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2025-2026 Bill 4188: Coroners, disposition of unidentified or unclaimed remains
South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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A145, R191, H4188
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Pope, B. Newton, M.M. Smith, B.L. Cox, Brewer, Ford, Davis, Robbins, Yow and C. Mitchell
Document Path: LC-0122AHB25.docx
Introduced in the House on March 20, 2025
Introduced in the Senate on February 11, 2026
Last Amended on May 5, 2026
Currently residing in the House
Governor's Action: May 15, 2026, Signed
Summary: Coroners, disposition of unidentified or unclaimed remains
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date
Body
Action Description with journal page number
3/20/2025
House
Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 15
)
3/20/2025
House
Referred to Committee on
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
(
House Journal-page 15
)
1/28/2026
House
Member(s) request name added as sponsor: M.M.
Smith, Cox, Brewer, Ford, Davis, Robbins
2/5/2026
House
Committee report: Favorable
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
(
House Journal-page 4
)
2/10/2026
House
Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Yow, C.
Mitchell
2/10/2026
House
Read second time (
House Journal-page 20
)
2/10/2026
House
Roll call Yeas-106 Nays-0 (
House Journal-page 20
)
2/11/2026
House
Read third time and sent to Senate (
House Journal-page 13
)
2/11/2026
Senate
Introduced and read first time (
Senate Journal-page 10
)
2/11/2026
Senate
Referred to Committee on
Judiciary
(
Senate Journal-page 10
)
4/29/2026
Senate
Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Judiciary
(
Senate Journal-page 17
)
5/5/2026
Senate
Committee Amendment Adopted (
Senate Journal-page 39
)
5/5/2026
Senate
Amended (
Senate Journal-page 39
)
5/5/2026
Senate
Read second time (
Senate Journal-page 39
)
5/5/2026
Senate
Roll call Ayes-45 Nays-0 (
Senate Journal-page 39
)
5/6/2026
Senate
Read third time and returned to House with amendments (
Senate Journal-page 82
)
5/12/2026
House
Debate adjourned (
House Journal-page 103
)
5/13/2026
House
Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled (
House Journal-page 67
)
5/13/2026
House
Roll call Yeas-114 Nays-0 (
House Journal-page 68
)
5/14/2026
Ratified R 191
5/15/2026
Signed By Governor
5/26/2026
Effective date 05/15/26
5/26/2026
Act No. 145
View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
03/20/2025
02/05/2026
04/29/2026
05/05/2026
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
(A145, R191, H4188)
AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 17-5-590, RELATING TO DISPOSITION OF REMAINS OF UNIDENTIFIABLE DEAD BODIES BY CORONERS, SO AS TO PROVIDE CIRCUMSTANCES FOR WHEN A BODY IS UNIDENTIFIABLE AND WHEN A BODY IS UNCLAIMED, AND TO AUTHORIZE CORONERS TO CREMATE SUCH REMAINS THIRTY DAYS FROM THE DATE OF DISCOVERY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Coroners, disposition of unidentifiable or unclaimed remains
SECTION 1. Section
17-5-590
of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
Section
17-5-590
. (A) For purposes of this section:
(1) a body is unidentifiable if the dead person's identity is unknown or cannot be established after all available methods have been exhausted; and
(2) a body is unclaimed if:
(a) a person cannot be located to take custody of the body; or
(b) there is a person to take custody of the body, but that person cannot or will not assume financial responsibility for disposition of the body.
(B) If the body of a dead person is unidentifiable or unclaimed, the remains may be cremated thirty days from the date of death or date of discovery. The coroner or medical examiner may have the remains buried or interred in a cemetery in the county in which the remains were found.
(C) If a coroner has possession of human remains that have been identified and the deceased person has been determined to be an unclaimed veteran, then the coroner must release the remains to a funeral home, funeral establishment, or mortuary for disposition pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 12, Title 25.
Time effective
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Ratified the 14th day of May, 2026.
Approved the 15th day of May, 2026.
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This web page was last updated on
June 11, 2026 at 3:18 PM