TO AMEND SECTION 17-22-910, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO APPLICATIONS FOR THE EXPUNGEMENT OF CRIMINAL RECORDS FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR ELIGIBILITY FOR EXPUNGEMENT OF OFFENSES SUBSEQUENTLY REPEALED WHEN THE ELEMENTS OF THE OFFENSE ARE CONSISTENT WITH AN EXISTING SIMILAR OFFENSE WHICH IS SUBJECT TO EXPUNGEMENT, AND CLARIFY THAT EXPUNGEMENT PROVISIONS APPLY RETROACTIVELY TO THE OFFENSES DELINEATED.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 17-22-910 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 22 of 2015, is further amended to read:

"Section 17-22-910.    (A)    Applications for expungement of all criminal records must be administered by the solicitor's office in each circuit in the State as authorized pursuant to:

(1)    Section 34-11-90(e), first offense misdemeanor fraudulent check;

(2)    Section 44-53-450(b), conditional discharge;

(3)    Section 22-5-910, first offense conviction in magistrates court;

(4)    Section 22-5-920, youthful offender act;

(5)    Section 56-5-750(f), first offense failure to stop when signaled by a law enforcement vehicle;

(6)    Section 17-22-150(a), pretrial intervention;

(7)    Section 17-1-40, criminal records destruction, except as provided in Section 17-22-950;

(8)    Section 63-19-2050, juvenile expungements;

(9)    Section 17-22-530(A), alcohol education program;

(10)    Section 17-22-330(A), traffic education program; and

(11)    any other statutory authorization.

(B)    A person's eligibility for expungement of an offense contained in this section, or authorized by any other provision of law, must be based on the offense that the person pled guilty to or was convicted of committing and not on an offense for which the person may have been charged. In addition, if an offense for which a person was convicted is subsequently repealed and the elements of the offense are consistent with an existing similar offense which is currently eligible for expungement, a person's eligibility for expungement of an offense must be based on the existing similar offense.

(C)    The provisions of this section apply retroactively to allow expungement as provided by law for each offense delineated in subsection (A) by persons convicted prior to the enactment of this section or the addition of a specific item contained in subsection (A)."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.