A. The director of animal care and control and the animal control officers are assigned additional responsibilities for the enforcement of litter control ordinances, statutes, and regulations in the course of their daily duties. Such responsibilities shall be performed in coordination with the law enforcement litter control officer when applicable.

B. For the performance of these duties, the director of animal care and control and the animal control officers shall have available an ordinance summons which complies with the South Carolina Code of Laws, 1976, as amended.

C. The animal and environmental control department shall be responsible for having the summons book printed, issuing black summons books and keeping a record of the summons forms assigned to an individual.

D. Any animal control officer issuing a summons shall be responsible for forwarding the copy of the summons labeled “Court Copy” to the appropriate judicial office within twenty-four (24) hours of issuing the summons. It shall be the issuing officer’s responsibility to keep the copy of the summons labeled “Officer Copy” until the appointed hearing time. After all action concerning the summons has been concluded, the issuing officer shall turn the “Officer Copy” of the summons into the animal and environmental control department within twenty-four (24) hours.

E. The animal and environmental control department shall be responsible for keeping the summons forms which have been turned in by officers in a manner which will allow for an annual audit of the summons forms.

F. Failure to appear before the court as required by such summons will not prevent the court proceeding from going forward.

G. Violations of the provisions of the Litter Control Codes as adopted by Colleton County shall be subject to penalties as provided in Title 9, public peace and welfare.

H. The ordinance codified in this chapter summons may not be used to perform a custodial arrest. Further, no county ordinance regulating the use of motor vehicles on the public roads of this state can be enforced using the ordinance codified in this chapter summons. (Ord. 07-O-23 § 1 (part), 2007; Ord. 04-O-09 § 5, 2004)