Bill 3379

                    Current Status

BillNumber:                3379
Ratification Number:       586
Act Number:                488
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Special purpose or public service districts

(A488, R586, H3379)

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 11 OF TITLE 6, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO SPECIAL PURPOSE OR PUBLIC SERVICE DISTRICTS, SO AS TO ADD ARTICLE 11 TO PROVIDE FOR THE DEFINITION OF SPECIAL PURPOSE DISTRICT, TO PROVIDE THAT THE GOVERNING BODY OF A SPECIAL PURPOSE DISTRICT MUST NOTIFY THE SECRETARY OF STATE AND THE AUDITOR OF THE COUNTY IN WHICH THE DISTRICT IS LOCATED OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE DISTRICT; TO PROVIDE THAT ALL NEW DISTRICTS CREATED AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ARTICLE MUST FOLLOW THE SAME NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE; TO PROVIDE FOR A NOTIFICATION FORM TO BE USED BY THE DISTRICT; TO PROVIDE THAT THE AUDITOR OF THE COUNTY IN WHICH THE SPECIAL PURPOSE DISTRICT IS LOCATED SHALL INSPECT AND SIGN THE NOTIFICATION FORMS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE SECRETARY OF STATE MAY DECLARE A DISTRICT NONFUNCTIONING AND TO AUTHORIZE THE GOVERNING BODY OF ANY COUNTY OR MUNICIPALITY TO WITHHOLD ANY FEES, TAXES, OR INTEREST THEREON COLLECTED FOR ANY SPECIAL PURPOSE DISTRICT UNTIL THE DISTRICT HAS COMPLIED WITH THE NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS OF THIS ACT; AND TO PROVIDE THAT A CITIZEN RESIDING IN A DISTRICT MAY BRING A PROCEEDING FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AGAINST THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE SPECIAL PURPOSE DISTRICT TO ENFORCE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT.

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

Findings

SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that special purpose districts serve a necessary and useful function by providing services to residents and property owners in the State. The General Assembly finds further that special purpose districts operate to serve a public purpose and that this public trust is best secured by certain minimum standards of accountability designed to inform the public and appropriate general purpose local governments of the status and activities of special districts. It is the intent of the General Assembly that this public trust be secured by requiring each independent special district in the State to register and report its financial and other activities. The General Assembly finds further that failure of an independent special purpose district to comply with the minimum disclosure requirements set forth in this act may result in action against officers of such district board.

Realizing that special purpose districts are created to serve special purposes, it is the legislative intent of this act that special purpose districts cooperate and coordinate their activities with the units of general purpose government in which they are located. The reporting requirements set forth in this act are the minimum level of cooperation necessary to provide services to the citizens of this State in an efficient and equitable fashion. It is not the intent of this act to confer budgetary powers upon county councils for those independent special purpose districts which file financial and other activity information with the county auditor, unless otherwise provided by law.

Notification requirements

SECTION 2. Chapter 11 of Title 6 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

Section 6-11-1610. For the purposes of this article, 'special purpose district' means any district created by an act of the General Assembly or pursuant to general law and which provides any local governmental power or function including, but not limited to, fire protection, sewerage treatment, water or natural gas distribution, recreation, and means any rural community water district authorized or created under the provisions of Chapter 13 of Title 6. Special purpose districts do not include any state agency, department, commission, or school district.

Section 6-11-1620. (A) Within ninety days after the effective date of this article, and before December thirty-first of every even numbered year thereafter, the governing bodies of all special purpose districts in this State must notify the Secretary of State and the auditor of the county in which the special purpose district is located of their existence.

(B) The notification required by subsection (A) of this section must substantially conform to the following form and all portions of the form must be completed if applicable:

1.

Legal Name of Special Purpose District

2.

Permanent address (If no permanent address,

telephone number, name, and address of agent)

3.

Services provided

4.

General description of geographical boundary of service area

(Attach legal description)

5.

Citation of Statutory Authority (Please include copy)

6.

Date of Origin

7.

Tax Rate or Fee Charged

8.

Names of Members of Governing Body and terms of office:

9.

Method of selecting members of governing body

10. Financial information for prior fiscal year (Please identify year):

Total revenues by source including investment earnings

Total expenditures

Total indebtedness (indicate bonded or otherwise)

Total investments (individual amounts, location, rate of interest)

11.

Person Completing this Form

Title Date

(C) The auditor of the county in which the special purpose district is located must inspect and sign the notification forms.

Section 6-11-1630. (A) Notification as provided in Section 6-11-1620 must be forwarded to the Secretary of State and the auditor of the county in which the district is located within ninety days after the election of the governing body of a special purpose district created after the effective date of this article.

(B) The Secretary of State shall issue each even-numbered year a directory of active and inactive special purpose districts in the State. The directory shall contain all information provided by the districts as required by the notification form. Inactive districts must be deleted after being listed for two consecutive report cycles. This directory must be mailed to all special purpose districts and general purpose governments in the State.

(C) If the governing body of a public service district fails to report to the Secretary of State as provided by this article, the Secretary may determine that the district is nonfunctioning and notify the governing body of the county or municipality with a certified copy of the letter to any of the last known members of the governing body of the public service district. Thereafter, the district may not be registered with the Secretary of State and it must be declared inactive.

(D) The governing body of any county or municipality so notified shall withhold any fees, taxes, or interest thereon collected for any special purpose district by the municipality or county until the special purpose district complies with the notification requirements of this article.

Section 6-11-1640. (A) The Secretary of State shall investigate failures of special purpose districts to disclose information required by this article. Where special failures are a result of good faith efforts to file reports, the Secretary of State may grant extensions to districts not to exceed sixty days.

(B) When the reports required by this article have not been produced because of a volitional refusal by the governing body of a special purpose district, the Secretary of State or the county auditor may seek a writ of mandamus in the county in which the special purpose district is located to compel the production of the reports.

Section 6-11-1650. Each special purpose district shall provide an annual financial audit performed by a certified public accountant or public accountant to the county auditor in which the district resides. Where the boundaries of the district lie in more than one county, the audit must be made to each auditor in which the district is located."

Time effective

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 1984.

Approved the 27th day of June, 1984.