Litter control officers

2025-2026 Bill 957: Litter control officers - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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S. 957
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Gambrell and Grooms
Document Path: LC-0453DG26.docx
Introduced in the Senate on February 25, 2026
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on
Judiciary
Summary: Litter control officers
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

2/25/2026

Senate

Introduced and read first time (
Senate Journal-page 7
)

2/25/2026

Senate

Referred to Committee on
Judiciary
(
Senate Journal-page 7
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
02/25/2026

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING
SECTION
4-9-145
, RELATING TO LITTER CONTROL OFFICERS, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE LITTER
CONTROL AND CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS TO REQUEST ACCESS TO A BLIGHTED PROPERTY,
AND TO ESTABLISH PROCEDURES FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A SEARCH WARRANT WHEN SUCH
ACCESS IS DENIED.

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

S
ECTION 1.
S
ection
4-9-145
of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

S
ection
4-9-145
.
(
A) Except as provided in
subsection (B), the governing body of a county may appoint and commission as
many code enforcement officers as may be necessary for the proper security,
general welfare, and convenience of the county. These officers are vested with
all the powers and duties conferred by law upon constables in addition to
duties imposed upon them by the governing body of the county. However, no code
enforcement officer commissioned under this section may perform a custodial
arrest, except as provided in subsection (B). These code enforcement officers
must exercise their powers on all private and public property within the
county. The governing body of the county may limit the scope of a code
enforcement officer's authority or the geographic area for which he is
authorized to exercise the authority granted.

(
B)
(
1) The number of litter control
officers vested with custodial arrest authority who are appointed and
commissioned pursuant to subsection (A) must not exceed the greater of:

(
a)
the number of officers appointed and commissioned by the county on July 1,
2001; or

(
b)
one officer for every twenty-five thousand persons in the county, based upon
the most recent census. Each county may appoint and commission at least one
officer, without regard to the population of the county.

(
2)
(
a) A litter control officer appointed
and commissioned pursuant to subsection (A) may exercise the power of arrest
with respect to his primary duties of enforcement of litter control laws and
ordinances and other state and local laws and ordinances as may arise
incidental to the enforcement of his primary duties only if the officer has
been certified as a law enforcement officer pursuant to Chapter 23, Title 23.

(
b)
In the absence of an arrest for a violation of the litter control laws and
ordinances, a litter control officer authorized to exercise the power of arrest
pursuant to subitem (a) may not stop a person or make an incidental arrest of a
person for a violation of other state and local laws and ordinances.

(
3)
For purposes of this section, the phrase "litter control officer" means a code
enforcement officer authorized to enforce litter control laws and ordinances
who has completed the required training and has been certified
as provided for in subsection (B)(2)(a)
.

(
C)
When real property comes
under the jurisdiction of any litter statute, regulation, or local ordinance as
the result of such property acting as a nuisance, junkyard, or when the
property has become blighted with solid waste visible from a public roadway or
private easement, a law enforcement officer, litter control officer, or code
enforcement officer, upon proper presentation of credentials to the property
owner, manager, or agent of the property owner, shall enter at reasonable times
and have the right to question either publicly or privately any such property
owner, manager, or agent. A law enforcement officer or code enforcement officer
may inspect, investigate, photograph, copy books or financial records, and
sample all pertinent places during regular working hours and at other
reasonable times, and within reasonable limits, and in a reasonable manner.

(D) If an officer is denied admission for purposes of
inspection, the officer may seek a search warrant as follows:

(
1) Any circuit judge or magistrate
having jurisdiction where the inspection and investigation is to be conducted
is empowered to issue administrative warrants upon proper showing of the need
for such entry. Such inspection and investigation may include interviewing of
property owners, photographing, sampling, copying of books and financial
records, and such other tests and acts as are necessary to carry out the
purposes of the inspection and investigation.

(
2) A search warrant must be issued upon
an affidavit of an officer having knowledge of the facts alleged, sworn to
before the circuit judge or magistrate establishing the grounds for issuing the
warrant and certifying that the request for permission to conduct the
inspection has been made to the property owner who refused or was unable to be
reached after reasonable attempts have been made. If the circuit judge or
magistrate is satisfied that grounds for the application exist, he shall issue
a warrant identifying the area, premises, building, real property, or personal
property to be inspected, the purpose of such inspection, and, where
appropriate, the type of property to be inspected. The search warrant must be
directed to a law enforcement or code enforcement officer and it must state the
grounds for issuance with the supporting affidavit being made a part thereof.
It shall command the person to whom it is directed to inspect the area,
premises, building, real property, or personal property identified for the
purpose specified. The warrant must require that it be executed at a reasonable
time and designate the circuit judge or magistrate to whom it must be returned.

(
3) A search warrant issued pursuant to
this subsection must be served within ten days and returned within thirty days
of the date it was issued. The circuit judge or magistrate who has issued a
warrant under this subsection must attach to the warrant a copy of the return
and all papers filed in connection with the warrant and must file them with the
court that issued the warrant.

(
4) Any circuit judge or magistrate
authorized to issue warrants pursuant to this subsection must keep a record
along with a copy of the return warrant and the supporting affidavit and
documents thereof for a period of three years from date the warrant was issued.

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

----XX----

This web page was last updated on February 25, 2026 at 2:40 PM