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S. 274
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senator Ford
Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\10500mm05.doc
Introduced in the Senate on January 18, 2005
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary
Summary: Untrue or misleading advertising prohibited
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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1/18/2005 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-8
1/18/2005 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-8
2/4/2005 Senate Referred to Subcommittee: Gregory (ch), Elliott,
Anderson, Ritchie, Cleary
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 39-1-20, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO MAKING INTENTIONALLY UNTRUE STATEMENTS IN ADVERTISING, SO AS TO PROHIBIT IN ANY FORM ADVERTISING THAT IS KNOWN OR SHOULD BE KNOWN TO BE UNTRUE OR MISLEADING, INCLUDING TELEVISION, RADIO, AND INTERNET BROADCASTS; AND TO AMEND SECTION 39-5-40, RELATING TO APPLICABILITY OF THE UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES ACT, SO AS TO MAKE THE PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO A PERSON WHO KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THE ADVERTISING WAS UNTRUE OR MISLEADING.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 39-1-20 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 39-1-20. Any A person who knowingly with intent to sell or in any wise otherwise dispose of merchandise, securities, service services, or anything offered by such person him, directly or indirectly, to the public for sale or distribution or with intent to increase the consumption thereof of it, to induce the public in any manner to enter into any an obligation relating thereto to it, or to acquire title thereto to it or an interest therein in it makes, publishes, disseminates, circulates, broadcasts, or places before the public or causes, directly or indirectly, to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, broadcast, or placed before the public, in a newspaper, or other publication or in the form of a book, notice, handbill, poster, bill, circular, pamphlet, letter, or in any a broadcast over the Internet, television, or radio, or in other another way an advertisement of any sort regarding merchandise, securities, service services, or anything so offered to the public which contains containing any assertion, representation or statement of fact which that is known or should be known to be intentionally untrue shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall must be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment at hard labor for not less than thirty days nor more than six months, in the discretion of the court."
SECTION 2. Section 39-5-40 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 39-5-40. (A) Nothing in this This article shall does not apply to:
(a)(1) Actions actions or transactions permitted under by laws administered by any regulatory body or officer acting under pursuant to statutory authority of this State or the United States or actions or transactions permitted by any other South Carolina State law. laws of this state;
(b)(2) Acts acts done by the publisher, owner, agent, or employee of a newspaper, periodical, or radio or television station, or Internet provider in the publication, or dissemination, or broadcast of an advertisement, when if the owner, agent, or employee did not have knowledge know and should not have known of the false, misleading, or deceptive character of the advertisement and did not have a direct financial interest in the sale or distribution of the advertised product or service.;
(c)(3) This article does not supersede or apply to unfair trade practices covered and regulated under Title 38, Chapter 55, Sections 38-55-10 through 38-55-410. pursuant to Chapter 55 of Title 38, Conduct of Insurance Business; or
(d)(4) Any a challenged practices practice that are is subject to, and comply complies with, statutes administered by the Federal Trade Commission and the rules, regulations, and decisions interpreting such those statutes.
(B) For the purpose of this section, the burden of proving exemption from the provisions of this article shall be is upon the person claiming the exemption."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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