A new legislative session commenced on January 10, 2023. In South Carolina, legislative sessions last two years, meaning bills that are introduced in 2023 have through May 2024 to complete the course.

SCACPA’s Governmental Affairs committee in cooperation with the lobbying team at Copper Dome Strategies have evaluated pre-filed bills and worked with SC regulatory agencies to identify legislation SCACPA will work to move through the new Legislature and on to the Governor’s desk.  Alternatively, if there is legislation that is harmful or needs amending, we will work together on that as well.

This legislative session shows great potential not just from the perspective of championing bills to enhance the CPA profession, but for furthering the value and reputation of CPAs at the State House. Following the midterm elections in November 2022, we have seen many new faces mainly on the House floor. Senators are up for reelection in 2024.  SCACPA has an opportunity to showcase the value and impact of CPAs on the SC business community and the importance of CPAs as the most trusted advisors. We look forward to furthering relationships with more senior elected officials as well as the newly elected members.

Bill Tracker

Following the passage of S.812, task forces went to work drafting revisions to the regulations to align with the new law. The revised regulations include CPE changes, such as removing limitations on self-study hours and non-technical topics. Additionally, after the first 50 minutes of learning, the credit hours are broken into 10-minute increments (or 1/5 credit hours). This allows CPAs to participate in (and receive credit for) nano-learning. The revised regulations also include language around the retired status. Nearly 20 regulations were eliminated as they are no longer relevant or applicable to the new law.

The regulations are in effect as of May 27, 2023.
View the revised regulations here.

Read a summary of the updates here.

Note: The revised regulations may not yet be available on government websites. Please contact the South Carolina State Board of Accountancy with questions regarding them at 803.896.4770.

With this bill, we cleaned up scribbner errors and updated areas of the law regarding APs. This bill also removes the requirement for the LLR investigator position to have held a SC CPA license for five years. In the proposed change, the investigator is required to hold a CPA license for five years, regardless of state of origin. This opens the pool of potential investigators moving forward.

House Bill 4017 – Federal Tax Conformity
Representative Ballentine (R-Richland)

Every year, SCACPA champions a bill to align the SC tax code with the federal tax code. SCACPA proposes this legislation in conjunction with the SCDOR to allow for efficient tax filing. Without this important piece of legislation, the state and federal codes would fail to align, creating additional work and frustration for tax preparers. Stay tuned to our online bill tracker so you are in the know regarding the status of this bill.

Updates

  • The bill received its first reading and was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
  • The bill was found favorable by the House Ways and Means Committee on Mar. 30.
  • The House of Representatives approved the bill on April 6.
  • On April 6, the bill was introduced in the Senate and referred to the Finance Committee.
  • On April 27, the bill was found favorable by the Senate Finance Committee.
  • The bill received its second reading on May 4 and its third reading on May 9.

Status: Heading to the Governor’s Desk

Senate Bill 748 – Property Assessment for Merchants (BPP Tax)
Senator Alexander (R-Oconee)

Following a multi-year effort between SCACPA and the SC Department of Revenue, the Business Personal Property Tax legislation would streamline PT-100 filing statewide through the SCDOR’s online system. SCACPA has worked with several counties to earn commitments to transition to this filing system already. This bill does ensure adequate transition time for the counties and for the SCDOR to properly bring them online.

Updates

  • On April 25, the bill was introduced and read for the first time in the Senate. It was referred to the Finance Committee.

Status: In Senate Finance Committee

Senate Bill 31 – Municipal Audit
Senators Hutto (D-Orangeburg) & K. Johnson (D-Clarendon)

The SCACPA Legislative Assistance Task Force was organized to answer questions posed SC elected officials regarding how state law might be crafted to make financial audits and their results more useful and easier for citizens and elected officials to understand. There’s an additional aspect of this bill regarding reporting for lower-revenue municipalities. This allows for a revenue cap, and if a county falls below a certain threshold, they shall perform agreed-upon reporting procedures so there is a level of compliance, but at a lower cost than a full audit.

Updates

  • The SCACPA task force report was circulated among the State Treasurer’s Office, the State Auditor’s Office, and the Municipal Association of SC. As a result, SCACPA task force members were asked for input on S.31 early in this session. The SCACPA participants were able to voice their concern over how the terms “compilation” and “agreed-upon procedure” were interfaced in the bill’s wording. As a result, the joint task force is seeking clarity before the bill moves forward.
  • The bill was ready for the third time in the Senate and sent to the House on March 1.
  • The bill was introduced and referred to the House Ways and Means Committee on March 2.
  • On May 4, the bill was reported out as favorable by the House Ways and Means Committee and will head to the full House for consideration.
  • The bill received its second reading on May 10 and its third on May 11.

Status: Heading to the Governor’s Desk

House Bill 3992 – Delinquent Unemployment Compensation Tax Rates
Reps. Blackwell (R-Aiken), McGinnis (R-Horry), Sandifer (R-Oconee)

This bill proposes a solution to organizations that are in arrears with their unemployment insurance. Currently, the statutory requirement requires an application of funds to the oldest debt and maintaining the highest rates until all debts are paid. This creates a penalty cycle that needs to be addressed. The proposed legislation provides for statutory adjustments that take agreed-upon payment plans into account, allowing adjustments to the rate and payment allocation.

Updates:

  • February 16: The bill was introduced in the House and referred to the Committee on Labor, Commerce, and Industry.

Status: In House Committee