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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
AMENDED
May 25, 2004
S. 848
S. Printed 5/25/04--H. [SEC 5/26/04 2:22 PM]
Read the first time April 21, 2004.
TO AMEND SECTION 56-5-170, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THESE VEHICLES ARE ALLOWED TO USE AND DISPLAY ANY BLUE LIGHTS OR RED LIGHTS; TO DEFINE THE TERM "DISPLAY", AND TO PROVIDE THAT ONLY CERTAIN AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLES MAY DISPLAY THE WORD "POLICE".
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 56-5-170 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 56-5-170. Fire department vehicles, police vehicles, ambulances and rescue squad vehicles which are publicly owned, other emergency vehicles designated by the department or the chief of police of a municipality, and public and private vehicles while transporting individuals actually engaged in emergency activities because of the membership of one or more occupants of a fire department, police department or rescue squad are 'authorized emergency vehicles'.
(A) Authorized emergency vehicles for purposes of this section include the following:
(1) fire department vehicles;
(2) police vehicles;
(3) ambulances and rescue squad vehicles which are publicly owned;
(4) vehicles of coroners and deputy coroners of the forty-six counties as designated by the coroners;
(5) emergency vehicles designated by the fire department or the chief of police of a municipality;
(6) county government litter enforcement vehicles used by certified law enforcement Class 3 litter control officers;
(7) Department of Natural Resources vehicles, federal natural resources vehicles, and forestry commission vehicles when being used in the performance of law enforcement duties;
(8) public and private vehicles while transporting individuals actually engaged in emergency activities because one or more occupants belong to a fire department, volunteer fire department, police department, sheriff's office, authorized county government litter enforcement office, rescue squad, or volunteer rescue squad;
(9) county or municipal government jail or corrections vehicles used by certified jail or corrections officers, and emergency vehicles designated by the Director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections;
(10) vehicles designated by the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Environmental Control when being used in the performance of law enforcement or emergency response duties; and
(11) federal law enforcement, military, and emergency vehicles.
(B) Only authorized emergency vehicles and private security patrol vehicles regulated by the State Law Enforcement Division are allowed use or display of any blue lights or red lights. This includes light bars and smaller lights such as dash, deck, or visor lights. To 'display' means to be seen, whether activated or not.
(C) A vehicle shall not display the word 'police' unless it is an authorized emergency vehicle for use only by sworn police or other officers who are approved and certified by the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy.
(D) The provisions of this section do not apply to automobile dealerships, to police equipment suppliers that sell, deliver, or equip police vehicles to or for a law enforcement agency, to vehicles owned solely as collector's items and used only for participation in club activities, exhibits, tours, parades, and similar uses, or to persons designated by an agency owning such a vehicle to drive the vehicle or drive an auxiliary vehicle transporting such a vehicle."
SECTION 2. Article 18, Chapter 3, Title 56 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 56-3-1980. (A) A local jurisdiction may establish a citizens handicapped parking enforcement program to assist in the enforcement of handicapped parking laws.
(B) A person appointed to a citizens handicapped parking enforcement program must:
(1) be at least eighteen years of age;
(2) successfully complete a State Law Enforcement Division criminal history background check;
(3) successfully complete a handicapped parking enforcement training program established by the local jurisdiction; and
(4) serve as a volunteer without compensation.
(C) A person appointed to a citizens handicapped parking enforcement program who identifies an apparent violation of handicapped parking laws may collect information on the violation including vehicle identification information, the date, time, and location of the violation, and photographs of the violation, and then may submit the information to the local jurisdiction's appropriate law enforcement agency. Information and photographs collected may not be used for any purpose other than as evidence of a handicapped parking violation.
(D) Upon identification of the owner of the vehicle, the law enforcement agency must send by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the owner a warning or citation for the handicapped parking violation. The warning or citation must identify the vehicle, the date, time, and location of the violation, and include a copy of any photographs of the violation. The warning or citation also must include information on how the owner may contest the warning or citation. The owner is not responsible for the violation if the owner was not the person operating the vehicle at the time of the violation, and, within thirty days after notification of the violation, furnishes the law enforcement agency that issued the warning or citation an affidavit stating the name and address of the person operating the vehicle at the time of the violation. Upon identification of the person operating the vehicle at the time of the violation, the law enforcement agency must send by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the person a warning or citation for the handicapped parking violation. The warning or citation must identify the vehicle, the date, time, and location of the violation, and include a copy of any photographs of the violation. The warning or citation also must include information on how the person may contest the warning or citation.
(E) A person appointed to a citizens handicapped parking enforcement program is not an employee of the State nor any political subdivision of the State. Neither the State nor any subdivision of the State is liable for any injury to a person appointed to a citizens handicapped parking enforcement program. Neither the State nor any subdivision of the State is liable for any injury caused by a person appointed to a citizens handicapped parking enforcement program.
(F) A person appointed to a citizens handicapped parking enforcement program may not use or display blue or red lights authorized by Section 56-5-170 in a private vehicle."
SECTION 3. Section 56-3-1970 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 421 of 1992, is further amended to read:
"Section 56-3-1970. (A) It is unlawful to park any vehicle in a parking place clearly designated for handicapped persons unless the vehicle bears the distinguishing license plate or placard provided in Section 56-3-1960. The parking space must be designated by a sign at a height clearly visible by the driver of a vehicle bearing the appropriate symbol for a handicapped parking space.
(B) It is unlawful for any person who is not handicapped or who is not transporting a handicapped person to exercise the parking privileges granted handicapped persons pursuant to Section 56-3-1960.
(C) It is unlawful for a person or entity to file a false application to obtain a handicapped license plate or placard provided in Section 56-3-1960.
(D) It is unlawful for a person or entity to illegally duplicate, forge, or sell a handicapped license plate or placard provided in Section 56-3-1960.
(E) A person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days for each offense."
SECTION 4. Section 56-3-1971 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 459 of 1996, is further amended to read:
"Section 56-3-1971. All law enforcement officers issuing tickets on public and private property and state law enforcement division licensed security officers of shopping centers and business and commercial establishments, which provide parking spaces designated for handicapped persons, are authorized to issue a uniform parking violations ticket to an operator of a motor vehicle or the vehicle for violations of the prescribed use of the parking spaces. The uniform parking violations ticket shall provide a means for tracking violators by tag driver's license or license plate number and recording the violations with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The procedures governing the issuance, form, and content of the uniform parking violations ticket must be prescribed by the department and approved by the Attorney General within thirty days of submission by the department."
SECTION 5. Section 56-3-1972 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 459 of 1996, is further amended to read:
"Section 56-3-1972. For purposes of this article, a uniform parking violations ticket shall consist of five copies, one of which must be blue and issued to the operator of the vehicle or placed upon the vehicle parked in violation of this article; one of which must be yellow and must be dispatched to the department for its records; one of which must be white and must be maintained by the originating agency; one of which must be green and must be retained by the trial officer for his records; and one of which must be pink and must be dispatched by the issuing agency to the department for purposes of audit, unless otherwise provided for by the department. Each ticket shall have a unique identifying number."
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