2017 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 54 - Ports and Maritime Matters
CHAPTER 3 - SOUTH CAROLINA STATE PORTS AUTHORITY
Section 54-3-700. Sale of property; conditions and requirements of sale.
(A) The State Ports Authority has not had statutory responsibility to operate a marine terminal at Port Royal since September 21, 2004, and has ceased all marine operations at Port Royal.
(B) The State Ports Authority is hereby directed to sell all its real and personal property at Port Royal as soon as practicable. The property must be marketed for sale in whole, or in parcels, at the discretion of the State Ports Authority.
(C)(1)(a) The State Ports Authority, in its discretion, shall determine the manner of the sale. In no event shall terms of the sale extend beyond June 30, 2015, except as provided in subitems (b) and (c). The sale of the property in an amount permitted by item (3) shall satisfy the board's fiduciary duties to the authority and the authority's bondholders.
(b) If the State Ports Authority has accepted a bona fide offer to purchase a parcel of the property, or an offer to purchase the property in whole, but the sale has not closed as of June 30, 2015, then the parcel that is the subject of the pending sale, or the property as a whole, shall not be transferred pursuant to item (2) on July 1, 2015. The State Ports Authority shall have until midnight on December 31, 2015, to close the sale. If the sale is not closed by midnight on December 31, 2015, then the parcel, or the property as a whole, shall be transferred pursuant to item (2).
(c) If the State Ports Authority has received a bona fide offer for a parcel of the property, or for the property as a whole, within ninety days prior to June 30, 2015, the transfer of the parcel that is the subject of the offer, or the property as a whole, shall not be transferred pursuant to item (2) on July 1, 2015. The State Ports Authority shall have until midnight on December 31, 2015, to close the sale. If the sale is not closed by midnight on December 31, 2015, then the parcel, or the property as a whole, shall be transferred pursuant to item (2).
(2)(a) Except as provided in subsection(C)(1)(b) and (c), on July 1, 2015, the property must be irrevocably transferred to the Division of General Services in the Department of Administration, as established by Act 121 of 2014, for sale at public auction. Upon the transfer of the property to General Services, the Department of Administration is vested with all of the board's fiduciary duties to the authority and the authority's bondholders.
(b) Sale of the property pursuant to this section, and in an amount permitted by item (3), shall satisfy the board's fiduciary duties to the authority and the authority's bondholders.
(3) The State Ports Authority and General Services may accept a sales price on any parcel of the property, or the property as a whole, that is equal to, or greater than, eighty percent of the appraised value of the property to be sold. General Services may deduct from the proceeds of the sale an amount equal to the actual costs incurred in conjunction with the sale of the property. The balance of the proceeds must be transmitted to the authority. The Town of Port Royal or Beaufort County, or a combination of the two, may purchase the property at a price within the parameters established in this item.
(D) Any real or personal property at Port Royal which is to be sold must be appraised prior to the sale. The real property appraiser must be a State Certified General Real Estate Appraiser, a member of the Appraisal Institute (MAI), and must be knowledgeable in appraisal and in appraising closed industrial sites. The appraisal of the real property should include its future development opportunities and those of the surrounding properties, and give due consideration to the possible existence of adverse environmental conditions and structurally unsound improvements. The sale of the real property shall comply with all state laws and procedures. All proceeds from the sale of real and personal property at Port Royal must be retained by the State Ports Authority, except as provided in subsection (C)(3), and except that the Town of Port Royal may petition the State Fiscal Accountability Authority, or its successor entity, for a portion of the net proceeds from a sale and may be allocated a portion of these net proceeds in an amount not to exceed five percent of the net proceeds upon showing the allocation is necessary to pay for infrastructure needs directly associated with and necessitated by the closing of the port as Port Royal. These funds must be expended at the direction of the Town Council of Port Royal with the approval of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority, or its successor entity, solely for infrastructure, and shall have priority over all other expenditures except usual and necessary closing costs attributable to a sales contract.
HISTORY: 2004 Act No. 313, Section 1, eff September 21, 2004; 2009 Act No. 73, Section 17, eff June 16, 2009; 2014 Act No. 230 (S.1089), Section 2, eff June 2, 2014.
Code Commissioner's Note
At the direction of the Code Commissioner, references in this section to the offices of the former State Budget and Control Board, Office of the Governor, or other agencies, were changed to reflect the transfer of them to the Department of Administration or other entities, pursuant to the directive of the South Carolina Restructuring Act, 2014 Act No. 121, Section 5(D)(1), effective July 1, 2015.
Editor's Note
2009 Act No. 73, Section 19, provides as follows:
"The General Assembly encourages discussions between interested parties and the Town of Port Royal concerning the building of a boat landing north of the Broad River in Beaufort County. Funds negotiated between the Town of Port Royal and the South Carolina State Ports Authority pursuant to Section 54-3-700 should be used to build the boat landing."
2014 Act No. 230, Section 1, provides as follows:
"SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that:
"(1) Pursuant to Act 313 of 2004, the State Ports Authority was absolved of the statutory responsibility to operate a marine terminal at Port Royal.
"(2) Subsequent to the enactment of Act 313 of 2004, the State Ports Authority ceased marine operations at Port Royal.
"(3) Act 313 of 2004 further directed the State Ports Authority to sell its real and personal property at Port Royal and set forth the parameters of the potential sale.
"(4) Pursuant to Section 54-3-700, the State Ports Authority's real and personal property at Port Royal was to be transferred to the State Budget and Control Board because its real and personal property had not been sold by December 31, 2009.
"(5) The State Budget and Control Board subsequently delegated the responsibility for selling the real and personal property at Port Royal back to the State Ports Authority.
"(6) The State Ports Authority has been unsuccessful in its attempt to sell its real and personal property at Port Royal.
"(7) The restrictions placed upon the State Ports Authority concerning the sale of its real and personal property at Port Royal, as well as challenging market conditions, have hindered its attempts at selling the property.
"(8) It is in the best interest of the residents of the Town of Port Royal, the State of South Carolina, and the State Ports Authority, to sell the real and personal property at Port Royal so that a nonperforming asset may be placed into its highest and best use in the private sector.
"(9) The conversion of a nonperforming asset into revenues in the most expeditious manner protects the interests of the authority's bondholders as set forth in its bond covenants, and otherwise according to law."
Effect of Amendment
The 2009 amendment, in subsection (C), designated subparagraph (1), substituting "2009" for "2006" and making nonsubstantive changes, and added paragraph (2) relating to transfer of the property to the State Budget and Control Board; and, in subsection (D), added the fourth sentence relating to acceptance of a sale price, added "State" preceding "Budget and Control Board" in the sixth sentence, and made nonsubstantive changes throughout.
2014 Act No. 230, Section 1, rewrote the section.
