Bill Text: SC H3391 | 2013-2014 | 120th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Human trafficking resource hotline
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-05-14 - Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Clemmons [H3391 Detail]
Download: South_Carolina-2013-H3391-Introduced.html
A BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 16-3-2100 SO AS TO REQUIRE THE POSTING OF INFORMATION REGARDING THE NATIONAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING RESOURCE CENTER HOTLINE IN CERTAIN BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS, PROVIDE THE LANGUAGE FOR THE POSTING, AND PROVIDE A PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO POST.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 19, Chapter 3, Title 16 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 16-3-2100. (A) The following establishments are required to post the information contained in subsection (B) regarding the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline, an:
(1) establishment which has been declared a nuisance for prostitution pursuant to Chapter 43, Title 15;
(2) adult business including a nightclub, bar, restaurant, or another similar establishment in which a person appears in a state of sexually explicit nudity, as defined in Section 16-15-375, or semi-nudity, as defined in Section 57-25-120; and
(3) airport, train station, and bus station.
(B) The posting required by the provisions of subsection (A) must be posted in a prominent location conspicuous to the public at the entrance of the establishment where posters and notices are customarily posted on a poster no smaller than 8.5 by 11 inches in size and stating the following:
'If you or someone you know is being forced to engage in any activity and cannot leave, whether it is commercial sex, housework, farmwork, or any other activity, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 to access help and services. Victims of human trafficking are protected under federal law and the laws of South Carolina. The hotline is:
(1) available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week;
(2) operated by a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization;
(3) anonymous and confidential;
(4) accessible in one hundred seventy languages;
(5) able to provide help, referral to services, training, and general information.'
(C) The Department of Revenue and the Department of Transportation, as appropriate depending on the regulatory control or authority the respective department exercises over the establishment, are directed to provide each establishment provided in subsection (A) with the notice required to be posted by this section. The departments shall post on their websites a sample of the notice required to be posted which must be accessible for download.
(D) The Department of Revenue or the Department of Transportation, as appropriate, is authorized to issue a written warning to an establishment which fails to post the required notice provided in this section and may assess a fine of not more than fifty dollars for each subsequent violation. Each day that the establishment remains in violation of the provisions of this section is considered a separate and distinct violation and the establishment may be fined accordingly.
(E) The Department of Revenue and Department of Transportation are directed to collaborate on the design of the required notice to be posted and shall have the design finalized no later than sixty days after the effective date of this section. Establishments required to post this notice must be in compliance not later than six months after the effective date of this section.
(F) The provisions of this section do not apply to establishments providing entertainment in theatres, concert halls, art centers, museums, or similar establishments that are devoted primarily to the arts or theatrical performances when the performances presented are expressing matters of serious literary, artistic, scientific, or political value."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
