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H. 4460
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Hutson, Hagood, McLeod, Dantzler, Hodges, R. Brown, Miller, Hosey, Clyburn, J.H. Neal, F.N. Smith, Anthony, Whipper and Herbkersman
Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\10280htc08.doc
Introduced in the House on January 10, 2008
Currently residing in the House Committee on Ways and Means
Summary: School construction impact fees
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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1/10/2008 House Introduced and read first time HJ-354
1/10/2008 House Referred to Committee on Ways and Means HJ-354
1/16/2008 House Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Witherspoon,
J.R.Smith
3/25/2008 House Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Knight
3/26/2008 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Bowen,
Davenport, Dantzler, Hodges, R.Brown, Miller, Hosey,
Clyburn, J.H.Neal, Gullick, M.A.Pitts, Neilson,
F.N.Smith, Hamilton, Haskins, Anthony
4/1/2008 House Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Limehouse
4/9/2008 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Whipper
4/17/2008 House Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Hamilton,
M.A.Pitts, Gullick, Bowen
4/23/2008 House Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Neilson,
Haskins
4/24/2008 House Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Davenport
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 9 TO CHAPTER 10, TITLE 4 SO AS TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR ALLOWING COUNTIES TO IMPOSE A SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION IMPACT FEE TO BE USED TO PROVIDE A CREDIT AGAINST PROPERTY TAXES IMPOSED TO PAY BONDED INDEBTEDNESS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION, AND TO ESTABLISH THE "PUBLIC SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION TRUST FUND" INTO WHICH FEE REVENUES MUST BE DEPOSITED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE COUNTY AND FROM WHICH MUST BE PAID MONIES TO PROVIDE THE TAX CREDIT AUTHORIZED BY ARTICLE 9, CHAPTER 10, TITLE 4.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 10, Title 4 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 4-10-910. The governing body of a county may provide for school construction fees by means of an ordinance that to be valid must incorporate all the elements provided in this article.
Section 4-10-920. The enacting ordinance must establish in the county treasury a separate trust fund styled the 'Public School Construction Trust Fund' to which must be credited those fee revenues authorized pursuant to this article. The trust fund must be divided into subaccounts for each of the school districts in the county and fees credited to these subaccounts based on school district location of the real property giving rise to the fee. Interest earned on this fund must be credited proportionately to the subaccounts within it and used as other revenues of the fund are used. All of the revenues of a subaccount for a fiscal year must be used to provide a tax credit against the property tax imposed by or on behalf of the appropriate school districts in the county for the payment of bonded indebtedness for school construction. The credit applies proportionately and the credit is allowed only for property taxes due and payable after the end of the fiscal year in which the fund revenues accumulated.
Section 4-10-930. (A) For purposes of this section:
(1) 'Closing agent' means the attorney or any third party, however qualified, representing the transferee at a real estate closing. When there is no separate closing agent, the transferee is deemed the closing agent.
(2) 'Residential real property' means real property improved by residential structures including, but not limited to, single family and multifamily houses, condominium units, apartments, and units of manufactured housing taxed as real property, whether or not occupied, and regardless of ownership. Incidental residential accommodations on otherwise nonresidential real property do not constitute residential real property.
(B) The enacting ordinance shall impose on the transferee a school construction fee when ownership of residential real property is transferred by deed the recording of which is subject to the deed recording fee imposed pursuant to Chapter 24 of Title 12. This school construction fee must be set by the ordinance as a percentage of the consideration for the transaction referred to as the transaction amount. The transaction amount is the amount required to be used in calculating the deed recording fee as determined pursuant to Section 12-24-30. The fee must be collected by the closing agent at the time of the closing and remitted to the county treasurer on a schedule determined by the county treasurer. The county treasurer may delegate the collection of the fee to the officer authorized by law to record deeds in the county.
(C) If the residential real property when acquired and occupied by the transferee will qualify for the property tax classification allowed pursuant to Section 12-43-220(c), there is allowed as a credit against the fee otherwise due ad valorem taxes paid by the transferee in the preceding ten years on real property in this State classified for property tax purposes pursuant to Section 12-43-220(c) at the rate of one dollar of credit for each four dollars of property tax paid and the total amount of the fee paid pursuant to Section 4-10-940 if the residential real property is previously untaxed new construction. A credit is not allowed unless:
(1) the transferee makes an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, that the property tax paid and used as a credit against the fee has not been used to claim a credit against the fee imposed pursuant to this subsection in another transfer or a fee imposed pursuant to Section 4-10-940; or
(2) in the case of new construction, the building permit holder makes an affidavit under penalty of perjury that the construction fee paid pursuant to Section 4-10-940 on the residential real property has not been used to claim a credit against any other school construction fee imposed pursuant to this article.
The fee, less any applicable credit, must be calculated by and collected by the closing agent at the closing. The treasurer shall furnish the closing agent the documentation necessary pursuant to subsection (E) of this section for recording the deed. In a county where collection of the fee has been delegated to the deed recording officer, the fee must be paid at the time the deed is filed for recording. If within twelve months of the date the deed is recorded, real property on which the fee has been paid is no longer residential real property, the transferee may apply for and the county treasurer shall refund the fee, together with interest at the rate provided pursuant to Section 12-54-25.
(D) The county treasurer shall credit the fees received pursuant to the appropriate subaccounts of the Public School Construction Trust Fund.
(E)(1) Before a deed subject to the recording fee imposed pursuant to Chapter 24 of Title 12 may be recorded, there must be submitted to the recording officer:
(a) the certificate of the county treasurer that the school construction fee imposed pursuant to this section has been paid or that a fee is not due by virtue of the credits allowed against the fee; or
(b) an affidavit made under penalty of perjury by the transferee on the deed to be recorded that the school construction fee imposed pursuant to this section does not apply to the transfer made by the deed.
(2) In a county in which the county treasurer has delegated to the recording officer the authority to collect the fees imposed pursuant to subsection (B) of this section, the recording officer may proceed to record the deed as provided by law upon payment of any fee due or receipt of the affidavit required pursuant to subsubitem (b) of this item.
Section 4-10-940. (A) The enacting ordinance must provide that there must be paid a school construction fee before a building permit may be issued for construction of a new residential structure as described in Section 4-10-930(A)(2). This public school construction fee must be set in the ordinance as a percentage of the value of the improvement as measured by the value stated in the application for the building permit. This fee applies to all building permits issued in a county, including such permits issued by a municipality. The permitting officer shall collect the fee at the time the permit is issued and remit the fee to the county treasurer on a schedule determined by the treasurer. In the case of a permit for the construction of residential real property that when occupied by the permit holder will qualify for the property tax classification allowed pursuant to Section 12-43-220(c), there is allowed as a credit against the fee otherwise due ad valorem taxes on real property paid by the applicant for the permit in the preceding ten years on real property located in this State classified for property tax purposes pursuant to Section 12-43-220(c) at the rate of one dollar of credit for each four dollars of property tax paid. A credit is not allowed unless the property owner makes an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, that the property tax paid and used as a credit against a fee imposed pursuant to this subsection has not been used to claim a credit against another fee imposed pursuant to this section or Section 4-10-930.
(B) The county treasurer shall credit the fees received pursuant to the appropriate subaccounts of the Public School Construction Trust Fund."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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