South Carolina § 45-1-90 - Hotel and motel rooms and other accommodations to be equipped with certain security devices; exceptions; penalties; application.

§ 45-1-90. Hotel and motel rooms and other accommodations to be equipped with certain security devices; exceptions; penalties; application.

(A) Wherever fees are charged in this State for any rooms, lodgings, or accommodations furnished to transients by any hotel or motel, the rooms, lodgings, or accommodations so furnished must be equipped with:

(1) a lock system such as, but not limited to, a deadbolt, security chain, bar lock, or other state of the art security system which may be activated from the inside by the transient and which cannot be unlocked or removed from the outside except by an emergency key (E-key) or other management-controlled access plan; and

(2) a device such as view ports, side windows, or any other device which allows sight outside the door without opening the door or by opening the door not more than three inches.

The provisions of this subsection do not apply to tourist camps or campgrounds or to residences of any nature.

(B) Whoever fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (A) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than sixty days or by both fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court. Every instance in which the required security devices are not provided as required under items (1) and (2) of subsection (A) constitutes a separate offense under this section for the purposes of prosecution and conviction.

(C) The requirements of this section apply to any hotel or motel having twenty or more rooms, lodgings, or accommodations furnished to transients for a fee.

HISTORY: 1992 Act No. 386, SECTION 1, eff 180 days after May 15, 1992.