2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 58 - Public Utilities, Services and Carriers › Chapter 9 - Telephone, Telegraph And Express Companies › Section 58-9-2230. Public rights-of-way franchise, consent and administrative fees; authorized taxes; mobile telecommunications services.

(A) A municipality shall manage its public rights-of-way on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis and may impose a fair and reasonable franchise or consent fee on a telecommunications company for use of the public streets and public property to provide telecommunications service unless the telecommunications company has an existing contractual, constitutional, statutory, or other right to construct or operate in the public streets and public property including, but not limited to, consent previously granted by a municipality. A fair and reasonable franchise or consent fee imposed upon a telecommunications company shall not exceed the annual sum set forth in the following schedule based on population:
Tier I-1-1,000-$ 100.00
Tier II-1,001-3,000-$ 200.00
Tier III-3,001-5,000-$ 300.00
Tier IV-5,001-10,000-$ 500.00
Tier V-10,001-25,000-$ 750.00
Tier VI-Over 25,000-$1,000.00
This franchise or consent fee is in lieu of any permit fee, encroachment fee, degradation fee, or other fee assessed on a telecommunications provider for its occupation of or work within the public right of way.
(B) A municipality shall manage its public rights-of-way on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis and may impose an administrative fee upon a telecommunications company that is not subject to subsection (A) in this section and that constructs or installs or has previously constructed or installed facilities in the public streets and public property to provide telecommunications service. The fee imposed on a telecommunications company shall not exceed the annual sum set forth in the following schedule based on population:
Tier I-1-1,000-$ 100.00
Tier II-1,001-3,000-$ 200.00
Tier III-3,001-5,000-$ 300.00
Tier IV-5,001-10,000-$ 500.00
Tier V-10,001-25,000-$ 750.00
Tier VI-Over 25,000-$1,000.00
This administrative fee is in lieu of any permit fee, encroachment fee, degradation fee, or other fee assessed on a telecommunications provider for its occupation of or work within the public right of way.
(C) A municipality shall not levy any tax, license, fee, or other assessment on a telecommunications service, other than (1) the business license tax authorized by this article, and (2) franchise fees as defined and regulated under 47 U.S.C. Section 542; provided, however, that nothing in this subsection restricts the right of a municipality to impose ad valorem taxes, sales taxes, or other taxes lawfully imposed on other businesses within the municipalities. This subsection does not prohibit a municipality from assessing upon a telecommunications company fees of general applicability such as sanitation fees, building permit fees, and zoning permit fees that are not related to the telecommunications company's occupation of or work within the public right of way.
(D) A telecommunications company, including a mobile telecommunications company providing mobile telecommunications services, is not considered to be using public streets or public property unless it has constructed or installed physical facilities in public streets or on public property. The use of public streets or public property under lease, site license, or other similar contractual arrangement between a municipality and a telecommunications company does not constitute the use of public streets or public property for purposes of this article. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, a telecommunications company is not considered to be using public streets or public property for purposes of this article solely because of its use of airwaves within a municipality. If a telecommunications company, including a telecommunications company providing mobile telecommunications services, requests of a municipality permission to construct or install physical facilities in public streets or on public property, that request must be considered by the municipality in a manner that is competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory as among all telecommunications companies.
HISTORY: 1999 Act No. 112, Section 1, eff June 30, 1999; 2005 Act No. 8, Section 4, eff January 13, 2005.