Download This Bill in Microsoft Word format

Bill 3901

                    Current Status

Bill Number:                      3901
Type of Legislation:              General Bill GB
Introducing Body:                 House
Introduced Date:                  19990408
Primary Sponsor:                  Davenport
All Sponsors:                     Davenport and Lee
Drafted Document Number:          l:\council\bills\psd\7281ac99.doc
Residing Body:                    House
Current Committee:                Judiciary Committee 25 HJ
Subject:                          Year 2000 Citizens' Protection Act, 
                                  Computers, Courts, Civil actions, 
                                  Telecommunications, Torts


                        History

Body    Date      Action Description                     Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  ______________________________________ _______ ____________
House   19990408  Introduced, read first time,           25 HJ
                  referred to Committee


                             Versions of This Bill

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 15-1-340 SO AS TO ENACT THE "YEAR 2000 CITIZENS' PROTECTION ACT" TO ESTABLISH AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE TO ANY CLAIM OR ACTION BROUGHT AGAINST AN INDIVIDUAL IF THE INDIVIDUAL'S DEFAULT, FAILURE TO PAY, BREACH, OMISSION, OR OTHER VIOLATION THAT IS THE BASIS OF THE CLAIM WAS IN WHOLE OR PART CAUSED BY A YEAR 2000 ELECTRONIC COMPUTING DEVICE FAILURE; TO PROHIBIT THE CLAIM FROM BEING REASSERTED FOR THIRTY DAYS AND TO TOLL ANY STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR FORTY-FIVE DAYS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE UNDERLYING OBLIGATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL IS NOT EXTINGUISHED, DISCHARGED, OR OTHERWISE AFFECTED.

Whereas, the General Assembly finds that society is heavily reliant upon computers, technology, and the rapid electronic transfer and exchange of accurate information and data; and

Whereas, the General Assembly further finds that society relies heavily upon computer technology for most aspects of daily living and business including, but not limited to, financial transactions; and

Whereas, the General Assembly further finds that the rapid growth of technology has often outpaced the capabilities of the electronic equipment, software, and hardware that our society utilizes for the exchange and transfer of data and other information; and

Whereas, the General Assembly finds that recently developed computer technology is the operational basis for much of our current hardware and software, and yet it may not recognize the year 2000 date change; and

Whereas, the General Assembly finds that the result may be that in the year 2000, many computer-based systems may fail or cause incorrect data or other information to be processed. This potentially worldwide deficiency in computers is often referred to as the "Y2K bug" and may cause significant problems in the transfer and exchange of data and information in the year 2000 and beyond; and

Whereas, accordingly, the General Assembly determines that in order to protect the citizens of this State, it is appropriate to limit the liability of South Carolina citizens against adverse financial ramifications resulting from year 2000 failures associated with electronic computer devices. Now, therefore,

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

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Year 2000 Citizens' Protection Act".

SECTION 2. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 15-1-340. (A) For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) 'Electronic computing device' means any computer hardware or software, computer chip, embedded chip, process control equipment, or other information system that:

(a) is used to capture, store, manipulate, or process data; or

(b) controls, monitors, or assists in the operation of physical apparatus that is not primarily used as a computer but that relies on automation or digital technology to function including, but not limited to, vehicles, vessels, buildings, structures, facilities, elevators, medical equipment, traffic signals, and factory machinery.

(2) 'Year 2000 failure' means, with respect to an electronic computing device, any failure, including an electrical or telecommunications failure, that prevents the electronic computing device from accurately interpreting, producing, computing, generating, accounting for, processing, calculating, comparing, or sequencing date or time data:

(a) from, into, or between:

(i) the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; or

(ii) the years 1999 and 2000, or

(b) with regard to leap year calculations.

'Year 2000 failure' includes any inability of a business to perform an intended or requested function because of the system failure of an outside party including, but not limited to, the failure of a governmental body to provide data, transportation delays, energy failures, or communication failures.

(B) An individual has an affirmative defense to any claim or action brought against the individual if the individual establishes that the individual's default, failure to pay, breach, omission, or other violation that is the basis of the claim against him or her was caused, in whole or in part, by a year 2000 failure associated with an electronic computing device, and, if it were not for the year 2000 failure, the individual would have been able to satisfy the obligations that are the basis of the claim.

(C) If an individual establishes an affirmative defense as set forth in subsection (B), the person or entity making the claim against the individual may not reassert the claim against which the affirmative defense was asserted for a period of thirty days from the date on which the court dismissed the case as a result of the affirmative defense. Any statute of limitations applicable to the claim must be tolled for forty-five days upon the dismissal of the case under this section.

(D) This section does not affect those transactions upon which a default has occurred before any disruption of financial or data transfer operations attributable to the year 2000 date change.

(E) The dismissal of an action as the result of the affirmative defense under this section does not impair, extinguish, discharge, satisfy, or otherwise affect the underlying obligation that is the basis of the claim against which the affirmative defense was asserted, except that, the inability of a party to bring the claim based upon the obligation must be delayed as provided for in subsection (C).

(F) An individual who has established an affirmative defense as provided for in subsection (B) may dispute directly with a credit reporting agency operating in this State any item of information in the individual's consumer file relating to the subject of the affirmative defense. The credit reporting agency shall comply with the requirements of the federal 'Fair Credit Reporting Act; in responding to the dispute. If requested by the individual pursuant to this subsection, the credit reporting agency shall include a statement of no more than one hundred words in the individual's consumer file if either the statement is an explanation regarding an item of information that the consumer reporting agency denies is inaccurate or if the statement concerns the content of the individual's consumer file. The credit reporting agency may not charge the individual a fee for the inclusion of this statement in the individual's consumer file."

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor, and applies to causes of action accruing after December 31, 1999.

This web page was last updated on Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 9:25 A.M.