SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- The conclusion of the 2014 General Assembly on June 20 resulted in the signing of bill S. 825, The Military Family Quality of Life Enhancement Act of 2014, which is to be signed into law by Gov. Nikki Haley.
The bill is an extensive compilation of military-friendly bills that went into the 2014 Legislative session addressing concerns of military members living in South Carolina, the most notable of which exempts privately-built houses on military installations from property taxes, so long as they are for use by military personnel and/or their families.
The tax exemption will take effect following approval by the Governor and will apply to tax years after 2013.
This bill follows the recent signing of The Military Homeowner Protection Act of 2014 earlier this year which protected military homeowners leaving their current duty station to maintain an owner-occupied tax rate of 4 percent.
"This Legislative year reminded us that we have many strong supporters in the General Assembly who recognize and appreciate what our military installations and our military personnel and families mean to our State and our Nation," said William Bethea, Chairman of the Military Base Task Force of the South Carolina Department of Commerce.
Preceding the signing of S. 825, property tax relief was only available to charter school facilities, hospitals, nursing homes, deployed military members, totally and permanently disabled persons, and service-connected veterans. The signing of this bill protects the United States Armed Forces, or their contracted lessee, from paying property taxes for military housing.
The tax exemption for facilities used to house service members and their families is not the only change made in favor of service members in the state.
Section 44-6-35 of the newly signed bill protects the Medicaid waiver status of eligible family members of military personnel, so long as they maintain their residency in South Carolina. Family members of military personnel are allowed to claim South Carolina residency regardless of where the service member's current duty station is.
This section of the bill allows for eligible family members previously receiving services and enrolled in a waiver program to be reinstated upon their return to South Carolina.
Another section of the bill directly addresses a common concern among military parents- their children's welfare. Section IV of the bill establishes a Military-Connected Children's Welfare Task Force which will create comprehensive annual reports to demonstrate issues common among children with military family members.
The Military-Connected Children Welfare Task Force was developed in an effort to identify matters specifically related to children with parents in the military and to foster communication between child welfare agencies and local military installations. The annual report of this task force, detailing their recommendations and findings, will be posted on the Department of Health and Human Services' website.
"I am very appreciative to South Carolina State Government for listening to the concerns of our military members and acting in a very positive way on their behalf," said Col. Stephen Jost, 20th Fighter Wing commander.
Many of the sections under bill S. 825 were concerns voiced during the South Carolina Governor's Military Task Force meeting earlier this year, and while not every concern was met with a resolution during this year's General Assembly, Bethea notes "we made very positive progress [...] it is a major step in the right direction."
The Military Task Force acts as an executive advisory committee to the Governor and the General Assembly on various military matters that affect the state. Part of the focus is to exchange pertinent information on the current climate and challenges facing the state's military installations and their personnel; active duty, reserve, or contracted.
- 30 -