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S. 125
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Knotts and Reese
Document Path: l:\council\bills\swb\5101cm03.doc
Companion/Similar bill(s): 3336
Introduced in the Senate on January 14, 2003
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary
Summary: Bureau of Protective Services Division and Criminal Justice Academy Police Division created within DPS
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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1/8/2003 Senate Prefiled
1/8/2003 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary
1/14/2003 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-71
1/14/2003 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-71
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 23-6-100, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE CREATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY'S HIGHWAY PATROL DIVISION AND STATE POLICE DIVISION, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF A BUREAU OF PROTECTIVE SERVICES DIVISION AND A SOUTH CAROLINA CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACADEMY POLICE DIVISION WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, TO PROVIDE THAT A BADGE, UNIFORM, INSIGNIA, OR EMBLEMS OF THE HIGHWAY PATROL OR STATE POLICE MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED, SOLD, OR DISSEMINATED BY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON; TO PROVIDE A PENALTY FOR A VIOLATION OF THIS PROVISION, AND TO PROVIDE THAT BOTH THE SOUTH CAROLINA HIGHWAY PATROL DIVISION AND THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE POLICE DIVISION ARE AUTHORIZED TO TRANSFER THE SERVICE SIDEARM OF AN ACTIVE OFFICER KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY TO THE OFFICER'S SURVIVING IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 23-6-100 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 51 of 1997, is further amended to read:
"Section 23-6-100. (A) There is created a South Carolina Highway Patrol Division, and a South Carolina State Police Division, Bureau of Protective Services Division, and a South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy Police Division within the Department of Public Safety. The South Carolina Highway Patrol Division shall have such troopers, officers, agents, and employees as the department may deem considers necessary and proper for the enforcement of the traffic and other related laws, and the South Carolina State Police Division shall have such troopers, officers, agents, and employees as the department may deem considers necessary and proper for the enforcement of the commercial motor carrier related laws, the enforcement of which is devolved upon the department. The Bureau of Protective Services Division shall have troopers, officers, agents, and employees as the department considers necessary and proper to maintain the security of the Governor's Mansion Compound, and other governmental facilities, including the State Capitol Building, the facilities of the Capitol Complex, and other state buildings. The South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy Police Division shall have officers, agents, and employees as the department considers necessary and proper to provide security and other enforcement assistance at all academy buildings, facilities, and state property maintained on academy grounds. Such officers An officer and troopers trooper shall must be commissioned by the Governor upon the recommendation of the Director of the Department of Public Safety. Such commissions A commission may be terminated at the pleasure of the director.
(B) The department must shall provide the officers of the Highway Patrol and of the State Police with distinctive uniforms and suitable arms and equipment for use in the performance of their duties. Such officers An officer and troopers a trooper shall wear at all times, when in the performance of their duties, wear complete uniforms with badges conspicuously displayed on the outside of their uniforms.
(C) The commanding officers of the South Carolina Highway Patrol and the South Carolina State Police respectively, with the approval of the director of the department, shall prescribe a unique and distinctive official uniform, with appropriate insignia to be worn by all officers when on duty and at such other times as the director shall order orders, and a distinctive color or colors and appropriate emblems for all motor vehicles used by the Highway Patrol and the State Police except those designated by the director. No other law enforcement agency, private security agency, or any person shall wear a similar uniform and insignia which may be confused with the uniform and insignia of the Highway Patrol or State Police. An emblem must not be used on a nondepartment motor vehicle, nor may such vehicle be painted in a color or in any manner which would cause causes the vehicle to be similar to a Highway Patrol or State Police vehicle or readily confused with it.
(D) The director shall file with the Legislative Council for publication in the State Register a description and illustration of the official highway patrol uniform with insignia and the emblems of the official highway patrol and motor vehicles including a description of the color of such the uniforms and vehicles and a description and illustration of the official state police uniform with insignia and the emblems of the official state police and motor vehicles including a description of the color of such the uniforms and vehicles.
(E) The badge, uniform, insignia, or emblems of the Highway Patrol or State Police may not be reproduced, sold, or disseminated by a person or an entity not authorized to do so by the director of the department. A person wishing permission to use either department nomenclature or symbols may request permission in writing to the director. The director shall serve notice to the requesting party within thirty days after receipt of the request. If the director does not respond within the thirty day time period, then the request is presumed to have been denied. The grant of permission must be at the discretion of the director under the conditions as the director may impose.
(F) If there is an actual or threatened violation of subsection (E), the director has the right to apply to the circuit court for injunctive relief. In addition to any other relief or sanction for a violation of subsection (E), where the violation is wilfull, the director is entitled to collect a civil penalty in the amount of five hundred dollars for each violation. In addition when there is a finding of a wilfull violation, the director is entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees for bringing an action against the violator. The director is entitled to seek civil sanctions in the circuit court.
(E)(G) The South Carolina Highway Patrol Division or the South Carolina State Police Division shall transfer the service sidearm of an active duty trooper officer killed in the line of duty to the trooper's officer's surviving spouse immediate family members upon request at no charge once the sidearm has been rendered permanently inoperable."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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