South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

H 5136 — Fentanyl

Last action — Referred to Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs

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

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 10, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

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

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 AMENDING SECTION 44-63-74, RELATING TO MEDICAL CERTIFICATIONS ON DEATH CERTIFICATES, SO AS TO LIST FENTANYL POISONING AS THE CAUSE OF DEATH IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

42 added · 11 removed

Plain-language change summary

The updated version of Bill H 5136 includes a new provision that requires fentanyl poisoning to be listed specifically as a cause of death on medical certifications under certain circumstances. This change matters because it helps identify the growing issue of fentanyl-related deaths, allowing for better tracking of the opioid crisis in South Carolina. By officially recognizing fentanyl poisoning, the state can develop targeted interventions and policies to address this public health concern more effectively.

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2025-2026 Bill 5136 Text of Previous Version (Feb.
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10, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 5136Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter(Text matches printed bills.
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Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)               A bill   TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 44-63-74, RELATING TO MEDICAL CERTIFICATIONS ON DEATH CERTIFICATES, SO AS TO LIST FENTANYL POISONING AS THE CAUSE OF DEATH IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Section 44-63-74(A)(3) of the S.C.
Code is amended to read:
      (3)(a) Medical certifications of cause of death must be completed and returned to the funeral home director within forty-eight hours after receipt of notice of the death by the physician in charge of the patient's care for the illness or condition which resulted in death, except when an inquiry is required by a coroner or medical examiner.
If the cause of death cannot be determined within forty-eight hours after death, the medical certification must be entered as pending, and the physician, medical examiner, or coroner shall submit a supplemental report to the state registrar on a form furnished by or approved by him as soon as practicable.
The supplemental report shall be made a part of the death certificate.
If the forty-eight hour period terminates on a weekend, federal holiday, or state holiday, the physician must file the certification by the end of the next business day.
In the absence of this physician or with his approval, the certificate may be completed by his associate physician, the chief medical officer of the institution in which the death occurred, or by the pathologist who performed an autopsy upon the decedent.
           (b) The medical certification on a death certificate must include either the term "Fentanyl Poisoning" or the term "Fentanyl Toxicity" as the cause of death if:
               (i) a toxicology examination reveals a fentanyl-related controlled substance, including any fentanyl-related controlled substance listed in Section 44-53-190, present in the body of the decedent in an amount or concentration that is considered to be lethal by generally accepted scientific standards;
and                (ii) the results of an autopsy performed on the decedent are consistent with an opioid overdose as the cause of death.
  SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on February 10, 2026 at 01:38 PM
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Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs

  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.

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"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 healthcare
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 5136 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 44-63-74, RELATING TO MEDICAL CERTIFICATIONS ON DEATH CERTIFICATES, SO AS TO LIST FENTANYL POISONING AS THE CAUSE OF DEATH IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.
Who sponsors H 5136?
H 5136 is sponsored by Representative Thomas E. "Tommy" Pope.
What is the current status of H 5136?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 10, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track H 5136?
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