MYRTLE BEACH, S.C (WBTW) — South Carolina Republican state Sen. Greg Hembree has pre-filed a bill that would shield the identity of companies that produce drugs used in lethal injections.

Many drug companies fear that having their identity exposed as a creator of drugs used in lethal injections could ruin their reputations, said Hembree, who represents District 28 covering parts of Horry and Dillon counties.

The goal of the bill known as the “Shield Law” is to help restore executions by lethal injection in South Carolina by preventing public backlash against the companies that make the drugs.

“We have not been able to use lethal injection as a means of execution in South Carolina for over 10 years because we haven’t been able to get the drugs,” Hembree said.

South Carolina is still struggling to get drugs that can be used for lethal injections, and Hembree said that if the law is passed it would increase the likelihood of drug companies starting production again.

There are provisions in the law that, if good cause is shown, would allow an exception to be made in revealing the drug company’s identity, he said.

“Let’s say that somebody brings a lawsuit against the Department of Corrections, for the purpose if there was a botched execution,” Hembree said. “If that were to happen, then you show good cause why that should be revealed at least to those parties that are interested. So there are some exceptions to allow due process of law.”

There are currently 36 inmates on death row in South Carolina, including three from Horry County — James Bryant III, Jerome Jenkins, Jr. and Louis Winkler.

Because the state has been unable to get lethal injection drugs, firing squad and electrocution are the only means of execution currently in place.

Hembree is alone in sponsoring this bill, and it is set to be referred to the Committee on Corrections and Penology when the General Assembly returns.