South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

S 39 — Tree Limbs Encroaching Over Property Lines

Last action — Referred to Committee on Judiciary

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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 11, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

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

Prognosis

Stalled 20% · 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.

  • 4 sponsors

    4 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 16-11-520, RELATING TO MALICIOUS INJURY TO A TREE, HOUSE, OUTSIDE FENCE, OR FIXTURE, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE EXCEPTION OF TRIMMING TREE LIMBS THAT ENCROACH UPON A PROPERTY LINE.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

39 added · 10 removed

39 line(s) added, 10 removed.

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2025-2026 Bill 39 Text of Previous Version (Dec.
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11, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 39Indicates 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 16-11-520, RELATING TO MALICIOUS INJURY TO A TREE, HOUSE, OUTSIDE FENCE, OR FIXTURE, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE EXCEPTION OF TRIMMING TREE LIMBS THAT ENCROACH UPON A PROPERTY LINE.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Section 16-11-520 of the S.C.
Code is amended to read:
      Section 16-11-520.
(A) It is unlawful for a person to wilfully and maliciously cut, mutilate, deface, or otherwise injure a tree, house, outside fence, or fixture of another or commit any other trespass upon real property of another.
    (B) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a:
       (1) felony and, upon conviction, must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both, if the injury to the property or the property loss is worth ten thousand dollars or more;
       (2) felony and, upon conviction, must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than five years, or both, if the injury to the property or the property loss is worth more than two thousand dollars but less than ten thousand dollars;
       (3) misdemeanor triable in magistrates court or municipal court, notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 22-3-540, 22-3-545, 22-3-550, and 14-25-65, if the injury to the property or the property loss is worth two thousand dollars or less.
Upon conviction, the person must be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.
    (C) The provisions of this section do not apply to a person trimming tree limbs that encroach upon the person's property line.
  SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on December 11, 2024 at 04:31 PM
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Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  2. Introduced and read first time

  3. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  4. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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4 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 166 not signed on

Sponsors (4)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (166)

166 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 166 →

"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 housing environment
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 39 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-11-520, RELATING TO MALICIOUS INJURY TO A TREE, HOUSE, OUTSIDE FENCE, OR FIXTURE, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE EXCEPTION OF TRIMMING TREE LIMBS THAT ENCROACH UPON A PROPERTY LINE.
Who sponsors S 39?
S 39 is sponsored by Senator Kent M. Williams, Senator Brad Hutto, Senator Jeffrey R. Graham, and Senator Jeff Zell.
What is the current status of S 39?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced December 11, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 39?
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