A South Carolina Senate panel has approved a bill that would require criminal background checks for workers at ports in the state.

Currently, the South Carolina Ports Authority cannot search for past criminal records for people not employed by the state, agency spokesman Byron Miller told The Associated Press.

The Senate Transportation Committee voted Wednesday, May 18, to advance a bill that would allow that to the full Senate for further consideration. It passed the House earlier this month.

H3923 would require the state’s Law Enforcement Division and the FBI to conduct a fingerprint-based criminal check for all employees engaged in activities related to cargo.

The death of a port worker earlier this year prompted tougher screening.

Archie Porcher of Cainhoy, SC, was charged with reckless homicide after being accused of running over a man at the Wando Welch Terminal of the Port of Charleston on Feb. 12.

Porcher has at least 24 convictions for moving violations in the state, The AP reported. In addition, his driver’s license has been suspended since June 2004 because of a conviction for possession of LSD and cocaine.

The bill does not apply to those making deliveries to or from the state’s Ports Authority facilities.