South Carolina H 5062: Criminal Gang and Anti-Racketeering

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 5062 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 29, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 5062

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 AMENDING 
SECTION 16-8-230, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE CRIMINAL GANG 
PREVENTION ACT, SO AS TO REVISE THE DEFINITIONS; BY AMENDING SECTION 16-8-240, 
RELATING TO USE OF OR THREAT OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE BY CRIMINAL GANG MEMBERS AND 
PENALTIES, SO AS TO REVISE THE STATUTE AND ESTABLISH UNLAWFUL CRIMINAL GANG 
ACTIVITY OFFENSES; BY ADDING SECTION 16-8-245 SO AS TO PROVIDE ADMISSIBILITY OF 
CRIMINAL GANG AND CRIMINAL GANG ACTIVITY EVIDENCE DURING A TRIAL OR PROCEEDING; 
BY AMENDING SECTION 16-8-250, RELATING TO PREVENTING WITNESSES OR VICTIMS FROM 
TESTIFYING AND PENALTIES, SO AS TO PROVIDE A MECHANISM TO ABATE A PUBLIC 
NUISANCE OF REAL PROPERTY USED BY A CRIMINAL GANG; BY ADDING SECTION 16-8-275 
SO AS TO PROVIDE ADMISSIBILITY IN A CRIMINAL PROCEEDING OF THE ACCUSED'S 
COMMISSION OF CRIMINAL GANG ACTIVITY; BY ADDING ARTICLE 5 TO CHAPTER 8, TITLE 
16 SO AS TO ENACT THE "ANTI-RACKETEERING ACT", TO PROVIDE APPROPRIATE 
DEFINITIONS FOR THE ANTI-RACKETEERING ACT, TO PROVIDE IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR ANY 
PERSON TO ENGAGE IN RACKETEERING ACTIVITY, TO PROVIDE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR 
ENGAGING IN RACKETEERING ACTIVITY, TO PROVIDE THAT THE CIRCUIT COURT MAY ENJOIN 
VIOLATIONS OF THE ANTI-RACKETEERING ACT BY ISSUING APPROPRIATE ORDERS, TO 
ESTABLISH JURISDICTION FOR RACKETEERING ACTIVITY, AND TO PROVIDE PROTECTION 
FROM DISCLOSURE OF INFORMANTS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 14-7-1630, RELATING TO 
THE JURISDICTION OF THE STATE GRAND JURY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, SO AS TO ADD THE 
CRIME OF RACKETEERING TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE STATE GRAND JURY.

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

SECTION 1. Section 16-8-230 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
16-8-230. As used in this article:

 (1) 
"Contraband" means any real or personal property, including money, that is 
owned by, in the possession of, or subject to the control of a criminal gang 
member and which is acquired by, derived from, or traceable to criminal gang 
activity.

 (2) "Criminal gang" means a formal or 
informal ongoing organization, association, or group that consists of five or 
more persons who form for the purpose of committing criminal activity and who 
knowingly and actively participate in a pattern of criminal gang activity.

 (3) "Criminal gang member" means an 
individual who is an active member of a criminal gang.

 (4) "Pattern of criminal gang activity" 
means the commission or attempted commission of, commission as an accessory 
before or after the fact to, or solicitation or conspiracy to commit, by a 
criminal gang member, while knowingly and actively participating in criminal 
gang activity, four or more of the following offenses occurring within a 
two-year period, provided that at least three of these offenses occurred after 
July 1, 2007:

 (a) a violent offense as defined in 
Section 16-1-60 committed as a part of criminal gang activity;

 (b) financial transaction card crimes 
as defined in Chapter 14 of Title 16 committed as a part of criminal gang 
activity;

 (c) first degree lynching as defined in 
Section 16-3-210 committed as a part of criminal gang activity;

 (d) second degree lynching as defined 
in Section 16-3-220 committed as a part of criminal gang activity;

 (e) breaking into a motor vehicle as 
defined in Section 16-13-160 committed as a part of criminal gang activity;

 (f) grand larceny as defined in Section 
16-13-30 committed as a part of criminal gang activity;

 (g) blackmail as defined in Section 
16-17-640 committed as a part of criminal gang activity;

 (h) malicious injury to property as 
defined in Sections 16-11-510, 16-11-520, 16-11-530, and 16-11-535 committed as 
a part of criminal gang activity;

 (i) drug offense as defined in Sections 
44-53-370 and 44-53-375 committed as a part of criminal gang activity;

 (j) harassment, stalking, or aggravated 
stalking as defined in Article 17, Chapter 3 of Title 16 committed as a part of 
criminal gang activity;

 (k) pointing a firearm at any person as 
defined in Section 16-23-410 committed as a part of criminal gang activity;

 (l) discharging a firearm at or into 
dwellings, structures, enclosures, vehicles, or equipment as defined in Section 
16-23-440 committed as a part of criminal gang activity;

 (m) the common law offense of assault 
and battery of a high and aggravated nature committed as a part of criminal 
gang activity; or

 (n) the common law offense of 
obstruction of justice committed as a part of criminal gang activity.

 (5) "Gang-related incident" means an 
incident that, upon investigation, meets any of the following conditions:

 (a) t