South Carolina § 56-3-195 - Counties to process vehicle registration and licensing renewals; access to records; department to fund startup costs.

§ 56-3-195. Counties to process vehicle registration and licensing renewals; access to records; department to fund startup costs.

(A) Each county shall mail motor vehicle registration and licensing renewal notices to the owners of vehicles in the county as determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles no later than forty-five days before expiration of the registration. The renewal notices, including the fees upon completion, may be returned to that county which shall transmit the renewal notices to the department for processing and which shall transmit the fees to the appropriate state fund as provided by law within seven days of receipt. The owner of a large commercial motor vehicle, as defined in Section 12-37-2810(C), must establish an account with the Department of Motor Vehicles and must remit payment for all fees associated with registration and licensing renewal directly to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

(B) Each county shall have access to the motor vehicle registration and licensing records of the department as applicable to the county in the manner the county and department agree for the purpose of the county performing the functions required in subsection (A).

(C) Counties must not be charged online access network fees for driver and vehicle information.

(D) The department will fund the start-up costs for counties not to exceed a total of one million dollars inclusive to all counties. The start-up cost includes hardware, software, training, and other associated costs all of which must be approved by the department.

HISTORY: 1993 Act No. 164, Part II, SECTION 22A; 2021 Act No. 37 (H.3689), SECTION 4.A, eff July 1, 2024.

Editor's Note

2021 Act No. 37, SECTION 4.B, provides as follows:

"[SECTION 4.]B. This SECTION takes effect on the first day of the fiscal year that begins twenty-four months after the program is fully funded."

The program was fully funded as of July 1, 2022.

Effect of Amendment

2021 Act No. 37, SECTION 4.A, in (A), in the first sentence, substituted "Each county" for "Beginning on July 1, 1994, each county", and added the third sentence.