Legislature The State Treasurer will manage the program and maintenance of these accounts. The provisions of H3768 are effec ve now and apply to accounts established a er the 2015 tax year. For more informa on on ABLE accounts the State Treasurer has set up the SC ABLE webpage on the Treasurer’s site at www.treasurer.sc.gov.
Deeds Offices in the bordering counes giving the public no ce of affected proper es. Full faith and credit is given to all conveyances and transfers that were previously filed on the affected proper es. The bill also provides for no ce provisions in foreclosure ac ons. The boundary will officially change on Jan. 1, 2017.
An -Money Laundering Un l H4554 was signed into law, South Carolina was the only state in the na on without comprehensive state regulatory authority over money transfers. Law enforcement argued that this made the state a center for money laundering ac vi es that facilitated organized criminal enterprises and terrorist ac vi es. In response to law enforcement’s concerns, Rep. Alan Clemmons introduced H4554, which establishes new provisions for the regula on and oversight of money transmission services, along with requirements for the licensure and regula on of money transmission and currency exchange services. The South Carolina A orney General will be the regulator of money service businesses in South Carolina. Banks and their related ac vi es are exempt from the provisions of H4554 and the act takes effect on June 9, 2017, or upon the publica on in the State Register of final regula ons implementing the act, whichever occurs later.
Transporta on Infrastructure The General Assembly agreed to devote up to $4.5 billion to the state’s roads over the next 10 years. This includes: $950 million to repair or replace all structurally-deficient bridges on Interstate and na onal highways; $2 billion in widenings and improvements to exis ng Interstates; and, over $1.4 billion in pavement resurfacing. Funds may also be used for the issuance of bonds through the State Infrastructure Bank.
S.C.-N.C. Boundary This year both South and North Carolina finalized their border a er an 18-year effort by the Joint Boundary Commission to re-establish the official border. S667 takes the commission’s findings and resets the 334-mile border. Even though the border changes are minimal they will affect about 90 proper es and cause them to shi states S667 sets forth a process where official public no ces will be filed in Register of 24
South Carolina Farm Aid Fund In response to catastrophic flooding in October 2015 and a severe drought, the General Assembly created the South Carolina Farm Aid Fund to assist affected farmers. The fund was appropriated $40 million for making financial awards to farmers who have experienced a verifiable loss of agricultural commodi es of at least 40 percent as a result of last fall’s flooding. Grant awards must be used for agricultural
produc on expenses and losses due to the flood which demonstrate intent to con nue the agricultural opera on and awards may not be used to purchase new equipment. End of Session The General Assembly approved S267 which shortens the session by se ng the adjournment date for the year as the second Thursday in May rather than the current deadline of the first Thursday in June. The text of these bills can be found at www.scstatehouse.gov. If you would like more informa on about these other bills, you may contact Neil Rashley, SCBA senior vice president and counsel, at nrashley@scbankers.org or 803.779.0850.
(Neil Rashley is senior vice president and counsel for the South Carolina Bankers Associa on.)