Current Status Bill Number:3365 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:19950125 Primary Sponsor:Koon All Sponsors:Koon, Boan, Harvin, McAbee, Neilson, Spearman, Stuart, Gamble, Witherspoon and Riser Drafted Document Number:PFM\7086BDW.95 Residing Body:House Current Committee:Education and Public Works Committee 21 HEPW Subject:Wholesale motor vehicle auctions
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
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House 19950125 Introduced, read first time, 21 HEPW
referred to Committee
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 5 TO CHAPTER 15, TITLE 56 SO AS TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR WHOLESALE MOTOR VEHICLE AUCTIONS AND FOR WHOLESALE MOTOR VEHICLE AUCTION LICENSE PLATES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 15, Title 56 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 56-15-510. As used in this article:
(1) `Wholesale motor vehicle auction' is an entity in the business of providing auction services in wholesale transactions at its established place of business, and which does not buy, sell, or own the motor vehicles it auctions in the ordinary course of its business. (2) `Motor vehicles' with regard to transactions taking place at a wholesale motor vehicle auction include, but are not limited to, motor homes, manufactured homes, recreational vehicles, boats, motorcycles, and motor vehicles as provided for in Section 56-3-20.
Section 56-15-520. When a transfer of title is made as a result of a transaction at a wholesale motor vehicle auction, the reassignment of title or bill of sale must note the name and address of the wholesale motor vehicle auction. However, the wholesale motor vehicle auction is not deemed to be the owner, seller, transferor, or assignor of title of a motor vehicle by reason of its name appearing on a reassignment of title or bill of sale or by reason of its payment of a guarantee of payment to a seller, receipt of payment from a purchaser, or the reservation of a lien or security interest for the purpose of securing payment from a purchaser.
Section 56-15-530. A wholesale motor vehicle auction is not prohibited from buying or selling motor vehicles in its own name. However, in that instance, it shall comply with the provisions of South Carolina law pertaining to reassignment and delivery of title documents and disclosures to buyers.
Section 56-15-540. A motor vehicle dealer licensed by this or another jurisdiction may purchase or sell motor vehicles at a wholesale motor vehicle auction. A person may purchase or sell motor vehicles at a wholesale motor vehicle auction if required by an agency of government or by law.
Section 56-15-550. The following may sell motor vehicles through a wholesale motor vehicle auction if the motor vehicles are acquired as an incident to regular business:
(1) manufacturers;
(2) marine dealers;
(3) motor vehicle rental businesses;
(4) motor vehicle lease businesses;
(5) recreation vehicle dealers;
(6) sellers of motor vehicle fleets;
(7) manufacturers;
(8) public officers while performing their official duties;
(9) receivers;
(10) trustees;
(11) administrators;
(12) executors;
(13) guardians;
(14) insurance companies;
(15) banks;
(16) finance companies;
(17) other loan agencies or their agents.
Section 56-15-560. Before engaging in business as a wholesale motor vehicle auction in this State, an application must be filed with the Department of Public Safety furnishing the information it requires including, but not limited to, information adequately identifying by name and address individuals who own or control ten percent or more of the interest of the applicant. Each license issued expires twelve months from the month of issuance and must be displayed prominently at the established place of business. The license applies to only one place of business of the applicant and is not transferable to another person or place of business. The fee for the license is fifty dollars.
Section 56-15-570. (A) Each applicant for licensure as a wholesale motor vehicle auction shall furnish a surety bond in the penal amount of fifteen thousand dollars on a form prescribed by the Deputy Director of the Motor Vehicle Records and Vehicle Inspection Division of the department. The bond must be given to the department and executed by the applicant as principal and by a corporate surety company authorized to do business in this State as surety. The bond must be conditioned upon the applicant or licensee complying with the statutes applicable to the license and as indemnification for loss or damage suffered by an owner of a motor vehicle, or his legal representative, by reason of fraud practiced or fraudulent representation made by the licensee in connection with the sale or transfer of a motor vehicle by the licensee or its agent acting for it or within the scope of employment of the agent or loss or damage suffered by reason of a violation by the licensee or its agent of this chapter.
(B) An owner or his legal representative who suffers loss or damage has a right of action against the wholesale motor vehicle auction and against the licensee's surety upon the bond and may recover damages as provided in this chapter. A new bond or a proper continuation certificate must be delivered to the department annually before the license is renewed. However, regardless of the number of years a bond remains in effect, the aggregate liability of the surety for all claims is limited to fifteen thousand dollars on each bond and to the amount of the actual loss incurred. The surety may terminate its liability under the bond by giving the department thirty days' written notice of its intent to cancel the bond. The surety shall notify the department if the bond is canceled. The cancellation does not affect liability incurred or accrued before the cancellation.
Section 56-15-580. During a license year, if there is a change in the information that a wholesale motor vehicle auction gave the department to obtain or retain a license under this section, the licensee shall report the change to the department within thirty days after the change occurs on the form the department requires.
Section 56-15-590. (A) A wholesale motor vehicle auction shall establish and retain at its primary place of business complete records in an order appropriate for business requirements and that permits systematic retrieval for five years following the date of sale of each motor vehicle. The records must show the name of the most recent owner other than the wholesale motor vehicle auction, the name of the buyer, the vehicle identification number, and the odometer reading on the date which the wholesale motor vehicle auction took possession of the motor vehicle.
(B) The records kept by the wholesale motor vehicle auction must be maintained in a reasonably organized and orderly fashion with all entries being legible to the ordinary person upon inspection. Records which are illegible or incapable of accurate interpretation by the recordkeeper or the department's inspector or agent are not in compliance with this section.
(C) If a wholesale motor vehicle auction fails to keep the required records or fails to make them available to the department or its authorized agents immediately upon a reasonable request, the wholesale motor vehicle auction is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, is subject to the provisions of Chapter 54 of Title 12.
Section 56-15-600. (A) The department may issue to a licensed wholesale motor vehicle auction, upon application and payment of the required fee to the department, wholesale motor vehicle auction license plates. The license plates are exclusively for the use of transporting motor vehicles in the course of doing business as a wholesale motor vehicle auction and expire twelve months from the month of issuance.
(B) Wholesale motor vehicle auction license plates must not be issued by the department unless the wholesale motor vehicle auction furnishes proof in a form acceptable to the department that it has a wholesale motor vehicle auction license as required by this article and that at least twenty sales of motor vehicles have taken place through the wholesale motor vehicle auction in the twelve months preceding its application for a license. The sales requirement may be waived by the department if the wholesale motor vehicle auction has been licensed for less than one year.
(C) A wholesale motor vehicle auction may be issued two license plates for the first twenty vehicles auctioned during the preceding year and one additional license plate for each fifty vehicles auctioned beyond the initial twenty during the preceding year but not to exceed one hundred license plates. For good cause shown, the department in its discretion may issue additional license plates. If the wholesale motor vehicle auction has been licensed less than one year, the department shall issue a number of license plates based on an estimated number of sales for the coming year. The department may increase or decrease the number of license plates issued based on actual sales made.
(D) The cost of each wholesale motor vehicle auction license plate issued is twenty dollars annually."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.