As used in this chapter:

(1) "Alternative payment method" means fee payments as provided in Section 12-44-50(A)(3).

(2) "Commencement date" means the last day of the property tax year during which economic development property is placed in service, except that this date must not be later than the last day of the property tax year which is three years from the year in which the county and the sponsor enter into a fee agreement. The commencement date for an economic development project as defined in item (17) is the last day of the first property tax year in which economic development property is placed in service.

(3) "County" means the county or counties in which the project is proposed to be located. A project may be located in more than one county, subject to the provisions of Section 12-44-40(H).

(4) "County council" means the governing body of the county in which the economic development property is located, except as specifically provided by Section 12-44-40(H).

(5) "Department" means the South Carolina Department of Revenue.

(6) "Economic development property" means each item of real and tangible personal property comprising a project which satisfies the provisions of Section 12-44-40(C) and other requirements of this chapter and is subject to a fee agreement. That property, other than replacement property qualifying under Section 12-44-60, must be placed in service by the end of the investment period.

(7) "Enhanced investment" means a project that results in a total investment:

(a) by a single sponsor investing at least one hundred fifty million dollars and creating at least one hundred twenty-five new full-time jobs at the project; provided that the new full-time jobs requirement of this subsection does not apply to a taxpayer who paid more than fifty percent of all property taxes actually collected in the county for more than twenty-five years, ending on the date of the fee agreement;

(b) by a single sponsor investing at least four hundred million dollars; or

(c) that satisfies the requirements of Section 11-41-30(2)(a), and for which the Secretary of Commerce has delivered certification pursuant to Section 11-41-70(2)(a).

For purposes of this item, if a single sponsor enters into a financing arrangement of the type described in Section 12-44-120(B), the investment in or financing of the property by a developer, lessor, financing entity, or other third party in accordance with this arrangement is considered investment by the sponsor. Investment by a related person to the sponsor, as described in Section 12-10-80(D)(2), is considered investment by the sponsor.

(8) "Exemption period" means the period beginning on the first day of the property tax year after the property tax year in which an applicable piece of economic development property is placed in service and ending on the termination date. For projects which are completed and placed in service during more than one year, the exemption period applies to each year's investment made by a sponsor during the investment period.

(9) "Fee" means the amount paid in lieu of ad valorem property tax as provided in the fee agreement.

(10) "Fee agreement" means an agreement between the sponsor and the county obligating the sponsor to pay fees instead of property taxes during the exemption period for each item of economic development property as more particularly described in Section 12-44-40.

(11) "Inducement resolution" means a resolution of the county setting forth the commitment of the county to enter into a fee agreement.

(12) "Infrastructure improvement credit" means a credit against the fee as provided by Section 12-44-70.

(13) "Investment period" means the period beginning with the first day that economic development property is purchased or acquired and ending five years after the commencement date; except that for a project with an enhanced investment as described above, the period ends eight years after the commencement date. The minimum investment must be completed within five years of the commencement date. For an enhanced investment, the applicable minimum investment and job requirements under item (7) must be completed within eight years of the commencement date. Investment period means for a qualified nuclear plant facility the period beginning with the first day that economic development property is purchased or acquired and ending ten years after the commencement date. For those sponsors that, after qualifying for the enhanced investment, have more than five hundred million dollars in capital invested in this State and employ more than one thousand people in this State, the investment period ends ten years after the commencement date. If the sponsor does not anticipate completing the project within these periods, the sponsor may apply to the county before the end of the investment period for an extension of time to complete the project. The extension may not exceed five years. If a project receives an extension of less than five years, the sponsor may apply to the county before the end of the extension period for an additional extension of time to complete the project for an aggregate extension of not more than five years. Unless approved as part of the original fee documentation, the county council of the county may approve an extension by resolution, a copy of which must be delivered to the department within thirty days of the date the resolution was adopted. An extension is not allowed for the time period in which the sponsor must meet the minimum investment requirement.

(14) "Minimum investment" means an investment in the project of at least two and one-half million dollars within the investment period. If a county has an average annual unemployment rate of at least twice the state average during the last twenty-four month period based on data available on the most recent November first, the minimum investment is one million dollars. The department shall designate these reduced investment counties by December thirty-first of each year using data from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce and the United States Department of Commerce. The designations are effective for a sponsor whose fee agreement is signed in the calendar year following the county designation. For all purposes of this chapter, the minimum investment may include amounts expended by a sponsor or sponsor affiliate as a nonresponsible party in a voluntary cleanup contract on the property pursuant to Article 7, Chapter 56, Title 44, the Brownfields Voluntary Cleanup Program, if the Department of Health and Environmental Control certifies completion of the cleanup. If the amounts under the Brownfields Voluntary Cleanup Program equal at least one million dollars, the investment threshold requirement of this chapter is deemed to have been met.

(15) "Industrial development park" means an industrial or business park developed by two or more counties as defined in Section 4-1-170.

(16) "Project" means land, buildings, and other improvements on the land, including water, sewage treatment and disposal facilities, air pollution control facilities, and all other machinery, apparatus, equipment, office facilities, and furnishings which are considered necessary, suitable, or useful by a sponsor. "Project" also may consist of or include aircraft hangered or utilizing an airport in a county so long as the county expressly consents to its inclusion. Aircraft previously subject to taxation in South Carolina qualify pursuant to this provision.

(17) "Qualified nuclear plant facility" means a nuclear electric power generating plant regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and includes all real and personal property incorporated into or associated with the facility located or to be located within this State with a total minimum level of investment of one billion dollars.

(18) "Replacement property" means property placed under the fee agreement to replace economic development property previously subject to the fee agreement, as provided in Section 12-44-60.

(19) "Sponsor" means one or more entities which sign the fee agreement with the county and makes the minimum investment, subject to the provisions of Section 12-44-40, each of which makes the minimum investment as provided in item (13) and also includes a sponsor affiliate unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. If a project consists of a manufacturing, research and development, corporate office, or distribution facility, as those terms are defined in Section 12-6-3360(M) and including a qualified nuclear plant facility as defined in item (17) of this section, each sponsor or sponsor affiliate is not required to invest the minimum investment if the total investment at the project exceeds five million dollars.

(20) "Sponsor affiliate" means an entity that joins with or is an affiliate of a sponsor and that participates in the investment in, or financing of, a project.

(21) "Termination date" means the date that is the last day of a property tax year that is no later than the twenty-ninth year following the first property tax year in which an applicable piece of economic development property is placed in service. A sponsor may apply to the county prior to the termination date for an extension of the termination date beyond the twenty-ninth year up to ten years. The county council of the county shall approve an extension by resolution upon a finding of substantial public benefit. A copy of the resolution must be delivered to the department within thirty days of the date the resolution was adopted. With respect to a fee agreement involving an enhanced investment, the termination date is the last day of a property tax year that is no later than the thirty-ninth year following the first property tax year in which an applicable piece of economic development property is placed in service. A sponsor may apply to the county before the termination date for an extension of the termination date beyond the thirty-ninth year up to ten years. If the fee agreement is terminated in accordance with Section 12-44-140, the termination date is the date the agreement is terminated.

HISTORY: 1997 Act No. 149, Section 1; 1999 Act no. 100, Part II, Section 20; 2000 Act No. 283, Section 3(D), eff May 19, 2000; 2001 Act No. 89, Section 65C, eff July 20, 2001; 2002 Act No. 280, Section 3, eff May 2, 2002; 2002 Act No. 334, Section 1, eff June 24, 2002; 2003 Act No. 69, Section 3.P, eff June 18, 2003; 2003 Act No. 69, Section 3.AAA.1, eff January 1, 2003; 2005 Act No. 71, Section 2, eff May 23, 2005; 2005 Act No. 145, Section 44.A, eff June 7, 2005; 2005 Act No. 161, Section 40.A, eff June 9, 2005; 2007 Act No. 116, Section 7.E, eff June 28, 2007; 2008 Act No. 313, Sections 2.F, 2.I.3, eff June 12, 2008; 2008 Act No. 352, Section 2.F, eff June 12, 2008; 2010 Act No. 150, Section 1, eff April 27, 2010; 2010 Act No. 161, Sections 2.A to 2.D, eff May 12, 2010; 2010 Act No. 290, Sections 8.A, 37, eff June 23, 2010; 2010 Act No. 290, Section 8.A, eff January 1, 2011; 2012 Act No. 187, Section 3, eff June 7, 2012.

Code Commissioner's Note

2010 Act No. 150 amended the definition of "termination date" to read: "(20) 'Termination date' means the date that is the last day of a property tax year that is the twenty-ninth year following the first property tax year in which an applicable piece of economic development property is placed in service. A sponsor may apply to the county prior to the termination date for an extension of the termination date beyond the twenty-ninth year up to ten years. The county council of the county shall approve an extension by resolution upon a finding of substantial public benefit. A copy of the resolution must be delivered to the department within thirty days of the date the resolution was adopted. If the fee agreement is terminated in accordance with Section 12-44-140, the termination date is the date the agreement is terminated." This definition was effective from April 27, 2010, to June 22, 2010. 2010 Act No. 290, Section 37 repealed 2010 Act No. 150, which amended the definition of "termination date". The pre-Act 150 version of the definition of "termination date" is effective from June 23, 2010 until January 1, 2011, when the amendment to "termination date" made by 2010 Act No. 290, Section 8 becomes effective.

Editor's Note

2002 Act No. 280, Section 7, provides as follows:

"The incentives offered in this act apply only to projects receiving a certification of completion from the Department of Health and Environmental Control after the effective date of this act."

2010 Act No. 290, Section 8.B, provides as follows:

"The provisions of this section take effect upon approval by the Governor except that the provisions of Section 12-44-30(21) take effect January 1, 2011, provided that a county may amend an existing fee-in-lieu agreement at any time prior to the expiration of the fee to incorporate the amendments to Section 12-44-30(21) as contained in subsection A."