S 0260 General Bill, By H.S. Stilwell and Giese
 A Bill to amend Section 56-1-365, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
 relating to the surrender of driver's licenses, so as to clarify that the
 period of suspension begins immediately upon the surrender of the license, to
 provide that the magistrate or clerk of court be required to notify the
 Highway Department of the date of surrender, and also to provide that the
 Highway Department be required to notify the defendant of the date on which
 the suspension terminates.

   01/20/93  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-16
   01/20/93  Senate Referred to Committee on Transportation SJ-16

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-365, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE SURRENDER OF DRIVER'S LICENSES, SO AS TO CLARIFY THAT THE PERIOD OF SUSPENSION BEGINS IMMEDIATELY UPON THE SURRENDER OF THE LICENSE, TO PROVIDE THAT THE MAGISTRATE OR CLERK OF COURT BE REQUIRED TO NOTIFY THE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT OF THE DATE OF SURRENDER, AND ALSO TO PROVIDE THAT THE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT BE REQUIRED TO NOTIFY THE DEFENDANT OF THE DATE ON WHICH THE SUSPENSION TERMINATES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 56-1-365 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 56-1-365. Any person who forfeits bail posted for, is convicted of, or pleads guilty or nolo contendere in general session, 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 clerk or magistrate shall notify the department of the date of surrender of the license and 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 days after receipt. Any clerk or magistrate who 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 date on which the suspension or revocation will terminate. Except as provided below, if the The defendant shall surrendered surrender his license to the magistrate or clerk immediately after conviction and the effective date of the revocation or suspension is shall be the date of surrender. If the magistrate or clerk wilfully fails to forward the license and ticket to the department within five 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 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.