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Subcommittee gives favorable report to Sen. Tedder bill to clear some unlawful-handgun charges
Summary
A Senate Judiciary subcommittee gave a favorable report to S.136, a bill tied to last year’s "constitutional carry" law that would require dismissal of certain unlawful-possession-of-handgun charges and bar those dismissals from serving as the basis for civil claims against officers or prosecutors.
A Senate Judiciary subcommittee voted to give a favorable report to S.136, legislation tied to last year’s constitutional-carry changes that would require the state to dismiss pending unlawful-possession-of-handgun charges nullified by the South Carolina Constitutional Carry/Second Amendment Preservation Act of 2024 and bar using those dismissals as the basis for civil suits against law enforcement or prosecutors.
The bill’s sponsor previously shepherded the measure through the full Senate last session, where senators recorded a 43–0 vote in favor, according to the subcommittee record. The sponsor asked the panel to support returning the bill for final consideration after the session’s end prevented completion last year.
Supporters in the hearing described a backlog of unlawful-possession cases affected by the change in law. Stan Overby, speaking on behalf of staff, said he had reviewed the bill and “couldn't agree more with it,” noting that the constitutional-carry law substantially changed the unlawful-carry offense and left many pending charges subject to prosecutorial discretion. No public witness identified people currently jailed on the specific charges affected by the bill during the hearing.
Senators offered brief remarks of support and several announced intent to cosponsor before the committee moved the bill for a favorable report. A voice vote was taken in subcommittee; the chair announced “the ayes have it.” The subcommittee did not record a roll-call tally in the hearing minutes attached to the transcript.
Why it matters: If enacted, S.136 would clear some pending misdemeanor unlawful-possession-of-handgun cases and add an explicit protection in state law against using those dismissals as factual predicates for civil suits against officers or prosecutors arising from the same arrests.
Next steps: The favorable report sends S.136 back into the Senate committee/processing flow for further consideration. The sponsor indicated he will continue to press the bill through the remaining steps.
