South Carolina H 3561: Authorized emergency vehicles

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3561 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3561

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 56-5-170, RELATING TO AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLES DEFINED, SO AS TO 
PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINTS OR RADIO COMMUNICATION 
VEHICLES ARE "AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLES."

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

SECTION 1. Section 56-5-170(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to 
read:

 (A) Authorized emergency vehicles for 
purposes of this section include the following:

 (1) 
fire department vehicles;

 (2) 
police vehicles;

 (3) 
ambulances and rescue squad vehicles which are publicly owned;

 (4) 
vehicles of coroners and deputy coroners of the forty-six counties as 
designated by the coroners;

 (5) 
emergency vehicles designated by the fire department or the chief of police of 
a municipality;

 (6) 
county government litter enforcement vehicles used by certified law enforcement 
Class 3 litter control officers;

 (7) 
Department of Natural Resources vehicles, federal natural resources vehicles, 
and forestry commission vehicles when being used in the performance of law 
enforcement duties;

 (8) 
public and private vehicles while transporting individuals actually engaged in 
emergency activities because one or more occupants belong to a fire department, 
volunteer fire department, police department, sheriff's office, authorized 
county government litter enforcement office, rescue squad, or volunteer rescue 
squad;

 (9) 
county or municipal government jail or corrections vehicles used by certified 
jail or corrections officers, and emergency vehicles designated by the Director 
of the South Carolina Department of Corrections;

 (10) 
vehicles designated by the Commissioner of the Department of Health and 
Environmental Control when being used in the performance of law enforcement or 
emergency response duties.;

 (11) 
federal law enforcement, military, and emergency vehicles; and

 (12) 
organ procurement organization vehicles, which means vehicles operated by 
organizations that perform or coordinate the procurement, preservation, and 
transport of organs and maintain systems for locating prospective recipients 
for available organs; and

 (13) Public Safety Answering Point 
(PSAP) or Radio Communication Vehicles that are owned by the State, counties, 
or municipalities for the purpose of supporting emergency networks while 
engaged in emergency activities.

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on December 06, 2024 at 12:43 PM