South Carolina H 4262: Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4262 Text of Previous Version (Mar. 27, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4262

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 44-1-175 SO AS TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF 
CERTAIN SYNTHETIC MRNA-BASED GENE THERAPIES BY HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS IN THE 
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA; TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS BY HEALTHCARE 
PROFESSIONALS; TO REQUIRE PROFESSIONAL LICENSING BOARDS TO REPORT VIOLATIONS TO 
THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. The 
General Assembly finds that:

 (1) synthetic 
messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based gene therapies, such as the COVID-19 
vaccine, have caused substantial numbers of deaths, disabilities, and a wide 
range of serious adverse events;

 (2) synthetic 
mRNA-based gene therapies are known to be contaminated with DNA fragments, 
metallic particles, and other undisclosed and/or otherwise poorly characterized 
adulterants;

 (3) no long-term 
studies have been completed on synthetic mRNA-based gene therapies regarding 
shedding, fertility, teratogenicity, mutagenicity, or oncogenicity;

 (4) the risk of 
integration of synthetic mRNA-based gene therapies and/or associated DNA 
fragment adulterants into the human genome of either somatic or germ cells are 
uncharacterized, and any germ cell integration creates risk of random human 
genomic modifications being passed on to the next generation of Americans;

 (5) recipients of 
a synthetic mRNA-based gene therapy are not provided adequate information both 
as to the nature of the harm posed to them as well as of the current federal 
law barring them from compensation for recovery for injury, and therefore do 
not have the ability to give valid consent to have medical products employing 
this material or the delivery procedure administered;

 (6) evidence 
suggests that spike proteins in synthetic mRNA-based gene therapy medical 
products may be communicable to others (by a process known as "shedding") and 
may cause side effects or harm even in individuals who are not the intended 
recipient;

 (7) the safety of 
synthetic mRNA-based gene therapy on the unborn child has not been adequately 
studied and reports of severe fetal injury and death after administration 
during pregnancy have been documented; and

 (8) synthetic 
mRNA-based gene therapy drug products pose an inadequately characterized 
potential public health threat due to their unknown long-term safety profile, 
adulteration and potential for shedding.

SECTION 2. Chapter 1, Title 44 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
44-1-175. (A)(1) Except as provided 
in item (4), no healthcare professional practicing within the State shall 
administer a synthetic mRNA-based gene therapy product to any person within the 
State.

 (2) 
For the purposes of this section, "synthetic mRNA-based gene therapy" means a 
product that mediates its effects by administration of foreign genetic material 
with the intention of delivering such genetic material into the cells or 
tissues of a human so that the material exerts a medical effect via 
transcription and/or translation to produce a protein, by integrating into the 
host genome, or by causing genetic modification of the cells or tissues so 
treated.

 (3) 
This section expressly applies to medical products comprised of synthetic 
messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology, modified synthetic messenger 
ribonucleic acid technology employing pseudouridine or modified pseudouridine, 
self-amplifying synthetic messenger ribonucleic acid technology, or any related 
biologic thereof, that are intended to prevent or mitigate the transmission of 
a communicable disease.

 (4) 
This section does not apply to the use of:

 (a) 
mRNA-based gene therapy for the treatment of noninfectious diseases, such as 
rare genetic conditions or cancer;

 (b) 
traditional live attenuated vaccines;

 (c) 
FDA-authorized recombinant bacterial or viral vaccines; or

 (d) 
FDA-authorized genetic therapies that do not employ synthetic mRNA-based 
technology.

 (B) 
Intentional or wilful violation of this section shall result in a suspension of 
the healthcare professional's license by the applicable licensing board for no 
less than one year. The applicable licensing board may apply additional 
penalties and fines at its discretion.

 (C) 
Each professional licensing board shall report any violation of this section to 
the Director of the Department of Public Health, who shall keep record of the 
violations for no less than seven years and shall inform the General Assembly 
of the number and nature of violations no less than annually.

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Gov