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Current Status Bill Number:View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.4390 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:20000111 Primary Sponsor:Seithel All Sponsors:Seithel Drafted Document Number:l:\council\bills\nbd\11597ac00.doc Companion Bill Number:735 Residing Body:House Current Committee:Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee 26 HLCI Subject:Firefighters, to be registered with Office of State Fire Marshal History Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved ______ ________ ______________________________________ _______ ____________ House 20000111 Introduced, read first time, 26 HLCI referred to Committee House 20000105 Prefiled, referred to Committee 26 HLCI Versions of This Bill
TO AMEND TITLE 40, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS, BY ADDING CHAPTER 100 SO AS TO REQUIRE FIREFIGHTERS TO BE REGISTERED WITH THE OFFICE OF THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL AND TO ESTABLISH PROCEDURES FOR REGISTRATION AND FOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF A REGISTRATION.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 40 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 40-100-10. For purposes of this chapter:
(1) 'Administrative Procedures Act' means Article 3, Chapter 23, Title 1
(2) 'Employer' includes all fire departments or other entities which put individual firefighters to service or work or assign any firefighter to official duties, whether or not the firefighter receives financial compensation.
(3) 'Fire chief' means the highest ranking officer or official in charge of a fire department, whether or not called by some other title.
(4) 'Fire department' means any organization providing rescue, fire suppression, and related activities, including any public or governmental organization engaged in this type of activity.
(5) 'Firefighter' includes any person, male or female, paid or unpaid, who engages in rescue, fire suppression, or related activities, under the supervision of a fire chief or fire department.
Section 40-100-20. (A) No later than ten working days before the date of employment as a paid or volunteer firefighter, a firefighter must be registered with the Office of the State Fire Marshal by the firefighters fire chief or other employer.
(B) The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall maintain a file on each registered firefighter in the State, including all information required to be kept by this chapter, and shall assign to each registered firefighter a firefighter identification number which corresponds to the firefighter's social security number.
(C) The information in the file of an individual firefighter may be released in its entirety to a potential fire department or other employer and may be used as a basis for employment. The requesting department or employer shall maintain this information in a confidential manner.
(D) A registered firefighter may at any time request a copy of his or her file. The Office of the State Fire Marshal may charge a reasonable fee for researching and copying.
Section 40-100-30. (A) No person may perform firefighting duties in this State after June 30, 2000 with a public fire department, organization, or employer of a county, municipality, special purpose district, or other political subdivision, without first being registered as required by Section 40-100-20.
(B) A firefighter employed by the United States Government and working in that official capacity is not required to be registered.
Section 40-100-40. (A) Upon recommendation of a fire chief or other employer, the Office of the State Fire Marshal shall register each firefighter subject to the provisions of Sections 40-100-20 and 40-100-30. The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall maintain, at a minimum, a firefighter's name, date of birth, social security number, South Carolina driver's license number, and the department and the date of employment or membership. The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall notify the chief of the employing department or other employer in writing of the registration.
(B) Prior to the initial recommendation for registration and employment of a firefighter, the fire chief or other employer shall ensure that each prospective firefighter undergoes a criminal records check conducted by a law enforcement agency. A person may not be registered as a firefighter if, within ten years prior to the date of application, the person has been convicted of a felony or arson-related crime.
(C) A firefighter employed before June 30, 2000 is not required to undergo a criminal records check pursuant to subsection (B).
(D) A firefighter who works for or serves with more than one department or employer must be registered by each department or employer.
(E) A firefighter previously registered with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, but not actively engaged with a fire department or as a firefighter for a period of six months, shall apply for reregistration and undergo a criminal record check as required by subsection (B).
Section 40-100-50. Upon recommendation of the employing fire chief or other employer, the Office of the State Fire Marshal shall withdraw registration of a firefighter who:
(1) within the last ten years is convicted of, pleads guilty to, pleads nolo contendere, or otherwise admits guilt, regardless of the adjudication, to a felony, arson-related crime, or any other crime punishable by a sentence of more than one year, regardless of the sentence actually imposed, if any; or
(2) within the last ten years is convicted of, pleads nolo contendere, or otherwise admits guilt, regardless of the nature of the adjudication, to unlawful use of a controlled substance.
Section 40-100-60. Each fire department or other employer shall notify the Office of the State Fire Marshal within five working days after a firefighter is separated from employment or membership. However, in an emergency situation the notification must be made within ten working days.
Section 40-100-70. (A) At least ten days prior to the withdrawal of a firefighter registration, the Office of the State Fire Marshal shall notify the firefighter of the reason and the proposed action.
(B) The notice of withdrawal must be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the firefighter at the current address maintained in the registration file and to the fire chief of all departments or organizations by which the firefighter is employed or other employer of the firefighter.
(C) The firefighter may request administrative review of the decision by written notice filed with the Office of the State Fire Marshal no later than ten working days after receipt of the notice. If a request for review is made to the State Fire Marshal, a final determination must be made after an opportunity for a hearing pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act. The sole issue upon review is the action of withdrawal of firefighter registration. Evidence of personnel actions or termination of employment are not admissible.
Section 40-100-80. (A) Any person or department or organization who violates the provisions of this chapter must be given a written warning by the Office of the State Fire Marshal for the first offense and must be assessed a civil penalty of not more than two hundred fifty dollars for each subsequent offense.
(B) Any person assessed a civil penalty may request a review of that assessment within thirty days of the service of the notice of penalty. If a request for review is made to the Office of the State Fire Marshal, a final determination must be made after an opportunity for a hearing pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act.
Section 40-100-90. (A) The appeal of the denial or withdrawal of registration or the imposition of a civil penalty must be reviewed in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act.
(B) If the Office of the State Fire Marshal denies or withdraws registration of a firefighter, the firefighter must be notified in writing that he:
(1) has the right to a hearing; and
(2) may request a hearing by writing to the Office of the State Fire Marshal within thirty days.
(C) The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall transfer all requests for hearings to the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.
(D) All hearings must be handled by an administrative law judge.
(E) At the bottom of any letter, correspondence, or form of denial or withdrawal of registration, the Office of the State Fire Marshal must include a notification that the affected person is entitled to a hearing in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act and must request a hearing within thirty days."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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