South Carolina General Assembly
103rd Session, 1979-1980

Bill 589

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               589
Ratification Number:       535
Act Number                 453
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   Relating to use or display of
                           counterfeit, imitation or fictitious motor
                           vehicle inspection certificates
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A453, R535, S589)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 56-5-5390, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO USE OR DISPLAY OF COUNTERFEIT, IMITATION OR FICTITIOUS MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION CERTIFICATES, SO AS TO PROHIBIT DISTRIBUTION OR POSSESSION OF SUCH CERTIFICATES, AND POSSESSION OF CERTIFICATES NOT PROPERLY ISSUED; AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS; AND TO AMEND SECTION 66-5-5440, OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO PENALTIES FOR VIOLATING STATUTES RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE PENALTIES PROVIDED BY THE SECTION SHALL APPLY UNLESS OTHERWISE PROVIDED.

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

Penalties

Section 1. Section 56-5-5390 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 56-5-5390. (a) No person shall make, or knowingly use or knowingly give or sell to any other person, any imitation or counterfeit of an official certificate of inspection.

(b) No person shall display, or cause or permit to be displayed upon any vehicle, or give or sell to any other person, any certificate of inspection knowing it to be fictitious or issued for another vehicle or issued without a complete inspection complying with the regulations established by the Department having been made.

(c) No person shall knowingly possess any imitation or counterfeit of an official certificate of inspection nor shall any person knowingly possess any official certificate of inspection which was not properly issued by the Department to such person or an official vehicle inspection station by which such person is employed, or which was not properly issued to such person by an official vehicle inspection station.

(d) Any person violating provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished as follows:

(1) By a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than thirty days, for the first offense;

(2) By a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or imprisonment for not less than ten days nor more than thirty days, for the second offense;

(3) By a fine of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than two thousand dollars or imprisonment for not less than thirty days nor more than six months, or both, for the third offense;

(4) By a fine of not less than two thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars or imprisonment for not less than ninety days nor more than two years, or both, for the fourth and any subsequent offenses.

For the purposes of this section, the mishandling of each certificate of inspection constitutes a separate offense. Such penalties are in addition to the administrative penalties which may otherwise be imposed by the Department."

Further

Section 2. Section 56-5-5440 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 56-5-5440. Any person violating the provisions of this article shall be punished in the same manner as provided for in Section 5~5-6190, unless otherwise provided."

Time effective

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