A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING ARTICLE 18 TO CHAPTER 3, TITLE 23 SO AS TO DIRECT THE STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION TO CREATE AND ADMINISTER THE "PERSISTENT Criminal DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OFFENDER REGISTRY."

 

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

 

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

 

Article 18

 

Persistent Criminal Domestic Violence Offender Registry

 

    Section 23-3-1600. (A) To provide a statewide registry of offenders who have repeatedly committed offenses of criminal domestic violence pursuant to Article 1, Chapter 25, Title 16, the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is directed to create and administer the "Persistent Criminal Domestic Violence Offender Registry." As contained in this article, "persistent criminal domestic violence offender" means a person who has committed a second or subsequent criminal domestic violence offense.

    (B) Upon the conviction of a person for a second or subsequent criminal domestic violence offense, the clerk of court shall submit a copy of the conviction to SLED to be placed in the registry. SLED shall maintain this registry based upon information supplied to it by the court clerks and information available to SLED from the Department of Corrections and local law enforcement agencies. SLED shall make the registry available for public inquiry on its website.

    (C) The registry shall consist of the persistent domestic violence offender's name, date of birth, conviction dates, counties of convictions, and a current photograph of the persistent criminal domestic violence offender. If available, the clerk of court shall provide SLED with a copy of the persistent criminal domestic violence offender's driver's license number, or other state or federal identification, and any other identifying data as SLED determines is necessary to properly identify the persistent criminal domestic violence offender and exclude innocent persons. However, the registry that is available for public inquiry must not include the persistent criminal domestic violence offender's address, social security number, driver's license number, or any other state or federal identification number.

    (D) An offender required to register under this article must be assessed a one-hundred-dollar-registration fee which must be paid to the clerk of the court imposing the sentence, who shall:

       (1) retain fifty dollars of the fee for administrative purposes; and

       (2) remit one hundred dollars of the fee to SLED to maintain the registry.

    (E) SLED shall remove from the registry the name and other identifying information of a persistent criminal domestic violence offender required to register under this article:

       (1) two years after the date of the most recent conviction for a criminal domestic violence offense if the offender has one prior conviction for criminal domestic violence;

       (2) five years after the date of the most recent conviction for a criminal domestic violence offense if the offender has two prior convictions for criminal domestic violence; or

       (3) ten years after the date of the most recent conviction of a criminal domestic violence offense if the offender has three or more prior convictions for criminal domestic violence.

    (F) This article applies only to persons convicted of second or subsequent criminal domestic violence offenses on or after January 1, 2027.

 

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

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