| Printed Page 1960, Apr. 25 | Printed Page 1980, Apr. 25 |

Amend title to conform.

There being no further amendments, the Bill was read the second time and ordered placed on the third reading Calendar with notice of general amendments.

S. 1261 -- Senators Leventis, McGill, Moore, Richter, McConnell, Gregory, Russell, Jackson, Greg Smith, Passailaigue, Courson, Land and Thomas: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 47-1-40, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO ILL-TREATMENT OF ANIMALS, SO AS TO, AMONG OTHER THINGS, CHANGE VARIOUS PENALTIES, INCLUDING MAKING CERTAIN MISDEMEANOR OFFENSES FELONIES, ALLOW CERTAIN FIRST OFFENSE VIOLATIONS TO BE TRIED IN MUNICIPAL COURT, AND DELETE THE EXEMPTION PROVIDING THAT THIS SECTION DOES NOT APPLY TO FOWL.

Senator WALDREP asked unanimous consent to take the Bill up for immediate consideration.

There was no objection.

The Senate proceeded to a consideration of the Bill. The question being the adoption of the amendment proposed by the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee proposed the following amendment (PT\2481AC.96), which was adopted:

Amend the bill, as and if amended, Section 47-1-40(A), page 1, line 29, by deleting /must/ and inserting /must may/ and on line 34 by deleting /must/ and inserting /may/.

Amend further, Section 47-1-40(B), page 1, line 42 by deleting /must/ and inserting /must may/.

Amend title to conform.

There being no further amendments, the Bill was read the second time and ordered placed on the third reading Calendar with notice of general amendments.

H. 3710 -- Reps. Keyserling, Richardson, Seithel, L. Whipper, Whatley and Jaskwhich: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 12-36-2120, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO SALES TAX EXEMPTIONS, SO AS TO EXTEND THE EXEMPTION ALLOWED MANUFACTURING MACHINERY TO MACHINERY USED FOR RECYCLING AND TO DEFINE "RECYCLING".

The Senate proceeded to a consideration of the Bill. The question being the adoption of the amendment proposed by the Committee on Finance.

The Finance Committee proposed the following amendment (JIC\5896HTC.96), which was adopted:

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

/SECTION 1. Section 12-36-2120(17) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 612 of 1990, is amended to read:

"(17) machines used in manufacturing, processing, recycling, compounding, mining, or quarrying tangible personal property for sale. `Machines' include the parts of machines, attachments, and replacements used, or manufactured for use, on or in the operation of the machines and which are necessary to the operation of the machines and are customarily so used. This exemption does not include automobiles or trucks;. As used in this item `recycling' means any process by which materials which would otherwise become solid waste are collected, separated, or processed and reused, or returned to use in the form of raw materials or products, including composting, for sale. However, in applying this exemption to machines used in recycling, the following percentage of the gross proceeds of sale, or sales price of, machines used in recycling are exempt from the taxes imposed by this chapter:

Fiscal Year of Sale Percentage

Fiscal year 1997-98 fifty percent

After June 30, 1998 one hundred percent;

SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 1997./

Amend title and totals to conform.

Senator LEATHERMAN explained the amendment.

H. 3838 -- Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 42-9-30, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE AMOUNT OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION AND PERIOD OF DISABILITY FOR CERTAIN INJURIES, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A PRESUMPTION OF TOTAL AND PERMANENT DISABILITY IN CASES WHERE THERE IS A FIFTY PERCENT OR MORE LOSS OF USE OF THE BACK, AND PROVIDE THAT THIS PRESUMPTION MAY BE REBUTTED BY A PREPONDERANCE OF THE EVIDENCE.

The Senate proceeded to a consideration of the Bill. The question being the adoption of the amendment proposed by the Committee on Judiciary.

The Judiciary Committee proposed the following amendment (JUD3838.002), which was adopted:

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

/SECTION 1. The first paragraph of Section 42-1-40 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"`Average weekly wages' means the earnings of the injured employee in the employment in which he was working at the time of the injury during the period of fifty-two weeks immediately preceding the date of the injury, including the subsistence allowance paid to veteran trainees by the United States Government if the amount of such the allowance is reported monthly by such the trainee to his employer, divided by fifty-two. `Average weekly wage' must be calculated by taking the total wages paid for the last four quarters immediately preceding the quarter in which the injury occurred as reported on the Employment Security Commission's Employer Contribution Reports divided by fifty-two or by the actual number of weeks for which wages were paid, whichever is less. If the injured employee lost more than seven consecutive calendar days at one or more times during such period, although not in the same week, then the earnings for the remainder of such fifty-two weeks shall be divided by the number of weeks remaining after the time so lost has been deducted. When the employment prior to the injury extended over a period of less

SECTION 2. Section 42-1-160 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 42-1-160. `Injury' and `personal injury' shall mean only injury by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment and shall not include a disease in any form, except when it results naturally and unavoidably from the accident and except such diseases as are compensable under the provisions of Chapter 11 of this title. In construing this section an accident arising out of and in the course of employment shall include employment of an employee of a municipality outside the corporate limits of the municipality when the employment was ordered by a duly authorized employee of the municipality.

Stress arising out of and in the course of employment unaccompanied by physical injury and resulting in mental illness or injury is not a personal injury unless it is established that the stressful employment conditions causing the mental injury were extraordinary and unusual in comparison to the normal conditions of the employment.

Stress arising out of and in the course of employment unaccompanied by physical injury is not considered compensable if it results from any event or series of events which is incidental to normal employer/employee relations including, but not limited to, personnel actions by the employer such as disciplinary actions, work evaluations, transfers, promotions, demotions, salary reviews, or terminations, except when these actions are taken in an extraordinary and unusual manner."

SECTION 3. Section 42-1-310 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 42-1-310. Every employer and employee, except as stated in this chapter, shall be presumed to have accepted the provisions of this title respectively to pay and accept compensation for personal injury or death by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment and shall be bound thereby, unless he shall have given, prior to any accident resulting in injury or death, notice to the contrary in the manner provided in Section 42-1-340."

"Section 42-1-320. Neither the State nor any municipal corporation, nor any political subdivision thereof, nor any employee of the State or of any such corporation or subdivision may reject the provisions of this Title relative to payment and acceptance of compensation and the provisions of Sections 42-1-330, 42-1-340, 42-1-380, 42-1-390 and 42-1-460 to 42-1-530 shall not apply to them The State, its municipal corporations and political subdivisions thereof, and the employees of the State or its municipal corporations and political subdivisions are subject to this title."

SECTION 5. Section 42-1-460 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 42-1-460. Every contract of service between any employer and employee covered by this title, written or implied, in operation or made or implied prior to July 17, 1936, shall be presumed to continue, subject to the provisions of this title; and every such contract made subsequent to said date shall be presumed to have been made subject to the provisions of this title, unless either party shall give notice, as provided in Sections 42-1-330 and 42-1-340, to the other party to such contract that the provisions of this Title other than Sections 42-1-390 and 42-1-510 to 42-1-530 are not intended to apply.

A like presumption shall exist equally in the case of all minors, unless notice of the same character be given by or to the parent or guardian of the minor."

SECTION 6. Section 42-9-260 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 410 of 1988, is further amended to read:

"Section 42-9-260. (A) When an employee has been out of work due to a reported work-related injury or occupational disease for eight days, an employer may start temporary disability payments immediately and may continue these payments for up to one hundred fifty days from the date the injury or disease is reported without waiver of any grounds for good faith denial. Upon making the first payment, the employer shall immediately shall notify the commission, in accordance with a form prescribed by the commission, that payment of compensation has begun.

(B) Once temporary disability payments are commenced, the payments may be terminated or suspended immediately at any time within the one hundred fifty days if:

(1) the employee has returned to work; however, if the employee does not remain at work for a minimum of fifteen days, temporary disability payments must be resumed immediately; or

(2) the employee agrees that he is able to return to work and executes the proper commission form indicating that he is able to return to work; or

(E) An employer may request a hearing at any time to address termination or reduction of temporary disability payments.

(F) After the one hundred fifty-day period has expired, the commission shall provide by rule regulation the method and procedure by which benefits may be suspended or terminated for any cause, but such rule the regulation must provide for an evidentiary hearing and commission approval prior to termination or suspension unless such prior hearing is expressly waived in writing by the recipient or the circumstances identified in Section 42-9-260(B)(1) or (B)(2) are present. Further, the commission may not entertain any application to terminate or suspend benefits unless and until the employer or carrier is current with all payments due.
(G) Failure to comply with such rule as to termination or suspension of benefits must this section shall result in a twenty-five percent penalty imposed upon the carrier or employer computed on the amount of benefits withheld without prior commission approval in violation of this section, and the amount of the penalty must be paid to the employee in addition to the amount of benefits withheld. However, the penalty does not apply if the employer or carrier has terminated or suspended benefits when the employee has returned to any employment at the same or similar wage."

"Section 42-9-360. (A) No claim for compensation under this title shall be assignable and all compensation and claims therefor shall be exempt from all claims of creditors and from taxes.

(B) It shall be unlawful for an authorized health care provider to actively pursue collection procedures against a workers' compensation claimant prior to the final adjudication of the claimant's claim. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the collection from and demand for collection from a workers' compensation insurance carrier or self-insured employer. Violation of this section, after written notice to the provider from the claimant or his representative that adjudication is ongoing, shall result in a penalty of five hundred dollars payable to the workers' compensation claimant.

(C) Any person who receives any fee or other consideration or any gratuity on account of services so rendered, unless the consideration or gratuity is approved by the commission or the court, or who makes it a business to solicit employment for a lawyer or for himself in respect of any claim or award for compensation is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must, for each offense, be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(D) Payment to an authorized health care provider for services shall be made in a timely manner but no later than thirty days from the date the authorized health care provider tenders request for payment to the employer's representative, unless the commission has received a request to review the medical bill."

SECTION 8. Section 42-19-10 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Section 15, Part II of Act 612 of 1990, is further amended to read:

"Section 42-19-10. Every employer shall keep a record of all injuries, fatal or otherwise, received by his employees in the course of their employment on blanks approved by the commission. Within ten days after the occurrence and knowledge of it, as provided in Section 42-15-20, of an injury to an employee requiring medical or surgical attention, a report of the injury must be made in writing and mailed to the commission on blanks approved by it for this purpose. However, for the injury of a South Carolina National Guard member as provided for in Section 42-7-67, the ten days must be counted from the date the employer, the South Carolina National Guard, has knowledge that the federal government has denied benefits to the injured guard member or that benefits or additional benefits may be due under the provisions for South Carolina Workers' Compensation.

An injury for which there is no compensable lost time or permanency and the medical treatment does not exceed an amount specified by regulation of the Workers' Compensation Commission may be filed in summary on a form and at a time prescribed by the commission. Provided, however, this form may not be used to report an injury to the back. Every employer shall keep a record of all injuries, fatal or otherwise, received by his employees in the course of their employment on forms approved by the commission.

If the injury requires minimal medical attention at a cost not to exceed an amount specified by regulation of the Workers' Compensation Commission, and does not cause more than one lost workday or permanency, the employer is not required to make a written report to the commission or the employer's insurance carrier, provided the employer maintains a record as prescribed by the commission and pays directly the incurred cost of the resulting medical attention.

All other injuries must be reported in writing to the commission according to the following guidelines:

(1) An injury for which there is no compensable lost time or permanency and the medical treatment does not exceed an amount specified by regulation of the Workers' Compensation Commission must be reported annually on a form and at a time prescribed by the commission.

(2) An injury involving compensable lost time, medical attention in excess of the limit established by commission regulation in (1) above, or the possibility of permanency must be reported within ten business days after the occurrence and knowledge of it, as provided in Section 42-15-20, on a form or in an electronic format prescribed by the commission.

However, for the injury of a South Carolina National Guard member as provided for in Section 42-7-67, the reporting periods must be counted from the date the employer, the South Carolina National Guard, has knowledge that the federal government has denied benefits to the injured guard member or that benefits or additional benefits may be due under the provisions of Title 42."

SECTION 9. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 38-73-515. (A) Each insurer issuing a policy of workers' compensation insurance shall offer, as a part of the policy or as an

(B) If the policyholder exercises the option and chooses a deductible, the insured employer is liable for the amount of the deductible for benefits paid for each compensable claim of work injury suffered by an employee. The insurer shall pay all or part of the deductible amount, whichever is applicable to a compensable claim, to the person or provider entitled to the benefits conferred by this chapter and then seek reimbursement from the insured employer for the applicable deductible amount. The payment or nonpayment of deductible amounts by the insured employer to the insurer must be treated under the policy insuring the liability for workers' compensation in the same manner as payment or nonpayment of premiums.

(C) Optional deductibles must be offered in each policy insuring liability for workers' compensation which is issued, delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed after June 30, 1996, unless an insured employer and insurer agree to renegotiate a workers' compensation insurance policy in effect on July 1, 1996, so as to include a provision allowing for a deductible.

(D) Premium reduction for deductibles must be determined before the application of any experience modification, premium surcharge, or premium discounts. To the extent that an employer's experience rating or safety record is based on benefits paid, money paid by the insured employer under a deductible as provided in this section must not be included as benefits paid so as to harm the experience rating of the employer.

(E) This section does not apply to employers who are approved to self-insure against liability for workers' compensation or group self-insurance funds for workers' compensation established pursuant to the laws of this State."

SECTION 10. Sections 42-1-330 and 42-1-340 of the 1976 Code are repealed.

SECTION 11. Sections 42-1-510, 42-1-520, and 42-1-530 of the 1976 Code are repealed on July 1, 1997.

Amend title to conform.

Senator COURTNEY explained the amendment.

There being no further amendments, the Bill was read the second time and ordered placed on the third reading Calendar with notice of general amendments.

H. 4434 -- Rep. Harrison: A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 56-5-2990, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE SUSPENSION OF A PERSON'S DRIVER'S LICENSE FOR DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE REINSTATEMENT OF THE DRIVER'S LICENSE OF A PERSON WHOSE LICENSE HAS BEEN SUSPENDED FOR A FIFTH OFFENSE.

Senator HAYES asked unanimous consent to take the Bill up for immediate consideration.

There was no objection.

The Senate proceeded to a consideration of the Bill. The question being the adoption of the amendment proposed by the Committee on Judiciary.

| Printed Page 1960, Apr. 25 | Printed Page 1980, Apr. 25 |

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