House Bills - February 14, 2025

H. 3943 (Rep. B.L. Cox) — Creates an income tax credit for disabled veterans.

H. 3944 (Reps. Erickson and Vaughan) — Establishes maximum weight limits for electric battery-powered motor vehicles as it pertains to weighing vehicles and their loads, unloading excess weight and penalties. 

H. 3945 (Reps. Yow and Mitchell) — Adds a section to allow for the counting, photographing, relocating, capturing, hunting, or taking of feral hogs or coyotes by unmanned aircraft in certain circumstances.

H. 3946 (Reps. McCabe, Herbkersman, Hardee, Atkinson, Pedalino, Burns, Haddon and B. Newton) —  Amends a section regarding exemptions from contractor licensing requirements for owners who are constructing farm buildings or portable storage buildings. Previously, the square footage limitation was set at 5,000 square feet for buildings used solely for livestock or storage. This bill increases the limitation to 50,000 square feet and expands the qualifying use purposes to include poultry.

H. 3951 (Reps. Herbkersman, Bradley, M.M. Smith, Guffey, Cobb-Hunter, Oremus, McDaniel, Sessions, W. Newton, Guest, Rutherford, Crawford and Lowe) —Establishes the "Tenant Protection Act of 2025" by adding a section that provides a property tax exemption. This exemption limits the increase in property tax value following an assessable transfer of interest for properties subject to a specific 6% assessment ratio. 

H. 3952 (Reps. Mitchell, Luck, Williams, and Yow) — Amends Act 571 of 1965, relating to the Darlington County millage levy for the Florence-Darlington Technical College, to require the budget to be approved by the Darlington County Council instead of the county Board of Education.

H. 3966 (Reps. Davis and Sessions) — Establishes that a direct primary care agreement is not regarded as an insurance contract in this state and is therefore not subject to regulation by the Department of Insurance. 

H. 3967 (Reps. Haddon, Ligon, Brewer, Bannister, Forrest, Herbkersman and Hixon) — Defines "biomass" and other relevant terms, classifies energy from certain sources as carbon neutral and energy from others as carbon negative.

H. 3968 (Reps. Landing, Taylor, Teeple, Hartnett, Bustos, M.M. Smith, J.L. Johnson, Hager, McCravy, McGinnis, Wickensimer, Luck, Hixon, Gilliam, Wooten, Sessions, Robbins, Dillard, Jones and Vaughan) — Introduces a new article that includes definitions and requires the South Carolina Emergency Management Division to develop detailed plans for strengthening all critical infrastructure against electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) and geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs). It mandates that electrical utility distributors in the state must offer programs to residential customers who wish to receive protection from EMPs and GMDs and allows for payment plans through customers' monthly bills. Additionally, the bill provides grants and establishes that the General Assembly will allocate necessary appropriations.

H. 3969 (Reps. Rutherford, Ballentine, Bauer, Bernstein, Garvin, Grant, Hart, Howard, J.L. Johnson, McDaniel, Reese, and Rose) — Regulates personal delivery devices in Richland County. Local governments may set ordinances to control the time and place of their operation to ensure safety on public streets and sidewalks, but they cannot prohibit their use.

H. 3970 (Reps. Jones, King, J.L. Johnson, Cobb-Hunter, Rivers, Gilliard, Howard, Clyburn, Hosey, Spann-Wilder, Dillard, Bauer and Reese) — Establishes the "University Housing Development and Incentive Act" to promote affordable housing for public universities in South Carolina. It provides financial incentives, simplifies approval processes for housing projects, and allows local governments to waive certain zoning restrictions for high-density housing.

H. 3971 (Reps. Reps. Ligon, Haddon, Martin and Terribile) — Mandates that all retail establishments in this state must accept cash payments for transactions.

H. 3997 (Reps. B.L. Cox, Holman, M.M. Smith and Davis) — Modifies several sections regarding income tax deductions for first responders to include county and municipal public works employees who may be deployed during emergencies. It also amends the section relating to property tax exemptions to encompass the surviving spouses of county and municipal public works employees who are killed while responding to emergencies. Additionally, the definition of "first responder" for the purposes of receiving workers' compensation payments from the state accident fund is updated to include these public works employees. Finally, the definition of "first responder" in the South Carolina Overdose Prevention Act is revised to include county and municipal public works employees deployed in emergencies.

H. 3998 (Rep. Taylor) — Modifies existing regulations concerning the sale of alcoholic beverages by nonprofit organizations, allowing certain invitees to consume alcoholic drinks sold by the organization.

H. 3999 (Reps. Mitchell and Yow) — This joint resolution proposes an amendment to Section 3 of Article VI and Section 1A of Article XVII of the state Constitution, both relating to dual office holding. The bill seeks to provide that any office holder or appointee whose position is entirely uncompensated, aside from per diem and expense reimbursement as allowed by law, is exempt from the dual office holding provisions.

H. 4001 (Reps. M.M. Smith, B.L. Cox, Davis, Bustos, Holman, Hartnett and Landing) — Modifies a section regarding the prohibition of selling alcoholic liquors on specific days, allowing certain local governing bodies to permit the sale of alcoholic liquors on Sundays under specific conditions. 

H. 4002 (Reps. Burns and Bannister) — Transfers all powers, duties, assets, and liabilities of the Greater Greenville Sanitation District to the Greenville County governing body and repeals Chapter 1 of 1968, which established the district.

H. 4004 (Reps. Wooten, Davis, W. Newton, Pope and Brewer) — Introduces a new chapter to regulate the distribution and sale of nonalcoholic hemp-derived beverages. It includes several provisions, one of which stipulates that biennial licenses issued under this chapter will expire based on certain counties where the licensed locations are situated.

H. 4005 (Reps. Pope, Gilliam, Crawford, Long and Hixon) — Makes several amendments regarding the operation of motor vehicles while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. These amendments aim to enhance public safety and establish more comprehensive consequences for driving under the influence.

H. 4006 (Reps. Teeple, Crawford, Hartnett, Bustos, B. Newton, Landing, Pope and Guest) — Mandates that homeowner’s association board meetings be open to members, prohibits associations from banning certain political signs, and prevents fines for expired vehicle tags. It also affirms that homeowners and tenants have the right to fly both the United States and South Carolina state flags.

H. 4007 (Reps. Pace, Harris, Frank, Magnuson, Edgerton, White, Cromer and Kilmartin) — Adds a section that authorizes the Public Service Authority to jointly own one or more combined cycle natural gas units and related facilities with Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc. at the Canady's site, while also establishing certain conditions.

H. 4008 (Reps. Henderson-Myers, Jones, Hosey, McDaniel, J.L. Johnson, Govan, Clyburn, Spann-Wilder, Garvin, Gilliard, Anderson, Alexander, J. Moore and Rutherford) — Allows counties and municipalities to impose a one-time impact fee on private developers for each new residential and commercial unit constructed. The collected funds will exclusively support the South Carolina Gentrification Trust Fund. Developers who dedicate at least 15% of their projects to low-income housing will be exempt from this fee. Further, the bill establishes the South Carolina Gentrification Trust Fund to assist low-income and fixed-income individuals, churches, and organizations affected by gentrification, with an annual allocation of $5 million from the General Assembly. It also adds the Trust Fund as an option for voluntary contributions on income tax returns.

H. 4009 (Reps. Magnuson, Cromer, Gilreath, Harris, Edgerton, White, Beach, Terribile, Lawson, Rankin, Kilmartin, Morgan, Huff, Pace and Burns) — Establishes the "South Carolina Medical Freedom Act," ensuring that individuals have the right to refuse medical procedures, treatments, vaccines, and other care without facing discrimination. It protects healthcare professionals from disciplinary action for raising concerns about medical mandates or advocating for patients' rights and establishes legal recourse for those facing retaliation.

H. 4010 (Reps. Gilreath, Huff, Cromer, Edgerton, Duncan, White, Frank and Kilmartin) — Establishes the "South Carolina Clean Air Act," prohibiting intentional emissions of air contaminants that aim to alter temperature, weather, or sunlight. It also mandates the Department of Environmental Services to perform specific actions.

H. 4013 (Reps. J.E. Johnson, Gilliam, Bailey and Guest) — Establishes definitions and specifies that only certain entities, including counties, may use automatic license plate reader systems. It outlines the permitted use of the information by law enforcement and authorizes the Department of Transportation to allow cameras used by governmental entities on non-interstate highway rights of way.

H. 4014 (Rep. Bustos) — Seeks to abolish the constituent districts and their boards of trustees in the Charleston County School District, transferring their powers to the Board of Trustees of the Charleston County School District.