South Carolina H 3913: SLED Executive Protective Unit

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3913 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 06, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3913

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 SECTION 
23-3-90 SO AS TO CREATE THE "SLED EXECUTIVE PROTECTION UNIT," TO PROVIDE ITS 
JURISDICTION, AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS.

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

SECTION 1. Article 1, Chapter 3, Title 23 of the S.C. Code is 
amended by adding:

 Section 
23-3-90. (A) As used in this section:

 (1) "SLED 
Executive Protection Unit" means any sworn law enforcement officer permanently 
or temporarily assigned by the Chief of SLED to the security and transportation 
of officially designated protected persons.

 (2) "Restricted 
Buildings or Grounds" means any posted, cordoned off, or otherwise restricted 
area of a building or grounds where any person protected by the SLED Executive 
Protection Unit is or will be temporarily visiting as identified by a 
conspicuous notice prominently displayed or with verbal notification made by a 
sworn law enforcement officer, or of a building or grounds restricted in 
conjunction with an event designated as a "special event of state significance."

 (3) "Special 
event of state significance" means a significant event of statewide importance 
as designated by the Governor, or the Chief of SLED, as a Special Assessment-Rated 
Event or National Special Security Event as designated by the federal 
government.

 (B) The 
SLED Executive Protection Unit shall provide protective services for, and 
maintain the security of, the Governor, the first lady, the Governor's minor 
children, and the Lieutenant Governor.

 (C) SLED 
shall employ personnel as may be necessary to carry out this responsibility, 
including officers or agents who shall have authority to bear arms and make 
arrests, with or without warrant, for violations of any of the criminal laws of 
the State, under the same terms and conditions as investigative personnel of 
the division.

 (D) SLED 
is authorized to provide protective services for visiting governors and their 
families, visiting legislative leadership from other states, certain federal 
elected officials, and certain visiting appointees of the United States 
Executive Branch, upon request and with approval of the SLED Chief. The 
protective services shall be limited to those designated protected persons for 
whom the primary purpose of the visit is for a significant public purpose, or 
for whom the failure to provide security or transportation could result in a 
clear and present danger to the personal safety of such persons or to the 
safety of other persons or property within this State or could result in public 
embarrassment to the State.

 (E) SLED 
is authorized to coordinate transportation and protective services with other 
law enforcement agencies and may request the assistance of other law 
enforcement agencies to carry out the duties required. The other law 
enforcement agencies of the State are authorized to provide such assistance as 
may be requested by the division under this subsection.

 (F) A 
person commits an offense who:

 (1) 
knowingly enters or remains in any restricted building or grounds without 
lawful authority to do so;

 (2) 
knowingly, and with intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of official 
state functions, engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct in any restricted 
building or grounds when, or so that, such conduct, in fact, impedes or 
disrupts the orderly conduct of state business or official functions;

 (3) 
knowingly, and with the intent to impede or disrupt the activities of 
protective services, refuses to comply with an order of a sworn law enforcement 
officer to allow the movement of persons for whom the SLED Executive Protection 
Unit provides security services;

 (4) 
knowingly, and with the intent to impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of 
state business or official functions, obstructs or impedes ingress or egress to 
or from any restricted building or grounds;

 (5) 
knowingly engages in any act of physical violence against any person or 
property in any restricted building or grounds.

 (G) A 
person who violates this section while in possession of a deadly weapon or the 
violation causes great bodily injury is guilty of a felony and, upon 
conviction, must be imprisoned not more than five years. For the purpose of 
this section, "great bodily injury" means bodily injury which causes a 
substantial risk of death, or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement or 
protracted loss or impairment of the function of bodily member or organ. For 
any other violation of this section a person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, 
upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than three