H 3308

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 3308
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates 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 ENACTING THE
"DEFEND THE GUARD ACT" BY ADDING SECTION 25-1-1930 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE
SOUTH CAROLINA NATIONAL GUARD MAY NOT BE RELEASED FROM THE STATE INTO ACTIVE-DUTY
COMBAT UNLESS THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS HAS TAKEN CERTAIN ACTIONS.
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  This act may be cited as the "Defend the Guard Act."
SECTION 2.  Article 15, Chapter 1, Title 25 of the S.C. Code is
amended by adding:
    Section
25-1-1930. (A) For purposes of this
section:
       (1)
"Active-duty combat" means performing the following services in the active
federal military service of the United States:
  (a)
participation in an armed conflict;
  (b)
performance of a hazardous service relating to an armed conflict in a foreign
state; or
  (c)
performance of a duty through an instrumentality of war.
       (2)
"Official declaration of war" means an official declaration of war made by the
United States Congress pursuant to Clause 11, Section 8, Article I, of the
United States Constitution.
    (B)
Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the South Carolina National Guard
and any member thereof may not be released from the State into active duty
combat unless the United States Congress has passed an official declaration of
war or has taken an official action pursuant to Clause 15, Section 8, Article
I, of the United States Constitution to explicitly call forth the South
Carolina National Guard and any member thereof for the enumerated purposes to
expressly execute the laws of the union, repel an invasion, or suppress an
insurrection. The Governor shall take all actions necessary to comply with the
requirements of this section.
    (C)
Nothing in the section limits or prohibits the Governor from consenting to the
deployment of any South Carolina National Guard member for civil authority
missions within the United States and United States territories.
SECTION 3.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
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This web page was last updated on December 06, 2024 at 11:21 AM