South Carolina H 4465: State Line Baptist Church

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4465 Text of Previous Version (Apr. 30, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4465

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(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 ADDING CHAPTER 
35 TO TITLE 1 SO AS TO CREATE THE "PRIVACY IN PUBLIC SPACES ACT," TO DEFINE 
TERMS, TO REQUIRE SAFETY AND PRIVACY IN PUBLIC SPACES, AND TO PROVIDE REMEDIES.

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

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Privacy in Public Spaces Act."

SECTION 2. Title 1 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

CHAPTER 35

Privacy in Public Spaces

 Section 
1-35-10. For purposes of this chapter:

 (1) "Changing 
room" means a room or area in which an individual may be in a state of undress 
in the presence of others, including a locker room or shower room.

 (2) "Correctional 
facility" means a state penitentiary, prison, or jail that is managed and 
controlled by the Department of Corrections. A correctional facility does not 
include municipal holding facilities.

 (3) "Covered 
entity" means a correctional facility, a juvenile detention facility, a 
domestic violence center, a public school, or a public institution of higher 
learning.

 (4) "Female" 
means an individual who has, had, will have, or would have, but for a 
developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident, the reproductive 
system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for 
fertilization.

 (5) "Juvenile 
detention facility" means a facility for the detention of juveniles under the 
management of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

 (6) "Domestic 
violence center" means a facility whose purpose is to serve as a shelter to 
receive and house persons who are victims of criminal domestic violence, that 
provides services as a shelter, and receives state funding.

 (7) "Male" 
means an individual who has, had, will have, or would have, but for a 
developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident, the reproductive 
system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for 
fertilization.

 (8) "Multi-occupancy" 
means a space that is designed for use by multiple individuals simultaneously.

 (9) 
"Public institution of higher learning" means any state-supported 
post-secondary educational institution, including technical and comprehensive 
educational institutions, as defined by Section 59-103-5.

 (10) 
"Public school" means a school operated by publicly elected or appointed school 
officials in which the program and activities are under the control of these 
officials. Public school does not include private schools, religious schools, 
or home-schooling families.

 (11) "Restroom" 
means a room that includes one or more toilets or urinals.

 (12) "Sex" 
means a person's biological sex, either male or female, as observed or 
clinically verified at birth.

 (13) "Sleeping 
quarters" means a room with a bed and in which more than one individual is 
housed overnight.

 Section 
1-35-20. (A) A covered entity must 
designate each multi-occupancy restroom, changing room, or sleeping quarters 
for the exclusive use of females or males.

 (B) A 
restroom, changing room, or sleeping quarters within a covered entity that is 
designated for females or males shall be used only by members of that sex. 
Except as provided in subsection (D), an individual shall not enter a restroom, 
changing room, or sleeping quarters that is designated for females or males 
unless the individual is a member of the designated sex.

 (C) A 
covered entity must take reasonable steps to provide individuals with privacy 
from members of the opposite sex in designated restrooms, changing rooms, and 
sleeping quarters.

 (D) 
This section does not apply to an individual who enters a restroom, changing 
room, or sleeping quarters designated for the opposite sex:

 (1) 
to perform custodial services or maintenance;

 (2) 
to render medical assistance;

 (3) 
to render law enforcement assistance; or

 (4) 
to provide services or render aid during a natural disaster or declared 
emergency or if necessary to prevent a serious threat to good order and safety.

 (E) For 
any activity or event authorized by a public school or public institution of 
higher learning during which students share sleeping quarters, a student shall 
not be required to share sleeping quarters with a member of the opposite sex.

 (F) In 
any other facility or setting in a public school or public institution of 
higher learning where an individual may be in a state of undress in the 
presence of others, school personnel must provide separate, private areas 
designated for use by individuals based on their sex. Except as provided in 
subsection (D), an individual shall not enter a private area unless the 
individual is a member of the designat