South Carolina 126th General Assembly Status: Enacted

H 4679 — AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS SO AS TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA DRONE REGULATION AND PUBLIC SAFETY ACT" BY ADDING ARTICLE 3 TO CHAPTER 1, TITLE 55 SO AS TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS, TO PROVIDE FOR THE LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL OPERATION OF DRONES, AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR THE UNLAWFUL OPERATION OF DRONES; AND BY REPEALING SECTIONS 24-1-300 AND 24-5-175 RELATING TO THE UNLAWFUL OPERATION OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES NEAR CERTAIN CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES AND LOCAL DETENTION FACILITIES. - RATIFIED TITLE

Last action — Act No. 150

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed House
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 16, 2025. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Henry McMaster (Republican) on May 15, 2026.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 60% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 14 sponsors

    1 primary, 13 co-sponsors signed on.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

South Carolina establishes regulations for the operation of drones and repeals certain previous laws.

The South Carolina Drone Regulation and Public Safety Act defines lawful and unlawful drone operations and sets penalties for violations. It also repeals earlier laws regarding drone operations near correctional facilities.

Summary

South Carolina Drone Regulation and Public Safety Act

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Act No. 150

  2. Effective date 01/01/27

  3. Signed By Governor

  4. Ratified R 198

  5. Roll call Yeas-92 Nays-0 (House Journal-page 14)

  6. Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled (House Journal-page 14)

  7. Read third time and returned to House with amendments (Senate Journal-page 27)

  8. Scrivener's error corrected

  9. Roll call Ayes-46 Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 65)

  10. Read second time (Senate Journal-page 65)

  11. Amended (Senate Journal-page 65)

  12. Recalled from Committee on Transportation (Senate Journal-page 4)

  13. Referred to Committee on Transportation (Senate Journal-page 41)

  14. Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 41)

  15. Read third time and sent to Senate (House Journal-page 15)

  16. Scrivener's error corrected

  17. Roll call Yeas-108 Nays-0 (House Journal-page 35)

  18. Read second time (House Journal-page 23)

  19. Amended (House Journal-page 23)

  20. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Hartnett, Gilliard, Rivers, Williams

  21. Scrivener's error corrected

  22. Committee report: Favorable with amendment Judiciary (House Journal-page 5)

  23. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Guest, McCravy

  24. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Wickensimer

  25. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: W.Newton, Herbkersman

  26. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Wooten, Chapman

  27. Referred to Committee on Judiciary (House Journal-page 55)

  28. Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 55)

  29. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  30. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 13 co-sponsors · 156 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (13)

Not signed on (156)

156 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 156 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety technology
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does H 4679 do?
South Carolina Drone Regulation and Public Safety Act
Who sponsors H 4679?
H 4679 is sponsored by Representative Robert Q. Williams, Representative Michael F. Rivers, Sr., Representative Wendell G. Gilliard, Representative Thomas F. "Tom" Hartnett, Jr., Representative John R. McCravy III, Representative Thomas Duval "Val" Guest, Jr., Representative Paul B. Wickensimer, Representative William G. "Bill" Herbkersman, Representative Wm. Weston J. Newton, Representative Donald G. "Don" Chapman, Representative Chris Wooten, Representative Marvin "Mark" Smith, Representative Brandon L. Cox, and Representative Cody T. Mitchell.
What is the current status of H 4679?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 16, 2025. Enacted.
Where can I track H 4679?
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