The bill H. 3796 aims to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by adding Article 29 to Chapter 1, Title 1, which explicitly prohibits governmental entities from granting or recognizing legal personhood to various non-human entities. The bill defines key terms such as "body of water," "governmental entity," "human being," "land," and "legal personhood," establishing a clear framework for what constitutes legal rights and obligations under state law.

Under this new article, governmental entities—including courts, the General Assembly, and other political subdivisions—are barred from recognizing legal personhood in a wide range of items, including artificial intelligence, inanimate objects, bodies of water, land, real property, atmospheric gases, astronomical objects, weather, plants, nonhuman animals, and any other entities that do not qualify as human beings. The bill is set to take effect upon approval by the Governor.