South Carolina Senate advances measure for tougher DUI laws

South Carolina Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, speaks in favor of a bill that would limit the land holdings of foreign adversaries in the state on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

(WCIV) — South Carolina’s Senate on Wednesday advanced a measure aiming to overhaul the state’s laws against driving under the influence, a legislative priority leaders fast-tracked at the start of this session.

The 45-0 vote marked a rare moment of bipartisan unity in the Statehouse on a bill that adds penalties when an intoxicated driver injures – rather than kills – someone to the point of losing consciousness or requiring anesthesia for treatment. The measure also stiffens punishments, removes provisions that have led to charges being dismissed over videotaping issues, and encourages drivers to submit to breath and blood tests.

“We’re really coming down harder on repeat offenders,” Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey told the South Carolina Daily Gazette. “And we are making it more uncomfortable even for the first offense.”

DRUNK DRIVING REMAINS A PERSISTENT PROBLEM

Drunk driving has remained a concern in South Carolina’s coastal cities.

Within Charleston, from 2023 to 2024, city police saw a 31% increase in DUI arrests, according to the most recent city data.

Notably, in 2024, Jamie Lee Komoroski was sentenced to 25 years for felony DUI resulting in death, after she struck Samantha Miller while driving drunk.

And in more recent development, Seth Alan Gilbert Carlson and Max Gentilin are charged with felony driving under the influence resulting in death after allegedly running over Arianna Gamber and Lizzy Zito in April 2024.

It is a familiar reality statewide.

South Carolina has one of the nation’s highest drunk driving fatality rates, according to a 2024 report from the Mothers Against Drunk Driving state chapter. In 2022, South Carolina had 474 drunk driving fatalities, marking the 5th highest total in the nation, and 72% higher than in 2019.

The data shows that for Berkeley County, 33% of 608 cases ended with a guilty conviction for DUI. In Charleston County, 42% of 1,339 cases ended the same way.

The organization, on Wednesday, applauded the state Senate taking a step forward on new DUI legislation.

“The shared message was clear: impaired driving has no place in South Carolina,” the organization said on social media.

FACING HARSHER PENALTIES?

Under the new proposal, DUI cases would be handled by prosecutors – even the lowest-level cases.

The state legislature can’t mandate breathalyzer or blood testing for DUI suspects, but they aim to make individuals face steeper penalties if they are convicted once their case makes its way through the legal system.

People who refuse the tests would face a one- to four-year suspension of their driver’s license, depending on how many times they’ve previously been convicted. That is up from six to 15 months under current laws.

“Right now, almost half of all DUI arrests result in a refusal,” Massey said, according to the SC Daily Gazette. “So we have to change that penalty structure to encourage people to take the test.”