糖心vlog官方入口

Horry County doesn't need to create an ordinance that limits where registered sex offenders can work because a new state law already includes some of those restrictions, according to the S.C. Attorney General's Office.

County leaders began rewriting the county's business license regulations after the county issued a license last year to an ice cream truck operator who is a registered sex offender. But concerns about the ordinance's enforceability led officials to consider abandoning the policy, and 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson asked the attorney general's office whether the ordinance was even constitutional.

"Clearly, the purpose of both enactments is the same 鈥� the preclusion of certain sex offenders from working in 'child-oriented businesses,'" wrote Solicitor General Robert D. Cook in his July 8 response to Richardson. "Given these developments regarding the enactment of H. 4075, we recommend that the new State law be followed in lieu of the Ordinance."

The county attorney briefed Horry County Council on the attorney general's letter and most council members agreed that dropping the proposed county ordinance would be the best approach, said councilman Danny Hardee, who chairs the council's public safety committee.聽

鈥淎 lot of it was just repetitious stuff,鈥� Hardee said. 鈥淎nd it could be confusing. So the best thing to do is to just go by the state law. 鈥� I feel like we鈥檙e all pretty much on the same page.鈥�

County officials first introduced their ordinance in February, and it received one of three favorable votes needed to pass before they hit the brakes on the approval process in April.

The proposed ordinance would have impacted 鈥渃hild-oriented enterprises鈥� such as toy stores, laser tag centers and mobile ice cream vendors. Under the county's proposal, these companies would not have been allowed to employ someone who in the last 20 years had been convicted of criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, child sexual abuse crimes, prostitution or related violations. The ordinance also stated that the 20-year timeframe would apply to the date a person is released from prison.

Horry leaders rethink ordinance that would ban sex offenders from working at kid-oriented businesses

Concerns about the enforceability of the policy prompted Horry County leaders to consider amending it or abandoning the ordinance altogether. Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson has asked the S.C. Attorney General鈥檚 Office whether the ordinance is even constitutional.

Additionally, this ordinance would have required the owners of child-oriented businesses to go to the county police department for a criminal background check. The business owners would have also been required to provide a list of employees and sign a statement indicating their workers hadn鈥檛 been convicted of the offenses outlined in the ordinance and were not on the sex offender registry.

But as county staff began confronting the practical realities of enforcing such a policy, concerns emerged from both the police department and the treasurer鈥檚 office.

Police officials told county leaders that they hadn鈥檛 received reports of sex offenders harming children at kid-focused businesses. The treasurer鈥檚 office, which issues the business licenses, had staffers worried about the logistics of implementing the policy.

County staff worried that the policy was too broad. For example, in the county鈥檚 record-keeping system, businesses are grouped by state-designated categories and assigned codes. The codes for certain businesses, such as adult entertainment venues, are flagged in the system and draw additional scrutiny when an application is submitted. Staffers review these applications before they are approved.

County staff discussed taking a similar approach to child-oriented businesses, and the police department requested that the treasurer鈥檚 office pull the codes for businesses that serve children.

That list included more than 700 companies, including campgrounds, golf courses and hundreds of restaurants whose customers are not primarily kids. The county attorney told council members the number of businesses that actually fit the criteria of the ordinance (for example, a Chuck E. Cheese, not a Pizza Hut) was around 130.

But staffers pointed out that businesses have to be tracked by code, not a particular establishment. And because the state sets the codes, that means singling out a specific business within a category was not possible.聽

Horry County Treasurer Angie Jones asked Richardson for an opinion on the policy, so he requested one from the AG鈥檚 office, which routinely answers questions about state law from local governments and elected officials.

"I鈥檓 not for or against any of it," Richardson said. "I was asked by the treasurer, 'Is this constitutional?' With the relationship I鈥檝e got with the attorney general's office, they鈥檙e the one that answer [those constitutional questions]."

Once Richardson sent his request to the attorney general's office, county council agreed to set aside the ordinance and wait on the AG's response.

As county officials waited on an answer, state lawmakers faced a court-imposed deadline for developing new policies for the sex offender registry.

Last year, the S.C. Supreme Court ruled that the state鈥檚 requirement that an offender register for life was unconstitutional. The court gave lawmakers until June 9 to approve new legislation.聽

The state law passed in response to that decision included language that prohibits certain sex offenders from working in child-oriented businesses. That change was requested by state Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Murrells Inlet, in part because of what happened in Horry County.

"There was a lot of back and forth about whether it was legal and about whether they were going beyond the bounds of what state law allowed them to do," Goldfinch said, referring to the ordinance the county proposed. "I agreed with the premise that child predators should not be allowed to serve children. That鈥檚 just common sensical."聽

He pointed out that a mobile vendor like an ice cream truck could move from county to county, so a state regulation like this made more sense than a county one.

鈥淢ore practically than that, that鈥檚 the kind of businesses I would think a child predator would want to be in, something that serves children," Goldfinch said. "An ice cream struck serves more than just children but certainly caters to children. I think that鈥檚 a loophole that nobody really wants, so we had to fix it."聽

The new state law, which the governor signed on May 23, defines as a child-oriented business as "any business whose primary service includes the education, care, or entertainment of children including, but not limited to: a school, daycare center, children's recreational facility, arcade, trampoline park, amusement park, public playground, or mobile food delivery whose primary business is the sale or delivery of ice cream or candy to children."

Under the law, certain offenders cannot operate, be employed by or do volunteer work at those businesses. This applies to offenders convicted of first- or second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct with a minor, kidnapping a person under 18 years of age or trafficking a person under 18 years of age.

Violating the law would result in misdemeanor charges for the first two offenses. A third offense would be a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000聽fine.

The law also applies retroactively to any offender who is already required to register for the listed violations.

Goldfinch said the ice cream truck language was aimed at Horry County's concerns.

"To address that problem specifically, we went from general to very precise," he said. "It鈥檚 just a legal strategy to make sure we take care of the issues at hand.鈥�

The state law also stipulates that the owner of a a child-oriented business who聽continues to employ a sex offender after law enforcement or another government agency has stated that the offender is prohibited from legally working there could face a civil fine of up to $100 per day.

Cook with the attorney general's office noted that while the new state law is not an exact copy of the county's proposed ordinance, the two have overlapping goals and "are indeed very similar."

Enforcing the state statute rather than creating a new policy would remove any constitutional concerns, according to the attorney general's office.

"Local officials may enforce the provisions of H.4075 related to 'child-oriented businesses' with the satisfaction of knowing that the overriding purpose of the Ordinance is still being fulfilled," Cook wrote. "In our view, H. 4075 is constitutional and should be enforced."

Exactly how the state law will be enforced in Horry County remains unclear.

County spokeswoman Kelly Moore declined to comment on the attorney general's letter, and Hardee said county leaders need to discuss the matter further.

Jones, the county treasurer, said she expects multiple county departments will meet to develop a strategy for enforcing the new law. That includes the Horry County Sheriff's Office, which is where local offenders on the registry are required to check in. 聽

Jones said the guidance from the attorney general's office makes sense, and the state law likely will not be as burdensome on business owners as the proposed county ordinance would have been.

鈥淗opefully the county will come back together and come to the drawing board with the sheriff鈥檚 department, with the business license [division], the treasurer, the police,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淲e could do it and maintain it. 鈥� It鈥檚 possible. We can do it if everybody will come together in the county.鈥�