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Sanford, lawmakers spar over tax credits for sprinkler funding
By Scott Miller
Staff Writer
Gov. Mark Sanford warned the state House of Representatives that it is overspending with its proposed tax credits for sprinkler installation for businesses and homeowners.
The estimated $108 million cost of the credits could add to the $270 million deficit Sanford said the state is already facing.
“At a time when we’re going to struggle to meet core needs, we don’t believe it makes sense to create not one but two open-ended and very significant financial obligations for our state,” he said in a statement, also criticizing a proposal to increase funding for Endowed Chairs, a program to promote the commercialization of research at Clemson University, the University of South Carolina and the Medical University of South Carolina.
The House has approved legislation that provides tax credits equal to 80% of the cost of purchasing and installing fire sprinklers in homes and businesses, up to $50,000. Fire sprinklers also would be exempt from the state sales tax.
Similar legislation is under consideration in the Senate. The Senate also is considering a deal that would give municipalities the authority to strengthen building codes regarding sprinkler installation. As lawmakers hammer out the details, it remains unknown how much authority cities would have.
Several lawmakers, including Senate Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, have opposed sprinkler mandates.
Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., meanwhile, has shown support to beef up city codes to require sprinklers in certain buildings. The City Council recently sent a resolution to state lawmakers requesting such authority.
Other municipalities said they’d have to consider the issue before making a decision on sprinkler mandates if the state gave them the authority. Mount Pleasant Town Administrator Mac Burdette, for example, doubted the city would impose a retrofitting mandate on existing buildings.
“I frankly don’t see us doing that unless there was a major renovation being proposed,” he said.
Installing sprinklers during construction costs $1 to $1.50 per square foot or more, while retrofitting sprinklers in existing buildings cost about 50 percent more, according to the National Fire Sprinkler Association. In a much higher estimate, the Home Builders Association of South Carolina said fire sprinklers could add about $6 per square foot to the cost of constructing new homes.
The legislation is a response to the June Sofa Super Store blaze that killed nine Charleston firefighters.
“This is about saving lives,” said House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston. “We want homeowners and businesses to install this life-saving device, but we do not want to overburden them with costly mandates.”
Sanford, however, said the state can’t afford the tax credits, which he estimated would cost more than $108 million over a five-year period.
Harrell noted that these incentives are similar to those Sanford championed in the coastal property insurance reform last year.
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