South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

H 4696 — Infant Save Haven Placement

Last action — Member(s) request name added as sponsor: White

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

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced December 16, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

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

Prognosis

Stalled 22% · 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.

  • 5 sponsors

    5 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 63-7-40, RELATING TO SAFE HAVENS FOR ABANDONED BABIES, SO AS TO INCREASE THE AGE UP TO THE AGE OF ONE WHEN AN INFANT MAY BE LEFT AT A SAFE HAVEN.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

36 added · 8 removed

36 line(s) added, 8 removed.

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2025-2026 Bill 4696 Text of Previous Version (Dec.
17, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 4696Indicates 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 63-7-40, RELATING TO SAFE HAVENS FOR ABANDONED BABIES, SO AS TO INCREASE THE AGE UP TO THE AGE OF ONE WHEN AN INFANT MAY BE LEFT AT A SAFE HAVEN.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Section 63-7-40(G) and (J) of the S.C.
Code is amended to read:
      (G) A person who leaves an infant at a safe haven or directs another person to do so must not be prosecuted for any criminal offense on account of such action if:
       (1) the person is a parent of the infant or is acting at the direction of a parent;
       (2) the person leaves the infant in the physical custody of a staff member or an employee of the safe haven;
and        (3) the infant is not more than sixty days one year old or the infant is reasonably determined by the hospital or hospital outpatient facility to be not more than sixty days one year old.
    This subsection does not apply to prosecution for the infliction of any harm upon the infant other than the harm inherent in abandonment.
      (J) For purposes of this section:
       (1) "infant" means a person not more than sixty days one year old;  and        (2) "safe haven" means a hospital or hospital outpatient facility, a law enforcement agency, a fire station, an emergency medical services station, or any staffed house of worship during hours when the facility is staffed.
  SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on December 17, 2025 at 01:53 PM
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Action History

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

  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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5 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 165 not signed on

Sponsors (5)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

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 4696 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 63-7-40, RELATING TO SAFE HAVENS FOR ABANDONED BABIES, SO AS TO INCREASE THE AGE UP TO THE AGE OF ONE WHEN AN INFANT MAY BE LEFT AT A SAFE HAVEN.
Who sponsors H 4696?
H 4696 is sponsored by Representative John R. McCravy III, Representative Thomas E. "Tommy" Pope, Representative William M. "Bill" Chumley, Representative Sarita L. Edgerton, and Representative Joseph S. "Joe" White.
What is the current status of H 4696?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced December 16, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track H 4696?
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