FORT MILL, S.C. – If you plan on moving to South Carolina soon, you might have to cough up some extra cash.
Legislators are considering implementing an “impact fee” for new residents of the palmetto state.‘Disruptive passenger’ caused Jacksonville flight to divert to RDU, suspect in custody: airport says
S.C. lawmakers are saying growth doesn’t pay for itself, so to make up for their large influx of new residents, some legislators want newcomers to pay a one-time fee when they get their licenses and register their vehicles here.
Senate bill 208 would allow county governments in S.C. to impose an additional driver’s license and vehicle registration fee of $250 for new residents from other states. Senator Stephen goldfinch introduced the bill and thinks it’s important for new residents to contribute to the state they’re moving into.
“We have a serious issue in South Carolina, especially in high-growth counties, where our quality of life is being diminished,” Goldfinch said. “Because of the high growth, we’re just not able to keep up with the infrastructure, the schools, the roads, the bridges, the utilities, and the green space that we need in order to keep our quality of life.”
According to data from the U.S. Census, South Carolina was the third fastest-growing state in 2022. Almost 90,000 people moved to the Palmetto State in just one year. The Mayor of Fort Mill, Guynn Savage, says that growth impacts her town daily.
“Growth does not pay for growth,” Savage said. “Even the residential growth that was here isn’t paying the taxes needed to afford all of the services that are provided in a municipality.”
Mayor Savage says she understands why lawmakers are considering passing impact fees, especially since Fort Mill’s population has almost quadrupled in size in the last ten years.
“Everyone enjoys the benefits of growth. Everybody loves a new restaurant, a new boutique, a new service, a new park,” Savage said. “I think that it’s something that also comes with challenges that must be met.”
Some legislators worry an impact fee might deter newcomers from moving to South Carolina; Senator Goldfinch thinks the financial pros still outweigh the cons.
“If you’re moving from an extremely high property tax state, like New York, New Jersey, Ohio, which is where most of our residents come from, you’re saving literally, sometimes 10s of thousands of dollars by moving to S.C., especially with the cost of living,” Goldfinch said. “$250 driver’s license fees are not going to stop that, and if it does, if that offends you so much that it stops you from moving here, honestly. Go somewhere else.”
Senator Goldfinch estimates if the bill passes and the growth rate continues as it has been over the last ten years, S.C. would bring in around $250 million from the driver’s license and vehicle registration impact fees over the next ten years.
Senate Bill 208 passed through the Finance Committee on Tuesday and is now heading to the Senate Floor.
Source: Count on 2
