South Carolina H 5066: Central Service Technicians

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 5066 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 29, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 5066

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 
44-7-375 SO AS TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR WORKING AS CENTRAL SERVICE 
TECHNICIANS, to provide requirements for HEALTHCARE FACILITIES TO EMPLOY OR 
RETAIN CENTRAL SERVICE TECHNICIANS, TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS, AND TO PROVIDE 
DEFINITIONS, AMONG OTHER THINGS.

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

SECTION 1. Article 3, Chapter 7, Title 44 of the S.C. Code is 
amended by adding:

 Section 
44-7-375. (A)(1) The purpose and 
intent of this section are to ensure that central service technicians:

 (a) 
employed in this State meet minimum requirements for safe practice as a member 
of a surgical care team; and

 (b) 
failing to meet certain minimum competencies or otherwise presenting a danger 
to the public health and safety be prohibited from providing central service 
technician services in this State.

 (2) 
As used in this section:

 (a) 
"Central service technician" means a person who decontaminates, inspects, 
assembles, packages, and sterilizes reusable medical instruments or devices 
being used by a healthcare facility in this State.

 (b) 
"Healthcare facility" has the same meaning as found in Section 44-7-130(15).

 (c) 
"Healthcare practitioner" has the same meaning as found in Section 44-7-510(5).

 (B)(1) A healthcare facility may not 
employ or otherwise retain the services of a central service technician unless 
he provides evidence to the satisfaction of the facility that he:

 (a) 
has successfully passed a nationally accredited central service exam for 
central service technicians and holds and maintains one of the following 
credentials administered by a nationally accredited central service technician 
credentialing organization:

 (i) 
the certified registered central service technician credential;

 (ii) 
the certified sterile processing and distribution technician credential; or

 (iii) a substantially equivalent 
credential; or

 (b) 
was employed as a central service technician by a healthcare facility or was 
retained to provide the services of a central service technician by a 
healthcare facility before January 1, 2027.

 (2) 
A central service technician who does not meet the requirements of subsection 
(A) has eighteen months from the date of hire at a healthcare facility to 
obtain the certified registered central service technician credential or the 
certified sterile processing and distribution technician credential as provided 
in subsection (A)(1). During this eighteen month period he may provide central 
service technician services in the facility on a probationary basis if he meets 
the other requirements of this section, but if he fails to obtain either 
credential during this eighteen month period he may not work as a central 
service technician in any healthcare facility in this State until he obtains at 
least one of the credentials and complies with the other requirements of this 
section.

 (C) A 
person who qualifies to function as a central service technician in a healthcare 
facility pursuant to this section shall annually complete ten hours of 
continuing education credits to remain qualified to perform the functions of a 
central service technician. This continuing education must be related to the 
functions of a central service technician.

 (D) 
Nothing in this section prohibits the following persons from performing the 
tasks or functions of a central service technician:

 (1) 
a healthcare practitioner;

 (2) 
a student or intern performing the functions of a central service technician 
under the direct supervision of a healthcare practitioner as part of the 
student's or intern's training or internship; or

 (3) 
a person who holds or maintains a registration, certification, or license by a 
nationally accredited credentialing organization to perform healthcare 
services.

 (E)(1) A healthcare facility that employs 
or retains a person to serve as a central service technician shall verify that 
the person meets the credentialing requirements of subsection (B) and the 
continuing education requirements of subsection (C).

 (2) 
A healthcare facility shall supervise each person employed or retained by the 
facility to provide central service technician services according to the 
facility's policies and procedures to ensure that the person competently 
performs delegated tasks according to this section or other applicable 
provisions of law.

 (3)(a) A healthcare facility shall 
maintain a record of each person employed or retained by the facility to 
provide central service technician services, including:

 (i) 
verification of the requirements of item (1