Almost every city and town in South Carolina has stormwater and drainage issues that can come from tidal flooding or storm runoff. Even so, these communities have few resources to address the issues. For this reason, the Municipal Association of SC named funding for fixing flooding and drainage problems as one of its three Advocacy Initiatives for the 2019 – 2020 session of the SC General Assembly.
Introduced during the 2019 legislative session, S217, would allow cities and towns to use state and local accommodations taxes and local hospitality taxes to control and repair any flooding and drainage issues in tourism-related areas.
The Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill and sent it to the House Ways and Means Committee, where it awaits a hearing. Local officials can help get S217 passed by encouraging House members to support the bill and request a subcommittee hearing so it can get signed into law before May 2020.
If the bill becomes law, it will not raise taxes. It gives local elected leaders the flexibility to use current accommodations and hospitality tax revenue to tackle public works projects that eliminate or mitigate flooding and drainage problems.
In 2017, South Carolina municipalities collected $240 million from state and local accommodations and local hospitality taxes. Spending money to promote South Carolina's coast, lakes and parks will do no good if tourists cannot reach their destinations because of flood-damaged infrastructure. Beachgoers cannot check into hotels if the roads are overwhelmed with sand and water, and hikers cannot hit the trails if paths are impassable because of flooding.
"In June 2019, most of the south end of the Edisto Beach was under water after a 7 ½-inch rain," said Iris Hill, Edisto Beach's town manager. "We need the flexibility to use the revenue we have to ensure access to our beaches."