Section 4-10-1020 - Imposition of sales and use tax; enacting ordinance requirements; referendum; results(A) A county governing body may impose a sales and use tax up to one percent authorized by this article, by ordinance, subject to a referendum. An enacting ordinance must specify:(1) the purpose for which the proceeds of the tax are to be used, which may include preservation procurements located within or without, or both within and without, the boundaries of the local governmental entities, including the county, municipalities, and special purpose districts located in the county area;(2) if the county proposes to issue bonds to provide for the payment of any costs of the preservation procurements, the maximum amount of bonds to be issued, whether the sales tax proceeds are to be pledged to the payment of the bonds and, if other sources of funds are to be used for the preservation procurements, a list of the other sources;(3) the maximum cost of the preservation procurements, to be funded from the proceeds of the tax or bonds issued as provided in this article and the maximum amount of net proceeds expected to be used to pay the cost or debt service on the bonds, as the case may be; and(4) the fact that preservation procurements may pertain to real property situated outside of the boundaries of the taxing jurisdiction.(B) Upon receipt of an ordinance, a county's election commission must conduct a referendum on the question of imposing the sales and use tax in the area of the county that is to be subject to the tax. A referendum for imposition or reimposition of the tax must be held at the time of the next general election in an even-numbered year. Two weeks before a referendum, a county's election commission must publish in a newspaper of general circulation the question that is to appear on the ballot, with a description of the methods by which the county's governing body intends to procure open lands and green space for preservation. If the proposed question includes the use of sales taxes to defray debt service on bonds issued to pay the costs of any preservation procurements, then the notice must include a statement indicating the principal amount of the bonds proposed to be issued for the purpose and, if the issuance of the bonds is to be approved as part of the referendum, stating that the referendum includes the authorization of the issuance of bonds in that amount. This notice is in lieu of any other notice otherwise required by law.(C) The referendum question to be on the ballot must read substantially as follows: "Must a special [percent] sales and use tax be imposed in [county] for not more than [time] to raise the amounts specified for preservation procurements for the purpose of procuring open lands and green space by and through the acquisition of interests in real property, such interests to include:
(a) the acquisition of fee simple titles;(b) conservation easements;(d) rights of first refusal;(f) leases with options to purchase; or(g) any other interests in real property? Yes [] No []"
If the referendum includes the issuance of bonds, then the question must be revised to include the principal amount of bonds proposed to be authorized by the referendum and the sources of payment of the bonds if the sales tax approved in the referendum is inadequate for the payment of the bonds.
(D) All qualified electors desiring to vote in favor of imposing the tax for the stated purposes shall vote "yes", and all qualified electors opposed to levying the tax shall vote "no". If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of imposing the tax, then the tax is imposed as provided in this article and the enacting ordinance. Any subsequent referendum on this question must be held on the date prescribed in subsection (B). The election commission shall conduct the referendum under the election laws of this State, mutatis mutandis, and shall certify the result no later than November thirtieth to the county governing body and to the Department of Revenue. Expenses of the referendum must be paid by the governmental entities that would receive the proceeds of the tax in the same proportion as those entities would receive the net proceeds of the tax.(E) Upon receipt of the returns of a referendum, a county's governing body must, by resolution, declare the results thereof. In such event, the results of the referendum, as declared by resolution of the county's governing body, are not open to question except by a suit or proceeding instituted within thirty days from the date such resolution is adopted.(F) The provisions of this section are not available to a county with more than two existing sales and use taxes currently in effect.Added by 2022 S.C. Acts, Act No. 166 (SB 152),s 2, eff. 5/16/2022.