South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

H. 3958

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. E.H. Pitts and Huggins
Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\9747sl03.doc

Introduced in the House on April 8, 2003
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Sex offender notification system established

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
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    4/8/2003  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-98
    4/8/2003  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-98

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

4/8/2003

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 8 TO CHAPTER 3, TITLE 23 SO AS TO SET FORTH THE SEX OFFENDER NOTIFICATION SYSTEM, DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS, REQUIRE THAT A SEX OFFENDER PARTICIPATE IN THE NOTIFICATION SYSTEM SET FORTH WHEN A SEX OFFENDER SHALL NOTIFY HIS PAROLE OFFICER, PROVIDE A PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO NOTIFY, SET FORTH DUTIES OF A PAROLE OFFICER, PROVIDE A PENALTY FOR FAILURE OF A PAROLE OFFICER TO PERFORM HIS DUTIES, PROVIDE THE CONTENTS OF THE NOTIFICATION FORM, AND PROVIDE THAT FUNDING FOR THE NOTIFICATION PROCESS MUST BE COVERED THROUGH EXISTING POLICE BUDGETS.

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

SECTION    1.    Chapter 3, Title 23 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Article 8

Sex Offender Notification System

Section 23-3-540.    As used in this article:

(1)    'Local mayor' means an official elected to act as chief executive or nominal head over the city or borough that has jurisdiction over the area in which the sex offender chooses to reside.

(2)    'Local police chief' means the top ranking commander of the police force that has jurisdiction over the area in which the sex offender chooses to reside.

(3)    'Residents' means persons who reside within a one mile radius of where the sex offender chooses to reside.

(4)    Sex offender' means a person convicted of one or more of the following offenses:

(a)    criminal sexual conduct in the first degree pursuant to Section 16-3-652;

(b)    criminal sexual conduct in the second degree pursuant to Section 16-3-653;

(c)    criminal sexual conduct in the third degree pursuant to Section 16-3-654;

(d)    criminal sexual conduct with minors pursuant to Section 16-3-655;

(e)    engaging a child for sexual performance pursuant to Section 16-3-810; and

(f)    producing, directing, or promoting sexual performance by a child pursuant to Section 16-3-820.

Section 23-3-550.    In addition to the requirements in Article 7, a sexual offender, as defined in Section 23-3-540, shall participate in the sex offender notification system pursuant to this article.

Section 23-3-560.    (A)    A released sex offender shall give written notice to:

(1)    his parole officer within twenty-four hours of his release from prison of his intended place of residency;

(2)    his parole officer within ten days of a residency change within the State of South Carolina; and

(3)    a police official assigned to him by his parole officer by January thirtieth of each year for the rest of his life.

(B)    If the sex offender fails to register upon release from prison, fails to register a change in residency, or gives false information, the sex offender must be punished as follows:

(1)    a person convicted for a first offense is guilty of a misdemeanor and must be imprisoned for a mandatory period of ninety days, part of which must not be suspended and probation must not be granted;

(2)    a person convicted for a second offense is guilty of a misdemeanor and must be imprisoned for a mandatory period of one year, part of which must not be suspended and probation must not be granted; and

(3)    a person convicted for a third offense is guilty of a felony and must be imprisoned for a mandatory period of five years, three years of which must not be suspended nor probation granted.

Section 23-3-570.    (A)    A parole officer of a released sex offender shall notify the local mayor, the local police chief, and the residents of the place the offender chooses to reside via postal mail within ninety days of the sex offender's release and change of residency by completing and sending the official form of notification.

(B)    The envelope for the official form of notification must read 'Important Notification from your local law enforcement agency'. The form must read:

Important Notification

Name of sex offender:

Sex offense found guilty of in a court of law:

Date released from prison:

The registered residency intended within ninety days of prison release:

(C)    If a parole officer fails to complete the requirements of this section, he may be fined up to five hundred dollars and the act will go in the officer's official employment file.

Section 23-3-580.    Funding for the provisions of this article must be covered through existing local police budgets, in which the budgeting committee must allocate the appropriate funds for the Sexual Offender Notification Process.

Section 23-3-590.    A person who commits a criminal offense against a sex offender whose identity was revealed to him pursuant to the Sex Offender Notification System may be punished as follows:

(1)    For a misdemeanor offense, the maximum fine prescribed by law may be increased by not more than one thousand dollars, and the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed by law for the offense may be increased by not more than six months.

(2)    For a felony offense, the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed by law for the offense may be increased by not more than five years."

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

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