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| (B) A qualifying business may collect a job development fee under the revitalization agreement for a period not to exceed fifteen years. A qualifying business must create at least ten new, full-time jobs at the South Carolina facility described in the revitalization agreement. Capital
(1) training costs and facilities;
(2) acquiring and improving real estate whether acquired by lease, purchase, installment payment, or otherwise, the escrow account can be spent only for capital improvements made after entering a revitalization agreement;
(3) improvements to both public and private utility systems including water, sewer, electricity, natural gas, and telecommunications;
(4) fixed transportation facilities including highway, rail, water, and air; and
(5) construction or improvements of any real property and fixtures constructed or improved primarily for the purpose of complying with local, state, or federal environmental laws or regulations.
(C) The total amount retained from employee withholding by the qualifying business may not exceed the sum of the following amounts:
(1) two percent of the gross wages of each new employee who earns six dollars or more an hour but less than eight dollars an hour;
(2) three percent of the gross wages of each new employee who earns eight dollars or more an hour but less than ten dollars an hour;
(3) four percent of the gross wages of each new employee who earns ten dollars or more an hour but less than fifteen dollars an hour; and
(4) five percent of the gross wages of each new employee who earns fifteen dollars or more an hour.
The hourly gross wage figures set forth in this section must be adjusted annually by an inflation factor determined by the State Budget and Control Board.
(B) The total amount retained from employee withholding by the qualifying business may not exceed the sum of the following amounts:
(1) two percent of the gross wages of each new employee who earns six dollars or more an hour but less than eight dollars an hour;
(2) three percent of the gross wages of each new employee who earns eight dollars or more an hour but less than ten dollars an hour;
(4) five percent of the gross wages of each new employee who earns fifteen dollars or more an hour.
The hourly gross wage figures set forth in this section must be adjusted annually by an inflation factor determined by the State Budget and Control Board. The amount which may be retained by a qualifying business is limited by subsection (C)(6) and the revitalization agreement. The council may approve a waiver of the limits under subsection (C)(6) for qualifying businesses making a significant capital investment as defined in Section 4-12-30(D)(4) or Section 4-29-67(D)(4), except that five percent of the fees must be set aside for the Rural Infrastructure Fund.
(C) Capital expenditures from the escrow account must be expended at the above-described facility or for utility or transportation improvements that serve this facility. The qualifying business may expend funds from the escrow account if (a) the expenditures are incurred during the term of the revitalization agreement or within sixty days before the execution of a revitalization agreement, including a preliminary revitalization agreement, (b) the expenditures from the escrow account are authorized by the revitalization agreement, and (c) the expenditures are for any of the following purposes:
(1) training costs and facilities;
(2) acquiring and improving real estate whether constructed or acquired by purchase, or in cases approved by the council, acquired by lease or otherwise;
(3) improvements to both public and private utility systems including water, sewer, electricity, natural gas, and telecommunications;
(4) fixed transportation facilities including highway, rail, water, and air;
(5) construction or improvements of any real property and fixtures constructed or improved primarily for the purpose of complying with local, state, or federal environmental laws or regulations;
(6) the amount of job development fees a qualifying business may retain for its use for qualifying expenditures is limited according to the designation of the county as defined in Section 12-6-3360 as follows:
(a) one hundred percent of the maximum job development fees may be retained by businesses located in counties designated as `least developed';
(b) eighty-five percent of the maximum job development fees may be retained by businesses located in counties designated as `under developed';
(d) fifty-five percent of the maximum job development fees may be retained by businesses located in counties designated as `developed'.
The council shall certify to the department the maximum job development fee for each qualifying business. After receiving certification, the department shall remit an amount equal to the difference between the maximum job development fee and the job development fee actually retained to the State Rural Infrastructure Fund as defined and provided in Section 12-10-85.
(D) Subject to the conditions in this section, any qualifying business in an enterprise zone this State may negotiate with the council to retain from employee withholding an amount equal to five hundred dollars a year for each production employee being retrained, where this retraining is necessary for the qualifying business to remain competitive or to introduce new technologies. This retraining must be approved by and performed by the technical college under the jurisdiction of the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education serving the designated enterprise zone. The technical college may provide the retraining program delivery directly or contract with other training entities to accomplish the required training outcomes. In addition to the yearly limits, the amount retained from employee withholding may not exceed two thousand dollars over five years for each production employee being retrained. Additionally, the qualifying business must match on a dollar-for-dollar basis the amount retained from employee withholding. The total amount retained from withholding and all of the qualifying business' matching funds must be paid to the technical college that provides the training to defray the cost of the training program. Any training cost in excess of the job development fees and matching funds is the responsibility of the qualifying business based on negotiations with the technical college."
B. Section 12-10-80 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by an act of 1996 bearing ratification number 234, is further amended by adding at the end:
"(H) Job development fees may not be retained by a governmental employer who employs persons at a closed or realigned military installation as defined in Section 12-10-85(E)."
SECTION 19. Section 12-10-90 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 25 of 1995, is amended to read:
"Section 12-10-90. If a qualifying business fails to achieve the level of capital investment or employment set forth in the revitalization agreement,
SECTION 20. Section 12-14-30(3)(b) of the 1976 Code, as amended by an act of 1996 bearing ratification number 234, is further amended to read:
"(b) Reserved. a manufacturing facility that has closed or experienced permanent layoffs and notified the Employment Security Commission under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act of 1988. The number of jobs lost must equal twenty-five percent or more of the total workforce in the census tract in which the facility is located at the time the layoff occurred. The job loss must have occurred no more than five years before April 4, 1995, except in any census tract where a catastrophic loss of one thousand or more jobs from a single employer has occurred since 1980 and fewer than half the jobs have been replaced."
SECTION 21. Article 25, Chapter 6, Title 12 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 12-6-3490. (A) Any taxpayer claiming one or more credits under this chapter in connection with the construction, establishment, or operation of a distribution facility as defined under Section 12-6-3360(M) that invests at least fifty million dollars beginning January 1, 1996, and ending December 31, 1998, and that, within one year after the end of the year in which the facility is placed in service, creates at least two hundred new jobs and that within five years after the end of the year in which the facility is placed in service creates a total of at least four hundred new jobs, may apply any and all such credits against any state taxes, license fees, and other assessments imposed under this title. These credits may be carried forward for no more than fifteen years from the taxable year in which the credit is earned by the taxpayer. Each dollar of credit may be used only once.
(B) Subject to the limitations in this subsection, the credits earned in subsection (A) are refundable. This credit is refundable only to the extent it cannot be used against the taxpayer's tax liabilities in any given year. The total amount the taxpayer can receive during its existence as a refund under this subsection is the amount the taxpayer actually paid to the State in sales and use taxes after March 1, 1996, and on or before the tenth
(C) Each user of one or more of the provisions of subsection (A) or (B) may apply for and receive a sales and use tax exemption certificate and, for purposes of this section, is deemed to be the taxpayer under Chapter 36 of this title. This exemption certificate has the same effects as a resale certificate has under Section 12-36-950.
(D) Each taxpayer may utilize this section on or before meeting the minimum investment and job requirements of subsection (A) so long as the taxpayer notifies the department of its intent to do so on or before the time the taxpayer files a return utilizing this section. If the minimum investment and job requirements are not met within the time specified in subsection (A), the taxpayer is liable to the department in an amount equal to the total taxes that would have been due to the department in the absence of this section. Any such amount is subject to interest as provided in this title.
(E) For a taxpayer who meets the requirements of subsection (A), the running of the statute of limitations provided by subsections (A) through (F) of Section 12-54-85 is suspended from January 1, 1996, until ten years after the facility described in subsection (A) was placed in service."
SECTION 22. Section 4-29-68(A)(2) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 125 of 1995, is further amended to read:
"(2) The bonds are issued solely for the purpose of paying the cost of designing, acquiring, constructing, improving, or expanding the infrastructure serving the issuer and for improved or unimproved real estate used in the operation of a manufacturing or commercial enterprise in order to enhance the economic development of the issuer and costs of issuance of the bonds. For purposes of this section, infrastructure includes improved and unimproved real property. Bonds issued pursuant to this section to finance the acquisition of real or personal property may be additionally secured by a mortgage of that real or personal property."
SECTION 23. A. Section 12-36-2120 of the 1976 Code, as amended, is further amended by adding the following new items to be appropriately numbered to read:
"( ) Material handling systems and material handling equipment including, but not limited to, racks, whether or not the racks are used to support a facility structure or part thereof, used in the operation of a distribution facility or a manufacturing facility. In order to qualify for this exemption, the taxpayer shall notify the department before the first month it uses the exemption and shall invest at least forty million dollars in any
( ) Parts and supplies used by persons engaged in the business of repairing or reconditioning aircraft owned by or leased to the federal government or commercial air carriers. This exemption does not extend to tools and other equipment not attached to or that do not become a part of the aircraft."
B. The first unnumbered item added in Section 12-36-2120 of the 1976 Code by subsection A of this section takes effect March 1, 1996. The second unnumbered item so added takes effect on the first day of the second month following approval by the Governor.
SECTION 24. Section 12-37-220(B)(33) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"(33) All personal property including aircraft of an air carrier including aircraft used in operating which operates an air carrier hub terminal facility in this State for a period of ten consecutive years from the date of qualification, if its qualifications are maintained. An air carrier hub terminal facility is defined in Section 55-11-500."
SECTION 25. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Section 12-10-80(A) of the 1976 Code job development fees may be retained for employees hired after December 31, 1995, if the qualified business qualifies under Section 4-12-30(D)(4) of the 1976 Code or Section 4-29-67(D)(4) of the 1976 Code and enters into a revitalization agreement applying to these employees before August 1, 1996.
SECTION 26. Section 12-10-70 of the 1976 Code is repealed.
SECTION 27. With respect to the amendments in this Part made to Section 12-10-80 of the 1976 Code and the implementation of Section 12-10-85 of the 1976 Code, as added by this act, only amounts equal to the difference between the maximum job development fee and the amount actually retained as described in Section 12-10-80 of the 1976 Code received on or after January 1, 1997, must be transferred to the State Rural Infrastructure Fund. All such amounts received before that date must be transferred to the general fund of the State.
SECTION 1. Part I of this act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
SECTION 2. Except where otherwise specifically provided in Part II of this act, Part II of this act is effective upon approval by the Governor. In determining qualification for benefits available to a taxpayer, taxpayers entering into revitalization agreements on or before December 31, 1996, may elect to:
(2) use the provisions of Part II.
However, regardless of the election made by the taxpayer under this section, all contracts with schools made pursuant to Section 12-10-80(D) of the 1976 Code after the effective date of Part II of this act will be governed by Part II. Taxpayers entering into revitalization agreements on or after January 1, 1997, will be governed by Part II of this act./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend totals and title to conform.
Rep. HARRELL explained the amendment.
Rep. SHEHEEN raised the Point of Order that Amendment No. 3 was out of order as it was not germane. He further stated that the amendment was about 40 pages long and affected about 13 different sections.
Rep. HARRELL argued that all of the changes within the state income tax would be germane under Rule 9.3
The SPEAKER sustained the Point of Order and ruled the amendment out of order.
The Bill was read the second time and ordered to third reading.
The following Bill was taken up.
S. 1219 -- Education Committee: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 59-35-10, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT BEGINNING WITH SCHOOL YEAR 1996-97, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF A DISTRICT SHALL IMPLEMENT FULL-DAY AS WELL AS HALF-DAY FIVE-YEAR-OLD KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS, TO PROVIDE THAT PARENTS OF CHILDREN WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND FIVE-YEAR-OLD KINDERGARTEN MAY ELECT AT THEIR OPTION EITHER THE FULL-DAY OR HALF-DAY PROGRAM FOR THEIR CHILDREN, TO REQUIRE CERTAIN NOTICES FOR PURPOSES OF THESE KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH CHILDREN ATTENDING THESE PROGRAMS SHALL BE COUNTED FOR PURPOSES OF COMPUTING AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP;
Rep. SCOTT moved to table the motion and demanded the yeas and nays, which were taken resulting as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative are:
Anderson Bailey Baxley Breeland Brown, G. Brown, J. Carnell Cave Clyburn Cobb-Hunter Cotty Cromer Delleney Harris, J. Harris, P. Hines, J. Hines, M. Hodges Howard Jennings Keyserling Kinon Kirsh Lee Martin McAbee McCraw McElveen McKay McMahand Moody-Lawrence Neilson Phillips Rhoad Rogers Scott Sheheen Shissias Stoddard Tucker Walker Whipper, L. Whipper, S. White Wilder Williams Wright
Those who voted in the negative are:
Allison Askins Beck Boan Brown, H. Cain Cato Chamblee Dantzler Davenport Easterday Felder Fleming Fulmer Gamble Govan Hallman Harrell Hutson Keegan Kelley Klauber Knotts Koon
Lanford Law Limbaugh Limehouse Littlejohn Loftis Marchbanks Mason Meacham Quinn Rice Richardson Riser Robinson Sandifer Seithel Sharpe Simrill Smith, D. Smith, R. Spearman Stille Stuart Tripp Trotter Vaughn Waldrop Wells Whatley Wilkins Witherspoon Wofford Young Young-Brickell
So, the House refused the table the motion.
The question then recurred to the motion to adjourn debate until Thursday, May 30, which was agreed to.
The following Bill was taken up.
S. 1049 -- Senator Rankin: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 23-6-510 OF THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO COMPOSITION OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA PUBLIC SAFETY COORDINATING COUNCIL, SO AS TO EXPAND THE MEMBERSHIP TO INCLUDE A VICTIM REPRESENTATIVE.
Reps. WILKINS, DELLENEY, LIMEHOUSE and FLEMING proposed the following Amendment No. 1 (Doc Name P:\amend\GJK\22941SD.96), which was ruled out of order.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding appropriately numbered SECTIONS to read:
/SECTION __. Article 7, Chapter 3, Title 23 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 497 of 1994, is amended to read:
Section 23-3-400. The intent of this article is to promote the state's fundamental right to provide for public health, welfare, and safety of its citizens. Notwithstanding this legitimate state purpose, these provisions
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