South Carolina § 23-3-115 - Fees for criminal record searches; charitable organizations; school districts.

§ 23-3-115. Fees for criminal record searches; charitable organizations; school districts.

(A) The State Law Enforcement Division shall charge and collect a fee of twenty-five dollars for each criminal record search conducted pursuant to regulations contained in Subarticle 1, Article 3, Chapter 73 of the Code of Regulations. All revenue generated up to an amount of four million four hundred sixty-one thousand dollars collected from the criminal record search fee must be deposited to the general fund of the State; any revenue generated above this amount shall be collected, retained, expended, and carried forward by the State Law Enforcement Division for agency operations. The sale or dissemination of the criminal history record database maintained by the State Law Enforcement Division is prohibited. The individual sale of individual criminal history records by the State Law Enforcement Division is not affected. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, criminal history record information, including arrest history, may be disseminated in accordance with regulations regardless of whether a corresponding judicial finding or disposition is part of the record.

(B) The fee allowed in subsection (A) is fixed at eight dollars if the criminal record search is conducted for a charitable organization, a bona fide mentor, or for the use of a charitable organization. An organization that is authorized to receive the reduced fee shall not charge the volunteer, mentor, member, or employee more than eight dollars or any additional fee that is not required by the State Law Enforcement Division. All criminal record searches conducted pursuant to this subsection must be for a volunteer, mentor, member, or employee performing in an official capacity of the organization and must not be resold. The division shall develop forms on which a mentor or charitable organization shall certify that the criminal record search is conducted for the use and benefit of the charitable organization or mentor. For purposes of this subsection, the phrase "charitable organization" means:

(1) an organization which has been determined to be exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended;

(2) a bona fide church, including an institution such as a synagogue or mosque;

(3) an organization which has filed a statement of registration or exemption under the Solicitation of Charitable Funds Act, Chapter 56, Title 33; or

(4) local parks and recreation volunteers through a commission, municipality, county, or the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

(C) The fee allowed in subsection (A) is waived if the criminal record search is conducted on a substitute teacher on behalf of a school district.

HISTORY: 2000 Act No. 332, SECTION 1; 2008 Act No. 353, SECTION 2, Pt 19A, eff July 1, 2009; 2010 Act No. 168, SECTION 2, eff May 11, 2010; 2014 Act No. 187 (S.495), SECTION 1, eff June 2, 2014.

Effect of Amendment

The 2008 amendment rewrote this section.

The 2010 amendment added subsection (C) related to waiver of fee for criminal record search.

2014 Act No. 187, SECTION 1, in subsection (B), added the second and third sentences, and rewrote paragraph (4).