Committee advances bill creating $90 expedited fee for DMV identification cards; amendment clarifies international ID validity

The Education and Public Works Committee on Tuesday reported House Bill 4011 favorably as amended, approving a $90 expedited production and mailing fee for driver’s licenses and identification cards that the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles will issue centrally rather than on-site at local offices. By a vote of 15 to 0 with three members absent, the committee advanced the bill to the full House.

Committee members said the fee responds to a change in the DMV’s issuance process: local offices will now hand applicants a temporary paper credential while the permanent card is mailed from a central facility. The expedited fee is intended to shorten mailing time for people who need a physical card sooner than the standard 7–10 days. Representative Gillum, the bill’s presenter, said the expedited fee typically reduces delivery to “hopefully less than three days.”

The committee also adopted an amendment that explicitly adds identification cards to the expedited production process and clarifies how the DMV may set validity periods for cards issued to noncitizen customers with work visas. The amendment replaces a sentence in the existing code so that certain IDs may be valid “up to eight years” when that aligns with the length of the holder’s work visa, and establishes a minimum one‑year validity in some cases, codifying current DMV practice for lawfully present international customers.

Representative Gilreath asked about voluntary medical information on licenses, such as blood type; Gillum said the provision is voluntary and follows a prior law that allows applicants to list such information if they choose. Representative Bowers asked procedural questions about trailer plates during related DMV discussions; committee members said those fees and permanent plate options already exist but are not newly required by this bill.

After initial consideration and a subsequent reconsideration and amendment process, the committee approved the amendment and then the bill as amended. Representative McGinnis moved to reconsider the bill after an earlier vote; an amendment (Amendment 1) to add identification cards and clarify international-customer validity was then adopted. The final committee roll call on reporting the bill favorably as amended recorded 15 ayes and 3 absent.

The bill and its amendment make no changes to federal regulations governing commercial driver’s license testing; Representative Gillum and other members explained that federal rules still require random retesting only for initial CDL examinations completed through third-party providers, not for regular driver’s license applicants.