South Carolina General Assembly
112th Session, 1997-1998

Bill 3184


                    Current Status

Bill Number:                    3184
Ratification Number:            371
Act Number:                     307
Type of Legislation:            General Bill GB
Introducing Body:               House
Introduced Date:                19970114
Primary Sponsor:                Davenport 
All Sponsors:                   Davenport 
Drafted Document Number:        gjk\23160sd.97
Date Bill Passed both Bodies:   19980416
Date of Last Amendment:         19970515
Governor's Action:              S
Date of Governor's Action:      19980526
Subject:                        Human remains or repositories,
                                destruction or desecration of;
                                Cemeteries, Medical, Crimes and
                                Offenses

History


Body    Date      Action Description                       Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  _______________________________________  _______ ____________

------  19980611  Act No. A307
------  19980526  Signed by Governor
------  19980521  Ratified R371
House   19980416  Concurred in Senate amendment,
                  enrolled for ratification
House   19980415  Debate adjourned upon Senate
                  amendments until 19980416
Senate  19980402  Read third time, returned to House
                  with amendment
Senate  19970515  Read second time, ordered to
                  third reading with notice of
                  general amendments
Senate  19970515  Committee amendment adopted
Senate  19970514  Committee report: Favorable with         11 SJ
                  amendment
Senate  19970218  Introduced, read first time,             11 SJ
                  referred to Committee
House   19970214  Read third time, sent to Senate
House   19970213  Read second time, unanimous
                  consent for third reading on
                  Friday, 19970214
House   19970213  Committee amendment adopted
House   19970212  Committee report: Favorable with         25 HJ
                  amendment
House   19970114  Introduced, read first time,             25 HJ
                  referred to Committee
House   19970108  Prefiled, referred to Committee          25 HJ


View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A307, R371, H3184)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 16-17-600, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE UNLAWFUL DESTRUCTION OR DESECRATION OF HUMAN REMAINS OR REPOSITORIES AND THE PENALTIES THEREFOR, SO AS TO INCREASE THE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS, TO REQUIRE COMMUNITY SERVICE FOR CERTAIN VIOLATIONS, TO PROVIDE THAT A CREMATORY OPERATOR IS NEITHER CIVILLY NOR CRIMINALLY LIABLE FOR CREMATING A BODY WHICH HAS BEEN INCORRECTLY IDENTIFIED OR THE FUNERAL DIRECTOR HAS OBTAINED INVALID AUTHORIZATION TO CREMATE, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THIS IMMUNITY DOES NOT APPLY TO A CREMATORY OPERATOR WHO KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THE BODY WAS INCORRECTLY IDENTIFIED.

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

Penalties increased; community service; crematory operators' immunity

SECTION 1. Section 16-17-600 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Section 37, Act 184 of 1993, is further amended to read:

Section 16-17-600. (A) It is unlawful for a person wilfully and knowingly, and without proper legal authority to:

(1) destroy or damage the remains of a deceased human being;

(2) remove a portion of the remains of a deceased human being from a burial ground where human skeletal remains are buried, a grave, crypt, vault, mausoleum, or other repository; or

(3) desecrate human remains.

A person violating the provisions of subsection (A) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not less than one year nor more than ten years, or both.

A crematory operator is neither civilly nor criminally liable for cremating a body which (1) has been incorrectly identified by the funeral director, coroner, medical examiner, or person authorized by law to bring the deceased to the crematory; or (2) the funeral director has obtained invalid authorization to cremate. This immunity does not apply to a crematory operator who knew or should have known that the body was incorrectly identified.

(B) It is unlawful for a person wilfully and knowingly, and without proper legal authority to:

(1) obliterate, vandalize, or desecrate a burial ground where human skeletal remains are buried, a grave, graveyard, tomb, mausoleum, or other repository of human remains;

(2) deface, vandalize, injure, or remove a gravestone or other memorial monument or marker commemorating a deceased person or group of persons, whether located within or outside of a recognized cemetery, memorial park, or battlefield; or

(3) obliterate, vandalize, or desecrate a park or other area clearly designated to preserve and perpetuate the memory of a deceased person or group of persons.

A person violating the provisions of subsection (B) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than ten years or fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both.

(C) It is unlawful for a person wilfully, knowingly, and without proper legal authority to destroy, tear down, or injure only fencing, plants, trees, shrubs, or flowers located upon or around a repository for human remains, or within a human graveyard or memorial park.

A person violating the provisions of subsection (C) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. Injury or loss of property less than two hundred dollars is a misdemeanor triable in magistrate's court. Upon conviction, the person must be fined, imprisoned, or both, not more than is permitted by law, without presentment or indictment by the grand jury, and further must be required to perform up to five hundred hours of community service in an amount to be determined by the court.

Time effective

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

Approved the 26th day of May, 1998.