Opinion ID: 2501256
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Constitutionality of Contiguity Provisions

Text: Next, we consider the question of whether the contiguity provisions enacted through Act 77 are unconstitutional special legislation. Appellants contend the 2005 amendments are unconstitutional because they treat those annexing into an existing municipality differently than those seeking to incorporate separately. In particular, they allege persons seeking to incorporate can cross over and disregard existing municipal boundaries to establish contiguity, while the same is not permitted for property owners attempting to annex. In response, Town argues those incorporating and those annexing are not part of the same class, therefore the amendments do not result in disparate treatment among class members, which is the hallmark of special legislation. We agree with Town and hold the statute constitutional. Our Constitution provides, The General Assembly of this State shall not enact local or special laws concerning any of the following subjects or for any of the following purposes, to wit: ... To incorporate cities, towns or villages, or change, amend, or extend charter thereof. S.C. Const. art III, § 34, cl. II. When a statute is challenged on the ground that it is special legislation, the first step is to identify the class of persons to whom the legislation applies. Kizer, 360 S.C. at 92-93, 600 S.E.2d at 532. In this regard, our special legislation framework largely tracts that for determining whether a statute violates one's right to equal protection. Id. at 93, 600 S.E.2d at 533. If the statute treats all class members equally, then the law is general legislation and permissible. Id. at 92-93, 600 S.E.2d at 532. The law must be general both in form and in operation. Id. at 93, 600 S.E.2d at 532. If the legislation does not apply uniformly, the second step is to determine the basis for that classification. Id. It is well-settled that the mere fact a statute creates a classification does not render it unconstitutional special legislation. Id. Rather, it is only arbitrary classifications with no reasonable hypothesis to support them that are prohibited. Id. at 93, 600 S.E.2d at 533. Again, this parallels our analysis under the rational basis test for equal protection challenges. A classification is constitutional if some intrinsic reason exists why the law should operate upon some and not upon all, or should affect some differently than others, or the special law best meet[s] the exigencies of a particular situation. Id. Put another way, [t]he classification must bear some reasonable relation to the object sought to be obtained by the law. U.S. Fid. & Guar. Co. v. City of Columbia, 252 S.C. 55, 61, 165 S.E.2d 272, 274 (1969). As always, statutes are presumed constitutional, and the party challenging them must prove their infirmity beyond a reasonable doubt. McElveen v. Stokes, 240 S.C. 1, 6, 124 S.E.2d 592, 594 (1962). We will not overrule the [General Assembly]'s judgment that a special law is necessary unless there has been a clear and palpable abuse of legislative discretion. Kizer, 360 S.C. at 93, 600 S.E.2d at 533. Turning to the case before us, we must first determine the proper class to which Act 77 applies. Appellants argue the class created is the broader group of all those seeking to effect changes in municipal boundaries, be it through incorporation or annexation. Town argues, and we agree, that the class is comprised solely of people seeking to incorporate; those attempting to annex are in a separate class unto themselves. First, the statute by its very terms applies only to those incorporating; the provisions for annexation are found in another chapter of the code. Second, there are myriad differences between incorporation and annexation such that those attempting to accomplish either are not similarly situated. Compare S.C.Code Ann. § 5-1-10 et seq. (incorporation statutes) with S.C.Code Ann. § 5-3-10 et seq. (annexation statutes). [6] Therefore, those incorporating and those annexing are dissimilar enough that they are not in the same class for purposes of our special legislation analysis. Because the contiguity statute treats all members of the class of incorporators similarly on its face, it is general legislation in form. Further, we find no evidence that Act 77 in practice affects only a certain number of individuals seeking to incorporate, which was the first constitutional defect identified in Kizer. Although the contiguity statute in effect at that time in Kizer applied generally on its face, we determined that in reality it applied only to any unincorporated area that is geographically configured so that it may establish contiguity using previously annexed marshland and waterways. Kizer, 360 S.C. at 94, 600 S.E.2d at 533 (emphasis added). The legislation therefore implicitly created two different groups of incorporators: those using previously annexed marshland and waterways and those seeking to use other previously annexed property. Id. at 95, 600 S.E.2d at 534. Because of this disparity, we proceeded to determine whether the classification was arbitrary and unreasonable. Id. at 94, 600 S.E.2d at 533. Here, the statute is not so limited. In Kizer, we were troubled that only areas situated next to tidal marshlands and waterways could take advantage of provisions of the statute, which amounted to a very small number of unincorporated areas in the State. Id. Although a class comprised of one member certainly can be constitutional, id. at 93, 600 S.E.2d at 532, we found the statute created two distinct groups within the class of incorporators, id. at 94, 600 S.E.2d at 533. The version of the statute now before the Court addressed that concern by permitting the use of any publicly-owned property, regardless of where it exists in the State. While an area seeking to incorporate only benefits from the current version of section 5-1-30(A)(4) if there is publicly-owned property available for use in the manner prescribed, the current language does not present the same geographically targeted approach as that at issue in Kizer. In fact, Appellants appear to concede that Act 77 creates no true subclasses within the broader class of incorporators. Therefore, Appellants have not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Act 77 implicitly creates two groups of incorporators, and we find it is general in operation. We accordingly hold that the amendments contained in Act 77 are constitutional. Because we hold that the statute in question is general legislation as it creates no disparate treatment within the applicable class, we need not reach the second question in our special legislation analysis of whether any subclass created is reasonable. Contrary to Appellants' argument that the legal underpinning of any law is its rationality, regardless of its general application or whether it creates a class, a law cannot be unconstitutional special legislation unless it is first, indeed, special. Were we to examine the rationality of a law irrespective of any classification it creates, we would impermissibly step from our position as the arbiter of a statute's constitutionality and into the seats of the General Assembly. The mere fact that a law may be irrational does not automatically make it unconstitutional. Such arguments must be made at the ballot box, not to the bench.