South Carolina § 16-17-504 - Implementation; local laws.

§ 16-17-504. Implementation; local laws.

(A) Sections 16-17-500, 16-17-502, 16-17-503, and 16-17-506 must be enforced to ensure the eligibility for and receipt of federal funds or grants the State receives or may receive relating to the sections. Any laws, ordinances, or rules enacted pertaining to tobacco products may not supersede state law or regulation. Nothing in this section affects the right of any person having ownership or otherwise controlling private property to allow or prohibit the use of tobacco products on the property.

(B) Smoking ordinances in effect before the effective date of this act are exempt from the requirements of subsection (A).

HISTORY: 1996 Act No. 445, SECTION 2; 2013 Act No. 35, SECTION 5, eff June 7, 2013; 2023 Act No. 38 (H.3681), SECTION 9, eff August 14, 2023.

Editor's Note

2023 Act No. 38, SECTIONS 1, 3 to 4, and 13, provide as follows:

"SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the 'Omnibus Tobacco Enforcement Act of 2023'."

"SECTION 3. Laws, ordinances, or rules enacted by political subdivisions of this State prior to December 31, 2020, pertaining to ingredients, flavors, or licensing, related to the sale of cigarettes, electronic smoking devices, e-liquid, vapor products, tobacco products, or any other products containing nicotine that can be ingested into the body by chewing, smoking, absorbing, dissolving, inhaling, or by any means, and municipal code amendments to said laws, ordinances, or rules, are exempt from the preemption imposed by this act. Nothing in this act shall be construed to interfere with a political subdivision's authority to determine its own public-use policies relating to any of the products referenced in this act.

"SECTION 4. Nothing in this act shall be construed to interfere with a political subdivision's authority under Chapter 29, Title 6, including, without limitation, with respect to land use regulation, land development regulation, zoning, or permitting."

"SECTION 13. This act takes effect ninety days after approval by the Governor except SECTION 2, SECTION 3, and SECTION 4 which take effect upon approval by the Governor."

Effect of Amendment

2023 Act No. 38, SECTION 9, in (A), in the first sentence, substituted "16-17-503, and 16-17-506 must be" for "and 16-17-503 must be implemented in an equitable and uniform manner throughout the State and", and in the second and third sentences, deleted "or alternative nicotine products" following "tobacco products".