H 4337 General Bill, By R. Smith
 A Bill to amend Section 56-3-2320, as amended, Code of Laws of South Carolina,
 1976, relating to dealer license plates, so as to reduce the number of retail
 sales required before dealer plates may be issued and to provide that persons
 issued dealer plates before July 1, 1993, are entitled to same number of
 plates issued as of June 30, 1993.

   12/01/93  House  Prefiled
   12/01/93  House  Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works
   01/11/94  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-23
   01/11/94  House  Referred to Committee on Education and Public
                     Works HJ-23

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 56-3-2320, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DEALER LICENSE PLATES, SO AS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF RETAIL SALES REQUIRED BEFORE DEALER PLATES MAY BE ISSUED AND TO PROVIDE THAT PERSONS ISSUED DEALER PLATES BEFORE JULY 1, 1993, ARE ENTITLED TO SAME NUMBER OF PLATES ISSUED AS OF JUNE 30, 1993.

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

SECTION 1. Section 56-3-2320 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 164 of 1993, is further amended to read:

"Section 56-3-2320. (A) Upon application being made and the required fee being paid to the department, the department may issue dealer license plates to a licensed motor vehicle dealer. The license plates, notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, may be used exclusively on motor vehicles owned by, or assigned to the dealer when operated on the highways of this State by the dealer, its corporate officers, its employees, or a prospective purchaser of the motor vehicle. The use by a prospective purchaser is limited to seven days and the dealer must provide the prospective purchaser with a dated demonstration certificate. The certificate must be approved by the department. Dealer plates may not be used to operate wreckers or service vehicles in use by the dealer, nor to operate vehicles owned by the dealer that are leased or rented by the public. No dealer plates may be issued by the department unless the dealer furnishes proof in a form acceptable to the department that he has a retail business license as required by Chapter 36 of Title 12 and has made at least fifty twenty sales of motor vehicles in the twelve months preceding his application for a dealer plate. The sales requirement may be waived by the department if the dealer has been licensed for less than one year. However, a dealer that sells less than fifty twenty but more than ten vehicles in the twelve months preceding his application for a dealer plate is eligible to obtain one dealer license plate. The cost of this plate is three hundred dollars. Twenty dollars of this fee must be remitted to the department and the balance of this fee must be remitted to the treasury of the county in which the dealer is licensed.

A dealer may be issued plates at a rate of one for every twenty vehicles sold during the preceding year. For good cause shown, the department in its discretion may issue extra plates. If the dealer has been licensed less than one year, the department shall issue a number of license plates based on an estimated number of sales for the coming year. The department may increase or decrease the number of plates issued based on actual sales made.

The cost of each dealer plate issued is twenty dollars.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, a dealer franchised exclusively for the sale of heavy duty trucks is eligible to obtain dealer license plates for exclusive use on the heavy duty trucks regardless of the number of trucks sold by him during the preceding required number of months. These dealer license plates for trucks must be noted with a distinct and separate identification and used only on heavy duty trucks.

(B) For purposes of this section, the testing or demonstration of a truck as defined in Section 56-3-20(10) includes permitting a prospective buyer to use the truck for carrying merchandise or cargo for a period not to exceed three days upon the dealer providing the buyer with a special demonstration certificate for this purpose. The form and content of the demonstration certificate must be as prescribed by regulation of the department which also shall provide certificates to dealers upon their request. The original certificate must be kept by the buyer in the cab of the truck during the three-day demonstration period, and the dealer shall retain a copy of the certificate and also shall mail a copy of the certificate to the department within twenty-four hours after it is issued to the buyer.

(C) The department shall issue to persons who were issued dealer plates before July 1, 1993, a number of dealer plates equal to the number issued to that person as of June 30, 1993, upon payment of the fees required pursuant to this section."

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