South Carolina H 4809: Minor, vulnerable adult, and animal removal from car

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4809 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 17, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4809

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 ARTICLE 
29 TO TITLE 1, CHAPTER 1, SO AS TO DEFINE A "DIGITAL FORM OF IDENTIFICATION", 
AND PROVIDE THAT A PUBLIC ENTITY IS NOT AUTHORIZED TO USE SUCH FORMS OF 
IDENTIFICATION; BY ADDING SECTION 56-1-560, SO AS TO DEFINE "MOBILE DRIVER'S 
LICENSE", AND PROVIDE THAT A PERSON IS NOT REQUIRED TO OBTAIN A MOBILE DRIVER'S 
LICENSE; AND BY ADDING SECTION 39-1-100, SO AS TO ALLOW A PRIVATE ENTITY TO USE 
A DIGITAL FORM OF IDENTIFICATION WHEN INTERACTING WITH A PERSON, TO PROVIDE 
THAT FOR THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA, AND TO PROVIDE CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN A 
PERSON MAY BRING A CAUSE OF ACTION IN A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION.

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

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

Article 29

Digital Forms of Identification

 Section 
1-1-1810. (A) As used in this 
section:

 (1) 
"Digital form of identification" means any name or number that may be used, 
alone or in conjunction with any other information, to identify a specific 
individual, including any of the following:

 (a) 
name, Social Security number, date of birth, official state or government 
issued driver's license or identification number, alien registration number, 
government passport number, employer or taxpayer identification number;

 (b) 
unique biometric data, such as fingerprint, voice print, retina or iris image, 
or other unique physical representation;

 (c) 
unique electronic identification number, address, or routing code; or

 (d) 
telecommunication identifying information or access device.

 (2) 
"Minor" means any person under eighteen years of age.

 (3) 
"Parent" means a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a stepparent, or a 
legal guardian.

 (4) 
"Personal data" means any information relating to an identifiable natural 
person.

 (5) 
"Place of public accommodation" means the same as that term is defined in 
Section 45-9-10.

 (6) 
"Public entity" means the State of South Carolina, any department, division, 
board, commission, or other instrumentality of the State, and any political 
subdivision of the State, including any school district or public institution 
of higher education.

 (B) A 
public entity shall not require any person to obtain or maintain any digital 
form of identification.

 (C) A 
public entity may offer the use of a digital form of identification when 
interacting with any person provided the person is not required to obtain or 
use such digital form of identification and a physical form of identification 
is offered and can be used in lieu of the digital form of identification.

 (D)(1) A person who has agreed to use a 
digital form of identification shall be permitted, upon request, to view, 
correct, remove, destroy, or restrict the usage of all personal data associated 
with the person's own identification.

 (2) 
A person who has authorized the usage of any personal data associated with the 
person's digital form of identification. A person requires written consent for 
each purpose.

 (3) 
Personal data of any person only may be collected by a public entity for the 
purpose stated by the public entity and only upon the consent of each 
individual person, or in the case of a minor, only upon consent of a parent of 
the minor.

 (4) 
Personal data of any person shall not be sold or transferred to any public or 
private entity without the consent of the person. Requires written consent and 
the dollar amount information is sold for and must be listed if the company 
that purchased information has the right to sell it to another company without 
authorization.

 (E)(1) A public entity shall not, with 
respect to any individual person, take any action or refuse to take any action 
based solely on the personal data of a person.

 (2) 
A digital form of identification shall not be required by a public entity to 
enter any place of public accommodation.

 (F) 
Any person may bring a cause of action in a court of competent jurisdiction if 
the person alleges that a public entity has violated this section. A public 
entity found by a court to have violated this section shall be liable to the 
person affected for not more than one hundred fifty thousand dollars per 
occurrence.

 (G) 
This section shall not be construed to prohibit any public entity from 
complying with any lawful request from a law enforcement agency with respect to 
any person's personal data.

SECTION 2. Article 1, Chapter 1, Title 56 of the S.C. Code is 
amended by adding:

 Section 
56-1-560. (A)(1) No person is 
required to obtain a mobile driver's license.

 (2) 
A driver's license,