Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

 

Amended

April 30, 2025

 

H. 3175

 

Introduced by Reps. Collins, Mitchell, Forrest and Calhoon

 

S. Printed 4/30/25--S.

Read the first time April 23, 2025

 

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A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 56-3-1230, RELATING TO SPECIFICATIONS OF LICENSE PLATES, THE PERIODIC ISSUANCE OF NEW PLATES, AND THE ISSUANCE OF REVALIDATION STICKERS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES SHALL ISSUE LICENSE PLATES COMMEMORATING THE TWO HUNDRED FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

    Amend Title To Conform

 

Whereas, on June 28, 1776, days before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, South Carolinians valiantly defended Charleston from imminent capture by the British, thereby slowing the British advance through the South; and

 

Whereas, Colonel William Moultrie commanded men such as William Jasper, a volunteer who hoisted the South Carolina flag, an indigo blue with a silver crescent in the upper-left hand corner, in the heat of battle at Sullivan's Island; and

 

Whereas, the triumph of the patriots at Sullivan's Island, due in part to the fort's spongy palmetto logs that repelled the cannonballs of the enemy, delayed the fall of Charleston into British captivity until 1780, four years later; and

 

Whereas, the South Carolina backcountry witnessed many skirmishes and battles involving South Carolina militia and heroes such as Thomas Sumter, Andrew Pickens, Daniel Morgan, Frederick Hambright, and Francis Marion, including patriot victories at Williamson's Plantation, Cedar Springs, Cowpens, King's Mountain, Earle's Ford, Flat Rock, Thicketty Fort, Hanging Rock, and more; and

 

Whereas, renowned historian Walter Edgar stated that "the American Revolution was won in the backcountry of South Carolina".  Now, therefore,

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  Section 56-3-1230 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 

    Section 56-3-1230. (A) License plates must be at least six inches wide and not less than twelve inches in length and must show in bold characters the year of registration, the serial number, the full name or the abbreviation of the name of the state, and other distinctive markings the department may consider advisable to indicate the class of the weight of the vehicle for which the license plate was issued. The plate must be of a strength and quality to provide a minimum service of five years. A new license plate including personalized and special plates, but excluding license plates provided in Sections 56-3-660 and 56-3-670, must be provided by the department at intervals the department considers appropriate, but at least every ten years. A new license plate for vehicles contained in Sections 56-3-660 and 56-3-670, must be provided by the department at intervals the department considers appropriate. Beginning with the vehicle registration and license fees required by this title which are collected after July 1, 2002, except for the fees collected pursuant to Sections 56-3-660 and 56-3-670, two dollars of each biennial fee and one dollar of each annual fee collected from the vehicle owner must be placed by the Comptroller General in a special restricted account to be used solely by the Department of Motor Vehicles for the costs associated with the production and issuance of new license plates. The department is not authorized to use this set aside money for any other purpose. License plates issued for vehicles in excess of twenty-six thousand pounds must be issued biennially, and no revalidation sticker may be issued for the plates. License plates issued as permanent may be revalidated and replaced at intervals determined by the department.

    (B) The face of the license plate must be treated completely with a retroreflective material which increases the nighttime visibility and legibility of the plate. The department shall prepare the specifications for the retroreflective material.  In those years in which a metal plate is not issued, a revalidation sticker with a distinctive serial number or other suitable means prescribed by the department must be issued and affixed in the space provided on the license plate assigned to the vehicle upon payment of the fee prescribed for registration and licensing, including fees for personalized or special license plates.

       (C) Notwithstanding another provision of law to the contrary, the regular license plate for private passenger vehicles and motorcycles issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles from January 1, 2026, until December 31, 2032, shall commemorate the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of the American Revolution. The South Carolina Revolutionary War Sestercentennial Commission shall submit to the department for approval the design, emblem, seal, logo, or other symbol it desires to be used on this license plate. The design, emblem, seal, logo, or other symbol submitted by the South Carolina Revolutionary War Sestercentennial Commission to the department must be imprinted with the words "Where The Revolutionary War Was Won" and shall include, at a minimum, a flag featuring the word LIBERTY in white against an indigo background together with a gorget in an upper corner of the flag, also known as the Moultrie Flag.

       (D) Fees for regular license plates shall not exceed the regular motor vehicle license fee set forth in Article 5, Chapter 3, Title 56.

 

SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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