South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

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H. 4801

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. Townsend
Document Path: l:\council\bills\swb\5811cm04.doc
Companion/Similar bill(s): 1004

Introduced in the House on February 19, 2004
Introduced in the Senate on May 6, 2004
Last Amended on June 2, 2004
Currently residing in the House

Summary: Restricted driver's licenses

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   2/19/2004  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-9
   2/19/2004  House   Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works HJ-9
   4/22/2004  House   Committee report: Favorable with amendment Education and 
                        Public Works HJ-20
   4/28/2004  House   Amended HJ-115
   4/28/2004  House   Requests for debate-Rep(s). J Brown, Rutherford, Scott, 
                        Mack, and Hosey HJ-115
   4/28/2004  House   Debate adjourned HJ-144
    5/4/2004  House   Requests for debate removed-Rep(s). J Brown HJ-14
    5/4/2004  House   Read second time HJ-14
    5/5/2004  House   Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-10
    5/6/2004  Senate  Introduced and read first time SJ-5
    5/6/2004  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-5
   5/26/2004  Senate  Recalled from Committee on Judiciary SJ-3
   5/27/2004  Senate  Amended SJ-217
   5/27/2004  Senate  Read second time SJ-217
   5/27/2004  Senate  Ordered to third reading with notice of amendments SJ-217
    6/2/2004  Senate  Amended SJ-65
    6/2/2004  Senate  Read third time and returned to House with amendments 
                        SJ-65
    6/3/2004  House   24 hour point of order HJ-68
    6/3/2004  House   Rule 5.15 not waived (Bill not printed and on member's 
                        desks for 24 hours) HJ-68

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

2/19/2004
4/22/2004
4/28/2004
5/4/2004
5/26/2004
5/27/2004
6/2/2004

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

Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

AS PASSED BY THE SENATE

June 2, 2004

H. 4801

Introduced by Rep. Townsend

S. Printed 6/2/04--S.

Read the first time May 6, 2004.

            

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-748, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PERSONS WHO ARE ISSUED A RESTRICTED DRIVER'S LICENSE UNDER VARIOUS PROVISIONS OF LAW BEING INELIGIBLE TO OBTAIN A SPECIAL RESTRICTED DRIVER'S LICENSE UNDER THESE PROVISIONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THIS LIMITATION ALSO APPLIES TO A PERSON ISSUED A RESTRICTED DRIVER'S LICENSE AFTER HIS LICENSE IS SUSPENDED FOR REFUSING TO SUBMIT TO TESTING TO DETERMINE HIS ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION OR FOR REGISTERING A CERTAIN LEVEL OF ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION; AND TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-1320, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE OF PROVISIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON MAY BE ISSUED ONLY ONE PROVISIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE IN A TEN-YEAR PERIOD.

Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION    1.    Section 56-1-748 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 115 of 1999, is further amended to read:

"Section 56-1-748.    No A person issued a special restricted driver's license under the provisions of Section 56-1-170(B), Section 56-1-320(A), Section 56-1-740(B), Section 56-1-745(C), Section 56-1-746(D), Section 56-5-750(G), Section 56-9-430(B), Section 56-10-260(B), or Section 56-10-270(C) Section 56-5-2951 shall subsequently be is not eligible for issuance of a special restricted driver's license under these provisions."

SECTION    2.    Section 56-1-1320(A) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 79 of 2001, is further amended to read:

"(A)    A person with a South Carolina driver's license, a person who had a South Carolina driver's license at the time of the offense referenced below, or a person exempted from the licensing requirements by Section 56-1-30, who is or has been convicted of a first offense violation of an ordinance of a municipality, or law of this State, that prohibits a person from operating a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, drugs, or narcotics, including Section 56-5-2930 and Section 56-5-2933, and whose license is not presently suspended presently for any other reason, may apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles to obtain a provisional driver's license of a design to be determined by the department to operate a motor vehicle. Only one provisional driver's license may be issued to a person in a ten-year period. The person shall enter an Alcohol and Drug Safety Action Program as provided for in Section 56-1-1330, shall furnish proof of responsibility as provided for in Section 56-1-1350, and shall pay to the department a fee of one hundred dollars for the provisional driver's license. The provisional driver's license is not valid for more than six months from the date of issue shown on the license. The determination of whether or not a provisional driver's license may be issued pursuant to the provisions of this article as well as reviews of cancellations or suspensions under Sections 56-1-370 and 56-1-820 must be made by the director of the department or his designee."

SECTION    3.    A    .    Section 56-1-176 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 2002, is further amended to read:

"Section 56-1-176.    (A)    School attendance is a condition for the issuance or reinstatement of a beginner's permit, a conditional driver's license, and a special restricted driver's license, and a regular driver's license for a person who is less than seventeen years of age. By applying for a beginner's permit, a conditional driver's license, a special restricted driver's license, or a regular driver's license, a person less than seventeen years of age consents to the release of his high school attendance records by the school district to the Department of Motor Vehicles for purposes of this section. The Department of Motor Vehicles may not issue or reinstate a beginner's permit, conditional driver's license, or a special restricted driver's license, or a regular driver's license to a person less than seventeen years of age pursuant to Section 56-1-40, Section 56-1-50, Section 56-1-175, or Section 56-1-180 unless the person:

(1)    has a high school diploma or a certificate of attendance, or a General Education Development Diploma; or

(2)    is enrolled in a public or private school or is home schooled under the provisions contained in Section 59-65-40, 59-65-45, or 59-65-47, or is enrolled in and is making progress toward completion of a program leading to a General Educational Development Diploma and:

(a)    the person has conformed to the attendance laws, regulations, and policies of the school, school district, and the State Board of Education, as applicable; and

(b)    the person is not suspended or expelled from school.

(B)    Documentation of enrollment status must be presented to the Department of Motor Vehicles by the applicant on a form developed in consultation with the State Department of Education, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and individuals to represent the private and home school entities and approved by the department Department of Motor Vehicles. The documentation must indicate whether the student is in compliance with the requirements as provided in subsection (A). The appropriate public or private school official or home school association shall provide the form to the applicant upon request.

(C)    The board of trustees of the school district or its designee, the governing body of a private school, and an official of a home school association shall notify a student and the parent or guardian of the student who is at least fifteen but less than seventeen years of age when the student has accumulated seven unexcused absences. This notification must include information regarding the requirements of this section.

(D)    Whenever a student who is at least fifteen but less than seventeen years of age is chronically truant from school, the appropriate school official shall notify the student's parent or guardian not later than five school days from the date in which the person is considered truant. For the purposes of this section, 'chronically truant' means having more than ten days' unexcused absences during one semester or more than fifteen total days' unexcused absences during a school year. The parent or guardian shall have ten days from the date the notice was sent to petition the appropriate school official for a waiver pursuant to subsection (E). For any student not granted a waiver pursuant to subsection (E), the appropriate school official shall notify the Department of Motor Vehicles, electronically whenever possible, of the truancy. Within five days of receipt of the notice, the Department of Motor Vehicles shall send notice to the licensee's parent or guardian that the beginner's permit, a conditional driver's license, a special restricted driver's license, or a regular driver's license will be suspended under the provisions of this section on the twentieth day following the date the notice was sent.

(E)    A student's parent or guardian may petition for a waiver of the requirements of this section if the student has a personal or family hardship that requires that the student have a driver's license. For purposes of this section, a personal or family hardship means a medical condition of the student or a member of his immediate family that requires that he maintain a driver's license to receive or transport an immediate family member for treatments, or employment requiring the student to maintain a driver's license to support himself or his immediate family. The student's parent or guardian has the burden of demonstrating the need for a waiver. In considering any such petition, the appropriate official shall take into account the recommendations of physicians, teachers, other school officials, guidance counselors, or academic advisors prior to granting a waiver to the requirements of this section.

(F)    A person whose permit or license has been suspended pursuant to this section may not have his permit or license reinstated until that person successfully has complied with the requirements of subsection (A)(2) of this section for a full school semester subsequent to the semester during which the person's permit or license was suspended. If a person has complied with the requirements of subsection (A)(2) for a full semester, he may petition, in writing, for reinstatement of his permit or license to the board of trustees of the school district or its designee, the governing body of the private school, or the home school association. Upon determining that the person is in compliance with this subsection, the board or governing body or association shall notify the Department of Motor Vehicles, electronically whenever possible, and the Department of Motor Vehicles shall reinstate the person's permit or license.

(G)    Pursuant to State Board of Education Regulation, 24 South Carolina Code Annotated Regulation 43-274, a student between the ages of sixteen and seventeen years who has been through the school intervention process, has reached the level of a habitual truant, has been referred to family court and placed on an order to attend school, and continues to accumulate unlawful absences will be deemed a 'chronic' truant. A family court judge having jurisdiction over his case may issue a court order suspending a student's license in accordance with this section.

(H)    At the beginning of each school year, the board of trustees of the school district or its designee, the governing body of a private school, and an official of a home school association must notify students and parents or guardians of the requirements of this section.

(I)    If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective."

B.    This section takes effect on August 1, 2004.

SECTION 4.    Section 56-1-50(F) is amended to read:

"(F)    A person who has never held a form of license evidencing previous driving experience first must be issued a beginner's permit and must hold the permit for at least one hundred eighty days before being eligible for full licensure. A person who is at least eighteen years of age shall be eligible for full licensure after holding a beginner's permit for sixty days."

SECTION 5.        Article 3, Chapter 1, Title 56 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 56-1-749.    (A)    The Department of Motor Vehicles must suspend the driver's license, permit, or nonresident operating privilege of, or deny the issuance of a license or permit to a person under the age of eighteen who purchases or knowingly possesses cigarettes, tobacco, or cigarette paper for thirty days.

(B)    If the person does not request an administrative hearing, he shall have waived his right to have the hearing and his suspension shall continue until the thirty day period has expired.

(C)    Within thirty days of the issuance of the notice of suspension the person may request an administrative hearing and obtain a temporary restricted license. The department must provide a form for this purpose. A one-hundred-dollar fee must be assessed for obtaining a temporary restricted license. Twenty-five dollars of the fee must be retained by the department for maintaining the program. The remaining seventy-five dollars must be placed by the Comptroller General into a special restricted account to be used by the department to defray the expenses of the department. The temporary restricted license allows the person to drive without any restrictive conditions pending the outcome of the administrative hearing provided for in this section or the final decision or disposition of the matter.

(D)    The notice of suspension must advise the person of his right to obtain a temporary restricted driver's license and to request an administrative hearing. The notice of suspension also must advise the person that, if he does not request an administrative hearing within thirty days of the issuance of the notice of suspension, he waives his right to the administrative hearing, and the suspension continues for the periods provided for in subsections (A) and (B).

(E)    An administrative hearing must be held within thirty days after the request for the hearing is received by the department. If the department does not hold the hearing within thirty days, a written order must be issued by the department within thirty days. The order must set forth the reasons why the hearing was not held within thirty days, and a new hearing must be scheduled. If the department does not issue a written order within thirty days or fails within thirty days to notify the defendant of a new hearing date, the person shall have his driver's license, permit, or nonresident operating privilege reinstated. The scope of the hearing must be limited to whether the person:

(1)    was lawfully detained;

(2)    purchased or knowingly possessed cigarettes, tobacco, or cigarette paper; and

(3)    was under the age of eighteen at the time he engaged in the conduct.

A written order must be issued to the person upholding the suspension of the person's license, permit, or nonresident's operating privilege, or denying the issuance of a license or permit within thirty days after the conclusion of the administrative hearing. If the suspension is upheld, the person must receive credit for the number of days his license was suspended before he received a temporary restricted license and requested the administrative hearing.

(F)    An administrative hearing is a contested proceeding under the Administrative Procedures Act, and a person has a right to judicial review pursuant to that act. The filing of a petition for review shall stay the suspension until a final decision is issued.

(G)    After the thirty day period of suspension has elapsed, the minor may have his driver's license reinstated for a fee of ten dollars, and upon reinstatement, the suspension must be expunged from the minor's driving record.

(H)    The suspension of a person's driver's license under this section is not a conviction and shall not be considered a plea of guilty or nolo contendre to any drug or alcohol related offense under the laws of the United States or this State, and shall have no effect on a person's eligibility for a Palmetto Fellows scholarship, a LIFE scholarship, or a HOPE scholarship."

SECTION    6.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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