By Don T . . . We reported earlier on the bills that had been introduced in the South Carolina legislature in answer to last year’s SC Supreme Court decision that our arbitrary lifetime registration, without due process, was unconstitutional.  Now, we can happily report on May 12^th, “It’s a great day in South Carolina!”  The effort has taken a somewhat tortured path, but it is now all but over, with only the governor’s signature remaining.

Two parallel bills were originally filed in the House and Senate.  After multiple sub-committee meetings in both houses and a considerable amount of testimony, which was almost totally in our favor, the subcommittees reported the bills favorably back to their respective judiciary committees.  So far, so good.  Then, unexpectedly, both judiciary committees tabled their respective bills on the same day, leaving everyone a bit perplexed.  A new strategy for streamlining the legislative process was revealed at the next meeting of the Senate committee.

Our bill was attached as an amendment to another bill that had already passed the House and was sent to the Senate floor.  The Senate subsequently approved the bill 42-0.  (We are not used to getting that kind of result!)  The amended bill went back to the House with four days remaining in the session.  That seemed like no problem until two days in a row members voted to table the bill.  Panic began to set in for us.  Then, midday, on the last day of the session, the bill was brought up and a minor amendment to the Senate amendment was offered.  The House approved the amended bill 80-0, but that caused it to be sent back to the Senate!

Every once in a while, you get to witness a true miracle.  It seems that if some legislators really want to get something done, they can.  Late that same afternoon, the Senate took the bill up again and passed it, gaining final approval.  It now needs only the governor’s signature to become law.

So what did we get?  For the first time, there is now clear definition of the tiers to which people are assigned.  Much like the federal law, specific offenses will result in classification to the tiers.  The really good news is that many offenses have been put in lower tiers than are currently being utilized.  This will result in many people being moved to a lower tier than they are currently in.  Especially helpful is that many Tier III registrants will move to Tier II and will now only have to register twice a year.

The bill also provides systems to be removed from the registry, patterned, at least partially, after the Adam Walsh Act.  The details are too complex to list them all here, but generally, Tier I and Tier II registrants can petition the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), which operates the registry, after 15 or 25 years, respectively.  If they have remained offense-free for that time, completed all the terms of their sentence and completed any required treatment program, SLED is to remove them, though the solicitor can oppose the removal with cause.  If the SLED removal process is denied, the registrant can then petition the court for removal and must show by clear and convincing evidence that he or she is not a risk to reoffend.  In addition, Tier III registrants can petition the court in this manner after 30 years, but cannot be removed automatically by SLED.

The final benefit granted by this bill is significant relief for juveniles, for which we have been fighting for years.  Children under 14 can no longer be placed on the registry unless they have committed a Tier III offense and then only at the discretion of the family court judge.   Children under 12 cannot be placed on the registry for any reason.  Family court judges will also have discretion over registration for juveniles 14 and over who were guilty (adjudicated delinquent) of Tier I or Tier II offenses.

Of course, it seems like someone always has to throw in a “gotcha” when good things are happening.  There is one provision in the bill that people will not like so much.  It will now be illegal for registrants who were guilty of one of five listed offenses against minors to “operate, work for, be employed by, or volunteer for a child-oriented business.”  Fortunately, there is little to no penalty for violating this unless one does it repeatedly.

After several years of wrapping up the legislative session with the assessment, “Well, at least nothing bad happened,” it is with the greatest satisfaction that we report this excellent progress in the great state of South Carolina!

The post A big win for South Carolina registrants – a “true miracle” first appeared on NARSOL.

By Don . . .This looks like it may be a good year for registrants in South Carolina.  The legislature is busy and determined to pass legislation in response to last year’s Supreme Court decision that our lifetime registration without benefit of a way off is unconstitutional. According to WSPA.com, “Right now, the only way for someone to be removed from the registry is their offense is overturned, reversed or vacated on appeal.”

Legislators will not be overly lenient, but some good things are coming out of this effort.  As of this writing, there are parallel bills active in both houses of the legislature. They are similar but have one notable difference with regard to the exit procedure.

One of the most significant benefits of these bills is that the SC Code will now have the tiers defined, listing which offenses result in the tier assignments.  Since AWA was implemented, South Carolina has used a set of unpublished guidelines from the attorney general’s office that have resulted in a large percentage of the registry being assigned to Tier III, which requires quarterly registration verification.  The new tier definitions will push many people down one tier from their current assignments. The discussion relevant to this issue at the subcommittee meetings has not included one word of objection, not even from the attorney general, so these definitions appear to be locked in.

Both bills propose time limits after which a registrant can be removed from the registry.  Both are too long: 15 years for Tier I and 25 or 30 years for Tiers II and III.  The time limits are still subject to discussion, and considerable testimony was presented in both committees requesting shorter times. They will not go below the AWA requirements of 10 years for Tier I and 25 years for Tiers II and III. The removal process is still open for discussion, with options being some possibility for an administrative removal by the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), which controls the registry, versus petitioning the court for removal. It looks like some compromise or combination will make it to the final bill.

It is also likely that children under fourteen will be exempt from being put on the registry, and that for juveniles being processed in family court, judges will be given the discretion of whether or not to place offenders on the registry, based on the circumstances of the case and evaluations of the defendant. Still up for discussion is the potential for juveniles to be removed at age 21 by petitioning the family court.

This is still a work in progress. There is a long way to go before these bills become law, and there are two more approval layers where they can still be amended by legislators without even allowing comment by the public.  The old saying, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch!” is appropriate here.  But the momentum at this time is all in our favor, and this writer is the most optimistic he has been in nearly a decade of tracking the legislature.

The post Good news coming for South Carolina first appeared on NARSOL.