South Carolina § 61-6-4020 - Transportation in motor vehicle.

§ 61-6-4020. Transportation in motor vehicle.

(A) A person who is twenty-one years of age or older may transport lawfully acquired alcoholic liquors to and from a place where alcoholic liquors may be lawfully possessed or consumed. If the cap or seal on the container has been opened or broken, it is unlawful to transport the liquors in a motor vehicle, except in a trunk, luggage compartment, or cargo area that is separate and distinct from the driver's and passengers' compartments. For purposes of this exception, the luggage compartment or cargo area is not required to be a closed trunk that is accessible only from the exterior of the motor vehicle. A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days. For purposes of this section, alcoholic liquors means all distilled spirits regardless of the percentage of alcohol by volume that they contain.

(B) Sections 61-6-4290 and 61-6-4300 do not apply to violations of this section, including violations prior to the effective date of this section.

HISTORY: 1996 Act No. 415, SECTION 1; 2000 Act No. 390, SECTION 32; 2011 Act No. 51, SECTION 1, eff June 14, 2011.

Effect of Amendment

The 2011 amendment designated the existing text as subsection (A), and therein, in the first sentence, substituted "; but if" for ". If" and "a trunk, luggage compartment, or cargo area that is separate and distinct from the driver's and passengers' compartments" for "the luggage compartment or cargo area", and inserted the third sentence; and added subsection (B).