South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

S 709 — Bail Bondsmen

Last action — Referred to Committee on Banking and Insurance

  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 14% · 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.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 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 38-53-10, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS FOR BAIL BONDSMEN AND RUNNERS SO AS TO DEFINE "DIRECTOR" AS THE CHIEF OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 38-53-20, RELATING TO ENFORCEMENT OF CHAPTER ON BAIL BONDSMEN AND RUNNERS, SO AS TO REMOVE THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE AS AN ENFORCEMENT AGENCY SO THAT THE CLERKS OF COURT AND THE STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION TOGETHER ENFORCE THE CHAPTER.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

27 added · 10 removed

Plain-language change summary

In the amended version of Bill S 709, the definition of "director" has been changed to specify that it refers to the Chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Additionally, the Department of Insurance has been removed as an enforcement agency for bail bondsmen and runners, giving enforcement authority to the clerks of court and the State Law Enforcement Division instead. This matters because it centralizes enforcement under law enforcement authorities, potentially leading to a more streamlined and effective approach to regulating bail bondsmen in South Carolina.

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2025-2026 Bill 709 Text of Previous Version (Dec.
10, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 709Indicates 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 38-53-10, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS FOR BAIL BONDSMEN AND RUNNERS SO AS TO DEFINE "DIRECTOR" AS THE CHIEF OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION;
AND BY AMENDING SECTION 38-53-20, RELATING TO ENFORCEMENT OF CHAPTER ON BAIL BONDSMEN AND RUNNERS, SO AS TO REMOVE THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE AS AN ENFORCEMENT AGENCY SO THAT THE CLERKS OF COURT AND THE STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION TOGETHER ENFORCE THE CHAPTER.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Section 38-53-10 of the S.C.
Code is amended by adding:
      (16) "Director" means the Chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
  SECTION 2.  Section 38-53-20 of the S.C.
Code is amended to read:
      Section 38-53-20.  The director or his designee, clerksClerks of court, and the State Law Enforcement Division have full power and authority to administer the provisions of this chapter for which they are charged with implementing.
The director shall promulgate regulations to enforce the purposes and provisions of this chapter.
The director may hire employees, examiners, investigators, and other assistants as he considers necessary and shall prescribe their duties.
  SECTION 3.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on December 10, 2025 at 02:17 PM
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Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Banking and Insurance

  2. Introduced and read first time

  3. Referred to Committee on Banking and Insurance

  4. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 169 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (169)

169 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 169 →

"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
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 709 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 38-53-10, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS FOR BAIL BONDSMEN AND RUNNERS SO AS TO DEFINE "DIRECTOR" AS THE CHIEF OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 38-53-20, RELATING TO ENFORCEMENT OF CHAPTER ON BAIL BONDSMEN AND RUNNERS, SO AS TO REMOVE THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE AS AN ENFORCEMENT AGENCY SO THAT THE CLERKS OF COURT AND THE STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION TOGETHER ENFORCE THE CHAPTER.
Who sponsors S 709?
S 709 is sponsored by Senator Brian Adams.
What is the current status of S 709?
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 709?
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