Senators Harpootlian and Hembree propose the following amendment (SR-3532.JG0065S):
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by adding an appropriately numbered SECTION to read:
SECTION X. Chapter 15, Title 17 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:
Section 17-15-265.(A) When the clerk of court receives an initial bond form in a criminal case or an initial filing in a civil case, the court must enter the case into an accessible case tracking system.
(B) The Judicial Department must establish and maintain an accessible case tracking system ("ACTS") that contains the information required pursuant to this section regarding the status of each case pending before the South Carolina Supreme Court, the South Carolina Court of Appeals, or any South Carolina Circuit Court until the final disposition of the case. ACTS must be prominently posted on the Judicial Department's internet website and made available to the public in a searchable format. ACTS must include for each case:
(1) the number of days the case has been pending;
(2) the case number and caption;
(3) the date of initial filing for a civil case or the date of indictment, or if no indictment, the date of the issuance of the warrant, for a criminal case;
(4) the current status of the case;
(5) a link to lower court decisions; and
(6) the date the sitting court:
(a) received the case;
(b) received the briefs, if briefed;
(c) heard oral arguments, if argued; and
(d) decided the case, if decided.