South Carolina S 585: A SENATE RESOLUTION TO DECLARE APRIL 12, 2017 AS "DONOR DAY" IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA; TO HONOR ALL THOSE WHO HAVE MADE THE DECISION TO GIVE THE GIFT OF LIFE; TO FOCUS ATTENTION ON THE EXTREME NEED FOR ORGAN, EYE, AND TISSUE DONATION; AND TO ENCOURAGE ALL RESIDENTS TO TAKE ACTION AND SIGN UP ON SOUTH CAROLINA'S ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR REGISTRY AT THEIR LOCAL SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES OFFICE OR AT DONATE LIFE SOUTH CAROLINA'S WEBSITE.

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 585 Text of Previous Version (May. 04, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 585

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

House Amendments Amended Returned To House

April 29, 2026

S. 585

Introduced 
by Senators Tedder, Adams, Devine, Zell and Sutton 

S. Printed 4/29/26--S. [SEC 
5/4/2026 11:13 AM]

Read the first time April 16, 2025

________

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE 
"SAFEGUARDING AMERICAN FAMILIES EVERYWHERE (SAFE) ACT" AND BY ADDING SECTION 
56-3-125 SO AS TO PROVIDE APPLICATIONS FOR MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS MUST 
INCLUDE LANGUAGE ALLOWING APPLICANTS TO VOLUNTARILY INDICATE THEY OR THEIR 
FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH CERTAIN DISABILITIES OR DISORDERS, AND 
TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO INCLUDE THE DESIGNATION "SAFE" 
IN THE MOTOR VEHICLE'S RECORDS.

 Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Safeguarding American Families Everywhere 
(SAFE) Act".

SECTION 2. Section 56-3-115 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
56-3-115. (A) The Department of Motor Vehicles 
may add a notation to a private passenger-carrying motor vehicle registration 
to indicate that the driverThe registered owner or 
co-owner of a private passenger carrying automobile may voluntarily disclose to 
the department that he or his child or ward has been diagnosed with certain 
disabilities or disorders. Upon presenting an original certificate from a licensed 
physician as defined in Section 40-47-20 and other documentation determined 
necessary by the department, the department may add the notation "SAFE" to the 
vehicle registration to indicate that the person has been diagnosed with any of 
the following disabilities or disorders:

 (1) may be 
deaf or hard of hearing. The application for this special 
motor vehiclea registration notation pursuant to this subsection must include an original 
certificate from a licensed physician, as defined 
in Section 40-47-20, or a licensed audiologist, as defined in Section 40-67-22040-67-20, that certifies that the applicantregistered owner or his child or ward has a permanent, 
uncorrectable hearing loss of forty decibels or more in one or both ears.;

 (2) autism;

 (3) attention deficit hyperactivity 
disorder;

 (4) Down syndrome;

 (5) Alzheimer's disease;

 (6) traumatic brain injury;

 (7) post-traumatic stress disorder;

 (8) diabetes;

 (9) an autoimmune disorder;

 (10) blindness; or

 (11) any other mentally or physically 
limiting disorder.

 (B) The 
"deaf or hard of hearing" notation "SAFE" notation 
must would only appear when a law enforcement runs a check 
is run on the vehicle's license plate through the 
department's online interface with law enforcement to 
alert the officer that the driver or a passenger may 
be deaf or hard of hearinghave 
a disability or disorder contained in subsection (A). The department may not include in the vehicle registration 
personal identifying information of, or any diagnosis of, a person for whom a 
diagnosis is indicated.

 (C) The department must allow a motor 
vehicle owner or co-owner to update a motor vehicle registration to include or 
remove the "SAFE" notation at any time. The child or ward may remove himself as 
a designee of the "SAFE" notation upon attaining the age of eighteen and submitting 
documentation determined necessary by the department.

 (D) No cause of action may arise nor 
may liability be imposed against any person, government entity, or government 
entity officer, agent, or employee arising from any action taken by any person 
in reliance upon information indicated on a person's vehicle registration when 
the registered owner or co-owner or his child or ward, a licensed physician, 
or a licensed audiologist provided the information on the forms required 
pursuant to this section.

SECTION 3. Section 56-3-1910(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to 
read:

 (A) As used in this article, 
"handicapped" means a person who has one or more of the following conditions:

 (1) 
an inability to ordinarily walk one hundred feet nonstop without aggravating an 
existing medical condition, including the increase of pain;

 (2) 
an inability to ordinarily walk without the use of, or assistance from a brace, 
cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive 
device;

 (3) 
a restriction by lung disease to the extent that the person's forced expiratory 
volume for one second when measured by spirometry is less than one liter, or 
the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty mm/hg on room air at rest;

 (4) 
requires use of portable oxygen;

 (5) 
a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's