H 3382 General Bill, By Davenport
 A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-40, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
 1976, RELATING TO PERSONS WHO MAY NOT BE ISSUED A DRIVER'S LICENSE OR HAVE
 THEIR DRIVER'S LICENSES RENEWED, SO AS TO DELETE THE PROVISIONS RELATING TO
 THE ISSUANCE OF A CONDITIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE, AND TO REVISE THE AGE OF A
 PERSON WHO MAY BE ISSUED A BEGINNER'S PERMIT; TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-50, AS
 AMENDED, RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE OF A BEGINNER'S PERMIT, SO AS TO REVISE THE
 AGE OF A PERSON WHO MAY APPLY FOR A BEGINNER'S PERMIT AND WHO IS NOT REQUIRED
 TO OBTAIN A BEGINNER'S PERMIT TO OPERATE A MOTOR VEHICLE; AND TO REPEAL
 SECTIONS 56-1-175 AND 56-1-176, BOTH RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE OF A CONDITIONAL
 DRIVER'S LICENSE.

   01/22/03  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-12
   01/22/03  House  Referred to Committee on Education and Public
                     Works HJ-12

TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-40, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PERSONS WHO MAY NOT BE ISSUED A DRIVER'S LICENSE OR HAVE THEIR DRIVER'S LICENSES RENEWED, SO AS TO DELETE THE PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE OF A CONDITIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE, AND TO REVISE THE AGE OF A PERSON WHO MAY BE ISSUED A BEGINNER'S PERMIT; TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-50, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE OF A BEGINNER'S PERMIT, SO AS TO REVISE THE AGE OF A PERSON WHO MAY APPLY FOR A BEGINNER'S PERMIT AND WHO IS NOT REQUIRED TO OBTAIN A BEGINNER'S PERMIT TO OPERATE A MOTOR VEHICLE; AND TO REPEAL SECTIONS 56-1-175 AND 56-1-176, BOTH RELATING TO THE ISSUANCE OF A CONDITIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE.

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

SECTION    1.    Section 56-1-40(1) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 2002, is further amended to read:

"(1)    who is under seventeen years of age, except that the department may issue a license to a sixteen-year-old who is licensed to drive pursuant to Section 56-1-175 after one year from the date of the issuance of the conditional license, if the driver has not been convicted of a traffic offense or has not been involved in an accident in which he was at fault during that period. However, the department may issue a beginner's permit as provided in Section 56-1-50 to a person who is at least fifteen sixteen years of age and meets the requirements of that section. The department also may issue a special restricted driver's license to a person who is at least sixteen years of age and less than seventeen years of age as provided in Section 56-1-180 and meets the requirements of that section;"

SECTION    2.    Section 56-1-50 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 2002, is further amended to read:

"Section 56-1-50.    (A) A person who is at least fifteen sixteen years of age may apply to the department for a beginner's permit. After the applicant has passed successfully all parts of the examination other than the driving test, the department may issue to the applicant a beginner's permit which entitles the applicant having the permit in his immediate possession to drive a motor vehicle under the conditions contained in this section on the public highways for not more than twelve months.

(B)    The permit is valid only in the operation of:

(1)    vehicles after six o'clock a.m. and not later than midnight. Except as provided in subsection (E), while driving, the permittee must be accompanied by a licensed driver twenty-one years of age or older who has had at least one year of driving experience. A permittee may not drive between midnight and six o'clock a.m. unless accompanied by the permittee's licensed parent or guardian;

(2)    motorcycles, motor scooters, or light motor-driven cycles of five-brake horsepower or less after six o'clock a.m. and not later than six o'clock p.m. However, beginning on the day that daylight saving time goes into effect through the day that daylight saving time ends, the permittee may operate motor scooters or light motor-driven cycles after six o'clock a.m. and not later than eight o'clock p.m. A permittee may not operate a motorcycle, motor scooter, or light motor-driven cycle at any other time unless supervised by the permittee's motorcycle licensed parent or guardian.

(C)    The accompanying driver must occupy a seat beside the permittee, except when the permittee is operating a motorcycle. A three-wheel vehicle requires the accompanying driver to be directly behind the permittee on a saddle-type seat or beside the permittee on a bench-type seat.

(D)    A beginner's permit may be renewed or a new permit issued for additional periods of twelve months, but the department may refuse to renew or issue a new permit where the examining officer has reason to believe the applicant has not made a bona fide effort to pass the required driver's road test or does not appear to the examining officer to have the aptitude to pass the road test. The fee for every beginner's or renewal permit is two dollars and fifty cents, and the permit must bear the full name, date of birth, and residence address and a brief description and color photograph of the permittee and a facsimile of the signature of the permittee or a space upon which the permittee shall write his usual signature with pen and ink immediately upon receipt of the permit. A permit is not valid until it has been signed by the permittee.

(E)    The following persons are not required to obtain a beginner's permit to operate a motor vehicle:

(1)    a student regularly enrolled in a high school of this State which conducts a driver's training course while the student is participating in the course and when accompanied by a qualified instructor of the course; and

(2)    a person fifteen sixteen years of age or older enrolled in a driver training course conducted by a driver training school licensed under Chapter 23 of this title. However, this person at all times must be accompanied by an instructor of the school and may drive only an automobile owned or leased by the school which is covered by liability insurance in an amount not less than the minimum required by law.

(F)    A person who has never held a form of license evidencing previous driving experience first must be issued a beginner's permit and must hold the permit for at least one hundred eighty days before being eligible for full licensure."

SECTION    3.    Sections 56-1-175 and 56-1-176 of the 1976 Code are repealed.

SECTION    4.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to persons who obtain a beginner's permit after the effective date of this act.