S 894

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 894
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
S. 894
Introduced
by Senator Alexander
S. Printed 5/12/26--H.
Read the first time April 1, 2026
________
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING
SECTION 44-63-74, RELATING TO THE ELECTRONIC FILING AND TRANSMISSION OF DEATH
CERTIFICATES, SO AS TO ALLOW FOR A DEATH CERTIFICATE TO BE FILED ON THE NEXT
BUSINESS DAY FOLLOWING THE WEEKEND OR A HOLIDAY.
    Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  Section 44-63-74 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
44-63-74.  (A)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, death certificates must be electronically filed with the Bureau of
Vital Statistics as prescribed by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics
within five days after a Burial Removal Transit Permit
(BRTP) is issued or upon the funeral director assuming the physical in-person
custody of the decedent, whichever is later, unless the funeral director, after
a good faith effort, is unable to collect the personal data of the decedent
required in subsection (A)(2), in which case the funeral director must
immediately inform the bureau of the reason for the delay. In the event that a
five-day period terminates on a weekend or a federal or state holiday, then the
death certificate must be electronically filed at the end of the next business
day.death.  As prescribed by law, the Bureau
of Vital Statistics shall notify the State Election Commission of the
decedent's death who shall subsequently notify the County Board of Voter
Registration and Elections in which the decedent was a resident of the
decedent's death for purposes of removing the decedent from the voter roll.
       (2)
The funeral director or other person acting as the funeral director who first
assumes custody of a dead body shall file a death certificate. He also shall
obtain:
  (a)
the personal data of the decedent from the next of kin or the best qualified
person or source available;  and
  (b)
the medical certification of cause of death as provided in department
regulations.
       (3)
Medical certifications of cause of death must be completed and returned to the
funeral home director within forty-eight hours after receipt of notice of the
death by the physician in charge of the patient's care for the illness or
condition which resulted in death, except when an inquiry is required by a
coroner or medical examiner. If the cause of death cannot be determined within
forty-eight hours after death, the medical certification must be entered as
pending, and the physician, medical examiner, or coroner shall submit a
supplemental report to the state registrar on a form furnished by or approved
by him as soon as practicable. The supplemental report shall be made a part of
the death certificate. If the forty-eight hour period terminates on a weekend,
federal holiday, or state holiday, the physician must file the certification by
the end of the next business day. In the absence of this physician or with his
approval, the certificate may be completed by his associate physician, the
chief medical officer of the institution in which the death occurred, or by the
pathologist who performed an autopsy upon the decedent.
       (4)
Death certificates must be transmitted electronically between the funeral home,
or funeral home director, and the physician, coroner, or medical examiner
certifying the cause of death in order to document the death certificate
information prescribed by this chapter.  Required signatures on death
certificates must be provided by electronic signature.  An individual who acts,
without compensation, as a funeral director on behalf of a deceased family
member or friend, is exempt from the requirement to file electronically but
must comply with the requirements of items (2) or (3), as applicable.
       (5)(a) A physician who fails to certify
the cause of death within forty-eight hours, without good cause shown, may be
assessed an administrative penalty for violating item (3). The department shall
notify the Board of Medical Examiners if a penalty is assessed. Each day after
the initial forty-eight hour period shall constitute an additional violation.
  (b)
A funeral home or funeral director who fails to file a death certificate or
collect data or collect medical certification of cause of death as required in
items (1), (2), or both, without good cause shown, may be assessed an
administrative penalty for violating the respective item. However, the
department must not assess a penalty against a funeral home or funeral director
for the delay or inability to collect personal data of the decedent pursuant to
item (2)(a). The department shall notify the Board of Funeral Services if a
penalty is assessed. Each day after the initial five day period in item (1)
shall constitute an additional violation of that item.
  (c)
A physician, funeral director, or funeral home that is required to file
electronically pursuant to item (4) but who fails to file accordingly may be
assessed an administrative penalty for violating item (4).
  (d)
The administrative penalties are:
  (i)
two hundred fifty dollars for a first violation or a warning letter;
  (ii) five hundred dollars for a second
violation;  and
  (iii) one thousand dollars for a
third or subsequent violation.
  (e)
The department shall retain any administrative penalties collected pursuant to
this subsection and must allocate all of these funds to the Bureau of Vital
Statistics for its use.
    (B)
For purposes of this section, an electronic signature shall be as defined
pursuant to the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, Chapter 6, Title 26.
SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
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This web page was last updated on May 12, 2026 at 05:14 PM