§ 130.999  PENALTY.
   (A)   Any person violating any provision of this chapter for which no specific penalty is required shall be subject to the fine in § 10.99.
   (B)   A person violating the provisions of § 130.058, upon conviction, for a first or second offense must be punished as follows:  If the amount of the instrument is $500 or less, is triable in municipal court.  If the amount of the instrument is over $500, it must be tried in the court of general sessions or any other court having concurrent jurisdiction. Not withstanding the provisions of this paragraph, a person violating the provisions of § 130.058, upon conviction for a third or subsequent conviction may be tried in either municipal court or in the court of general sessions.
      (1)   Convictions in municipal court are punishable as follows:  for a first conviction by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $200 or by imprisonment for not more than 30 days; for a second or subsequent conviction by a fine of $500 or imprisonment for 30 days.
      (2)   After a conviction under § 130.058 for a first offense, the defendant may, after 1 year from the date of conviction, apply or cause someone acting on his or her behalf to apply, to the court for an order expunging the records of the arrest and conviction.  This does not apply to any crime classified as a felony.  If the defendant has had no other convictions during the one year period following the conviction under this ordinance, the court shall issue an order expunging the records.  No person has any rights under this section more than 1 time.  After the expungement, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is required to keep a nonpublic record of the offense and the date of its expungement to ensure that no person takes advantage of the rights permitted by this division more than once. This nonpublic record is not subject to release under § 34-11-95, The Freedom of Information Act, or any other provision of law except to those authorized law or court officials who need to know this information in order to prevent the rights afforded by this division from being taken advantage of more than once.
(Ord. passed 6-17-1997)