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H. 4489

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. Rutherford
Document Path: l:\council\bills\ms\7473ahb08.doc

Introduced in the House on January 16, 2008
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Traffic stop information collection

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1/16/2008  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-5
   1/16/2008  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-6

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

1/16/2008

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 22 TO TITLE 23 ENTITLED "TRAFFIC STOP INFORMATION COLLECTION" SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE COLLECTION AND COMPILATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION GATHERED BY A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER WHEN ISSUING A UNIFORM TRAFFIC TICKET, TO REQUIRE THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO ANALYZE AND REPORT CERTAIN DATA RELATED TO STOPPED MOTOR VEHICLES DRIVEN BY MEMBERS OF EACH RACE, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE GOVERNOR MAY WITHHOLD STATE FUNDS FROM A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY WHICH FAILS TO COMPLY WITH THE PROVISIONS CONTAINED IN THIS CHAPTER.

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

SECTION    1.    Title 23 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

Section 23-22-10.    (A)    When a law enforcement officer issues a uniform traffic ticket for an alleged violation of a state statute or local law, the law enforcement officer shall report the following information, in addition to other information required by law, to the law enforcement agency that employs him:

(1)    the age, gender, and race of the person stopped;

(2)    the traffic violation or suspicious behavior that led to the stop;

(3)    whether a search was conducted as a result of the stop;

(4)    if a search was conducted, whether the person consented to the search, the probable cause or reasonable suspicion for the search, whether the person or his property was searched;

(5)    whether contraband was discovered in the course of the search and the type of contraband discovered;

(6)    whether a warning or citation was issued as a result of the stop;

(7)    if a warning or citation was issued, the violation charged or warning provided;

(8)    whether an arrest was made as a result of either the stop or the search;

(9)    if an arrest was made and the crime charged; and

(10)    the location of the stop.

(B)    Each law enforcement agency shall compile the data delineated in subsection (A) for each calendar year and submit it to the director of the Department of Public Safety no later than March first of the following calendar year. The Department of Public Safety shall determine the format that each law enforcement agency shall use to submit the report. The director of the Department of Public Safety shall analyze the annual reports submitted by each agency and submit a report of his findings to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and each law enforcement agency not later than June first of each year. The director of the Department of Public Safety's report must include, but is not limited to, the following information for each agency:

(1)    the number of motor vehicles stopped by law enforcement officers during the previous calendar year;

(2)    the number and percentage of stopped motor vehicles that were driven by members of each race;

(3)    a comparison of the percentage of stopped motor vehicles driven by each race and the percentage of the state's population that each race comprises; and

(4)    a compilation of the information reported by each law enforcement agency pursuant to this section.

(C)    If a law enforcement agency fails to comply with the provisions of this section, the governor may withhold state funds or federal pass-through funds appropriated to the noncompliant law enforcement agency.

(D)    If a law enforcement agency fails to comply with the provisions of this section, the director of the Department of Public Safety may withhold accreditation of the noncompliant law enforcement agency."

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

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