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South Carolina Tattoo Act of
June 2004
South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004
A BILL TO AMEND TITLE 44 OF THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING
CHAPTER 34, TO PROVIDE FOR THE STANDARDS, REQUIREMENTS, AND PROCEDURES OF
TATTOOING CERTAIN PERSONS UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS AND AT CERTAIN LOCATIONS; AND
TO AMEND SECTION 16-17-700, TO PROVIDE THAT IT IS UNLAWFUL TO TATTOO ANOTHER
PERSON UNLESS THE TATTOO ARTIST MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS OF CHAPTER 34 OF TITLE
44.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"CHAPTER 34
Tattooing
Section 44-34-10. As used in this chapter:
(1) 'Department' means the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
(2) 'Tattoo facility' means any room, space, location, area, structure, or
business, or
any part of any of these places, where tattooing is practiced or where the
business of
tattooing is conducted.
(3) 'Tattoo artist' means a person who practices body tattooing and who meets
the
requirements of this chapter.
(4) 'Tattoo or tattooing' means to indelibly mark or color the skin by
subcutaneous
introduction of nontoxic dyes or pigments.
Section 44-34-20. (A) The Department of Health and Environmental Control must
establish by regulation sterilization, sanitation, and safety standards for
persons
engaged in the business of tattooing. The department must provide the necessary
resources to support the development of these standards. The standards must be
directed at establishment and maintenance of sterile conditions and safe
disposal of
instruments. The standards may be modified in accordance with the Administrative
Procedures Act as appropriate to protect consumers from transmission of
contagious
diseases through cross-contamination of instruments and supplies.
(B) Prior to performing tattooing procedures, a tattoo facility must apply for
and obtain
a license issued by the department that shall be effective for a specified time
period
following the date of issue as determined by the department. To obtain a
license, the
tattoo facility must:
(1) obtain a copy of the department's standards and commit on the application to
meet
those standards;
(2) provide the department with its business address and the address at which
the
licensee would perform any activity regulated by this chapter;
(3) provide to the department a certificate of each tattoo artist's initial
certification of
successful completion of courses in bloodborne pathogens and tattoo infection
control
as approved by the department and a current American Red Cross First Aid
Certificate
and an Adult Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Certification obtained from
the
American Red Cross or the American Heart Association;
(4) remit to the department an initial and subsequently an annual license
renewal fee
of an amount set by the department;
(5) provide to the department a certified copy of an ordinance passed by the
local
governing body where the business will be located which authorizes the tattooing
of
persons within its jurisdiction;
(6) be in substantial compliance with department standards as determined by an
initial
license inspection conducted by the department.
(C) A tattoo facility may only provide tattooing and may not engage in any other
retail
business including, but not limited to, the sale of goods or performing any form
of body
piercing other than tattooing.
Section 44-34-30. (A) A tattoo artist must comply with the following infection
control
measures or standards at all times:
(1) wash his hands thoroughly with water and a germicide soap approved by the
department before and after each client's procedure;
(2) when necessary to perform a procedure on certain individuals who must
undergo
shaving of hair, use only a single-use disposable razor and clean the skin with
a liquid
germicidal solution approved by the department and used in accordance with the
manufacturer's directions;
(3) use single-use sterile disposable gloves when setting up equipment and
single-use
sterile disposable gloves when performing procedures on a client; these gloves
must
never be washed or reused in any manner and must be immediately replaced upon
notice of a tear, any contamination, or other defect;
(4) when conducting a procedure, use single-use disposable needles and injection
equipment which are designated and sterilely packaged as single-use only, and
these
needles and injection equipment must never be cleaned or reused in any manner on
another client;
(5) properly sterilize by autoclave all reusable instruments and other tattooing
items
other than inks and sterilely packaged and labeled with the date of
sterilization and a
sterile indicator;
(6) prior to any direct contact with the client, place in a sterile manner all
sterile
instruments on a sterile disposable towel or drape to be used as a single
sterile field
throughout the procedure. Regloving with single-use sterile disposable surgical
gloves
must occur prior to initiation of the procedure, which is to be performed using
strict
sterile surgical techniques. Any nonsterile contact or contamination of the
instruments or
field must immediately result in cessation of the procedure and nonuse of all
equipment
until resterilized;
(7) scrub the skin of the client in a sterile surgical manner with a liquid
germicidal
solution approved by the department and used in accordance with the
manufacturer's
direction; and
(8) dispose of single-use needles and other disposable sharp supplies in safety
puncture-proof containers as approved by the department; these used containers
must
be disposed of in a manner prescribed by the department.
(B) The use of gauze, alum, styptic pencils, or medical supplies considered
necessary
to control bleeding is prohibited unless a separate disposable single-use
sterile item is
used on each client.
(C) The tattoo artist must not use stencils to transfer designs to skin or
containers of
ink or dye unless separate, disposable single-use stencils or containers are
used on
each recipient.
(D) Each tattoo facility must keep a current written log for the previous two
years of
autoclave use including, but not limited to, the date and time of use and
results of
sterilization spore test strip tests performed at least monthly.
(E) A tattoo facility must include a room for the purpose of disinfecting and
sterilization
of equipment, and this room must be physically separate from the room used for
tattooing procedures to avoid cross contamination of equipment. Flooring in each
room
must be composed of material which is sanitizable.
Section 44-34-40. (A) The department may charge an additional amount if
necessary to cover the cost of inspection.
(B) Fees and monetary penalties established by this chapter must be used
exclusively
in support of activities pursuant to this chapter.
Section 44-34-50. (A) A tattoo artist must be at least twenty-one years old and
must
possess a certificate of successful completion, on an annual basis, of a course
in blood
borne pathology and tattoo infection control as approved by the department, a
current
American Red Cross First Aid Certification and Adult Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation
(CPR) Certification obtained either from the American Red Cross or the American
Heart
Association. A tattoo artist must conspicuously display in a public area on the
premises
of the tattoo facility the certificates of successful completion of a course in
CPR, first aid,
blood borne pathogens, and tattoo infection control.
(B) A tattoo artist must comply with all applicable federal Office of Safety and
Health
Administration requirements or guidelines.
(C) The tattoo artist must allow and cooperate with on-site inspections and
investigations as considered necessary by the department and must address by
corrective action the noncompliance items as identified by the department.
Section 44-34-60. (A) The department may conduct unannounced inspections or
complaint investigations of the locations at which tattooing, as applicable to
this chapter,
is being performed.
(B) Each tattoo facility location must conspicuously display in a public area on
the
premises of the licensed tattoo facility:
(1) a clearly legible notice to patrons informing them of any disqualification
which
tattooing may confer upon a prospective blood donor according to the current and
subsequent amendments to standards of the American Association of Blood Banks.
This notice also must appear in any informed consent or release form utilized by
a
tattoo artist. This informed consent or release form must be signed by the
prospective
client and must contain, at a minimum, aftercare suggestions for the specific
tattoo site;
(2) the tattoo facility license issued by the department.
(C) A tattoo artist must verify by means of a picture identification that a
recipient is at
least twenty-one years of age or, if the person is at least eighteen years of
age, has
parental consent. For purposes of this section, 'picture identification' means:
(1) a valid driver's license; or
(2) an official photographic identification card issued by the South Carolina
Department of Revenue, a federal or state law enforcement agency, an agency of
the
United States Department of Defense, or the United States Department of State.
Proof
that the defendant demanded, was shown, and reasonably relied upon proof of age
is a
defense to an action brought pursuant to this section.
(D) A person who has his or her body tattooed while under the age of eighteen in
violation of subsection (C) above may bring an action in the circuit court
against the
person convicted of the violation to recover actual damages and punitive damages
plus
costs of the action and attorney's fees.
Section 44-34-70. (A) The department must promulgate regulations as required by
Section 44-34-20 and such other regulations as may be necessary but which do not
conflict with the provisions of this chapter.
(B) This chapter does not limit the department's ability to require a potential
licensee
to obtain any business license or permit that the department finds appropriate.
Section 44-34-80. The department may revoke, suspend, or refuse to issue or
renew
a license pursuant to this chapter and invoke a monetary penalty upon evidence
as
determined by the department that the licensee of the facility under this
chapter has:
(1) failed to maintain a business address or telephone number at which the
tattoo
facility may be reached during business hours;
(2) failed to maintain proper safety, sanitation, or sterilization procedures as
established by law or by department regulations;
(3) obtained a tattoo facility license through fraud or deceit; or
(4) violated any applicable law or regulation.
Section 44-34-90. This chapter does not restrict the activities of a physician
or
surgeon licensed pursuant to the laws of this State.
Section 44-34-100. (A) It is unlawful for a person to perform or offer to
perform
tattooing upon a person under the age of twenty-one years or, if the person is
at least
eighteen, does not have parental consent.
(B) The minor upon whom tattooing is performed, or the parent or legal guardian
of
that minor, or any other minor is not liable for punishment pursuant to this
section.
(C) Tattooing may not be performed upon a person impaired by drugs or alcohol. A
person impaired by drugs or alcohol is considered incapable of consenting to
tattooing
and incapable of understanding tattooing procedures and aftercare suggestions.
(D) Tattooing may not be performed on skin surfaces having a rash, pimples,
boils,
keloids, sunburn, open lesions, infections, or manifest any evidence of
unhealthy
conditions.
(E) It is unlawful for a tattoo artist to tattoo any part of the head, face, or
neck of
another person.
(F) A person who violates a provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor
and,
upon conviction, must be fined up to two thousand five hundred dollars or
imprisoned up
to one year, or both.
(G) All licensing fees and monetary penalties collected must be remitted to the
Department of Health and Environmental Control in a separate and distinct
account to
be used solely to carry out and enforce the provisions of this chapter.
Section 44-34-110. (A)(1) The department must not grant or issue a license to a
tattoo facility, if the place of business is within one thousand feet of a
church, school, or
playground. This distance must be computed by following the shortest route of
ordinary
pedestrian or vehicular travel along the public thoroughfare from the nearest
point of the
grounds in use as part of the church, school, or playground.
(2) As used in this subsection:
(a) 'Church' means an establishment, other than a private dwelling, where
religious
services are usually conducted.
(b) 'School' means an establishment, other than a private dwelling where the
usual
processes of education are usually conducted.
(c) 'Playground' means a place, other than grounds at a private dwelling, that
is
provided by the public or members of a community for recreation.
(3) The restrictions in subsection (A)(1) do not apply to the renewal of
licenses or to
new applications for locations that are licensed at the time the new application
is filed
with the department.
(B) An applicant for license renewal or for a new license at an existing tattoo
facility
location shall pay a certification fee established by the department in
regulation to
determine if the exemptions provided for in subsection (A)(3) apply.
(C) A person who intends to apply for a license under this article must
advertise at
least once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper circulated nearest
to the
proposed location of the business and most likely to give notice to interested
citizens of
the county, city, and community in which the applicant proposes to engage in
business.
The department shall determine which newspapers meet the requirements of this
section based on available circulation figures and the proposed location of the
business.
However, if a newspaper is published in the county and historically has been the
newspaper where the advertisements are published, the advertisements published
in
that newspaper meet the requirements of this subsection. The notice must be in
the
legal notice section of the paper, or in an equivalent section if the newspaper
has no
legal notice section, and must be in large type, cover a space one column wide
and not
less than two inches deep, and state the type of license applied for and the
exact
location at which the proposed business is to be operated."
SECTION 2. Section 16-17-700 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 16-17-700. It is unlawful for a person to tattoo any part of the body
of another
person unless the tattoo artist meets the requirements of Chapter 34 of Title
44.
However, it is not unlawful for a licensed physician or surgeon to tattoo part
of the body
of a person of any age if in the physician's or surgeon's medical opinion it is
necessary
or appropriate; and it is not unlawful for a physician to delegate tattooing
procedures to
an employee in accordance with Section 40-47-60, subject to the regulations of
the
State Board of Medical Examiners.
A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction,
must be fined up to two thousand five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more
than one
year, or both."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Signed by the Governor, June 17, 2004
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