S.C. Code § 50-21-5
Short title
This act may be cited as the "South Carolina Boating and Safety Act of 1999."
South Carolina Code Title 50, Chapter 21 — Equipment and Operation of Watercraft
South Carolina · statute · S.C. Code tit. 50, ch. 21 · 54 active provisions
S.C. Code § 50-21-10
Definitions
As used in this title unless the context clearly requires a different meaning: (1) Reserved; (2) "Boat" means a vessel. (3) "Associated equipment" does not include radio equipment and means: (a) a system, part, or component of a boat as originally manufactured or a similar part or component manufactured or sold for rep…
S.C. Code § 50-21-20
Legislative declaration of policy
It is the policy of this State to promote safety for persons and property in and connected with the use, operation, and equipment of vessels and to promote uniformity of laws relating thereto.
S.C. Code § 50-21-30
Watercraft laws and ordinances; special rules and regulations
(A) For the purposes of this section, "floating structure" means a man-made object other than a watercraft that is capable of flotation and that is not authorized by a permit issued by an agency of this State. (B) The provisions of Title 50 and other applicable laws of this State shall govern the operation, equipment,…
S.C. Code § 50-21-40
Administration of chapter
The administration of this chapter shall be vested in the department. The department shall enforce this chapter through its Natural Resources Enforcement Division.
S.C. Code § 50-21-45
Administration of oaths; acknowledgment of signatures
Officers and employees of the Department engaged in the work of administering and enforcing the provisions of this chapter may administer oaths and acknowledge signatures and must do so without fee.
S.C. Code § 50-21-50
Director and other personnel to carry out provisions of chapter; salary and terms of employment
The director shall employ or assign such clerical, administrative, technical and enforcement personnel as may be required to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
S.C. Code § 50-21-70
Limit on expenses and costs of administration
The expenses and cost of administration of this chapter shall at no time exceed the revenue derived through the provisions of this chapter and funds received from the federal government for use in administering boating laws.
S.C. Code § 50-21-80
Enforcement of provisions of chapter; authority to issue summons or make arrests
Any person employed or elected by this State or political subdivision thereof, whose duty it is to preserve the peace or to make arrests or to enforce the law including, but not limited to, members of the sheriff's departments, state police, enforcement officers, deputies, or other qualified persons, upon recommendatio…
S.C. Code § 50-21-85
Conditions for operation of vessel displaying blue light; operating procedure in presence of such vessel; violations
A person shall not operate a vessel displaying or using a rotating, strobing, flashing, or intermittently reflecting blue light unless a duly commissioned law enforcement officer is on board. The operator of a vessel being approached by a vessel flashing a blue light shall stop or maneuver in a way as to permit boardin…
S.C. Code § 50-21-87
Operation of vessel prohibited within fifty feet of vessel displaying diver down flag; diving prohibited within fifty feet of vessel whose occupant is fishing
(A) A person may not operate a vessel within fifty feet of another vessel when a diver is displaying a diver down flag (red with a diagonal white stripe) to mark the location of the diver. When the flag is being displayed in a water body too narrow to allow passage of another vessel other than within fifty feet, a vess…
S.C. Code § 50-21-90
Boating safety and educational program
(A) The department must administer a boating safety education course and may approve of additional boating safety education courses. A list of approved courses must be provided on the department's website. (B) The following persons must be issued a South Carolina boating safety certificate in both physical and electron…
S.C. Code § 50-21-95
Lawful operation of certain vessels; penalties
(A) It is unlawful for a person to operate upon the waters of this State a vessel powered by an engine of ten horsepower or greater or equivalent to ten horsepower or greater, a personal watercraft, or a specialty propcraft unless the person: (1) was born on or before July 1, 2007; (2) is in possession of a South Carol…
S.C. Code § 50-21-100
Records to be kept by owners of boat liveries
The owner of a boat livery shall cause to be kept a record of the name and address of the person or persons hiring any vessel; the identification number thereof, and the departure date and time, and the expected time of return. The record shall be preserved for at least six months.
S.C. Code § 50-21-105
Towing of watercraft by department
The department may tow away and store at the nearest commercial marina or any other suitable facility any unattended watercraft, a watercraft the operator of which is ill, intoxicated, or under a disability which renders him incapable of functioning safely, or other object which constitutes a hazard to navigation and w…
S.C. Code § 50-21-110
Negligent operation of water device; offense; penalties
(A) No person may operate any water device in a negligent manner. (B) Negligent operation includes, but is not limited to, operating a water device at more than idle speed in a no wake zone, failing to maintain a proper lookout for other boats or persons, operating too fast for conditions on the water, racing, or pulli…
S.C. Code § 50-21-111
Reckless operation of water device; offense; penalties
(A) A person who operates any water device in such a manner as to indicate either a wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless operation. (B) Reckless operation includes, but is not limited to, weaving through congested vessel traffic at more than idle speed; or jumping the w…
S.C. Code § 50-21-112
Operation of moving motorized water device or water device under sail while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol; offense; penalties
(A) It is unlawful for a person to operate a moving motorized water device or water device undersail upon the waters of this State while under the: (1) influence of alcohol to the extent that the person's faculties to operate are materially and appreciably impaired; (2) influence of any other drug or a combination of o…
S.C. Code § 50-21-113
Operation of moving water device while under the influence of alcohol or drugs resulting in property damage, great bodily injury or death; penalties
(A) A person who, while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or the combination of alcohol and drugs operates a moving water device, or is in actual control of a moving water device within this State and causes great bodily injury or death of a person other than himself, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, mu…
S.C. Code § 50-21-114
Chemical test or analysis of breath, blood, or urine; implied consent; presumptions arising from blood alcohol content levels
(A)(1) A person who operates a water device is considered to have given consent to chemical tests or analysis of his breath, blood, or urine to determine the presence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of both, if arrested for an offense arising out of acts alleged to have been committed while the person was operating…
S.C. Code § 50-21-115
Reckless homicide by operation of boat; penalty; persons convicted of certain offenses prohibited from operating boat
When the death of a person ensues within three years as a proximate result of injury received by the operation of a boat in reckless disregard of the safety of others, the person operating the boat is guilty of reckless homicide. A person convicted of reckless homicide or a person who enters a plea of guilty of reckles…
S.C. Code § 50-21-116
Chemical tests to determine presence of alcohol and/or drugs; requesting additional tests; release of results
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person must submit to either one or a combination of chemical tests of his breath, blood, or urine for the purpose of determining the presence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of alcohol and drugs, if there is probable cause to believe that the person violated or is unde…
S.C. Code § 50-21-117
Operation of water device while privileges suspended; offense; penalties
(A) A person who operates any water device while his privileges are suspended is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined two hundred dollars or imprisoned for thirty days for the first violation; for a second violation must be fined five hundred dollars and imprisoned for sixty consecutive days; and…
S.C. Code § 50-21-120
Duty of boat livery as to equipment, registration and the like; liability of owner for negligent operation of vessel
Neither the owner, his agent, or employees of a boat livery operating in this State shall permit any vessel to depart from his premises unless it is in sound and safe operating condition, have a valid registration, is properly numbered and is provided, either by the owner or the renter, with the equipment required purs…
S.C. Code § 50-21-125
Restrictions on swimming near public landing on hydroelectric generation lake or reservoir; no wake zone
It is unlawful for a person to swim within fifty feet of a public boat landing or ramp located on a lake or reservoir constructed or developed by an investor-owned utility for hydroelectric generation. For purposes of this section, a public boat landing or ramp is one owned or maintained by an investor-owned utility fo…
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