South Carolina S 996: AI Child Abuse

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 996 Text of Previous Version (May. 13, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 996

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

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

Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

Amended

May 13, 2026

S. 996

Introduced 
by Senators Young, Sutton, Reichenbach, Devine, Zell, Elliott and Tedder

S. Printed 5/13/26--H.

Read the first time March 31, 2026

________

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY 
AMENDING SECTION 63-13-190, RELATING TO FINGERPRINT-BASED BACKGROUND CHECKS OF 
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES PERSONNEL, SO AS TO REMOVE THE PROVISION THAT A 
PERSON WHO HAS DIRECT UNSUPERVISED CONTACT WITH A CHILD IN THE CUSTODY OF THE 
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES SHALL UNDERGO A STATE FINGERPRINT-BASED 
BACKGROUND CHECK.

 Amend Title To Conform

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

SECTION 
1. Section 63-13-190(A)(2) of the S.C. Code is 
amended to read:

 (A)(2) A volunteer or an employee of a 
contractor or subcontractor who contracts with the 
Department of Social Services for the 
delivery of protective services, family preservation 
services, foster care services, family reunification services, adoption 
services, and other related services or programs or a person child welfare services and who has direct unsupervised 
contact with a child in the custody of the Department of Social Services shall 
undergo a state fingerprint-based background check to be conducted by the State 
Law Enforcement Division to determine any state criminal history and a 
fingerprint-based background check to be conducted by the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation to determine any other criminal history. No person may be 
employed by a contractor or a subcontractor, act in a volunteer capacity, or 
have access to a child in the custody of the department if the person has been 
convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any crime listed in Section 
63-13-40(A).

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on May 13, 2026 at 10:52 PM