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TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 57-25-145 SO AS TO PROHIBIT OUTDOOR ADVERTISING SIGNS FOR AN ADULT OR SEXUALLY-ORIENTED BUSINESS FROM BEING LOCATED WITHIN ONE MILE OF A PUBLIC HIGHWAY, TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS, AND TO PROVIDE A PENALTY FOR A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 57-25-120, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE DEFINITIONS OF THE HIGHWAY ADVERTISING CONTROL ACT, SO AS TO INCLUDE "ADULT BUSINESS", "SEMI-NUDITY", "SEXUALLY-ORIENTED BUSINESS", AND "SEXUALLY-ORIENTED MATERIALS"; AND TO AMEND SECTION 57-25-130, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO DECLARATIONS OF PURPOSE REGARDING THE HIGHWAY ADVERTISING CONTROL ACT, SO AS TO INCLUDE MITIGATING THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF SEXUALLY-ORIENTED BUSINESSES AND LIMITING HARM TO MINORS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 25, Title 57, of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 57-25-145. (A) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 57-25-140 or another provision of law, an outdoor advertising sign for an adult or sexually-oriented business may not be located within one mile of a public highway. However, if the business is located within one mile of a public highway, the business may display a maximum of two signs or outdoor advertising signs on the premises of the business consisting of one identification sign and one sign solely to give notice that the premises is off-limits to minors. The identification sign may be no more than forty square feet in size and may include no more than the name, street address, telephone number, and operating hours of the business.
(B) Signs or outdoor advertising signs in existence at the time of the effective date of this section which do not conform to the requirements of this section may continue as a nonconforming use but must conform within three years of the effective date of this section.
(C) An owner of an adult or sexually-oriented business who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not more than one year. Each week a violation of this section continues constitutes a separate offense."
SECTION 2. Section 57-25-120, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended by inserting alphabetically appropriately numbered subsections to read:
"( ) 'Adult business' means a nightclub, bar, restaurant, or another similar establishment in which a person appears in a state of sexually explicit nudity, as defined in Section 16-15-375, or semi-nudity, in the performance of their duties.
( ) 'Semi-nudity' means a state of dress in which opaque clothing fails to cover the genitals, anus, anal cleft or cleavage, pubic area, vulva, nipple and areola of the female breast below a horizontal line across the top of the areola at its highest point. Semi-nudity includes the entire lower portion of the female breast but does not include any portion of the cleavage of the human female breast exhibited by wearing clothing provided the areola is not exposed in whole or in part.
( ) 'Sexually-oriented business' means a business offering its patrons goods of which a substantial portion are sexually-oriented materials. A business in which more than ten percent of the display space is used for sexually-oriented materials is presumed to be a sexually-oriented business.
( ) 'Sexually-oriented materials' means textual, pictorial, or three-dimensional material that depicts nudity, sexual conduct, sexual enticement, or sadomasochistic abuse in a way which is patently offensive to the average person applying contemporary adult community standards with respect to what is suitable for minors. Sexually-oriented materials include obscene materials as defined in Section 16-15-305(B)."
SECTION 3. Section 57-25-130 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:
"Section 57-25-130. The General Assembly finds that outdoor advertising is a legitimate form of commercial use of the private property adjacent to the public highways. The General Assembly also finds that outdoor advertising is an integral part of the business and marketing function and is an established segment of the national economy which serves to promote and protect investments in commerce and industry and is, therefore, a business which must be allowed to exist and operate where other business and commercial activities are conducted and that a reasonable use of property for outdoor advertising to the traveling public is desirable. In order, however, to prevent unreasonable distraction of operators of motor vehicles, prevent confusion with regard to traffic lights, signs, or signals, prevent interference with the effectiveness of traffic regulations, promote the prosperity, economic well-being, and general welfare of the State, mitigate the adverse secondary effects of sexually-oriented businesses and limit harm to minors, promote the safety, convenience, and enjoyment of travel on and protection of the public investment in highways within this State, and preserve and enhance the natural scenic beauty or aesthetic features of the highways and adjacent areas, the General Assembly declares it to be the policy of this State that the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising signs, displays, and devices in areas adjacent to the rights-of-way of the interstate and federal-aid primary systems within this State must be regulated in accordance with the terms of this article which provide for standards consistent with customary use in this State and finds that all outdoor advertising devices which do not conform to the requirements of this article are illegal. It is the intention of the General Assembly in this article to provide a statutory basis for regulation of outdoor advertising consistent with the public policy relating to areas adjacent to interstate and federal-aid primary systems declared by Congress in Title 23, United States Code, 'Highways'."
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
This web page was last updated on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 2:50 P.M.