South Carolina's prosecutors are starting a program in several counties to give some bad-check writers a break if they repay businesses where their checks bounced.

Under the program, those who write bad checks would have to agree to make full restitution to avoid criminal charges, said William Bilton, executive director of the state Prosecution Coordination Commission.

Merchants would get their money back more quickly under the program, which state lawmakers this year authorized for a one-year trial, Bilton said.

"We've seen this program work in other states, particularly Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Arkansas," Bilton said. "In other states, these victims get their restitution a lot faster."

The program would be self-supporting with participants paying fees, Bilton said.

Bounced checks cost South Carolina businesses at least $300 million a year, said Jim Hatchell, president of the S.C. Merchants Association. "It never ends," Hatchell said. "As long as you're taking checks, you've got a bad-check problem."

Next to shoplifting, bad-check writing is the most common crime businesses must deal with, he said.

Hatchell said his organization, whose members range from Wal-Mart to mom and pop stores, supports the pilot program.

The program would run initially in Lexington, Florence, York and Dorchester counties, Bilton said.

Solicitors in those counties plan to make presentations to their county councils in the next week or so, he said. Beaufort County prosecutors also want to participate, he said.

In South Carolina, the criminal penalty for writing bad checks ranges from a $50 fine and no jail time to 10 years in prison and a $2,000 fine.

Prosecutors say most people do not intentionally bounce checks.

"You get a lot of people who might not know how to balance a checkbook but who are not necessarily bad criminals," said E.L. Clements III, solicitor for Florence and Marion counties.

The program will ease the workload of magistrates, who spend a good share of time on bad-check cases, Clements said.

Without the program, merchants who get bad checks must send certified letters to the check writers seeking repayment, Clements said. If those requests are not honored, the merchants must get arrest warrants from magistrates, he said.

That costs business owners time and money, especially if they have to testify in court, Clements said.

Under the pilot program, merchants will drop bad checks at their solicitors' offices, Bilton said. Prosecutors will send bad-check writers letters informing them of the bounced checks and offering the chance to take part in the diversion program, he said.

If they don't respond, check writers will receive certified letters from the solicitors ordering them to resolve the matter within 10 day or face prosecution, Bilton said. Participants will have to make full restitution, including returned-check fees, he said.

The fee to participate in the program will depend on the amount of the bounced check, ranging from $50 for checks of $500 or less to $150 for checks of more than $1,000, Bilton said.

The program is intended for first-time offenders, although the state budget proviso creating it doesn't specifically limit the times a person can participate, he said.

The program is separate from the existing pre-trial intervention diversion program, Bilton said.

The fees for the bad-check program are less costly than pre-trial intervention, he said.