South Carolina General Assembly
124th Session, 2021-2022

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H. 4561

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Wooten, Huggins, Caskey, B. Cox, Fry, Ballentine, Oremus, Crawford, Bradley, Taylor, Haddon, Kimmons, Trantham, Morgan, Willis, Thayer, Gilliam, Bailey, D.C. Moss, Dabney, McCravy, Forrest, Bustos, M.M. Smith, Hewitt, Bennett, McGarry and Jones
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11268dg22.docx

Introduced in the House on January 11, 2022
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Prohibition on Vaccinations for First Responders

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  11/10/2021  House   Prefiled
  11/10/2021  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary
   1/11/2022  House   Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 55)
   1/11/2022  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary 
                        (House Journal-page 55)
   1/12/2022  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Jones

View the latest legislative information at the website

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

11/10/2021

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 8-15-80 SO AS TO PROHIBIT THE STATE AND ITS POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS FROM REQUIRING A COVID-19 VACCINATION FOR FIRST RESPONDERS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Chapter 15, Title 8 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

    "Section 8-15-80.    (A)    Neither the State, nor any of its political subdivisions, may compel a person employed as a first responder to undergo a vaccination to prevent COVID-19. If a first responder does not undergo vaccination, the first responder may not be subjected to an adverse employment action including, but not limited to, a termination, suspension, involuntary reassignment, or demotion. Any first responder aggrieved by an employer in violation of this section may bring a private cause of action to restore the first responder's position and to have the employer pay any court costs and legal fees, as well as any punitive damages determined appropriate.

    (B)    For purposes of this section, 'first responder' means a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, or paramedic who is paid from public funds."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on January 12, 2022 at 4:08 PM