H 3252 General Bill, By L.S. Whipper, D.W. Beatty, Breeland, J. Brown, 
A.W. Byrd, Inabinett, Lloyd, McMahand, Moody-Lawrence and D. Williams
 A Bill to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Section
 16-3-1080 so as to make it a crime for an owner of a dwelling unit to install
 a security measure which would hinder the exit of a person from the unit in
 case of fire and require an owner of a dwelling unit to provide easy access to
 all exits of the dwelling unit or building in which the unit is located and to
 provide a penalty for violation.

   01/12/95  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-38
   01/12/95  House  Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-38

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 16-3-1080 SO AS TO MAKE IT A CRIME FOR AN OWNER OF A DWELLING UNIT TO INSTALL A SECURITY MEASURE WHICH WOULD HINDER THE EXIT OF A PERSON FROM THE UNIT IN CASE OF A FIRE AND REQUIRE AN OWNER OF A DWELLING UNIT TO PROVIDE EASY ACCESS TO ALL EXITS OF THE DWELLING UNIT OR BUILDING IN WHICH THE UNIT IS LOCATED AND TO PROVIDE A PENALTY FOR VIOLATION.

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

SECTION 1. Article 11, Chapter 3, Title 16 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 16-3-1080. (A) For purposes of this section, `rental dwelling unit' means any dwelling unit held out for the use of tenants or intended for the use and occupancy by tenants. The terms `dwelling unit', `owner', `person', and `tenant' are as defined in Section 27-40-210.

(B) No owner of any rental dwelling unit, or structure in which the unit is located, may install a security measure which would hinder the exit of a person from the rental dwelling unit in case of a fire. The owner shall ensure that all exits to the rental dwelling unit or structure must be accessible easily.

(C) A person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined in an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars and imprisoned for a period not to exceed one year."

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