South Carolina General Assembly
107th Session, 1987-1988

Bill 3728

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3728
Ratification Number:       437
Act Number                 406
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Crime Victim's Compensation; burial
                           expenses; aggregate award
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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A406, R437, H3728)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 16-3-1180, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO COMPENSATION OF VICTIMS OF CRIME, AMOUNT OF AWARD, APPORTIONMENT AMONG MULTIPLE CLAIMANTS, AND REJECTION OF APPLICATION FOR AWARD, SO AS TO DELETE CERTAIN LANGUAGE AND PROVISIONS, AND TO PROVIDE, AMONG OTHER THINGS, FOR BURIAL EXPENSES NOT TO EXCEED TWO THOUSAND, RATHER THAN ONE THOUSAND, DOLLARS, AND THAT THE AGGREGATE OF AWARD TO AND ON BEHALF OF VICTIMS HAY NOT EXCEED TEN THOUSAND, RATHER THAN THREE THOUSAND, DOLLARS.

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

Crime victim's compensation; burial expenses; aggregate award

SECTION 1. Section 16-3-1180 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 16-3-1180. (a) An award may be made for:

(1) reasonable and customary charges for medical services, including mental health counseling, required and rendered as a direct result of the injury on which the claim is based, as long as these services are rendered by a licensed professional. Payment for mental health counseling is limited to services rendered during a period of ninety consecutive days beginning on the date of the first such counseling;

(2) reasonable and customary charges for other services required and rendered as a direct result of the injury upon which the claim is based, as long as the service is rendered by a professional or paraprofessional who holds a license, certificate, or other documentary evidence of specific training and qualification in a field of service which, by regulation, the Board recognizes as a service required by and beneficial to crime victims;

(3) loss of earning or support, provided that:

(a) claimant is deprived of that income for at least two consecutive weeks;

(b) the loss is not reimbursable;

(c) the amount may not exceed the maximum rate provided in Section 42-1-50;

(d) conditions (a), (b), and (c) may be waived in severe hardship cases;

(4) reasonable and customary charges for employment-oriented retraining or rehabilitative services incurred as a direct result of the injury; and

(5) burial expenses not to exceed two thousand dollars.

(B) If there are two or more family members as specified in Section 16-3-1210(c) who are entitled to an award as a result of the death of a person, the award must be apportioned among the claimants; however, the amount awarded for burial expenses must be paid to or on behalf of the person who has paid or is responsible for that expense.

(C) The aggregate of award to and on behalf of victims may not exceed ten thousand dollars.

(D) An award may be made only if and to the extent that the amount of compensable loss exceeds one hundred dollars; however, this limitation may be waived in the interest of justice and must be waived upon a showing that the claimant is at least sixty-five years old."

Time effective

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