South Carolina H 3467: School district surplus land

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3467 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3467

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING 
SECTION 12-37-220, RELATING TO PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE AN 
EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN AFFORDABLE HOUSING; AND BY ADDING SECTION 59-17-180 SO AS 
TO PROVIDE THAT A SCHOOL DISTRICT IS AUTHORIZED TO USE SURPLUS LAND FOR THE 
DEVELOPMENT OF CERTAIN AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

Be it enacted by the General 
Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 12-37-220(B) of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 (54) beginning July 1, 2025, and for 
forty years thereafter, surplus land used by a school district for the 
development of affordable housing for teachers and school employees pursuant to 
Section 59-17-170.

SECTION 2. Chapter 17, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
59-17-180. (A)(1) A school district 
in this State is authorized to use surplus land for the development of 
affordable housing for teachers and school employees throughout the school 
district.

 (2) 
A teacher or school employee must be given the right of first refusal to lease 
a property in the affordable housing development, however if there are 
available units, after conferring with the school district, the developer has 
the right to lease the remaining units to the general public with a goal of a 
minimum of fifty percent of the units serving as affordable housing.

 (B) 
For the purposes of this section, "affordable housing" means housing that costs 
no more than sixty percent of the median area income, including rent or 
mortgage payments, insurance, and utilities.

 (C) A 
school district may partner with real estate developers to develop affordable 
housing projects on surplus land, subject to the requirements of this section. 
A developer shall build a minimum of ten units on the property.

 (D) 
The affordable housing project is exempt from all property taxes for a period 
of forty years pursuant to Section 12-37-220(B)(54).

 (E) 
The county or municipality shall collect the impact fee upon issuance of the 
building permit.

 (F) 
The impact fee must be used solely for the purpose of funding infrastructure 
and services to support the new development and must be deposited into a 
separate account designated for this purpose.

 (G) 
The school district shall provide an annual report to the local municipality 
and the South Carolina Department of Education detailing the collection and use 
of the impact fee.

 (H) 
The school district may enter into a ground lease agreement with the developer 
for a term of forty years, granting the developer exclusive use and possession 
of the land for the purpose of developing and operating the affordable housing 
project. The developer has the right to sell his interest in the property to 
another entity, however the new owners must be subject to the same conditions 
given to the original developer including being subject to the remaining time 
left on the original forty-year lease. The remaining time on the lease may not 
be extended as a result of the developer selling its interest in the property.

 (I) 
Upon expiration of the forty-year term, ownership of the project shall revert 
to the school district, without consideration or compensation, and the 
developer shall surrender possession of the land and any improvements made 
thereto.

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on December 06, 2024 at 12:06 PM