Public Safety, Corrections and Judicial
Tort Reform — S. 244. This bill provides tort reform regarding the amount of fault to be assigned to either the person bringing a claim for damages if their actions partially caused the damage or to the defendant(s). It also makes changes to liquor liability laws by requiring alcohol server training. It requires a business with a liquor license to carry liability insurance of at least $1 million per occurrence. Finally, the bill redefines occurrence for medical malpractice claims to mean an unfolding sequence of events following a single act of negligence, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same harmful conditions. Multiple events occurring without a break in the chain of events shall be considered one occurrence. The Senate debated one amendment but adjourned after a failed attempt to table the amendment. It is uncertain whether the Senate will move forward with this bill.
Discharge of Firearms — H. 3650. This bill provides that anyone who knowingly and intentionally discharges a firearm at or into a dwelling, house, other building, structure, enclosure, vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or other conveyance, device, or equipment is guilty of committing a violent crime. The person must be fined no more than $20,000 and imprisoned for no more than 10 years. If a person inside any of the structures is struck or has bodily injury as a proximate cause of the firearm discharge, the maximum penalty increases to $50,000 and 15 years imprisonment. The House gave H. 3650 second and third readings, sending the bill to the Senate.
Ejectment of Squatters — H. 3387. This bill provides a procedure to eject someone who illegally occupies another person’s home, commonly known as squatting. It allows the lawful owner of the property to file a petition with the clerk of court or chief magistrate of the county in which the property is located. One provision in the bill allows the property owner to request a sheriff’s presence while they change the locks and remove the squatters’ belongings. The sheriff may charge a reasonable fee for this service. The bill also provides immunity to the sheriff for any damage or destruction of the squatters’ property. A person wrongfully removed under these provisions may bring a civil action to regain access to the property. They may also be awarded damages and court costs. The House Judiciary Committee amended the bill to allow an authorized agent or personal representative of the property to file the petition for ejectment. It also allows a constable to enforce an ejectment order. Finally, the amendment makes changes to the process to stay an ejectment order. The bill was given a favorable report as amended and is pending second reading on the House calendar.
Electronic Records Disclosure — S. 74 and H. 3460. These bills authorize a law enforcement officer, circuit solicitor, or the Attorney General to subpoena stored wire, digital, or electronic communications, as well as transactional records and subscriber information from the provider of an electronic communication service or remote computing service as a part of an ongoing investigation. Last week, the House Judiciary subcommittee amended S. 74 to limit this authorization for the Attorney General to only during an ongoing investigation for child pornography. The House Judiciary Committee gave S. 74 a favorable report as amended and recommitted H. 3460. S. 74 is pending second reading on the House calendar.
Hands-Free Driving — H. 3276. This bill creates the “South Carolina Hands-Free and Distracted Driving Act” to enhance the provisions of our current hands-free statute and to increase the penalties under the new act. The bill offers several exceptions, including use by a first responder while performing official duties. The bill also shifts 25% of the fine and fee revenue that would otherwise flow to counties to the Department of Public Safety for use to educate the public on the dangers of distracted driving. The House Judiciary Committee adopted an amendment and gave the bill a favorable report as amended, and SCAC will report on the amendment when it becomes available. H. 3276 is pending second reading on the House calendar.
Drug-Induced Homicide — H. 3591. This bill establishes fentanyl-induced homicide as a felony offense against the person who unlawfully delivers, dispenses, or otherwise provides fentanyl to a person who dies after injection, inhalation, absorption, or ingestion of any amount of the substance. This offense consists of the unlawful delivery, dispensation, or provision of fentanyl or a fentanyl-related substance to another person whose death is caused by their injection, inhalation, absorption, or ingestion of such substance. It is punishable by imprisonment for no more than 30 years. Further, the bill also provides that a defense may not be established due to a decedent contributing to their own death by their purposeful, knowing, reckless, or negligent consumption of the fentanyl-related substance or by consenting to the administration of the fentanyl-related substance by another person. A House Judiciary subcommittee amended the bill to ensure it will capture drug dealers and to require that fentanyl must be a direct cause of the death. The subcommittee then gave the bill a favorable report as amended, and the bill will be on the next full committee’s agenda.
Liquor Liability — H. 3497. This bill provides that a person licensed or permitted to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption may qualify for a liquor liability risk mitigation program to lower the required liability insurance amount from $1 million to as little as $250,000 if the person and the entity satisfy certain operating conditions. The establishment may lower the requisite amount of liability insurance required through a combination of the following:
(a) has their alcohol servers or a manager complete an alcohol server training program;
(b) stops serving alcohol at certain times; or
(c) derives less than 40% of their total sales from alcohol sales.
A House Judiciary Committee amendment reforms the current DUI law to allow for additional fines or terms of imprisonment in certain circumstances and requires a defendant to participate in a DUI victim impact panel. The amendment also creates a new felony offense for second-degree DUI that results in moderate bodily injury and requires a person convicted of the offense to install an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) for one year. The House adopted the committee amendment and gave H. 3497 a second and third reading, sending it to the Senate.
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