2016 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 56 - Motor Vehicles
CHAPTER 3 - MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION AND LICENSING
Section 56-3-9910. Gold Star Family special license plates.

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue "Gold Star Family" special license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles, as defined in Section 56-3-630, registered in the names of members of the immediate family of United States armed forces killed in action. There is no fee for this special license plate. The license plates issued pursuant to this section must conform to a design agreed to by the department and the Chief Executive Officer of the South Carolina Chapter of American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. or other similar organization operating in this State, and contain letters or numbers, or both, requested by the applicant.

(B) Notwithstanding another provision of law, the provisions contained in Section 56-3-8000(B) and (C) do not apply to the production and distribution of "Gold Star Family" special license plates.

(C) For the purposes of this section, "members of the immediate family" means a person who is a parent, spouse, sibling, or child of an armed forces member killed in action. Each qualifying person is entitled to a limit of two "Gold Star Family" special license plates.

HISTORY: 2006 Act No. 398, Section 19, eff September 7, 2006; 2008 Act No. 347, Section 39, eff June 16, 2008; 2009 Act No. 79, Section 3, eff June 16, 2009; 2012 Act No. 253, Section 6, eff June 18, 2012.

Code Commissioner's Note

At the direction of the Code Commissioner, this section was redesignated from 56-3-9810.

The General Assembly concurrently ratified two conflicting provisions of this section during the 2009 Legislative Session. The Code Commissioner directed the printing of the Act 79 version which is most advantageous to the licensee in order to reflect the intent of the General Assembly.

The other version in Act 39 is as follows:

"(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue 'Gold Star Family' special license plates to owners of private passenger motor vehicles as defined in Section 56-3-630 registered in the names of members of the immediate family of United States armed forces members killed in action. The fee for this special license plate is the regular motor vehicle license fee contained in Article 5, Chapter 3 of this title. The special fee required by Section 56-3-2020 is waived. The license plates issued pursuant to this section must conform to a design agreed to by the department and the chief executive officer of the South Carolina Chapter of American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. or other similar organization operating in this State.

"(B) Notwithstanding another provision of law, the provisions contained in Section 56-3-8000(B) and (C) do not apply to the production and distribution of 'Gold Star Family' special license plates.

"(C) For the purposes of this section, 'members of the immediate family' means a person who is a parent, spouse, sibling, or child of a armed forces member killed in action. Each qualifying person is entitled to a limit of two 'Gold Star Family' special license plates."

Effect of Amendment

The 2008 amendment in the first sentence substituted "passenger motor vehicles as defined in Section 56-3-630" for "passenger carrying motor vehicles".

The 2009 amendments rewrote subsection (A) and added subsections (B) and (C).

The 2012 amendment in subsection (A), inserted ", and contain letters or numbers, or both, requested by the applicant", and made other nonsubstantive changes.