South Carolina H 3937: Venomous Reptiles

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3937 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 06, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3937

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 ENACTING THE 
"SOUTH CAROLINA VENOMOUS REPTILES ACT" BY ADDING CHAPTER 8 TO TITLE 47 SO AS TO 
DEFINE TERMS, to PROHIBIT THE POSSESSION OF VENOMOUS REPTILES WITHOUT A PERMIT, 
to PROVIDE FOR THE PERMITTING OF VENOMOUS REPTILES, to ESTABLISH GUIDELINES FOR 
LAWFUL HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION OF VENOMOUS REPTILES, to provide requirements 
for safekeeping venomous reptiles, to PERMIT FOR THE SEIZURE OF VENOMOUS 
REPTILES UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS, to PROVIDE EXEMPTIONS TO THE PERMIT 
REQUIREMENT, to ESTABLISH JURISDICTION AND ENFORCEMENT, to ESTABLISH THE 
LIABILITY OF THE PERMITTEE, to PROVIDE PENALTIES for violations of regulations, 
AND to PERMIT THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS.

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

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "South Carolina Venomous Reptiles Act."

SECTION 2. Title 47 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

CHAPTER 8

South Carolian Venomous Reptiles

 Section 
47-8-10. For purposes of this chapter:

 (1) 
"Venomous reptile" means all members of the class Reptilia including their 
taxonomic successors, subspecies, or any hybrid thereof, regardless of surgical 
alteration, determined to have the potential to cause serious human injury due 
to the toxic effects of its venom or poison, and includes all venomous reptiles 
of the class Reptilia belonging to the families Elapidae, Crotalidae, 
Viperidae, and Hydrophiidae; all reptiles in the genus Heloderma; all reptiles 
in the family Colubridae belonging to the genera: Rhabdophis, Balanophis, 
Macropisthodon, Boiga, Dispholidus, Thelotornis, and Thrasops, and all reptiles 
in the family Atractaspididae.

 (2) 
"Department" means the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

 (3) 
"Permittee" means the owner or possessor of a venomous reptile as permitted by 
the department pursuant to this chapter.

 Section 
47-8-20. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, it is unlawful for a 
person to import into, possess, keep, purchase, have custody or control of, 
reproduce, or sell within this State, by any means, a venomous reptile. This 
prohibition includes transactions conducted via the internet. Possession of a 
venomous reptile without a permit as provided in this chapter is illegal ninety 
days after the effective date of this act.

 Section 
47-8-30. (A) The department may issue 
a permit for the lawful possession of a venomous reptile if the applicant:

 (1) 
is at least eighteen years of age; and

 (2) 
has never been convicted of a violation of any state or federal wildlife law 
where the penalty carries more than one year in prison or a fine of more than 
two thousand five hundred dollars within five years of the application.

 (B) Any 
person in legal possession of a venomous reptile may keep possession of the 
venomous reptile for the remainder of the reptile's life if, within ninety days 
of the effective date of this act, the possessor applies for and receives a 
permit from the department. The application must include the applicant's name, 
address, telephone number, a complete inventory of each venomous reptile that 
the applicant possesses, the address where each venomous reptile is located, 
and the application fee of one hundred and fifty dollars.

 (C) 
Permits issued for venomous reptiles are valid for three years and must be 
renewed prior to expiration. The renewal application fee is one hundred and 
fifty dollars, payable to the department. The application and fee must be 
received thirty days prior to the expiration of the prior permit.

 (D) A 
permittee must notify the department promptly of any temporary or permanent 
change of location of a venomous reptile or of any other material changes to 
the application information.

 (E) No 
new permits will be issued by the department after ninety days from the 
effective date of this act except as provided in subsection (G).

 (F) The 
provisions of this section supersede the exception in Section 50-16-60(15) 
making the importation and sale of reptiles lawful, except as provided in this chapter.

 (G) 
Notwithstanding another provision of this chapter, the department may issue a 
permit to the following after ensuring adequate facilities for humane handling, 
care, and confinement exist, ensuring public safety:

 (1) 
any applicant for exhibition purposes. The exhibition must be a fixed facility 
that is open to the public for a time of no less than thirty hours per week for 
at least six months per year; and

 (2) 
any applicant for bona fide research purposes, licensed medical or 
pharmaceutical facilities, inst