Download This Bill in Microsoft Word format

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

H. 3213

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Koon and Altman
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11072ac03.doc

Introduced in the House on January 14, 2003
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Minors, juveniles, definition of child revised to include persons 18; procedure for taking into custody; driver's license suspension

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  12/18/2002  House   Prefiled
  12/18/2002  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary
   1/14/2003  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-87
   1/14/2003  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-87

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/18/2002

TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-6605, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE CODE, SO AS TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF CHILD TO INCLUDE PERSONS UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE IN THE CASE OF STATUS OFFENSES; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-7205, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PROCEDURES FOR TAKING JUVENILES INTO CUSTODY, SO AS TO APPLY THESE PROCEDURES TO JUVENILES BEING TAKEN INTO CUSTODY FOR STATUS OFFENSES; AND TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-7807, RELATING TO SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION OF A DRIVER'S LICENSE AS PART OF THE FAMILY COURT'S DISPOSITIONAL AUTHORITY IN ADJUDICATING JUVENILES, SO AS TO, IN THE CASE OF STATUS OFFENSES, APPLY THIS AUTHORITY TO CASES INVOLVING JUVENILES UP TO AGE EIGHTEEN RATHER THAN UP TO AGE SEVENTEEN.

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

SECTION    1.    Section 20-7-6605(1) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 383 of 1996, is amended to read:

"(1)    'Child' means a person less than under seventeen years of age; however, for purposes of a status offense, 'child' means a person under eighteen years of age. 'Child' does not mean a person sixteen years of age or older who is charged with a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more. However, a person sixteen years of age who is charged with a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more may be remanded to the family court for disposition of the charge at the discretion of the solicitor. An additional or accompanying charge associated with the charges contained in this item must be heard by the court with jurisdiction over the offenses contained in this item."

SECTION    2.    Section 20-7-7205(A) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 383 of 1996, is amended to read:

"(A)    When a child found committing a status offense or violating a criminal law or ordinance is taken into custody, the taking into custody is not an arrest. The jurisdiction of the court attaches from the time of the taking into custody. When a child is taken into custody, the officer taking the child into custody shall notify the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child as soon as possible. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the person taking the child into custody may release the child to a parent, a responsible adult, a responsible agent of a court-approved foster home, group home, nonsecure facility, or program upon the written promise, signed by the person, to bring the child to the court at a stated time or at a time the court may direct. The written promise, accompanied by a written report by the officer, must be submitted to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice as soon as possible, but not later than twenty-four hours after the child is taken into custody. If the person fails to produce the child as agreed, or upon notice from the court, a summons or a warrant may be issued for the apprehension of the person or of the child."

SECTION    3.    Section 20-7-7807(A) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 383 of 1996, is amended to read:

"(A)    If a child is adjudicated delinquent for a status offense or is found in violation of a court order relating to a status offense, the court may suspend or restrict the child's driver's license until the child's seventeenth eighteenth birthday."

SECTION    4.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

This web page was last updated on Monday, December 7, 2009 at 10:24 A.M.