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Prosecutors Privacy — S. 841. This bill would create the “Prosecutors Personal Privacy Protection Act” and would apply to active or former solicitors, deputy or assistant solicitors, attorneys general along with their deputies and assistants, and U.S. Attorneys and their assistants for the District of South Carolina. It would ensure to these individuals that their personal identifying information held or maintained by any state or local governing entity would be confidential and must not be disclosed to the public if they have filed a formal request with the entity. The South Carolina Commission on Prosecution Coordination is required to create the necessary request form within 30 days after this bill becomes law. Any government entity that redacts or withholds information under this article would be required to provide the requestor a description of the redacted or withheld information.
The Senate amended the bill to include the provisions of S. 1034, a cleanup bill to Act 56 of 2023, that created the personal privacy act for current and former law enforcement officers and members of the judiciary. This amendment would limit the redaction request to county databases and online documents containing their personal identifying information, an SCAC policy position. The South Carolina Commission on Prosecution must coordinate with the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and Court Administration to create the request form to ensure consistency.
The House Judiciary Committee further amended the bill, at the request of SCAC, to clarify that the provisions of this bill do not prohibit governmental entities from disclosing this protected information to other governmental entities as a part of their duties and functions. The amendment also provides an exemption for the personal contact information of people serving as registered agents for service of process, adds property tax map numbers to the definition of “personal contact information” if it is posted on a publicly available state or local government agency website, and removes the “name” of the requestor from the definition of personal contact information. Finally, the amendment changes the effective date of both this bill and Act 56 of 2023 from July 1, 2024, until July 1, 2025. S. 841 is pending second reading on the House calendar.
Pending Gun Charges — S. 1166. This bill was filed in response to the passage of the Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act of 2024. It would require the state to dismiss all charges pending against a person for unlawful possession of a handgun that were nullified by the enactment of the Constitutional Carry Act. The mandate does not apply if the unlawful possession charge was used as probable cause for another offense arising from the same incident. The House Judiciary Committee amended the bill to state that the dismissal of the charge may not serve as a basis or support for any civil action due to the arrest on the charge by law enforcement officers or prosecutors. The Committee then gave S. 1166 a favorable report, as amended, and the bill is pending second reading on the House calendar.
Telecommunicator CPR Training Law — H. 4867. This bill would require all 911 telecommunicators who provide dispatch for emergency medical conditions to be trained in high-quality telecommunicator CPR. The bill also protects local governments from potential liability under 23-23-45(D). The Senate Judiciary Committee amended the bill to include recklessness and intentional misconduct to the list of exclusions from liability protection for the state, political subdivisions, and telecommunicators that provide dispatch for emergency medical conditions and have completed the training. The Committee then gave the bill a favorable report, as amended, and H. 4867 is pending second reading on the Senate calendar.
Probate Code Cleanup — H. 4234. This bill updates the probate laws in compliance with the Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act that became effective in 2019 by amending the procedures for guardianship and conservatorship proceedings to align with an SCAC policy position. The Senate Judiciary Committee adopted a technical amendment and gave the bill a favorable report, as amended. H. 4234 is pending second reading on the Senate calendar.
Florence County Register of Deeds — H. 3313. This bill adds Florence County to those counties exempt from the requirement that duties prescribed by law for the register of deeds must be performed by the clerk of court. The bill also provides that the register of deeds will be appointed by the governing body of the county. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee gave the bill a favorable report, and H. 3313 is pending second reading on the Senate calendar.
Fentanyl Homicide — S. 1. This bill creates the felony offense of fentanyl-induced homicide. A person who unlawfully delivers, dispenses, or otherwise provides fentanyl to a person who dies after injection, inhalation, absorption, or ingestion of any amount of the substance has committed the felony offense of fentanyl-induced homicide. This felony carries a penalty of not more than 30 years. A House Judiciary subcommittee amendment would differentiate between a dealer in fentanyl versus a person sharing fentanyl with another person that results in death.
The House Judiciary Committee adopted the subcommittee amendment and further amended the bill by deleting Section 3 of the bill which defined fentanyl-related substances. The Committee then gave S. 1 a favorable report, as amended, and the bill is pending second reading on the contested House calendar.
Judicial Merit Selection Commission Reform — S. 1046 and H. 5170. Last week, a House Judiciary subcommittee struck the language in S. 1046 and inserted the language from H. 5170. This language would amend the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC) to be composed of 13 members and require the JMSC to employ an executive director to perform the day-to-day operations of the Commission. Four members would be appointed by the Speaker of the House, two by the President of the Senate, two by the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and five by the Governor. The bill would also specify that a magistrate may serve in a holdover capacity for no more than 14 days from the expiration of their term, and the Governor may make a temporary appointment if the Senate has not given advice and consent for a new appointment within 14 days. Finally, the bill would expand concurrent jurisdiction for magistrates’ court to certain actions with claims not exceeding $25,000. The current limit is $7,500.
The House Judiciary Committee adopted the subcommittee’s amendment and further amended the bill to change the effective date to upon approval of the Governor. The Committee then gave the bill a favorable report, as amended, and S. 1046 is pending second reading on the contested House calendar.
Law Enforcement Access to Electronic Records — S. 954. This bill would allow law enforcement officers, a Circuit Solicitor, or the Attorney General (AG) to require the disclosure of stored communications, as well as related transaction records and subscriber information, to the extent provided by federal law. The AG, a Circuit Solicitor, or the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division can issue subpoenas to compel disclosure of these communications upon showing that the requested material is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation. The House Judiciary Committee adopted an amendment to allow the AG to issue a subpoena to an electronic communication or remote computing service to compel disclosure or production of the information if it is material and relevant to an investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The Committee then gave S. 954 a favorable report, as amended, and the bill is pending second reading on the House calendar.
Xylazine – H. 4617 and S. 849. As passed by the House, H. 4617 would add xylazine to the list of Schedule III controlled substances, with exceptions, and prohibit the production, manufacture, distribution, or possession of xylazine, with exceptions. The Senate Judiciary Committee amended H. 4617 to mirror the language in S. 849 and gave the bill a favorable report, as amended.
As passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, H. 4617 would add xylazine to the list of Schedule III controlled substances and includes exceptions for the distribution or possession of xylazine by a licensed vet, the possession of xylazine with a prescription from a licensed vet; or for the possession of xylazine in an injectable form for use in an animal. The bill also makes it unlawful for any person to produce, manufacture, distribute, or possess with intent to produce, manufacture, or distribute xylazine for a use other than a nonhuman use and provides for penalties. H. 4617 is pending second reading on the Senate calendar and S. 849 has not received a hearing from the House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee.
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