South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee 1 D cosponsors

H 3394 — Homicide by child abuse

Last action — Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Erickson, Bradley, King

  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 05, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

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

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · 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.

  • 12 sponsors

    12 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 D).

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 16-3-85, RELATING TO HOMICIDE BY CHILD ABUSE, SO AS TO INCREASE THE AGE OF A CHILD UNDER THIS SECTION FROM UNDER THE AGE OF ELEVEN TO UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

55 added · 7 removed

Plain-language change summary

The latest version of Bill H 3394 proposes to increase the age defining a child in cases of homicide by child abuse from under eleven years old to under eighteen years old. This change is significant because it broadens the legal protections against child abuse to include older teenagers, recognizing that they can also be vulnerable to extreme forms of abuse and neglect. This amendment aims to ensure that more children receive justice in cases of severe harm.

→
Previous
Latest
PK <ªkZ*Ǝ$3 • customXml/item2.xmlÍX펛Fýߧ@þ‘ý³Ä`>¶-Ƴk¶0NU`ØuƒaepÒ¨ªÔWè+öIzÁcÖÛZM·Š´^<÷žsçÌe<{üÝ/ë”ûÈ6Å*Ï^] —ÂDz(WÙÝ«‹%¹æµ®(iÓ4ÏØ«‹,¿øÎøfœ~ %EX°’Æ´¤ÉŠWƒû²|¸‹èž­iñ2`d’|³¦%7wÃ} wl( ‚2\ïéÃ]5¾ŒñÔµ–쐀¼»ÅÆd•¦ãáql|mϱc.°ñ"-¿­^É*e]³w0†×xØBÆöÔ¡HGt$ñzÄb^–4×¦À;E¤4“8–ÇC ŽI0±çó`ÌLß'žý›ó¹qMӂ‡§“Ží›yÞE{¨×¦õ?Ý现øiÕ âZ®ã›,‰í:§øO »Õ,w±° ÁØ÷®wJEqÌv®!îXGïAŽøKRÄ ›mµOtÁS<'æ‰vñ#¤g^?ÝÖn¶Ë²â¹Ó¥…§õtr]ÊÂôÞàéòöÄ,mꏽ(q½Kt±·®6î 1m¦÷p­îÖ­éœÞ ]>Á¸=¦÷îñkS¼Åž_qĈG2„«úFð¿-Ñ·ü`æ.ýž©Ip§ÊÖÇÈÿÀ;Eiš¶'É<Af‡Ô44§*…=ǜïà,ì¨å=…8Tð±_/‰J‡ÕD¸§gxªò;lzu:Ø:Ö@<üÃû¤¹K˜ QÕNù’$]~ß2:™x×ã Ýww#uŽ ârõQˑæ|wIfœezî–ÉYîsî577ô¹É»Ðvn8[ÕaÌ!åÏßÿà¥.9ÏMRe¡äÌ]ؖ l`Y3{>åÌ |.aÎô+„íX6}\ÏkÞÔó˜{ìҙb¶ßÎtí¹‹6Þð¿ÅNUîqʾ™Á¹ï¼ìµb·êC'¬™Y÷æ>ßvŽCü€lŸÄ\vx<·¡9¾©Ÿî!<ñð%û´Š»¥Àâ™dw‹ª§±scÌ0*F?`îûã?ý:ðYT‚Z.íéàj2”$Œ©¼LG°™ ò¥0ÔäH„!Ôxpِ0@×Ăbê$·ëmW¨Ï'à÷€bpŠ:IžXÓ͇f¢" H±$Gb,J‘¨&J؅ärUn+Ҟ;¸Jªc²1Ë ÷ …—xmTSö©…øÛðHœ}di-½Cn¦öÍA—ÑÓX4úf~Di¡¦"5Ó¸'xì!¥[ôPmðÛå?©™œ«f²S£BÏD% ŸGu®«V#«BHCu¤=šé¹j¦µ*É¡(‰ªò…jÄÓjйj¨$$ò(QâÑó¨ÏU#Öjd$2)f±ôUô¦zªI(Ó¯¢7BÄd4RÃ/U#VCÏUCAPÊ¡$kêó¨ ÏUÖjSéHx5ѹj¢ZˆÄHŠúÒóæ¿ÙÅ¢¤«¡†øUìbIÑÂXÕ§æý倬ʔy,󓢳|½ŠÀÆpág.º_¥1GC0Lƒ=ÔÏ͢ƭ²hÃhÁ¸òžqôŽqyÂÑ=c›Ål‰UÁí=—lòuo ,…fd\™sÛ~fuw_2V™) @Ý~=­hÂ~©W€UAԁŸ(7yZ´?&^`ùŒ¦vÉ֕cxßzœ^—Ã"È¶ë ‰$&ˆé‘Rß·cÓ¥%‚Q}Äk ¥¼ËOõ¨r^I$뚠ŽÂǦk÷ÛÔ&X’1´üi&öX¼¡I¹Êî‚(¥»ûÑ3aÿW_`ãÑ¢l„ÿÖýºÒzԎm]N^CÔxb[uÉ{dÃ]zAýí«²ìt³YynhV~_Dµ×®}üË»üc[£Ãè/mÂWYŸ˜1~Þ¦+–±Oa¾MÏ(wďM4þPK <ªkZÙî!å Y customXml/itemProps2.xml±NÃ0†wžÂÊâɵJÚTI*“©+‰Õ8—Ô"¶#Û$Ä»ã¨b ã'}ÿwW?õ„ÞÁyeM…Ó Ì´½2c…ŸŸ:²ÇÈaz1Y6뛲÷‡^áƒup  QĘ8óUra>Pêå´ð;ƒ‰ËÁ:-BŒn¤v”„ÖÊEƒ 4c,§r‰,ý¢§E¶ŠÈS[%_|Çx“uiº»‚ls^¾ç;’Í}ËÚmš²ï¤^}.…0ø¿qå-NýGlòMŒp1ÒÄz#>^osF~sBë’^õÑëÔ?PK <ªkZm|½X½ ' customXml/_rels/item2.xml.relsÏ±jÃ0à½O!´hŠåx(¡XöÙBq!«Ï¶ˆ¥ºKhÞ¾"S2Þÿ÷smÿVqƒL£QÛªV¢ÃÑÇÙ¨Ÿá°Ù)AlãhWŒ`ÔHõÝGû «å’¡Å'‰d䜾´&·@°Ta‚X.æ`¹ŒyÖɺ‹A7uý©óCvO¦8ŽFæãØH1ܼcã4y{t× ‘_Thw%Æpë)ciƒÍ3°‘ž!
2025-2026 Bill 3394 Text of Previous Version (Dec.
06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 3394Indicates 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 16-3-85, RELATING TO HOMICIDE BY CHILD ABUSE, SO AS TO INCREASE THE AGE OF A CHILD UNDER THIS SECTION FROM UNDER THE AGE OF ELEVEN TO UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Section 16-3-85 of the S.C.
Code is amended to read:
      Section 16-3-85.
(A) A person is guilty of homicide by child abuse if the person:
       (1) causes the death of a child under the age of eleven eighteen while committing child abuse or neglect, and the death occurs under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life;
or        (2) knowingly aids and abets another person to commit child abuse or neglect, and the child abuse or neglect results in the death of a child under the age of eleven eighteen.
    (B) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
       (1) "child abuse or neglect" means an act or omission by any person which causes harm to the child's physical health or welfare;.
       (2) "harm" to a child's health or welfare occurs when a person:
           (a) inflicts or allows to be inflicted upon the child physical injury, including injuries sustained as a result of excessive corporal punishment;
           (b) fails to supply the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or health care, and the failure to do so causes a physical injury or condition resulting in death;
or            (c) abandons the child resulting in the child's death.
    (C) Homicide by child abuse is a felony and a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to homicide by child abuse:
       (1) under subsection (A)(1) may be imprisoned for life but not less than a term of twenty years;
or        (2) under subsection (A)(2) must be imprisoned for a term not exceeding twenty years nor less than ten years.
    (D) In sentencing a person under this section, the judge must consider any aggravating circumstances including, but not limited to, a defendant's past pattern of child abuse or neglect of a child under the age of eleven eighteen, and any mitigating circumstances;
however, a child's crying does not constitute provocation so as to be considered a mitigating circumstance.
  SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on December 06, 2024 at 11:38 AM
⬇ Download PDF
View plain text versions (2)
  • 12/05/2024 View text Current html
  • Introduced Filed vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document

Action History

  1. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Erickson, Bradley, King

  2. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Guest, Crawford

  3. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Lawson

  4. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Bailey

  5. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  6. Introduced and read first time

  7. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  8. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

12 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 158 not signed on

Sponsors (12)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (158)

158 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 158 →

"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 3394 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-3-85, RELATING TO HOMICIDE BY CHILD ABUSE, SO AS TO INCREASE THE AGE OF A CHILD UNDER THIS SECTION FROM UNDER THE AGE OF ELEVEN TO UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN.
Who sponsors H 3394?
H 3394 is sponsored by Representative Travis A. Moore, Representative Robby Robbins, Tiffany R. Spann-Wilder (Democrat), Representative Wm. Weston J. Newton, Representative Steven Wayne Long, Representative William H. Bailey, Representative M. Brian Lawson, Representative Thomas Duval "Val" Guest, Jr., Representative Heather Ammons Crawford, Representative Shannon S. Erickson, Representative Jeff Bradley, and Representative John Richard C. King.
What is the current status of H 3394?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced December 05, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track H 3394?
Track H 3394 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on H 3394

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of H 3394

Last checked for changes about 2 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →