2003-2004 Bill 4921: All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Act - South Carolina Legislature Online

1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 115th Session, 2003-2004 3 4 H. 4921 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 General Bill 9 Sponsors: Reps. Ott, Clark, Cobb-Hunter, Witherspoon, Rhoad, Duncan, Hosey, Clyburn, Weeks, 10 J.H. Neal, Breeland, G. Brown, Freeman, Gilham, J. Hines, Hinson, Koon, Lloyd, Mahaffey, Martin, 11 McCraw, Merrill, Miller, Moody-Lawrence, Pinson, M.A. Pitts, Snow, Stille, Taylor and Emory 12 Document Path: l:\council\bills\pt\1911mm04.doc 13 14 Introduced in the House on March 10, 2004 15 Introduced in the Senate on April 28, 2004 16 Last Amended on April 27, 2004 17 Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Fish, Game and Forestry 18 19 Summary: All-terrain Vehicle Safety Act 20 21 22 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 23 24 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 25 3/10/2004 House Introduced and read first time HJ-19 26 3/10/2004 House Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works HJ-19 27 3/18/2004 House Recalled from Committee on Education and Public Works HJ-19 28 3/18/2004 House Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental 29 Affairs HJ-19 30 4/15/2004 House Committee report: Majority favorable with amend., minority unfavorable 31 Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs HJ-3 32 4/19/2004 Scrivener's error corrected 33 4/27/2004 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Emory 34 4/27/2004 House Amended HJ-93 35 4/27/2004 House Read second time HJ-96 36 4/27/2004 House Roll call Yeas-54 Nays-45 HJ-96 37 4/28/2004 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-26 38 4/28/2004 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-22 39 4/28/2004 Senate Referred to Committee on Fish, Game and Forestry SJ-22 40 41 42 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 43 44 3/10/2004 45 4/15/2004 46 4/19/2004 47 4/27/2004 48 1 AMENDED 2 April 27, 2004 3 4 H. 4921 5 6 Introduced by Reps. Ott, Clark, Cobb-Hunter, Witherspoon, 7 Rhoad, Duncan, Hosey, Clyburn, Weeks, J.H. Neal, Breeland, 8 G. Brown, Freeman, Gilham, J. Hines, Hinson, Koon, Lloyd, 9 Mahaffey, Martin, McCraw, Merrill, Miller, Moody-Lawrence, 10 Pinson, M.A. Pitts, Snow, Stille, Taylor and Emory 11 12 S. Printed 4/27/04--H. 13 Read the first time March 10, 2004. 14 15 16 STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT 17 REVENUE IMPACT1/ 18 This bill is expected to increase earmarked funds of DNR by 19 $433,500 in FY 2004-05. With full implementation, a minimum 20 of this same amount is expected in succeeding years. Based on 21 current allocations of penalties this bill would not impact the 22 general fund revenue in FY 2004-05. 23 Explanation 24 This bill, as amended, enacts “Chandler’s Law” to define an all- 25 terrain vehicle (ATV) for use as a motorized off-highway vehicle 26 in this State. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is 27 designated to set regulations for operation and safety equipment; 28 registration and licensing to include safety education certificates; 29 and operator and owner liability. DNR would also enforce 30 criminal and civil penalties. The DNR would retain all proceeds 31 for an ATV registration fee of $30, valid for a three year period, to 32 support operations. Existing ATVs must be registered within one 33 year of enactment. Any ATVs purchased after that anniversary 34 date must then be registered within sixty days of purchase. The 35 disposition of criminal or civil penalties is to be determined based 36 on agency or statutory guidelines for the particular offense. 37 Based on DNR analysis of comparable startup for boating 38 registrations, the BEA estimates 14,450 registrations in the initial 39 year, FT 2004-05. Multiplying 14,450 times the $30 registration 40 fee yields $433,500. This bill would therefore raise DNR 41 earmarked funds by $433,500 in FY 2004-05. This bill is not

1 [4921-1] 1 expected to impact general fund revenue in FY 2004-05, if penalty 2 revenue allocations are the same as for the Fish and Game Fund. 3 4 Approved By: 5 William C. Gillespie 6 Board of Economic Advisors 7 8 1/ This statement meets the requirement of Section 2-7-71 for a state revenue 9 impact, Section 2-7-76 for a local revenue impact, and Section 6-1-85(B) for an 10 estimate of the shift in local property tax incidence. 11

1 [4921-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A BILL 10 11 TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 12 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 27 TO TITLE 50 SO AS TO 13 ENACT THE ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE SAFETY ACT BY 14 PROVIDING FOR A DEFINITION OF ALL-TERRAIN 15 VEHICLES, REGULATION OF OPERATION AND SAFETY 16 EQUIPMENT, REGISTRATION AND LICENSING, 17 OPERATOR AND OWNER LIABILITY, AND CRIMINAL 18 AND CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS. 19 Amend Title To Conform 20 21 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South 22 Carolina: 23 24 SECTION 1. Title 50 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding: 25 26 “CHAPTER 27 27 28 All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Act 29 30 Section 50-27-10. This chapter may be cited as ‘Chandler’s 31 Law’. 32 33 Section 50-27-20. For purposes of this chapter: 34 (1) ‘All-terrain vehicle’ means a motorized off-highway 35 vehicle fifty inches (1270 mm) or less in width, having a dry 36 weight of six hundred pounds (273 kg) or less, traveling on three 37 or more low-pressure tires, having a seat or saddle designed to be 38 straddled by the operator and handlebars for steering control, and 39 other off-highway vehicles as may be designated by the 40 Department of Natural Resources. 41 (2) ‘Department’ means the Department of Natural Resources.

1 [4921] 1 1 (3) ‘Owner’ means a person having a property interest or title 2 to an all-terrain vehicle and entitled to the use and possession of 3 the vehicle. 4 (4) ‘Person’ means every natural person, firm, copartnership, 5 association, or corporation. 6 (5) ‘Register’ means the act of assigning and recording a 7 registration. 8 9 Section 50-27-30. (A) A person sixteen years of age or 10 younger may not operate an all-terrain vehicle within this State 11 unless the person: 12 (1) has successfully completed an all-terrain vehicle safety 13 education, training, and skills demonstration program, passed the 14 knowledge and skills test, and otherwise complied with procedures 15 established or a program approved by the department, and has 16 been issued a safety certificate; or 17 (2) is operating the all-terrain vehicle as part of a prescribed 18 vehicle safety education, training, and skills demonstration 19 program and is under the direct supervision of a certified all-terrain 20 vehicle safety instructor. 21 (B) The department may not issue an all-terrain vehicle 22 operator’s safety certificate to a person unless the person has 23 successfully completed the vehicle safety education, training, and 24 skills demonstration program, passed the knowledge and skills test, 25 and otherwise complied with procedures established by the 26 department. A certificate of successful completion of a safety 27 education course issued by other states or territories of the United 28 States, Canadian provinces, or other nations is valid for the 29 purposes of this chapter if the department approves the course as 30 comparable to the program required by this chapter. 31 (C) The department shall promulgate regulations establishing 32 procedures for a comprehensive all-terrain vehicle safety 33 education, training, and skills demonstration program. The 34 program must include a knowledge and skills test incorporating 35 minimum requirements designed to develop and instill the 36 knowledge, attitudes, habits, and skills necessary for the safe 37 operation of an all-terrain vehicle. 38 39 Section 50-27-40. (A) Except as provided in subsection (B), 40 an all-terrain vehicle must be registered with the department within 41 one year after this chapter takes effect. An all-terrain vehicle 42 purchased after one year from the effective date of this chapter 43 must be registered with the department within sixty days of the

1 [4921] 2 1 purchase date. A registration is valid for a period of three years. 2 A decal showing the registration number and expiration date must 3 be displayed on the left rear fender of the vehicle. 4 (B) A registration is not required for an all-terrain vehicle: 5 (1) owned and operated by the United States, another state, 6 or a political subdivision of another state; 7 (2) owned and operated by this State or by a municipality or 8 political subdivision of this State; and 9 (3) covered by a valid registration of another state or country 10 and that has not been within this State for more than thirty days. 11 (C) The department shall promulgate regulations relating to 12 all-terrain vehicles, including: 13 (1) application for, and registration of, all-terrain vehicles 14 and display of registration numbers; and 15 (2) assessment of a fee, not to exceed thirty dollars, payable 16 by applicants and retained by the department to cover the cost of 17 implementing and enforcing this chapter. 18 19 Section 50-27-50. A person sixteen years of age or younger 20 may not operate, ride, or otherwise be propelled on an all-terrain 21 vehicle within this State unless the person wears a safety helmet 22 meeting United States Department of Transportation standards for 23 motorcycle helmets and eye protection meeting department 24 standards. The department shall promulgate regulations 25 establishing safety standards for helmet and eye protection. 26 27 Section 50-27-60. It is unlawful to operate an all-terrain vehicle 28 on land without the permission of the landowner or land manager. 29 The permission must be in writing if the owner or manager is not 30 personally present at the operation of the all-terrain vehicle. A 31 person convicted of a violation of this section is guilty of a 32 misdemeanor and, upon conviction for a first offense, must be 33 fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not 34 more than thirty days. Upon conviction for a second offense 35 within five years of a conviction for a first offense, the operator 36 must be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than five 37 hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days. For a 38 third or later offense within five years of a first offense, the 39 operator must be fined not less than five hundred dollars or 40 imprisoned for not more than thirty days. All equipment used by 41 the operator in connection with a third conviction within five years 42 of a first conviction is forfeited to the department for department 43 use or sale at a public auction.

1 [4921] 3 1 Section 50-27-70. (A) A person may not operate an all-terrain 2 vehicle within this State in a negligent manner. 3 (B)(1) Negligent operation includes, but is not limited to: 4 (a) operating an all-terrain vehicle at reckless speed; 5 (b) failing to maintain a proper lookout for other 6 all-terrain vehicles, objects, or persons; 7 (c) operating too fast for conditions; 8 (d) operating while under the influence of alcohol or 9 drugs; or 10 (e) operating with a disregard for the safety or property of 11 others. 12 (2) Negligent operation does not include operation during 13 official events organized for the competitive use of all-terrain 14 vehicles. 15 (C) A person who violates the provisions of this section is 16 guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not 17 less than twenty-five nor more than two hundred dollars or 18 imprisoned not more than thirty days for each violation. 19 (D) In addition to other penalties, the department shall require a 20 person convicted pursuant to this section three times within a 21 five-year period to attend and complete an all-terrain vehicle 22 operational education program approved by the department. A 23 person’s privilege to operate an all-terrain vehicle in this State 24 must be suspended until successful completion of the required 25 class. 26 27 Section 50-27-85. The department is prohibited from releasing 28 registration information to any county to be used for property tax 29 purposes. 30 31 Section 50-27-90. A person who violates a provision of this 32 chapter is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred 33 dollars for each violation.” 34 35 SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the 36 Governor. 37 ----XX---- 38

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