South Carolina 126th General Assembly Status: Introduced

H 5065 — A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS SO AS TO ENACT THE "SENTENCING ENHANCEMENTS FOR CRIMES AGAINST MINORS ACT"; BY ADDING ARTICLE 22 TO CHAPTER 3, TITLE 16 SO AS TO ESTABLISH ADDITIONAL TERMS OF IMPRISONMENT FOR PERSONS CONVICTED OF CRIMES AGAINST MINORS AND TO PROHIBIT THE AVOIDANCE OR REDUCTION OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR PERSONS CONVICTED OF CRIMES AGAINST MINORS DUE TO A VERDICT OR PLEA OF NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY.

Last action — Member(s) request name added as sponsor: M.M.Smith

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

This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced January 29, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

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

Enhanced Punishment for Crimes Against Minors

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read H 5065 on the official South Carolina source →

Action History

  1. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: M.M.Smith

  2. Referred to Committee on Judiciary (House Journal-page 15)

  3. Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 15)

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 4 co-sponsors · 165 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (4)

Not signed on (165)

165 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 165 →

"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

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 H 5065 do?
Enhanced Punishment for Crimes Against Minors
Who sponsors H 5065?
H 5065 is sponsored by Representative Marvin "Mark" Smith, Representative Thomas F. "Tom" Hartnett, Jr., Representative James E. Teeple, Representative Joseph M. "Joe" Bustos, and Representative Kathy Landing.
What is the current status of H 5065?
This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced January 29, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track H 5065?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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