South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

S 977 — Driver's license written examinations

Last action — Referred to Committee on Transportation

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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 March 05, 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 56-1-82 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES SHALL ALLOW APPLICANTS FOR DRIVER'S LICENSES AND PERMITS TO TAKE THE WRITTEN PORTION OF THE DRIVING EXAMINATION IN A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

33 added · 9 removed

33 line(s) added, 9 removed.

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2025-2026 Bill 977 Text of Previous Version (Mar.
05, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 977Indicates 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 56-1-82 SO AS to provide THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES SHALL ALLOW APPLICANTS FOR DRIVER'S LICENSES AND PERMITS TO TAKE THE WRITTEN PORTION OF THE DRIVING EXAMINATION IN A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Article 1, Chapter 1, Title 56 of the S.C.
Code is amended by adding:
      Section 56-1-82.
(A) If an applicant for a driver's license or permit is unable to speak and read the English language, then he may be administered the written portion of the examination in a language other than English.
    (B) Upon expiration of the restricted driver's license or permit issued pursuant to this section, to renew the driver's license or permit, the applicant must retake only the written examination that must be administered in English only.
The applicant shall not use a translation dictionary, an electronic device, or an interpreter to assist with the administration of the reexamination.
    (C) This section does not apply to an applicant who is unable to speak the English language sufficiently, but is capable of reading and writing in the English language and presents the department a written statement from a physician that he has a hearing impairment that impacts his ability to speak the English language sufficiently.
  SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on March 05, 2026 at 11:40 AM
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Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Transportation

  2. Introduced and read first time

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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

Sponsors (1)

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

public-safety civil-rights education
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 977 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 56-1-82 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES SHALL ALLOW APPLICANTS FOR DRIVER'S LICENSES AND PERMITS TO TAKE THE WRITTEN PORTION OF THE DRIVING EXAMINATION IN A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.
Who sponsors S 977?
S 977 is sponsored by Senator Thomas C. Alexander.
What is the current status of S 977?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced March 05, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 977?
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