Current Status Introducing Body:Senate Bill Number:773 Primary Sponsor:Wilson Committee Number:12 Type of Legislation:GB Subject:Lodging Establishment Act Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Labor, Commerce & Industry Companion Bill Number:3890 Computer Document Number:JIC/5957HC.93 Introduced Date:19930513 Last History Body:Senate Last History Date:19930513 Last History Type:Introduced, read first time, referred to Committee Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:Wilson Elliott Reese Lander Greg Smith Type of Legislation:General Bill
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN Leg Involved
____ ______ ____________ ______________________________ ___ ____________
773 Senate 19930513 Introduced, read first time, 12
referred to Committee
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
TO AMEND TITLE 45, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO HOTELS, MOTELS, RESTAURANTS, AND BOARDING HOUSES, BY ADDING CHAPTER 2, THE LODGING ESTABLISHMENT ACT, SO AS TO GOVERN THE LAWFUL USE OF LODGING ESTABLISHMENTS AND PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 45 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 45-2-10. This chapter may be cited as the Lodging Establishment Act.
Section 45-2-20. For purposes of this chapter:
(1) `innkeeper' means the owner, operator, manager, or keeper of a lodging establishment;
(2) `lodging establishment' means a hotel, motel, resort, or bed and breakfast establishment;
(3) `minor' means an unemancipated person under age eighteen.
Section 45-2-30. An innkeeper may refuse or deny any accommodations, facilities, or privileges of a lodging establishment to:
(1) A person who is unwilling or unable to pay for accommodations and services of the lodging establishment. The innkeeper may require the prospective guest to demonstrate his ability to pay by cash, valid credit card, or a validated check. The innkeeper may require a parent of a minor:
(a) to accept in writing liability of the guest room costs, taxes, all charges by the minor, and any damages to the guest room or its furnishings caused by the minor while a guest at the lodging establishment; and
(b) to provide the innkeeper with a valid credit card number to cover the guest room costs, taxes, charges by the minor, and any damages to the guest room or its furnishings caused by the minor; or
(c) if the credit card is not an option, give the innkeeper:
(i) an advance cash payment to cover the guest room costs and taxes for all room nights reserved for the minor; plus
(ii) a cash deposit towards the payment of any charges by the minor or any damages to the guest room or its furnishings, which must be refunded to the extent not used to cover any such charges or any damages as determined by the innkeeper following room inspection at check-out.
(2) A person who is visibly intoxicated or who is disorderly so as to create a public nuisance.
(3) A person whom the innkeeper reasonably believes is seeking accommodations for any unlawful purpose, including the unlawful possession or use of controlled substances by such person in violation of Chapter 53 of Title 44 or the use of the premises for the consumption of beer, wine, or alcoholic liquors by a person under the age of twenty-one years in violation of Sections 20-7-370 or 20-7-380.
(4) A person whom the innkeeper reasonably believes is bringing in property which may be dangerous to other persons including, but not limited to, firearms or explosives.
(5) A person in excess of the number of persons a lodging establishment allows to occupy a particular guest room in the lodging establishment.
The innkeeper refusing or denying accommodations, facilities, or privileges of a lodging establishment for any of the reasons specified in items (1) through (5) of this section may not be determined liable in any civil or criminal action or for any fine or penalty based upon the refusal or denial, except that the accommodation, facilities, or privilege of a lodging establishment may not be refused or denied based upon a person's race, creed, color, national origin, sex, disability, or marital status.
Section 45-2-40. (A) A person who on the premises or property of a lodging establishment:
(1) uses or possesses a controlled substance in violation of Chapter 53 of Title 44;
(2) consumes or possesses beer, wine, or alcoholic beverages in violation of Sections 20-7-370 or 20-7-380;
(3) commits a violation of this chapter resulting in damage to a lodging establishment room or its furnishings;
is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than thirty days.
(B) A person who rents or leases a room in a lodging establishment for the purpose of allowing the room to be used by another to do any act enumerated in subsection (A) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than thirty days.
(C) In a case arising under this section involving damage to a lodging establishment room or its furnishings, the court may order the person renting or leasing the lodging establishment room or the person causing such damage, or both:
(1) to pay restitution for any damages suffered by the owner or operator of the lodging establishment, which damages may include the lodging establishment's loss of revenue resulting from the establishment's inability to rent or lease the room during the period of time the lodging establishment room is being repaired; and
(2) to pay damages or restitution to any other person who is injured in person or property. In the case of a minor, the parents of the minor are liable for acts of the minor in violation of this section which cause damages to the lodging establishment room or furnishings or cause injury to persons or property.
(D) This section does not prohibit the prosecution of a person for the underlying violation which occurred on the premises or property of the lodging establishment.
Section 45-2-50. The innkeeper of a lodging establishment shall keep for at least five years a guest register showing the name, residence, date of arrival, and departure of hotel guests. Every guest shall register, and the registering guest may be required by the innkeeper to produce a valid driver's license, or other identification satisfactory to the innkeeper, containing a photograph of the guest and setting forth the name and residence of the guest. If the guest is a minor, the innkeeper may also require a parent of the guest to register and to accept in writing liability for the guest room costs, taxes, all charges by the minor, and any damages to the guest room or its furnishings caused by the minor while a guest at the lodging establishment. The guest register may be kept within the meaning of this section when reproduced on any photographic, photostatic, microfilm, microcard, miniature photographic, or other process which actually reproduces the original record.
Section 45-2-60. An innkeeper may immediately eject a person from the lodging establishment premises for any of the following reasons:
(1) nonpayment of the lodging establishment's charges for accommodations or services;
(2) the person is visibly intoxicated, or the person is disorderly so as to create a public nuisance;
(3) the innkeeper reasonably believes that the person is using the premises for unlawful purposes, including the unlawful use or possession of controlled substances by the person in violation of Chapter 53 of Title 44 or the use of the premises for the consumption of beer, wine, or alcoholic liquors by a person under the age of twenty-one years in violation of Sections 20-7-370 or 20-7-380;
(4) the innkeeper reasonably believes that the person has brought property into the lodging establishment premises which may be dangerous to other persons, including, but not limited to, firearms or explosives;
(5) violation of any federal, state, or local laws, or regulations relating to the lodging establishment;
(6) violation of a rule of the lodging establishment which is posted in a conspicuous place and manner in the lodging establishment in accordance with Section 45-2-70, but no rule may authorize the innkeeper to eject or to refuse or deny service or accommodations to a person because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, disability, or marital status.
Section 45-2-70. The innkeeper shall post a copy of this chapter, together with all rules of the lodging establishment, in a conspicuous place at or near the guest registration desk and inside each guest room at the lodging establishment."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect on the first day of the second month following approval by the Governor.