South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

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A67, R95, H4247

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Herbkersman and Henderson-Myers
Companion/Similar bill(s): 369
Document Path: LC-0281SA25.docx

Introduced in the House on March 27, 2025
Introduced in the Senate on May 6, 2025
Last Amended on May 8, 2025
Currently residing in the House
Governor's Action: May 22, 2025, Signed

Summary: Commodity Code Execution

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date Body Action Description with journal page number
3/27/2025 House Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 12)
3/27/2025 House Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry (House Journal-page 12)
4/30/2025 House Committee report: Favorable Labor, Commerce and Industry (House Journal-page 14)
5/1/2025 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Henderson-Myers
5/1/2025 House Read second time (House Journal-page 121)
5/1/2025 House Roll call Yeas-110 Nays-0 (House Journal-page 122)
5/1/2025 House Unanimous consent for third reading on next legislative day (House Journal-page 123)
5/2/2025 House Read third time and sent to Senate (House Journal-page 4)
5/6/2025 Senate Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 8)
5/6/2025 Senate Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry (Senate Journal-page 8)
5/6/2025 Senate Recalled from Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry (Senate Journal-page 21)
5/7/2025 Senate Read second time (Senate Journal-page 54)
5/8/2025 Senate Amended (Senate Journal-page 49)
5/8/2025 Senate Read third time and returned to House with amendments (Senate Journal-page 49)
5/8/2025 Senate Roll call Ayes-40 Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 49)
5/8/2025 House Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled (House Journal-page 106)
5/8/2025 House Roll call Yeas-97 Nays-0 (House Journal-page 108)
5/20/2025 Ratified R 95
5/22/2025 Signed By Governor
5/27/2025 Effective date 05/22/25
5/27/2025 Act No. 67

View the latest legislative information at the website

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

03/27/2025
04/30/2025
05/06/2025
05/08/2025

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

NOTE: THIS IS A TEMPORARY VERSION. THIS DOCUMENT WILL REMAIN IN THIS VERSION UNTIL FINAL APPROVAL BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

(A67, R95, H4247)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 39-73-10, RELATING TO STATE COMMODITY CODE DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE STATE COMMODITY CODE BE THE SOUTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL; BY AMENDING SECTION 39-73-40, RELATING TO TRANSACTIONS WHERE PROHIBITION IS NOT APPLICABLE, SO AS TO ADD AGENTS OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR REPRESENTATIVES AS INDIVIDUALS SUBJECT TO ORDERS TO DENY, SUSPEND, OR REVOKE A PERSON'S LICENSE; BY AMENDING SECTION 39-73-60, RELATING TO PROHIBITED ACTS, SO AS TO REPLACE SECTION 39-73-310 WITH SECTION 39-73-30; BY AMENDING SECTION 39-73-315, RELATING TO ADMINISTRATOR ACTIONS TO PREVENT VIOLATIONS OR IMMINENT VIOLATIONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE ADMINISTRATOR CAN ISSUE ORDERS RELATED TO ANY ACTION THAT MAY VIOLATE THIS CHAPTER; BY AMENDING SECTION 39-73-320, RELATING TO LEGAL, EQUITABLE, AND SPECIAL REMEDIES AVAILABLE TO A COURT FOR ENFORCEMENT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE ADMINISTRATOR MAY MAINTAIN AN ACTION IN THE RICHLAND COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS; BY AMENDING SECTION 39-73-325, RELATING TO PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE ADMINISTRATOR MAY REFER VIOLATIONS TO THE APPROPRIATE DIVISION OF THE OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL OR OTHER AUTHORITY; BY AMENDING SECTION 39-73-330, RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF THIS CHAPTER, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES; BY AMENDING SECTION 39-73-340, RELATING TO THE AUTHORITY TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS, FORMS, AND ORDERS, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES; BY AMENDING SECTION 39-73-350, RELATING TO THE APPLICABILITY OF SECTIONS 39-73-20, 39-73-50, AND 39-73-60 TO PERSONS WHO SELL, BUY, OR OFFER TO SELL OR BUY COMMODITIES IN THIS STATE, SO AS TO PROVIDE GUIDELINES FOR APPLICABLE RADIO AND TELEVISION COMMUNICATIONS; BY AMENDING SECTION 39-73-360, RELATING TO JUDICIAL REVIEW, SO AS TO PROVIDE GUIDELINES; BY AMENDING SECTION 39-73-370, RELATING TO DEFENSE IN A CASE BASED ON FAILURE TO MAKE PHYSICAL DELIVERY, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES; BY ADDING SECTION 39-73-375 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAY RETAIN FUNDS FROM FINES AND PENALTIES TO OFFSET RELEVANT EXPENSES; BY REPEALING SECTION 39-73-355 RELATING TO ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 4-9-145, RELATING TO LITTER CONTROL OFFICERS, SO AS TO PROVIDE WHAT DATA IS USED TO DETERMINE THE NUMBER OF LITTER CONTROL OFFICERS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Administrator definition

SECTION 1.    Section 39-73-10(1) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(1) "Administrator" means the South Carolina Attorney General.

Agent and investment advisors

SECTION 2.    Section 39-73-40(D) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(D) The administrator, by order, may deny, suspend, revoke, or place limitations on the authority to engage in business as a qualified seller under item (2) of subsection (A) if the administrator finds that the order is in the public interest and that the person, the person's officers, directors, partners, agents, servants, or employees, a person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions, or a person who directly or indirectly controls or is controlled by the seller, or his affiliates or subsidiaries:

(1) has filed a notice of intention under subsection (C) with the administrator or the designee of the administrator which was incomplete in material respect or contained a statement which was, in light of the circumstances under which it was made, false or misleading with respect to a material fact;

(2) within the last ten years, has pled guilty or nolo contendere to, or been convicted of a crime indicating a lack of fitness to engage in the investment commodity business;

(3) has been enjoined permanently or temporarily by a court of competent jurisdiction from engaging in or continuing conduct or a practice which injunction indicates a lack of fitness to engage in the investment commodities business;

(4) is the subject of an order of the administrator denying, suspending, or revoking the person's license as a securities broker-dealer, agent, sales representative, investment advisor, or investment advisor representative;

(5) is the subject of one or more of the following orders which currently are effective and which were issued within the last five years:

(a) an order by a securities agency or an administrator of another state, Canadian province or territory, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission entered after notice and opportunity for hearing, denying, suspending, or revoking the person's registration as a futures commission merchant, commodity trading adviser, commodity pool operator, securities broker-dealer, agent, sales representative, investment adviser or investment advisor representative, or the substantial equivalent of the foregoing;

(b) suspension or expulsion from membership in, or association with, a self-regulatory organization registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or the Commodity Exchange Act;

(c) a United States Postal Service fraud order;

(d) a cease and desist order entered after notice and opportunity of hearing by the administrator or a securities agency or an administrator of another state, Canadian province or territory, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission;

(e) an order entered by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission denying, suspending, or revoking registration under the Commodity Exchange Act.

(6) has engaged in an unethical or a dishonest act or practice in the investment commodities or securities business; or

(7) has failed reasonably to supervise sales representatives or employees.

Prohibited acts

SECTION 3.    Section 39-73-60 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 39-73-60.    No person, directly or indirectly, in or in connection with the purchase or sale of, the offer to sell, the offer to purchase, the offer to enter into, or the entry into of, a commodity contract or commodity option subject to Sections 39-73-20, 39-73-30, or 39-73-40(A)(2) or (4), may:

(1) cheat or defraud or attempt to cheat or defraud a person or employ a device, a scheme, or an artifice to defraud a person;

(2) make a false report, enter a false record, or make an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;

(3) engage in a transaction, an act, a practice, or a course of business, including without limitation a form of advertising or solicitation which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon a person; or

(4) misappropriate or convert the funds, security, or property of a person.

Issuing orders

SECTION 4.    Section 39-73-315 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 39-73-315.    (A) If the administrator determines that a person has engaged, is engaging, or is about to engage in an act, practice, or course of business constituting a violation of this chapter or a rule adopted or order issued under this chapter, then the administrator may:

(1) issue an order directing the person to cease and desist from engaging in the act, practice, or course of business or to take other action necessary or appropriate to comply with this chapter;

(2) issue an order imposing a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for a single violation or one hundred thousand dollars for multiple violations in a single proceeding or a series of related proceedings; or

(3) initiate the actions specified in Section 39-73-320.

(B) An order issued pursuant to subsection (A) is effective on the date of issuance. Upon issuance of the order, the administrator shall promptly serve each person subject to the order with a copy of the order and a notice that the order has been entered. The order must include a statement of any civil penalty or costs of investigation the administrator will seek, a statement of the reasons for the order, and notice that, within thirty days after receipt of a request in a record from the person, the matter will be scheduled for a hearing. If a person subject to the order does not request a hearing and none is ordered by the administrator within thirty days after the date of service of the order, then the order, which may include a civil penalty or any costs of the investigation if a civil penalty or costs were sought, becomes final as to that person by operation of law. If a hearing is requested or ordered, then the administrator, after notice of and opportunity for hearing to each person subject to the order, may modify or vacate the order or extend it until final determination.

(C) If a hearing is requested or ordered pursuant to subsection (B), then a hearing must be held. A final order may not be issued unless the administrator makes findings of fact and conclusions of law in a record. The final order may make final, vacate, or modify the order issued under subsection (A).

(D) In a final order under subsection (C), the administrator may impose a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars for each violation.

(E) In a final order, the administrator may charge the actual cost of an investigation or proceeding for a violation of this chapter or a rule adopted or order issued under this chapter.

(F) If a petition for judicial review of a final order is not filed in accordance with this chapter, then the administrator may file a certified copy of the final order with the clerk of a court of competent jurisdiction. The order so filed has the same effect as a judgment of the court and may be recorded, enforced, or satisfied in the same manner as a judgment of the court.

(G) If a person does not comply with an order under this section, then the administrator may petition a court of competent jurisdiction to enforce the order. The court may not require the administrator to post a bond in an action or proceeding under this section. If the court finds, after service and opportunity for hearing, that the person was not in compliance with the order, then the court may adjudge the person in civil contempt of the order. The court may impose a further civil penalty against the person for contempt in an amount not less than five hundred dollars but not greater than five thousand dollars for each violation and may grant any other relief the court determines is just and proper in the circumstances.

(H) All orders issued under this section are public documents subject to the Freedom of Information Act and must be published on the Attorney General's website searchable by the name of the parties involved.

Cause of action

SECTION 5.    Section 39-73-320 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 39-73-320.    (A) If the administrator believes that a person has engaged, is engaging, or is about to engage in an act, practice, or course of business constituting a violation of this chapter or a rule adopted or order issued under this chapter or that a person has, is, or is about to engage in an act, practice, or course of business that materially aids a violation of this chapter or a rule adopted or order issued under this chapter, then the administrator may maintain an action in the Richland County Court of Common Pleas to enjoin the act, practice, or course of business and to enforce compliance with this chapter or a rule adopted or order issued under this chapter.

(B) In an action pursuant to this section and on a proper showing, the court may:

(1) issue a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or declaratory judgment;

(2) order other appropriate or ancillary relief, which might include:

(a) an asset freeze, accounting, writ or attachment, writ of general or specific execution, and appointment of a receiver or conservator, that may be the administrator, for the defendant or the defendant's assets;

(b) ordering the administrator to take charge and control of a defendant's property, including investment accounts and accounts in a depository institution, rents, and profits; to collect debts; and to acquire and dispose of property;

(c) imposing a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars for each violation; an order of rescission, restitution, or disgorgement directed to a person that has engaged in an act, practice, or course of business constituting a violation of this chapter or a rule adopted or order issued under this chapter; and

(d) ordering the payment of prejudgment and post-judgment interest; or

(3) order such other relief as the court considers appropriate.

(C) The administrator may not be required to post a bond in an action or proceeding under this chapter.

(D)(1) Upon a proper showing by the administrator or securities or commodity agency of another state that a person, other than a government or governmental agency or instrumentality, has violated, or is about to violate, the commodity code of that state or a regulation or order of the administrator or securities or commodity agency of that state, the court may grant appropriate legal and equitable remedies.

(2) Upon showing of a violation of the securities or commodity act of the foreign state or a regulation or order of the administrator or securities or commodity agency of the foreign state, the court, in addition to traditional legal or equitable remedies, including temporary restraining orders, permanent or temporary prohibitory or mandatory injunctions, and writs of prohibition or mandamus, may grant the following special remedies:

(a) disgorgement;

(b) appointment of a receiver, conservator, or ancillary receiver or conservator for the defendant or the defendant's assets located in this State.

(3) Appropriate remedies when the defendant is shown only about to violate the securities or commodity act of the foreign state or a regulation or order of the administrator or securities or commodity agency of the foreign state is limited to:

(a) temporary restraining order;

(b) temporary or permanent injunction;

(c) writ or prohibition or mandamus; or

(d) order appointing a receiver, conservator, or ancillary receiver or conservator for the defendant or the defendant's assets located in this State.

Penalties

SECTION 6.    Section 39-73-325 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 39-73-325.    (A) A person who wilfully violates this chapter or a regulation or order of the administrator under this chapter, upon conviction, must be fined not more than twenty thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both, for each violation.

(B) A person convicted of violating this chapter or a regulation or order under this chapter may be fined but must not be imprisoned if the person proves he had no knowledge of the rule or order.

(C) The administrator may refer evidence available concerning violations of this chapter or a regulation or order of the administrator to the appropriate division of the Office of Attorney General, the appropriate solicitor, or other appropriate prosecution, law enforcement, or licensing authorities who, with or without a reference from the administrator, may institute the appropriate criminal proceedings under this chapter.

Administration

SECTION 7.    Section 39-73-330(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(A) This chapter must be administered by the South Carolina Attorney General.

Conforming changes

SECTION 8.    Section 39-73-340(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(A) In addition to specific authority granted elsewhere in this chapter, the administrator may make, amend, or rescind regulations, forms, and orders as are necessary to carry out this chapter. The regulations or forms must include, but are not limited to, regulations defining terms, whether or not used in this chapter. The definitions must not be inconsistent with this chapter. For the purpose of regulations or forms the administrator may classify commodities and commodity contracts, persons, and matters within the administrator's jurisdiction.

Programs and communications

SECTION 9.    Section 39-73-350(D) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 39-73-350.    (D) An offer to sell or to buy is not made in this State when:

(1) the publisher circulates or there is circulated on his behalf in this State a bona fide newspaper or other publication of general, regular, and paid circulation which is not published in this State or which is published in this State but has had more than two-thirds of its circulation outside this State during the past twelve months; and

(2) a radio or television program or other electronic communication originating outside this State is received in this State. A radio or television program, or other electronic communication, is considered as having originated in this State if either the broadcast studio or the originating source of transmission is located in this State, unless:

(a) the program or communication is syndicated and distributed from outside this State for redistribution to the general public in this State;

(b) the program or communication is supplied by a radio, television, or other electronic network with the electronic signal originating from outside this State for redistribution to the general public in this State;

(c) the program or communication is an electronic communication that originates outside this State and is captured for redistribution to the general public in this State by a community antenna or cable, radio, cable television, or other electronic system; or

(d) the program or communication consists of an electronic communication that originates in this State, but which is not intended for distribution to the general public in this State.

Judicial review

SECTION 10.    Section 39-73-360 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 39-73-360.    A person aggrieved by a final order of the administrator may obtain a review of the order in the Richland County Court of Common Pleas by filing in the court, within thirty days after entry of the order, a written petition praying that the order may be modified or set aside, in whole or in part. The aggrieved person, upon filing a petition, may move before the court in which the petition is filed to stay the effectiveness of the administrator's final order until such time as the court has reviewed the order. If the court orders a stay, then the aggrieved person must post any bond set by the court in which a petition is filed. A copy of the petition must be served upon the administrator and the administrator shall certify and file in court a copy of the filing and evidence upon which the order was entered. When these have been filed, the court has exclusive jurisdiction to affirm, modify, enforce, or set aside the order, in whole or in part. The findings of the administrator regarding the facts, if supported by competent, material, and substantial evidence, are conclusive.

Conforming changes

SECTION 11.    Section 39-73-370 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 39-73-370.    It is a defense in a complaint, information, indictment, a writ, or a proceeding brought under this chapter alleging a violation of Section 39-73-20 based solely on the failure in an individual case to make physical delivery within the applicable time under Section 39-73-10(5) or Section 39-73-40(A)(2) if:

(1) failure to make physical delivery was due solely to factors beyond the control of the seller, the seller's officers, directors, partners, agents, servants, or employees, persons occupying a similar status or performing similar functions, persons who directly or indirectly control or are controlled by the seller, or the seller's affiliates, subsidiaries, or successors; or

(2) physical delivery was completed within a reasonable time under the applicable circumstances.

Fines and penalties

SECTION 12. Chapter 73, Title 39 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

Section 39-73-375.    The Office of Attorney General may retain the first seven hundred fifty thousand dollars in fines and penalties received in a fiscal year in settlement of litigation enforcement actions and reimbursements of expenses arising from violations under this chapter to offset investigative, prosecutorial, and administrative costs of enforcing this chapter, after which any excess fines and penalties received in a fiscal year must be deposited into the general fund. The Attorney General shall issue an annual report to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Chairman of the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee, and the Chairman of the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee. This report shall include the total amount of civil penalties collected by the Office of Attorney General for violations of the Commodities Code, the amount of restitution and disgorgement ordered to be paid for violations of the Commodities Code, the amount of fines and penalties retained by the Office of Attorney General pursuant to this section, and the amount of excess fines and penalties that were deposited into the general fund pursuant to this section.

Repeal

SECTION 13. Section 39-73-355 of the S.C. Code is repealed.

Litter control officers

SECTION 14.    Section 4-9-145(B) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(B)(1) The number of litter control officers vested with custodial arrest authority who are appointed and commissioned pursuant to subsection (A) must not exceed the greater of:

(a) the number of officers appointed and commissioned by the county on July 1, 2001; or

(b) one officer for every twenty-five thousand persons in the county, based upon the most recent census. Each county may appoint and commission at least one officer, without regard to the population of the county.

(2)(a) A litter control officer appointed and commissioned pursuant to subsection (A) may exercise the power of arrest with respect to his primary duties of enforcement of litter control laws and ordinances and other state and local laws and ordinances as may arise incidental to the enforcement of his primary duties only if the officer has been certified as a law enforcement officer pursuant to Chapter 23, Title 23.

(b) In the absence of an arrest for a violation of the litter control laws and ordinances, a litter control officer authorized to exercise the power of arrest pursuant to subitem (a) may not stop a person or make an incidental arrest of a person for a violation of other state and local laws and ordinances.

(3) For purposes of this section, the phrase "litter control officer" means a code enforcement officer authorized to enforce litter control laws and ordinances.

Severability

SECTION 15. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.

Time effective

SECTION 16.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 20th day of May, 2025.

Approved the 22nd day of May, 2025.

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This web page was last updated on May 27, 2025 at 11:41 AM