South Carolina H 4382: Nonprescription Ephedrine Products

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4382 Text of Previous Version (May. 14, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4382

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

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

Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

Amended

May 12, 2026

H. 4382

Introduced 
by Rep. Sessions 

S. Printed 5/12/26--S. [SEC 
5/14/2026 11:33 AM]

Read the first time April 30, 2025

________

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH 
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 44-53-398, RELATING TO THE SALE OF 
PRODUCTS CONTAINING EPHEDRINE OR PSEUDOEPHEDRINE; SO AS TO REQUIRE THAT 
MANUFACTURERS OF THESE PRODUCTS PAY MONTHLY FEES ASSOCIATED WITH DATA 
COLLECTION AND TO ESTABLISH A PENALTY FOR FAILURE OF MANUFACTURERS TO COMPLY.

 Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION 1. Section 44-53-398(D) of the S.C. Code is amended to 
read:

 (D)(1) A retailer selling nonprescription 
products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine shall 
require the purchaser to produce a government issued photo identification 
showing the date of birth of the person and require the purchaser to sign an 
electronic log showing the date and time of the transaction, the person's name 
and address, the type, issuing governmental entity, identification number, and 
the amount of the compound, mixture, or preparation. The retailer shall 
determine that the name entered in the log corresponds to the name on the 
identification and that the date and time entered are correct and shall enter 
in the log the name of the product and the quantity sold. The retailer shall 
ensure that the product is delivered directly into the custody of that 
purchaser. The log must include a notice to purchasers that entering false 
statements or misrepresentations in the log may subject the purchaser to 
criminal penalties.

 (2) 
Before completing a sale of a product regulated by this section, the retailer 
electronically shall transmit the information entered in the log to a data 
collection system provided by the National Association of 
Drug Diversion Investigators, or a successor or similar entity administrator of the data collection system. The system 
must collect this data in real time and generate a stop sale alert if the sale 
would result in a violation of subsection (B) or a federal quantity 
restriction, which must be assessed on the basis of sales or purchases made in 
any state to the extent that information is available in the data collection 
system. If the retailer receives a stop sale alert, the retailer must not 
complete the sale unless the retailer, upon notifying the purchaser the sale 
cannot be completed, reasonably fears bodily harm if he denies the sale due to 
the stop sale alert. A product regulated by this section may not be sold 
without being reported to the data collection system unless the system is 
experiencing temporary technical difficulties that prevent a retailer from 
reporting the information to the system, and in that case, the retailer shall 
enter the necessary information in a written log, which must subsequently be 
entered into the electronic log within three business days of each business day 
that the electronic log was not operational. A retailer using a written log 
under these circumstances is immune from liability during the time the system 
is temporarily disabled.

 (3) 
Any information entered in the electronic log that is retained by a retailer, 
or information maintained by a retailer pursuant to subsection (J)(2), is 
confidential and not a public record as defined in Section 30-4-20(C) of the 
Freedom of Information Act. A retailer or an employee or agent of a retailer 
who in good faith releases information in a log to federal, state, or local law 
enforcement authorities is immune from civil liability for the release unless 
the release constitutes gross negligence or intentional, wanton, or wilful 
misrepresentation.

 (4)(a) Beginning October 1, 2026, any 
manufacturer of nonprescription products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, 
or phenylpropanolamine sold in or into the State must, on a monthly basis, pay 
fees to the administrator of the data collection system described in item (2).

 (b) The administrator of the data 
collection system and all manufacturers of nonprescription products containing 
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine sold in or into the State 
shall, on an annual basis, negotiate and establish the monthly fee required 
pursuant to subsection (D)(4)(a) on a per-product, per-transaction, 
year-over-year basis by an amount equal to or less than the amount of the 
monthly fee paid by manufacturers in the previous year, or an increased amount 
of less than ten percent of the monthly fee paid by manufacturers in the 
previous year. The amount of the negotiated month