Senate Finance Committee Amendment
S 208 - Session 125 (2023-2024)
Motor Vehicle License and Registration Fees for New SC Residents

The Committee on Finance proposes the following amendment (SR-208.KM0002S):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 1, by striking Section 4-10-1120(A) and inserting:

(A) Upon receipt of the ordinance or the petition from county council, the county election commission shall conduct a referendum on the question of imposing an additional driver's license and motor vehicle licensing and registration fees. A referendum for this purpose must be held at the next general election for representatives. Two weeks before the referendum, the election commission shall publish in a newspaper of general circulation the question that is to appear on the ballot. This notice is in lieu of any other notice otherwise required by law.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 1, by striking Section 4-10-1120(C) and inserting:

(C) Upon receipt of the returns of the referendum, the county council, by resolution, shall declare the results thereof. The county council shall transmit a copy of the resolution to the executive director of the Department of Motor Vehicles within seven days of its adoption. The results of the referendum may not be questioned except by a suit or proceeding instituted within thirty days from the date the resolution is adopted.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 1, Section 4-10-1120, by striking the MACROBUTTON NoMacro <> undesignated paragraph and inserting:

"Must an additional two hundred fifty-dollar fee be collected on driver's licenses issued to those people establishing a residence in _______ County from another state or country, the proceeds of which shall be expended in the following manner?

Amend the bill further, SECTION 2, by striking Section 56-1-20(A) and inserting:

(A) No person, except those expressly exempted in this article shall drive any motor vehicle upon a highway in this State unless such person has a valid motor vehicle driver's license issued to him under the provisions of this article. No person shall receive a motor vehicle driver's license unless and until he surrenders to the Department of Motor Vehicles all valid operator's licenses in his possession issued to him by any other state within forty-five days of becoming a resident of this state, unless specifically exempted by law. All surrendered licenses shall be returned by the Department to the issuing department, agency or political subdivision. No person shall be permitted to have more than one valid motor vehicle driver's license or operator's license at any time.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 2, by striking Section 56-1-20(C) and inserting:

(C) A person being issued a license pursuant to this article who surrenders a valid operator's license in his possession issued to him by any other state as required in subsection (A) and who is establishing residence in a county in which a successful referendum has been held pursuant to Section 4-10-1120, must pay a one-time fee of two hundred fifty dollars in addition to all other applicable fees and charges before he may be issued a motor vehicle driver's license or operator's license in this State. The department may not issue a driver's license pursuant to this subsection until the person provides proof that any associated property tax and fees for motor vehicles and driver's licenses have been satisfied.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 3, by striking Section 56-3-210(C)(2) and inserting:

(2) When the owner of a foreign vehicle being moved to this State is licensed and registered pursuant to item (1) in a county in which a successful referendum has been held pursuant to 4-10-1120, the owner must pay a one-time fee of two hundred and fifty dollars in addition to any other fees or costs assessed for licensing and registration. The department may not issue a license plate pursuant to this subsection until the person provides proof that any associated property tax and fees for motor vehicles and driver's licenses have been satisfied.

Amend the bill further, by adding appropriately numbered SECTIONS to read:

SECTION X. After the first county adopts a resolution pursuant to this act, the fees required pursuant to this act shall not begin to be collected for six months. The provisions contained in this section only apply to the first county in which a successful referendum pursuant to this act is held.

SECTION X. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.