Download This Version in Microsoft Word format
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 147 TO CHAPTER 3, TITLE 56 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES MAY ISSUE "AIR MEDAL" SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES; AND BY ADDING SECTION 16-11-605 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR CERTAIN PERSONS TO OPERATE AN UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE IN CERTAIN AREAS, AND TO PROVIDE A PENALTY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 3, Title 56 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 56-3-14710. (A) Beginning on July 1, 2019, the Department of Motor Vehicles may issue 'Air Medal' special license plates to owners of private passenger-carrying motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, or motorcycles as defined in Section 56-3-20, registered in their names who have been awarded the Air Medal. The motor vehicle owner must present the department with a DD214, or other official documentation that states that the owner received the Air Medal, along with the owner's application for this special license plate. The fee for this special license plate is the regular motor vehicle license fee contained in Article 5, Chapter 3 of this title and a special license plate fee of twenty dollars. The license plates issued pursuant to this section must contain the words 'combat veteran' and an illustration of the Air Medal.
(B) The production and issuance of this special license plate are exempt from the provisions contained in Section 56-3-8100(A)(1) and (2)."
SECTION 2. Article 7, Chapter 11, Title 16 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 16-11-605. (A) Except as provided in subsection (B), a person shall not operate an unmanned aerial vehicle within a horizontal distance of five hundred feet or a vertical distance of four hundred feet from a state or federal military installation with restricted public access without written consent from the commander of the specific military installation or his designee. If specific approvals have been given, all flights must be conducted within the requirements set forth by the Federal Aviation Administration for the operations of unmanned aerial vehicles.
(B) This section does not apply to any person who: registers with the Federal Aviation Administration as an operator of a commercial unmanned aerial vehicle; operates the vehicle for the purpose of monitoring, operating, maintaining, or enhancing electric, communications, water conveyance, or transportation infrastructure or determining if repairs to such infrastructure are necessary; and notifies the commander of the specific military installation prior to operating the vehicle, provided the notification must include the registration number the Federal Aviation Administration has issued for the vehicle.
(C) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days."
SECTION 3. If any provision of this act is held or determined to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, then it is the intention of the General Assembly that the provision is severable from the remaining provisions of this act and that the holding does not invalidate or render unenforceable another provision of this act.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
This web page was last updated on January 15, 2019 at 2:40 PM