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2025-2026 Bill 631: Limitation on places of residence of certain sex offenders; exceptions - South Carolina Legislature Online
South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
S. 631
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Walker and Zell
Document Path: SMIN-0010KR25.docx
Introduced in the Senate on May 1, 2025
Introduced in the House on April 30, 2026
Last Amended on April 28, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Judiciary
Summary: Limitation on places of residence of certain sex offenders; exceptions
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date
Body
Action Description with journal page number
5/1/2025
Senate
Introduced and read first time (
Senate Journal-page 8
)
5/1/2025
Senate
Referred to Committee on
Judiciary
(
Senate Journal-page 8
)
2/18/2026
Senate
Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Judiciary
(
Senate Journal-page 7
)
3/5/2026
Senate
Committee Amendment Adopted (
Senate Journal-page 13
)
4/28/2026
Senate
Amended (
Senate Journal-page 31
)
4/28/2026
Senate
Read second time (
Senate Journal-page 31
)
4/28/2026
Senate
Roll call Ayes-42 Nays-2 (
Senate Journal-page 31
)
4/29/2026
Senate
Read third time and sent to House
4/30/2026
House
Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 155
)
4/30/2026
House
Referred to Committee on
Judiciary
(
House Journal-page 155
)
View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
05/01/2025
02/18/2026
03/05/2026
04/28/2026
Indicates Matter
Stricken
Indicates New Matter
Amended
April 28, 2026
S. 631
Introduced
by Senators Walker and Zell
S. Printed 4/28/26--S.
Read the first time May 1, 2025
________
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING
SECTION
23-3-535
, RELATING TO LIMITATIONS ON PLACES OF RESIDENCE OF CERTAIN SEX
OFFENDERS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR A SEX OFFENDER TO RESIDE
WITHIN ONE THOUSAND FEET OF A BUS STOP; AND TO PROVIDE THAT OWNERS OR RENTERS
OF IMPACTED PROPERTY NOT BE REQUIRED TO RELOCATE IF THEY OWNED OR RENTED THE
PROPERTY BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ACT.
Amend Title To Conform
B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
S
ECTION 1.
S
ection
23-3-535
of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
S
ection
23-3-535
.
(
A) As contained in this
section:
(
1)
"Children's recreational facility" means a facility owned and operated by a
city, county, or special purpose district used for the purpose of recreational
activity for children under the age of eighteen.
(
2)
"Daycare center" means an arrangement where, at any one time, there are three
or more preschool-age children, or nine or more school-age children receiving
child care.
(
3)
"School" does not include a home school or an institution of higher education.
(
4)
"Within one thousand feet" means a measurement made in a straight line, without
regard to intervening structures or objects, from the nearest portion of the
property on which the sex offender resides to the nearest property line of the
premises of a school, daycare center, children's recreational facility, park,
school bus stop,
or public playground, whichever is
closer.
(
B)
It is unlawful for a sex offender who has been convicted of any of the
following offenses to reside within one thousand feet of a school, daycare
center, children's recreational facility, park,
school bus
stop,
or public playground:
(
1)
criminal sexual conduct with a minor, first degree;
(
2)
criminal sexual conduct with a minor, second degree;
(
3)
assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct with a minor;
(
4)
kidnapping a person under eighteen years of age; or
(
5)
trafficking in persons of a person under eighteen years of age except when the
court makes a finding on the record that the offense did not include a criminal
sexual offense or an attempted criminal sexual offense.
(
C)
This section does not apply to a sex offender who:
(
1)
resided within one thousand feet of a school, daycare center, children's
recreational facility, park,
school bus stop,
or
public playground before the effective date of this act;
(
2)
resided within one thousand feet of a school, daycare center, children's
recreational facility, park,
school bus stop,
or
public playground on property the sex offender owned before the sex offender
was charged with any of the offenses enumerated in subsection (B);
(
3)
resides within one thousand feet of a school, daycare center, children's
recreational facility, park,
school bus stop,
or
public playground as a result of the establishment of a new school, daycare
center, children's recreational facility, park, or public playground;
(
4)
resides in a jail, prison, detention facility, group home for persons under the
age of twenty-one licensed by the Department of Social Services, residential
treatment facility for persons under the age of twenty-one licensed by the
Department of Health and Environmental Control
Department of Public Health
, or other holding facility,
including a mental health facility;
(
5)
resides in a
homeless shelter for no more than one year, a
group home for persons under the age of twenty-one licensed by the
Department of Social Services, or a residential treatment facility for persons
under the age of twenty-one licensed by the Department of
Public Health,
Health and Environmental Control,
and the site was purchased by the organization prior to the effective date of
this act;
(
6)
resides in a community residential care facility, as defined in Section
44-7-130
(6); or
(
7)
resides in a nursing home, as defined in Section
44-7-130
(13).
(
D)
If upon registration of a sex offender, or at any other time, a local law
enforcement agency determines that a sex offender is in violation of this
section,
then
the local law enforcement agency
must, within thirty days, notify the sex offender of the violation, provide the
sex offender with a list of areas in which the sex offender is not permitted to
reside, and notify the sex offender that the sex offender has thirty days to
vacate the residence. If the sex offender fails to vacate the residence within
thirty days,
then
the sex offender must be punished
as follows:
(
1)
for a first offense, the sex offender is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction, must be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or fined not more
than five hundred dollars, or both;
(
2)
for a second offense, the sex offender is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction, must be imprisoned not more than three years, or fined not more
than one thousand dollars, or both;
(
3)
for a third or subsequent offense, the sex offender is guilty of a felony and,
upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not more than five years, or fined not
more than five thousand dollars, or both.
(
E) A
local government may not enact an ordinance that:
(
1)
contains penalties that exceed or are less lenient than the penalties contained
in this section; or
(
2)
expands or contracts the boundaries of areas in which a sex offender may or may
not reside as contained in subsection (B).
(
F)
(
1) At the beginning of each school
year, each school district must provide
local law
enforcement agencies with a list of school bus stops within the school district
and
:
(
a)
the names and addresses
in writing and on the district
website
of every sex offender who resides within one thousand feet of a
school bus stop within the school district to the parents or guardians of a
student who boards or disembarks a school bus at a stop covered by this
subsection; or
(
b)
the hyperlink to the sex offender registry web site on the school district's
web site for the purpose of gathering this information.
(
2)
Local law enforcement agencies must check the school districts' web sites to
determine if each school district has complied with this subsection. If a
hyperlink does not appear on a school district web site,
then
the local law enforcement agency must contact the school district to
confirm that the school district has provided the parents or guardians with the
names and addresses of every sex offender who resides within one thousand feet
of a school bus stop within the school district. If the local law enforcement
agency determines that this information has not been provided,
then
the local law enforcement agency must inform the
school district that it is in violation of this subsection. If the school
district does not comply within thirty days after notice of its violation,
then
the school district is subject to equitable
injunctive relief and, if the plaintiff prevails,
then
the
district shall pay the plaintiff's attorney's fees and costs.
S
ECTION 2. An
individual who was the owner or lawful renter of a property impacted by the
residency restrictions established in this act before the effective date of
this act shall not be required to relocate or otherwise alter their residence
as a result of this act, provided that such residency has been continuous and
lawful.
S
ECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
----XX----
This web page was last updated on April 28, 2026 at 6:05 PM