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2023-2024 Guide To Sumter

This Week’s business information compiled by your Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce Team includes

Business License Tax Reform Advances, Federal and State Legislative Updates, and Governor McMaster Announces Expansion of “Datacasting” Technology for Students

1. Business License Tax Reform Advances, Still Needs to Pass Senate

Last week, in a huge win for the business community, the Senate Finance committee took the important step of passing H.4431, the Business License Tax Reform Act with a compromise amendment. It was one of only two bills discussed besides the budget and CARES Act money allocations and therefore remains one of a few bills that has a shot at passage this year.
 
After nearly two years of negotiations with cities, counties, and other stakeholders and compromises on all sides, everyone (except one out-of-state third party tax auditor that operates on a contingency fee basis) now agrees that this is a good bill that will bring much-needed reform.
 
The September 15th session is likely our last chance to get H.4431 passed by the Senate. 2020 marks the end of a two-year session, so any legislation not passed by the end of the year will have to start the process all over again (i.e. another bill would have to be introduced next year, and it would have to pass both bodies).
 
The out-of-state third party tax auditor is fighting hard to stop this bill – but we’re calling for the Senate to take this bill to a vote next week and pass it. There is no doubt the bill will bring much-needed simplification, standardization, and transparency to this business-unfriendly system while still allowing cities and counties to set their own rates and use third party companies, just not on a contingency-fee basis and without access to businesses’ confidential tax information. It’s a win-win.
 
2. Federal and State Legislative Updates
 
Federal COVID-19 Relief Bill: After another week of negotiations, the Senate voted Thursday on a “skinny” relief package called “Delivering Immediate Relief to America’s Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act.” The bill, which amounted to about half of the cost of the bill released earlier this summer, failed to receive the requisite number of votes to pass (60) with the votes split largely along party lines. At this point, most do not expect a relief bill to pass Congress before the general election in November.

State Budget: Last week, the Senate Finance Committee passed a FY 2020-2021 budget. This budget is a modification of the current Continuing Resolution – for the most part keeping last year’s spending amounts and provisos in place. However, this version does allocate most of the one-time surplus money, which the CR does not. Highlights from the Committee’s version of the budget include:

  • Recurring (approximately $86 million extra for this year):
    • $50 million for the EFA for State Aid to Classrooms (funds step increases for teachers)
    • $11.7 million for the Local Government Fund
    • $24.6 million remaining
  • Non-recurring (approximately $775 in one-time money):
    • $500 million for the “Agency Mid-Year Reduction Reserve Account”
    • $50 million for the Department of Corrections safety and security upgrade
    • $34 million for charter schools
    • $6 million for school nurses
    • $40 million for the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism (marketing)
    • $17.9 million for the Department of Mental Health (construction of a veterans’ nursing home)
    • $5 million for the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education (readySC workforce training)
    • $4.2 million for the Election Commission (additional stipend for poll workers)
    • $20 million for COVID-19 state employee hazard pay bonus for direct service workers making $50,000 or less
    • $27.9 million remaining

Under this new budget, last year’s provisos carry forward into this year. There were also several new provisos introduced, one of which would authorize the Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) to act as the state’s broadband office.
At this point, the House still seems intent on moving forward under the Continuing Resolution, rather than passing a new budget so it remains to be seen what will happen when the House and Senate come back into full session next week.
CARES Act Phase 2 Recommendations: This week, the Governor and both the House and the Senate budget committees finalized their recommendations for the allocation of the remaining $668 million set aside for Phase 2 of the CARES Act money for South Carolina. Governor McMaster and the House and Senate committees recognized the importance of supporting the business community and recommended another large allocation for the unemployment insurance (UI) trust fund, in addition to the $500 million they allocated in Phase 1. Their recommendations are below:

  • Governor McMaster (also includes allocation of $100 million which is the anticipated amount of authorizations for state and local government expenditures that were unexpended in Phase 1):
    • $450 million for the UI Trust Fund
    • $73 million for COVID-19 Testing and Monitoring – DHEC
    • $20 million for COVID-19 Testing – MUSC
    • $50 million for Public School Districts and Charter School Authorizers (to get back to full-time, in-person classes)
    • $15 million for a Non-Profit Relief Grants (grants for non-profits that were not eligible for PPP)
    • $30 million for a Small Business Relief Grants (grants of up to $5,000 for small businesses that did not receive PPP loan)
    • $75 million for State Government Expenditures (includes public higher education institutions)
    • $50 million for County and Municipality Expenditures
  • Senate Finance Committee:
    • $420 million for the UI Trust Fund
    • $73 million for COVID-19 Testing and Monitoring – DHEC
    • $20.2 million for COVID-19 Testing – MUSC
    • $20 million for a Non-Profit 501(c)3 Relief Program (details TBD)
    • $20 million for a Minority Business Relief Program (details TBD)
    • $115 million for State and Local Government Expenditures (includes public and independent higher education institutions)
  • House Ways and Means:
    • $450 million for the UI Trust Fund
    • $73 million for COVID-19 Testing and Monitoring – DHEC
    • $20.2 million for COVID-19 Testing – MUSC
    • $25 million for a Non-Profit 501(c)3 Relief Program (details TBD)
    • $50 million for a Small and Minority Business Relief Program (details TBD)
    • $130 million for State and Local Government Expenditures (includes public and independent higher education institutions)

These recommendations will be discussed and likely finalized this week when the House and Senate come back into session.

3. Governor McMaster Announces Expansion of “Datacasting” Technology for Students
 
Last week, Governor McMaster announced that he is using his authority to authorize the expenditure of $1.3 million from the Coronavirus-19 Response Reserve Account (originally funded at $155 million in May) to expand a SCETV datacasting pilot to approximately 5,000 students across 34 school districts significantly impacted by the pandemic. Datacasting is a one-way technology that allows students to receive many of their assignments including files, video and other computer data via their public television broadcast signal.
 
While the technology is not a replacement for broadband access since it is a one-way transmission (download only), it will help with the transmission of classwork to any student that has access to a SCETV broadcast signal (98% of the state). Without this system, many of these students would have had to pick up or have paper packets delivered to do their schoolwork.
 
Currently, the system is being piloted in the following districts: Fairfield, Jasper, and York District 1.

Also, keep a look out for announcements soon on the launch of our new website!

Have a great day,

Chris Hardy, CCE, IOM
President & CEO

Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce

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