Reference is to Printer's Date 3/29/17-H.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, as contained in SECTION 7, Page 3209-6 through 3209-9, by striking SECTION 7 in its entirety and inserting:
/ SECTION 7. Article 11, Chapter 21, Title 24 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 24-21-1010.
(A)(1) A person who is applying for an
order of pardon pursuant to this article may request that the
South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons recommend the
expungement of records for a single offense.
(2)
The General Assembly intends for this
section to have retroactive effect, and a person who has
received an order of pardon for an offense pursuant to this
article prior to the effective date of this section may apply to
the South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons to request that
the board recommend the expungement of records for a single
offense.
(B) This section does
not apply to a person who is applying for an order of pardon or
has received an order of pardon for a felony offense defined as
a violent crime. For purposes of this section violent crime is
defined as any crime listed in Section 16-1-60 but does not
include any drug offenses listed in Chapter 53, Title 44.
(C) The applicant shall
pay a recommendation of expungement application fee of two
hundred dollars, which must be retained by the South Carolina
Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services and used to
defray the costs associated with the expungement process. The
fee is nonrefundable, regardless of whether the offense is later
determined to be ineligible for expungement. If the applicant
is applying for an order of pardon and a recommendation of
expungement at the same time, the applicant shall pay both the
order of pardon application fee and the recommendation of
expungement application fee.
(D) The South Carolina
Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services shall
implement policies and procedures consistent with this section
to ensure that the recommendation of expungement process is
properly conducted. These policies and procedures must include,
but are not limited to:
(1)
assisting the applicant in completing the recommendation
of expungement application;
(2)
collecting from the applicant and distributing to the
appropriate agencies separate certified checks or money orders
for all charges relating to the expungement process;
(3)
notifying the appropriate victim of the application
pursuant to Section 16-3-1560, and the appropriate prosecuting
or law enforcement agency;
(4)
coordinating with the South Carolina Law Enforcement
Division to confirm that the offense is statutorily appropriate
for expungement;
(5)
obtaining and verifying the presence of all necessary
signatures; and
(6)
providing copies of the completed recommendation of
expungement to the applicant.
(E) The South Carolina
Law Enforcement Division shall verify and document that the
offense sought to be expunged is appropriate for expungement.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division shall receive a
twenty-five dollar certified check or money order from the South
Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services on
behalf of the applicant made payable to the South Carolina Law
Enforcement Division. The South Carolina Law Enforcement
Division shall forward the necessary documentation back to the
South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon
Services. Neither the South Carolina Department of Probation,
Parole and Pardon Services nor the South Carolina Law
Enforcement Division shall allow the applicant to take
possession of the application during the recommendation of
expungement application process.
(F)(1) The appropriate
prosecuting or law enforcement agency may file an objection to
the recommendation of expungement with the South Carolina Board
of Paroles and Pardons at any time during the application
process. The prosecuting or law enforcement agency's reason for
objecting must be that the:
(a)
applicant has other charges pending in any jurisdiction;
(b)
prosecuting or law enforcement agency believes that the
evidence in the case needs to be preserved; or
(c)
applicant's charges were reduced as a part of a plea
agreement.
(2)
The prosecuting or law enforcement agency must notify the
applicant of the objection in writing at the address listed on
the application.
(G) The appropriate
victim may file an objection to the recommendation of
expungement with the Board of Paroles and Pardon within one year
of receiving notice of the application.
(H) If an objection is
filed by the prosecuting agency, law enforcement agency, or the
victim, the objection must be heard by the South Carolina Board
of Paroles and Pardons, meeting as a full board, and taken into
consideration when the board is making a determination as to
whether to recommend expungement of the applicant's records.
(I) If no objection is
filed by the prosecuting agency, law enforcement agency, or the
victim, an administrative hearing officer, appointed by the
Director of the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole
and Pardon Services, may review the application and submit to
the board written findings of fact and recommendations which
must be taken into consideration when the board is making a
determination as to whether to recommend expungement of the
applicant's records.
(J) If the South
Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons, meeting as a full board,
recommends expungement of the applicant's records, three years
have passed since the completion of all terms and conditions of
the person's sentence, including payment of restitution, and the
person has had no other convictions other than minor traffic
offenses during the three-year period, the person may apply to
the appropriate solicitors office for expungement pursuant to
Article 9, Chapter 22, Title 17.
(K)(1) No person may
have the person's records expunged pursuant to this section more
than once. A person may have the person's record expunged even
though the conviction occurred before the effective date of this
section but only applies to prospective applications for
expungement. A person seeking a pardon of a number of offenses
for crimes that were committed at times so closely connected in
point of time to the eligible offense may be considered as one
offense and shall be treated as a first offense conviction.
(2)
After the expungement, the South Carolina Department of
Probation, Parole and Pardon Services and the South Carolina Law
Enforcement Division shall keep a nonpublic record of the
offense and the order of expungement to ensure that no person
takes advantage of the rights of this section more than once.
The nonpublic record is not subject to release pursuant to
Section 34-11-95, the Freedom of Information Act, or any other
provision of law except to those authorized law or court
officials who need to know the information in order to prevent
the rights afforded by this section from being taken advantage
of more than once." /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.