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TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 12-37-95 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A SPECIAL REASSESSMENT BY THE COUNTY ASSESSOR WHEN THE FAIR MARKET VALUE OF PARCELS OF REAL PROPERTY ADJACENT TO A RIVER, STREAM, POND, OR LAKE HAS BEEN ADVERSELY IMPACTED BY THE RELEASE INTO THE WATER OF POLLUTANTS BY OTHER THAN THE AFFECTED PROPERTY OWNER, TO PROVIDE THAT THIS SPECIAL REASSESSMENT MAY RESULT ONLY IN REDUCED FAIR MARKET VALUE, TO PROVIDE FOR APPEAL OF THE VALUE DETERMINED IN THIS SPECIAL REASSESSMENT, AND TO PROVIDE THAT A PROPERTY OWNER MAY TAKE THE STANDARD APPEAL WITHOUT REGARD TO THE OTHERWISE APPLICABLE YEARLY DEADLINE TO FILE AN APPEAL IF THE PROPERTY OWNER ELECTS NOT TO BE COVERED BY THE SPECIAL REASSESSMENT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 1, Chapter 37, Title 12 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 12-37-95. (A) If at any time before the first penalty date for the payment of taxes on real property the assessor determines that the fair market value of real property adjacent to rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, or other bodies of water may have been adversely impacted by the release into the water of pollutants; the assessor, on his own motion, or at the written request of an affected landowner, shall proceed to reassess affected parcels. The assessor shall provide written notice of his intention to reassess to property owners, and any owner so notified may elect to exclude his parcel from this special reassessment. This special reassessment and special appeals procedure does not apply to property from which the release occurred. Fair market value may be reduced only by this special reassessment. The assessor shall certify any reduced value to the county auditor who must use that reduced value in calculating the tax due on the parcel for the applicable property tax year. If the property owner has already paid the taxes based on a higher value, the difference must be refunded. This reduced value applies until the next countywide reassessment program unless the value is further reduced on appeal.
(B) A property owner not satisfied by any reduced fair market value determined by the assessor under this section or who elects not to be subject to the special reassessment provided by this section may appeal in the manner provided in Chapter 60 of this title without regard to the otherwise applicable yearly deadline to file an appeal."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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