Posted on Thu, Jun. 01, 2006

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STATE BUDGET

Legislature agrees on budget, tax swap

Bill restores most of cuts Senate made to House allocations

By Zane Wilson

The Sun News

CHILDREN'S MUSEUM

CCU

BEACH RENOURISHMENT

COLUMBIA | In all-day sessions Wednesday, the House and Senate agreed on the state's $6.6 billion budget and on a new penny of sales tax to swap for property taxes.

The bills will go to the governor today. He is expected to veto portions of the budget and demand that legislators come back next week to deal with his vetoes rather than wait until after the June 13 primary elections.

Barring any changes resulting from the governor's vetoes, Horry and Georgetown counties fared well for special allocations in the budget.

The conference committee, which released its report Wednesday morning, restored most of the cuts the Senate had made to House allocations.

Those cuts included $1 million for beach renourishment, which was restored to $5 million, and the $250,000 for the Myrtle Beach Children's Museum, which was restored to $750,000.

One item that the Senate increased and the conference committee let stand was $2 million for a new tourism promotion matching program in which private interests could put up money to help promote destinations. The Senate increased it to $5 million plus $500,000 for small communities that might not be able to raise a match.

There were additional earmarks such as $1 million for the long-planned Sampit Boat Landing in Georgetown, $108,000 for Brookgreen Gardens and $23,460 for business revitalization projects in Georgetown.

The conference committee did let stand the Senate's cut in money for Coastal Carolina University. The House provided $3.7 million to help make up for years of underfunding because of the way the college funding formula works. The Senate cut that to $2.3 million. Both plans had an additional $250,000 for science programs. But the Senate added $1 million for Horry-Georgetown Technical College.

"We were made whole in the conference committee," except for the CCU money, said Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach. He had asked for the children's museum money and was happy to see the original amount restored.

Rep. Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach, a member of the House committee that drafted the budget, said he thought the conference committee would restore the local earmarks.

But he was pleased the Senate added some money for tourism promotion.

"We got the largest infusion of tourism dollars ever," Edge said. Other promotion money includes $500,000 for international advertising.

"I'm pleased with the overall package for our area," Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Myrtle Beach, said. He said he was disappointed the CCU money was cut but that any extra amount will be helpful to the university.

There was little discussion of the final budget proposal on either side and it passed on an unrecorded voice vote in both chambers.

The agreement was reached by the conference committee Friday night but the details were withheld until Wednesday.

The property tax swap imposes an additional 1 cent of sales tax, starting June 1 of 2007, for all property taxes for school operating expenses on owner-occupied homes. The measure also includes a cut in grocery taxes to 3 cents beginning Oct. 1 and a two-day sales tax holiday after Thanksgiving.

Other provisions are a cap on increased property values for all property when it is reassessed. No more than a 15 percent increase in value can be added in a five-year period.

Voters will have to approve the assessment cap in a constitutional amendment in November but the sales tax swap does not require a vote. Rankin said he was satisfied with the property tax agreement. The original proposal for a 2-cent increase was too much, he said.

Some of the Horry delegation members voted against the bill because the county is a large sales tax donor to other areas.

Clemmons said Horry is always going to be a donor county but he voted against the bill because it offered nothing for the county's needs in exchange for the additional sales tax.