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Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking SECTION 2 and inserting:

/SECTION 2. This act takes effect October 1, 1996./

Amend title to conform.

Rep. CATO explained the amendment.

The amendment was then adopted.

The Bill, as amended, was read the second time and ordered to third reading.

The SPEAKER granted Rep. SCOTT a leave of absence for the remainder of the day.

The following Bill was taken up.

S. 642 -- Senator Thomas: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 56-9-60, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE MOTOR VEHICLE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT, SELF-INSURERS, AND DETERMINATION OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, SO AS TO DELETE CERTAIN PROVISIONS, AND PROVIDE, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THAT A COPY OF THE APPLICANT'S LATEST FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARED BY A CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT LICENSED TO DO BUSINESS IN SOUTH CAROLINA INDICATING THAT THE APPLICANT HAS A POSITIVE NET WORTH MUST BE SUBMITTED FOR A DETERMINATION OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND THAT AN APPLICANT MAY BE REQUIRED TO DEPOSIT IN A SEGREGATED SELF-INSURED CLAIMS ACCOUNT THE SUM OF THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR EACH VEHICLE TO BE COVERED BY THE SELF-INSURER'S CERTIFICATE.

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking SECTION 1 and inserting:

/SECTION 1. Section 56-9-60 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 492 of 1992, is further amended to read:

"Section 56-9-60. A person or company who has more than twenty-five motor vehicles registered in his name may qualify as a self-insurer provided that the department is satisfied that the person or company is able to pay any judgments obtained against the person or company. Upon not less than five ten days' notice and a hearing pursuant to the notice, the department may cancel self-insurer status when the requirements for the status no longer are met. The person or company must submit the following information to the department for it to determine financial responsibility:

(1) a copy of the applicant's latest, certified, audited financial statement prepared by a certified public accountant licensed to do business in South Carolina, indicating that the applicant has a positive net worth; and

(2) a current list of all vehicles registered in applicant's name; and

(3) the applicant's procedural guidelines for processing claims; and

(4) the applicant must have a net worth of at least twenty million dollars or the department may require the applicant to deposit in a segregated self-insured claims account the sum of three thousand dollars for each vehicle to be covered by the self-insurer's certificate. Eighty percent must be cash and the remaining twenty percent may be satisfied by the "quick sale" appraised value of real estate located in the State, as certified by a licensed appraiser. The three thousand dollar a vehicle amount may not decrease more than thirty percent in any given certificate year."/

Amend title to conform.

Rep. LAW explained the amendment.

The amendment was then adopted.

The Bill, as amended, was read the second time and ordered to third reading.

The following Bill and Joint Resolution were taken up, read the second time, and ordered to a third reading:

S. 501 -- Senator Gregory: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 6-1-110 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A COUNTY OR MUNICIPALITY MAY NOT IMPOSE A MORATORIUM ON A CONSTRUCTION PROJECT FOR WHICH A PERMIT HAS BEEN GRANTED WITHOUT GIVING A TWO-WEEK NOTICE IN A NEWSPAPER OF GENERAL CIRCULATION IN THE COUNTY IN WHICH THE PROJECT IS LOCATED AND REQUIRE AT LEAST TWO READINGS WHICH ARE A WEEK APART BEFORE A MORATORIUM MAY BE IMPOSED.

Rep. WALDROP explained the Bill.

H. 4973 -- Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO APPROVE REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF PILOTAGE FOR THE PORT OF CHARLESTON, RELATING TO CONTROL OF VESSELS DURING DOCKING AND UNDOCKING OPERATIONS; INCREASE IN REGISTRATION FEES, DESIGNATED AS REGULATION DOCUMENT NUMBER 1910, PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 23, TITLE 1 OF THE 1976 CODE.

Rep. YOUNG-BRICKELL explained the Joint Resolution.

The following Bill was taken up.

H. 4657 -- Reps. Haskins, Easterday, Rice, Knotts, Limehouse, Simrill, Cooper, Meacham, Herdklotz, Byrd, Loftis, Stille, Chamblee, Waldrop, Kelley, Vaughn, Law, Allison, Davenport, Wright and Robinson: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 16-3-1535 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SHALL PROVIDE CRIME VICTIMS WITH A COPY OF THE CRIME INCIDENT REPORT RELATING TO THEIR CASE AND CERTAIN OTHER INFORMATION; TO ADD SECTION 16-3-1537 SO AS TO REQUIRE A CRIMINAL SENTENCING JUDGE TO APPLY AMOUNTS FORFEITED TO THE COURT BY A PERSON PURSUANT TO SECTION 17-15-90 TOWARD THE PAYMENT OF RESTITUTION

The Judiciary Committee proposed the following Amendment No. 1 (Doc Name P:\amend\PT\2472CM.96).

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:

/SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 16-3-1535. (A) General law enforcement agencies shall provide crime victims, free of charge, a copy of the crime incident report relating to their case and a document which describes the statutory rights the state grants crime victims in criminal cases that lists the local crime victim assistance providers. The statutory rights contained in this document shall include all rights contained in Section 16-3-1530.

(B) The convicted offender must be charged a ten dollar fee for the provision of a copy of the crime incident report to the victim. The Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services is responsible for collecting and distributing this money to the appropriate law enforcement agency."

SECTION 2. Section 17-25-322 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 140 of 1993, is amended to read:

(B) In determining the manner, method, or amount of restitution to be ordered, the court may take into consideration the following:

(1) the financial resources of the defendant and the victim and the burden that the manner or method of restitution will impose upon the victim or the defendant;

(2) the ability of the defendant to pay restitution on an installment basis or on other conditions to be fixed by the court;

(3) the anticipated rehabilitative effect on the defendant regarding the manner of restitution or the method of payment;

(4) any burden or hardship upon the victim as a direct or indirect result of the defendant's criminal acts;

(5) the mental, physical, and financial well being of the victim.

(C) At the restitution hearings, the defendant, the victim, the Attorney General, the solicitor, or other interested party may object to the imposition, amount or distribution of restitution, or the manner or method of them, and the court shall allow all of these objections to be heard and preserved as a matter of record. The court shall enter its order upon the record stating its findings and the underlying facts and circumstances of them. The restitution order shall specify a monthly payment schedule that will result in full payment for both restitution and collection fees by the end of eighty percent of the offender's supervision period. In the absence of a monthly payment schedule, the Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services shall impose a payment schedule of equal monthly payments that will result in full restitution and collections fee being paid by the end of eighty percent of an offender's supervision period. The department, through its agents, must initiate legal process to bring every probationer, whose restitution is six months in arrears, back to court, regardless of wilful failure to pay. The judge shall make an order addressing the probationer's failure to pay.

(E) An offender may not be granted a pardon until the restitution and collection fees required by the restitution order have been paid in full."

SECTION 3. Section 17-25-323 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 140 of 1993, is amended to read:

"Section 17-25-323. (A) The trial court retains jurisdiction of the case for purpose of modifying the manner in which court-ordered payments are made until paid in full, or until the defendant's active sentence and probation or parole, if any, expires.

(B) When a defendant has been placed on probation by the court or parole by the Board of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, and ordered to make restitution, and the defendant is in default in the payment of them or of any installment or of any criminal fines, surcharges, assessments, costs, and fees ordered, the court, before the defendant completes his period of probation or parole, on motion of the victim or the victim's legal representative, the Attorney General, the solicitor, or a probation and parole agent, or upon its own motion, must hold a hearing to require the defendant to show cause why his default should not be treated as a civil judgment and a judgment lien attached. The court must enter (1) judgment in favor of the State for the unpaid balance, if any, of any fines, costs, fees, surcharges, or assessments imposed; and (2) judgment in favor of each person entitled to restitution for the unpaid balance if any restitution ordered plus reasonable attorney's fees and cost ordered by the court.

(C) The judgments may be enforced as any a civil judgment.

(D) A judgment issued pursuant to this section has all the force and effect of a final judgment and, as such, may be enforced by the judgment creditor in the same manner as any other civil judgment; with enforcement to take place in court of common pleas.

(E) The clerk of court must enter any a judgment issued pursuant to this section in the civil judgment records of the court. No A judgment issued pursuant to this section is not effective until entry is made in the civil judgment records of the court as required under this subsection.

(F) Upon full satisfaction of any a judgment entered under this section, the judgment creditor must record such the satisfaction on the margin of

SECTION 4. Section 17-25-326 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 140 of 1993, is amended to read:

"Section 17-25-326. Any court order issued pursuant to the provisions of this article may be altered, modified, or rescinded upon the filing of a petition by the defendant, Attorney General, solicitor, or the victim for good and sufficient cause shown by a preponderance of the evidence."

SECTION 5. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 24-21-490. (A) The Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services shall have the responsibility for collecting and distributing restitution on a monthly basis from all offenders under probationary and intensive probationary supervision.

(B) Notwithstanding Section 14-17-725, the Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services shall assess a collection fee of twenty percent of each restitution program and deposit this collection fee into a separate account. The monies in this account must not be used until specifically authorized by law. The department shall maintain individual restitution accounts which reflect each transaction and the amount paid, the collection fee, and the unpaid balance of the account. A summary of these accounts must be reported to the Governor's Office, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and the Chairman of the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee every six months following the enactment of this section."

SECTION 6. Section 16-3-1110 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended by adding at the end:

"(12)(a) `Restitution' means payment for all injuries, specific losses, and expenses sustained by a crime victim resulting from an offender's criminal conduct. It includes, but is not limited to:

(i) medical and psychological counseling expenses;

(ii) specific damages and economic losses;

(iii) funeral expenses and related costs;

(iv) vehicle impoundment fees;

(v) child care costs; and

(vi) transportation related to a victim's participation in the criminal justice process.

Restitution does not include awards for pain and suffering, wrongful death, emotional distress, or loss of consortium.

Restitution orders do not limit any civil claims a crime victim may file.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the applicable statute of limitations for a crime victim, who has a cause of action against an

SECTION 7. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 17-25-324. (A) Secondary victims and third-party payees, excluding the offender's insurer, may receive restitution as determined by the court. The Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services shall ensure that a primary victim shall receive his portion of a restitution order before any of the offender's payments are credited to a secondary victim or a third party payee, or both.

(B) The Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services shall report to the Governor's Office, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and the Chairman of the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee by the first day of the 1997 Legislative Session detailed recommendations for collection and distribution of restitution and issues relating to indigent offenders and use of civil remedies.

(C) The Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services must maintain a minimum of twelve restitution center beds, or may contract at other appropriate residential facilities, for every two thousand five hundred offenders supervised by the department."

SECTION 8. This act takes effect on January 1, 1997, and applies to all persons sentenced on or after April 1, 1997, except that the provisions contained in Section 17-25-324(C) take effect on January 1, 1997./

Amend title to conform.

Rep. D. SMITH explained the amendment.

Rep. TUCKER moved to adjourn debate upon the Bill until Thursday, May 2, which was adopted.

Further proceedings were interrupted by expiration of time on the uncontested Calendar.

Rep. HARRISON moved that the House recur to the morning hour, which was agreed to.

The following was introduced:

H. 4987 -- Reps. Wells, Allison, Davenport, Lanford, Lee, Littlejohn, McCraw, Phillips, D. Smith, Vaughn, Walker and Wilder: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO EXPRESS THE DEEPEST SYMPATHY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO THE FAMILY AND MANY FRIENDS OF ONE OF SOUTH CAROLINA'S MOST DISTINGUISHED BUSINESS AND CIVIC LEADERS, MR. WALTER S. MONTGOMERY, SR., OF SPARTANBURG, UPON HIS DEATH.

The Concurrent Resolution was agreed to and ordered sent to the Senate.

The following was introduced:

H. 4988 -- Reps. Koon, Gamble, Knotts, Riser, Spearman, Stuart and Wright: A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION THANKING KEN SHULL, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF LEXINGTON MEDICAL CENTER SINCE 1988, FOR HIS OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP AND MANY CONTRIBUTIONS TO EXCELLENCE IN THE HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM IN THE MIDLANDS.

The Concurrent Resolution was agreed to and ordered sent to the Senate.

The following Bill was introduced, read the first time, and referred to appropriate committee.

H. 4989 -- Reps. Fleming, Delleney, Klauber, Cave and Harrison: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-280, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO MANDATORY SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF DRIVERS' LICENSES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT NOTICE OF AN OUT-OF-STATE CONVICTION REQUIRING A PERSON'S SOUTH CAROLINA DRIVER'S LICENSE TO BE SUSPENDED OR REVOKED MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY WITHIN TWO YEARS OF THE DATE OF THE CONVICTION, AND TO MAKE THE ABOVE PROVISIONS RETROACTIVE TO JANUARY 1, 1996.

Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

The following Bill was taken up.

H. 4712 -- Reps. Seithel, Harrison, Mason, L. Whipper, J. Harris, Sandifer, S. Whipper, Neal, Bailey, Thomas, Whatley, Kinon, Lloyd, Herdklotz, Young-Brickell and J. Young: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 47-1-40, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO ILL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS, SO AS TO CHANGE CERTAIN OF THESE OFFENSES TO FELONIES AND TO INCREASE PENALTIES.

Rep. WITHERSPOON moved to commit the Bill to the Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs.

Rep. HARRISON moved to table the motion, which was agreed to by a division vote of 31 to 26.

Rep. SHARPE moved to adjourn debate upon the Bill until Monday, June 10.

Rep. HARRISON moved to table the motion, which was agreed to by a division vote of 45 to 25.

Reps. KOON, FLEMING, WITHERSPOON, G. BROWN, COTTY, LAW, KNOTTS, RISER and J. HINES objected to the Bill.

The following Bill was taken up.

H. 4959 -- Rep. Martin: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 16-3-655, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CRIMINAL SEXUAL CONDUCT WITH MINORS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON IS GUILTY OF CRIMINAL SEXUAL CONDUCT IN THE SECOND DEGREE IF HE KNOWINGLY ENGAGES IN SEXUAL BATTERY WITH CERTAIN VICTIMS AND REVISE THE AGE OF CERTAIN PERPETRATORS OF THIS CRIME.

The Judiciary Committee proposed the following Amendment No. 1 (Doc Name P:\amend\DKA\3704CM.96), which was adopted.

Amend the bill, as and if amended, Section 16-3-655(3), SECTION 1, line 25, by deleting /knowingly/.

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