South Carolina H 3604: A HOUSE RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR CRADDOCK MORRIS OWNER, AND PUBLISHER OF THE CALHOUN TIMES, UPON THE OCCASION OF ITS FINAL ISSUE AFTER OVER EIGHTY-FIVE YEARS OF CONTINUED PUBLICATION, AND TO WISH MR. MORRIS CONTINUED SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS IN ALL HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3604 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 12, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3604

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 
23-3-560 SO AS TO PROVIDE PERSONS WHO ARE REQUIRED TO REGISTER AS SEX OFFENDERS 
MAY PETITION THE COURT TO TERMINATE THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT TEN YEARS FROM 
THE DATE OF INITIAL REGISTRATION UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; AND BY AMENDING 
SECTION 23-3-460, RELATING TO BIANNUAL REGISTRATION FOR life, SO AS TO PROVIDE 
THE MAXIMUM PERIOD OF REGISTRATION IS FIFTEEN YEARS.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Article 7, Chapter 3, Title 23 of the S.C. Code is 
amended by adding:

 Section 
23-3-560. (A) Notwithstanding 
another provision of law, ten years from the date of initial registration, a 
person required to register under this article may petition the circuit court 
to terminate the lifetime registration requirement if the person has not been 
convicted of a subsequent offense requiring registration under this article. If 
the reportable conviction is for an offense that occurred in South Carolina, 
the petition must be filed in the county where the offense occurred. If the 
reportable conviction is for an offense that occurred in another state, the 
petition must be filed in the county where the person resides. A person who 
petitions to terminate the registration requirement for a reportable conviction 
that is an out-of-state offense also shall: 

 (1) 
provide written notice to the sheriff of the county where he was convicted that 
he is petitioning the court to terminate the registration requirement; and 

 (2) 
include with the petition at the time of its filing, an affidavit, signed by 
the petitioner, that verifies that he has notified the sheriff of the county 
where he was convicted of the petition and that provides the mailing address 
and contact information for the sheriff.

 (B) 
The court may grant the relief if:

 (1) 
the petitioner demonstrates to the court that he has not been arrested for any 
crime that would require registration under this article since completing his 
sentence; and

 (2) 
the requested relief complies with the provisions of the federal Jacob 
Wetterling Act, as amended, and any other federal standards applicable to the 
termination of a registration requirement or required to be met as a condition 
for the receipt of federal funds by the State; and

 (3) 
the court is otherwise satisfied that the petitioner is not a current or 
potential threat to public safety.

 (C) 
The solicitor in the circuit in which the petition is filed must be given 
notice of the petition at least three weeks before the hearing on the matter. 
The petitioner may present evidence in support of the petition and the 
solicitor may present evidence in opposition to the requested relief or may 
otherwise demonstrate the reasons why the petition should be denied.

 (D) If 
the court denies the petition, the person may again petition the court for 
relief in accordance with this section one year from the date of the denial of 
the original petition to terminate the registration requirement. If the court 
grants the petition to terminate the registration requirement, the clerk of 
court shall forward a certified copy of the order to SLED to have the person's 
name removed from the registry.

 (E) If 
there is a subsequent offense, SLED's registration records must be retained 
until the registration requirement for the subsequent offense is terminated by 
the court under subsection (A).

SECTION 2. Section 23-3-460(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to 
read:

 (A) A person required to register 
pursuant to this article is required to register biannually for lifefifteen years subject to 
the provisions of Section 23-3-462 and Section 23-3-463. For purposes of this 
article, "biannually" means each year during the month of his birthday and 
again during the sixth month following his birth month. The person required to 
register shall register and must reregister at the sheriff's department in each county where he resides, owns real 
property, is employed, or attends any public or private school including, but 
not limited to, a secondary school, adult education school, college or 
university, and any vocational, technical, or occupational school. A person 
determined by a court to be a sexually violent predator pursuant to state law 
is required to verify registration and be photographed every ninety days by the 
sheriff's department in the county in which he resides unless the person is 
committed to the custody of the State, and verification will be held in 
abeyance until his release.

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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