PERFECTING AMENDMENT
Senator HUTTO proposed the following amendment (JUD3050.010):
Amend the committee report, as and if amended, beginning on page [3050-3], line 14, and ending on page [3050-4], line 31, by striking SECTION 2, and inserting therein:
/ SECTION 2. Sections 23-23-150(A) and (B) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 215 of 2018, are amended to read:
"(A) For purposes of this section:
(1) 'Academy' means the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy.
(2) 'Council' means the Law Enforcement Training Council.
(3) 'Misconduct' means:
(a) a conviction, plea of guilty, plea of no contest or admission of guilt to a felony, a crime punishable by a sentence of more than one year, regardless of the sentence actually imposed, or a crime of moral turpitude, any of which were committed in this State or any other jurisdiction;
(b) the unlawful use of a controlled substance;
(c) the repeated use of excessive force in dealing with the public or prisoners;
(d) dangerous or unsafe practices involving firearms, weapons, or vehicles which indicate either a wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property;
(e) the physical or psychological abuse of members of the public or prisoners;
(f) the wilful failure to intervene when observing another officer physically abusing a person, whether or not the person is in custody, while in the performance of his official duties, if the officer knew the person's rights were being violated, the officer had an opportunity to intervene, and the officer chose not to do so;
(g) the wilful and knowing failure to promptly report another officer, while in the performance of his official duties, abusing a person whether or not the person is in custody;
(h)the misrepresentation of employment-related information;
(g)(i)wilfully making false, misleading, incomplete, deceitful, or incorrect statements to a law enforcement officer, a law enforcement agency, or a representative of the agency, except when required by departmental policy or by the laws of this State;
(h)(j)wilfully making false, misleading, incomplete, deceitful, or incorrect statements to any court of competent jurisdiction, or their staff members, whether under oath or not;
(i)(k) wilfully providing false, misleading, incomplete, deceitful, or incorrect information on a document, record, report, or form, except when required by departmental policy or by the laws of this State;
(j)(l)the falsification of any application for certification and training based upon which the officer was admitted for training; or
(k)(m) wilfully providing false information to the Criminal Justice Academy or the Law Enforcement Training Council.
(B) (1)The sheriff or the chief executive officer of a law enforcement agency or department within the State must report to the academy the occurrence of any act or multiple acts of misconduct by a law enforcement officer, who is currently or was last employed by his agency, he reasonably believes to be misconduct which could result in the withdrawal of the certification of the law enforcement officer who is currently or was last employed by his agency. The report shall be made within fifteen days of the final agency or department action resulting from the internal investigation conducted by the agency or department, and shall be on a form prescribed by the council.
(2) Reported incidences of misconduct shall be prosecuted by the reporting agency before the contested case hearing. The reporting agency shall maintain prosecutorial discretion up to the time of the contested case hearing. If the agency declines to prosecute the allegation or allegations of misconduct, the agency shall provide a written report to the council stating that the case is not being prosecuted.
(3) A wilful failure to report information related to acts of misconduct shall subject the violator to a civil penalty as provided by the council. The council may impose civil fines, in its discretion, not to exceed five hundred dollars per day for each day an agency is out of compliance with this section." /