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H. 3679
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Talley, Davenport, Brantley, Leach, Clemmons, Barfield, Pinson, J.R. Smith, W.D. Smith, Walker, Brady and Haskins
Document Path: l:\council\bills\ms\7142ahb07.doc
Introduced in the House on March 8, 2007
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary
Summary: Adult businesses
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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3/8/2007 House Introduced and read first time HJ-12
3/8/2007 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-12
3/13/2007 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Brady
3/21/2007 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Haskins
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 5 TO CHAPTER 15, TITLE 16 SO AS TO CREATE A METHOD OF REGULATING CERTAIN ADULT BUSINESSES, TO DEFINE TERMS FOR PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE, AND TO CREATE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 15, Title 16 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 16-15-610. The General Assembly finds:
(1) It is the purpose of this article to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the people of the State by establishing reasonable regulations to prevent the deleterious secondary effects of adult businesses and sexually-oriented businesses. The regulations in this article have neither the purpose nor effect of imposing a limitation or restriction on the content or reasonable access to communicative materials, including sexually oriented materials.
(2) Adult businesses and sexually-oriented businesses, as a category of commercial uses, are associated with a wide variety of adverse secondary effects including, but not limited to, lewdness, public indecency, prostitution, potential spread of disease, illicit drug use and drug trafficking, personal and property crimes, negative impacts on surrounding properties, blight, litter, and sexual assault and exploitation.
(3) Each of the foregoing negative secondary effects constitutes a harm which the State has a substantial governmental interest in preventing and abating. This substantial governmental interest in preventing secondary effects is independent of a comparative analysis between adult businesses or sexually-oriented businesses and nonsexually-oriented businesses. The cases and documentation relied on in this article are reasonably believed to be relevant to these secondary effects.
Section 16-15-620. As used in this article:
(1) '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.
(2) '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.
(3) 'Sexually explicit nudity' means the showing of:
(a) uncovered, or less than opaquely covered human genitals, pubic area, or buttocks, or the nipple or any portion of the areola of the human female breast; or
(b) covered human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state.
(4) 'Sexually-oriented materials' means textual, pictorial, or three-dimensional material that depicts nudity, sexual conduct, sexual enticement, or sadomasochistic abuse in a way that 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).
(5) '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.
(6) 'Employee' means a person who performs a service on the premises of an adult business or a sexually-oriented business, on a full-time, part-time, or contractual basis, whether or not the person is denominated an employee, independent contractor, agent, or otherwise. 'Employee' does not include a person exclusively on the premises for repair or maintenance of the premises or for the delivery of goods to the premises.
(7) 'Operate' means to cause to function or to put or keep in a state of doing business. 'Operator' means a person on the premises of an adult business or a sexually-oriented business who causes the business to function or who puts or keeps in operation the business or who is authorized to manage the business or exercise overall operational control of the business premises.
(8) 'Patron' means a person on the premises of a sexually-oriented business except:
(1) an operator or an employee of that adult business or sexually-oriented business; or
(2) a person who is on the premises exclusively for repair or maintenance of the premises or for the delivery of goods to the premises.
(9) 'Premises' means the real property upon which the adult business or sexually-oriented business is located, and all appurtenances and buildings on the property including, but not limited to, the adult business or sexually-oriented business, the grounds, private walkways, parking lots, and adjacent parking garages under the ownership, control, or supervision of the licensee.
(10) 'Sexually-oriented entertainment activity' means the sale, rental, or exhibition, for any form of consideration, of books, films, video cassettes, magazines, visual images, or live performances which are characterized by an emphasis on the exposure or display of any specified anatomical areas or specified sexual activity.
(11) 'Specified anatomical areas' means human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, and female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola.
(12) 'Specified sexual activity' means intercourse, oral copulation, masturbation, sodomy, or excretory functions as a part of or in connection with any of these activities.
Section 16-15-630. (A) An adult business or sexually-oriented business may not be or remain open for business between 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m., except if the business that holds a liquor license pursuant to Chapter 6, Title 61 may remain open until the hour specified in that license, provided that it does not conduct, offer, or allow sexually-oriented entertainment activity between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m.
(B) While on the premises of an adult business or a sexually-oriented business:
(1) an employee, while in a state of sexually explicit nudity or while semi-nude, may not knowingly do the following:
(a) appear in the view of a patron unless the employee is at least six feet from all patrons and on a stage at least two feet above the floor;
(b) touch a patron or the clothing of a patron; or
(c) while in the view of a patron, touch another person who is in a state of sexually explicit nudity or while semi-nude;
(2) no patron knowingly shall touch an employee while that employee is in a state of sexually explicit nudity or while semi-nude, or touch the clothing or costume of an employee while that employee is in a state of sexually explicit nudity or while semi-nude; and
(3) an employee of an adult business or a sexually-oriented business who regularly appears in a state of sexually explicit nudity or while semi-nude on the premises of that adult business or sexually-oriented business may not knowingly be or remain within six feet of a patron.
(C) A person who violates the provisions of subsection (A) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than three years.
(D) A person who violates the provisions of subsection (B) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year."
SECTION 2. The repeal or amendment by this act of any law, whether temporary or permanent or civil or criminal, does not affect pending actions, rights, duties, or liabilities founded thereon, or alter, discharge, release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under the repealed or amended law, unless the repealed or amended provision shall so expressly provide. After the effective date of this act, all laws repealed or amended by this act must be taken and treated as remaining in full force and effect for the purpose of sustaining any pending or vested right, civil action, special proceeding, criminal prosecution, or appeal existing as of the effective date of this act, and for the enforcement of rights, duties, penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities as they stood under the repealed or amended laws.
SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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