Current Status Introducing Body:Senate Bill Number:1025 Primary Sponsor:J. Verne Smith Committee Number:11 Type of Legislation:GB Subject:Alcohol, blood driver tests Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Judiciary Companion Bill Number:3841 Computer Document Number:BR1/1737.AC Introduced Date:May 30, 1991 Last History Body:Senate Last History Date:May 30, 1991 Last History Type:Introduced, read first time, referred to Committee Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:J. Verne Smith Thomas Leatherman Wilson Type of Legislation:General Bill
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN
---- ------ ------------ ------------------------------ ---
1025 Senate May 30, 1991 Introduced, read first time, 11
referred to Committee
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
TO AMEND SECTION 56-5-2950, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO IMPLIED CONSENT TO TESTS OF BREATH, BLOOD, OR URINE TO DETERMINE PRESENCE OF ALCOHOL OR DRUGS, SO AS TO CHANGE REFERENCES TO BREATHALYZER TO BREATH ANALYSIS, TO INCREASE THE DRIVER'S LICENSE SUSPENSION OR DENIAL FROM NINETY TO ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS FOR A PERSON WHO REFUSES TO SUBMIT TO THE TESTS, TO PROVIDE THAT IF A PERSON SUBMITS TO A TEST AND THE TEST RESULTS INDICATE THAT HE HAS MORE THAN THE LAWFUL AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL OR DRUGS IN HIS SYSTEM THE SUSPENSION OR DENIAL IS NINETY DAYS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE IMMEDIATE CONFISCATION OF THE DRIVER'S LICENSE OR PERMIT OF A PERSON WHO REFUSES SUCH A TEST OR WHO TESTS AS HAVING MORE THAN A LAWFUL AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL OR DRUGS IN HIS SYSTEM AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE NOTICE AND ORDER WHICH IS GIVEN TO THE PERSON AT THE TIME OF CONFISCATION SERVES AS A TEMPORARY TEN-DAY LICENSE, TO PROVIDE FOR A REVIEW OF THE NOTICE AND ORDER BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IF REQUESTED WITHIN THE TEN-DAY PERIOD, AND TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW AS IT APPLIES TO A REFUSAL BY A PERSON TO SUBMIT TO A TEST OR TO A PERSON FOUND TO HAVE HAD MORE THAN A LAWFUL AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL IN HIS SYSTEM.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. The purpose of this act is to provide safety for all persons using the highways of this State by quickly suspending the driving privilege of those persons who have shown themselves to be safety hazards by driving with an excessive concentration of alcohol in their bodies and to guard against the potential for an erroneous deprivation of one's driving privilege by providing an opportunity for a full hearing as quickly as possible.
SECTION 2. The first paragraph of Section 56-5-2950(a) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 348 of 1988, is further amended to read:
"Any A person who operates a motor vehicle in this State is considered to have given consent to chemical tests of his breath, blood, or urine for the purpose of determining the presence of alcohol or drugs if arrested for an offense arising out of acts alleged to have been committed while the person was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of them. Any A test must be administered at the direction of a law enforcement officer who has apprehended a person for operating a motor vehicle in this State while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of them. At the direction of the arresting officer the person first must be offered a breath test to determine the alcohol concentration of his blood. If the person is physically unable to provide an acceptable breath sample because he has an injured mouth, is unconscious, dead, or for any other reason considered acceptable by the licensed medical personnel, a blood sample may be taken. If the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is under the influence of drugs other than alcohol, the officer may order that a urine sample be taken for testing. If the breathalyzer breath analysis reading is ten one-hundredths of one percent by weight of alcohol in the person's blood or above, the officer may not require additional tests of the person as provided in this chapter. The breath test must be administered by a person trained and certified by SLED, using methods approved by SLED. The arresting officer may not administer the tests. Blood and urine tests must be taken administered by physicians licensed by the State Board of Medical Examiners, registered nurses licensed by the State Board of Nursing, and other medical personnel trained to administer such the tests in a licensed medical facility. Blood samples or urine samples must be obtained and handled in accordance with procedures approved by SLED. No tests may be administered or samples taken unless the person has been informed that he does not have to take the test or give the samples but that his privilege to drive must be suspended or denied for ninety one hundred twenty days if he refuses to submit to the tests."
SECTION 3. Section 56-5-2950(d) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 179 of 1987, is further amended to read:
"(d) If a person under arrest refuses, upon the request of a law enforcement officer, to submit to chemical tests as provided in subsection (a) of this section, none may be given, but the South Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation, on the basis of a report of the law enforcement officer that the arrested person was operating a motor vehicle in this State while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of them and that the person has refused to submit to the tests, shall suspend his license or permit to drive, or any nonresident operating privilege for a period of ninety one hundred twenty days. If the person is a resident without a license or permit to operate a motor vehicle in this State, the Department of Highways and Public Transportation shall deny to the person the issuance of a license or permit for a period of ninety one hundred twenty days after the date of the alleged violation. The ninety-day one hundred twenty-day period of suspension begins with the day after the date of the notice required to be given, unless a hearing is requested as provided, in which case the ninety-day one hundred twenty-day period begins with the day after the date of the order sustaining the suspension or denial of issuance. The report of the arresting officer must include what grounds he had for believing that the arrested person had been operating a motor vehicle in this State while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of them. If the arrested person took the chemical breath test but refused to provide a blood or urine sample, the report of the arresting officer must include what were his grounds for believing that the arrested person was under the influence of drugs other than alcohol. If a person who refuses, upon the request of a law enforcement officer, to submit to chemical tests as provided in subsection (a) of this section, pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, or forfeits bond for a first offense violation of Section 56-5-2930, within thirty days of arrest, the period of the suspension of driving privileges under this section must be canceled and any a suspension of driving privileges under Section 56-5-2990 for a first conviction may not exceed six months.
If a defendant under arrest, upon the request of a law enforcement officer, submits to chemical tests as provided in subsection (a), and the test results indicate a blood alcohol concentration of ten one-hundredths of one percent or greater by weight of alcohol, the department, on the basis of a report of the law enforcement officer that the person had been operating a motor vehicle in this State under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of them and that the person submitted to chemical tests and test results indicated a blood alcohol concentration of ten one-hundredths of one percent or greater by weight of alcohol, shall suspend his license or permit to drive or a nonresident operating privilege for ninety days.
If the person is a resident without a license or permit to operate a motor vehicle in this State, the department shall deny to the person the issuance of a license or permit for ninety days after the alleged violation."
SECTION 4. Section 56-5-2950(e) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 616 of 1988, is further amended to read:
"(e) Upon suspending the license or permit to drive or nonresident operating privilege of any person, or upon determining that the issuance of a license or permit must be denied to the person, as hereinbefore in this section directed, the department shall notify immediately the person in writing and, upon his request, shall afford him an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with the State Administrative Procedures Act, except that the scope of the hearing for the purposes of this section must be limited to the issues of whether the person was placed under arrest, whether the person had been informed that he did not have to take the test but that his privilege to drive would be suspended or denied if he refused to submit to the test, and whether he refused to submit to the test upon request of the officer. The department shall order that the suspension or determination that there should be a denial of issuance either be rescinded or sustained. The arresting officer, acting as an agent for the department, shall serve an immediate notice and order of suspension on a person who refuses to submit to chemical testing or on a person who submits to a chemical test the results of which indicate a blood alcohol concentration of ten one-hundredths of one percent or greater by weight of alcohol. The law enforcement officer shall take immediate possession of a license or permit issued by the department and the notice and order of suspension which he issues serves as a temporary license effective for ten days.
A copy of the completed notice and order of suspension form and the driver's license taken into possession must be forwarded within two working days to the department by the officer along with a copy of the report.
The notice and order of suspension becomes effective upon issuance by the law enforcement officer. The suspension period begins ten days after the issuance of the notice and order of suspension. The notice and order of suspension must advise the defendant of the right to obtain an administrative review as provided in this section."
SECTION 5. Section 56-5-2950(f), (g), and (h) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 179 of 1987, are further amended to read:
"(f) Within ten days of the issuance of the order of suspension, a person whose license has been suspended pursuant to the provisions of this section may request in writing a review by the department. The department shall afford the person a review as early as practicable within fifteen days of receipt of the written request in the county in which the arrest occurred, unless the department and the person agree that the review may be held in another county. If a written request is not received within ten days of the issuance of the notice and order of suspension, the right to a hearing is waived and the determination of the department which is based on the arresting officer's report becomes final. A request for an administrative review does not stay the beginning date of the suspension period.
The Administrative Procedures Act does not apply to the administrative procedures under this subsection.
The sole issues to be considered in an administrative review on the refusal to take the chemical tests must be limited to whether: (1) the person was placed under arrest; (2) the person was informed that he did not have to take the tests, but that his privilege to drive must be suspended or denied if he refused to submit to the tests upon request of the arresting officer.
The sole issues to be considered in administrative review on the operation of a motor vehicle while the persons' blood alcohol concentration was ten one-hundredths of one percent or greater is limited to whether: (1) the person was placed under arrest; (2) the person was advised of the consequences of registering a blood alcohol concentration of ten one-hundredths of one percent or greater; (3) the person registered a blood alcohol content of ten one-hundredths of one percent or greater; (4) the individual taking samples or administering tests was certified in accordance with this section; and (5) samples given and tests administered were given in accordance with SLED procedure. The department shall order that the suspension, or determination that there must be a denial of issuance, either be rescinded or sustained.
The decision of the presiding hearing officer must be rendered in writing and a copy must be provided to the person who requested the hearing. If the person requesting the hearing fails to appear without just cause, the right to a hearing is waived and the determination of the department which is based upon the arresting officer's report becomes final.
The Administrative Procedures Act applies to this section as it relates to judicial review.
(f) (g) When it is finally determined under the procedures of this section that a nonresident's privilege to operate a motor vehicle in this State has been suspended, the Department of Highways and Public Transportation shall give information in writing of the action taken to the motor vehicle administrator of the state of the person's residence and of any state in which he has a license.
(g) (h) Any A person required to submit to tests by the arresting officer must be provided with a written report including the time of arrest, the time of the tests, and the results of the tests prior to any before a trial or other proceedings in which the results of the tests are used as evidence. Any A person administering a test at the request of the defendant shall record in writing the time, method, and results of the test and promptly furnish a copy to the arresting officer prior to any before a trial or other proceedings in which the results of the test are used as evidence.
(h) (i) Any A person whose driver's license or permit is suspended for failure to take the tests required by this section and who is not convicted of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of them is not required to file proof of insurance under the Financial Responsibility Act, and no record of the suspension may be shown on any of his records."
SECTION 6. The amendments to Section 56-5-2950 contained in this act apply only to persons arrested or charged on or after the effective date of this act.
SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.