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H 3059

Unlawful Tracking

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Todd Rutherford

Outlaws placing or using a tracking device on a motor vehicle without owner consent, with penalties up to $500 or 1 year, but lists specific excepted uses.

Referred to Committee on Judiciary
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Bill Summary · H 3059

Summary — H 3059: "Unlawful Tracking"

Note: The provided bill text bundle contains material from two distinct proposals (a South Carolina "Unlawful Tracking" bill and an unrelated Massachusetts estate tax bill). The summary below isolates and describes the Unlawful Tracking measure (the text adding Section 16‑17‑485), which matches the title and most substantive content you provided.

Purpose

To create a criminal offense for installing or using electronic tracking devices to monitor the location of a motor vehicle without the knowledge and consent of the vehicle owner or authorized operator, and to set penalties and specified exceptions.

Key provisions

  • Adds Section 16‑17‑485 to Title 16, Chapter 17, Article 7 of the South Carolina Code.
  • Defines key terms:
    • "Motor vehicle": as defined in Section 56‑1‑10 (state motor vehicle definition).
    • "Tracking device": any electronic device (including GPS devices) designed or intended to track the location of a motor vehicle, regardless of whether the information is recorded.
  • Prohibited conduct:
    • It is unlawful for any person — including law enforcement officers, employees of law enforcement agencies, security personnel, or private investigators — to:
    • Install or place, or cause to be installed or placed, a tracking device on or in a motor vehicle without the knowledge and consent of the vehicle owner (or lessee, if leased); and
    • Track the location of a motor vehicle with a tracking device without the knowledge and consent of either the owner or the authorized operator.
  • Penalty:
    • Violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500 or imprisonment up to one year upon conviction.
  • Exceptions (circumstances where the prohibition does not apply):
    1. Devices that provide operational/directional/navigation/weather/traffic information to the vehicle operator.
    2. Devices that provide emergency assistance under a subscription service.
    3. Devices that provide missing vehicle assistance for the vehicle owner/operator.
    4. Devices that provide diagnostic services about the vehicle’s mechanical operation under a subscription service.
    5. When the lessee has signed written notice from the lessor that the vehicle may be tracked.
    6. Use by a parent or legal guardian to track a motor vehicle owned or leased by them or by a person under age 18 and operated by that minor.

Who would be affected

  • Motor vehicle owners and lessees (privacy protections).
  • Authorized operators (drivers) of motor vehicles.
  • Law enforcement, private investigators, security firms, and companies offering telematics/subscription services (limits on warrantless placement and use of trackers, but several operational exceptions preserved).
  • Parents/legal guardians (explicitly allowed to track minors’ vehicles).

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Sponsor listed: Rutherford (primary).
  • Prefiled: 12/05/2024 (per file).
  • Introduced / read first time: 01/14/2025.
  • Referred to Committee on Judiciary (01/14/2025) — multiple entries in the record show referrals and scheduling activity.
  • Hearings: multiple hearing entries indicate a committee hearing scheduled/rescheduled for 11/18/2025 (times/rooms adjusted).
  • Effective date stated in the text: the act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Observations / caveats

  • The document submitted includes unrelated Massachusetts estate tax legislation (House Docket No. 4177). That material is separate from the South Carolina tracking offense language summarized above and appears to be included in the file in error. Confirm jurisdiction and final bill text before relying on statutory citations or enactment details.

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

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