Senate Amendment 3
S 484 - Session 125 (2023-2024)
South Carolina Waterways Protection Act

Senator Campsen proposes the following amendment (SFGF-484.BC0009S):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 2, by striking Section 50-9-975(B), (C), (D), and (E) and inserting:

(B) Revenues for the fund must be remitted to the State Treasurer and credited to an account that is separate and distinct from the general fund. Balances in the fund must be retained and carried forward annually and interest earned on balances in the fund must be credited to the fund.

(C) The fund must only be used by the department for the following purposes:

(1) the removal of hazardous, abandoned, or unattended vessels, marine debris, or hazards to navigation from the waters of this State;

(2) identification, marking, and lighting of hazards to navigation in accordance with applicable rules governing aids to navigation; and

(3) the development and administration of a grant program to provide funds to applicants, whether public or private, to remove hazardous, abandoned, or unattended vessels, marine debris, or hazards to navigation from the waters of this State.

(D) The department must allocate annual fund revenues for use in the four game zones of this State based upon the number of registered and documented watercraft in each game zone. If the department determines a game zone's proportional allocation is not used or obligated by the end of a fiscal year, it may distribute up to seventy-five percent of the unused and unobligated allocation for use in the other game zones on an as-needed basis. The remaining unused and unobligated allocation must be added to the game zone's proportional allocation for the following fiscal year. For the purpose of this subsection, Game Zone 1 consists of the entirety of Greenville, Oconee, and Pickens Counties and Game Zone 2 consists of no part of Greenville, Oconee, and Pickens Counties.

(E) The South Carolina Office of Resilience, upon request from the department, may assist in the development and administration of a grant program established under this section.

(F) The department must provide an annual report on its website disclosing expenditures from the fund.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 4, by striking Section 12-37-3215(A)(2) and inserting:

(2) The owner of an abandoned, junked, or adrift watercraft or outboard motor seized pursuant to this chapter, in addition to any other penalties imposed in this chapter, must also be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than the cost of performing the removal of the abandoned, junked, or adrift watercraft or outboard motor. The revenue collected from this fine must be remitted to the State Treasurer and deposited into the South Carolina Waterways Protection Fund.