South Carolina Code 4-9-55. Enactment of general laws affecting counties’ expenditures and revenue raising; conditions; exceptions
(1) funds have been appropriated that have been estimated by the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office at the time of enactment to be sufficient to fund the expenditures;
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 4-9-55
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Conference committee: A temporary, ad hoc panel composed of conferees from both chamber of a legislature which is formed for the purpose of reconciling differences in legislation that has passed both chambers. Conference committees are usually convened to resolve bicameral differences on major and controversial legislation.
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
(2) the General Assembly authorizes or has authorized a county to enact a funding source not available for the county on July 1, 1993, that can be used to generate the amount of funds estimated to be sufficient to fund the expenditure by a simple majority vote of the governing body of the county;
(3) the expenditure is required to comply with a law that applies to all persons similarly situated, including the state and local governments;
(4) the law is either required to comply with a federal requirement or required for eligibility for a federal entitlement.
(B) Except upon approval of each house of the General Assembly by two-thirds of the members voting in each house, the General Assembly may not enact, amend, or repeal any general law if the anticipated effect of doing so would be to reduce the authority that counties have to raise revenues in the aggregate, as the authority exists on July 1, 1993.
(C) The provisions of this section do not apply to:
(1) laws enacted to require funding of pension benefits existing on the effective date of this section;
(2) laws relating to the judicial department;
(3) criminal laws;
(4) election laws;
(5) the Department of Education;
(6) laws reauthorizing but not expanding then-existing statutory authority;
(7) laws having a fiscal impact of less than ten cents per capita on a statewide basis; laws creating, modifying, or repealing noncriminal infractions.
(D) The duties, requirements, and obligations imposed by general laws in effect on July 1, 1993, are not suspended by the provisions of this section.
(E) A provision of, or amendment to, an appropriation bill that contains a permanent or temporary provision of law must be adopted by a separate vote of the General Assembly in the manner provided in subsections (A) through (D) of this section. Provided, however, that once a provision or amendment to an appropriation bill is adopted, the vote to adopt or reject an appropriation bill on second reading, third reading, or adoption of the conference committee or free conference committee report is not subject to the provisions of subsections (A) through (D) of this section.