§ 4-1-170. A project located on a contiguous tract of land in more than one county, but not in an industrial development park, may.
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§ 4-1-170. A project located on a contiguous tract of land in more than one county, but not in an industrial development park, may qualify for the fee if:
(a)the counties agree on the terms of the fee and the distribution of the fee payment;
(b)the minimum millage rate is provided for in the agreement; and
(c)all the counties are parties to all agreements establishing the terms of the fee.
(3)The minimum level of investment in the project must be at least forty-five million dollars and must be invested within the time period provided in subsection (C). If a county has an average annual unemployment rate of at least twice the state average during the last twenty-four months based on data available on the most recent November first, the minimum level of investment is one million dollars. The department shall designate these reduced investment counties by December thirty-first of each year using data from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce and the United States Department of Commerce. The designations are effective for a sponsor whose inducement agreement is signed in the calendar year following the county designation. Investments may include amounts expended by a sponsor or sponsor affiliate as a nonresponsible party in a voluntary cleanup contract on the property at the project pursuant to Article 7, Chapter 56, Title 44, the Brownfields Voluntary Cleanup Program, if the Department of Health and Environmental Control certifies completion of the cleanup. If the amounts under the Brownfields Voluntary Cleanup Program equal at least one million dollars, the investment threshold requirement of this section is met.
(4)(a) A sponsor and a sponsor affiliate may qualify for the fee if each sponsor and sponsor affiliate invests the minimum level of investment at the project. If the project consists of a manufacturing, research and development, corporate office, or distribution facility as those terms are defined in Section 12-6-3360(M) and including a qualified nuclear plant facility as defined in subsection (A)(1)(d), each sponsor or sponsor affiliate is not required to invest the minimum investment required by subsection (B)(3) if the total investment at the project exceeds forty-five million dollars.
(b)(i) Investments by sponsor affiliates within the time periods provided in subsection (C)(1) and
(2)qualify for the fee regardless of whether or not the sponsor affiliate was part of the inducement agreement, so long as sponsor affiliates are approved specifically by the county and agree to be bound by agreements with the county relating to the fee; except that sponsor affiliates are not bound by agreements, or portions of agreements, to the extent those agreements do not affect the county. The investments pursuant to this subsection must be at the same project. The inducement agreement or the lease agreement may provide for a process for approval of sponsor affiliates.
(ii)The department must be notified in writing of all sponsor affiliates that have investments subject to the fee on or before ninety days after the end of the calendar year during which the project or pertinent phase of the project is placed in service. The department may extend this period upon written request. Failure to meet this notice requirement does not affect adversely the fee, but a penalty of up to ten thousand dollars a month or portion of a month with the total penalty not to exceed one hundred twenty thousand dollars may be assessed by the department for late notification.
(iii)A. Except as provided in subsection (D)(4) if, at any time, a sponsor no longer has the minimum level of investment as provided in subsection (B)(3), that sponsor no longer qualifies for the fee.
B. Except as provided in subsection (Q), if a sponsor qualifies for the fee pursuant to subsection (D)(4), the sponsor must maintain the applicable level of investment, without regard to depreciation, and any applicable job requirements provided in (D)(4). If the sponsor fails to maintain the applicable investment or any job requirements provided in (D)(4), it no longer qualifies for the fee.
C. Except as provided in subsection (Q), if an inducement agreement or a lease agreement provides for an investment above the minimum investment provided in subsection (B)(3), and the sponsor fails to maintain the investment provided for in the agreement, the sponsor no longer qualifies for the fee.
(C)(1) Except as provided in subsection (W)(1), from the end of the property tax year in which the sponsor and the county execute an inducement agreement, the sponsor has five years in which to enter into an initial lease agreement with the county.
(2)(a) From the end of the property tax year in which the sponsor and the county execute the initial lease agreement, the sponsor has five years in which to complete its investment for purposes of qualifying for this section. If the sponsor does not anticipate completing the project within five years, the sponsor may apply to the county before the end of the five-year period for making the investment for an extension of time to complete the project. If the county agrees to grant the extension, it must be in writing, and a copy must be delivered to the department within thirty days of the date the extension was granted. The extension may not exceed five years. If a project receives an extension of less than five years, the sponsor may apply to the county before the end of the extension period for an additional extension of time to complete the project for an aggregate extension of not more than five years. Unless approved as part of the original lease documentation, the county council of the county may approve any extension by resolution, a copy of which must be delivered to the department within thirty days of the date the resolution was adopted.
(b)An extension of the five-year period in which to meet the minimum level of investment is not allowed. If the minimum level of investment is not met within five years, all property covered by the lease agreement or agreements reverts retroactively to the payments required by