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A168, R165, S227
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Fair, Campsen and Leventis
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11138ac05.doc
Companion/Similar bill(s): 303, 3222
Introduced in the Senate on January 12, 2005
Introduced in the House on April 6, 2005
Last Amended on June 1, 2005
Passed by the General Assembly on June 2, 2005
Governor's Action: June 7, 2005, Signed
Summary: Grounds for termination of parental rights if child is conceived as result of criminal sexual conduct
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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1/12/2005 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-21
1/12/2005 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-21
3/30/2005 Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment Judiciary
SJ-17
3/31/2005 Senate Amended SJ-21
3/31/2005 Senate Read second time SJ-21
3/31/2005 Scrivener's error corrected
4/5/2005 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-13
4/6/2005 House Introduced and read first time HJ-13
4/6/2005 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-13
5/18/2005 House Committee report: Favorable with amendment Judiciary
HJ-142
5/19/2005 Scrivener's error corrected
5/24/2005 House Amended HJ-37
5/24/2005 House Read second time HJ-40
5/25/2005 House Read third time and returned to Senate with amendments
HJ-23
6/1/2005 Senate House amendment amended SJ-65
6/1/2005 Senate Returned to House with amendments SJ-65
6/2/2005 House Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled HJ-17
6/2/2005 Ratified R 165
6/7/2005 Signed By Governor
6/13/2005 Copies available
6/13/2005 Effective date 06/07/05
6/30/2005 Act No. 168
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
1/12/2005
3/30/2005
3/31/2005
3/31/2005-A
5/18/2005
5/19/2005
5/24/2005
6/1/2005
(A168, R165, S227)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-1695, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PERSONS FROM WHOM CONSENT OR RELINQUISHMENT FOR ADOPTION IS REQUIRED, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT CONSENT OR RELINQUISHMENT IS NOT REQUIRED OF THE BIOLOGICAL PARENT OF A CHILD CONCEIVED AS A RESULT OF THAT PARENT'S CRIMINAL SEXUAL CONDUCT OR INCEST; AND TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-1572, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO GROUNDS FOR TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT CONCEPTION OF A CHILD AS A RESULT OF CRIMINAL SEXUAL CONDUCT IS A GROUND FOR TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF CONSENSUAL SEXUAL CONDUCT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Act citation
SECTION 1. This act may be cited as "Autumn's Law".
When consent and relinquishment not required
SECTION 2. Section 20-7-1695(A) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 653 of 1988, is amended to read:
"(A) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 20-7-1690, consent or relinquishment for the purpose of adoption is not required of the following persons:
(1) a parent whose rights with reference to the adoptee have been terminated pursuant to subarticle 3, Article 11, Chapter 7 of Title 20;
(2) a parent whom the family court finds to be mentally incapable of giving consent or relinquishment for the purpose of adoption and whom the court finds to be unlikely to provide minimally acceptable care of the adoptee and whose capacity is unlikely to be restored for a reasonable period of time, and, in the court's judgment, it would be detrimental to the adoptee to delay adoption. The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for an incompetent parent for whom there has been no prior appointment and shall appoint independent counsel for an incompetent parent who is indigent. However, upon good cause shown, the court may waive the requirement for the appointment of independent counsel for an incompetent and indigent parent;
(3) the biological parent of a child conceived as a result of that parent's criminal sexual conduct or incest as found by a court of competent jurisdiction unless, with respect to a conviction for criminal sexual conduct, 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."
Grounds for terminating parental rights
SECTION 3. Section 20-7-1572 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 2004, is amended by adding an appropriately numbered item at the end to read:
"( ) 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."
Time effective
SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Ratified the 2nd day of June, 2005.
Approved the 7th day of June, 2005.
This web page was last updated on Friday, December 4, 2009 at 3:27 P.M.