South Carolina General Assembly
121st Session, 2015-2016

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A271, R295, S1015

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Leatherman and Johnson
Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\9416dg16.docx

Introduced in the Senate on January 21, 2016
Introduced in the House on April 27, 2016
Last Amended on June 2, 2016
Passed by the General Assembly on June 2, 2016
Governor's Action: June 9, 2016, Signed

Summary: Counterfeit or nonfunctional airbags

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1/21/2016  Senate  Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 5)
   1/21/2016  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary 
                        (Senate Journal-page 5)
   2/25/2016  Senate  Referred to Subcommittee: Gregory (ch), Malloy, Turner
   4/13/2016  Senate  Committee report: Favorable with amendment Judiciary 
                        (Senate Journal-page 16)
   4/14/2016          Scrivener's error corrected
   4/21/2016  Senate  Committee Amendment Adopted (Senate Journal-page 51)
   4/21/2016  Senate  Read second time (Senate Journal-page 51)
   4/26/2016  Senate  Read third time and sent to House 
                        (Senate Journal-page 22)
   4/26/2016  Senate  Roll call Ayes-41  Nays-1 (Senate Journal-page 22)
   4/27/2016  House   Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 5)
   4/27/2016  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary (House Journal-page 5)
   5/24/2016  House   Committee report: Favorable with amendment Judiciary 
                        (House Journal-page 8)
   5/31/2016  House   Debate adjourned until Wed., 6-1-16 
                        (House Journal-page 13)
    6/1/2016  House   Amended (House Journal-page 64)
    6/1/2016  House   Read second time (House Journal-page 64)
    6/1/2016  House   Roll call Yeas-100  Nays-1 (House Journal-page 64)
    6/2/2016  House   Read third time and returned to Senate with amendments 
                        (House Journal-page 4)
    6/2/2016  Senate  Non-concurrence in House amendment 
                        (Senate Journal-page 35)
    6/2/2016  House   House recedes from amendment(s) (House Journal-page 62)
    6/2/2016  Senate  Ordered enrolled for ratification 
                        (Senate Journal-page 35)
    6/6/2016          Ratified R 295
    6/9/2016          Signed By Governor
   6/16/2016          Effective date 06/09/16
   6/17/2016          Act No. 271

View the latest legislative information at the website

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

1/21/2016
4/13/2016
4/14/2016
4/21/2016
5/24/2016
6/1/2016


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A271, R295, S1015)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 16-13-165 SO AS TO MAKE UNLAWFUL CERTAIN ACTIONS INVOLVING COUNTERFEIT OR NONFUNCTIONAL AIRBAGS.

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

Unlawful actions involving counterfeit or nonfunctional airbags

SECTION    1.    Article 1, Chapter 13, Title 16 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 16-13-165.    (A)    It is unlawful for a person to:

(1)    knowingly and intentionally import, manufacture, sell, offer for sale, install, or reinstall in a motor vehicle, a counterfeit airbag, a nonfunctional airbag, or an object that the person knows was not designed to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Number 208 (49 CFR 571.208), as amended, for the make, model, and year of the motor vehicle;

(2)    knowingly and intentionally sell, offer for sale, install, or reinstall in any motor vehicle a device that causes a motor vehicle's diagnostic system to inaccurately indicate that the motor vehicle is equipped with a properly functioning airbag;

(3)    knowingly and intentionally sell, lease, trade, or transfer a motor vehicle if the person knows that a counterfeit airbag, a nonfunctional airbag, or an object that the person knows was not designed to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Number 208 (49 CFR 571.208), as amended, for the make, model, and year of the motor vehicle has been installed as part of the motor vehicle's inflatable restraint system.

(B)(1)    A person who violates the provisions of this section by knowingly and intentionally installing or reinstalling an airbag that is counterfeit, nonfunctional, does not comply with the federal regulations described in subsection (A), or installs or reinstalls a device that causes a motor vehicle's diagnostic system to inaccurately indicate that the motor vehicle is equipped with a properly functioning airbag is:

(a)    for a first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both;

(b)    for a second or subsequent offense, guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.

(2)    A person who violates the provisions of this section by knowingly and intentionally importing, manufacturing, selling, or offering to sell, an airbag that is counterfeit, nonfunctional, does not comply with the federal regulations described in subsection (A), or a device that causes a motor vehicle's diagnostic system to inaccurately indicate that the motor vehicle is equipped with a properly functioning airbag is:

(a)    for a first offense, guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both;

(b)    for a second or subsequent offense, guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both.

(3)    A person who violates the provisions of this section by knowingly and intentionally selling, leasing, trading, or transferring a motor vehicle when the person knows that the motor vehicle contains an airbag that is counterfeit, nonfunctional, or does not comply with the federal regulations described in subsection (A), is:

(a)    for a first offense, guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both;

(b)    for a second or subsequent offense, guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both.

(4)    A person whose violation of subsection (B)(2) or (B)(3) results in great bodily harm or death is:

(a)    for a first offense, guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than twenty-five thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both;

(b)    for a second or subsequent offense, guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one hundred thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than twenty years, or both.

(5)    Persons other than individuals who violate the provisions of subsection (A) are:

(a)    for a first offense, guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one million dollars or imprisoned subject to the discretion of the judge, or both;

(b)    for a second or subsequent offense, guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than ten million dollars or imprisoned subject to the discretion of the judge, or both.

(C)    For purposes of this section:

(1)    'Airbag' means an inflatable restraint system, or portion of an inflatable restraint system including, but not limited to, the cushion material, cover, sensors, controllers, inflators, and wiring that (a) operates in the event of a crash, and (b) is designed in accordance with federal motor vehicle safety standards for the make, model, and year of the motor vehicle in which it is or will be installed.

(2)    'Counterfeit airbag' means an airbag that bears without authorization a mark identical or substantially similar to the genuine mark of the manufacturer of a motor vehicle or a supplier of parts to the manufacturer of a motor vehicle.

(3)    'Nonfunctional airbag' means a replacement airbag that has been previously deployed or damaged or that has an electrical fault that is detected by the vehicle diagnostic system after the installation procedure is completed. A nonfunctional airbag also includes any object, including a counterfeit or repaired airbag, airbag component, or other component intended to deceive a vehicle owner or operator into believing that it is a functional airbag.

(4)    'Person' or 'persons' means an individual, a group of individuals, whether incorporated or not, a corporation, a company, an association, an organization, a partnership, or any other form of legal entity."

Savings

SECTION    2.    The repeal or amendment by this act of any law, whether temporary or permanent or civil or criminal, does not affect pending actions, rights, duties, or liabilities founded thereon, or alter, discharge, release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under the repealed or amended law, unless the repealed or amended provision shall so expressly provide. After the effective date of this act, all laws repealed or amended by this act must be taken and treated as remaining in full force and effect for the purpose of sustaining any pending or vested right, civil action, special proceeding, criminal prosecution, or appeal existing as of the effective date of this act, and for the enforcement of rights, duties, penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities as they stood under the repealed or amended laws.

Time effective

SECTION    3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 6th day of June, 2016.

Approved the 9th day of June, 2016.

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This web page was last updated on July 1, 2016 at 11:11 AM