2025-2026 Bill 585 Text of Previous Version (Apr. 16, 2026)

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

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE "SAFEGUARDING AMERICAN FAMILIES EVERYWHERE (SAFE) ACT" AND BY ADDING SECTION 56-3-125 SO AS TO PROVIDE APPLICATIONS FOR MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS MUST INCLUDE LANGUAGE ALLOWING APPLICANTS TO VOLUNTARILY INDICATE THEY OR THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH CERTAIN DISABILITIES OR DISORDERS, AND TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO INCLUDE THE DESIGNATION "SAFE" IN THE MOTOR VEHICLE'S RECORDS.

Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION 1. Section 56-3-115 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 56-3-115. (A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may add athe notation "SAFE" to a private passenger-carrying motor vehicle registration to indicate that the driver registered owner or a child or ward of the registered owner, whose full legal name and date of birth, as well as an original certificate from a licensed physician as defined in Section 40-47-20, must be provided to the department, has any of the following disabilities or disorders:

(1) may be deaf or hard of hearing. The application for this special motor vehicle registration notation must include an original certificate from a licensed physician, as defined in Section 40-47-20 and required in subsection (A), or licensed audiologist, as defined in Section 40-67-220, that certifies that the applicant has a permanent, uncorrectable hearing loss of forty decibels or more in one or both ears.;

(2) autism;

(3) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder;

(4) Down syndrome;

(5) Alzheimer's disease;

(6) traumatic brain injury;

(7) post-traumatic stress disorder;

(8) diabetes;

(9) an autoimmune disorder;

(10) blindness; or

(11) any other mentally or physically limiting disorder.

(B) The "deaf or hard of hearing" notation "SAFE" would only appear when a law enforcement check is run on the vehicle's license plate through the department's online interface with law enforcement to alert the officer that the driver or any identified passenger may be deaf or hard of hearinghave a disability or disorder contained in subsection (A).

(C) The department must allow a motor vehicle owner or co-owner to update a motor vehicle registration to include or remove the "SAFE" designation at any time. Should the child or ward of the registered owner turn eighteen years old, the child or ward can remove himself as a designee of the word "SAFE" upon submitting proper documentation to the department.

(D) No cause of action may arise nor may liability be imposed against any person, government entity, or government entity officer, agent, or employee arising from any action taken by any person in reliance upon information indicated on a person's driver's license or motor vehicle registration when the license holder, physician, or medical provider provided the information on the forms required pursuant to this section.

SECTION 2. Section 56-3-1910(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(A) As used in this article, "handicapped" means a person who has one or more of the following conditions:

(1) an inability to ordinarily walk one hundred feet nonstop without aggravating an existing medical condition, including the increase of pain;

(2) an inability to ordinarily walk without the use of, or assistance from a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device;

(3) a restriction by lung disease to the extent that the person's forced expiratory volume for one second when measured by spirometry is less than one liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest;

(4) requires use of portable oxygen;

(5) a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards established by the American Heart Association. If the person's status improves to a higher level, for example as a result of bypass surgery or transplantation, he no longer meets this criteria;

(6) a substantial limitation in the ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition, for example, coordination problems and muscle spasticity due to conditions that include Parkinson's disease, cerebral palsy, or multiple sclerosis; or

(7) blindness; or

(8) autism or neurodivergence.

SECTION 3.A. Section 56-3-14950(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(A) The department may issue the following special license plates reflective of campaign medals for private passenger vehicles and motorcycles to active service members or prior service members who participated in the following military campaigns:

(1) World War II Veteran

(2) Pearl Harbor Survivor

(3) Normandy Invasion Survivor

(4) Korean War

(5) Vietnam War

(6) Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm

(7) Operation Iraqi Freedom

(8) Operation Enduring Freedom.

(9) Operation Inherent Resolve.

B. This SECTION takes effect six months after approval of the license plate design.

SECTION 4.A. Section 56-3-14970(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(A) The department may issue the following special license plates reflective of military service for private passenger vehicles and motorcycles to active or prior service members associated with the following military components or designations:

(1) Veteran or Veteran wheelchair if the registrant qualifies for handicapped parking pursuant to Section 56-3-1910(H)

(2) Female Veteran or Female Veteran wheelchair if the registrant qualifies for handicapped parking pursuant to Section 56-3-1910(H)

(3) Combat-Related Disabled Veteran-the registrant must have a combat-related disability as evidenced by a letter from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs defining a combat and operations-related disability

(4) Army

(5) Marine Corps

(6) Navy

(7) Air Force

(8) Coast Guard

(9) US Space Force

(10) National Guard- Army

(11) National Guard- Air

(12) National Guard- Retired

(13) US Military Reserve- Army

(14) US Military Reserve- Marine Corps

(15) US Military Reserve- Navy

(16) US Military Reserve- Air Force

(17) US Military Reserve- Coast Guard

(18) US Armed Forces Retired

(19) State Guard.

(20) Armed Forces Surviving Spouse-available to the surviving spouse of a military veteran.

B. This SECTION takes effect six months after approval of the license plate design.

SECTION 5. This act takes effect one year after approval by the Governor.

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