Civil Asset Forfeiture

2025-2026 Bill 726: Civil Asset Forfeiture - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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S. 726
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senator Chaplin
Document Path: SJ-0014MB26.docx
Introduced in the Senate on January 13, 2026
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on
Judiciary
Summary: Civil Asset Forfeiture
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

12/10/2025

Senate

Prefiled

12/10/2025

Senate

Referred to Committee on
Judiciary

1/13/2026

Senate

Introduced and read first time (
Senate Journal-page 33
)

1/13/2026

Senate

Referred to Committee on
Judiciary
(
Senate Journal-page 33
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
12/10/2025

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING
SECTION
44-53-520
, RELATING TO FORFEITURES, SO AS TO INCLUDE THAT MORE THAN TWO
GRAINS OF FENTANYL OR A FENTANYL-RELATED MUST BE FOUND FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE TO
BE SUBJECT TO CIVIL FORFEITURE.

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
S
ection
44-53-520
of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

S
ection
44-53-520
.
(
a) The following are
subject to forfeiture:

(
1)
all controlled substances which have been manufactured, distributed, dispensed,
or acquired in violation of this article;

(
2)
all raw materials, products, and equipment of any kind which are used, or which
have been positioned for use, in manufacturing, producing, compounding,
processing, delivering, importing, or exporting any controlled substance in
violation of this article;

(
3)
all property which is used, or which has been positioned for use, as a
container for property described in items (1) or (2);

(
4)
All property, both real and personal, which in any manner is knowingly used to
facilitate production, manufacturing, distribution, sale, importation,
exportation, or trafficking in various controlled substances as defined in this
article;

(
5)
all books, records, and research products and materials, including formulas,
microfilm, tapes, and data which are used, or which have been positioned for
use, in violation of this article;

(
6)
all conveyances including, but not limited to, trailers, aircraft, motor
vehicles, and watergoing vessels which are used or intended for use unlawfully
to conceal, contain, or transport or facilitate the unlawful concealment,
possession, containment, manufacture, or transportation of controlled
substances and their compounds, except as otherwise provided, must be forfeited
to the State. No motor vehicle may be forfeited to the State under this item
unless it is used, intended for use, or in any manner facilitates a violation
of Section
44-53-370
(a), involving at least one pound or more of marijuana, one
pound or more of hashish, more than four grains of opium,
more
than two grains of fentanyl or a fentanyl-related substance as described in
Section
44-53-190
or
44-53-210
,
more than two grains of heroin, more
than four grains of morphine, more than ten grains of cocaine, more than fifty
micrograms of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or its compounds, more than ten
grains of crack, or more than one gram of ice or crank, as defined in Section
44-53-110
, or unless it is used, intended for use, or in any manner facilitates
a violation of Section
44-53-370
(e) or fifteen tablets, capsules, dosage units,
or the equivalent quantity of 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA);

(
7)
all property including, but not limited to, monies, negotiable instruments,
securities, or other things of value furnished or intended to be furnished by
any person in exchange for a controlled substance, and all proceeds including,
but not limited to, monies, and real and personal property traceable to any
exchange;

(
8)
all monies seized in close proximity to forfeitable controlled substances, drug
manufacturing, or distributing paraphernalia, or in close proximity to
forfeitable records of the importation, manufacturing, or distribution of
controlled substances and all monies seized at the time of arrest or search
involving violation of this article. If the person from whom the monies were
taken can establish to the satisfaction of a court of competent jurisdiction
that the monies seized are not products of illegal acts, the monies must be
returned pursuant to court order.

(
b)
Any property subject to forfeiture under this article may be seized by the
department having authority upon warrant issued by any court having
jurisdiction over the property. Seizure without process may be made if:

(
1)
the seizure is incident to an arrest or a search under a search warrant or an
inspection under an administrative inspection warrant;

(
2)
the property subject to seizure has been the subject of a prior judgment in
favor of the State in a criminal injunction or forfeiture proceeding based upon
this article;

(
3)
the department has probable cause to believe that the property is directly or
indirectly dangerous to health or safety; or

(
4)
the department has probable cause to believe that the property was used or is
intended to be used in violation of this article.

(
c)
In the event of seizure pursuant to subsection (b), proceedings under Section
44-53-530
regarding forfeiture and disposition must be instituted within a
reasonable time.

(
d)
Any property taken or detained under this section is not subject to replevin
but is considered to be in the custody of the department making the seizure
subject only to the orders of the court having jurisdiction over the forfeiture
proceedings. Property described in Section
44-53-520
(a) is forfeited and
transferred to the government at the moment of illegal use. Seizure and
forfeiture proceedings confirm the transfer.

(
e)
Controlled substances listed in Schedule I that are possessed, transferred,
sold, or offered for sale in violation of this article are contraband and must
be seized and summarily forfeited to the State. Controlled substances listed
in Schedule I, which are seized or come into the possession of the State, the
owners of which are unknown, are contraband and must be summarily forfeited to
the State.

(
f)
Species of plants from which controlled substances in Schedules I and II may be
derived which have been planted or cultivated in violation of this article, or
of which the owners or cultivators are unknown, or which are wild growths, may
be seized and summarily forfeited to the State.

(
g)
The failure, upon demand by the department having authority to make the demand,
of the person in occupancy or in control of land or premises upon which the
species of plants are growing or being stored to produce an appropriate
registration, or proof that he is the holder thereof, constitutes authority for
the seizure and forfeiture of the plants.

(
h)
For the purposes of this section, whenever the seizure of any property subject
to seizure is accomplished as a result of a joint effort by more than one law
enforcement agency, the law enforcement agency initiating the investigation is
considered to be the agency making the seizure.

(
i)
Law enforcement agencies seizing property under this section shall take
reasonable steps to maintain the property. Equipment and conveyances seized
must be removed to an appropriate place for storage. Any monies seized must be
deposited in an interest bearing account pending final disposition by the court
unless the seizing agency determines the monies to be of an evidential nature
and provides for security in another manner.

(
j)
When property and monies of any value as defined in this section or anything
else of any value is seized, the law enforcement agency making the seizure,
within ten days or a reasonable period of time after the seizure, shall submit
a report to the appropriate prosecution agency.

(
1)
The report shall provide the following information with respect to the property
seized:

(
a)
description;

(
b)
circumstances of seizure;

(c)
present custodian and where the property is being stored or its location;

(
d)
name of owner;

(
e)
name of lienholder, if any;

(
f)
seizing agency; and

(
g)
the type and quantity of the controlled substance involved.

(
2)
If the property is a conveyance, the report shall include the:

(
a)
make, model, serial number, and year of the conveyance;

(
b)
person in whose name the conveyance is registered; and

(
c)
name of any lienholders.

(
3)
In addition to the report provided for in items (1) and (2), the law
enforcement agency shall prepare for dissemination to the public upon request a
report providing the following information:

(
a)
a description of the quantity and nature of the property and money seized;

(
b)
the seizing agency;

(
c)
the type and quantity of the controlled substance involved;

(
d)
the make, model, and year of a conveyance; and

(
e)
the law enforcement agency responsible for the property or conveyance seized.

(
k)
Property or conveyances seized by a law enforcement agency or department must
not be used by officers for personal purposes.

S
ECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on January 13, 2026 at 1:08 PM