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Debate was resumed on Amendment No. 1, which was proposed on Wednesday, May 1, by the Committee on Judiciary.

Rep. D. SMITH explained the amendment.

The amendment was then adopted.

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

Rep. WOFFORD asked unanimous consent that H. 4657 be read a third time tomorrow.

Rep. SCOTT objected.

The following Bill was taken up.

S. 21 -- Senator Mescher: A BILL TO AMEND CHAPTER 29, TITLE 44, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY

The Medical, Military, Public & Municipal Affairs Committee proposed the following Amendment No. 1 (Doc Name P:\amend\JIC\5914AC.96), which was adopted.

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 1, by deleting Section 16-17-700(A)(3) and inserting:

/(3) a person without following the November 15, 1985, Centers for Disease Control document (MMWR Volume 34, Number 45) entitled `Recommendations for Preventing Transmission of Infection with Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type III/Lymphadenopathy-Associated Virus in the Workplace', the June 23, 1989, Centers for Disease Control document (MMWR Volume 38, Number S-6) entitled `Guidelines for Prevention of Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis B Virus to Health-Care and Public Safety Workers' as these documents apply to personal service workers, or equivalent guidelines developed by the Department of Health and Environmental Control and appropriate supplements or revisions to these documents or these guidelines./

Amend title to conform.

Rep. TRIPP explained the amendment.

The amendment was then adopted.

Reps. KELLEY, KIRSH, KEEGAN, WITHERSPOON, ROBINSON and MARCHBANKS objected to the Bill.

The following Bill was taken up.

H. 4848 -- Reps. Felder, H. Brown and Wright: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 56-31-50, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE COLLECTION AND USE OF SURCHARGES IMPOSED UPON THE PRIVATE PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLES RENTED FOR THIRTY-ONE DAYS OR LESS, AND TO CERTAIN REPORTS, VIOLATIONS, PENALTIES, REGULATIONS, AND FORMS PERTAINING TO THE COLLECTION OF THE SURCHARGES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE SURCHARGES ARE A SALES TAX THAT BELONGS TO THE STATE WHICH MUST BE PLACED IN A SEGREGATED ACCOUNT, THE SURCHARGES ARE NOT SUBJECT TO CERTAIN CREDITOR LIENS, AND ARE NOT GROSS RECEIPTS OR REVENUE, AND A PERSON OR ENTITY MAY NOT IMPOSE A FEE, PENALTY, OR EXPENSE ON INDIVIDUALS COMPLYING WITH THIS PROVISION.

Rep. ROBINSON moved to table the Bill, which was agreed to.

The following Bill was taken up.

S. 1293 -- Senators Thomas, Giese, Courson, Fair, Hayes, Jackson, Passailaigue, Russell and Wilson: A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 16-3-1535 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES SHALL PROVIDE CRIME VICTIMS WITH A COPY OF THE CRIME INCIDENT REPORT RELATING TO THEIR CASE AND CERTAIN OTHER INFORMATION; TO ADD SECTION 16-3-1537 SO AS TO REQUIRE A CRIMINAL SENTENCING JUDGE TO APPLY AMOUNTS FORFEITED TO THE COURT BY A PERSON PURSUANT TO SECTION 17-15-90 TOWARD THE PAYMENT OF RESTITUTION THE COURT ORDERS THE PERSON TO PAY; TO ADD SECTION 17-1-18 SO AS TO REQUIRE THE STATE SUPREME COURT TO PROMULGATE RULES TO ALLOW AN APPEAL OF CERTAIN COURT ORDERS IF A VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT WAS NOT CONSIDERED BY THE COURT OR IF A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF RESTITUTION WAS NOT ORDERED; TO ADD SECTION 24-21-490 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF PROBATION, PAROLE, AND PARDON SERVICES SHALL COLLECT AND DISTRIBUTE RESTITUTION, THE PROCEDURE

Rep. D. SMITH proposed the following Amendment No. 1 (Doc Name P:\amend\DKA\3724CM.96), which was adopted.

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

/SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 16-3-1535. (A) General law enforcement agencies shall provide crime victims, free of charge, a copy of the crime incident report relating to their case and a document which describes the statutory rights the State grants crime victims in criminal cases that lists the local crime victim assistance providers. The statutory rights contained in this document shall include all rights contained in Section 16-3-1530.

(B) The convicted offender must be charged a ten dollar fee for the provision of a copy of the crime incident report to the victim. The Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services is responsible for collecting and distributing this money to the appropriate law enforcement agency."

SECTION 2. Section 17-25-322 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 140 of 1993, is amended to read:

"Section 17-25-322. (A) When a defendant is convicted of a crime which has resulted in pecuniary damages or loss to a victim, the court must hold a hearing to determine the amount of restitution due the victim or victims of the defendant's criminal acts. The restitution hearings must be held as a matter of course unless the defendant in open court agrees to the amount due, and in addition to any other sentence which it may impose, the court shall order the defendant make restitution or otherwise compensate the victim for any pecuniary damages. The defendant, the victim or victims, or their representatives or the victim's legal representative as well as the Attorney General and the solicitor have the

(B) In determining the manner, method, or amount of restitution to be ordered, the court may take into consideration the following:

(1) the financial resources of the defendant and the victim and the burden that the manner or method of restitution will impose upon the victim or the defendant;

(2) the ability of the defendant to pay restitution on an installment basis or on other conditions to be fixed by the court;

(3) the anticipated rehabilitative effect on the defendant regarding the manner of restitution or the method of payment;

(4) any burden or hardship upon the victim as a direct or indirect result of the defendant's criminal acts;

(5) the mental, physical, and financial well being of the victim.

(C) At the restitution hearings, the defendant, the victim, the Attorney General, the solicitor, or other interested party may object to the imposition, amount or distribution of restitution, or the manner or method of them, and the court shall allow all of these objections to be heard and preserved as a matter of record. The court shall enter its order upon the record stating its findings and the underlying facts and circumstances of them. The restitution order shall specify a monthly payment schedule that will result in full payment for both restitution and collection fees by the end of eighty percent of the offender's supervision period. In the absence of a monthly payment schedule, the Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services shall impose a payment schedule of equal monthly payments that will result in full restitution and collections fee being paid by the end of eighty percent of an offender's supervision period. The department, through its agents, must initiate legal process to bring every probationer, whose restitution is six months in arrears, back to court, regardless of wilful failure to pay. The judge shall make an order addressing the probationer's failure to pay.

(D) All restitution funds, excluding the twenty percent collection fee, collected before or after the effective date of this section that remain unclaimed by a crime victim for more than eighteen months from the day of last payment received must be transferred to the South Carolina Victims' Compensation Fund, notwithstanding the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act of 1981.

(E) An offender may not be granted a pardon until the restitution and collection fees required by the restitution order have been paid in full."

SECTION 3. Section 17-25-323 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 140 of 1993, is amended to read:

(B) When a defendant has been placed on probation by the court or parole by the Board of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, and ordered to make restitution, and the defendant is in default in the payment of them or of any installment or of any criminal fines, surcharges, assessments, costs, and fees ordered, the court, before the defendant completes his period of probation or parole, on motion of the victim or the victim's legal representative, the Attorney General, the solicitor, or a probation and parole agent, or upon its own motion, must hold a hearing to require the defendant to show cause why his default should not be treated as a civil judgment and a judgment lien attached. The court must enter (1) judgment in favor of the State for the unpaid balance, if any, of any fines, costs, fees, surcharges, or assessments imposed; and (2) judgment in favor of each person entitled to restitution for the unpaid balance if any restitution ordered plus reasonable attorney's fees and cost ordered by the court.

(C) The judgments may be enforced as any a civil judgment.

(D) A judgment issued pursuant to this section has all the force and effect of a final judgment and, as such, may be enforced by the judgment creditor in the same manner as any other civil judgment; with enforcement to take place in court of common pleas.

(E) The clerk of court must enter any a judgment issued pursuant to this section in the civil judgment records of the court. No A judgment issued pursuant to this section is not effective until entry is made in the civil judgment records of the court as required under this subsection.

(F) Upon full satisfaction of any a judgment entered under this section, the judgment creditor must record such the satisfaction on the margin of the copy of the judgment on file in the civil judgment records of the court."

SECTION 4. Section 17-25-326 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 140 of 1993, is amended to read:

"Section 17-25-326. Any court order issued pursuant to the provisions of this article may be altered, modified, or rescinded upon the filing of a petition by the defendant, Attorney General, solicitor, or the victim for good and sufficient cause shown by a preponderance of the evidence."

SECTION 5. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 24-21-490. (A) The Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services shall have the responsibility for collecting and distributing

(B) Notwithstanding Section 14-17-725, the Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services shall assess a collection fee of twenty percent of each restitution program and deposit this collection fee into a separate account. The monies in this account must not be used until specifically authorized by law. The department shall maintain individual restitution accounts which reflect each transaction and the amount paid, the collection fee, and the unpaid balance of the account. A summary of these accounts must be reported to the Governor's Office, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and the Chairman of the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee every six months following the enactment of this section."

SECTION 6. Section 16-3-1110 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended by adding at the end:

"(12)(a) `Restitution' means payment for all injuries, specific losses, and expenses sustained by a crime victim resulting from an offender's criminal conduct. It includes, but is not limited to:

(i) medical and psychological counseling expenses;

(ii) specific damages and economic losses;

(iii) funeral expenses and related costs;

(iv) vehicle impoundment fees;

(v) child care costs; and

(vi) transportation related to a victim's participation in the criminal justice process.

Restitution does not include awards for pain and suffering, wrongful death, emotional distress, or loss of consortium.

Restitution orders do not limit any civil claims a crime victim may file.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the applicable statute of limitations for a crime victim, who has a cause of action against an incarcerated offender based upon the incident which made the person a victim, is tolled and does not expire until three years after the offender's release from the sentence including probation and parole time. However, this provision shall not shorten any other tolling period of the statute of limitations which may exist for the crime victim."

SECTION 7. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 17-25-324. (A) Secondary victims and third-party payees, excluding the offender's insurer, may receive restitution as determined by the court. The Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services shall ensure that a primary victim shall receive his portion of a restitution

(B) The Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services shall report to the Governor's Office, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and the Chairman of the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee by the first day of the 1997 Legislative Session detailed recommendations for collection and distribution of restitution and issues relating to indigent offenders and use of civil remedies.

(C) The Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services must maintain a minimum of twelve restitution center beds, or may contract at other appropriate residential facilities, for every two thousand five hundred offenders supervised by the department."

SECTION 8. This act takes effect on January 1, 1997, and applies to all persons sentenced on or after April 1, 1997, except that the provisions contained in Section 17-25-324(C) take effect on January 1, 1997./

Amend title to conform.

Rep. D. SMITH explained the amendment.

The amendment was then adopted.

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

The following Bill was taken up.

S. 1054 -- Senators J. Verne Smith, Drummond, Hayes, Elliott and Glover: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 6-23-60, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE FILING OF A PETITION PRIOR TO THE ACQUISITION OF A PROJECT BY A JOINT AGENCY, SO AS TO FURTHER ALLOW THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO APPROVE CERTAIN TYPES OF PROJECTS WHICH CONSIST OF CERTAIN KINDS OF ELECTRIC GENERATING PLANTS AND PROVIDE THAT THE COMMISSION'S APPROVAL IS NOT NECESSARY FOR PROJECTS FOR TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, OR TRANSFORMATION OF ELECTRIC POWER AND ENERGY; TO AMEND SECTION 6-23-90, RELATING TO THE RIGHTS AND POWERS OF A JOINT AGENCY, SO AS TO DELETE A REFERENCE TO SECTION 6-23-120, DELETE

Rep. WOFFORD made the Point of Order that the Bill was improperly before the House for consideration since printed copies of the Bill have not been upon the desks of the members for one day.

The SPEAKER sustained the Point of Order.

The following Bill was taken up.

S. 1033 -- Senator Jackson: A BILL TO AMEND SUBARTICLE 7, ARTICLE 9, CHAPTER 7, TITLE 20, RELATING TO THE DISPOSITIONAL POWERS OF THE FAMILY COURT, BY ADDING SECTION 20-7-1331, SO AS TO ENACT THE "YOUTH MENTOR ACT", TO REQUIRE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO ESTABLISH A YOUTH MENTOR PROGRAM, CONSISTING OF A CHURCH MENTOR PROGRAM AND A COMMUNITY MENTOR PROGRAM, AND TO PROVIDE THAT PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM MAY BE REQUIRED AS A PRETRIAL DIVERSION OPTION BY A

The Judiciary Committee proposed the following Amendment No. 1 (Doc Name P:\amend\PFM\9324AC.96), which was adopted.

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 1, by deleting Section 20-7-1331(B), and inserting:

/(B) The Attorney General's Office shall establish a Youth Mentor Program to serve juvenile offenders under the jurisdiction of the family court. The program shall consist of a church mentor program and a community mentor program. Participation in the program may be required as a pretrial diversion option by a solicitor or as an optional, alternative disposition by a family court judge. The circuit solicitor may charge a juvenile offender who participates in the Youth Mentor Program a fee to offset the actual cost of administering the program; however, no juvenile offender is barred from the program because of indigence. This program must be available for juveniles who commit nonviolent offenses. For purposes of this subsection, nonviolent offenses mean all offenses not listed in Section 16-1-60./

Renumber sections to conform.

Amend title to conform.

Rep. THOMAS 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. THOMAS, with unanimous consent, it was ordered that S. 1033 be read the third time tomorrow.

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