South Carolina H 3830: Orders of Protection

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3830 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 29, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3830

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 20-4-20, RELATING TO TERMS DEFINED IN 
THE "PROTECTION FROM DOMESTIC ABUSE ACT," SO AS TO CHANGE THE DEFINITION FOR 
"HOUSEHOLD MEMBER" AND TO ADD A DEFINITION FOR "DATING RELATIONSHIP."

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

SECTION 
1.A. Section 20-4-20(b) of the S.C. Code is amended 
to read:

 (b) "Household member" means:

 (i) 
a spouse;

 (ii) 
a former spouse;

 (iii) 
persons who have a child in common;

 (iv) 
a male and female who are cohabiting or formerly have cohabited; or

 (v) persons who are presently or were 
recently in a dating relationship together.

B. Section 20-4-20 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 (g)(i) 
"Dating relationship" means a romantic, courtship, or engagement relationship 
between two individuals that need not include sexual involvement. In addition 
to any other factors the court deems relevant, the court may consider the 
following factors in making a determination of whether a relationship exists or 
existed:

 (A) 
the length of the relationship;

 (B) 
the nature or type of the relationship;

 (C) 
the frequency of interaction between the two individuals involved in the 
relationship; and

 (D) 
the time since termination of the relationship, if applicable.

 (ii) 
"Dating relationship" does not include a casual relationship or ordinary 
fraternization between two individuals in a business or social context.

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

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This web page was last updated on January 29, 2025 at 03:00 PM