South Carolina 126th General Assembly Status: Introduced

S 0723 — A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-15-395, RELATING TO FIRST DEGREE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR DEFINED; PRESUMPTIONS; DEFENSES; PENALTIES, SO AS TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM PENALTY TO FIVE YEARS' IMPRISONMENT; BY AMENDING SECTION 16-15-405, RELATING TO SECOND DEGREE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR DEFINED; PRESUMPTIONS; DEFENSES; PENALTIES, SO AS TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM PENALTY TO THREE YEARS' IMPRISONMENT; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 16-15-410, RELATING TO THIRD DEGREE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR DEFINED; PENALTIES; EXCEPTION, SO AS TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES BASED ON THE NUMBER OF IMAGES POSSESSED, INCLUDING A PENALTY OF UP TO TEN YEARS IF THERE ARE ONE TO TWENTY-FIVE IMAGES, ONE TO TEN YEARS IF THERE ARE TWENTY-SIX TO TWO HUNDRED FIFTY IMAGES, AND A PENALTY OF TWO TO TEN YEARS IF THERE ARE MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED FIFTY IMAGES; AND TO ESTABLISH THAT A PERSON WHO IS REQUIRED TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER AND VIOLATES THE PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION, UPON CONVICTION, MUST SERVE A MINIMUM OF FIVE YEARS.

Last action — Referred to Committee on Judiciary (House Journal-page 16)

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced December 10, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Prognosis

Stalled 4% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 8 sponsors

    1 primary, 7 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Failed a recorded vote

    Failed 1 recorded vote so far — a real headwind.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

CSAM penalties

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Judiciary (House Journal-page 16)

  2. Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 16)

  3. Read third time and sent to House (Senate Journal-page 15)

  4. Roll call Ayes-44 Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 15)

  5. Read second time (Senate Journal-page 15)

  6. Amended (Senate Journal-page 15)

  7. Committee Amendment Adopted

  8. Committee report: Favorable with amendment Judiciary (Senate Journal-page 8)

  9. Referred to Committee on Judiciary (Senate Journal-page 32)

  10. Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 32)

  11. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  12. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 7 co-sponsors · 162 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (7)

Not signed on (162)

162 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 162 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 0723 do?
CSAM penalties
Who sponsors S 0723?
S 0723 is sponsored by Senator Overture Walker, Senator Billy Garrett, Senator Jeff Zell, Senator Rex F. Rice, Senator Mike Reichenbach, Senator Carlisle Kennedy, Senator Wes Climer, and Senator Allen Blackmon.
What is the current status of S 0723?
This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced December 10, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 0723?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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