South Carolina General Assembly
117th Session, 2007-2008

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H. 3083

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Littlejohn, M.A. Pitts, Haskins and Mahaffey
Document Path: l:\council\bills\swb\5041cm07.doc

Introduced in the House on January 9, 2007
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Cell phones

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  12/13/2006  House   Prefiled
  12/13/2006  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary
    1/9/2007  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-51
    1/9/2007  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-51

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/13/2006

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

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 56-1-55 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR A PERSON UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE TO OPERATE A MOTOR VEHICLE WHILE USING A CELLULAR TELEPHONE OR ANOTHER WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE, AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS PROVISION.

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

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

"Section 56-1-55.    (A)    It is unlawful for a person under eighteen years of age to operate a motor vehicle while using a cellular telephone or another wireless communications device when the vehicle is in motion.

(B)    This section does not apply if the cellular telephone or other wireless communications device is equipped with a hands free device.

(C)    A violation of the section is not negligence per se or contributory negligence, and is not admissible as evidence in a civil action.

(D)    A vehicle, driver, or occupant in a vehicle must not be searched, nor may consent to search be requested by a law enforcement officer, solely because of a violation of this section.

(E)    A law enforcement officer must not stop a driver for a violation of this section. A law enforcement officer may only issue a citation for this violation in conjunction with a lawful stop for another violation.

(F)    A person who violates subsection (A) of this provision is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction for a:

(1)    first offense, must have his driver's license suspended for not more than thirty days;

(2)    second, offense must have his driver's license suspended for not more than six months; and

(3)    third, offense must have his driver's license suspended for not more than one year."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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