S*0555(Rat #0112, Act #0078 of 2003)  General Bill, By Martin, Anderson, 
McConnell, Waldrep, Alexander, Leventis, Ravenel and Thomas
 AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 14-7-1630, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
 1976, RELATING TO JURISDICTION OF THE STATE GRAND JURY, SO AS TO ADD CRIMES
 INVOLVING ANY VIOLATION OF CHAPTER 1, TITLE 35 OF THE UNIFORM SECURITIES ACT,
 OR ANY CRIME RELATED TO SECURITIES FRAUD OR A VIOLATION OF THE SECURITIES
 LAWS; TO AMEND SECTION 35-1-220, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO RETENTION OF FEE
 REVENUES GENERATED BY THE UNIFORM SECURITIES ACT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE
 ATTORNEY GENERAL MAY RETAIN THE FIRST ONE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND
 DOLLARS OF FEES COLLECTED AND TO PROVIDE, FURTHER, FOR THE TRANSFER OF THE
 NEXT TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT
 DIVISION FOR THE STATE GRAND JURY; TO AMEND SECTION 35-1-430, AS AMENDED,
 RELATING TO REGISTRATIONS PURSUANT TO THE UNIFORM SECURITIES ACT, SO AS TO
 INCLUDE INVESTMENT ADVISERS AND FEDERALLY-COVERED ADVISERS; TO AMEND SECTION
 35-1-480, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO FEES, SO AS TO MODIFY THE AMOUNTS OF THE
 FILING FEES BY CATEGORY; TO AMEND SECTION 35-1-1100, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO
 FILINGS FOR FEDERALLY-COVERED SECURITIES, SO AS TO INCREASE THE FEE BY
 FORTY-SIX DOLLARS AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CHANGES; TO AMEND SECTION 35-1-1530,
 AS AMENDED, RELATING TO LIMITATIONS OF ACTIONS, SO AS TO REQUIRE THAT IN CASES
 INVOLVING DECEPTION TO INVESTORS PURSUANT TO SECTION 35-1-1490(2) IN WHICH THE
 CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 2003, THE LIMITATIONS PERIOD IS
 EXTENDED TO THREE YEARS AFTER DISCOVERY OF THE UNTRUE STATEMENT OR OMISSION,
 OR AFTER THE DISCOVERY SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE BY REASONABLE DILIGENCE; AND TO
 AUTHORIZE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO COLLECT AND TRANSFER FUNDS TO THE STATE
 GRAND JURY AS PROVIDED UNTIL DIFFERENT FEES ARE ESTABLISHED BY RULE OR ORDER.
 - ratified title

   04/03/03  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-3
   04/03/03  Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-3
   04/09/03  Senate Committee report: Favorable Judiciary SJ-24
   04/10/03  Senate Amended SJ-18
   04/10/03  Senate Read second time SJ-18
   04/10/03  Senate Unanimous consent for third reading on next
                     legislative day SJ-18
   04/11/03  Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-73
   04/11/03         Scrivener's error corrected
   04/16/03  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-8
   04/16/03  House  Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-9
   05/08/03  House  Committee report: Favorable with amendment
                     Judiciary HJ-59
   05/13/03  House  Amended HJ-17
   05/13/03  House  Read second time HJ-18
   05/14/03  House  Read third time and returned to Senate with
                     amendments HJ-7
   05/20/03  Senate House amendment amended SJ-18
   05/20/03  Senate Returned to House with amendments SJ-18
   05/21/03  House  Non-concurrence in Senate amendment
   05/21/03         Scrivener's error corrected
   05/22/03  Senate Senate insists upon amendment and conference
                     committee appointed Martin, Ritchie, Hutto SJ-16
   05/22/03  House  Conference committee appointed Reps. Harrison,
                     Coleman and GM Smith HJ-3
   05/28/03  Senate Free conference powers granted SJ-24
   05/28/03  Senate Free conference committee appointed Martin,
                     Ritchie, Hutto SJ-24
   05/28/03  Senate Free conference report received and adopted SJ-24
   05/28/03  House  Free conference powers rejected HJ-69
   05/28/03  House  Free conference powers granted HJ-146
   05/28/03  House  Free conference committee appointed Reps.
                     Harrison, Coleman and G.M. Smith HJ-146
   05/28/03  House  Free conference report adopted HJ-149
   05/28/03  House  Ordered enrolled for ratification HJ-156
   05/29/03         Ratified R 112
   06/04/03         Signed By Governor
   07/07/03         Copies available
   07/07/03         Effective date 06/04/03
   07/23/03         Act No. 78

(A78, R112, S555)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 14-7-1630, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO JURISDICTION OF THE STATE GRAND JURY, SO AS TO ADD CRIMES INVOLVING ANY VIOLATION OF CHAPTER 1, TITLE 35 OF THE UNIFORM SECURITIES ACT, OR ANY CRIME RELATED TO SECURITIES FRAUD OR A VIOLATION OF THE SECURITIES LAWS; TO AMEND SECTION 35-1-220, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO RETENTION OF FEE REVENUES GENERATED BY THE UNIFORM SECURITIES ACT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAY RETAIN THE FIRST ONE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS OF FEES COLLECTED AND TO PROVIDE, FURTHER, FOR THE TRANSFER OF THE NEXT TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION FOR THE STATE GRAND JURY; TO AMEND SECTION 35-1-430, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO REGISTRATIONS PURSUANT TO THE UNIFORM SECURITIES ACT, SO AS TO INCLUDE INVESTMENT ADVISERS AND FEDERALLY-COVERED ADVISERS; TO AMEND SECTION 35-1-480, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO FEES, SO AS TO MODIFY THE AMOUNTS OF THE FILING FEES BY CATEGORY; TO AMEND SECTION 35-1-1100, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO FILINGS FOR FEDERALLY-COVERED SECURITIES, SO AS TO INCREASE THE FEE BY FORTY-SIX DOLLARS AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CHANGES; TO AMEND SECTION 35-1-1530, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO LIMITATIONS OF ACTIONS, SO AS TO REQUIRE THAT IN CASES INVOLVING DECEPTION TO INVESTORS PURSUANT TO SECTION 35-1-1490(2) IN WHICH THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES ON OR AFTER JULY 1, 2003, THE LIMITATIONS PERIOD IS EXTENDED TO THREE YEARS AFTER DISCOVERY OF THE UNTRUE STATEMENT OR OMISSION, OR AFTER THE DISCOVERY SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE BY REASONABLE DILIGENCE; AND TO AUTHORIZE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO COLLECT AND TRANSFER FUNDS TO THE STATE GRAND JURY AS PROVIDED UNTIL DIFFERENT FEES ARE ESTABLISHED BY RULE OR ORDER.

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

Jurisdiction of State Grand Jury

SECTION    1.    Section 14-7-1630 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 339 of 2002, is further amended to read:

"Section 14-7-1630.    (A)    The jurisdiction of a state grand jury impaneled under this article extends throughout the State. The subject matter jurisdiction of a state grand jury in all cases is limited to the following offenses:

(1)    crimes involving narcotics, dangerous drugs, or controlled substances, or any crime arising out of or in connection with a crime involving narcotics, dangerous drugs, or controlled substances including, but not limited to, money laundering as specified in Section 44-53-475, obstruction of justice, perjury or subornation of perjury, and crimes involving obscenity or any attempt, aiding, abetting, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit any of the aforementioned crimes if the crimes are of a multi-county nature or have transpired or are transpiring or have significance in more than one county of this State;

(2)    any crime, statutory, common law or other, involving public corruption as defined in Section 14-7-1615, any crime, statutory, common law or other, arising out of or in connection with a crime involving public corruption as defined in Section 14-7-1615, and any attempt, aiding, abetting, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit any crime, statutory, common law or other, involving public corruption as defined in Section 14-7-1615;

(3)    crimes involving the election laws including, but not limited to, those named offenses as specified in Title 7, or any common law crimes involving the election laws where not superseded, or any crime arising out of or in connection with the election laws, or any attempt, aiding, abetting, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit a crime involving the election laws;

(4)    crimes involving computer crimes, pursuant to Chapter 16, Title 16, or any conspiracy or solicitation to commit these crimes;

(5)    crimes involving terrorism, or any conspiracy or solicitation to commit these crimes. Terrorism includes activities that:

(a)    involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of this State;

(b)    appear to be intended to:

(i)    intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

(ii)    influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or

(iii)    affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and

(c)    occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of this State; and

(6)    crimes involving any violation of Chapter 1, Title 35 of the Uniform Securities Act, or any crime related to securities fraud or a violation of the securities laws.

(B)    Whenever the Attorney General and the Chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division consider it necessary and normal investigative or prosecutorial procedures are not adequate, the Attorney General may petition in writing to the Chief Administrative Judge of the judicial circuit in which he seeks to impanel a state grand jury for an order impaneling a state grand jury. This judge is referred to in this article as the impaneling judge. The petition must allege the type of offenses to be inquired into and, in the case of those offenses contained in subsection (A)(1), must allege that these offenses may be of a multi-county nature or have transpired or are transpiring or have significance in more than one county of the State. The petition in all instances must specify that the public interest is served by the impanelment.

(C)    The impaneling judge, after due consideration of the petition, may order the impanelment of a state grand jury in accordance with the petition for a term of twelve calendar months. Upon petition by the Attorney General, the then chief administrative judge of the judicial circuit in which a state grand jury was impaneled, by order, may extend the term of that state grand jury for a period of six months but the term of that state grand jury, including any extension thereof, shall not exceed two years.

(D)    The chief administrative judge of the circuit wherein a state grand jury is sitting shall preside over that state grand jury during his tenure as chief administrative judge. The successor chief administrative judge shall assume all duties and responsibilities with regard to any state grand jury impaneled before his term, including, but not limited to, presiding over the state grand jury and ruling on petitions to extend its term. This judge is referred to in this article as the presiding judge.

(E)    The presiding judge may discharge a state grand jury prior to the end of its original term or any extension thereof, upon a determination that its business has been completed or upon the request of the Attorney General.

(F)    If, at any time within the original term of any state grand jury or any extension thereof, the presiding judge determines that the state grand jury is not conducting investigative activity within its jurisdiction or proper investigative activity, the presiding judge may limit the investigation so that the investigation conforms with the jurisdiction of the state grand jury and existing law or he may discharge the state grand jury. An order issued pursuant to this subsection or under subsection (E) shall not become effective less than ten days after the date on which it is issued and actual notice given to the Attorney General and the foreman of the state grand jury, and may be appealed by the Attorney General to the Supreme Court. If an appeal from the order is made, the state grand jury, except as is otherwise ordered by the Supreme Court, shall continue to exercise its powers pending disposition of the appeal."

Retention of fee revenues by Attorney General

SECTION    2.    Section 35-1-220 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 419 of 1998, is further amended to read:

"Section 35-1-220.    (A)    The Attorney General may retain the first one million five hundred thousand dollars from fee revenues collected pursuant to this chapter to be used for the operations of the Securities Division. The Attorney General is authorized to transfer to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division two hundred thousand dollars after retaining the first one million five hundred thousand dollars collected pursuant to this chapter to be retained, expended, and carried forward for the provision of investigators for the State Grand Jury. The funds transferred to the State Law Enforcement Division must be used only for purposes of the State Grand Jury, and may not be transferred to any other program or used for any other purpose.

(B)    The Attorney General may retain the first two hundred fifty thousand dollars received by the Division of Securities in a fiscal year in settlement of litigation enforcement action and reimbursements of expenses arising from violations under this chapter to offset investigative, prosecutorial, and administrative costs of enforcing this chapter."

Duration of registrations; renewals

SECTION    3.    Section 35-1-430 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 134 of 1997, is further amended to read:

"Section 35-1-430.    Every broker-dealer and investment adviser registration, and every federally-covered adviser notice filing, expires at midnight on the last day of the calendar year in which it became effective unless renewed. Unless renewed prior to expiration, every broker-dealer agent and investment adviser representative registration expires at the same time the registration or notice filing of the associated broker-dealer, investment adviser, or federally-covered adviser would expire if not renewed."

Fees

SECTION    4.    Section 35-1-480 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 134 of 1997, is further amended to read:

"Section 35-1-480.    (A)    Every applicant for initial or renewal registration as a broker-dealer, broker-dealer agent, investment adviser, or investment adviser representative shall pass one or more examinations, pay a registration fee, and meet other requirements as required by the securities commissioner.

(B)    Except with respect to federally-covered advisers whose only clients are those described in Section 35-1-420(1)(a), a federally-covered adviser shall file with the commissioner, prior to acting as a federally-covered adviser in this State, such documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission or such other notice filing document, as the commissioner may by rule or otherwise require, together with the notice fee and consent to service of process as the commissioner, by rule or otherwise, requires. The notice filing provisions under this subsection expire as provided in Section 35-1-430.

(C)    The following filing fees remain in effect for all initial, renewal, and notice filings described in subsections (A) and (B) of this section unless and until the securities commissioner promulgates a rule or order establishing different fees:

(1)    broker-dealer: three hundred ten dollars;

(2)    agent: one hundred ten dollars;

(3)    investment adviser and federally-covered adviser: two hundred ten dollars;

(4)    investment adviser representative: fifty-five dollars.

(D)    When an application is denied or withdrawn, the filing fee must not be refunded."

Filings for federally-covered securities

SECTION    5.    Section 35-1-1100 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 134 of 1997, is further amended to read:

"Section 35-1-1100.    (a)    The securities commissioner, by rule or order, may require the filing of any or all of the following documents with respect to a federally-covered security under Section 18(b)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933:

(1)    Prior to the initial offer of the federally-covered security in this State, all documents that are part of a current federal registration statement filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933 or a notice form adopted by the securities commissioner in lieu thereof, together with a consent to service of process signed by the issuer and a notice filing fee of five hundred forty-six dollars.

(2)    After the initial offer of the federally-covered security in this State, all documents that are part of an amendment to a current federal registration statement filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, or a notice form adopted by the securities commissioner in lieu thereof which must be filed concurrently with the securities commissioner.

(3)    All notice filings for federally-covered securities are effective upon receipt by the commission, unless another date is requested by the issuer. These filings are effective for twelve months. If securities are to be offered beyond this twelve-month period, the issuer must file an annual notice filing consisting of any documents that the securities commissioner, by rule or otherwise, requires and a fee of five hundred forty-six dollars. The renewal notice filing is effective upon the expiration of the prior filing period.

(4)    Amendments to a notice filing are effective upon receipt by the securities commissioner. Termination of a notice filing is effective upon receipt by the securities commissioner of notice of the termination.

(b)    With respect to any security that is a federally-covered security under Section 18(b)(4)(D) of the Securities Act of 1933, the securities commissioner, by rule or order, may require the issuer to file a notice on SEC Form D and a consent to service of process signed by the issuer no later than fifteen days after the first sale of the federally-covered security in this State, together with a fee of three hundred dollars.

(c)    The securities commissioner, by rule or order, may require the filing of any document filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933 with respect to a federally-covered security under Section 18(b)(3) or (4) of the Securities Act of 1933, together with a filing fee of twenty-five dollars.

(d)    The securities commissioner may issue a stop order suspending the offer and sale of a federally-covered security, except a federally-covered security under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933, if he finds that: (1) the order is in the public interest, and (2) there is a failure to comply with any condition established under this section.

(e)    The securities commissioner, by rule or order, may modify, change, or waive any or all of the provisions of this section."

Limitation of actions

SECTION    6.    Section 35-1-1530 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 134 of 1997, is further amended to read:

"Section 35-1-1530.    No person may sue under Section 35-1-1490 or 35-1-1500 more than three years after the contract of sale, except that in cases involving a violation of Section 35-1-1490(2), where the cause of action accrues on or after July 1, 2003, the limitations period is extended to three years after discovery of the untrue statement or omission or after the discovery should have been made by exercise of reasonable diligence. No person may sue under either section if the buyer received:

(a)    a written offer, before suit and at a time when he owned the security, to refund the consideration paid together with interest at six percent per year from the date of payment, less the amount of any income received on the security, and he failed to accept the offer within thirty days of its receipt; or

(b)    the offer before suit and at a time when he did not own the security, unless he rejected the offer in writing within thirty days of its receipt."

Authorization to collect fees

SECTION    7.    The Office of the Attorney General is hereby authorized to collect the following securities fees which shall remain in effect for all initial, renewal, and notice filings described in subsections (A) and (B) of Section 35-1-480 unless and until the securities commissioner promulgates a rule or order establishing different fees:

(1)    Broker-dealer: three hundred ten dollars annually;

(2)    Broker-dealer agent: one hundred ten dollars annually;

(3)    Investment advisers and federally-covered advisers: two hundred ten dollars annually;

(4)    Investment adviser representatives: fifty-five dollars annually;

(5)    Federally-covered securities (Mutual Funds): five hundred forty-six dollars annually.

The Office of the Attorney General is hereby authorized to collect, retain, expend, and carry forward one million five hundred thousand dollars from fee revenues collected pursuant to Section 35-1-480 to be used for the operations of the Securities Division. The Attorney General is authorized to transfer to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division two hundred thousand dollars after retaining the first one million five hundred thousand dollars collected from securities fees to be retained, expended, and carried forward for the provision of investigators for the State Grand Jury. The funds transferred to the State Law Enforcement Division must be used only for purposes of the State Grand Jury, and must not be transferred to any other program or used for any other purpose.

Time effective

SECTION    8.    This act takes effect upon approval of the Governor.

Ratified the 29th day of May, 2003.

Approved the 4th day of June, 2003.