Video Surveillance

2025-2026 Bill 4675: Video Surveillance - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 4675
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Kilmartin, Chumley, Edgerton and Magnuson
Document Path: LC-0383CM26.docx
Introduced in the House on January 13, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Judiciary
Summary: Video Surveillance
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

12/16/2025

House

Prefiled

12/16/2025

House

Referred to Committee on
Judiciary

1/13/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 53
)

1/13/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Judiciary
(
House Journal-page 53
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
12/17/2025

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE
"SOUTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY DATA PROTECTION AND RESPONSIBLE SURVEILLANCE ACT" SO
AS TO PROVIDE NO STATE OR LOCAL ENTITY MAY PARTICIPATE IN ANY SURVEILLANCE
SYSTEM THAT STORES SURVEILLANCE DATA ON THIRD PARTY SERVERS OR USE ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE OR AUTOMATED SYSTEMS to TRACK VEHICLES UNDER CERTAIN
CIRCUMSTANCES, TO PROVIDE FOR SURVEILLANCE DATA RETENTION AND STORAGE, AND
JUDICIAL OVERSIGHT, TO PROVIDE FOR THE PUBLISHING OF CERTAIN ANNUAL REPORTS, AND
TO PROVIDE PENALTIES.

W
hereas, privately
operated surveillance networks such as systems provided by Flock Safety collect
extensive vehicle data far beyond basic license plate images. These systems use
artificial intelligence to identify and track vehicles using appearance-based
characteristics including visible damage, accessories, decals, or paint designs;
and

W
hereas, because this
data is stored on private, third-party servers, South Carolina communities and
law enforcement agencies do not retain true ownership or control of the
information they rely upon, creating risks of misuse, repurposing, or
unauthorized access; and

W
hereas, incidents in
other states, including the wrongful armed detention of a Black mother and her
children in Colorado after a false automated alert, demonstrate the dangers
inherent in privatized artificial intelligence-based surveillance systems
susceptible to error or misuse; and

W
hereas, South
Carolinians are entitled to privacy, due process, and protection from
unwarranted surveillance. The State has a compelling interest in ensuring that
any data collected for public safety is safely governed, locally controlled,
and strictly limited; and

W
hereas, the General
Assembly declares it necessary to regulate the use, access, storage, and
retention of vehicle-surveillance data to protect civil liberties and community
safety. Now, therefore,

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
This act may be cited as the "The South Carolina Community Data
Protection and Responsible Surveillance Act."

S
ECTION 2.
T
itle 23 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

C
HAPTER 45

S
outh Carolina Community Data Protection and
Responsible Surveillance Act

S
ection
23-45-10
.
A
s used in this chapter:

(
A)
"Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR)" means a system that captures or
analyzes images or video of license plates, vehicles, or vehicle features for
identification.

(
B)
"Vehicle Feature Recognition" means the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or
automated software to identify vehicle characteristics other than a license
plate number, including body damage, roof racks, decals, bumper stickers, paint
patterns, or other distinguishing marks.

(
C)
"Third-Party Storage" means any storage of surveillance data on servers or
cloud platforms not solely owned, operated, and physically located within South
Carolina government facilities.

(
D)
"Surveillance Data" means any information produced or derived from ALPR
technology including images, metadata, timestamps, GPS coordinates, analytical
outputs, alerts, user queries, and search histories.

S
ection
23-45-20
.
(
A) No state or local law
enforcement agency, may use, contract for, or participate in any surveillance
system that stores surveillance data on third-party servers.

(
B)
All surveillance data collected within South Carolina must be stored
exclusively on secured servers physically located within the State and entirely
owned and controlled by South Carolina governmental entities.

(
C)
Any contract or agreement contrary to this section is void as against public
policy.

S
ection
23-45-30
.
(
A) No State or local law
enforcement agency may use AI or automated systems that identify, or track
vehicles based on appearance, characteristics, or features other than license
plates.

(
B)
ALPR systems operating in South Carolina may analyze only license plate
characters and essential contextual data which includes time, date, and
location.

(
C)
The use of software to identify or track vehicles based on dents, decals,
custom paint, personal accessories, or similar appearance-based traits is
prohibited.

S
ection
23-45-40
.
(
A) Surveillance data may
be retained for no longer than twenty-one days.

(
B)
Automatic deletion must occur at the end of the twenty-one-day period unless
the data is tied to an active criminal investigation supported by a valid court
order.

(
C)
Data retained under a court order must be deleted once the investigation closes
or the order expires.

(
D)
Indefinite, bulk, or archival storage of surveillance data is prohibited.

S
ection
23-45-50
.
(
A) Law enforcement
agencies may not access, retrieve, or search surveillance data without
obtaining a search warrant supported by probable cause. Warrants must describe
the specific data sought and investigative purpose. Blanket, exploratory, or
generalized access to surveillance data is prohibited.

(
B) Law
enforcement agencies may access data without a warrant only when:

(
1)
there is an imminent threat to life or serious bodily harm, and

(
2)
a warrant cannot reasonably be obtained in time.

(
C)
Emergency access must be documented in writing within twenty-four hours and
submitted to a judge for review. If the judge finds it unjustified, the data
must be deleted and cannot be used in any investigation or proceeding.

(
D)
Access to surveillance data shall be restricted to specially designated and
trained personnel. Law enforcement officers may not access historical
surveillance data directly. Supervisory approval is required for each inquiry.

(
E)
Every access or search of surveillance data must be automatically logged with
the:

(
1)
identity of the accessing user;

(
2)
date and time;

(
3)
purpose for access; and

(
4)
case number or warrant number.

(
F)
The logs must be retained for a minimum of five years and made available for
independent audit.

(
G)
The South Carolina Inspector General shall appoint independent auditors to
conduct quarterly compliance audits of every law enforcement agency using ALPR
technology. Audit findings must assess compliance with warrant rules, retention
limits, and access controls. Summaries of audit results must be published
publicly.

(
H)
Surveillance data may be used only for specific criminal investigations. Data
may not be used for civil enforcement, traffic enforcement, code enforcement,
immigration checks, or generalized intelligence gathering.

(
I)
Any law enforcement agency that accesses or uses surveillance data without
lawful authorization is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be
sentenced to not more than one year in prison, and fined not more than five
thousand dollars.

(
J)
Surveillance data obtained in violation of this chapter is inadmissible in any
criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding.

S
ection
23-45-60
.
(
A) Law enforcement
agencies operating ALPR systems must publish an annual transparency report that
includes:

(
1)
the total number of scans collected;

(
2)
the number of alerts generated,

(
3)
the number of investigations in which ALPR data was used; and

(
4)
copies of all vendor contracts or agreements.

(
B)
Reports must protect ongoing investigations but must enable meaningful public
oversight.

S
ection
23-45-70
.
(
A) Any law enforcement agency
or official knowingly violating the provisions of this chapter is subject to
administrative penalties, civil liability, contract termination, and other
remedies as provided by law.

(
B)
Any South Carolina resident whose data is unlawfully accessed, retained, or
shared may bring a civil action for injunctive relief, damages, and attorney's
fees.

S
ECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on January 13, 2026 at 2:38 PM