Current Status Introducing Body:House Bill Number:4709 Primary Sponsor:Stone Committee Number:20 Type of Legislation:GB Subject:Turkey, deer and bear hunting; monetary penalties Residing Body:House Computer Document Number:CYY/19065.SD Introduced Date:Apr 09, 1992 Last History Body:House Last History Date:Apr 09, 1992 Last History Type:Introduced, read first time, referred to Committee Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:Stone Type of Legislation:General Bill
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN
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4709 House Apr 09, 1992 Introduced, read first time, 20
referred to Committee
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TO AMEND SECTION 50-11-540, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PENALTIES FOR UNLAWFUL WILD TURKEY HUNTING, SO AS TO INCREASE THE MONETARY PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION AND TO DELETE VEHICLES FROM THE LIST OF EQUIPMENT OR PROPERTY WHICH MAY BE CONFISCATED FOR THE VIOLATION, TO AMEND SECTION 50-11-720, RELATING TO PENALTIES FOR NIGHT HUNTING FOR DEER OR BEAR, SO AS TO INCREASE THE MONETARY PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION, TO AMEND SECTION 50-11-730, RELATING TO THE UNLAWFUL HUNTING OF DEER FROM ANY WATER CONVEYANCE, SO AS TO INCREASE THE MONETARY PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION AND DELETE VEHICLES FROM THE LIST OF EQUIPMENT OR PROPERTY WHICH MAY BE CONFISCATED FOR THE VIOLATION, AND TO AMEND SECTION 50-11-740, RELATING TO THE CONFISCATION, FORFEITURE, AND SALE OF PROPERTY USED IN THE NIGHT HUNTING OF DEER OR BEAR, SO AS TO DELETE VEHICLES FROM THE LIST OF PROPERTY WHICH MAY BE CONFISCATED AND SOLD.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 50-11-540 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 50-11-540. Any person taking, attempting to take, or having in his possession turkey illegally or taking, attempting to take, or killing turkey in any way not prescribed by the commission is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than one two hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days. Every vehicle, boat, animal, firearm, or other equipment except vehicles used in hunting turkeys in violation of Sections 50-11-520 and 50-11-530 or in the possession of persons convicted of violations at the time of the violations is forfeited to the State and may be confiscated by any peace officer who shall deliver the items to the department. For purposes of this section, a conviction for unlawfully hunting turkeys is conclusive as against any convicted owner of the above-mentioned property. In all other instances forfeiture is accomplished by the initiation by the State of an action in the circuit court in the county in which the property was seized giving notice to owners of record and lienholders of record or other persons having claimed an interest in the property subject to forfeiture and an opportunity to appear and show, if they can, why the property should not be forfeited and disposed of as provided for by this section. Failure of any person claiming an interest in the property to appear at the above proceeding after having been given notice of the proceeding constitutes a waiver of his claim and the property is forfeited immediately to the State. Notice of the above proceedings is accomplished by: (a) personal service of the owner of record or lienholder of record by certified copy of the petition or notice of hearing or
(b) in the case of property for which there is no owner or lienholder of record, publication of notice in a newspaper of local circulation in the county where the property was seized for at least two successive weeks before the hearing. Property constituted forfeited property by this section must be sold under the same procedure prescribed in Section 50-11-740."
SECTION 2. Section 50-11-720 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 50-11-720. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 50-11-710, any person convicted of the crime of night hunting for deer or bear must
(1) for a first offense be fined not more than two three thousand five hundred dollars or imprisoned as provided in Section 50-11-710;
(2) for a second offense within two years of the first conviction be fined not less than five hundred one thousand dollars nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars or imprisoned as provided for a first offense;
(3) for a third or subsequent offense within two years of a conviction for a second or subsequent offense be fined not less than six hundred one thousand dollars nor more than three thousand dollars or imprisoned as provided for a first offense."
SECTION 3. Section 50-11-730 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 50-11-730. It is unlawful for any person to hunt, shoot, or in any way kill deer from a motorboat, raft, or other water conveyance or to molest deer while any part of the deer is in the water. Any person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than ninety days or be fined not less than one two hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars. `Hunting', as used in this section in reference to a vehicle, boat, or device, includes the transportation of a hunter to or from the place of hunting in violation of this section, or the transportation of the carcass of a deer, or any part of a deer, which has been unlawfully hunted or killed in violation of this section. In addition to the penalty herein, every boat, raft, or other water conveyance, vehicle, animal, firearm, and any other device except vehicles being used in the violation of this section must be confiscated and delivered to the department. For purposes of this section, a conviction for unlawfully hunting deer from boats or other water conveyances is conclusive as against any convicted owner of the above-mentioned property. In all other cases, the forfeiture and sale is accomplished by the procedure set forth in Section 50-11-740."
SECTION 4. Section 50-11-740 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 50-11-740. Every vehicle, boat, animal, and firearm used in the hunting of deer or bear at night is forfeited to the State and must be confiscated by any peace officer who shall forthwith deliver it to the department. `Hunting' as used in this section in reference to a vehicle or boat includes the transportation of a hunter to or from the place of hunting or the transportation of the carcass, or any part of the carcass, of a deer or bear which has been unlawfully killed at night. For purposes of this section, a conviction for unlawfully hunting deer or bear at night is conclusive as against any convicted owner of the above-mentioned property. In all other instances, forfeiture must be accomplished by the initiation by the State of an action in the circuit court in the county in which the property was seized giving notice to owners of record and lienholders of record or other persons having claimed an interest in the property subject to forfeiture and an opportunity to appear and show, if they can, why the property should not be forfeited and disposed of as provided for by this section. Failure of any person claiming an interest in the property to appear at the above proceeding after having been given notice of the proceeding constitutes a waiver of his claim and the property must be immediately forfeited to the State. Notice of the above proceedings must be accomplished by:
(a) personal service of the owner of record or lienholder of record by certified copy of the petition or notice of hearing or
(b) in the case of property for which there is no owner or lienholder of record, publication of notice in a newspaper of local circulation in the county where the property was seized for at least two successive weeks before the hearing. The director or his authorized agent shall sell any confiscated device at public auction for cash to the highest bidder in front of the county courthouse in the county where it is confiscated, after having given ten days' public notice of the sale by posting advertisement thereof on the door or bulletin board of the county courthouse or by publishing the advertisement at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. Upon sale, the director shall pay over the net proceeds, after payment of the proper costs and expenses, if any, of the seizure, advertisement, and sale, including any proper expense incurred for the storage of the confiscated device, to the State Treasurer for deposit in the game protection fund. When the device is of greater value than one thousand dollars, the owner may at any time before sale redeem it by paying to the director the sum of one thousand dollars. When the device is of lesser value than one thousand dollars, the owner may at any time before sale redeem it by paying to the director the retail market value. The sums received by the director must be deposited in the game protection fund pursuant to the provisions of this section."
SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.