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TO AMEND SECTION 56-5-4445, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE UNLAWFUL ELEVATING OR LOWERING OF CERTAIN MOTOR VEHICLES AND THE PENALTY FOR A VIOLATION, SO AS TO LOWER THE LAWFUL HEIGHT A VEHICLE MAY BE ELEVATED AND LOWERED, TO INCREASE THE PENALTY, AND TO PROVIDE THIS SECTION APPLIES TO PRIVATE PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 56-5-4445 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 56-5-4445. It shall be unlawful for any person to drive a passenger motor vehicle on the highways of this State which has been elevated or lowered either in front or back more than six inches by a modification, alteration or change in the physical structure of the vehicle. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than fifty dollars. Provided, however, this shall not apply to motor vehicles commonly called 'pickup trucks'.
(A) Notwithstanding another provision of law, a private passenger motor vehicle, as contained in Section 56-3-630, shall not be modified or altered by:
(1) elevating the vehicle more than three inches from the manufacturer's specified height in the front; and
(2) lowering the vehicle more than two inches from the manufacturer's specified height in the rear.
(B) A motor vehicle modified or altered in violation of this section shall not be operated upon a highway of this State.
(C) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than thirty days, fined not more than one thousand dollars, or both."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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