The cap, which was passed by the General Assembly in June and still is awaiting action from Gov. Mark Sanford, would limit increases in property assessments to 20 percent in most cases.
That could mean lower property taxes for landowners whose values rise substantially, but it also would mean less money for government operations.
The chamber's study, conducted using documents from the state departments of education and revenue, shows Beaufort County gaining $9.3 million in state funding for schools. Charleston County schools also would stand to gain, but the remaining 83 South Carolina school districts would lose state funding, according to the study.
"(The Beaufort County district) will get more money from the state for education, as well as Charleston," said Hunter Howard, president of the chamber. "But then the other (83) school districts will get less money in order to subsidize the funding there."
Under South Carolina law, the state and local governments split the cost of education based on a measurement of counties' relative wealth. High property values in Beaufort and Charleston counties mean that schools in those counties receive among the lowest percentages of state funding per pupil of any county in the state. If the assessment-increase cap takes effect, then residents of those counties wouldn't pay as much, and the state would be forced to foot the bill.
But Beaufort County officials are predicting that the assessment-increase cap would cost the schools about $20 million in local funding, and an additional $20 million in taxes to the county and its municipalities, fire districts and public service districts.
Sanford's spokesman Will Folks said the governor still has not decided what action to take on the bill. Several legislators have speculated that if the governor vetoes the bill, the General Assembly would muster a two-thirds majority to override the veto and enact the cap.
"He's continuing to look at the bill," Folks said. "There's a whole lot of new information that's been put out there in the last few weeks the governor wants to consider. He's indicated that he wants to make a decision on the bill soon, and obviously he'll do that, but there is a lot of new information out there that he wants to take a look it."
But if the bill becomes law, the state chamber is considering filing a lawsuit to block it from taking effect, Howard said.
If the cap becomes law, the government entities probably would be forced to borrow money to cover any shortfalls in their current budgets. But putting a limit on assessments also would limit the governments' borrowing capacity, Howard said. Governments can only borrow 8 percent of their total assessed value, and if the assessed value is lower, their borrowing power will be greatly limited, he said.