South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

S 773 — Unlawful Tracking

Last action — Referred to Committee on Judiciary

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

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced January 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Stalled 14% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 16-17-485 SO AS TO DEFINE THE TERM "TRACKING DEVICE", TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF UNLAWFUL TRACKING, TO PROVIDE A PENALTY, AND TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

64 added · 8 removed

64 line(s) added, 8 removed.

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2025-2026 Bill 773 Text of Previous Version (Jan.
13, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 773Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates 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 16-17-485 SO AS TO DEFINE THE TERM "TRACKING DEVICE", TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF UNLAWFUL TRACKING, TO PROVIDE A PENALTY, AND TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Article 7, Chapter 17, Title 16 of the S.C.
Code is amended by adding:
      Section 16-17-485.
(A) As used in this section, the term:
       (1) "Motor vehicle" means as defined in Section 56-1-10.
       (2) "Tracking device" means an electronic device including, but not limited to, a global positioning system tracking device that is designed or intended for use to track the location of a motor vehicle regardless of whether that information is recorded.
    (B) It is unlawful for a person including, but not limited to, a law enforcement officer or other employee of a law enforcement agency or a person associated with, or employed by, a security or private investigative business to:
       (1) install or place a tracking device, or cause a tracking device to be installed or placed, in or on a motor vehicle without the knowledge and consent of the owner of the motor vehicle or, if the motor vehicle is leased, without the knowledge and consent of the lessee of the motor vehicle;
and        (2) track the location of a motor vehicle with a tracking device without the knowledge and consent of either the owner or the authorized operator of the motor vehicle.
    (C) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than one year.
    (D) The provisions of this section do not apply to the installation or use of a tracking device:
       (1) that provides motor vehicle tracking for purposes of providing mechanical, operational, directional, navigational, weather, or traffic information to the operator of the motor vehicle;
       (2) that provides emergency assistance to the operator or passengers of the motor vehicle under the terms and conditions of a subscription service;
       (3) that provides missing vehicle assistance for the benefit of the owner or operator of the motor vehicle;
       (4) that provides diagnostic services regarding the mechanical operation of a motor vehicle under the terms and conditions of a subscription service;
       (5) when the lessee of the motor vehicle is given written notice from the lessor that the motor vehicle may be tracked through the use of a tracking device and this notice is signed by the lessee;
or        (6) by a parent or legal guardian of a person under the age of eighteen on a motor vehicle owned or leased by that parent or legal guardian or the person under the age of eighteen and operated by him.
  SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on January 13, 2026 at 12:34 PM
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Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  2. Introduced and read first time

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 169 not signed on

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (169)

169 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 169 →

"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

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 S 773 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 16-17-485 SO AS TO DEFINE THE TERM "TRACKING DEVICE", TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF UNLAWFUL TRACKING, TO PROVIDE A PENALTY, AND TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS.
Who sponsors S 773?
S 773 is sponsored by Senator Matthew W. "Matt" Leber.
What is the current status of S 773?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced January 13, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 773?
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