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H 3145

Collection of motor vehicle stop data

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Todd Rutherford

Requires state/local police to collect and electronically submit motor-vehicle stop data (driver age, gender, race/ethnicity) into a DPS database, with biennial legislative review.

Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works
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Bill Summary · H 3145

Bill title (as provided): Collection of motor vehicle stop data
Bill number / source: H 3145 (document contains material from a South Carolina amendment to S.C. Code §56‑5‑6560)
Status / procedural notes (from provided record): Prefiled 12/05/2024; introduced 01/14/2025; referred to Committee on Education and Public Works; hearing scheduled 09/29/2025. (Record also contains other entries that appear to relate to a different bill text — see “Notes & ambiguities” below.)

Summary

Purpose

Require systematic collection, storage, and legislative review of data from all motor‑vehicle stops by state and local law‑enforcement officers to include the driver’s age, gender, and race/ethnicity. The bill expands the universe of stops covered and establishes departmental and legislative procedures for data management and oversight.

Key provisions

  • Data collection requirement (amends S.C. Code §56‑5‑6560(A)):

    • Every time a motor vehicle is stopped by a state or local law‑enforcement officer — whether or not a citation is issued or an arrest is made — the initiating officer must complete a data‑collection form designed by the Department of Public Safety (DPS).
    • The form must include, at minimum, information on the driver’s age, gender, and race or ethnicity.
    • Data may be gathered and transmitted electronically under DPS supervision.
    • DPS must develop and maintain a database to store the collected information and promulgate rules/regulations governing collection and submission.

  • Legislative review and reporting (amends S.C. Code §56‑5‑6560(D)):

    • The Senate Transportation Committee and the House Education and Public Works Committee must review the section biennially beginning in 2025.
    • Committees are required to hold hearings, consider the submitted data, take testimony, and produce a complete report with recommended changes (if any). If reports arrive while the legislature is not in session, hearings are to occur in the next session.

  • Effective date:

    • The act takes effect upon approval by the Governor (per the provided text).

Who would be affected

  • State and local law‑enforcement officers: new or clarified reporting duties for every traffic stop.
  • Department of Public Safety (or equivalent): responsibility to design forms, operate the database, and issue implementation rules.
  • Drivers and the general public: inclusion of demographic attributes in official records of stops.
  • Legislative oversight committees: ongoing responsibility to review data, hold hearings, and report recommendations.
  • Local governments/agencies: likely training, IT, and administrative costs for compliance.

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Transparency and oversight: standardized data could help identify patterns or disparities in stops (e.g., by race/ethnicity or age).
  • Administrative and fiscal: agencies will incur costs to implement electronic reporting systems, train officers, and maintain data stores; smaller departments may need technical assistance.
  • Privacy and data management: collection and storage of demographic and stop data raises privacy, retention, access, and security policy questions; DPS rules will be critical.
  • Legal and community effects: availability of stop data could inform policymaking, civil‑rights investigations, and community‑police reforms; it may also prompt concerns about profiling or misuse of data.

Timeline & next steps

  • According to the provided record: prefiled 12/05/2024; introduced 01/14/2025; referred to Committee on Education and Public Works; hearing scheduled for 09/29/2025. Final enactment would occur upon the Governor’s approval.

Notes & ambiguities

  • The documents provided contain two distinct legislative texts in one file: the South Carolina motor‑vehicle‑stop data amendment summarized above, and a separate Massachusetts bill (H.3145) concerning gradual elimination of an inventory tax. This summary focuses only on the motor‑vehicle‑stop data provisions (S.C. §56‑5‑6560). If you intended the inventory‑tax bill (Massachusetts) or want a side‑by‑side comparison of both texts, tell me which to summarize or analyze next.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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