South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

S 702 — Criminal Coercive Control

Last action — Scrivener's error corrected

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

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

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Stalled 16% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    2 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

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

A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-25-10, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS PERTAINING TO A "DATING RELATIONSHIP" AND "COERCIVE CONTROL", SO AS TO INCLUDE PERSONS WHO ARE PRESENTLY IN OR HAVE FORMERLY BEEN IN A DATING RELATIONSHIP IN THE DEFINITION OF "HOUSEHOLD MEMBER" AND TO ADD THE DEFINITIONS OF DATING RELATIONSHIP AND COERCIVE CONTROL; BY AMENDING SECTION 16-25-20, RELATING TO PROHIBITED ACTS, SO AS TO MAKE IT UNLAWFUL FOR A PERSON TO ENGAGE IN COERCIVE CONTROL OVER A PERSON'S OWN HOUSEHOLD; BY AMENDING SECTION 20-3-10, RELATING TO GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE, SO AS TO INCLUDE CRIMINAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST A SPOUSE, STALKING, AND HARASSMENT AS GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE; BY AMENDING SECTION 20-4-20, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS PERTAINING TO ABUSE, SO AS TO INCLUDE HARASSMENT, STALKING, AND COERCIVE CONTROL INTO THE DEFINITIONS OF "ABUSE" AND TO FURTHER PROVIDE THAT A HOUSEHOLD MEMBER INCLUDES PERSONS WHO ARE PRESENTLY IN OR HAVE FORMERLY BEEN IN A DATING RELATIONSHIP; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 63-15-240, RELATING TO THE CONTENTS OF ORDER FOR CUSTODY AFFECTING RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARENTS AND THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE STATUTORY REFERENCE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ADD STALKING AND HARASSMENT AS ACTIVITY FOR A COURT TO CONSIDER WHEN DETERMINING WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF A CHILD.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

15 added · 15 removed

15 line(s) added, 15 removed.

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2025-2026 Bill 702 Text of Previous Version (Jan.
2025-2026 Bill 702 Text of Previous Version (Dec.
14, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 702Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter(Text matches printed bills.
10, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 702Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter(Text matches printed bills.
Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)                 A bill   TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-25-10, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS PERTAINING TO A "DATING RELATIONSHIP" AND "COERCIVE CONTROL", SO AS TO INCLUDE PERSONS WHO ARE PRESENTLY IN OR HAVE FORMERLY BEEN IN A DATING RELATIONSHIP IN THE DEFINITION OF "HOUSEHOLD MEMBER" AND TO ADD THE DEFINITIONS OF DATING RELATIONSHIP AND COERCIVE CONTROL;
Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)                 A bill   TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-25-10, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS PERTAINING TO A "DATING RELATIONSHIP" AND "COERCIVE CONTROL", SO AS TO INCLUDE PERSONS WHO ARE PRESENTLY IN OR HAVE FORMERLY BEEN IN A DATING RELATIONSHIP IN THE DEFINITION OF "HOUSEHOLD MEMBER" AND TO ADD THE DEFINTIONS OF DATING RELATIONSHIP AND COERCIVE CONTROL;
AND BY AMENDING SECTION 63-15-240, RELATING TO THE CONTENTS OF ORDER FOR CUSTODY AFFECTING RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARENTS AND THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE STATUTORY REFERENCE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ADD STALKING AND HARASSMENT AS ACTIVITY FOR A COURT TO CONSIDER WHEN DETERMINING WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF A CHILD.
AND BY AMENDING SECTION 63-15-240, RELATING TO THE CONTENTS OF ORDER FOR CUSTODY AFFECTING RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARENTS AND THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE STATUORY REFERENCE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ADD STALKING AND HARRASSMENT AS ACTIVITY FOR A COURT TO CONSIDER WHEN DETERMINING WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF A CHILD.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on January 14, 2026 at 05:19 PM
----XX---- This web page was last updated on December 10, 2025 at 02:22 PM
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Action History

  1. Scrivener's error corrected

  2. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  3. Introduced and read first time

  4. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  5. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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2 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 168 not signed on

Sponsors (2)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (168)

168 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 168 →

"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 S 702 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-25-10, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS PERTAINING TO A "DATING RELATIONSHIP" AND "COERCIVE CONTROL", SO AS TO INCLUDE PERSONS WHO ARE PRESENTLY IN OR HAVE FORMERLY BEEN IN A DATING RELATIONSHIP IN THE DEFINITION OF "HOUSEHOLD MEMBER" AND TO ADD THE DEFINITIONS OF DATING RELATIONSHIP AND COERCIVE CONTROL; BY AMENDING SECTION 16-25-20, RELATING TO PROHIBITED ACTS, SO AS TO MAKE IT UNLAWFUL FOR A PERSON TO ENGAGE IN COERCIVE CONTROL OVER A PERSON'S OWN HOUSEHOLD; BY AMENDING SECTION 20-3-10, RELATING TO GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE, SO AS TO INCLUDE CRIMINAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST A SPOUSE, STALKING, AND HARASSMENT AS GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE; BY AMENDING SECTION 20-4-20, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS PERTAINING TO ABUSE, SO AS TO INCLUDE HARASSMENT, STALKING, AND COERCIVE CONTROL INTO THE DEFINITIONS OF "ABUSE" AND TO FURTHER PROVIDE THAT A HOUSEHOLD MEMBER INCLUDES PERSONS WHO ARE PRESENTLY IN OR HAVE FORMERLY BEEN IN A DATING RELATIONSHIP; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 63-15-240, RELATING TO THE CONTENTS OF ORDER FOR CUSTODY AFFECTING RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARENTS AND THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE STATUTORY REFERENCE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ADD STALKING AND HARASSMENT AS ACTIVITY FOR A COURT TO CONSIDER WHEN DETERMINING WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF A CHILD.
Who sponsors S 702?
S 702 is sponsored by Senator Stephen L. Goldfinch and Senator Lawrence K. "Larry" Grooms.
What is the current status of S 702?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced December 10, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 702?
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