S*547 Session 111 (1995-1996)
S*0547(Rat #0112, Act #0070 of 1995) General Bill, By Peeler
Similar(H 3365)
A Bill to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Article 5
to Chapter 15, Title 56 so as to provide requirements for wholesale motor
vehicle auctions and for wholesale motor vehicle auction license plates.
02/21/95 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-5
02/21/95 Senate Referred to Committee on Transportation SJ-5
03/16/95 Senate Committee report: Favorable Transportation SJ-13
03/22/95 Senate Read second time SJ-12
03/28/95 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-17
03/29/95 House Introduced and read first time HJ-16
03/29/95 House Referred to Committee on Education and Public
Works HJ-16
05/09/95 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Education and Public Works HJ-14
05/10/95 House Amended HJ-15
05/10/95 House Read second time HJ-16
05/11/95 House Read third time and returned to Senate with
amendments HJ-15
05/16/95 Senate Concurred in House amendment and enrolled SJ-12
06/06/95 Ratified R 112
06/12/95 Signed By Governor
06/12/95 Effective date 06/12/95
08/10/95 Copies available
08/10/95 Act No. 70
(A70, R112, S547)
AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 5 TO CHAPTER 15,
TITLE 56 SO AS TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR
WHOLESALE MOTOR VEHICLE AUCTIONS AND FOR
WHOLESALE MOTOR VEHICLE AUCTION LICENSE
PLATES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
Wholesale motor vehicle auctions
SECTION 1. Chapter 15, Title 56 of the 1976 Code is amended by
adding:
"Article 5
Wholesale Motor Vehicle Auctions
Section 56-15-510. As used in this article:
(1) `Wholesale motor vehicle auction' is an entity in the business of
providing auction services in wholesale transactions at its established
place of business, and which does not buy, sell, or own the motor
vehicles it auctions in the ordinary course of its business.
(2) `Motor vehicles' with regard to transactions taking place at a
wholesale motor vehicle auction include, but are not limited to, motor
homes, manufactured homes, recreational vehicles, boats, motorcycles,
and motor vehicles as provided for in Section 56-3-20.
Section 56-15-520. When a transfer of title is made as a result of a
transaction at a wholesale motor vehicle auction, the reassignment of title
or bill of sale must note the name and address of the wholesale motor
vehicle auction. However, the wholesale motor vehicle auction is not
deemed to be the owner, seller, transferor, or assignor of title of a motor
vehicle by reason of its name appearing on a reassignment of title or bill
of sale or by reason of its payment of a guarantee of payment to a seller,
receipt of payment from a purchaser, or the reservation of a lien or
security interest for the purpose of securing payment from a
purchaser.
Section 56-15-530. A wholesale motor vehicle auction is not
prohibited from buying or selling motor vehicles in its own name.
However, in that instance, it shall comply with the provisions of South
Carolina law pertaining to reassignment and delivery of title documents
and disclosures to buyers.
Section 56-15-540. A motor vehicle dealer licensed by this or another
jurisdiction may purchase or sell motor vehicles at a wholesale motor
vehicle auction. A person may purchase or sell motor vehicles at a
wholesale motor vehicle auction if required by an agency of government
or by law.
Section 56-15-550. The following may sell motor vehicles through a
wholesale motor vehicle auction if the motor vehicles are acquired as an
incident to regular business:
(1) manufacturers;
(2) marine dealers;
(3) motor vehicle rental businesses;
(4) motor vehicle lease businesses;
(5) recreation vehicle dealers;
(6) sellers of motor vehicle fleets;
(7) manufacturers;
(8) public officers while performing their official duties;
(9) receivers;
(10) trustees;
(11) administrators;
(12) executors;
(13) guardians;
(14) insurance companies;
(15) banks;
(16) finance companies;
(17) other loan agencies or their agents.
Section 56-15-560. Before engaging in business as a wholesale motor
vehicle auction in this State, an application must be filed with the
Department of Revenue and Taxation furnishing the information it
requires including, but not limited to, information adequately identifying
by name and address individuals who own or control ten percent or more
of the interest of the applicant. Each license issued expires twelve
months from the month of issuance and must be displayed prominently at
the established place of business. The license applies to only one place
of business of the applicant and is not transferable to another person or
place of business. The fee for the license is fifty dollars.
Section 56-15-570. (A) Each applicant for licensure as a wholesale
motor vehicle auction shall furnish a surety bond in the penal amount of
fifteen thousand dollars on a form prescribed by the Deputy Director of
the Motor Vehicle Records and Vehicle Inspection Division of the
department. The bond must be given to the department and executed by
the applicant as principal and by a corporate surety company authorized
to do business in this State as surety. The bond must be conditioned
upon the applicant or licensee complying with the statutes applicable to
the license and as indemnification for loss or damage suffered by an
owner of a motor vehicle, or his legal representative, by reason of fraud
practiced or fraudulent representation made by the licensee in connection
with the sale or transfer of a motor vehicle by the licensee or its agent
acting for it or within the scope of employment of the agent or loss or
damage suffered by reason of a violation by the licensee or its agent of
this chapter.
(B) An owner or his legal representative who suffers loss or damage
has a right of action against the wholesale motor vehicle auction and
against the licensee's surety upon the bond and may recover damages as
provided in this chapter. A new bond or a proper continuation certificate
must be delivered to the department annually before the license is
renewed. However, regardless of the number of years a bond remains in
effect, the aggregate liability of the surety for all claims is limited to
fifteen thousand dollars on each bond and to the amount of the actual
loss incurred. The surety may terminate its liability under the bond by
giving the department thirty days' written notice of its intent to cancel
the bond. The surety shall notify the department if the bond is canceled.
The cancellation does not affect liability incurred or accrued before the
cancellation.
Section 56-15-580. During a license year, if there is a change in the
information that a wholesale motor vehicle auction gave the department
to obtain or retain a license under this section, the licensee shall report
the change to the department within thirty days after the change occurs
on the form the department requires.
Section 56-15-590. (A) A wholesale motor vehicle auction shall
establish and retain at its primary place of business complete records in
an order appropriate for business requirements and that permits
systematic retrieval for five years following the date of sale of each
motor vehicle. The records must show the name of the most recent
owner other than the wholesale motor vehicle auction, the name of the
buyer, the vehicle identification number, and the odometer reading on the
date which the wholesale motor vehicle auction took possession of the
motor vehicle.
(B) The records kept by the wholesale motor vehicle auction must be
maintained in a reasonably organized and orderly fashion with all entries
being legible to the ordinary person upon inspection. Records which are
illegible or incapable of accurate interpretation by the recordkeeper or the
department's inspector or agent are not in compliance with this
section.
(C) If a wholesale motor vehicle auction fails to keep the required
records or fails to make them available to the department or its
authorized agents immediately upon a reasonable request, the wholesale
motor vehicle auction is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, is
subject to the provisions of Chapter 54 of Title 12.
Section 56-15-600. (A) The department may issue to a licensed
wholesale motor vehicle auction, upon application and payment of the
required fee to the department, wholesale motor vehicle auction license
plates. The license plates are exclusively for the use of transporting
motor vehicles in the course of doing business as a wholesale motor
vehicle auction and must not be attached permanently. The license plate
expires twelve months from the month of issuance. The documentation
evidencing transport in the ordinary course of doing business as a
wholesale motor vehicle auction must be by form approved by the
Department of Revenue and Taxation. The form at all times must
accompany the license plates. A person who does not use the license
plate exclusively to transport motor vehicles in the course of doing
business as a wholesale motor vehicle auction is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction, must be fined five hundred dollars.
(B) Wholesale motor vehicle auction license plates must not be
issued by the department unless the wholesale motor vehicle auction
furnishes proof in a form acceptable to the department that it has a
wholesale motor vehicle auction license as required by this article and
that at least twenty sales of motor vehicles have taken place through the
wholesale motor vehicle auction in the twelve months preceding its
application for a license. The sales requirement may be waived by the
department if the wholesale motor vehicle auction has been licensed for
less than one year.
(C) A wholesale motor vehicle auction may be issued two license
plates for the first twenty vehicles auctioned during the preceding year
and one additional license plate for each fifty vehicles auctioned beyond
the initial twenty during the preceding year but not to exceed
seventy-five license plates. For good cause shown, the department in its
discretion may issue additional license plates. If the wholesale motor
vehicle auction 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 license plates issued based on actual sales made.
(D) The cost of each wholesale motor vehicle auction license plate
issued is twenty dollars annually."
Time effective
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Approved the 12th day of June, 1995. |