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TO AMEND SECTION 40-59-30 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO A RESIDENTIAL BUILDING LICENSE, TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON MUST HAVE A LICENSE TO FILE A MECHANICS LIEN, TO PROVIDE THE PROCESS FOR A RESIDENTIAL SPECIALTY CONTRACTOR FILING A MECHANICS LIEN AGAINST A RESIDENTIAL BUILDER, TO PROVIDE FOR A RELEASE BOND, AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR A FRAUDULENT LIEN.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 40-59-30 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 40-59-30. (A) A person or firm who engages or offers to engage in the business of residential building or residential specialty contracting without first having procured a license from the commission, which has not expired or been revoked, suspended, or restricted or who knowingly presents to, or files with, the commission false information for the purpose of obtaining a license is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than five hundred dollars or more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned for not less than thirty days, or both.
(B) Notwithstanding Section 29-5-10, or any other provision of law, a A person or firm who has not first procured a license may not file a mechanics lien or bring an action at law or in equity to enforce the provisions of a contract for residential building or residential specialty contracting which the person or firm entered into in violation of this chapter.
(C) If it appears to the commission that a person or firm has violated, or is about to violate, a provision of this chapter, the commission may in its own name petition an administrative law judge, as provided under Article 5 of Chapter 23 of Title 1, to issue a temporary restraining order enjoining the violation of this chapter, pending a full hearing to determine whether or not the injunction must be made permanent.
(C) To file a mechanics lien against a residential builder, a residential specialty contractor must provide the county clerk of court or register of deeds with:
(1) proof that he is licensed by the South Carolina Residential Building Commission as a residential specialty contractor;
(2) documentation that itemizes the outstanding balances in the proposed lien; and
(3) the contract or established payment history with the residential builder whom the lien is filed against.
(D) A residential builder may at any time secure a release bond pursuant to Section 29-5-110. Notwithstanding Section 29-5-110, the amount of the release bond must equal one and one-third of the first five thousand dollars of the claim and an amount equal to any portion of the claim exceeding five thousand dollars.
(E) If a lien filed by a residential specialty contractor against a residential builder is dissolved because the residential specialty contractor fails to take some timely action required by Chapter 5, Title 29, the clerk of court or register of deeds must provide the residential builder with a certified statement indicating that the lien is dissolved and should be removed from the residential builder's credit record.
(F) A residential specialty contractor who files a fraudulent lien against a residential builder is subject to a fine of up to five thousand dollars, the loss of his residential specialty contractor license, or both.
(G) Pursuant to Article 5, Chapter 23, Title 1, the commission may petition an administrative law judge to issue a temporary restraining order enjoining a violation of this chapter, pending a full hearing to determine whether the injunction must be made permanent."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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