Heroin, sex trafficking, HOAs, mopeds targeted in prefiled bills

Drug dealers who sell heroin to users who die from an overdose would be charged with involuntary manslaughter if a bill introduced in the state legislature is passed when lawmakers begin the new session in January.

Lawmakers across the state began prefiling bills this week and representatives from Horry County are backing this and other measures that are based on issues affecting the Grand Strand.

Changes to the involuntary manslaughter law were authored by State Sen. Greg Hembree (R-North Myrtle Beach), who says the pervasiveness of the drug-laced with fentanyl and repeat overdoses treated by area first responders demands that the state legislature take action.

“We made it clear that conduct could be prosecuted,” Hembree said of his bill.

“That’s become a big deal, selling this stuff laced with fentanyl, it’s so much more powerful than heroin,” Hembree said. “We’re getting six overdoses on a Saturday night because it’s all coming from the same source.”

More than 100 people have died from drug overdoses so far this year in Horry County, up from 92 last year.

State Rep. Russell Fry (R-Surfside) introduced a bill to help victims of sex trafficking by giving family courts jurisdiction over the crimes to ensure that needed services such as counseling and rehabilitation are provided to juveniles.

Fry, along with state Rep. Heather Ammons Crawford (R-Myrtle Beach), have also prefiled a bill extending the time limit of the safe haven law.

The law is designed for parents of unwanted infants to give the child to a person of authority, rather than abandon it, without being prosecuted.

The present law applies to infants up to 60 days old, the lawmakers want to expand that to one-year-old children.

Legislation to protect the public from criminals was reintroduced by state Rep. Greg Duckworth (R-North Myrtle Beach) to require that locksmiths undergo criminal background checks and meet continuing educations standards to maintain their licenses.

The measure was spurred by the March arrest of Panteleimon “Peter” Spirakis, former owner of Phil’s Lock and Key in North Myrtle Beach, in connection with sex crimes against two 4-year-old children.

“I would think because it's a public safety [issue] it would be received positively,” Duckworth said.

Duckworth’s bill was introduced last session but stalled in a sub-committee of the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee.

“We just ran out of time last year,” Duckworth said.

State Sen. Luke Rankin (R-Conway) introduced a measure requiring liability insurance for establishments that sell alcohol. Under state law, restaurants or bars can be sued if a patron leaves and causes damages when driving drunk.

Rankin also pre-filed a bill requiring annual classes for restaurant and bar employees who serve alcohol. The classes teach servers how to identify someone who should not be given alcohol.

“The onus is on the establishment that has a license, and so it's in their best interest to have their servers not putting somebody on the public highways that should not be served,” Rankin said.

Rankin said employers would be required to provide the classes.

Two different proposals from Duckworth would extend rights and privileges reserved for firefighters and police officers to emergency medical service responders, including property tax relief for those disabled on the job and the ability to lower flags to half staff for the death of an EMS responder.

Legislation that hasn’t passed in previous sessions that affect Homeowners Associations was reintroduced this week.

Fry is cosponsoring the bill in the House and says that the simple measure is more likely to pass if not part of a comprehensive package.

“HOA reforms are consistently bogged down every year because people try to make it too comprehensive and it becomes too complicated,” Fry said.

Fry’s bill would require disclosure of HOA covenants and restrictions prior to home sales; free and voluntary educational classes for new HOA board members to learn about their obligations, and; giving jurisdiction to settle disputes to magistrate as well as common plea courts.

Other legislation reintroduced by Hembree includes new laws for mopeds and rewriting a provision some lawmakers believe has led to the delay of International Drive construction.

Clarifying the definition of a moped would make drivers subject to all traffic laws and require the vehicles to be tagged with licenses. Insurance would not be required.

Those under 21-years-old would have to wear a helmet, and all drivers would have to wear reflective vests.

“Most moped deaths come at night from drivers coming up behind them and they don’t see them,” Hembree said. “They run over them before they have a chance to stop.”

Hembree is also sponsoring a bill that would require environmental groups and others that object to road construction to provide a sound basis for the claim before projects are halted.

No proof is currently needed, and opponents are only required to pay a filing fee.

Under Hembree’s bill, the State Administrative Law Court could require opponents to pay a bond to cover court costs and the cost of halting a project.

“It’s basically put up, or shut up,” Hembree said. “You can’t just object because you object, but you have to show it will do irreparable harm.”

Another issue that could reach Columbia this year is the capital option sales tax. Counties are currently able to levy such a tax and use the fund for public improvements, but municipalities are not.

North Myrtle Beach has led the charge in asking for this power in order to scrounge up funding for projects like ocean outfall pipes or increased parking near the oceanfront.

Duckworth said the tax could also help municipalities raise more money for beach renourishment. Areas of North Myrtle Beach suffered some of the worst dune erosion during Hurricane Matthew in October.

"It's not unrealistic for us to maybe have another bad hurricane season, and we can't sit here and rely on the federal government [for funding] again," he said.

Under the current proposal, the tax could only be enacted if approved by city voters in a referendum.

This story was originally published December 15, 2016 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Heroin, sex trafficking, HOAs, mopeds targeted in prefiled bills."