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H. 3069
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Leach, Haskins, G.R. Smith, Shoopman, Umphlett, Kirsh, Mahaffey, Sandifer, Brady and Cotty
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11033ac07.doc
Companion/Similar bill(s): 1038
Introduced in the House on January 9, 2007
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary
Summary: Child abuse or neglect
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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12/13/2006 House Prefiled
12/13/2006 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary
1/9/2007 House Introduced and read first time HJ-44
1/9/2007 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-44
1/11/2007 House Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Cotty
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-490, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE DEFINITION OF TERMS IN THE CHILDREN'S CODE, INCLUDING THE DEFINITION OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT INCLUDES KNOWINGLY EXPOSING A CHILD TO CHEMICALS THAT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO INTERFERE WITH NORMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS, INCLUDING DURING THE MANUFACTURING OF METHAMPHETAMINE; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-763, RELATING TO THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES MUST MAKE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO PRESERVE OR UNIFY THE FAMILY AND EXCEPTIONS TO THIS REQUIREMENT, SO AS TO PROVIDE AS AN EXCEPTION THAT THE PARENT HAS KNOWINGLY EXPOSED A CHILD TO CHEMICALS THAT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO INTERFERE WITH NORMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS, INCLUDING DURING THE MANUFACTURING OF METHAMPHETAMINE; AND TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-1572, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO GROUNDS FOR THE TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE AS A GROUND THAT THE PARENT EXPOSED A CHILD TO CHEMICALS THAT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO INTERFERE WITH NORMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS, INCLUDING DURING THE MANUFACTURING OF METHAMPHETAMINE.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 20-7-490(2)(f) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 325 of 2002, is further amended to read:
"(f) knowingly exposes a child in the home to chemicals that have the capacity to interfere with normal physiological functions including, but not limited to, chemicals used or generated during the manufacturing of methamphetamine;
(g) has committed abuse or neglect as described in subsections (a) through (e)(f) such that a child who subsequently becomes part of the person's household is at substantial risk of one of those forms of abuse or neglect."
SECTION 2. Section 20-7-763(C)(1) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 391 of 1998, is amended to read:
"(1) the parent has subjected the child to one or more of the following aggravated circumstances:
(a) severe or repeated abuse;
(b) severe or repeated neglect;
(c) sexual abuse;
(d) acts that the judge may find constitute torture; or
(e) abandonment; or
(f) knowingly exposed a child to chemicals that have the capacity to interfere with normal physiological functions including, but not limited to, chemicals used or generated during the manufacturing of methamphetamine;"
SECTION 3. Section 20-7-1572 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 168 of 2005, is further amended to read:
"Section 20-7-1572. The family court may order the termination of parental rights upon a finding of one or more of the following grounds and a finding that termination is in the best interest of the child:
(1) The child or another child in the home has been harmed as defined in Section 20-7-490, and because of the severity or repetition of the abuse or neglect, it is not reasonably likely that the home can be made safe within twelve months. In determining the likelihood that the home can be made safe, the parent's previous abuse or neglect of the child or another child in the home may be considered;.
(2) The child has been removed from the parent pursuant to Section 20-7-610 or Section 20-7-736, has been out of the home for a period of six months following the adoption of a placement plan by court order or by agreement between the department and the parent, and the parent has not remedied the conditions which caused the removal;.
(3) The child has lived outside the home of either parent for a period of six months, and during that time the parent has wilfully failed to visit the child. The court may attach little or no weight to incidental visitations, but it must be shown that the parent was not prevented from visiting by the party having custody or by court order. The distance of the child's placement from the parent's home must be taken into consideration when determining the ability to visit;.
(4) The child has lived outside the home of either parent for a period of six months, and during that time the parent has wilfully failed to support the child. Failure to support means that the parent has failed to make a material contribution to the child's care. A material contribution consists of either financial contributions according to the parent's means or contributions of food, clothing, shelter, or other necessities for the care of the child according to the parent's means. The court may consider all relevant circumstances in determining whether or not the parent has wilfully failed to support the child, including requests for support by the custodian and the ability of the parent to provide support;.
(5) The presumptive legal father is not the biological father of the child, and the welfare of the child can best be served by termination of the parental rights of the presumptive legal father;.
(6) The parent has a diagnosable condition unlikely to change within a reasonable time including, but not limited to, alcohol or drug addiction, mental deficiency, mental illness, or extreme physical incapacity, and the condition makes the parent unlikely to provide minimally acceptable care of the child. It is presumed that the parent's condition is unlikely to change within a reasonable time upon proof that the parent has been required by the department or the family court to participate in a treatment program for alcohol or drug addiction, and the parent has failed two or more times to complete the program successfully or has refused at two or more separate meetings with the department to participate in a treatment program;.
(7) The child has been abandoned as defined in Section 20-7-490(21); 20-7-490(19).
(8) The child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the State for fifteen of the most recent twenty-two months; or.
(9) The physical abuse of a child of the parent resulted in the death or admission to the hospital for in-patient care of that child and the abuse is the act for which the parent has been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to committing, aiding, abetting, conspiring to commit, or soliciting an offense against the person as provided for in Title 16, Chapter 3, criminal domestic violence as defined in Section 16-25-20, criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature as defined in Section 16-25-65, or the common law offense of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
(10) A parent of the child pleads guilty or nolo contendere to or is convicted of the murder of the child's other parent.
(11) Conception of a child as a result of the criminal sexual conduct of a biological parent, as found by a court of competent jurisdiction, is grounds for terminating the rights of that biological parent, unless the sentencing court makes specific findings on the record that the conviction resulted from consensual sexual conduct where neither the victim nor the actor were younger than fourteen years of age nor older than eighteen years of age at the time of the offense.
(12) The parent of the child knowingly exposed any child in the home to chemicals that have the capacity to interfere with normal physiological functions including, but not limited to, chemicals used or generated during the manufacturing of methamphetamine."
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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