(A) Counties and municipalities are authorized to adopt by ordinance and use an ordinance summons as provided herein for the enforcement of county and municipal ordinances. Upon adoption of the ordinance summons, any county or municipal law enforcement officer or code enforcement officer is authorized to use an ordinance summons. Any county or municipality adopting the ordinance summons is responsible for the printing, distributing, monitoring, and auditing of the ordinance summons to be used by that entity.
(B) The uniform ordinance summons may not be used to perform a custodial arrest. No county or municipal ordinance which regulates the use of motor vehicles on the public roads of this State may be enforced using an ordinance summons.
(C) An ordinance summons must cite only one violation per summons and must contain at least the following information:
(1) the name and address of the person or entity charged;
(2) the name and title of the issuing officer;
(3) the time, date, and location of the hearing;
(4) a description of the ordinance the person or entity is charged with violating;
(5) the procedure to post bond; and
(6) any other notice or warning otherwise required by law.
The ordinance summonses must be consecutively and discretely numbered. The ordinance summonses must be audited as part of the annual independent audit required in Section 4-9-150 for counties and in Section 5-7-240 for municipalities, and a separate copy of each audit must be furnished to the chief administrative officer of the county or municipality, as appropriate.
(D) Service of a uniform ordinance summons vests all magistrates' and municipal courts with jurisdiction to hear and dispose of the charge for which the ordinance summons was issued and served.
(E) Any law enforcement officer or code enforcement officer who serves an ordinance summons must allow the person served to proceed without first having to post bond or to appear before a magistrate or municipal judge. Acceptance of an ordinance summons constitutes a person's recognizance to comply with the terms of the summons.
(F) Any person who fails to appear before the court as required by an ordinance summons, without first having posted such bond as may be required or without having been granted a continuance by the court, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than two hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days. Any law enforcement agency processing an arrest made pursuant to this subsection must furnish such information to the State Law Enforcement Division as required by Chapter 3 of Title 23.
(G) This statute does not prohibit a county or municipality from enforcing ordinances by means otherwise authorized by law.
HISTORY: 1992 Act No. 328, Section 1.
Structure South Carolina Code of Laws