Physician Noncompete Contract Prohibition

2025-2026 Bill 4767: Physician Noncompete Contract Prohibition - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 4767
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Davis, Chumley, Sessions, Oremus, Bustos, Landing, White, Wooten, Gagnon, Lawson, Guffey, Beach, Long, B.L. Cox, Rutherford, McCravy, Bowers, Wickensimer, Willis, Haddon, Bauer, Rankin, Burns, Rose, Vaughan, Duncan, Robbins, Brewer and D. Mitchell
Document Path: LC-0566WAB26.docx
Introduced in the House on January 13, 2026
Introduced in the Senate on March 26, 2026
Currently residing in the Senate
Summary: Physician Noncompete Contract Prohibition
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
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs

1/13/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 85
)

1/13/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
(
House Journal-page 85
)

1/14/2026

House

Member(s) request name added as sponsor:
Sessions, Oremus, B. Newton, Bustos, Landing

1/20/2026

House

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: White

2/4/2026

House

Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: B. Newton

2/5/2026

House

Committee report: Favorable
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
(
House Journal-page 3
)

2/10/2026

Scrivener's error corrected

2/11/2026

House

Requests for debate-Rep(s). Hewitt, Hiott,
Forrest, Ligon, Lawson, Gibson, McCravy, Taylor,
Oremus, Davis, Kirby, Anderson, King, Bauer,
Brittain, McDaniel, Guest, Crawford, Hardee (
House Journal-page 15
)

2/11/2026

House

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Wooten,
Gagnon, Lawson, Guffey, Beach, Long, Cox,
Rutherford, McCravy, Bowers, Wickensimer,
Willis, Haddon

2/12/2026

House

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Bauer

2/18/2026

House

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Rankin,
Burns, Rose, Vaughan

2/18/2026

House

Debate adjourned (
House Journal-page 24
)

2/24/2026

House

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Duncan

2/25/2026

House

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Robbins,
Brewer

2/25/2026

House

Debate adjourned until Thurs., 2-26-26 (
House Journal-page 30
)

3/4/2026

House

Debate adjourned until Tues., 3-24-26 (
House Journal-page 24
)

3/4/2026

House

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: D. Mitchell

3/24/2026

House

Debate adjourned (
House Journal-page 56
)

3/25/2026

House

Read second time (
House Journal-page 56
)

3/25/2026

House

Roll call Yeas-65 Nays-50 (
House Journal-page 62
)

3/26/2026

House

Read third time and sent to Senate (
House Journal-page 64
)

3/26/2026

House

Roll call Yeas-58 Nays-53 (
House Journal-page 64
)

3/26/2026

Senate

Introduced and read first time (
Senate Journal-page 13
)

3/26/2026

Senate

Referred to Committee on
Labor, Commerce and Industry
(
Senate Journal-page 13
)

5/5/2026

Senate

Committee report: Favorable
Labor, Commerce and Industry

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
12/17/2025
02/05/2026
02/10/2026
05/05/2026

Committee Report

May 5, 2026

H. 4767

Introduced by Reps. Davis, Chumley, Sessions,
Oremus, Bustos, Landing, White, Wooten, Gagnon, Lawson, Guffey, Beach, Long,
Cox, Rutherford, McCravy, Bowers, Wickensimer, Willis, Haddon, Bauer, Rankin,
Burns, Rose, Vaughan, Duncan, Robbins, Brewer and D. Mitchell

S. Printed 5/5/26--S.

Read the first time March 26, 2026

________

The committee on Senate Labor,
Commerce and Industry

To whom was referred a Bill (H. 4767) to amend
the South Carolina Code of Laws by adding Chapter 9 to Title 41 so as to
prohibit noncompete clauses in physician contracts, to protect patient freedom,
etc., respectfully

Report:

That they have duly and carefully considered
the same, and recommend that the same do pass:

THOMAS DAVIS for Committee.

_______

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE of laws BY ADDING CHAPTER
9 TO TITLE 41 SO AS TO PROHIBIT NONCOMPETE CLAUSES IN PHYSICIAN CONTRACTS, TO
PROTECT PATIENT FREEDOM OF CHOICE, TO DEFINE IMPERMISSIBLE RESTRICTIONS ON
PHYSICIAN PRACTICE, TO ALLOW CERTAIN RECOUPMENT OF EXPENSES AND PROTECTION OF
LEGITIMATE BUSINESS INTERESTS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR APPLICABILITY.

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

S
ECTION 1.
This act may be cited as the "Physician Noncompete Contract Prohibition
Act."

S
ECTION 2.
T
itle 41 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

C
HAPTER 9

P
hysician Noncompete Contract Prohibition

S
ection
41-9-110
. Contracts with physicians containing noncompete clauses are
considered interference with the establishment or maintenance of a patient's
choice of physician and are against the public policy of the State of South
Carolina.

S
ection
41-9-120
.
(
A) A physician licensed
to practice medicine pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 47, Title 40 has a
direct, personal, and individual duty and responsibility to his patients,
regardless of his form of practice or employment.

(
B)
Impermissible, unenforceable, and void restrictions under subsection (A) are:

(
1)
any restriction on the ability of a physician to practice medicine in any
geographic area for any period of time after the termination of such
partnership, employment, or professional relationship;

(
2)
any restriction on the ability of a physician to continue to provide treatment,
advise, or consult with any current patient at the patient's request, after the
termination of such partnership, employment, or professional relationship;

(
3)
any restriction on the right of a physician to establish a physician-patient
relationship with any patient, at that patient's request, upon his departure
from the partnership, employer, or other entity. No partnership, employer, or
other entity has a responsibility to assist a physician that has departed with
the establishment of a physician-patient relationship; and

(
4)
any restriction on the obligation of a physician as determined by the Board of
Medical Examiners, including the withholding of information, to notify patients
of his or her departure from such partnership, employment, or professional
relationship, including how the patient can obtain his medical record, and how
to seek continued treatment from the physician, if the patient chooses. The
partnership, employer, or other professional entity may specify in the written
contract or agreement that it will undertake this notification on behalf of the
physician. If the physician requests notification to his or her patients, the
notification will be given as soon as possible. Notification must be given by
the later of:

(
a)
thirty days after the physician's departure; or

(
b)
thirty days after the physician provides the new practice information in
writing to the partnership, employer, or other professional organization.

S
ection
41-9-130
.
(
A) Nothing in this
chapter may be construed to prevent a partnership, employer, or other entity
from requiring a departing physician who has worked for the partnership,
employer, or other entity for less than three years to repay all or a portion
of the actual costs of the following if the specific items and actual value of
each item the partnership, employer, or other entity may seek in repayment are
outlined and agreed to within the written agreement at the time of signing:

(
1)
relocation expenses;

(
2)
signing and retention bonus;

(
3)
other renumeration to induce the physician to relocate or establish a
healthcare practice in a specified geographic area, or recruiting, education or
training expenses.

(
B)
Nothing in this chapter may be construed to prevent a partnership, employer, or
other entity from requiring a departing physician who has worked for the
partnership, employer, or other entity from having to repay a retention bonus
as long as the repayment period does not exceed two years from the date of
signing.

(
C)
Nothing in this chapter may be construed to prevent a partnership, employer, or
other entity from protecting other recognizable business interests such as:

(
1)
trade secrets as defined in Section
39-8-20
(5); and

(
2)
confidential information such as compensation, management and marketing plans,
pricing, business strategies, software, code, forms that may not otherwise
qualify as trade secrets but are treated as confidential by the entity,
business models and data, manuals, financial and investment information, and
commercial relationships with specific vendors.

S
ection
41-9-140
. The requirements of this chapter apply to contracts or renewals of
contracts entered into on or after the effective date of this chapter.

S
ECTION 3. If any section, subsection,
paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for
any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not
affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act,
the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and
each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause,
phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other
sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases,
or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise
ineffective.

S
ECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on May 5, 2026 at 9:42 PM