South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

S 5 — Criminal History Background Check

Last action — Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  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 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 ADDING SECTION 23-3-42 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MUST NOT RELEASE CERTAIN INFORMATION REGARDING ARRESTS PURSUANT TO CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECKS.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

19 added · 1 removed

Plain-language change summary

The recent amendment to Bill S 5 changes the rules regarding how arrests are reported during criminal history background checks. Specifically, it states that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division cannot include an unadjudicated arrest—meaning an arrest that hasn't yet gone to trial or been resolved—in the records they release. This is important because it protects individuals who have not been convicted of a crime from having potentially damaging information included in their background checks, which can affect their job prospects and reputation.

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2025-2026 Bill 5 Text of Previous Version (Dec.
11, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 5Indicates 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 ADDING SECTION 23-3-42 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MUST NOT RELEASE CERTAIN INFORMATION REGARDING ARRESTS PURSUANT TO CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECKS.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Chapter 3, Title 23 of the S.C.
Code is amended by adding:
      Section 23-3-42.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division must not include an unadjudicated arrest of a person in a record that may be released pursuant to a criminal history background check.
  SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on December 11, 2024 at 04:13 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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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
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Frequently asked questions

What does S 5 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 23-3-42 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MUST NOT RELEASE CERTAIN INFORMATION REGARDING ARRESTS PURSUANT TO CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECKS.
Who sponsors S 5?
S 5 is sponsored by Senator Darrell Jackson and Senator Tom Fernandez.
What is the current status of S 5?
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 5?
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Last checked for changes about 2 months ago · updated continuously

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