H 3456 Session 109 (1991-1992)
H 3456 General Bill, By I.K. Rudnick
A Bill to amend Section 56-1-365, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
relating to the procedure for the surrender of a driver's license upon the
conviction for offenses which require as part of the punishment to be imposed
the revocation or suspension of the driver's license, so as to extend the time
within which a magistrate or clerk of court has to forward the driver's
license and related material to the Department of Highways and Public
Transportation and to provide that the penalty provisions to which a
magistrate or clerk of court is subject to for failure to forward the driver's
license and related material within the required time only apply to
intentional as well as wilful violations.
02/07/91 House Introduced and read first time HJ-4
02/07/91 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-5
A BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-365, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE PROCEDURE FOR THE
SURRENDER OF A DRIVER'S LICENSE UPON CONVICTION FOR
OFFENSES WHICH REQUIRE AS PART OF THE PUNISHMENT
TO BE IMPOSED THE REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF THE
DRIVER'S LICENSE, SO AS TO EXTEND THE TIME WITHIN
WHICH A MAGISTRATE OR CLERK OF COURT HAS TO
FORWARD THE DRIVER'S LICENSE AND RELATED MATERIAL
TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS AND PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE PENALTY
PROVISIONS TO WHICH A MAGISTRATE OR CLERK OF COURT
IS SUBJECT TO FOR FAILURE TO FORWARD THE DRIVER'S
LICENSE AND RELATED MATERIAL WITHIN THE REQUIRED
TIME ONLY APPLY TO INTENTIONAL AS WELL AS WILFUL
VIOLATIONS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 56-1-365 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act
532 of 1988, is amended to read:
"Section 56-1-365. Any A person who
forfeits bail posted for, is convicted of, or pleads guilty or nolo
contendere in general session sessions, municipal, or
magistrate's court to an offense which as part of the punishment to be
imposed requires that his driver's license be revoked or suspended shall
surrender immediately or cause to be surrendered his driver's license to
the clerk of court or magistrate upon the verdict or plea. The defendant
must be notified at the time of arrest of his obligation to bring, and
surrender his license, if convicted, to the court or magistrate at the time
of his trial, and if he fails to produce his license after conviction, he may
be fined in an amount not to exceed two hundred dollars. If the
defendant fails subsequently to surrender his license to the clerk or
magistrate immediately after conviction, he must be fined not less than
fifty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars.
The department may collect from the clerk of court or magistrate the
driver's license and ticket immediately after receipt. Along with the
driver's license, the clerks and magistrates shall give the department's
agents tickets, arrest warrants, and other documents or copies of them,
as necessary for the department to process the revocation or suspension
of the licenses. If the department does not collect the license and ticket
immediately, the magistrate or clerk shall forward the license, ticket, and
other documentation to the department within five ten
days after receipt. Any A clerk or magistrate who
intentionally and wilfully fails or neglects to forward
the driver's license and ticket as required is liable to indictment and,
upon conviction, must be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars.
The department shall notify the defendant of the suspension or
revocation. Except as provided below, if the defendant surrendered his
license to the magistrate or clerk immediately after conviction the
effective date of the revocation or suspension is the date of surrender.
If the magistrate or clerk intentionally and wilfully fails to
forward the license and ticket to the department within five
ten days, the suspension or revocation does not commence until
the department receives them. If the defendant is already under
suspension for a previous offense at the time of his conviction or plea,
the period of suspension for the subsequent offense runs consecutively
and does not commence until the expiration of the suspension or
revocation for the prior offense.
If the defendant fails to surrender his license, the suspension or
revocation operates as otherwise provided by law.
If the defendant surrenders his license, upon conviction, and
subsequently files a notice of appeal, the appeal shall act
acts as a supersedeas as provided in Section 56-1-430. Upon
payment of a ten-dollar fee and presentment by the defendant of a
certified or clocked-in copy of the notice of appeal, the department shall
issue him a certificate on a form prescribed and furnished by the
department which entitles him to operate a motor vehicle for a period
of sixty days after the verdict or plea. The certificate must be kept
in the defendant's possession while operating a motor vehicle during the
sixty-day period, and failure to have it in his possession is punishable in
the same manner as failure to have a driver's license in possession while
operating a motor vehicle."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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