South Carolina H 3293: Cellphone ban in public school classrooms

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3293 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 05, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3293

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 
56-2-140 SO AS TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS, AND FOR THE REGISTRATION AND OPERATION 
OF UTILITY TERRAIN VEHICLES ON THE HIGHWAYS OF THIS STATE.

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

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

 Section 
56-2-140. (A) For the purposes of 
this section:

 (1) 
"Gated community" means any homeowners' community with at least one access 
controlled ingress and egress which includes the presence of a guard house, a 
mechanical barrier, or another method of controlled conveyance;

 (2) 
"Utility Terrain Vehicle" (UTV) means a side-by-side, four-wheel drive, 
off-road vehicle intended to transport individuals, cargo, or both with a top 
speed over thirty-five miles an hour; a motor of at least four hundred and 
fifty cubic centimeters; eighty inches or less overall width; designed to 
travel on four or more wheels, two or four tracks, or combinations of four or 
more tracks and wheels; using a steering wheel for steering control; with a 
nonstraddle seat; and with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of no more than four 
thousand pounds; and

 (3) 
Utility Terrain Vehicle does not include golf carts or vehicles specially 
designed to carry a disabled person.

 (B) An 
individual or business owner of a UTV may obtain a permit decal and 
registration from the Department of Motor Vehicles upon presenting proof of 
ownership and liability insurance for the UTV and upon payment of a five dollar 
fee.

 (C) 
During daylight hours only:

 (1) 
A permitted UTV may be operated within ten miles of the address on the 
registration certificate and only on a secondary highway or street for which 
the posted speed limit is fifty-five miles an hour or less.

 (2) 
A permitted UTV may be operated within ten miles of a point of ingress and 
egress to a gated community and only on a secondary highway or street for which 
the posted speed limit is fifty-five miles an hour or less.

 (3) 
Within ten miles of the registration holder's address, and while traveling 
along a secondary highway or street for which the posted speed limit is 
fifty-five miles an hour or less, a permitted UTV may cross a highway or street 
at an intersection where the highway has a posted speed limit of more than 
thirty-five miles an hour.

 (4) 
A permitted UTV may be operated along a secondary highway or street for which 
the posted speed limit is fifty-five miles an hour or less on an island not 
accessible by a bridge designed for use by automobiles.

 (D) A 
person operating a permitted UTV must be at least sixteen years of age and hold 
a valid driver's license. The operator of a permitted UTV being operated on a 
highway or street must have in his possession:

 (1) 
the registration certificate issued by the department;

 (2) 
proof of liability insurance for the UTV; and

 (3) 
his driver's license.

 (E) A 
UTV permit must be replaced with a new permit every five years, or at the time 
the permit holder changes his address.

 (F)(1) A political subdivision may, on 
designated streets or roads within the political subdivision's jurisdiction, 
reduce the area in which a permitted UTV may operate from four miles to no less 
than two miles.

 (2) 
A political subdivision, on primary highways, secondary highways, streets, or 
roads within the political subdivision's jurisdiction, may create separate UTV 
paths on the shoulder of its primary highways, secondary highways, streets and 
roads for the purpose of UTV transportation, if:

 (a) 
the political subdivision obtains the necessary approvals, if any, to create 
the UTV paths; and

 (b) 
the UTV path is:

 (i) 
separated from the traffic lanes by a hard concrete curb;

 (ii) 
separated from the traffic lanes by parking spaces; or

 (iii) separated from the traffic 
lanes by a distance of four feet or more.

 (3) 
In a county with a population of no less than one hundred fifty thousand and no 
more than two hundred fifty thousand persons:

 (a) 
if a municipality has jurisdiction over a barrier island, the municipality may 
enact an ordinance allowing for the operation of a UTV at night on designated 
portions of the barrier island within the municipality, provided the UTV is 
equipped with working headlights and rear lights; or

 (b) 
if a barrier island is not within the jurisdiction of a municipality, the 
county in which the barrier island is located may enact an ordinance allowing 
for the operation of a UTV at night on designated portions of the county, 
provided the UTV is equipped with working headlights and rear lights.

 If