SOUTH CAROLINA REVENUE AND FISCAL AFFAIRS OFFICE
S
TATEMENT OF ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT
WWW.RFA.SC.GOV • (803)734-3793
This fiscal impact statement is produced in compliance with the South Carolina Code of Laws and House and Senate rules. The focus of
the analysis is on governmental expenditure and revenue impacts and may not provide a comprehensive summary of the legislation.
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S. 0222
Fiscal Impact Summary
This bill requires the owner of a utility terrain vehicle (UTV) to obtain a license plate and
registration from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) if the UTV will be operated on a
road and establishes a biennial fee for the licensing and registration. The bill also subjects UTVs
to a fee for a certificate of title. Additionally, the UTV must have liability insurance. Further,
the bill exempts UTV owners from paying property taxes to the county in which the UTV is
registered and specifies violations related to the operation of UTVs.
The bill will have no expenditure impact on DMV since the agency can manage expenses for
registering UTVs within existing appropriations.
This bill requires UTVs to have proof of liability insurance to be operated on a road. The bill
will have no expenditure impact for the Department of Insurance (DOI) as any additional
responsibilities can be managed within existing appropriations.
This bill requires the Comptroller General (CG) to distribute the revenue received from the $10
biennial licensing and registration fee to their respective funds. However, the Comptroller
General’s Office indicates that this responsibility will be handled within existing appropriations.
Therefore, there is no expected expenditure impact to CG.
The revenue impact of this bill is undetermined since the number of UTVs that may be licensed
and registered is unknown. However, revenue received from the $10 biennial licensing and
registration fee will be allocated to Other Funds of DMV, Other Funds of the Department of
Transportation (DOT), and the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank (SCTIB).
Likewise, revenue received from the $15 certificate of title for a UTV will be allocated to the
General Fund, Other Funds of DOT, and Other Funds of the Department of Public Safety (DPS).
Further, revenue received from the road use fees for alternative fuel and hybrid UTVs will be
allocated to the Infrastructure Maintenance Fund (IMTF).
This bill also requires UTVs to have proof of liability insurance coverage to be driven on the
road. This may result in an increase in liability insurance premium and increase premium taxes.
However, DOI anticipates the increase in insurance premium taxes will be minimal. Therefore,
this bill may result minimal increase in General Fund and Other Funds revenue due to the
potential increase in insurance premium taxes.
Bill Number: S. 0222 Introduced on Januar
y 15, 2025
Subject: Utilit y Terrain Vehicle
Requestor: Senate Transportation
RFA Analyst(s): Griffith and Vesely
Impact Date: March 10, 2025
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The bill creates new violations, which may increase the workload in magistrate’s court. Judicial
expects to be able to manage the potential increase in caseload with existing appropriations.
However, if the bill results in a significant increase in the workload, then an increase in General
Fund appropriations may be requested.
The Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office (RFA) reached out to all counties and the Municipal
Association of South Carolina (MASC) to determine the fiscal impact on the local courts. Based
on responses from Judicial and Chesterfield County, we do not anticipate an increase in local
expenditures.
This bill may result in an increase in the fines and fees collected in court. Court fines and fees
are distributed to the General Fund, Other Funds, and local funds. Therefore, RFA anticipates
this bill may result in an undetermined impact to General Fund revenue, Other Funds revenue,
and local revenue due to the increase in fines and fees collections in court.
Since UTVs are currently subject to sales tax, this bill will have no impact on revenue. Also,
while the bill exempts UTV owners from the payment of property taxes to the county in which
the UTV is registered, UTVs are currently exempt from property taxes. Therefore, this section
of the bill will have no impact on tax revenue.
Explanation of Fiscal Impact
Introduced on January 15, 2025
State Expenditure
This bill requires the owner of a UTV to obtain a license plate and registration from DMV upon
presenting proof of ownership and liability insurance for the UTV if the vehicle will be operated
on a road. DMV must not register or renew the registration of a UTV unless a certificate of title
with the brand “off road use only” has been issued or an owner’s application has been delivered
to the department. Additionally, the owner of a UTV who wishes to operate the vehicle on a
road is required to possess a certificate of title. Further, UTVs that are powered by electric,
hydrogen, and fuels other than motor fuel are subject to the road use fee pursuant to Section 56-
3-645.
DMV indicates that expenses for registering UTVs will be managed within existing
appropriations. Therefore, there is no expenditure impact on DMV. However, DMV indicates
that the complex coding changes to its IT system will require at least twelve months to
implement and test.
Additionally, this bill requires UTVs to have proof of liability insurance to be operated on a road.
This bill will have no expenditure impact for DOI as any additional responsibilities can be
managed within existing appropriations.
This bill requires the CG to distribute the revenue received from the $10 biennial licensing and
registration fee to their respective funds. However, the Comptroller General’s Office indicates
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that this responsibility will be handled within existing appropriations. Therefore, there is no
expected expenditure impact to CG.
The bill creates new violations, which may increase the workload in magistrate’s court. Judicial
expects to be able to manage the potential increase in caseload with existing appropriations.
However, if the bill results in a significant increase in the workload, then an increase in General
Fund appropriations may be requested.
State Revenue
This bill requires the owner of a UTV to obtain a license plate and registration from DMV upon
presenting proof of ownership and liability insurance for the UTV if the vehicle will be operated
on a road. The biennial fee for the license plate is $10. Of this fee, $2 must be used by DMV to
produce and issue new license plates for UTVs, $4 is directed to the State Highway Fund, which
is Other Funds of DOT, and the remaining $4 must be remitted to the SCTIB. DMV must not
register or renew the registration of a UTV unless a certificate of title with the brand “off road
use only” has been issued or an owner’s application has been delivered to the department. Since
data are not available to determine how many UTV owners may choose to register their UTVs,
the amount of fee revenue for this portion of the bill, which will be distributed to Other Funds of
DMV, Other Funds of DOT, and the SCTIB, is undetermined.
The bill also subjects UTV owners to a certificate of title, for which the fee is $15. Of this fee,
$5 must be placed in the State Highway Fund. Another $5 is placed into an earmarked account
to be distributed as follows: the first $1,000,000 is credited to the General Fund, and the
remainder is allocated to DPS to support highway patrol programs. DMV distributes the
remaining $5 of each fee to the General Fund. Since data are not available to determine how
many UTV owners may choose to register their UTVs, the amount of fee revenue for this portion
of the bill, which will be distributed to the General Fund, Other Funds of DOT, and Other Funds
of DPS, is undetermined.
Additionally, UTVs that are powered by electric, hydrogen, and fuels other than motor fuel are
subject to the road use fee. Pursuant to Section 56-3-645, vehicles powered exclusively by fuels
other than motor fuel shall pay a biennial fee of $120, and vehicles powered by a combination of
motor fuel and other fuels shall pay a biennial fee of $60. These fees are remitted to the IMTF.
Since data are not available to determine how many UTV owners may choose to register their
UTVs, the amount of fee revenue for this portion of the bill, which will be distributed to the
IMTF is undetermined.
The bill also requires the driver of a UTV to wear a Type 2 fastened seat belt when the UTV is
being operated on streets and secondary highways. The UTV must be equipped with operable
headlights, brake lights, taillights, and turn signals. For any one of these violations, the driver
may not be fined more than $25 dollars. For multiple violations in a single incident, the driver
may not be fined more than $50. Because violations related to improperly equipped UTVs and
failure to use a seat belt are newly created in this bill, there is no data with which to estimate the
number of violations that will occur. This bill may result in an increase in the fines and fees
collected in court. Court fines and fees are distributed to the General Fund, Other Funds, and
__________________________________
Frank A. Rainwater, Executive Director
DISCLAIMER: THIS FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT REPRESENTS THE OPINION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE
AGENCY OFFICIAL WHO APPROVED AND SIGNED THIS DOCUMENT. IT IS PROVIDED AS INFORMATION TO
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED AS AN EXPRESSION OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT.
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local funds. Therefore, RFA anticipates this bill may result in an undetermined impact to
General Fund revenue and Other Funds revenue due to the increase in fines and fees collections
in court.
This bill also requires UTVs to have proof of liability insurance coverage to be driven on the
road. This may result in an increase in liability insurance premium and increase premium taxes.
However, DOI anticipates the increase in insurance premium taxes will be minimal. Therefore,
this bill may result minimal increase in General Fund and Other Funds revenue due to the
potential increase in insurance premium taxes.
Further, the bill also subjects UTVs to sales tax pursuant to Title 12, Chapter 36. Since UTVs
are currently subject to sales tax, this portion of the bill will have no revenue impact.
Local Expenditure
This bill creates a number of new potential violations related to improper UTV use, all of which
will be handled in magistrate’s court. The bill may result in an increase in the number of court
cases, which may increase the workload of the local court system. The potential increase in
expenses will depend upon the increase in the number of cases. Judicial anticipates that the
potential increase in caseload can be managed within existing appropriations. However, if this
bill results in a significant increase in the workload, then an increase in General Fund
appropriations may be requested.
RFA surveyed all counties and the MASC to determine the fiscal impact on the local courts.
Chesterfield County does not anticipate an expenditure impact due to the bill. Based on
responses from Judicial and Chesterfield County, RFA does not expect that the bill will increase
local expenditures.
Local Revenue
The bill exempts UTV owners and registrants from the payment of property taxes to the county
in which the UTV is registered. Since UTVs are not currently subject to property taxes, the bill
will have no revenue impact on tax revenue.
The bill also requires the driver of a UTV to wear a Type 2 fastened seat belt when the UTV is
being operated on streets and secondary highways. The UTV must be equipped with operable
headlights, brake lights, taillights, and turn signals. For any one of these violations, the driver
may not be fined more than $25 dollars. For multiple violations in a single incident, the driver
may not be fined more than $50. Because violations related to improperly equipped UTVs and
failure to use a seat belt are newly created in this bill, there is no data with which to estimate the
number of violations that will occur. This bill may result in an increase in the fines and fees
collected in court. Court fines and fees are distributed to the General Fund, Other Funds, and
local funds. Therefore, RFA anticipates this bill may result in an undetermined impact to local
revenue due to the increase in fines and fees collections in court. Chesterfield County agreed
with this assessment in their response.