The passage of Act 176 means that South Carolina's cities and towns are now required to standardize their business license practices before January 1, 2022.
For years, many municipalities have been working voluntarily toward standardization to improve the ease of the licensing process for businesses, with a
- standard license year and due date,
- standard application, and a
- standard class schedule, as found in the model business license ordinance.
The new law means these steps are now mandatory for every municipality. The Municipal Association is developing guidance to assist cities and towns with implementing the provisions of the bill. The guidance will include instructions on adjustments to local ordinances, rate schedules and more.