South Carolina General Assembly
124th Session, 2021-2022

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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

S. 283

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Senator Matthews
Document Path: l:\s-res\mbm\003civi.kmm.mbm.docx

Introduced in the Senate on January 12, 2021
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Seized property

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   12/9/2020  Senate  Prefiled
   12/9/2020  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary
   1/12/2021  Senate  Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 249)
   1/12/2021  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary 
                        (Senate Journal-page 249)

View the latest legislative information at the website

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/9/2020

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

A BILL

TO AMEND SECTION 44-53-530(b) AND (c) OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO THE SALE OF PROPERTY SEIZED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, TO PROVIDE THAT A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY THAT SEIZED PROPERTY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS THAT WORK FOR THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY MAY NOT PURCHASE ANY OF THE PROPERTY AT A SALE.

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

SECTION    1.    Section 44-53-530(b) and (c) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

    "(b)    If the property is seized by a state law enforcement agency and is not transferred by the court to the seizing agency, the judge shall order it transferred to the Division of General Services of the Department of Administration for sale. Proceeds may be used by the division for payment of all proper expenses of the proceedings for the forfeiture and sale of the property, including the expenses of seizure, maintenance, and custody, and other costs incurred by the implementation of this section. The net proceeds from any sale must be remitted to the State Treasurer as provided in subsection (g) of this section. The Division of General Services of the Department of Administration may authorize payment of like expenses in cases where monies, negotiable instruments, or securities are seized and forfeited. The state law enforcement agency that seized the property and law enforcement officers that work for the state law enforcement agency that seized the property may not purchase any of the property at the sale.

    (c)    If the property is seized by a local law enforcement agency and is not transferred by the court to the agency, the judge shall order it sold at public auction by the seizing agency as provided by law. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, proceeds from the sale may be used by the agency for payment of all proper expenses of the proceeding for the forfeiture and sale of the property, including the expenses of the seizure, maintenance, and custody and other costs incurred by the implementation of this section. The net proceeds from the sale must be disposed of as provided by this section. The local law enforcement agency that seized the property and law enforcement officers that work for the local law enforcement agency that seized the property may not purchase any of the property at the sale."

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

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This web page was last updated on January 21, 2021 at 4:06 PM