South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

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H. 3727

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. J.E. Smith
Document Path: l:\council\bills\gjk\20237djc03.doc

Introduced in the House on March 4, 2003
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Tort Claims Act

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
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    3/4/2003  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-94
    3/4/2003  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-95

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

3/4/2003

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

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 15-78-30, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS USED IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA TORT CLAIMS ACT, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE SOUTH CAROLINA NATIONAL GUARD AND THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE GUARD IN CERTAIN DEFINITIONS, AND TO FURTHER PROVIDE THAT AN EMPLOYEE INCLUDES MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA NATIONAL GUARD, MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE GUARD, AND PERSONS ACTING ON BEHALF OR IN SERVICE OF A GOVERNMENTAL UNIT WITHOUT PAY OR COMPENSATION; AND TO AMEND SECTION 15-78-60, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO EXEMPTIONS TO THE WAIVER OF IMMUNITY IN THE STATE TORT CLAIMS ACT, SO AS TO INCLUDE CERTAIN HOME SECURITY AND COUNTER-TERRORIST ACTIVITIES IN THE EXEMPTION RELATING TO ACTIVITIES OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA NATIONAL GUARD AND THE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE GUARD.

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

SECTION 1.    Section 15-78-30(a), (c), and (e) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 271 of 1996, are further amended to read:

"(a)    'Agency' means the individual office, agency, authority, department, commission, board, division, instrumentality, or institution, including the South Carolina National Guard, the South Carolina State Guard, and a state-supported governmental health care facility, school, college, university, or technical college, which employs the employee whose act or omission gives rise to a claim under this chapter.

(c)    Prior to January 1, 1989, 'employee' means any officer, employee, or agent of the State or its political subdivisions, including elected or appointed officials, law enforcement officers, and persons acting on behalf or in service of a governmental entity in the scope of official duty, whether with or without compensation, but the term does not include an independent contractor doing business with the State or any political subdivision thereof. Custody of prisoners by the State or any of its political subdivisions does not in and of itself create an employer and employee relationship between the State and the prisoner. Provided, the provisions of this section shall in no way limit or modify the liability of a licensed physician or dentist, acting within the scope of his profession.

On or after January 1, 1989, 'employee' means any officer, employee, or agent of the State or its political subdivisions, including elected or appointed officials, law enforcement officers, members of the South Carolina National Guard and the South Carolina State Guard, and persons acting on behalf or in service of a governmental entity in the scope of official duty, with or without compensation including, but not limited to, technical experts whether with or without compensation, but the. The term does not include an independent contractor doing business with the State or any political subdivision thereof. Custody of prisoners by the State or any of its political subdivisions does not in and of itself create an employer and employee relationship between the State and the prisoner. Provided, the provisions of this section shall in no way limit or modify the liability of a licensed physician or dentist, acting within the scope of his profession, with respect to any action or claim brought hereunder which involved services for which the physician or dentist was paid, should have been paid, or expected to be paid at the time of the rendering of the services from any source other than the salary appropriated by the governmental entity or fees received from any practice plan authorized by the employer whether or not the practice plan is incorporated and registered with the Secretary of State.

(e)    'State' means the State of South Carolina and any of its offices, agencies, authorities, departments, commissions, boards, divisions, instrumentalities, including the South Carolina National Guard, the South Carolina State Guard, the South Carolina Protection and Advocacy System for the Handicapped, Inc., and institutions, including state-supported governmental health care facilities, schools, colleges, universities, and technical colleges."

SECTION    2.    Section 15-78-60(19) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 352 of 1988, is further amended to read:

"(19)(a)    emergency preparedness, home security, and counter-terrorist activities and all other activities of the South Carolina National Guard and South Carolina State Guard while engaged in state or federal training, military operations, or another service connected activity; or

(b)    the performance of a military duty by a member of the South Carolina National Guard or South Carolina State Guard pursuant to lawful authority or a lawful order. This exemption The exemptions of this item does do not apply to vehicular accidents;"

SECTION    3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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