S*992 Session 112 (1997-1998)
S*0992(Rat #0419, Act #0407 of 1998) General Bill, By Passailaigue
Similar(H 4748)
A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION
57-5-1495 SO AS TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS RELATED TO THE COLLECTION OF TOLLS, TO
PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN PERSONS ARE LIABLE FOR FAILURE TO PAY TOLLS, TO PROVIDE
FOR PENALTIES FOR THE FAILURE TO PAY TOLLS, TO PROVIDE FOR ENFORCEMENT,
NOTIFICATION, AND ADJUDICATION PROCEDURES FOR TOLL VIOLATIONS, TO PROVIDE FOR
ELECTRONIC COLLECTION OF TOLLS AND RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND
OTHER RECORDED IMAGES USED DURING TOLL COLLECTION, AND TO PROVIDE THAT SCHOOL
BUSES TRANSPORTING SCHOOL CHILDREN ARE EXEMPT FROM THE PAYMENT OF
TOLLS.-AMENDED TITLE
02/04/98 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-14
02/04/98 Senate Referred to Committee on Transportation SJ-14
03/24/98 Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Transportation SJ-13
03/25/98 Senate Amended SJ-14
03/25/98 Senate Read second time SJ-14
03/25/98 Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of
amendments SJ-14
03/31/98 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-18
04/01/98 House Introduced and read first time HJ-18
04/01/98 House Referred to Committee on Education and Public
Works HJ-18
04/14/98 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Education and Public Works HJ-6
04/16/98 House Amended HJ-22
04/16/98 House Read second time HJ-23
04/21/98 House Read third time and returned to Senate with
amendments HJ-46
05/20/98 Senate House amendment amended SJ-30
05/20/98 Senate Returned to House with amendments SJ-30
05/27/98 House Non-concurrence in Senate amendment HJ-54
05/28/98 Senate Recede from Senate amendments SJ-19
05/28/98 Senate Request return from House SJ-19
05/28/98 House Returned HJ-125
05/28/98 Senate Concurred in House amendment and enrolled SJ-19
06/04/98 Ratified R 419
06/09/98 Signed By Governor
06/29/98 Effective date 06/09/98
06/29/98 Copies available
06/30/98 Act No. 407
(A407, R419, S992)
AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 57-5-1495 SO AS TO
PROVIDE DEFINITIONS RELATED TO THE COLLECTION OF
TOLLS, TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN PERSONS ARE LIABLE
FOR FAILURE TO PAY TOLLS, TO PROVIDE FOR PENALTIES
FOR THE FAILURE TO PAY TOLLS, TO PROVIDE FOR
ENFORCEMENT, NOTIFICATION, AND ADJUDICATION
PROCEDURES FOR TOLL VIOLATIONS, TO PROVIDE FOR
ELECTRONIC COLLECTION OF TOLLS AND RESTRICTIONS ON
THE USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND OTHER RECORDED IMAGES
USED DURING TOLL COLLECTION, AND TO PROVIDE THAT
SCHOOL BUSES TRANSPORTING SCHOOL CHILDREN ARE
EXEMPT FROM THE PAYMENT OF TOLLS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Tolls
SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 57-5-1495. (A) As used in this section:
(1) 'Electronic toll collection system' means a system of collecting
tolls or charges which is capable of charging an account holder the
appropriate toll or charge by transmission of information from an
electronic device on a motor vehicle to the toll lane, which information is
used to charge the account the appropriate toll or charge.
(2) 'Lessor' means any person, corporation, firm, partnership,
agency, association, or organization renting or leasing vehicles to a lessee
under a rental agreement, lease, or otherwise wherein the said lessee has
the exclusive use of the vehicle for any period of time.
(3) 'Lessee' means any person, corporation, firm, partnership,
agency, association, or organization that rents, leases, or contracts for the
use of one or more vehicles and has exclusive use of the vehicles for any
period of time.
(4) 'Owner' means a person or an entity who, at the time of a toll
violation and with respect to the vehicle involved in the violation, is the
registrant or co-registrant of the vehicle with the division of motor
vehicles of this State or another state, territory, district, province, nation,
or jurisdiction.
(5) 'Photo-monitoring system' means a vehicle sensor installed to
work in conjunction with a toll collection facility which automatically
produces one or more photographs, one or more microphotographs, a
videotape, or other recorded images of a vehicle at the time it is used or
operated in violation of toll collection regulations.
(6) 'Toll violation' means the passage of a vehicle through a toll
collection point without payment of the required toll.
(7) 'Vehicle' means a device in, upon, or by which a person or
property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except
devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
(B) Notwithstanding another provision of law, when a vehicle is
driven through a turnpike facility without payment of the required toll, the
owner and operator of the vehicle is jointly and severally liable to the
Department of Transportation to pay the required toll, administrative fees,
and civil penalty as provided in this section. The department or its
authorized agent may enforce collection of the required toll as provided
for in this section.
(C) A certificate, sworn to or affirmed by an agent of the department,
or a facsimile of it, that a toll violation has occurred, based upon
inspection of photographs, microphotographs, videotape, or other
recorded images produced by a photo-monitoring system, is prima facie
evidence of the violation and is admissible in any proceeding charging a
toll violation pursuant to this section. A photograph, microphotograph,
videotape, or other recorded image evidencing a violation must be
available for inspection by the party charged and is admissible into
evidence in a proceeding to adjudicate liability for a violation.
(D) The department or its authorized agent may assess and collect
administrative fees of:
(1) not more than ten dollars for the first toll violation within a
period of one year;
(2) not more than twenty-five dollars for each subsequent toll
violation within a period of one year.
(E) Upon failure to pay the required toll and administrative fees to the
department within thirty days of the notice, the owner or operator may be
cited for failure to pay a toll pursuant to this subsection and, upon an
adjudication of liability, is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed fifty
dollars for each violation as contained in subsection (F). An owner or
operator who has been convicted of a violation of Section 57-5-1490 is
not liable for the penalty imposed by this subsection.
(F) If a magistrate or municipal judge determines that the person or
entity charged with liability under this section is liable, the magistrate or
municipal judge shall collect the unpaid tolls and administrative fee and
forward them to the department or its authorized agent. The magistrate
or municipal judge also may impose a civil penalty of up to fifty dollars
for each violation, plus court costs and attorney's fees. The civil penalty
must be distributed in the same manner as other fines and penalties
collected by the magistrate. Notwithstanding another provision of law:
(1) adjudication of liability pursuant to this section must be made
by the magistrate's court of the county in which the toll facility is located
or the municipal court of the city in which the toll facility is located; and
(2) an imposition of liability pursuant to this section must be based
upon a preponderance of evidence submitted and is not a conviction as an
operator pursuant to Section 57-5-1490.
(G) The department or its authorized agent shall send:
(1) a 'First Notice to Pay Toll' to the owner or operator of a vehicle
which, on one occasion in any twelve-month period, is identified as
having been involved in a toll violation. The first notice must require
payment to the department of the required toll, plus an administrative fee
as provided for in subsection (D), within thirty days of the mailing of the
notice;
(2) a 'Second Notice to Pay Toll' to the owner or operator of a
vehicle which is identified as having been involved in a second toll
violation in a twelve-month period, or who has failed to respond to a 'First
Notice to Pay Toll' within the required time period. The second notice
must require payment to the department of the required tolls, plus an
administrative fee as provided for in subsection (D) for each violation
within thirty days of the mailing of the notice;
(3) a 'Failure to Pay a Toll' citation to the owner or operator of a
vehicle which is identified as having been involved in a third toll violation
in a twelve-month period, or who has failed to respond to the second
notice within the required time period. The citation requires payment to
the department of the unpaid tolls, plus an administrative fee of not more
than twenty-five dollars for each violation, within thirty days, or the
recipient's appearance in magistrate's court of the county in which the
violation occurred or the municipal court of the city in which the violation
has occurred to contest the citation. The citation is a traffic citation within
the meaning of Chapter 25, Title 56; and
(4) notwithstanding another provision of law, the notices and
citation required by subsection (G) by first-class mail to the owner or
operator of the vehicle identified as being involved in the toll violation.
If a vehicle is registered in two or more names, the notices or citation
must be mailed to the first name listed on the registration records.
Notwithstanding another provision of law, personal delivery of the notices
and citation is not required. A manual or automatic record of the mailing
of the notices or citation prepared in the ordinary course of business is
prima facie evidence of the mailing of the notices or citation;
(5) the notices and citation required by this subsection must contain
the following information:
(a) the name and address of the person or entity alleged to be
liable for a failure to pay a toll pursuant to this section;
(b) the registration number of the vehicle involved in the toll
violation;
(c) the location where the toll violation took place;
(d) the date and time of the toll violation;
(e) the identification number of the photo-monitoring system
which recorded the violation or other document locator number;
(f) information advising of the manner and time in which
liability may be contested; and
(g) warning advising that failure to contest liability in the manner
and time provided in this section is an admission of liability.
(H) If a vehicle owner receives a notice or citation pursuant to this
section for a period during which the vehicle involved in the toll violation
was:
(1) reported to a law enforcement division as having been stolen, a
valid defense to an allegation of liability for a failure to pay a toll is that
the vehicle had been reported to a law enforcement division as stolen
before the time the violation occurred and had not been recovered by the
time of the violation. If an owner receives a notice or citation pursuant to
this section for a violation which occurred during a time period in which
the vehicle was stolen, but which had not been reported to a law
enforcement division as having been stolen, a valid defense to an
allegation of liability for a toll violation pursuant to this section is that the
vehicle was reported as stolen within two hours after the discovery of the
theft by the owner. For purposes of asserting the defense provided by this
subitem, a certified copy of the police report on the stolen vehicle, sent by
first-class mail to the department, its agent, or the magistrate's court or the
municipal court having jurisdiction of the citation within thirty days after
receipt of the notices or citation, is sufficient;
(2) leased to another person or entity, the lessor is not liable for the
violation if the lessor sends to the department or to the court having
jurisdiction over the citation a copy of the rental, lease, or another contract
document covering the vehicle on the date of the violation, with the name
and address of the lessee clearly legible, within thirty days after receiving
the notices or citation. Failure to send the information within the
thirty-day period renders the lessor liable for the unpaid tolls and any
administrative fees or penalties assessed pursuant to this section. If the
lessor complies with the provisions of this subitem, the lessee of the
vehicle on the date of the violation is subject to liability for the failure to
pay the toll if the department or its agent mails a notice of liability to the
lessee within thirty days after receipt of a copy of the rental, lease, or
other contract document.
(I) If a person or entity receives a notice or citation pursuant to this
section, it is a valid defense to liability that the person or entity that
receives the notice was not the owner of the vehicle at the time of the toll
violation.
(J) If an owner who pays the required tolls, fees, or penalties, or all of
them pursuant to this section was not the operator of the vehicle at the
time of the violation, the owner may maintain an action for
indemnification against the operator.
(K) An owner of a vehicle is not liable for a penalty imposed pursuant
to this section if the operator of the vehicle has been convicted of a
violation of Section 57-5-1490 for the same incident.
(L) On turnpike facilities where electronic toll collection systems are
utilized:
(1) a person who wants to make payment of tolls electronically
must apply to the department or its authorized agent to become an account
holder. The department or its authorized agent, in its discretion, may
deny the application of a person. A person whose application is accepted
must execute an account holder's agreement. The terms of the account
holder's agreement must be established by the department;
(2) the department shall ensure that adequate and timely notice is
given to all electronic toll collection system account holders to inform
them when their accounts are delinquent. The owner of a vehicle who is
an account holder under the electronic toll collection system is not liable
for a failure to pay a toll pursuant to the provisions of this section unless
the department or its authorized agent has first sent a notice of
delinquency to the account holder and the account holder was delinquent
at the time of the violation;
(3) the department shall not sell, distribute, or make available the
names and addresses of electronic toll collection system account holders,
without the account holder's consent, to any entity that uses the
information for commercial purposes. However, this restriction does not
preclude the exchange of this information between entities with
jurisdiction over or operating a toll highway bridge or tunnel;
(4) information or data collected by the department or its authorized
agent for the purpose of establishing and monitoring electronic toll
collection accounts is not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act;
(5) notwithstanding another provision of law, all information, data,
photographs, microphotographs, videotape, or other recorded images
prepared pursuant to this section must be for the exclusive use of the
department or its authorized agent in the discharge of its duties under this
section and must not be open to the public, subject to the disclosure under
the Freedom of Information Act, nor used in a court in an action or a
proceeding pending unless the action or proceeding relates to the
imposition of or indemnification for liability pursuant to this section.
(M) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, school buses
transporting school children for a school event, shall be exempt from the
payment of any tolls.
Time effective
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Approved the 9th day of June, 1998. |