South Carolina has passed a string of major laws over the past three legislative sessions, and the recent laws passed in South Carolina reach into how residents carry firearms, end pregnancies, face drug charges, pay for school, file their state taxes, and use their phones behind the wheel. Most took effect the day the Governor signed them or on a date written into the bill.
Permitless Handgun Carry
The South Carolina Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act, House Bill 3594, removed the state permit requirement for carrying a handgun.1South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act of 2023 Anyone 18 or older who can legally possess a firearm may carry it openly or concealed without completing the training or background check that the old Concealed Weapons Permit required.2South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Constitutional Carry Guidance The state still issues permits for people who want one, mainly because a permit helps with reciprocity when traveling to other states.
Guns remain off-limits in a long list of places under Section 16-23-20. That includes law enforcement and detention facilities, courthouses while court is in session, polling places on election days, government meeting offices, school and college athletic events, daycares and preschools, hospitals and medical offices without express permission, churches without permission, another person’s home without permission, and any place federal law forbids firearms.3South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 16 Chapter 23 Section 16-23-20 – Unlawful Carrying of Handgun; Exceptions
Private property owners can also ban firearms by posting a sign at each entrance. The sign must be eight inches wide by twelve inches tall, mounted 40 to 60 inches from the ground, and read “NO CONCEALABLE WEAPONS ALLOWED” in one-inch uppercase letters with a universal prohibition symbol.4South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 23 Chapter 31 Section 23-31-235 – Sign Requirements A sign that misses those specifications has no legal effect. Carrying past a compliant sign can bring a trespassing charge.
Six-Week Abortion Limit
Senate Bill 474, signed on May 25, 2023, bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which typically happens around six weeks of pregnancy.5South Carolina Legislature. 2023-2024 Bill 474 – Abortion – Fetal Heartbeat Before any abortion, a physician must check for cardiac activity using standard medical methods.
Three exceptions exist. Rape and incest pregnancies may be terminated after a heartbeat is detected, but only within the first 12 weeks of gestation. A medical emergency exception allows abortion when a physician determines it is needed to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. Psychological and emotional conditions do not qualify. Physicians who violate the statute face criminal penalties.
Fentanyl Trafficking Penalties
House Bill 3503, signed in August 2023, added fentanyl to South Carolina’s Schedule I list and created a trafficking offense with tiered mandatory penalties that kick in at just four grams.6South Carolina Office of the Governor. Gov. Henry McMaster Signs Fentanyl Trafficking Bill Into Law Between 4 and 14 grams, a first offense carries 7 to 25 years in prison and a $50,000 fine; a second offense at that weight brings a mandatory 25 years and a $100,000 fine. Between 14 and 28 grams, the sentence is a mandatory 25 years and a $200,000 fine. At 28 grams or more, it’s 25 to 40 years and a $200,000 fine.
Judges cannot suspend these sentences or grant probation.7South Carolina Legislature. 2023-2024 Bill 242 – Trafficking in Fentanyl If a trafficking offense causes a fatal overdose, the court must add up to 20 consecutive years. The weight thresholds sit well below those set for cocaine or heroin.
Fentanyl-Induced Homicide
Senate Bill 156, signed May 22, 2025, created a separate felony in a new Section 16-3-80. Anyone who knowingly provides fentanyl to another person commits fentanyl-induced homicide if that fentanyl causes a death, and a conviction carries up to 30 years in prison.8South Carolina Legislature. 2025-2026 Bill 156 – Fentanyl Induced Homicide
The fact that the person who died voluntarily used the drug is not a defense. The only carve-out is clear and convincing evidence that the deceased intended suicide. Co-users who did not supply the drug cannot be prosecuted under this section. Prosecutors can still stack other charges, including trafficking, from the same incident.
Education Scholarship Trust Fund
Senate Bill 39 created individual scholarship accounts that families can spend on private educational expenses. The program launched in 2024–2025 and is phasing in by household income. In year one, only families at or below 200% of the federal poverty level qualified. The cap rose to 300% for 2025–2026 and expands to 400% starting 2026–2027.9South Carolina Legislature. 2023-2024 Bill 39 – Educational Scholarship Trust Fund Applicants must also have attended a South Carolina public school the prior year.
The 2025–2026 scholarship is about $8,500 per student, held in a digital account run by the Department of Education. Approved uses include private school tuition and fees, textbooks and curriculum materials, tutoring in core subjects, educational therapies such as speech, occupational, and ABA therapy, online courses, testing fees for norm-referenced exams, AP tests, and college admission tests, computer hardware used mainly for schoolwork (with per-item caps), and up to $3,000 per year in transportation costs from the student’s public district. Private schools have to meet accreditation and health safety standards to receive payments.
Deeper Income Tax Cuts
House Bill 4216 collapsed South Carolina’s individual income tax into two brackets for tax year 2026: 1.99% on taxable income below $30,000, and 5.21% on income of $30,000 or more.10South Carolina Department of Revenue. Information About H. 4216 That top rate sits below the 6% that applied in 2025.11South Carolina Department of Revenue. Individual Income Tax
Additional cuts are tied to a revenue trigger. The Board of Economic Advisors decides by February 15 each year whether general fund revenue will grow by 5% or more over the prior fiscal year. If it will, the top rate drops again, though a single reduction cannot cost more than $200 million in revenue.
Hands-Free Driving
The South Carolina Hands-Free Act, House Bill 3276, was signed July 31, 2025 and took effect September 1, 2025.12South Carolina Office of the Governor. Gov. Henry McMaster Signs Hands-Free and Distracted Driving Bill Into Law While driving on a public road, you cannot hold or support a mobile electronic device with any part of your body. Reading, writing, or sending texts and emails is out, and so is watching video. “Mobile electronic device” covers phones, tablets, portable computers, and GPS receivers, but not CB or ham radios or prescribed medical devices.
Several uses stay legal: hands-free calls through Bluetooth, speakerphone, or a wrist-worn device; navigation and audio you don’t hold or type on; reporting an emergency to public safety officials; using a phone while lawfully parked or stopped; first responders acting in their official role; and factory-installed vehicle systems.
A first offense costs $100 plus court costs. A second offense within three years brings a $200 fine, court costs, and two points on your driving record.13South Carolina Department of Public Safety. Hands Free SC The statute preempts local distracted-driving ordinances, so the rules apply the same statewide.
Other 2025 Laws to Know
Several smaller measures rounded out the 2025 session. Senate Bill 28 created criminal penalties for using artificial intelligence to generate child sexual abuse material. House Bill 3058 targets nonconsensual sharing of intimate images. Senate Bill 221, the South Carolina Kratom Consumer Protection Act, regulates kratom sales. Senate Bill 126 restricts public disclosure of personal information belonging to law enforcement and judicial officers. All four took effect during 2025.