H 5119

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 5119
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates 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 63-19-1820, RELATING TO THE BOARD OF JUVENILE PAROLE, SO AS TO APPLY TO
JUVENILES COMMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AS THE RESULT OF
ADJUDICATION FOR A VIOLENT FELONY.
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  Section 63-19-1820(A)(1) and (2) of the S.C. Code is
amended to read:
    (1) The Board of Juvenile Parole
shall meet monthly and at other times as may be necessary to review the records
and progress of juveniles committed to the custody of the Department of
Juvenile Justice as a result of adjudication for a violent
felony for the purpose of deciding the release or revocation of release
of these juveniles. The board shall make periodic inspections, at least
quarterly, of the records of these juveniles and may issue temporary and final
discharges or release these juveniles conditionally and prescribe conditions
for release into aftercare. Before a juvenile is conditionally released, the
juvenile must agree in writing to be subject to search or seizure, without a
search warrant, with or without cause, of the juvenile's person, any vehicle
the juvenile owns or is driving, and any of the juvenile's possessions by:
  (a)
the juvenile's aftercare counselor;
  (b)
any probation agent employed by the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon
Services; or
  (c)
any other law enforcement officer.
    A juvenile may not be
conditionally released by the parole board if he fails to comply with this
provision. However, a juvenile who was adjudicated
delinquent of a Class C misdemeanor or an unclassified misdemeanor that carries
a term of imprisonment of not more than one year may not be required to agree
to be subject to search or seizure, without a search warrant, with or without
cause, of the juvenile's person, any vehicle the juvenile owns or is driving,
or any of the juvenile's possessions.
    Immediately before
each search or seizure conducted pursuant to this item, the law enforcement
officer seeking to conduct the search or seizure must verify with the
Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services or by any other means
available to the officer that the individual upon whom the search or seizure
will be conducted is currently on parole or probation or that the individual is
currently subject to the provisions of his conditional release. A law
enforcement officer conducting a search or seizure without a warrant pursuant
to this item shall report to the law enforcement agency that employs him all of
these searches or seizures, which shall include the name, address, age, gender,
and race or ethnicity of the person that is the subject of the search or
seizure. The law enforcement agency shall submit this information at the end of
each month to the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services for
review of abuse. A finding of abuse of the use of searches or seizures without
a search warrant must be reported by the Department of Probation, Parole and
Pardon Services to the State Law Enforcement Division for investigation. If the
law enforcement officer fails to report each search or seizure pursuant to this
item, he is subject to discipline pursuant to the employing agency's policies
and procedures.
       (2)(a) It is the right of a juvenile who
has not committed a violent offense, as defined by Section 16-1-60, and for
whom the board is the releasing entity, to appear personally before the board
every three months for the purpose of parole consideration, but no appearance
may begin until the board determines that an appropriate period of time has
elapsed since the juvenile's commitment.
  (b)(2) The board may waive the quarterly review of juveniles
committed to the department, for whom the board is the releasing entity, for the commission of a violent crime, as defined in Section
16-1-60, until the juvenile reaches the minimum parole guidelines the
board establishes for the juvenile. At that point, the board may schedule its
first review of the juvenile from three months up to twelve months after the
juvenile reaches the minimum parole guidelines established by the board. The
scheduling of subsequent reviews is in the discretion of the board but must
occur within three to twelve months of the juvenile's last appearance.
SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
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