(A) The right of a person to engage in a lawful profession, trade, or occupation of choice is clearly protected by both the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of South Carolina. The State cannot abridge this right except as a reasonable exercise of its police powers when it is clearly found that abridgement is necessary for the preservation of the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

(B) No statute or regulation may be imposed under this article upon a profession or occupation except for the exclusive purpose of protecting the public interest when the:

(1) unregulated practice of the profession or occupation can harm or endanger the health, safety, or welfare of the public and the potential for harm is recognizable and not remote or dependent upon tenuous argument;

(2) practice of the profession or occupation has inherent qualities peculiar to it that distinguish it from ordinary work or labor;

(3) practice of the profession or occupation requires specialized skill or training and the public needs and will benefit by assurances of initial and continuing professional and occupational ability; and

(4) public is not effectively protected by other means.

(C) If the General Assembly determines that a particular profession or occupation should be regulated or that a different degree of regulation should be imposed on the regulated profession or occupation, it shall consider the following degrees of regulation in the order provided and only shall regulate the profession or occupation to the degree necessary to fulfill the need for regulation:

(1) If existing common law and statutory causes of civil action or criminal prohibitions are not sufficient to eradicate existing harm or prevent potential harm, the General Assembly first may consider making statutory changes to provide stricter causes for civil action and criminal prosecution.

(2) If it is necessary to determine the impact of the operation of a profession or occupation on the public, the General Assembly may consider implementing a system of registration.

(3) If the public requires a substantial basis for relying on the professional services of the practitioner, the General Assembly may consider implementing a system of certification.

(4) If adequate regulation cannot be achieved by means less than licensing, the General Assembly may establish licensing procedures.

(D) In determining the proper degree of regulation, if any, the General Assembly shall determine:

(1) whether the practitioner, if unregulated, performs a service to individuals involving a hazard to the public health, safety, or welfare;

(2) what the opinion of a substantial portion of the people who do not practice the particular profession, trade, or occupation is on the need for regulation;

(3) the number of states which have regulatory provisions similar to those proposed;

(4) whether there is sufficient demand for the service for which there is no regulated substitute, and this service is required by a substantial portion of the population;

(5) whether the profession or occupation requires high standards of public responsibility, character, and performance of each individual engaged in the profession or occupation, as evidenced by established and published codes of ethics;

(6) whether the profession or occupation requires such skill that the public generally is not qualified to select a competent practitioner without some assurance that the practitioner has met minimum qualifications;

(7) whether the professional or occupational associations do not adequately protect the public from incompetent, unscrupulous, or irresponsible members of the profession or occupation;

(8) whether current laws which pertain to public health, safety, and welfare generally are ineffective or inadequate;

(9) whether the characteristics of the profession or occupation make it impractical or impossible to prohibit those practices of the profession or occupation which are detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare;

(10) whether the practitioner performs a service for others which may have a detrimental effect on third parties relying on the expert knowledge of the practitioner.

HISTORY: 1996 Act No. 453, Section 2.