COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Lawmakers are considering bill to rewrite state statute and greenlight road maintenance fees following a state supreme court ruling last summer.
In June of 2021, the South Carolina Supreme court ruled in Burns v. Greenville called the road fee an illegal tax imposed without proper oversight from the General Assembly. Justices said it violated a state statute because the road fee did not directly benefit the payer differently from how the fee benefits the general public.
The ruling resulted in several lawsuits including one in Richland County.
The Richland County Department of Public Works maintains 831 miles of road. It's paid in part by a $20 road maintenance fee included in the property tax paid on your car every year. Richland county's road fee generates $6 million every year.
“The road maintenance fee for Richland County has been a steady and reliable revenue source for a very important essential government function," said Deputy Director of Richland County Public Works Chris Eversmann
Resident David Oberly has been fighting Richland County's fee for years.
“I have a problem with how they collect it," said Oberly. "Just because you own a vehicle In Richland County you got to pay for this. But someone who has a car in Lexington county doesn't have to pay for it.”
A bill passed in the Senate last week aims to rewrite the state statute involved in the courts decision and would allow fees to benefit everyone, even if they don't pay them.
SCAC Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel Josh Rhodes said it was the associations top priority to
"By imperiling these fees, it in many cases put tremendous strain on county budgets to the tune of multi-millions of dollars," said Rhodes. Rhodes said
Rhodes said the bill won't stop more law suits from being filed, but it will strengthen a county's defense.
The bill now sits in the house.