose must not be held more often than once in a twenty-four month period on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November in even-numbered years.
(3) Once a week for the four weeks immediately preceding the referendum, the governing body of the municipality shall publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation within the jurisdiction a description of and the specific uses for the beach preservation fee. The governing body also must publish notice on its website in the same manner.
(D) The fee authorized by this article is in addition to all other local accommodations taxes imposed pursuant to Section 6-1-520 and must not be deemed cumulative with the local accommodations tax or fee rate for the purposes of Section 6-1-540.
(E) All proceeds from the beach preservation fee must be kept in a separate fund segregated from the governing body's general fund. All interest generated by the beach preservation fee fund must be credited to the beach preservation fee fund.
Section 6-1-640. The revenue generated by the beach preservation fee must be used exclusively for the following purposes:
(1) nourishment, renourishment, maintenance, erosion mitigation, and monitoring of the beaches within the corporate limits of the qualified coastal municipality;
(2) dune restoration and maintenance, including planting of grass, sea oats, or other vegetation useful in preserving the dune system within the corporate limits of the qualified coastal municipality; and
(3) maintenance of public beach accesses within the corporate limits of the qualified coastal municipality.
Section 6-1-650. Real estate agents, brokers, corporations, or listing services required to remit fees under this section must notify the appropriate governing body if rental property, previously listed by them, is dropped from their listings.
Section 6-1-660. The fee provided for pursuant to this article must be remitted to the local governing body on a monthly basis when the estimated amount of the average of the total of the tax imposed pursuant to Article 5 of this chapter and this article is more than fifty dollars a month, on a quarterly basis when the estimated amount of such average is twenty-five dollars to fifty dollars a month, and on an annual basis when the estimated amount of such average is less than twenty-five dollars a month."
Time effective
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Ratified the 29th day of May, 2014.
Approved the 2nd day of June, 2014.
This web page was last updated on July 24, 2014 at 3:22 PM