South Carolina S 192: DUI Blood Draw & Implied Consent

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 192 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 14, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 192

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 56-5-2950, RELATING TO IMPLIED CONSENT TO TESTING FOR ALCOHOL OR DRUGS, 
PROCEDURES, AND INFERENCE OF DUI, SO AS TO ALLOW FOR THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY 
TO DETERMINE WHICH TESTS SHALL BE ADMINISTERED, REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT THAT A 
BREATH TEST BE ADMINISTERED BEFORE OTHER TESTS, AND PROVIDE FOR THE TRAINING OF 
PERSONNEL TO BECOME QUALIFIED TO OBTAIN BLOOD TEST SAMPLES; BY AMENDING SECTION 
24-13-100, RELATING TO THE DEFINITION OF A "NO PAROLE OFFENSE", SO AS TO 
PROVIDE THAT FELONY DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OR FELONY DRIVING WITH AN 
UNLAWFUL ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION RESULTING IN DEATH IS NOT A "NO PAROLE OFFENSE"; 
BY AMENDING SECTION 56-5-2951, RELATING TO THE SUSPENSION OF A LICENSE FOR 
REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO TESTING OR FOR CERTAIN LEVEL OF ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION, 
TEMPORARY ALCOHOL LICENSES, RESTRICTED DRIVER'S LICENSES, AND PENALTIES, SO AS 
TO REMOVE THE TEMPORARY ALCOHOL LICENSE AND PROVIDE SUSPENSION PENALTIES; AND 
BY AMENDING SECTION 56-5-2953, RELATING TO INCIDENT SITE AND BREATH TEST SITE 
VIDEO RECORDING, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS MUST MAKE 
REASONABLE EFFORTS TO ENSURE VIDEO RECORDING OF THE STOP, TESTS, AND ARREST OF 
A PERSON FOR A DUI.

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

SECTION 1. Sections 56-5-2950(A), (C), (E), and (F) of the S.C. 
Code are amended to read:

 Section 
56-5-2950. (A)(1) 
A person who drives a motor vehicle in this State is considered to have given 
consent to chemical tests of the person's breath, blood, or urine for the 
purpose of determining the presence of alcohol, drugs, or the combination of 
alcohol and drugs, if arrested for an offense arising out of acts alleged to 
have been committed while the person was driving a motor vehicle while under 
the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of alcohol and drugs. A breath testThe test or combination 
of tests chosen by the law enforcement agency must be administered at 
the direction of a law enforcement officer who has arrested a person for 
driving a motor vehicle in this State while under the influence of alcohol, 
drugs, or a combination of alcohol and drugs. At the 
direction of the arresting officer, the person first must be offered a breath 
test to determine the person's alcohol concentration. If the person is 
physically unable to provide an acceptable breath sample because the person has 
an injured mouth, is unconscious or dead, or for any other reason considered 
acceptable by the licensed medical personnel, the arresting officer may request 
a blood sample to be taken. If the officer has reasonable suspicion that the 
person is under the influence of drugs other than alcohol, or is under the 
influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs, the officer may order that a 
urine sample be taken for testing. A

 (2) If a breath test is administered, 
then the breath sample taken for testing must be collected within two 
hours of the arrest. Any additional tests to collect other 
samples must be collected within three hours of the arrest. The breath 
test must be administered by a person trained and certified by the South 
Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, pursuant to SLED policies. Before the breath 
test is administered, an eight one-hundredths of one percent simulator test 
must be performed and the result must reflect a reading between 0.076 percent 
and 0.084 percent.

 (3) Any additional tests to collect 
other samples must be collected within two hours of the arrest. Blood 
and urine samples must be obtained by physicians licensed by the State Board of 
Medical Examiners, registered nurses licensed by the State Board of Nursing, and or other medical personnel trained and 
qualified to obtain the samples in a licensed 
medical facility. Blood and urine samples must be obtained and handled 
in accordance with procedures approved by SLED.

 (C) 
A hospital, physician, qualified technician, chemist, or 
registered nurse, or other personnel trained and qualified 
to obtain the samples, who obtains the samples or conducts the test or 
participates in the process of obtaining the samples or conducting the test in 
accordance with this section is not subject to a cause of action for assault, 
battery, or another cause alleging that the drawing of blood or taking samples 
at the request of the arrested person or a law enforcement officer was 
wrongful. This release from liability does not reduce the standard of medical care required of the person obtaining the 
samples or conducting the test. This qualified release also applies to the 
employer of the person who conducts th