| Printed Page 3790, Mar. 24 | Printed Page 3810, Mar. 24 |

In any court, when sentencing a person convicted of an offense which has proximately caused physical injury or death to the victim, the court may order the defendant to pay a restitution charge commensurate with the offense committed, not to exceed ten thousand dollars, to the Victim's Compensation Fund."

SECTION 2. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 14-1-206. (A) Beginning January 1, 1995, and continuously after that date, a person who is convicted, pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, or forfeits bond for an offense tried in general sessions or family court must pay an amount equal to sixty-two percent of the fine imposed as an assessment. This assessment must be paid to the clerk of court in the county in which the criminal judgment is rendered for remittance to the State Treasurer by the county treasurer. The assessment is based upon that portion of the fine that is not suspended and assessments must not be waived, reduced, or suspended.

(B) The county treasurer must remit the assessments to the State Treasurer on a monthly basis by the fifteenth day of each month and make reports on a form and in a manner prescribed by the State Treasurer. Assessments paid in installments must be remitted as received.

(C) The State Treasurer shall deposit the assessments as follows:

(1) 47.17 percent for programs established pursuant to Chapter 21 of Title 24 and the Shock Incarceration Program as provided in Article 13, Chapter 13 of Title 24;

(2) 16.52 percent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council program of training in the fields of law enforcement and criminal justice;

(3) .5 percent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council to defray the cost of erecting and maintaining the South Carolina Law Enforcement Hall of Fame. When funds collected pursuant to this item exceed the necessary costs and expenses of the Hall of Fame operation and maintenance as determined by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Hall of Fame Committee, the council may retain the surplus for use in its law enforcement training programs;

(4) 16.21 percent to the Office of Indigent Defense for the defense of indigents;

(5) 13.26 percent for the State Office of Victim Assistance;

(6) 6.34 percent to the general fund."

"Section 14-1-207. (A) Beginning January 1, 1995, and continuously after that date, a person who is convicted, pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, or forfeits bond for an offense tried in magistrates' court must pay an amount equal to 88 percent of the fine imposed as an assessment. This assessment must be paid to the magistrate and deposited as required by Section 22-1-70 in the county in which the criminal judgment is rendered for remittance to the State Treasurer by the county treasurer. The assessment is based upon that portion of the fine that is not suspended and assessments must not be waived, reduced, or suspended.

(B) The county treasurer must remit the assessments to the State Treasurer on a monthly basis by the fifteenth day of each month and make reports on a form and in a manner prescribed by the State Treasurer. Assessments paid in installments must be remitted as received.

(C) The State Treasurer shall deposit the assessments as follows:

(1) 35.12 percent for programs established pursuant to Chapter 21 of Title 24 and the Shock Incarceration Program as provided in Article 13, Chapter 13 of Title 24;

(2) 22.49 percent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council program of training in the fields of law enforcement and criminal justice;

(3) .65 percent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council to defray the cost of erecting and maintaining the South Carolina Law Enforcement Hall of Fame. When funds collected pursuant to this item exceed the necessary costs and expenses of the Hall of Fame operation and maintenance as determined by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Hall of Fame Committee, the council may retain the surplus for use in its law enforcement training programs;

(4) 20.42 percent for the State Office of Victim Assistance;

(5) 9.94 percent to the general fund;

(6) 11.38 percent to the Office of Indigent Defense for the defense of indigents."

SECTION 4. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 14-1-208. (A) Beginning January 1, 1995, and continuously after that date, a person who is convicted, pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, or forfeits bond for an offense tried in municipal court must pay an amount equal to 52 percent of the fine imposed as an assessment. This assessment must be paid to the municipal clerk of court and deposited with the city treasurer for remittance to the State Treasurer. The assessment is based upon that portion of the fine that is not suspended and assessments must not be waived, reduced, or suspended.

(C) The State Treasurer shall deposit the assessments as follows:

(1) 25.79 percent for programs established pursuant to Chapter 21 of Title 24 and the Shock Incarceration Program as provided in Article 13, Chapter 13 of Title 24;

(2) 25.5 percent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council program of training in the fields of law enforcement and criminal justice;

(3) .67 percent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council to defray the cost of erecting and maintaining the South Carolina Law Enforcement Hall of Fame. When funds collected pursuant to this item exceed the necessary costs and expenses of the Hall of Fame operation and maintenance as determined by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Hall of Fame Committee, the council may retain the surplus for use in its law enforcement training programs;

(4) 19.06 percent for the State Office of Victim Assistance;

(5) 7.97 percent to the general fund;

(6) 19.38 percent to the Office of Indigent Defense for the defense of indigents;

(7) 1.63 percent to the Department of Mental Health to be used exclusively for the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts within the department's addiction center facilities."

SECTION 5. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 14-1-209. (A) If a payment for a fine and assessment levied in the circuit or family court is made in installments, the clerk of court must treat 62 percent of each installment as payment for a fine and distribute it pursuant to Section 14-1-205 and 38 percent of each installment as payment for an assessment and distribute it pursuant to Section 14-1-206.

(B) If a payment for a fine and assessment levied in the magistrate's court is made in installments, the magistrate must treat 47 percent of each installment as payment for an assessment and distribute it pursuant to Section 14-1-207.

(C) If a payment for a fine and assessment levied in the municipal court is made in installments, the municipal court judge must treat 40 percent of each installment as payment for an assessment and distribute it pursuant to Section 14-1-208."

"Section 11-5-175. The State Treasurer shall report quarterly to the departments or agencies receiving monies from fines or assessments the amount received from the county treasurers and city treasurers for fines and assessments received pursuant to Sections 14-1-205, 14-1-206, 14-1-207, and 14-1-208. The State Treasurer also must include in this report the amount of money credited by the State Treasurer to the department or agency. A copy of the State Treasurer's report must be made available to the chief administrator of a county and municipality upon request."

SECTION 7. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 11-7-25. The State Auditor shall examine at least once each year the books, accounts, receipts, disbursements, vouchers, and records of the county clerks of court, magistrates, and municipal courts to ensure that fines and assessments imposed pursuant to Sections 14-1-205, 14-1-206, 14-1-207, and 14-1-208 are properly imposed and collected. A copy of all audits conducted by the State Auditor must be made available to the affected agency or department and the chief administrator of a county or municipality upon request."/

Amend further by striking SECTIONS 20 and 21 and inserting appropriately numbered SECTIONS to read:

/SECTION __. Item 6 of Section 16-11-700(E) and Sections 14-1-210, 14-1-212, 14-1-213, 20-7-1510, 23-6-470, 24-23-210, 44-53-580, 56-1-725, 61-13-480, and 61-13-490 of the 1976 Code are repealed.

SECTION __. In addition to other provisions of law, beginning January 1, 1995, and continuing until April 1, 1995, each clerk of court, magistrate, and municipal court judge must keep an account of all costs, fees, fines, penalties, forfeitures, and other revenues generated by the courts as well as a separate account of all assessments generated by the courts. The accounts must be submitted in writing to the General Assembly and to Court Administration no later than April 15, 1995.

No later than April 15, 1995, the State Treasurer must forward to the General Assembly and to Court Administration an account of all revenue and assessments received pursuant to this act between January 1, 1995, and April 1, 1995.

Upon receipt of the reports, the General Assembly shall review the data and make a determination as to whether or not the amount of revenue and assessments collected and distributed to each recipient agency and governmental entity pursuant to this act, annualized, is approximately equal to or greater than the amount of revenue and assessments collected and distributed to each recipient agency and governmental entity the

SECTION __. Upon approval by the Governor this act takes effect January 1, 1995./

Renumber sections to conform.

Amend title to conform.

Rep. HODGES explained the amendment.

The amendment was then adopted.

Rep. HODGES proposed the following Amendment No. 2 (Doc Name L:\council\legis\amend\DKA\3279AL.94), which was adopted.

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking Section 11-7-25 in its entirety and inserting:

/"Section 11-7-25. The State Auditor shall examine periodically the books, accounts, receipts, disbursements, vouchers, and records of the county treasurers, municipal treasurers, county clerks of court, magistrates, and municipal courts to report whether fines and assessments imposed pursuant to Sections 14-1-205, 14-1-206, 14-1-207, and 14-1-208 are properly collected and remitted to the State Treasurer. The State Auditor shall submit a report of findings to the State Treasurer and to the Division of Court Administration of the Judicial Department. A copy of all audits conducted by the State Auditor must be made available to the affected agency or department and the chief administrator of a county or municipality upon request.

The State Auditor, by January 15, 1995, shall prepare and submit to the House Judiciary Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, and the Senate Finance Committee, an Audit Plan for accomplishing the requirements of this section along with the estimated cost of implementation."/

Amend further by striking the next to the last unnumbered SECTION which reads:

/SECTION __. In addition to other provisions of law, beginning January 1, 1995, and continuing until April 1, 1995, each clerk of court, magistrate, and municipal court judge must keep an account of all costs, fees, fines, penalties, forfeitures, and other revenues generated by the courts as well as a separate account of all assessments generated by the

No later than April 15, 1995, the State Treasurer must forward to the General Assembly and to Court Administration an account of all revenue and assessments received pursuant to this act between January 1, 1995, and April 1, 1995.

Upon receipt of the reports, the General Assembly shall review the data and make a determination as to whether or not the amount of revenue and assessments collected and distributed to each recipient agency and governmental entity pursuant to this act, annualized, is approximately equal to or greater than the amount of revenue and assessments collected and distributed to each recipient agency and governmental entity the previous calendar year. If a determination is made by the General Assembly that any recipient agency or governmental entity is receiving less revenue under the provisions of this act than the previous calendar year, the General Assembly, by legislation, shall adjust the appropriate percentages contained in this act to ensure that each recipient agency and governmental entity receives the share of revenue to which it is entitled./

and inserting:

/SECTION __. In addition to other provisions of law, beginning January 1, 1995, each clerk of court, magistrate, and municipal court judge must keep an account of all costs, fees, fines, penalties, forfeitures, and other revenues generated by the courts as well as a separate account of all assessments generated by the courts. The accounts for the period of January 1, 1995, to April 1, 1995, must be submitted in writing to the General Assembly and to Court Administration no later than April 15, 1995, on a form prescribed by the Division of Court Administration of the Judicial Department.

No later than April 15, 1995, the State Treasurer must forward to the General Assembly and to Court Administration an account of all revenue and assessments received pursuant to this act between January 1, 1995, and April 1, 1995.

Upon receipt of the reports, the General Assembly shall review the data and make a determination as to whether or not the amount of revenue and assessments collected and distributed to each recipient agency and governmental entity pursuant to this act, annualized, is approximately equal to or greater than the amount of revenue and assessments collected and distributed to each recipient agency and governmental entity the previous calendar year. If a determination is made by the General Assembly that any recipient agency or governmental entity is receiving less revenue under the provisions of this act than the previous calendar

Renumber sections to conform.

Amend title to conform.

Rep. HODGES explained the amendment.

The amendment was then adopted.

The Bill, as amended, was read the second time and ordered to third reading.

On motion of Rep. CROMER, with unanimous consent, it was ordered that H. 4659 be read the third time tomorrow.

The following Bill was taken up.

H. 3435 -- Rep. G. Bailey: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 40-79-30, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE DEFINITION OF "BURGLAR ALARM SYSTEM BUSINESS" AND ACTIVITIES WHICH ARE NOT CONSIDERED WITHIN THE MEANING OF THIS DEFINITION, SO AS TO REVISE THIS DEFINITION AND CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS TO IT; TO AMEND SECTION 40-79-50, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO LICENSING OF PERSONS TO ENGAGE IN AN ALARM SYSTEM BUSINESS, SO AS TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH THE LICENSING BOARD FOR CONTRACTORS MAY DENY A LICENSE APPLICATION; AND TO AMEND SECTION 40-79-140, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO STANDARDS AN APPLICANT MUST MEET TO QUALIFY FOR AN ALARM SYSTEM BUSINESS LICENSE, SO AS TO REVISE CERTAIN OF THESE STANDARDS.

The Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee proposed the following Amendment No. 1 (Doc Name L:\council\legis\amend\GJK\20402SD.94), which was adopted.

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking subsection (A) of Section 40- 79-30 of the 1976 Code and inserting:

/"(A) As used in this chapter, `burglar alarm system business' means any person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation which installs, services, or responds to electrical, electronic, or mechanical alarm signal

Amend title to conform.

Rep. G. BAILEY explained the amendment.

The amendment was then adopted.

The Bill, as amended, was read the second time and ordered to third reading.

On motion of Rep. G. BAILEY, with unanimous consent, it was ordered that H. 3435 be read the third time tomorrow.

The following Bill was taken up.

H. 3977 -- Rep. Meacham: A BILL TO ESTABLISH WITHIN THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE AN INSURANCE FRAUD BUREAU, PROVIDE FOR THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BUREAU, AND PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS, INCLUDING A PROVISION THAT A PERSON CONVICTED FOR THE VIOLATION OF ANY LAW CONCERNING INSURANCE FRAUD, FOLLOWING THE INVESTIGATION AND REFERRAL FOR PROSECUTION BY THE BUREAU, SHALL BE ORDERED TO MAKE RESTITUTION FOR FINANCIAL LOSS SUSTAINED AS A RESULT OF THAT VIOLATION.

The Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee proposed the following Amendment No. 1 (Doc Name L:\council\legis\amend\GJK\20397SD.94), which was tabled.

Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:

/SECTION 1. Chapter 55 of Title 38 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

Section 38-55-510. This article is known and may be cited as the `Omnibus Insurance Fraud and Reporting Immunity Act'.

Section 38-55-530. As used in this article:

(a) `Authorized agency' means any duly constituted criminal investigative department or agency of the United States or of this State; the Department of Insurance; the Department of Revenue and Taxation, Division of Motor Vehicles; the Workers' Compensation Commission; the Office of the Attorney General of this State; or the prosecuting attorney of any judicial circuit, county, municipality, or political subdivision of this State or of the United States, and their respective employees or personnel acting in their official capacity.

(b) `Insurer' shall have the meaning set forth in Section 38-1-20(25) and includes any authorized insurer, self-insurer, reinsurer, broker, producer, or any agent thereof.

(c) `Person' means any natural person, company, corporation, unincorporated association, partnership, professional corporation, or other legal entity and includes any applicant, policyholder, claimant, medical provider, vocational rehabilitation provider, attorney, agent, insurer, fund, or advisory organization.

(d) `False statement and misrepresentation' means a statement or representation made by a person that is false, material, made with the person's knowledge of the falsity of the statement and made for the purpose of obtaining or denying or causing another to obtain or deny any benefit or payment in connection with an insurance transaction and such shall constitute fraud.

(e) `Immune' means that neither a civil action nor a criminal prosecution may arise from any action taken pursuant to this article unless actual malice on the part of the insurer or authorized agency against the insured or gross negligence or reckless disregard for his rights is present.

Section 38-55-540. Any person or insurer who makes a false statement or misrepresentation, and any other person knowingly, with an intent to injure, defraud or deceive, who assists, abets, solicits, or conspires with such person or insurer to make a false statement or misrepresentation, is guilty of a:

(2) felony, for a first offense violation, if the amount of the benefit received is one thousand dollars or more. Upon conviction, the person must be punished by a fine not to exceed fifty thousand dollars or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed five years, or by both such fine and imprisonment;

(3) felony, for a second or subsequent violation, regardless of the amount of the benefit received. Upon conviction, the person must be punished by a fine not to exceed fifty thousand dollars or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed five years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Any person or insurer convicted under this section must be ordered to make full restitution to the victim or victims for any economic benefit or advantage which has been obtained by the person or insurer as a result of that violation.

Section 38-55-550. (A) In addition to any criminal liability, any person who is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to have violated any provision of this act, including Section 38-55-170, must be subject to a civil penalty for each violation as follows:

(1) for a first offense, a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars;

(2) for a second offense, a fine not less than five thousand dollars but not to exceed ten thousand dollars;

(3) for a third and subsequent offense, a fine not less than ten thousand dollars but not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars.

(B) The civil penalty shall be paid to the director of the Insurance Fraud Division to be used in accordance with subsection (D) of this section. The court may also award court costs and reasonable attorneys fees to the director. When requested by the director, the Attorney General may assign one or more deputy attorney generals to assist the bureau in any civil court proceedings against the person.

(C) Nothing in subsections (A) and (B) shall be construed to prohibit the director of the Insurance Fraud Division and the person alleged to be guilty of a violation of this act from entering into a written agreement in which the person does not admit or deny the charges but consents to payment of the civil penalty. A consent agreement may not be used in a subsequent civil or criminal proceeding relating to any violation of this act.

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