South Carolina § 11-41-75 - Economic development bonds for convention and trade show; reimbursement provisions not applicable if sold and replaced with similar facility.

§ 11-41-75. Economic development bonds for convention and trade show; reimbursement provisions not applicable if sold and replaced with similar facility.

(A) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 11-41-70(2)(d), the provisions requiring the reimbursement of bond proceeds, plus interest, upon the sale of the meeting and exhibit space, are not applicable if:

(1) the proceeds of the sale of meeting and exhibit space is for its true value as described in Section 12-37-930;

(2) the sale proceeds are used in their entirety:

(a) for a new meeting and exhibit space of no less than fifty thousand square feet; or

(b) to reimburse a state agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision for the acquisition or construction of a new meeting and exhibit space of not less than fifty thousand square feet if the construction occurred prior to the sale of the original meeting and exhibit space; and

(3) if there are outstanding bonds on the existing meeting and exhibit space, the state agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision provides to the State Treasurer a tax opinion from a nationally recognized bond counsel that the sale and proposed new qualifying purpose or use will not adversely affect the federal income tax treatment of the interest on the bonds issued by the State to finance the meeting and exhibit space.

(B)(1) The exemption from the reimbursement requirements only applies so long as:

(a) the land for the new meeting and exhibit space is owned by the state agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision, or any entity created by any of the foregoing for the purpose of ownership, at the time of the sale or is purchased within eighteen months of the sale;

(b) construction of the new meeting and exhibit space begins within five years before or after the sale; and

(c) the project is completed within ten years of the sale.

(2) If a state agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision avails itself of the provisions of subsection (A), but then fails to meet the requirements of this subsection, then the reimbursement requirements of Section 11-41-70(2)(d) apply as of the day of the sale.

(C) If the new meeting and exhibit space is subsequently sold, the reimbursement requirements of Section 11-41-70(2)(d) apply as of the day of the sale of the new meeting and exhibit space, unless the provisions of this section again apply.

(D) Prior to the sale of the meeting and exhibit space, any state agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision desiring to avail itself of the provisions of this section must submit its plans to the Joint Bond Review Committee for review and comment. The submission must include proof of eligibility or plans to become eligible pursuant to the standards set forth in subsection (A) and a projected plan as to how it will remain eligible pursuant to subsection (B). To the fullest extent possible at the time, the submission also must include a comparison between the meeting and exhibit space that is for sale and the proposed replacement meeting and exhibit space.

HISTORY: 2014 Act No. 215 (S.828), SECTION 1, eff June 2, 2014; 2021 Act No. 58 (S.587), SECTION 1, eff May 17, 2021.

Effect of Amendment

2021 Act No. 58, SECTION 1, in (A), rewrote (2); and in (B), inserted the (1) designator, and redesignated (1) to (3) as (a) to (c), in (a), inserted ", or any entity created by any of the foregoing for the purpose of ownership,", in (b), substituted "before or after the sale" for "of the sale", and inserted the (2) designator.