Senate Amendment 1
S 549 - Session 125 (2023-2024)
Auto Dealers

Senator Grooms proposes the following amendment (SR-549.JG0004S):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 3, by striking Section 56-10-240(A) and inserting:

(A) If, during the period for which it is licensed, a motor vehicle is or becomes an uninsured motor vehicle, then the vehicle owner immediately shall obtain insurance on the vehicle or within five days after the effective date of cancellation or expiration of his liability insurance policy within five days after the effective date of cancellation or expiration of his liability insurance policy surrender the motor vehicle license plate and registration certificate issued for the motor vehicle.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 7, by striking Section 56-3-210(I)(2) and inserting:

(2) an additional five dollars which must be credited to the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank's state highway account pursuant to Section 56-3-910.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 7, by striking Section 56-3-210(J)(1)(b) and inserting:

(b) an additional five dollars which must be remitted to the department. The department shall disburse two dollars and fifty cents of each additional five dollars remitted to the State Highway Fund, as established by Section 57-11-167, to be distributed as provided in Section 11-43-167. The remaining two dollars and fifty cents of each additional five dollars remitted shall be disbursed to the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank's state highway account pursuant to Section 56-3-910.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 28, by striking Section 56-19-370(B) and inserting:

(B) (1) The dealer must properly title and, if applicable, register the vehicle within forty-five days after the sale. A dealer who receives in a timely manner a title lien release from a financial institution, titling agent, or another state department of motor vehicles, or its equivalent, and who fails to either properly title or, if applicable, register the vehicle the dealer sold within forty-five days after the sale may be assessed points against his dealer record pursuant to Section 56-37-370.

(2) If the department has reason to believe that the dealer knowingly did not properly title, or if applicable, register the vehicle within forty-five days after the sale, the dealer is guilty of a misdemeanor and must be fined not less than five hundred dollars and imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both, and is further subject to the provisions of Section 56-15-350.

(3) If a title is in suspended status, the department must make the information available through the dealer's contracted electronic vehicle registration and titling provider in a timely manner regarding the reason.

(4) No dealer may be prosecuted for not properly titling or registering a vehicle within forty-five days if the department has placed title in suspended status or if a financial institution has not released the lien in a timely manner.