A bill

 

TO AMEND ACT 571 OF 1965, RELATING TO THE DARLINGTON COUNTY MILLAGE LEVY FOR THE FLORENCE-DARLINGTON TECHNICAL COLLEGE, SO AS TO REQUIRE THE BUDGET TO BE APPROVED BY THE DARLINGTON COUNTY COUNCIL INSTEAD OF THE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, AND TO PROVIDE LIMITATIONS ON THE MILLAGE LEVY AND THE MANNER IN WHICH TAX COLLECTIONS ARE DISTRIBUTED.

 

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

 

SECTION 1.  Section 2 of Act 571 of 1965 is amended to read:

 

SECTION 2. (A) The Florence-Darlington Technical Education Commission shall file with the county board of education Darlington County Council an itemized budget of the operating expenses of the Florence-Darlington Technical Education Center for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1965, and each year thereafter, prior to submitting a claim for the funds provided in this act. Subject to subsection (B), the county board council shall examine the itemized budget, make any necessary adjustments, and its approval shall constitute the authority and direction to the county auditor to levy the tax provided for in Section 1 upon all taxable property in Darlington County sufficient to provide the funds required by the approved budget.

    (B)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the county council may not approve a budget and the county auditor may not levy a tax pursuant to Section 1 that will result in tax collections exceeding the amount contributed to the Florence-Darlington Technical Education Commission by Florence County in the preceding fiscal year.

       (2)(a) Of the funds collected pursuant to this section, a percentage of the funds must be transferred to Florence-Darlington Technical Education Commission to be used by the institution across its campuses as the commission determines appropriate. The percentage of such funds to be used across its campuses shall equal the percentage of students enrolled at the institution from Darlington County.

           (b)   The remaining funds must be transferred to the Florence-Darlington Technical Education Commission to be used by the institution at the Hartsville campus only. If the county council determines that funds transferred pursuant to this subitem were not used at the Hartsville campus or that such funds were used to supplant previous funding levels at the Hartsville campus, then the next fiscal year, no transfers may be made pursuant to this subitem, and the auditor must reduce the levy accordingly. This prohibition shall apply until the county council determines that appropriate remedial measures have been made by the institution.

 

SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and first applies to Fiscal Year 2025-2026.

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