South Carolina H 3070: Tort Claims Act

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3070 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3070

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 AMENDING 
SECTION 15-78-60, RELATING TO THE TORT CLAIMS ACT AND EXCEPTIONS TO WAIVER OF 
IMMUNITY, SO AS TO DELETE THE EXCEPTION FOR INSTITUTION OR PROSECUTION OF ANY JUDICIAL 
OR ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING.

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

SECTION 1. Section 15-78-60 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
15-78-60. The governmental entity is not liable for 
a loss resulting from:

 (1) 
legislative, judicial, or quasi-judicial action or inaction;

 (2) 
administrative action or inaction of a legislative, judicial, or quasi-judicial 
nature;

 (3) 
execution, enforcement, or implementation of the orders of any court or 
execution, enforcement, or lawful implementation of any process;

 (4) 
adoption, enforcement, or compliance with any law or failure to adopt or 
enforce any law, whether valid or invalid, including, but not limited to, any 
charter, provision, ordinance, resolution, rule, regulation, or written 
policies;

 (5) 
the exercise of discretion or judgment by the governmental entity or employee 
or the performance or failure to perform any act or service which is in the 
discretion or judgment of the governmental entity or employee;

 (6) 
civil disobedience, riot, insurrection, or rebellion or the failure to provide 
the method of providing police or fire protection;

 (7) a 
nuisance;

 (8) 
snow or ice conditions or temporary or natural conditions on any public way or 
other public place due to weather conditions unless the snow or ice thereon is 
affirmatively caused by a negligent act of the employee;

 (9) 
entry upon any property where the entry is expressly or impliedly authorized by 
law;

 (10) 
natural conditions of unimproved property of the governmental entity, unless 
the defect or condition causing a loss is not corrected by the particular 
governmental entity responsible for the property within a reasonable time after 
actual or constructive notice of the defect or condition;

 (11) 
assessment or collection of taxes or special assessments or enforcement of tax 
laws;

 (12) 
licensing powers or functions including, but not limited to, the issuance, 
denial, suspension, renewal, or revocation of or failure or refusal to issue, 
deny, suspend, renew, or revoke any permit, license, certificate, approval, 
registration, order, or similar authority except when the power or function is 
exercised in a grossly negligent manner;

 (13) 
regulatory inspection powers or functions, including failure to make an 
inspection, or making an inadequate or negligent inspection, of any property to 
determine whether the property complies with or violates any law, regulation, 
code, or ordinance or contains a hazard to health or safety;

 (14) 
any claim covered by the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Act, except 
claims by or on behalf of an injured employee to recover damages from any 
person other than the employer, the South Carolina Unemployment Compensation 
Act, or the South Carolina State Employee's Grievance Act;

 (15) 
absence, condition, or malfunction of any sign, signal, warning device, 
illumination device, guardrail, or median barrier unless the absence, 
condition, or malfunction is not corrected by the governmental entity 
responsible for its maintenance within a reasonable time after actual or 
constructive notice. Governmental entities are not liable for the removal or 
destruction of signs, signals, warning devices, guardrails, or median barriers 
by third parties except on failure of the political subdivision to correct them 
within a reasonable time after actual or constructive notice. Nothing in this 
item gives rise to liability arising from a failure of any governmental entity 
to initially place any of the above signs, signals, warning devices, 
guardrails, or median barriers when the failure is the result of a 
discretionary act of the governmental entity. The signs, signals, warning 
devices, guardrails, or median barriers referred to in this item are those used 
in connection with hazards normally connected with the use of public ways and 
do not apply to the duty to warn of special conditions such as excavations, 
dredging, or public way construction. Governmental entities are not liable for 
the design of highways and other public ways. Governmental entities are not 
liable for loss on public ways under construction when the entity is protected 
by an indemnity bond. Governmental entities responsible for maintaining 
highways, roads, streets, causeways, bridges, or other public ways are not 
liable for loss arising out of a defect or a condition in, on, un