The South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police is committed to keeping law enforcement officers informed about legislative developments that impact our profession. This page provides weekly updates on key activities at the South Carolina Statehouse, including our legislative priorities, bills we support, and legislation we are monitoring. We actively advocate for policies that enhance officer safety, strengthen law enforcement resources, and protect the rights of those who serve.

PRIORITIES

Our top legislative initiatives aimed at strengthening law enforcement and public safety in South Carolina.

RETURN TO WORK LEGISLATION

H.3437	Reps. Pope et. al.	Return to Work (Critical Need) for Law Enforcement	Referred To Ways and Means
H.3542	Rep. Williams	Lifting the cap if retires before January 2, 2026	Referred To Ways and Means
S.107	Senator Rice	Retirement Earnings Limitation – Raises cap to about $22,320.	Referred To Finance
S.118	Senator Adams	Constables Not Subject to Earnings Limitation	Referred To Finance
S.119	Senator Adams	Lifts the 10,000 Earnings Limitation with 90 Days separation	Referred To Finance

RETIREE PENSION COLA INCREASES & TAX BREAKS

S.64	Senator Hembree	Retirement Income Tax Deduction for First Responders	Referred To Finance
H.3410	Rep. Hardee	Property (Vehicle) Tax Exemption for Former First Responders	Referred To Ways and Means
H.3416	Rep. Kilmartin	Retirement income Tax Deduction for First Responders	Referred To Ways and Means
H.4175	Reps. Caskey et. al.	Exclude Wages Earned by Law Enforcement from Calculation of SC Income and Prohibit the Withholding of Taxes of Such Wages.	Referred to House Ways and Means

PROTECTING LAW ENFORCEMENT K9s

H.3034	Reps. Collins and Wooten	Enhanced penalties for injuring police animals	Referred To Judiciary – Awaiting Subcommittee Meeting (Currently has 36 sponsors)
S.427	Sen. Adams	Enhanced penalties for injuring police animals	Referred To Judiciary

HALO PROTECTION

H.3535	Reps. Wooten et. al.	Creates 25 foot buffer for law enforcement	Referred to Judiciary – Awaiting Subcommittee Hearing (Currently has 14 sponsors)
S.175	Senator Zell	Creates 25 foot buffer for law enforcement	Referred To Judiciary

NON-FATAL STRANGULATION LAW

H.3522

Reps. Caskey et. al.

Defines Strangulation

Referred to Judiciary – Awaiting Subcommittee Hearing (Currently has 7 sponsors)

LEGISLATION WE SUPPORT

Bills that align with our mission and directly benefit law enforcement officers and their families.

Bill #	Sponsor(s)	Description	Status
H.3003	Reps. Collins and Beach	Officer Matthew Logan Hare Memorial Avenue	Adopted by the Senate and Returned to House with Concurrence
H.3052	Reps. Pope and Wooten	Enhanced Penalties for Assault on Law Enforcement Officer	Referred to Judiciary
H.3053	Reps. Pope et. al.	Violent Crimes, Discharging Firearms into Dwellings	Referred to Judiciary
H.3055	Reps Wooten et. al	Harassment and Stalking	Referred to Judiciary
H.3093	Rep. Moss	Enhanced Penalties for Assaulting a First Responder or Healthcare Worker	Referred to Judiciary
H.3124	Reps. Pope et. al.	Exposing First Responders to Fentanyl	Referred to Judiciary
H.3127	Rep. Robbins, Wooten and Lawson	Failure to Stop	The Bill was Debated on the House Floor Thursday, March 27, 2025 → Rep. Newton Motioned to Adjourn Debate
H.3159	Rep. Yow	Allows Retired Officer to Carry a Concealed Weapon	Referred to Judiciary
H.3176	Rep. Davis	Enhanced Penalties for Failure to Stop	Referred to Judiciary
H.3258	Reps. Pope et. al.	Requires Department of Education to Install Mobile Panic Alert Systems in All Public Schools	Scheduled to be heard by House Education and Public Works Full Committee Tuesday, April 1, 2025 10:00am Room 433 Blatt
H.3259	Reps. Pope and Gilliam	First Responder Automobile Insurance Premiums	Passed the House and Sent to the Senate. Read for First Time in the Senate → Referred to Senate Banking and Insurance and is scheduled to be heard by the Insurance Subcommittee Tuesday, April 1, 2025 10:00 A.M.
H.3261	Reps. Pope and Gilliam	Workers’ Comp to Include Coverage for PTSD for First Responders	Referred to Labor, Commerce and Industry
H.3276	Reps. Pope et. al.	South Carolina Hands Free Act	The Bill was Debated on the House Floor Thursday, March 27, 2025 → A Proposed Committee Amendment (No. 1) was Adopted Debate was then Adjourned Proceeding Brief Discussion of a Second Amendment Proposed by Rep. Taylor
H.3281	Reps. McCravy et. al.	Fallen First Responders Advocate Position	Referred to Judiciary
H.3392	Rep. Moss	Enhanced Penalties for Assaulting a Healthcare Worker or Emergency Response Employee	Referred to Judiciary
H.3295	Rep. Hardy	Release of Vehicle Location Information to Law Enforcement Agency in Emergency Situations.	Referred to Judiciary
H.3315	Rep. Collins	Authorize Correctional Officers to Serve Warrants without Magistrate Endorsing the Warrant.	Referred to Judiciary
H.3363	Rep. B. Newton, et.al.	Catawba Nation to Become An Employer Under PEBA.	Referred To Ways and Means
H.3460	Rep. Wooten	Disclosure of Electronic Communication to Law Enforcement, Solicitors and Attorney General	Recommitted to Subcommittee Similar Bill S.74 is Being Debated.
H.3461	Rep Lawson	Excludes First Responder Wages from SC Gross Income	Referred To Ways and Means
H.3650	Reps. G.M. Smith et. al.	Discharging Firearms into Dwellings and other Structures	Passed the House and Sent to the Senate → Referred to Senate Judiciary
S.71	Senator Hembree	Enhanced Penalties for Assault and Battery Against a Law Enforcement Officer	Referred to Judiciary
S.74	Senator Hembree	Disclosure of Electronic Communications and Other Records	The Bill was Debated on the House Floor Thursday, March 27, 2025 → Rep. Newton Motioned to Adjourn Debate on the Bill
S.111	Senator Rice	Enhanced Penalties for Vehicle Pursuit	Passed to Senate Floor as Amended → Placed on Senate Calendar
S.127	Senator Johnson	Adds Catawba Nation to PORS	Passed the Senate and Sent to the House → Referred to House Ways and Means

LEGISLATION WE ARE MONITORING

Legislative proposals we are tracking to assess their potential impact on law enforcement and public safety.

Bill #	Sponsor(s)	Description	Status
H.3016	Rep. Rutherford	Interrogation of Child	Referred to Judiciary
H.3068	Rep. Rutherford	Revised forfeiture procedures	Referred to Judiciary
H.3126	Rep. Pope	Creation of the South Carolina Department of Law Enforcement and Public Safety	Referred to Judiciary
H.3131	Rep. Rutherford	Disallows Law Enforcement from Purchasing Cell Site Simulator	Referred to Judiciary
H.3133	Rep. Rutherford	Disallows Law Enforcement from Stopping Vehicles that don’t have License Plate Illumination	Referred to Education and Public Works
H.3134	Rep. Rutherford	Disallows Law Enforcement from Purchasing Cell Site Simulator	Referred to Judiciary
H.3139	Rep. Rutherford	Certification of Law Enforcement Officers	Referred to Judiciary
H.3155	Rep. Rutherford	Automatic License Plate Readers	Referred to Judiciary
H.3170	Rep. Beach	Unlawful to Drive Vehicles with Drivers’ Licenses Not Recognized.	Referred to Education and Public Works
H.3283	Rep. Long	CWP on College Campuses	Referred to Judiciary
H.3285	Rep. Landing	Education of Law Enforcement Officers or EMS to Include Training Course in Autism	Scheduled to be heard by the Full House Judiciary Committee Tuesday, April 1, 2025, one hour after adjournment in Room 516 Blatt
H.3288	Rep. J.L. Johnson	Allows Persons who are Subjects of Body Camera Video Data to Receive Footage by Simple Request.	Referred to Judiciary
H.3289	Rep. J.L. Johnson	Include 911 Operators as “First Responders”	Referred to Ways and Means
H.3378	Rep. Burns et al.	Exempt All Property from Taxation and Provide Dollar-for-Dollar Reimbursement to Political Subdivisions	Referred To Ways and Means
H.3421	Rep. Long	Retirement Investment Commission Cannot Invest Funds with China	Referred To Ways and Means
H.3794	Reps. Mitchell and Pope	Allow Public Defender Investigators to Carry Concealable Weapons	Referred To Judiciary
H.3799	Reps. Wooten et. al.	Law Enforcement Officer Certificates of Compliance	Referred To Judiciary
H.3806	Reps. Hart and Henderson-Meyers	Driving While Using Wireless Communication Devices	Referred To Judiciary
H.3855	Reps. Huff et. al.	Sales Tax Exemption for Small Arms and Small Arms Ammunition	Referred To Ways and Means
H.3868	Reps. J. Moore et. al.	Sale, Exchange or Transfer of Firearms Require National Instant Criminal Background Checks	Referred To Judiciary
H.4005	Reps. Henderson-Meyers et. al.	Driving Under the Influence	Referred To Judiciary
H.4011	Rep. Erickson	Department of Motor Vehicles – “Temporary Driving Certificate”	Referred To Education and Public Works
H.4013	Reps. J.E. Johnson et. al.	Automated License Plate Readers	Referred To Education and Public Works
H.4092	Reps. Kilmartin et. al.	Sales Tax Exemption During The Month Of July 2025 For Handguns, Rifles, Shotguns, And Ammunition	Referred to Ways and Means
S.8	Senator Jackson	Training Council to Set Policies and Procedures for Vehicle Pursuits	Heard in Judiciary Subcommittee Thursday, March 13, 2025 → Carried Over Due to Time Constraints
S.90	Senator Young	Hands Free Act	Referred To Transportation
S.126	Senator Johnson	Relating to Definitions, so as to Include Additional Information in the Definition of “Personal Contact Information” and to Define “Disclosed Records”	Scheduled to be heard by the Full House Judiciary Committee Tuesday, April 1, 2025, One Hour After Adjournment in Room 516
S.136	Senator Tedder	Dismissal of Pending Gun Possession Charges	Passed the Senate and Sent to the House → Referred to House Judiciary
S.142	Senator Devine	Requires CJA to Develop Use of Force Model Policy, Qualified Immunity	Referred To Judiciary
S.145	Senator Devine	Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act Repeal	Referred To Judiciary
S.149	Senator Devine	Juvenile Justice Reform Act	Referred To Judiciary
S.156	Senators Alexander et. al.	Fentanyl Induced Homicide	Heard by House Full Judiciary Tuesday, March 25, 2025 → Full Committee Reported Out Favorably as Amended
S.168	Senator Campsen	Concealed Weapon Permits Program	Heard by Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Wednesday, March 12, 2025 → Carried Over to Next Subcommittee Hearing (Author of the bill, Senator Campsen, was not present)
S.270	Senators Alexander et. al.	Define Attempted Murder	Heard Tuesday, March 25, 2025 by Senate Full Judiciary → Full Committee Reported Out Favorably
S.297	Senator Turner	Employer And Employee Contribution Rates Under SCRS And PORS	Referred To Finance
S.300	Senator Tedder	Background Checks Before Sale or Transfer of Firearms	Referred To Judiciary
S.338	Senators Climer and Kimbrell	Second Amendment Privacy Act	Referred to Judiciary
S.386	Senator Elliott	Retired Law Enforcement Officers – Concealed Weapons Permit	Referred to Judiciary
S.398	Senators Stubbs and Zell	Allow Individuals With Military Or Law Enforcement Experience To Be Eligible To Be Appointed As A Magistrate In Counties With Less Than Fifty Thousand People.	Referred to Judiciary
S.447	Senator Adams	Automated License Plate Reader System	Referred to Judiciary
S.448	Senator Tedder et. al.	Electronic Driver’s License System	Referred to Transportation
S.455	Senator Adams	Defines Strangulation (Companion Bill to H.3522)	Referred to Judiciary

LEGISLATIVE INTRODUCTIONS

House and Senate Legislation Introduced this Week

Bill #	Sponsor(s)	Description	Status
H.4216	Rep. Bannister and others	Reduces the income tax rate to a flat 3.99% with a plan to decrease the flat income tax rate over the next several years to 2.49%. Currently, top earners in South Carolina pay an income tax rate of 6.2%, which will be reduced to 6% next fiscal year, while other South Carolina residents who make the lowest income pay a 0% rate. This bill would impose a flat rate for all South Carolina workers to 3.99% and would go into effect in 2026 if passed.	Referred to Ways and Means