SC Lawmaker proposes making pregnancy alone qualify for accessible parking placard

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – A South Carolina lawmaker is pushing for pregnant people to have easier access to handicap accessible parking.

Representative Micah Caskey (R- Lexington) said he is already working on a bill and plans to introduce it in January. The bill would make pregnancy alone sufficient to qualify for a temporary accessible parking placard. Pregnant people would not need to prove a mobility impairment.

“Anytime we can help mothers, through all of that with just the simplest of government action, I think we ought to take that up. Sometimes common sense can rule the day, ” Caskey said.

Under current state law, pregnant people can qualify for a temporary placard, but only if a licensed physician certifies that the pregnancy causes a condition that significantly impacts mobility. One of the key criteria includes the “inability to walk 100 feet nonstop without pain or aggravating an existing medical condition.”

According to the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), applicants must meet at least one of eight qualifying conditions and have their physician fill out Form RG-007A. The impairment must be expected to last at least four months. Once approved, the placard is valid for from 4 months to one year.

Caskey’s proposal would remove those additional requirements, allowing a pregnancy to be enough for placard approval.

While disability rights organization Able South Carolina (Able SC) supports the idea of easy access for pregnant people, Kimberly Tissot, CEO and President of Able SC worries that such changes could unintentionally harm those the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was designed to protect.

“People with disabilities still can’t find parking spots as it is. What I really think we could do is create some creative solutions that don’t weaken federal disability law,” Tissot said.

Tissot emphasized the importance of finding a “win-win” approach.

After Caskey posted about the proposal on X, lawmakers from both political parties expressed support. While the bill is still in the drafting phase, Caskey said he hopes to introduce it formally during the 2026 legislative session.

“This is just a bill that is so common sense that people go, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s do that,’” he said. “By the end of the process, we’ll have landed on a solution we can move forward with.”