H 3165

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 3165
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION
6-29-550 SO AS TO REQUIRE A COUNTY TO REPORT A RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN TO
A CITY UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES RELATING TO THE LOCAL COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING
PROCESS; BY AMENDING SECTION 5-3-90, RELATING TO FILING NOTICE WITH THE
SECRETARY OF STATE, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, AND DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
SAFETY, SO AS TO REQUIRE NOTICE TO THE COUNTY WHERE PROPERTY TO BE ANNEXED IS
LOCATED; BY AMENDING SECTION 6-1-920, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS CONCERNING
DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES, SO AS TO MODIFY CERTAIN DEFINITIONS; BY AMENDING
SECTION 6-1-930, RELATING TO ORDINANCES REQUIRED TO IMPOSE AND COLLECT
DEVELOPMENTAL IMPACT FEES, SO AS TO REVISE REQUIREMENTS FOR ORDINANCE PASSAGE
PROCEDURES, ORDINANCE CONTENTS, AND RELATED REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; BY AMENDING
SECTION 6-1-960, RELATING TO CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLANS RECOMMENDED BY LOCAL
PLANNING COMMISSIONS, SO AS TO REVISE NOTICE PUBLICATION REQUIREMENTS, AND TO REVISE
PLAN CONTENT REQUIREMENTS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 6-1-1020, RELATING TO THE
REQUIRED REFUND OF IMPACT FEE FUNDS NOT EXPENDED WITHIN THREE YEARS OF THE DATE
THEY WERE SCHEDULED, SO AS TO EXTEND THIS PERIOD FROM THREE YEARS TO SEVEN
YEARS.
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  Article 3, Chapter 29, Title 6 of the S.C. Code is
amended by adding:
    Section
6-29-550.  On a monthly basis, a county must report to a city any residential
development plans that are located within a one mile radius of the bordering
city.
SECTION 2.  Section 5-3-90 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
5-3-90.  (A) Any municipality increasing its territory shall file a
notice with the Secretary of State, Department of Transportation, and the
Department of Public Safety describing its new boundaries. The notice shall
include a written description of the boundary, along with a map or plat which
clearly defines the new territory added.
    (B) Any municipality increasing its
territory shall file notice with the county where the property to be annexed is
located. Notification to the county must occur before the first reading of the
proposed annexation.
SECTION 3.  Section 6-1-920(18) and (22) of the S.C. Code is
amended to read:
    (18) "Public facilities" meansinclude, but are not limited to:
       (a)
water supply production, treatment, laboratory, engineering, administration,
storage, and transmission facilities;
       (b)
wastewater collection, treatment, laboratory, engineering, administration, and
disposal facilities;
       (c)
solid waste and recycling collection, treatment, and disposal facilities;
       (d)
roads, streets, and bridges including, but not limited to, rights-of-wayrights of way
and traffic signals;
       (e)
storm water transmission, retention, detention, treatment, and disposal
facilities and flood control facilities;
       (f)
public safety facilities, including law enforcement, fire, emergency medical
and rescue, and street lighting facilities;
       (g)
capital equipment and vehicles, with an individual unit
purchase price of not less than one hundred thousand dollars including,
but not limited to, equipment and vehicles used in the delivery of public
safety services, emergency preparedness services, collection and disposal of
solid waste, and storm water management and control;
       (h)
parks, libraries, and recreational facilities;
       (i)
public education facilities for grades K-12 including, but not limited to,
schools, offices, classrooms, parking areas, playgrounds, libraries,
cafeterias, gymnasiums, health and music rooms, computer and science
laboratories, and other facilities considered necessary for the proper public
education of the state's children.
    (22)
"System improvement costs" means costs incurred for construction or
reconstruction of system improvements, including design, acquisition,
engineering, and other costs attributable to the improvements, and also
including the costs of providing additional public facilities needed to serve
new growth and development. System improvement costs do not include:
       (a)
construction, acquisition, or expansion of public facilities other than capital
improvements identified in the capital improvements plan;
       (b) repair, operation,
or maintenance of existing or new capital improvements;
       (c)(b) upgrading, updating, expanding, or replacing existing
capital improvements to serve existing development in order to meet stricter
safety, efficiency, environmental, or regulatory standards;
       (d)(c) upgrading, updating, expanding, or replacing existing
capital improvements to provide better service to existing development; or
       (e) administrative and
operating costs of the governmental entity;  or
       (f)(d) principal payments and interest or other finance
charges on bonds or other indebtedness except financial obligations issued by
or on behalf of the governmental entity to finance capital improvements
identified in the capital improvements plan.
SECTION 4.  Section 6-1-930(B) and (C) of the S.C. Code is amended
to read:
    (B)(1)
An impact fee may be imposed and collected by the governmental entity only upon
the passage of an ordinance approved by a positive
majority, as defined in Article 3 of this chapter.
       (2) The amount of the
development impact fee must be based on actual improvement costs or reasonable
estimates of the costs, supported by sound engineering studies.
       (3)(2) An ordinance authorizing the imposition of a
development impact fee must:
  (a)
establish a procedure for timely processing of applications for determinations
by the governmental entity of development impact fees applicable to all
property subject to impact fees and for the timely processing of applications
for individual assessment of development impact fees, credits, or
reimbursements allowed or paid under this article; and
  (b)
include a description of acceptable levels of service for system improvements;  and
  (c) provide for the
termination of the impact fee.
    (C) A
governmental entity shall prepare and publish an annual report describing the
amount of all impact fees collected, appropriated, or spent during the
preceding year by category of public facility and service
area.
SECTION 5.  Section 6-1-960(A) and (B) of the S.C. Code is amended
to read:
    Section
6-1-960. (A) The local planning
commission shall recommend to the governmental entity a capital improvements
plan which may be adopted by the governmental entity by ordinance. The
recommendations of the commission are not binding on the governmental entity,
which may amend or alter the plan. After reasonable public notice, a public
hearing must be held before final action to adopt the ordinance approving the
capital improvements plan. The notice must be published not less than thirty
days before the time of the hearing in at least one newspaper of general
circulation in the county or on the governmental entity's
website. The notice must advise the public of the time and place of the
hearing, that a copy of the capital improvements plan is available for public
inspection in the offices of the governmental entity, and that members of the
public will be given an opportunity to be heard.
    (B)
The capital improvements plan must contain:
       (1)
a general description of all existing public facilities, and their existing
deficiencies, within the service area or areas of the governmental entity, a
reasonable estimate of all costs, and a plan to develop the funding resources,
including existing sources of revenues, related to curing the existing
deficiencies including, but not limited to, the upgrading, updating, improving,
expanding, or replacing of these facilities to meet existing needs and usage;
       (2)
an analysis of the total capacity, the level of current usage, and commitments
for usage of capacity of existing public facilities, which
must be prepared by a qualified professional using generally accepted
principles and professional standards;
       (3)
a description of the land use assumptions;
       (4)
a definitive table establishing the specific service unit for each category of
system improvements and an equivalency or conversion table establishing the
ratio of a service unit to various types of land uses, including residential,
commercial, agricultural, and industrial, as appropriate;
       (5)
a description of all system improvements and their costs necessitated by and
attributable to new development in the service area, based on the approved land
use assumptions, to provide a level of service not to exceed the level of
service currently existing in the community or service area, unless a different
or higher level of service is required by law, court order, or safety
consideration;
       (6)
the total number of service units necessitated by and attributable to new
development within the service area based on the land use assumptions and calculated in accordance with generally accepted
engineering or planning criteria;
       (7)
the projected demand for system improvements required by new service units
projected over a reasonable period of time not to exceed
twenty years;
       (8)
identification of all sources and levels of funding available to the
governmental entity for the financing of the system improvements; and
       (9)
a schedule setting forth estimated dates for commencing and completing
construction of all improvements identified in the capital improvements plan.
SECTION 6.  Section 6-1-1020(A)(1) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:
    (1) the impact fees have not been
expended within threeseven
years of the date they were scheduled to be expended on a first-in, first-out
basis; or
SECTION 7.  The repeal or amendment by this act
of any law, whether temporary or permanent or civil or criminal, does not affect
pending actions, rights, duties, or liabilities founded thereon, or alter,
discharge, release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred
under the repealed or amended law, unless the repealed or amended provision
shall so expressly provide.  After the effective date of this act, all
laws repealed or amended by this act must be taken and treated as remaining in
full force and effect for the purpose of sustaining any pending or vested
right, civil action, special proceeding, criminal prosecution, or appeal
existing as of the effective date of this act, and for the enforcement of
rights, duties, penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities as they stood under the
repealed or amended laws.
SECTION 8.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
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This web page was last updated on December 06, 2024 at 10:35 AM