H 3127(Rat #0284)  General Bill, By Rutherford, G.R. Smith, Clyburn, Weeks, 
Whipper and R.L. Brown
 AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION
 24-21-1010 SO AS TO PERMIT A PERSON WHO APPLIES FOR A PARDON FOR CERTAIN
 OFFENSES TO REQUEST THE BOARD OF PAROLES AND PARDONS RECOMMEND THE EXPUNGEMENT
 OF CRIMINAL RECORDS, TO ALLOW RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF THE STATUTE, TO
 PROVIDE AN EXCEPTION FOR PERSONS PARDONED FOR A VIOLENT CRIME, TO PROVIDE AN
 APPLICATION FEE, AND TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE BY WHICH CRIMINAL RECORDS MAY BE
 EXPUNGED AND A NONPUBLIC RECORD MAINTAINED. - ratified title

   12/07/10  House  Prefiled
   12/07/10  House  Referred to Committee on Judiciary
   01/11/11  House  Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 55)
   01/11/11  House  Referred to Committee on Judiciary
                     (House Journal-page 55)
   04/06/11  House  Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Weeks
   04/06/11  House  Committee report: Favorable with amendment
                     Judiciary (House Journal-page 6)
   04/07/11         Scrivener's error corrected
   04/12/11  House  Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Whipper,
                     R.L.Brown
   04/12/11  House  Amended (House Journal-page 42)
   04/12/11  House  Requests for debate-Rep(s). Bedingfield, Hixon,
                     JR Smith, Hiott, Skelton, Hamilton, Bikas,
                     Henderson, Bannister, Forrester, Tallon,
                     Patrick, Crosby, and Daning (House Journal-page 42)
   04/13/11  House  Read second time (House Journal-page 89)
   04/13/11  House  Roll call Yeas-90  Nays-0 (House Journal-page 89)
   04/14/11  House  Read third time and sent to Senate
                     (House Journal-page 38)
   04/19/11  Senate Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 8)
   04/19/11  Senate Referred to Committee on Corrections and Penology
                     (Senate Journal-page 8)
   03/21/12  Senate Recalled from Committee on Corrections and
                     Penology (Senate Journal-page 3)
   03/21/12  Senate Committed to Committee on Judiciary
                     (Senate Journal-page 3)
   03/26/12  Senate Referred to Subcommittee: Sheheen (ch), Knotts, Campsen
   05/30/12  Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment
                     Judiciary (Senate Journal-page 10)
   06/05/12  Senate Committee Amendment Adopted (Senate Journal-page 79)
   06/05/12  Senate Read second time (Senate Journal-page 79)
   06/05/12  Senate Roll call Ayes-43  Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 79)
   06/06/12         Scrivener's error corrected
   06/06/12  Senate Read third time and returned to House with
                     amendments (Senate Journal-page 7)
   06/07/12  House  Debate adjourned (House Journal-page 26)
   06/07/12  House  Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled
                     (House Journal-page 34)
   06/07/12  House  Roll call Yeas-98  Nays-7 (House Journal-page 34)
   06/12/12         Ratified R 284
   06/18/12         Vetoed by Governor
   06/19/12  House  Veto sustained Yeas-49  Nays-62

NOTE: THIS COPY IS A TEMPORARY VERSION. THIS DOCUMENT WILL REMAIN IN THIS VERSION UNTIL PUBLISHED IN THE ADVANCE SHEETS TO THE ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS. WHEN THIS DOCUMENT IS PUBLISHED IN THE ADVANCE SHEET, THIS NOTE WILL BE REMOVED.

(R284, H3127)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 24-21-1010 SO AS TO PERMIT A PERSON WHO APPLIES FOR A PARDON FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES TO REQUEST THE BOARD OF PAROLES AND PARDONS RECOMMEND THE EXPUNGEMENT OF CRIMINAL RECORDS, TO ALLOW RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF THE STATUTE, TO PROVIDE AN EXCEPTION FOR PERSONS PARDONED FOR A VIOLENT CRIME, TO PROVIDE AN APPLICATION FEE, AND TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE BY WHICH CRIMINAL RECORDS MAY BE EXPUNGED AND A NONPUBLIC RECORD MAINTAINED.

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

Pardons, expungement of criminal records, procedure, exceptions

SECTION    1.    Article 11, Chapter 21, Title 24 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 24-21-1010.    (A)(1)    A person who is applying for an order of pardon for an offense pursuant to this article may request that the South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons recommend the expungement of records related to the offense.

(2)    A person who has received an order of pardon for an offense pursuant to this article prior to the effective date of this section may apply to the South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons to request that the board recommend the expungement of records related to the offense.

(B)    This section does not apply to a person who is applying for an order of pardon or has received an order of pardon for a felony offense defined as a violent crime pursuant to Section 16-1-60.

(C)    The applicant shall pay a recommendation of expungement application fee of one hundred dollars, which must be retained by the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services and used to defray the costs associated with the expungement process. The fee is nonrefundable, regardless of whether the offense is later determined to be ineligible for expungement. If the applicant is applying for an order of pardon and a recommendation of expungement at the same time, the applicant shall pay both the order of pardon application fee and the recommendation of expungement application fee.

(D)    The South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services shall implement policies and procedures consistent with this section to ensure that the recommendation of expungement process is properly conducted. Such policies and procedures must include, but are not limited to:

(1)    assisting the applicant in completing the recommendation of expungement application;

(2)    collecting from the applicant and distributing to the appropriate agencies separate certified checks or money orders for charges prescribed by this section;

(3)    notifying the appropriate victim of the application pursuant to Section 16-3-1560, and the appropriate prosecuting or law enforcement agency;

(4)    coordinating with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to confirm that the offense is statutorily appropriate for expungement;

(5)    obtaining and verifying the presence of all necessary signatures; and

(6)    providing copies of the completed recommendation of expungement to the applicant.

(E)    The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division shall verify and document that the offense sought to be expunged is appropriate for expungement. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division shall receive a twenty-five dollar certified check or money order from the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services on behalf of the applicant made payable to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division shall forward the necessary documentation back to the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. Neither the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services nor the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division shall allow the applicant to take possession of the application during the recommendation of expungement application process.

(F)(1)    The appropriate prosecuting or law enforcement agency may file an objection to the recommendation of expungement with the South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons within thirty days of receiving notice of the application. The prosecuting or law enforcement agency's reason for objecting must be that the:

(a)    applicant has other charges pending;

(b)    prosecuting or law enforcement agency believes that the evidence in the case needs to be preserved; or

(c)    applicant's charges were dismissed as a part of a plea agreement.

(2)    The prosecuting or law enforcement agency must notify the applicant of the objection in writing at the address listed on the application.

(3)    If an objection is filed by the prosecuting or law enforcement agency, the objection must be heard by the South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons, acting in a three-member panel or meeting as a full board, and taken into consideration when the board is making a determination as to whether to recommend expungement of the applicant's records.

(G)    If no objection is filed by the prosecuting or law enforcement agency, an administrative hearing officer, appointed by the Director of the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, may review the application and submit to the South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons written findings of fact and recommendations which must be taken into consideration when the board is making a determination as to whether to recommend expungement of the applicant's records.

(H)    If the South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons, acting in a three-member panel or meeting as a full board, recommends expungement of the applicant's records, ten years have passed since the completion of all terms and conditions of the person's sentence, including payment of restitution, and the person has had no other convictions other than minor traffic offenses during the ten-year period, the person may apply to the appropriate solicitors office for expungement pursuant to Article 9, Chapter 22, Title 17.

(I)(1)    No person may have the person's records expunged pursuant to this section more than once.

(2)    After the expungement, the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division shall keep a nonpublic record of the offense and the order of expungement to ensure that no person takes advantage of the rights of this section more than once. The nonpublic record is not subject to release pursuant to 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 the information in order to prevent the rights afforded by this section from being taken advantage of more than once."

Time effective

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect six months after approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 12th day of June, 2012.

__________________________________________

President of the Senate

___________________________________________

Speaker of the House of Representatives

Approved the ____________ day of _____________________2012.

___________________________________________

Governor