South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004
H. 3686
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Walker and Taylor
Document Path: l:\council\bills\swb\5227cm03.doc
Companion/Similar bill(s): 478
Introduced in the House on February 25, 2003
Introduced in the Senate on May 19, 2003
Last Amended on May 15, 2003
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Transportation
Summary: Motor vehicle, salvage; title to vehicle designated as; insurance company that obtains title to vehicle from setting a total loss claim may obtain
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
DateBodyAction Description with journal page number
2/25/2003HouseIntroduced and read first time HJ36
2/25/2003HouseReferred to Committee on Education and Public WorksHJ36
5/6/2003HouseCommittee report: Favorable with amendment Education and Public WorksHJ8
5/8/2003HouseRequests for debateRep(s).Loftis, Edge, Davenport, Viers, Clemmons, Witherspoon, Altman, Littlejohn and Harrell HJ76
5/8/2003HouseDebate adjourned until Tuesday, May 13, 2003 HJ107
5/14/2003HouseAmended HJ26
5/14/2003HouseRead second time HJ30
5/14/2003HouseRoll call Yeas99 Nays1 HJ30
5/15/2003HouseAmended HJ43
5/15/2003HouseRead third time and sent to Senate HJ43
5/19/2003SenateIntroduced and read first time SJ5
5/19/2003SenateReferred to Committee on TransportationSJ5
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
2/25/2003
5/6/2003
5/14/2003
5/15/2003
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
AMENDED--NOT PRINTED IN THE HOUSE
Amt. No. 3 (Doc. Path Council\swb\5484cm03)
May 15, 2003
H.3686
Introduced by Reps. Walker and Taylor
S. Printed 5/14/03--H.
Read the first time February 25, 2003.
[3686-1]
A BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 5619480, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE TRANSFER AND SURRENDER OF A MOTOR VEHICLE’S CERTIFICATE OF TITLE, LICENSE PLATE, REGISTRATION CARD, AND MANUFACTURERS’ SERIAL PLATES UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT WHEN AN INSURANCE COMPANY OBTAINS TITLE TO A VEHICLE FROM SETTING A TOTAL LOSS CLAIM, THE INSURANCE COMPANY MAY OBTAIN A TITLE TO THE VEHICLE DESIGNATED AS “SALVAGE”.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION1.Section 5619480(B) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 459 of 1996, is further amended to read:
“(B)If a vehicle is acquired by an insurance company in settlement of a claim to the vehicle by fire, flood, collision, or other causes, or is left with the claimant after being declared a total loss by the insurance company, the company or its agent immediately shall deliver to the department the certificate of title together with a report indicating the type and severity of damage to the vehicle. At such time as the insurance company may thereafter transfer the damaged vehicle, the company or its agent shall notify the department to whom the transfer was made on a form prescribed by the department. Notwithstanding another provision of law, when an insurance company obtains title to a vehicle from settling a total loss claim, the insurance company may obtain a title to the vehicle designated as ‘salvage’. The insurance company must pay the title fee contained in Section 5619420.”
SECTION2.Section 5619480(G) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 459 of 1996, is further amended to read:
“(G)For purposes of this section, a ‘wrecked vehicle’, a ‘salvage vehicle’, and a ‘vehicle declared to be a total loss’ are all synonyms and are defined to be any motor vehicle which is damaged to the extent that the cost of repairing the motor vehicle, including both parts and reasonable market charges for labor, equal or exceed seventyfive percent of the fair market value of the motor vehicle. The provisions contained in this section do not apply to a motor vehicle that has a fair market value of two thousand dollars or less, or an antique motor vehicle as defined by Section 5632210. When an insurance company is involved, the fair market value of the vehicle must be determined as of the date immediately before the event which gave rise to the claim. When an insurance company is not involved, then the fair market value must be determined as of the last day on which the vehicle was lawfully operated on a public highway or the last day on which it was registered, whichever is later.”
SECTION3.Section 5619485 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 101 of 1995, is amended to read:
“Section 5619485.Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever any motor vehicle which qualifies as ‘wreckage’ or ‘salvage’ is transferred in this State pursuant to Section 5619480, whether the vehicle was, immediately before such transfer, titled in this State or in another state, the vehicle shall be designated as ‘wreckage’ or ‘salvage’, as may be applicable, to the extent necessary to inform the transferee of the exact condition of the vehicle. No wrecked or salvaged outofstate vehicle or South Carolinaregistered vehicle shall be registered under the laws of this State without such designation, and this designation must be applied to all subsequent transfers of the vehicle.
The provisions of this section apply to transfers of vehicles in all of the circumstances described in Section 5619480, whether the vehicle is ‘totaled’, declared a total loss, ‘junked’, or ‘salvaged’.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the owner of a vehicle whose total cost of repair, including all labor and parts, is estimated to be seventyfive percent or more of the fair market value of the vehicle must provide the department an affidavit from a person who reconstructs or rebuilds a vehicle indicating the cost of repair along with other data the department may prescribe to obtain a certificate of title. The provisions contained in this section do not apply to a motor vehicle that has a fair market value of two thousand dollars or less, or an antique motor vehicle as defined by Section 5632210. A certificate of title issued for a vehicle described in this paragraph must be annotated to indicate the motor vehicle is designated ‘wreckage’ or ‘salvage’ as applicable to the extent necessary to inform the transferee of the exact condition of the vehicle. A wrecked or salvaged outofstate vehicle or South Carolina registered vehicle may not be registered in this State without this designation, and this designation must be applied to subsequent transfer of the vehicle.”
SECTION4.Section 5632210 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:
“Section 5632210.Every motor vehicle as herein defined which is over thirtytwentyfive years old, is owned solely as a collector’s item and is used for participation in club activities, exhibits, tours, parades and similar uses, but in no event used for general transportation, may be classified by the department as an antique motor vehicle.”
SECTION5.This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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