Voters in at least a half dozen of South Carolina’s most populous counties will decide on transportation funding in November. The transportation measures would raise about $630 million annually.
State law permits counties to implement a transportation sales tax of up to 1% by referenda vote. The law stipulates that the sales tax can be imposed for up to 25 years or in smaller timeframes totaling 25 years.
The law also states that the tax must expire when the timeframe is reached or the designated dollar amount has been raised, whichever occurs first.
Anderson County
The Nov. 5 ballot in Anderson County will include a question about whether to add a 1% transportation sales tax.
The tax in the state’s ninth-most-populated county would be collected on any purchase except for certain groceries.
Revenue from the penny tax is estimated to be between $40 million and $50 million annually for seven years.
The money would be used for highways, roads, streets, bridges, and mass transit systems throughout the county located northeast of the capital city of Columbia.
Tax collection in the county along Interstate 85 would begin in May 2025.
Critics have said now is not a good time to impose a tax on people who are already paying higher prices for items.
Beaufort County
Fall ballots in Beaufort County will include a question to implement a 1% transportation tax.
The penny tax in the state’s 10th largest county would replace the two-year-old Green Space Sales Tax. That tax was approved by state lawmakers in 2022. It has a December sunset date.
Beginning May 2025, the proposed 1% tax would be collected for 10 years or until $950 million is raised, whichever occurs first.
The tax would be levied on most retail purchases. Exceptions would be made for goods that include fuel, unprepared foods and medical prescriptions and supplies.
Revenue would be used for roads, bridges, transit and other transportation-related projects. One highlighted project is the U.S. 78 corridor project.
Advocates have said the new tax would allow the county located northeast of Savannah to collect needed transportation revenue from visitors. Opponents have said now is not a good time to approve a tax increase, pointing to an ongoing investigation into county spending.
The county has collected three transportation sales taxes over the past quarter century. The most recent transportation tax was approved by voters in 2018. Collection of the tax ended in 2022.
Charleston County
A transportation sales tax referendum will also be on Charleston County ballots.
The half-cent tax in the state’s third-largest county would be collected for 25 years or until $5.4 billion is raised.
Revenue in the coastal county would be used for highways, roads, streets, bridges, transit and other transportation-related projects.
One highlighted project on Question 1 is the extension of the Mark Clark Expressway. The project would receive more than $2 billion of the referendum’s funding.
Greenville County
Greenville County voters will decide on a transportation tax question.
The 1% sales tax would be used to fund more than 1,500 road and bridge projects across the state’s largest county. A complete list of projects affected is available.
Beginning in 2025, the penny tax is estimated to raise more than $1 billion through 2033. The tax would not be applied to groceries, pharmacy goods or fuel.
Plans call for funding to benefit road improvements, repaving and reconstruction. Other projects include intersection improvements, roadway safety and congestion relief and bridge and road-related drainage work.
Advocates have said the tax revenue is needed because there is a lack of alternative funding for road repairs. Opponents countered that residents would be better served by better management of the county’s budget before collection of a new tax is implemented.
Lancaster County
Ballots in Lancaster County will include a question about whether to impose a penny tax for infrastructure improvements.
Question 1 in the county located one hour south of Charlotte, N.C., will ask voters whether to raise the local sales tax to widen and improve local highways, roads, streets and bridges.
The $405 million transportation referendum would benefit at least 125 projects over 15 years.
The Highway 521, or Charlotte Highway, widening project would receive the largest portion of funds – at least $60 million. Plans call for adding one lane in each direction for 7.5 miles in the Indian Land area.
Other projects include installing roundabouts, improving intersections and performing significant road resurfacing in each of the county’s four municipalities.
County officials have said they are “heavily dependent on the S.C. Department of Transportation for road funding and scheduling of road improvements, as there is very little local funding (or) property tax millage dedicated for road projects.”
Richland County
Voters in Richland County will decide whether to revise a penny transportation tax that has been collected for over a decade.
Collected since 2013, the penny tax is expected to reach its original goal of $1.07 billion by 2026. Voters in the state’s second-most-populous county later approved ending the tax program once it reached the goal amount.
Approval this fall in the county that includes the capitol city of Columbia would allow for collection of the tax until $4.5 billion is raised or a 25-year timeline is up, whichever comes first.
The Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority bus transit system would receive about 25% of all revenue. The remainder would benefit other transportation and road projects. LL
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