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Current Status Bill Number:View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.625 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19990323 Primary Sponsor:Elliott All Sponsors:Elliott Drafted Document Number:l:\s-res\de\008year.whb.doc Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Banking and Insurance Committee 02 SBI Subject:Year 2000 Citizens' Protection Act, Consumer Affairs, Businesses, Courts, Computers, Telecommunications History Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved ______ ________ ______________________________________ _______ ____________ Senate 19990323 Introduced, read first time, 02 SBI referred to Committee Versions of This Bill
TO AMEND TITLE 37, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION, BY ADDING CHAPTER 17, ENTITLED THE "YEAR 2000 CITIZENS' PROTECTION ACT," SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT INDIVIDUALS MAY ASSERT AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE TO CLAIMS BASED ON BREACHES CAUSED BY YEAR 2000 FAILURE, AS DEFINED IN THIS ACT, AND TO PROVIDE FOR EXPLANATIONS OF DEFAULTS CAUSED BY YEAR 2000 FAILURE IN CREDIT REPORTS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 37 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 37-17-10. (A) The General Assembly hereby finds that society is heavily reliant upon computers, technology, and the rapid electronic transfer and exchange of accurate information and data. The General Assembly further finds that society relies heavily upon computer technology for most aspects of daily living and business, including but not limited to, financial transactions. The General Assembly further finds that the rapid growth of technology has often outpaced the capabilities of the electronic equipment, software, and hardware that our society utilizes for the exchange and transfer of data and other information. The General Assembly finds that recently developed computer technology is the operational basis for much of our current hardware and software, and yet it may not recognize the year 2000 data change. The General Assembly finds that the result may be that in the year 2000, many computer-based systems may fail or cause incorrect data or other information to be processed. This potentially worldwide deficiency in computers is often referred to as the `Y2K Bug' and may cause significant problems in the transfer and exchange of data and information in the year 2000 and beyond.
(B) Accordingly, the General Assembly hereby determines that in order to protect businesses and the citizens of the State of South Carolina acting in good faith, it is appropriate to limit their liability against adverse financial ramifications resulting from year 2000 failures associated with electronic computing devices.
Section 37-17-20. For purposes of this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) `Electronic computing device' means any computer hardware or software, computer chip, embedded chip, process control equipment, or other information system that:
(a) is used to capture, store, manipulate, or process data; or
(b) controls, monitors, or assists in the operation of physical apparatus that is not primarily used as a computer but that relies on automation or digital technology to function, including but not limited to vehicles, vessels, buildings, structures, facilities, elevators, medical equipment, traffic signals, and factory machinery.
(2)(a) `Year 2000 failure' means, with respect to an electronic computing device, any failure, including an electrical or telecommunications failure, that prevents such electronic computing device from accurately interpreting, producing, computing, generating, accounting for, processing, calculating, comparing, or sequencing date or time data;
(i) from, into or between:
(A) the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; or
(B) the years 1999 and 2000; or
(ii) with regard to leap year calculations.
(b) `Year 2000 failure' includes any inability of a business to perform an intended or requested function because of the system failure of an outside party, including, but not limited to, the failure of a governmental body to provide data, transportation delays, energy failures, or communication failures.
Section 37-17-30. (A) An individual has an affirmative defense to any claim or action brought against the individual if the individual establishes that the individual's default, failure to pay, breach, omission, or other violation that is the basis of the claim against him or her was caused, in whole or in part, by a year 2000 failure associated with an electronic computing device, and, if it were not for the year 2000 failure, the individual would have been able to satisfy the obligations that are the basis of the claim.
(B) If an individual establishes an affirmative defense as set forth in subsection (A) of this section, then the person or entity making the claim against the individual may not reassert the claim against which the affirmative defense was asserted for a period of thirty days from the date on which the court dismissed the case as a result of the affirmative defense. Any statute of limitations applicable to the claim is tolled for forty-five days upon the dismissal of the case under this section.
(C) The dismissal of an action as the result of the affirmative defense under this section shall not impair, extinguish, discharge, satisfy, or otherwise affect the underlying obligation that is the basis of the claim against which the affirmative defense was asserted, except that, the inability of a party to bring the claim based upon the obligation is delayed as set forth in subsection (B) of this section.
(D) An individual who has established an affirmative defense as set forth in subsection (A) of this section may dispute directly with a credit reporting agency operating in this State any item of information in the affirmative defense. The credit reporting agency must comply with the requirements of the federal `Fair Credit Reporting Act' in responding to the dispute. If requested by the individual pursuant to this subsection, the credit reporting agency must include a statement of no more than one hundred words, at no charge to the individual, in the individual's consumer file if either:
(1) the statement is an explanation regarding an item of information that the consumer reporting agency denies is inaccurate; or
(2) the statement concerns the content of the individual's consumer file.
(E) This section does not affect those transactions upon which default has occurred prior to any disruption of financial or data transfer operations attributable to the year 2000 data change.
(F) This section applies only to causes of action accruing on or after January 1, 2000."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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