South Carolina Code 6-1-630. Beach preservation fee; referendum
(B) Upon the adoption of an ordinance calling for a referendum, the county election commission shall conduct a referendum at the time specified in the ordinance on the question of implementing a one percent beach preservation fee. The state election laws apply to the referendum, mutatis mutandis. The county election commission shall publish the results of the referendum to certify them to the governing body. The beach preservation fee must not be imposed unless a majority of the qualified electors residing in the municipality voting in the referendum vote in favor of the referendum.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 6-1-630
- Beach preservation fee: means a fee imposed on the gross proceeds derived from the rental or charges for accommodations furnished to transients for consideration within the jurisdiction of the governing body which are subject to the tax imposed pursuant to § 12-36-920(A). See South Carolina Code 6-1-620
- Governing body: means the governing body of a qualified coastal municipality. See South Carolina Code 6-1-620
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Qualified coastal municipality: means a municipality bordering on the Atlantic Ocean that has a public beach within its corporate limits and which imposes a local accommodations tax pursuant to § 6-1-520 that does not exceed one and one-half percent pursuant to the limitations imposed pursuant to § 6-1-540. See South Carolina Code 6-1-620
(C)(1) The ballot must read substantially as follows:
"Must an additional one percent beach preservation fee be added to the accommodations tax for the purpose of nourishment, renourishment, maintenance, erosion mitigation, and monitoring of beaches, dune restoration and maintenance, including planting of grass, sea oats, or other vegetation useful in preserving the dune system, and maintenance of public beach accesses within the corporate limits of _____.
Yes ___
No ___
(2) If the question is not approved at the initial referendum, the governing body may, by an ordinance meeting the requirements of this section, call for another referendum on the question. However, following the initial referendum, a referendum for this purpose must not be held more often than once in a twenty-four month period on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November in even-numbered years.
(3) Once a week for the four weeks immediately preceding the referendum, the governing body of the municipality shall publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation within the jurisdiction a description of and the specific uses for the beach preservation fee. The governing body also must publish notice on its website in the same manner.
(D) The fee authorized by this article is in addition to all other local accommodations taxes imposed pursuant to § 6-1-520 and must not be deemed cumulative with the local accommodations tax or fee rate for the purposes of § 6-1-540.
(E) All proceeds from the beach preservation fee must be kept in a separate fund segregated from the governing body’s general fund. All interest generated by the beach preservation fee fund must be credited to the beach preservation fee fund.