As used in this article, unless the context requires otherwise:

(A) "Motor carrier" means a person who owns, controls, operates, manages, or leases a commercial motor vehicle, or bus for the transportation of property or persons in intrastate or interstate commerce except for scheduled intercity bus service and farm vehicles using FM tags as allowed by the Department of Motor Vehicles. A motor carrier is defined further as being a South Carolina-based International Registration Plan registrant or owning or leasing real property within this State used directly in the transportation of freight or persons.

(B) "Commercial motor vehicle" means a motor propelled vehicle used for the transportation of property on a public highway, except for farm vehicles using FM tags as allowed by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

(C) "Large commercial motor vehicle" means a commercial motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of greater than twenty-six thousand pounds that is registered under the International Registration Plan or used on a highway for the transportation of property.

(D) "Small commercial motor vehicle" means a commercial motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of less than or equal to twenty-six thousand pounds that is registered under the International Registration Plan or used on a highway for the transportation of property.

(E) "Highway" means all public roads, highways, streets, and ways in this State, whether within a municipality or outside of a municipality.

(F) "Person" means any individual, corporation, firm, partnership, company or association, and includes a guardian, trustee, executor, administrator, receiver, conservator, or a person acting in a fiduciary capacity.

(G) "Semitrailers" means every vehicle with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that a part of its weight and of its load rests upon or is carried by another vehicle.

(H) "Trailers" means every vehicle with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that no part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle.

(I) "Bus" means every motor vehicle designed for carrying more than sixteen passengers and used for the transportation of persons, for compensation, other than a taxicab or intercity bus.

(J) "South Carolina apportionment factor" means the ratio of miles operated by a fleet of vehicles in South Carolina to the miles operated by the fleet of vehicles everywhere, which is used to apportion the registration fees of the fleet under the International Registration Plan.

HISTORY: 1996 Act No. 461, Section 1; 1998 Act No. 442, Section 12A; 2000 Act No. 399, Section 3(T)(1), eff August 17, 2000; 2017 Act No. 40 (H.3516), Section 8.A, eff January 1, 2019.

Editor's Note

2017 Act No. 40, Sections 8.L, 8.M, provide as follows:

"L. (1) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary within this SECTION, a person who registers a vehicle for use in this State pursuant to Article 23, Chapter 37, Title 12, as amended by this act, must register his vehicle during calendar year 2019 and is required to pay the road fees calculated based on the fair market value of the vehicle as specified in Sections 12-37-2820 and 12-37-2850 at the time the vehicle's registration fees are paid.

"(2) Notwithstanding the provisions in Section 12-37-2865(B) and (C), as contained in this SECTION, to the contrary, during calendar year 2019, the first four hundred thousand dollars of fee revenue collected pursuant to Section 12-37-2865 must be retained by the Department of Motor Vehicles to defray programming costs.

"(3) The initial millage required by Section 12-37-2850 must be calculated on or before June 1, 2018.

"M. This SECTION takes effect January 1, 2019, except that the Department of Revenue, in consultation with the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, shall calculate the millage to be used to calculate the road use fee provided in Section 12-37-2850 by July 1, 2018."

Effect of Amendment

2017 Act No. 40, Section 8.A, in (A), substituted "commercial motor vehicle," for "motor vehicle"; in (B), substituted "Commercial motor vehicle" for "Motor vehicle" and ", except for farm vehicles using FM tags as allowed by the Department of Motor Vehicles" for "with a gross vehicle weight of greater than twenty-six thousand pounds"; inserted (C) and (D), relating to the definitions of large and small commercial motor vehicles, and redesignated the remaining paragraphs accordingly; and added (J), relating to the definition of the South Carolina apportionment factor.