South Carolina General Assembly
103rd Session, 1979-1980

Bill 3527


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3527
Ratification Number:       479
Act Number                 411
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   South Carolina Consumer Protection
                           Code
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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A411, R479, H3527)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 37-1-109 SO AS TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR THE ADJUSTMENT OF ALL DOLLAR AMOUNTS USED IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA CONSUMER PROTECTION CODE TO BE EFFECTIVE FOR FOUR YEARS ONLY.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Dollar amounts used in Code adjusted

Section 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 37-1-109. (1) From time to time the dollar amounts in this title shall change, as provided in this section, according to and to the extent of changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers: U. S. City Average, All Items, 1967=100, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor, and hereafter referred to as the Index. The Index for December of 1976 is the Reference Base Index.

(2) The designated dollar amounts shall change on July first of each even-numbered year if the percentage of change, calculated to the nearest whole percentage point, between the Index at the end of the preceding year and the Reference Base Index is ten percent or more, but

(a) the portion of the percentage change in the Index in excess of a multiple of ten percent shall be disregarded and the dollar amounts shall change only in multiples of ten percent of the amounts appearing in this title; and

(b) the dollar amounts shall not change if the amounts required by this section are those currently in effect as a result of earlier application of this section.

(3) If the Index is revised, the percentage of change pursuant to this section shall be calculated on the basis of the revised Index. If a revision of the Index changes the Reference Base Index, a revised Reference Base Index shall be determined by multiplying the Reference Base Index then applicable by the rebasing factor furnished by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If the Index is superseded, the Index referred to in this section is the one represented by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as reflecting most accurately changes in the purchasing power of the dollar for consumers.

(4) The Administrator, as defined in Section 37-1-301, shall by regulation announce:

(a) On or before April thirtieth of each year in which dollar amounts are to change, the changes in dollar amounts required by subsection (2); and

(b) Promptly after the changes occur, changes in the Index required by subsection (3) including, if applicable, the numerical equivalent of the Reference Base Index under a revised Reference Base Index and the designation or title of any index superseding the Index.

(5) A person shall not be deemed to have violated this title with respect to a transaction otherwise complying with this title if he relies on dollar amounts either determined according to subsection (2) or appearing in the last regulation of the Administrator announcing the then current dollar amounts."

Delayed repeal

Section 2. Section 37-1-109 of the 1976 Code is repealed four years from the effective date of this act.

Time effective

Section 3. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.