2003-2004 Bill 4697: Trees or forest products, criminal penalties for not making full payment to land owners when trees purchased and forest products sold

South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

Download This Bill in Microsoft Word format

A273, R365, H4697

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Witherspoon, Rhoad, Hayes, Bailey, Battle, Coates, Davenport, Edge, Keegan, Leach, Limehouse, Loftis, McCraw and Stewart
Document Path: l:\council\bills\gjk\20901sd04.doc

Introduced in the House on February 4, 2004
Introduced in the Senate on February 26, 2004
Last Amended on May 13, 2004
Passed by the General Assembly on May 25, 2004
Governor's Action: July 16, 2004, Signed

Summary: Trees or forest products, criminal penalties for not making full payment to land owners when trees purchased and forest products sold

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    2/4/2004  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-32
    2/4/2004  House   Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources 
                        and Environmental Affairs HJ-33
   2/24/2004  House   Committee report: Favorable with amendment Agriculture, 
                        Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs HJ-2
   2/25/2004  House   Amended HJ-63
   2/25/2004  House   Read second time HJ-64
   2/25/2004          Scrivener's error corrected
   2/26/2004  House   Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-22
   2/26/2004  Senate  Introduced and read first time SJ-15
   2/26/2004  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-15
   5/12/2004  Senate  Committee report: Favorable with amendment Judiciary 
                        SJ-20
   5/13/2004  Senate  Amended SJ-23
   5/13/2004  Senate  Read second time SJ-23
   5/18/2004  Senate  Read third time and returned to House with amendments 
                        SJ-20
   5/25/2004  House   Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled HJ-43
    6/2/2004          Ratified R 365
   7/16/2004          Signed By Governor
   7/26/2004          Copies available
   7/26/2004          Effective date See Act for Effective Date
   7/28/2004          Act No. 273

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

2/4/2004
2/24/2004
2/25/2004
2/25/2004-A
5/12/2004
5/13/2004

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

(A273, R365, H4697)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 16-11-580, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE UNLAWFUL CUTTING, REMOVING, OR TRANSPORTING OF TIMBER WITHOUT PERMISSION, SO AS TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THE UNLAWFUL CUTTING, REMOVING, ACQUIRING, OR TRANSPORTING OF FOREST PRODUCTS WITHOUT PERMISSION AND TO REVISE THE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS BASED IN PART ON THE VALUE OF THE FOREST PRODUCTS INVOLVED; AND BY ADDING SECTION 48-23-265 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON WHO PURCHASES FOREST PRODUCTS DIRECTLY FROM A LANDOWNER POSSESSING LANDS IN THIS STATE OR A PERSON WHO HAS RECEIVED PAYMENT FROM A SALE OF FOREST PRODUCTS TO A THIRD PARTY MUST MAKE FULL PAYMENT TO THE LANDOWNER IN THE MANNER PROVIDED IN THIS SECTION, TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS AND PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS, TO PROVIDE THAT FAILURE TO REMIT PAYMENT AS REQUIRED SUBJECTS THE VIOLATOR TO CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS, TO PROVIDE THAT WHERE THE VALUE OF THE FOREST PRODUCTS EXCEEDS FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS, EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLES USED TO ACQUIRE OR CUT THE FOREST PRODUCTS ARE SUBJECT TO CONFISCATION AND FORFEITURE, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE COURT SHALL ORDER RESTITUTION AS A MANDATORY CONDITION OF THE SENTENCE IMPOSED.

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

Elements of offense and penalties revised

SECTION 1. Section 16-11-580 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 16-11-580. (A) It is unlawful for a person to knowingly and wilfully:

(1) cut, destroy, or remove forest products without the consent of the landowner;

(2) aid, hire, or counsel another person to cut, destroy, or remove forest products without the consent of the landowner;

(3) obtain or acquire forest products under false pretenses or with fraudulent intent; or

(4) transport forest products if the person knows that the forest products have been cut, removed, obtained, or acquired from the property of a landowner in violation of the provisions of this subsection.

(B) If the value of the forest products is one thousand dollars or less, a person who violates the provisions of subsection (A) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days.

(C) If the value of the forest products is more than one thousand dollars, a person who violates the provisions of subsection (A) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be:

(1) fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned for not more than five years if the value of the forest products is more than one thousand dollars but less than five thousand dollars; or

(2) fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned for not more than ten years if the value of the forest products is five thousand dollars or more.

(D) As used in this section, 'forest products' include, but are not limited to, timber, trees, logs, lumber, or pine straw or any other products in the forest, whether merchantable or nonmerchantable, and which are located on any land in this State, whether publicly or privately owned."

Payment required; penalties

SECTION 2. Chapter 23, Title 48 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 48-23-265. (A)(1) A person who purchases forest products directly from a landowner possessing lands in this State, and who has received payment for the forest products from a sale to a third party, must make payment in full to the landowner within forty-five days of the receipt of payment.

(2) If the landowner has not received payment within the required forty-five days, the landowner must send written notice, by certified mail or by personal delivery, to the purchaser's last known address stating the landowner's demand for payment. The purchaser violates the provisions of this section and is subject to a criminal penalty if he knowingly and wilfully fails to make payment in full to the landowner within ten days after receiving this notice.

(3) This section does not apply to a written agreement signed between the landowner and the purchaser providing for a means of payment other than the one provided for in this section.

(B) If the value of the forest products is less than five thousand dollars, a person who violates the provisions of subsection (A) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be punished:

(1) if the value of the forest products is five hundred dollars or less:

(a) for a first offense, by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days; or

(b) for a second or subsequent offense, by a fine of two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days;

(2) if the value of the forest products is more than five hundred dollars but less than five thousand dollars:

(a) for a first offense, by a fine of not less than three hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days; or

(b) for a second or subsequent offense, by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or both.

(C) If the value of the forest products is five thousand dollars or more, a person who violates subsection (A) is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be punished:

(1) for a first offense by a fine of not less than three hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two years, or both; or

(2) for a second or subsequent offense by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than two thousand dollars and imprisonment for not less than thirty days nor more than ten years.

(D) The court shall order restitution to the victim as a mandatory condition of the sentence imposed.

(E) If the value of the forest products is five thousand dollars or more, in addition to the penalties provided in this section, all motor vehicles, conveyances, tractors, trailers, watercraft, vessels, tolls, and equipment of any kind used or positioned for use in acquiring, cutting, harvesting, manufacturing, producing, processing, delivering, importing, or exporting the forest products are subject to confiscation and forfeiture pursuant to Section 16-13-177.

(F) As used in this section, 'forest products' include, but are not limited to, timber, trees, logs, lumber, or pine straw or any other products in the forest, whether merchantable or nonmerchantable, and which are located on any land in this State, whether publicly or privately owned.

(G) As used in this section, 'conviction' includes a guilty plea, plea of nolo contendere, or the forfeiture of bail."

Time effective

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to offenses committed on or after the effective date.

Ratified the 2nd day of June, 2004.

Approved the 16th day of July, 2004.

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This web page was last updated on Monday, December 7, 2009 at 10:38 A.M.