H 4000

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 4000
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
Amended
May 12, 2026
H. 4000
Introduced by Reps. M. M. Smith, Stavrinakis,
Cox, Davis, Wetmore, Bustos, Teeple, Holman, Spann-Wilder, Kirby, Robbins,
Landing, Hartnett, Brewer, Gilliard, Gatch, J. Moore, T. Moore, Murphy, W.
Newton, Duncan and Bauer
S. Printed 5/12/26--S.  [SEC
5/13/2026 10:29 AM]
Read the first time May 6, 2025
________
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING
SECTION 61-2-100, RELATING TO THE PERSONS ENTITLED TO BE LICENSEES OR
PERMITTEES, SO AS TO ADD PERFORMING ARTS AND CONVENTION COMPLEXES; BY AMENDING
SECTION 61-4-515, RELATING TO THE PERMIT FOR PURCHASE AND SALE FOR ON-PREMISES
CONSUMPTION, SO AS TO ADD PERFORMING ARTS AND CONVENTION COMPLEXES; AND BY
AMENDING SECTION 61-6-2016, RELATING TO THE BIENNIAL LICENSE FOR PURCHASE AND
SALE FOR ON-PREMISES CONSUMPTION, SO AS TO ADD PERFORMING ARTS AND CONVENTION COMPLEXES.
    Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  Section 61-2-145 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
61-2-145.  (A) In addition to all
other requirements, a person licensed or permitted to sell alcoholic beverages
for on-premises consumption, which remains open after five o'clock p.m. to sell
alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, except
for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation or a licensee or permittee engaging in a
single event for which a beer and wine special event license or a liquor
special event permit is obtained, is required to maintain a liquor
liability insurance policy or a general liability insurance policy with a
liquor liability endorsement with an annual aggregate limit of at least one
million dollars during the period of the biennial permit
or license, unless the person licensed or permitted to
sell alcoholic beverages qualifies under the terms of a liquor liability risk
mitigation program pursuant to subsection (E).  A
501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation licensed or permitted to sell alcoholic
beverages for on-premises consumption, which remains open after five o'clock
p.m. to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, is required to
maintain a liquor liability insurance policy or a general liability insurance
policy with a liquor liability endorsement with an annual aggregate limit of at
least three hundred thousand dollars during the period of the permit or
license. A licensee or permittee engaging in a single event for which a beer
and wine special event license or a liquor special event permit is obtained
must maintain minimum coverage with an aggregate limit of at least one hundred fifty
thousand dollars during the entire period of the license or permit. Failure
to maintain this coverage during the entire period of the biennial
permit or license constitutes grounds for suspension or revocation of
the permit or license and is sufficient grounds for the department to seek an
emergency revocation order as provided in Sections 12-60-1340 and 1-23-370(c).
An insurance policy issued pursuant to this section,
except for an insurance policy issued to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation or
to a licensee for a beer and wine special event or a permittee for a liquor
special event, must provide for minimum coverage of
five hundred thousand dollars per occurrence giving rise to the claim of at least fifty percent of the total aggregate limit, per occurrence, giving rise to the claim.
    (B)
The department shall add this requirement to all applications and renewals for
biennial permits or licenses to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises
consumption, in which the permittees and licensees remain open and sell
alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption after five o'clock p.m.  Each
applicant or person renewing its license or permit, to whom this requirement
applies, shall provide the department with documentation of a liquor liability
insurance policy or a general liability insurance policy with a liquor
liability endorsement in the required amounts.
    (C)
Each insurer writing liquor liability insurance policies or general liability
insurance policies with a liquor liability endorsement to a person licensed or
permitted to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, in which the
person so licensed or permitted remains open to sell alcoholic beverages for
on-premises consumption after five o'clock p.m., must notify the department in
a manner prescribed by department regulation of the lapse or termination of the
liquor liability insurance policy or the general liability insurance policy
with a liquor liability endorsement within thirty days of the lapse or
termination.
    (D)
For the purposes of this section, the term "alcoholic beverages" means beer,
wine, alcoholic liquors, and alcoholic liquor by the drink as defined in
Chapter 4, Title 61, and Chapter 6, Title 61.
    (E) A person licensed or
permitted to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, which
remains open after five o'clock p.m. to sell alcoholic beverages for
on-premises consumption, may qualify for liquor liability risk mitigation.  A
licensee or permittee qualifies if the licensee or permittee:
       (1) stops serving
alcohol by twelve o'clock a.m. for the entire policy period;
       (2) has all employees
who serve alcohol complete an alcohol server training course pursuant to Title
61, Chapter 3, within sixty days of employment in that capacity;
       (3) has less than forty
percent of its total sales deriving from alcohol sales;
       (4) uses a forensic
digital identification system that validates the identification of any person
attempting to enter the premises between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 4:00
a.m.;  or
       (5) is a nonprofit
organization which is exempt from taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of
Title 26 of United States Code, as amended, or the entity is engaging in a
single event for which a Beer and Wine Special Event License or Liquor Special
Event Permit is obtained.
       (6) A licensee or
permittee meeting the requirement of item (1) may reduce the required annual
aggregate limit by two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.  A licensee or
permittee meeting the requirements of item (2), (3) or (4) may reduce the
required annual aggregate limit by one hundred thousand dollars per item
satisfied.  A licensee or permittee meeting the requirements of item (5) may
reduce the annual aggregate limit by five hundred thousand dollars.  A licensee
or permittee who has met the requirements of any combination of items (1)-(5)
must receive the permitted reduction in the required annual aggregate limit for
each item the licensee or permittee complies with provided a person licensed or
permitted to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, which
remains open after five o'clock p.m. to sell alcoholic beverages for
on-premises consumption, must at all times maintain coverage with an annual
aggregate limit of at least three hundred thousand dollars during the entire
period of the biennial permit or license.
       (7) Insurers must
establish liquor liability mitigation measures and offer reasonable premium
discounts for compliance therewith that reduce the risk to the general public
associated with the service of on-premises consumption of alcohol.
    (F)(E) Permittees and licensees selling alcoholic beverages
for on-premises consumption at any time between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and
4:00 a.m. shall use a forensic digital identification system during those hours that validates the identification of
any person at the point of sale or attempting to
enter the premises as a patron. Selling alcoholic
beverages for on-premises consumption at any time between the hours of 12:00
a.m. and 4:00 a.m. without the use of a forensic digital identification system during
those hours is a violation of this subsection and must be punished:
       (1) for a first offense, by a fine
administered by the department in the amount of two thousand five hundred
dollars;
       (2) for a second offense committed
within two years of the commission of the first offense, by having the
licensee's or permittee's alcohol license or permit suspended for up to
fourteen days, as determined by the department; and
       (3) for a third offense committed within
three years of the commission of the first offense, by having the licensee's or
permittee's alcohol license or permit revoked.
    (G)(F) For purposes of this section, the calculation of total
sales shall include sales of alcohol sold for on-premises consumption and all
food and nonalcoholic beverages sold on the premises where the alcohol is sold,
including food and nonalcoholic beverages sold by third-party vendors.
SECTION 2.  Section 61-6-4270 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
61-6-4270. (A) For violations of Articles 3, 5, 7, and 13 of this
chapter, or of Chapter 21 or 33 of Title 12, and for a violation of any
regulation pertaining to alcoholic liquors, the department may, in its
discretion, impose a monetary penalty upon the holder of a liquor license in
lieu of suspension or revocation, except as otherwise
provided in subsection (B).
        In these cases, the
amount of any penalty imposed must be determined within the limits prescribed
in this section in each case by the department after a hearing as provided in
the South Carolina Revenue Procedures Act and the Administrative Procedures Act.
For these violations:
        (1)
retail liquor licensees are subject to a penalty of not less than one hundred
dollars nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars;  and
        (2)
wholesale liquor licensees are subject to a penalty of not less than five
hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars.
        The department in
its discretion may suspend payment of a fine or a monetary penalty imposed
under this section.
    (B) Notwithstanding the penalties
provided above, any licensee holding a license pursuant to this chapter, or a
servant, agent, or employee of such a license holder who knowingly violates
Section 61-6-1500(A)(1), Section 61-6-2220, or Section 61-6-2230, must be
punished:
       (1) for a first offense, by a fine
administered by the department in the amount of two thousand five hundred
dollars;
       (2) for a second offense committed
within two years of the commission of the first offense, by having the
licensee's alcohol license suspended for up to fourteen days, as determined by
the department; and
       (3) for a third offense committed
within three years of the commission of the first offense, by having the
licensee's alcohol license revoked.
    (C) If the department
imposes a monetary penalty under this section which is not paid or a contested
case hearing requested within thirty days after demand by the department, the
license or licenses may be suspended or revoked by the department.
    (D) Penalties provided
for in this section by the department are in
addition to any fines and penalties imposed upon the licensees by any court of
competent jurisdiction for violation of the laws of this State.
    (E) Penalties provided
for in this section must be paid to the State Treasurer for credit to the
general fund of the State for public school use.
SECTION 3.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
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This web page was last updated on May 13, 2026 at 10:30 AM