Fentanyl

2025-2026 Bill 5136: Fentanyl - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 5136
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. Pope
Document Path: LC-0405VR26.docx
Introduced in the House on February 10, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
Summary: Fentanyl
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

2/10/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 9
)

2/10/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
(
House Journal-page 9
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
02/10/2026

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION
44-63-74
, RELATING TO MEDICAL
CERTIFICATIONS ON DEATH CERTIFICATES, SO AS TO LIST FENTANYL POISONING AS THE
CAUSE OF DEATH IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

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

S
ECTION 1.
S
ection
44-63-74
(A)(3) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:

(
3)
(
a)
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.

(
b) The medical certification on a
death certificate must include either the term "Fentanyl Poisoning" or the term
"Fentanyl Toxicity" as the cause of death if:

(
i) a toxicology examination reveals a
fentanyl-related controlled substance, including any fentanyl-related
controlled substance listed in Section
44-53-190
, present in the body of the
decedent in an amount or concentration that is considered to be lethal by
generally accepted scientific standards; and

(
ii) the results of an autopsy
performed on the decedent are consistent with an opioid overdose as the cause
of death.

S
ECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on February 10, 2026 at 1:38 PM