South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

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A181, R204, H3681

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. E.H. Pitts, Clark, Duncan, Frye, Koon and Merrill
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11202ac03.doc

Introduced in the House on February 25, 2003
Introduced in the Senate on May 13, 2003
Last Amended on February 12, 2004
Passed by the General Assembly on February 25, 2004
Governor's Action: March 5, 2004, Signed

Summary: Parental rights, termination; conviction of a parent for the murder of the child's other parent included as grounds

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   2/25/2003  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-8
   2/25/2003  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-8
    5/7/2003  House   Committee report: Favorable Judiciary HJ-5
    5/8/2003  House   Read second time HJ-78
    5/8/2003  House   Unanimous consent for third reading on next legislative 
                        day HJ-79
    5/9/2003  House   Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-5
   5/13/2003  Senate  Introduced and read first time SJ-6
   5/13/2003  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-6
   2/11/2004  Senate  Committee report: Favorable Judiciary SJ-37
   2/12/2004  Senate  Amended SJ-17
   2/12/2004  Senate  Read second time SJ-17
   2/12/2004  Senate  Ordered to third reading with notice of amendments SJ-17
   2/18/2004  Senate  Read third time and returned to House with amendments 
                        SJ-16
   2/25/2004  House   Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled HJ-49
    3/2/2004          Ratified R 204
    3/5/2004          Signed By Governor
   3/10/2004          Copies available
   3/10/2004          Effective date 03/05/04
   3/23/2004          Act No. 181

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

2/25/2003
5/7/2003
2/11/2004
2/12/2004

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A181, R204, H3681)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-1572, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO GROUNDS FOR TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS, SO AS TO INCLUDE AS A GROUND, THE CONVICTION OF A PARENT FOR THE MURDER OF THE CHILD'S OTHER PARENT; AND TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-1564, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PARTIES WHO MAY BRING AN ACTION FOR TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES IS NOT REQUIRED TO AMEND A CHILD'S PLACEMENT PLAN BEFORE BRINGING SUCH AN ACTION.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Additional ground for termination of parental rights

SECTION    1.    Section 20-7-1572 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 104 of 1999, is further amended by adding an appropriately numbered item to read:

"( )    A parent of the child pleads guilty or nolo contendere to or is convicted of the murder of the child's other parent."

Procedure for filing petition for termination of parental rights

SECTION    2.    Section 20-7-1564 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 450 of 1996, is further amended to read:

"Section 20-7-1564.    (A)    A petition seeking termination of parental rights may be filed by the Department of Social Services or any interested party.

(B)    The department may file an action for termination of parental rights without first seeking the court's approval of a change in the permanency plan pursuant to Section 20-7-766 and without first seeking an amendment of the placement plan pursuant to Section 20-7-764."

Time effective

SECTION    3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 2nd day of March, 2004.

Approved the 5th day of March, 2004.

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This web page was last updated on Monday, December 7, 2009 at 10:28 A.M.