S 0963 General Bill, By Lander
 A Bill to amend Section 22-5-910. Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
 relating to magistrate's powers and duties in criminal matters, so as to
 provide for expungement of criminal records of first offense convictions
 involving the operation of motor vehicles and violations of Title 50.

   12/20/93  Senate Prefiled
   12/20/93  Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary
   01/11/94  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-51
   01/11/94  Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-51

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 22-5-910, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO MAGISTRATE'S POWERS AND DUTIES IN CRIMINAL MATTERS, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR EXPUNGEMENT OF CRIMINAL RECORDS OF FIRST OFFENSE CONVICTIONS INVOLVING THE OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND VIOLATIONS OF TITLE 50.

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

SECTION 1. Section 22-5-910 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 22-5-910. Following a first offense conviction in a magistrate's court or a municipal court, the defendant after one year from the date of the conviction may apply, or cause someone acting on his behalf to apply, to the circuit court for an order expunging the records of the arrest and conviction. However, this section does not apply to for an offense involving the operation of a motor vehicle triable in magistrate's or municipal court, or to for a violation of Title 50 triable in magistrate's or municipal court, or the regulations promulgated thereunder for which points are assessed, suspension provided for, or enhanced penalties for subsequent offenses authorized, a defendant may apply for an expungement only when all insurance and driving record point assessments resulting from a conviction have lapsed. If the defendant has had no other conviction during the one-year period following the first offense conviction or prior to lapse of the driving record and insurance point assessments period following the first offense conviction of an offense involving a motor vehicle or Title 50 as described herein in a magistrate's court or a municipal court, the circuit court shall issue an order expunging the records. No person may have his records expunged under this section more than one time.

After the expungement, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is required to keep a nonpublic record of the offense and the date of the expungement to ensure that no person takes advantage of the rights of this section more than once. This nonpublic record is not subject to release under Section 34-11-95, the Freedom of Information Act, or any other provision of law except to those authorized law or court officials who need to know this information in order to prevent the rights afforded by this section from being taken advantage of more than once.

As used in this section, `conviction' includes a guilty plea, a plea of nolo contendere, or the forfeiting of bail."

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