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Clemson police representative warns state golf-cart bill could preempt local rules around Death Valley
Summary
A police representative told the Clemson City Police Advisory Board that a pending state amendment would permit golf-cart use within a half-mile of Division I stadiums with 19,000+ seats and could conflict with the city's golf-cart ordinance; the city has asked the governor to remove the provision and the attorney says most local ordinance provisions remain applicable in the mapped area.
A Clemson police representative told the City Police Advisory Board on May 28 that a pending state amendment would allow golf-cart use on primary and secondary roads within a half-mile of Division I collegiate stadiums that seat 19,000 or more, and that the city is asking the governor to remove the provision to avoid preemption of local rules.
The board was shown a map centered on Death Valley that the police representative said demonstrates the half-mile ring would mainly include local streets, not the city's primary or secondary roads. The representative said the city attorney believes other provisions of the local golf-cart ordinance would remain applicable in the mapped area.
"I think fundamentally, what I have a problem with is state legislature, trumping home rule for a local jurisdiction with a state law to fix something that people are frustrated with in other jurisdictions," the police representative said, arguing the change could override locally adopted regulations.
The proposed amendment, as described to the board, attaches the collegiate-events language to legislation that originally addressed an unrelated golf-cart seat-belt provision. The police representative said the provision would apply only where a stadium can seat 19,000 or more, naming Clemson, Columbia and Conway as affected municipalities while noting the governor had not yet signed the bill.
Board members asked about the map's boundary and whether the zone extended to major routes; the police representative said the half-mile uses the edge of the stadium footprint and that the mapped circle does not reach key thoroughfares such as Highway 123 or 76 in ways that would substantially change policing or safety on those roads.
The police representative said the city has submitted requests to the governor to remove the collegiate-events language. "We wanted I just wanted to make sure this wasn't going to expand up to 123 or out to 76 where it would be a severe safety risk," the representative said.
Why it matters: if the state language remains, municipalities could face constraints on enforcing local limits for where golf carts may operate during large events, forcing local governments to reconcile state allowances with established municipal safety rules. The police representative urged the board to monitor the bill and noted staff would report back on any governor action.
Next steps: the board will watch for the governor's action and follow up at a future meeting if the bill is signed or amended.
