Bill > S0298

This bill amends South Carolina law to explicitly add workforce housing as a permissible type of project that can be funded through the Capital Project Sales Tax. Currently, counties can impose a temporary sales and use tax for specific infrastructure and community projects, and this bill expands the list of eligible projects to include workforce housing, which is defined elsewhere in state law as housing for households with incomes between 80% and 120% of the area median income. The bill modifies Section 4-10-330(A) of the South Carolina Code to include workforce housing (as defined in Section 6-4-5(9)) in the list of potential projects that can be funded through this sales tax. The tax can still only be imposed for a limited time (not exceeding eight years) and must be approved by referendum in the county. The addition of workforce housing provides counties with more flexibility in using these sales tax proceeds to address local housing needs, potentially helping to create more affordable housing options for middle-income residents.