Bill > H3420

This bill establishes the Providing Academic Choice in Education (PACE) scholarship program, which creates a tax credit for individuals and corporations who contribute to nonprofit scholarship funding organizations that provide grants to certain students attending independent schools or participating in home schooling. The bill defines several categories of qualifying students, including exceptional needs children, disadvantaged children, and PACE Scholarship children, who can receive tuition grants up to specific monetary limits. Nonprofit scholarship funding organizations must meet strict criteria, such as allocating at least 95% of contributions to grants, not discriminating, and maintaining transparency. The program sets annual tax credit limits of $25 million for exceptional needs children, $25 million for disadvantaged children, $40 million for PACE Scholarship children, and $10 million for home school children, with credits allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The State Treasurer will oversee the scholarship organizations, publish annual reports, and have the authority to request audits. Taxpayers can claim these tax credits against their income or bank taxes, with any excess credits able to be carried forward for up to ten years. The bill repeals a previous educational credit for exceptional needs children and will take effect after 2024, applying to income tax years beginning after that date.

Budget and Finance

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=3420&session=126&summary=B