SC Conservation Enhancement Act

H.3786 and its companion S.280 would restore dependable revenue streams for land protection and management to the SC Conservation Bank and to other state agencies that own, lease, or manage lands for public use. The companion bills provide for the following.

SECTION 1.  This act may be cited as the "South Carolina Conservation Enhancement Act".

SECTION 2A.  Section 12-24-90(B) of the S. C. Code is amended to read:

(B) The state fee must be credited as follows:

        (1) Ten cents of each one dollar thirty cents into the Heritage Land Trust Fund;       
       (2) Twenty cents of each one dollar thirty cents into the South Carolina Housing Trust Fund; and
       (3) Twenty-five cents of each one dollar thirty cents into the South Carolina Conservation Bank Trust Fund; and
       (4)  Seventy-five cents of each one dollar thirty cents into the general fund of the State.

B . This SECTION takes effect July 1, 2024. SECTION 3.  Section 48-59-40(A) and (B) of the S. C. Code is amended to read:

    Section 48-59-40.  (A) There is established the South Carolina Conservation Bank. The bank is governed by a fourteen-member seventeen-member board selected as follows:

       (1) the Chairman of the Board for the Department of Natural Resources, the Chairman of the South Carolina Forestry Commission, the Commissioner of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Director of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, or their designees, all of whom shall serve ex officio and without voting privileges;

       (2) three members appointed by the Governor from the State at large;

       (3) four members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one each from the Third, Fourth, and Sixth Congressional Districts and one member from the State at large; and

      (4)   four members appointed by the President of the Senate, one each from the First, Second, Fifth, and Seventh Congressional Districts.

    (B) (1) In making their respective appointments to the board, the Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the members of the board reflect the state's racial and gender diversity.

     (2) Each member of the board must possess experience in the areas of natural resources, land development, farming, forestry, finance, land conservation, real estate, or law.

SECTION 4. Section 12-24-90 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

(D) Notwithstanding subsection (B), beginning in Fiscal Year 2025-2026, the maximum amount of the state fee that may be credited to the South Carolina Conservation Bank Trust Fund in a fiscal year equals the amount credited to the Trust Fund in the previous year plus or minus the percentage change in projected general fund revenues.  The projected percentage change in general fund revenues must be calculated by the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office in the same manner as specified in Section 6-27-30 with the forecast in effect on February fifteenth of the current fiscal year being the final forecast for purposes of determining the adjustment.  The Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office shall notify the State Treasurer of the maximum amount that may be credited to the Trust Fund in the upcoming fiscal year.  Any revenues from the state fee that exceed the maximum amount that may be credited to the Trust Fund must be credited to the general fund.