South Carolina § 23-23-100 - Compliance orders; penalties.

§ 23-23-100. Compliance orders; penalties.

(A) All public law enforcement agencies are required to comply with the provisions of this chapter and the regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter. Whenever the director finds that any public law enforcement agency is in violation of any provision of this chapter, or any regulation promulgated pursuant to this chapter, the director shall notify the public law enforcement agency of the violation and of the public law enforcement agency's duty to comply with the provision and/or regulation. This notification shall be sent to the public law enforcement agency head via certified U.S. Mail or delivered by hand. The agency must come into compliance within thirty days.

(B) If after thirty days the public law enforcement agency has failed to come into compliance, the director, at the direction of the council, shall issue an order requiring the public law enforcement agency to comply with the provision or regulation. This order may include a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars per violation per day the agency is not in compliance or is found in violation. Any public law enforcement agency against which a civil penalty is invoked by the director may appeal the decision to the court of common pleas of the county where the public law enforcement agency is located.

(C) If the public law enforcement agency has failed to comply with the director's order, the director shall either bring a civil action for injunctive relief or a civil enforcement action for failure to comply with the order in the court of common pleas of the county where the public law enforcement agency is located. Violation of any court order issued pursuant to this section must be considered in contempt of the issuing court and punishable as provided by law.

(D) If the imposition of civil fines fails to bring a law enforcement agency into compliance with the provisions of this chapter, regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter, or an order authorized in this chapter, the council is authorized to temporarily hold in abeyance the law enforcement certification of every law enforcement officer employed or appointed by the noncompliant law enforcement agency until such time as the council deems the agency to be in compliance with the minimum standards or a motion for injunctive relief is settled. An individual whose law enforcement certification has been held in abeyance by the council is not authorized to enforce the laws or ordinances of this State or any political subdivision thereof. An individual who has had his law enforcement certification held in abeyance as a result of a noncompliant law enforcement agency shall not be prohibited from regaining law enforcement certification if he is subsequently employed or appointed by a compliant law enforcement agency, provided he is otherwise qualified to be certified. Further, in the event the council holds law enforcement certifications in abeyance at a noncompliant law enforcement agency, no law enforcement officer shall go without his or her regular pay, compensation, and benefits. Any records for the certification hold for the individual officer must be expunged by the council within thirty days of the termination of the hold after full compliance by the agency or the employment by another agency.

HISTORY: 2006 Act No. 317, SECTION 1, eff May 30, 2006; 2014 Act No. 225 (H.3958), SECTION 1, eff June 2, 2014; 2022 Act No. 218 (H.3050), SECTION 6, eff May 23, 2022.

Effect of Amendment

2014 Act No. 225, SECTION 1, reenacted this section with no apparent change.

2022 Act No. 218, SECTION 6, rewrote the section.