A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 23-23-45, RELATING TO 911 TELECOMMUNICATORS TRAINING, SO AS TO REQUIRE TELECOMMUNICATORS MUST COMPLETE SUCCESSFULLY ANNUAL WELLNESS EXAMINATIONS; BY ADDING SECTION 23-9-200 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL SHALL REQUIRE ALL FIREFIGHTERS COMPLETE SUCCESSFULLY ANNUAL WELLNESS EXAMINATIONS; BY AMENDING SECTION 44-61-80, RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATES, SO AS TO REQUIRE EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS COMPLETE SUCCESSFULLY ANNUAL WELLNESS EXAMINATIONS; AND BY ADDING SECTION 23-23-57 SO AS TO PROVIDE ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS MUST COMPLETE SUCCESSFULLY ANNUAL WELLNESS EXAMINATIONS.
Summary
H4399 would require annual wellness examinations for several categories of public safety and emergency personnel in South Carolina. The bill amends the state’s 911 telecommunicator training law to add a wellness-exam requirement for telecommunicators who dispatch emergency medical calls, while also preserving the existing annual training requirement in high-quality telephone CPR (T-CPR) and cardiac-arrest recognition. It also adds a new section directing the State Fire Marshal to require annual wellness examinations for firefighters.
In addition, the bill amends the emergency medical technician certification statute so that EMTs must successfully complete annual wellness examinations, and it creates a new provision requiring all law enforcement officers to do the same. The bill takes effect upon approval by the Governor, meaning the new requirements would become part of state law immediately once enacted.
Impact
The bill would expand state law by imposing a recurring wellness-examination mandate on 911 telecommunicators, firefighters, EMTs, and law enforcement officers. It would place responsibility on the relevant state agencies and oversight bodies—the employing agencies for telecommunicators, the State Fire Marshal for firefighters, and the Department overseeing EMT certification—to ensure compliance with the new annual requirement. The measure does not appear to create a detailed statewide testing standard in the text, but it clearly adds a new occupational health obligation to existing training and certification frameworks.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee debate, votes, or recorded opposition, so there is no documented split in sentiment. Based on the bill’s subject matter, it appears to be a public-safety and workforce-wellness measure intended to support first responders and emergency personnel. The absence of recorded controversy suggests the proposal was either noncontroversial or not yet fully debated in the available materials.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided committee transcripts or voting history, because none are available. Potential areas of concern, if raised in later debate, could include the cost and logistics of administering annual wellness examinations, who pays for them, what qualifies as a successful examination, and how agencies would handle employees who do not pass. The bill text itself leaves those implementation details largely to the responsible agencies.