South Carolina Statehouse Blog

How to protect our nation’s children from the many dangers of this world is always a topic of significance in the United States. South Carolina is one state that’s addressing this important issue with new legislation that would limit where convicted sex offenders can live. Representative Joan Brady of Richland County is the main proponent of House Bill 3094 that would prohibit sex offenders who have committed serious crimes from living within 1,000 feet of schools and other places where children tend to be. The following article is based off an interview with Representative Brady about this bill.

Rep Brady started off by explaining that she decided to create this bill after reading a note from a mother who discovered that a convicted sex offender lived right next to a sports field where her son practiced. Since the owner of the apartment complex couldn’t legally refuse the offender housing, the state government would have to deal with this issue.

Brady continued by explaining that many local ordinances are already in place around the state that put restrictions on how close an offender can live to certain public places. However, since these ordinances vary from area to area and this issue is important to many parents in South Carolina, Brady decided to create a more unified law that would encompass the whole state.

“With the proliferation of local ordinances, we need some state continuity for efficient enforcement,” Representative Brady explained.

The bill that she proposed would make it so that a sex offender couldn’t live within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center, recreation center, or several other places where kids tend to congregate. However, to ensure that this bill won’t be struck down like a similar bill in Georgia, bus stops are not included in the list.

“In Georgia, their bill was struck down for a variety of reasons, one of which being that you could not live within 1,000 feet of a bus stop,” Representative Brady explained. “When you get into an urbanized area, that is probably a little overly restrictive.”

This bill, which is currently residing in the Senate, has found a lot of support not only inside the statehouse, but outside as well.

“The bill is absolutely bipartisan and we have very strong support from the Sheriff’s Association, from SLED, and local jurisdictions that are anxious to see what we will do on this matter.”

Since this piece of legislation limits the rights of citizens, Rep Brady is paying close attention to the civil liberty ramifications this bill may present.

In the interview, Brady pointed out that this bill isn’t “overly restrictive” because sex offenders already have to register their address with law enforcement. Also, with SLED receiving a federal grant for software that plots the exact distance from any residence to one of the restricted areas, offenders will be able to know exactly where they can and cannot live.

Brady also wanted to emphasize the fact that a grandfather clause will be included in the final version of the bill. This clause will ensure that those already living withing 1,000 feet of one of the areas mentioned in the bill will not forced to move.

“If you have property,” Rep. Brady said, “we certainly don’t want it to be a taking situation.”

However, if the offender does move, the law will then apply to their next housing location.

Some opponents to this bill have argued that it would push offenders into the rural areas, but Brady doesn’t see this happening.

“A thousand feet is not that far, it really is not that far,” Brady said, “Traditionally, apartment complexes and even residential areas are not really right there within 1,000 feet of a school. That still leaves a lot of locations where you can live.”

An example of why there is a need for a state wide law like Brady’s bill occurred last spring in the Upstate when a repeat sex offender from Georgia was arrested.

“They (law enforcement) said, ‘Why are you here in South Carolina?’ and he said, ‘Well, it was getting too difficult to find a place to live in Georgia.’”

Most of the states surrounding South Carolina have laws similar to the one Brady has proposed. Therefore, once passed, this legislation will help to ensure that South Carolina doesn’t become a “welcome center for convicted sex offenders.”

Representative Brady hopes that this piece of legislation will be passed before the end of this year’s legislative session and feels that if this bill can even prevent one such crime, it will be worth it. However, even though Brady is hopeful about the good this bill will do, she knows that it can never be a substitute for a parent’s protection.

“This [bill] in no way is a substitute for parents being vigilant and being sure that their children are in safe situations, but it is just another bit of protection we can give to the youngest of the victims.”

Lastly, since this bill is currently on the Senate’s long list of contested bills, Representative Brady hopes that the people of South Carolina will call their State Senators to voice their support. Brady fears that if the public doesn’t show support, the bill might not pass this session which ends on June 5th.