H 3907

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 3907
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
"HONOR OUR FIRST RESPONDERS ACT" BY ADDING SECTION 38-71-300 SO AS TO PROVIDE
THAT AN INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP HEALTH PLAN MUST PROVIDE COVERAGE UNDER THE SAME
TERMS AND CONDITIONS TO THE SPOUSE OR DEPENDENT OF A FIRST RESPONDER COVERED BY
SUCH A PLAN IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; BY AMENDING SECTION 1-3-470, RELATING TO
LOWERING FLAGS UPON DEATH IN THE LINE OF DUTY, SO AS TO ADD AN EMERGENCY
MEDICAL TECHNICIAN; BY ADDING SECTION 12-6-1172 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A FIRST
RESPONDER RETIREMENT INCOME DEDUCTION; BY AMENDING SECTION 12-6-1170, RELATING
TO THE RETIREMENT INCOME TAX DEDUCTION, SO AS TO MAKE A CONFORMING CHANGE; BY
AMENDING SECTION 12-37-220, RELATING TO GENERAL EXEMPTION FROM TAXES, SO AS TO
PROVIDE THAT A QUALIFIED SURVIVING SPOUSE ALSO MEANS CERTAIN SURVIVING SPOUSES
OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 59-111-110, RELATING
TO WAIVED TUITION, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE CHILDREN OF CERTAIN EMERGENCY
MEDICAL TECHNICIANS ALSO QUALIFY FOR CERTAIN WAIVED TUITION.
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  This act may be cited as the "Honor Our First Responders Act."
SECTION 2.  Article 1, Chapter 71, Title 38 of the S.C. Code is
amended by adding:
    Section
38-71-300. If an individual or group health plan provides coverage for spouses
or dependent children of a beneficiary, the plan must provide coverage under
the same terms and conditions to the spouse or dependent of a first responder
covered by such a plan or plans whose death was a natural and proximate result
of an injury by external accident or violence incurred while undergoing a
hazard peculiar to the first responder's employment as an emergency medical
technician, law enforcement officer, or firefighter while in the actual
performance of his duty, provided that his death is not the result of the first
responder's wilful negligence, suicide, or intentionally self-inflicted bodily
injury, after January 1, 2025, under that plan or plans and the insurer is
responsible for paying the full premium for twenty-four months.
SECTION 3.  Section 1-3-470 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
1-3-470. The Governor on the day of burial or other service for any firefighter, or law enforcement officer, or emergency medical technician in this State who died
in the line of duty shall order all flags on state buildings to be flown at
half-mast in tribute to the deceased firefighter, or law enforcement officer, or
emergency medical technician. The Governor shall also request that flags
over the buildings of the political subdivisions of this State similarly be
flown at half-mast for this purpose.
SECTION 4.  Article 9, Chapter 6, Title 12 of the S.C. Code is
amended by adding:
    Section
12-6-1172. (A) As used in this
section:
       (1)
"First responder" means a person who is paid from public funds to serve as a
law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, or peace
officer, who is trained to respond to an emergency, and whose public service
and public employer are of the type that qualify the person to be a member in
the South Carolina Police Officers Retirement System, or otherwise would
qualify the person to be a member if the State of South Carolina was the
employer. First responder does not include magistrates, judges, or coroners.
       (2)
"Retirement income" means the total of all otherwise taxable income not subject
to a penalty for premature distribution received by the taxpayer or the
taxpayer's surviving spouse in a taxable year from a qualified military
retirement plan or qualified first responder retirement plan. For purposes of a
surviving spouse, "military retirement income" also includes a retirement
benefit plan and dependent indemnity compensation related to the deceased
spouse's military service.
    (B)
An individual taxpayer who has military retirement income or first responder
retirement income, each year may deduct all military retirement income and
first responder retirement income that is included in South Carolina taxable
income.
    (C) A
surviving spouse receiving military retirement income or first responder
retirement income that is attributable to the deceased spouse shall apply this
deduction in the same manner that the deduction applied to the deceased spouse.
    (D)
The department may require the taxpayer to provide information necessary for
proper administration of this section.
SECTION 5.  Section 12-6-1170(C) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:
    (C)(1) Notwithstanding any other
provision of this section, if a taxpayer claims a deduction pursuant to Section
12-6-1171 or Section 12-6-1172, then the deduction
allowed by this section must be reduced by the cumulative
amount the taxpayer deducts pursuant to Section 12-6-1171
or Section 12-6-1172; however, this subsection does not apply if the
deduction claimed pursuant to Section 12-6-1171 or Section
12-6-1172 is claimed by a surviving spouse.
       (2)
In the case of married taxpayers who file a joint federal income tax return,
the reduction required by item (1) applies to each individual separately, so
that the reduction only applies to the amount the individual claiming the
deduction pursuant to Section 12-6-1171 or Section
12-6-1172 otherwise could have claimed pursuant to this section if the
individual had not filed a joint return.
SECTION 6.  Section 12-37-220(B)(1)(f)(iii) of the S.C. Code is
amended to read:
    (iii) "qualified surviving spouse"
means the surviving spouse of an individual described in subsubitem (i) while
remaining unmarried, who resides in the house, and who owns the house in fee or
for life. Qualified surviving spouse also means the surviving spouse of an
individual described in subsubitem (i) whose deceased spouse met the
requirements to obtain the exemption allowed by this item regardless of whether
the deceased spouse applied, filed for, or claimed the exemption, while
remaining unmarried, who resides in the house, and who owns the house in fee or
for life. Qualified surviving spouse also means the surviving spouse of a
member of the Armed Forces of the United States who was killed in action, or
the surviving spouse of a law enforcement officer, or firefighter , or emergency
medical technician who died in the line of duty as a law enforcement
officer, or firefighter,
or emergency medical technician, as these terms are
further defined in Section 23-23-10, and Chapter 80, Title 40, and
Section 44-61-20(12) if the surviving spouse remains unmarried, resides
in the house, and has acquired ownership of the house in fee or for life;
SECTION 7.  Section 59-111-110 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
59-111-110.   No tuition may be charged for a period
of four school years by any state-supported college or university or any
state-supported vocational or technical school for children of:
    (1)
firemen, both regularly employed and members of volunteer organized units,
organized rescue squad members, members of the Civil Air Patrol, law
enforcement officers, or corrections officers, as defined herein, including
reserve and auxiliary units of counties or municipalities,
or emergency medical technicians, as defined in Section 44-61-20(12),
who become totally disabled or are killed in the line of duty on or after July
1, 1964;
    (2)
government employees who become totally disabled or are killed in the line of
duty while working on state time on or after July 1, 1996, as a result of a
criminal act committed against them which constitutes a felony under the laws
of this State.
    The tuition
authorized to be paid by this section applies only to undergraduate courses or
curriculum and may be paid for a period not exceeding four years, regardless of
the number of state-supported colleges, universities, or state-supported
vocational or technical schools the child attends.
SECTION 8.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
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This web page was last updated on March 26, 2025 at 05:15 PM