Richland County will likely postpone its property reassessment because of uncertainty surrounding the bill the Legislature passed last week to cap increases in values at 20 percent.

The decision would mean Richland County property owners this fall would pay taxes based on last year’s value of their homes and businesses.

So some property owners, who saw their homes’ values go up dramatically, would see a less severe tax increase this fall than they had feared.

Eleven counties are scheduled to implement reassessment this year. Richland is apparently the first to take a vote to postpone that process because of the potential cap.

State law requires counties to reassess property at least every five years to adjust the tax burden. It allows counties to delay implementation for one year.

Robert Croom, assistant director of the S.C. Association of Counties, said Richland County’s decision is “reasonable” and said he would not be surprised if other counties also decide to delay their processes.

Several counties have inquired about the logistics of postponing reassessment, said Danny Brazell, a spokesman for the state Department of Revenue.

Horry County hasn’t made a decision, but Assessor Rendel Mincey would not rule out a postponement.

“It’s just put us in a real bad situation,” he said. “We may not have any other option but to ask for a postponement, but we haven’t discussed that.”

On the last day of the session, the Legislature unexpectedly approved a 20 percent cap on local property tax reassessments.

Gov. Mark Sanford has not signed the bill into law. He has until January to make a decision, but that is months after counties send out tax bills.

“We’ve got to get out tax bills,” Richland County Assessor John Cloyd said. “If we don’t know what the rules are, then we could get ourselves in a position of doing it one way and that may not be the law. Then, you’d have all of these refunds.”

County Council on Thursday gave preliminary approval to the postponement in the first of three votes. The second vote could be taken Tuesday.

The council met with staff members in closed session, citing the need to receive legal advice.

Cloyd said there are several reasons Richland County is considering postponing reassessment:

• The governor has not signed the bill, so county officials are not sure whether to prepare tax bills with the cap or without.

Spokesman Will Folks said Thursday that Sanford is reviewing the bill. Folks would not comment on what the governor will do — or when.

• It would cost money to resend tax bills or send refunds for about 21,000 properties that would be capped. County Auditor Harry Huntley said it costs about $100,000 to print and mail all the county’s tax bills.

• The cap would require county officials to reconfigure computer programs, which will take time and cost money. Cloyd said it cost Charleston County officials about $61,000 to reprogram their computers after that county passed a cap under a 2000 law that allowed counties to decide whether to have a cap.

• There is still some confusion about what the bill says. The cap would apply to all real estate, except that owned by utilities. But an earlier proposal applied only to owner-occupied homes, creating some confusion.

• There is a possibility that, if signed, the law could face legal challenges. The state Supreme Court is reviewing whether Charleston’s cap is constitutional.

A 20 percent cap on property values would be a boon to homeowners who live in neighborhoods with rapidly increasing property values.

But some county officials say the cap means South Carolinians who live in neighborhoods with more stable or declining property values would have to make up some of the difference.

Also, they say the taxes on other property, such as cars, boats and business equipment would increase to offset the difference.

But Cloyd, who has publicly criticized the cap, said, “Not withstanding whether you like it or you don’t like it, it’s a big deal.”

Reach Hill at (803) 771-8462 or sehill@thestate.com.