Senate amends bill to require liability insurance for motorboats operating in South Carolina waters
February 11, 2025 | Senate, Committees, Legislative, South Carolina
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The South Carolina Senate on Feb. 11 debated and approved an amendment to S.26 that would require motorized watercraft operating in South Carolina waters to carry liability insurance and set misdemeanor penalties for noncompliance.
Senator Hembree, explaining the amendment on the Senate floor, said the bill would require "boaters that operate boats, own boats in South Carolina, with a motor that is greater than 70 horsepower" to carry liability coverage and that the amendment narrowed and clarified elements of the original text.
The amendment removed a provision that had limited the requirement to boats titled in South Carolina and expanded the requirement to any watercraft operating in South Carolina waters. It also clarified that lack of required insurance would be a misdemeanor, aligning the penalty with how motor-vehicle insurance violations are treated: a first offense carrying a $50–$250 fine, a second offense $250–$500, and a third offense $500–$1,000, according to Hembree’s explanation.
Supporters said the change addresses a fairness issue for South Carolina boat owners who must meet the state standard while out-of-state vessels had previously been outside the statute’s scope. Senator Barton asked whether the amendment would avoid creating a new "target-rich environment" for litigation similar to prior changes in liquor-liability law; Hembree replied that the coverage threshold in S.26 is modest ($50,000 liability) and that he had consulted an insurance subject-matter source who did not raise alarm.
Opponents and questioning senators raised concerns about applying South Carolina minimums to out-of-state boaters and about criminalizing visitors whose insurance does not meet South Carolina minimums. During questioning, Hembree said he would consider a friendly amendment to carve out different minimums for out-of-state operators and carry the bill over to continue work on that point.
The Senate agreed to the amendment and later carried S.26 over for further work rather than advancing it to final passage.
Votes and next steps: the amendment was adopted on the floor and the bill was carried over for additional drafting and negotiation; no final enactment or vote on the underlying bill was recorded during this session.
Senator Hembree, explaining the amendment on the Senate floor, said the bill would require "boaters that operate boats, own boats in South Carolina, with a motor that is greater than 70 horsepower" to carry liability coverage and that the amendment narrowed and clarified elements of the original text.
The amendment removed a provision that had limited the requirement to boats titled in South Carolina and expanded the requirement to any watercraft operating in South Carolina waters. It also clarified that lack of required insurance would be a misdemeanor, aligning the penalty with how motor-vehicle insurance violations are treated: a first offense carrying a $50–$250 fine, a second offense $250–$500, and a third offense $500–$1,000, according to Hembree’s explanation.
Supporters said the change addresses a fairness issue for South Carolina boat owners who must meet the state standard while out-of-state vessels had previously been outside the statute’s scope. Senator Barton asked whether the amendment would avoid creating a new "target-rich environment" for litigation similar to prior changes in liquor-liability law; Hembree replied that the coverage threshold in S.26 is modest ($50,000 liability) and that he had consulted an insurance subject-matter source who did not raise alarm.
Opponents and questioning senators raised concerns about applying South Carolina minimums to out-of-state boaters and about criminalizing visitors whose insurance does not meet South Carolina minimums. During questioning, Hembree said he would consider a friendly amendment to carve out different minimums for out-of-state operators and carry the bill over to continue work on that point.
The Senate agreed to the amendment and later carried S.26 over for further work rather than advancing it to final passage.
Votes and next steps: the amendment was adopted on the floor and the bill was carried over for additional drafting and negotiation; no final enactment or vote on the underlying bill was recorded during this session.
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