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House approves second reading of bill extending privilege to military chaplains
Summary
House Bill 37-98 would set minimum qualifications for military chaplains in the state militia and grant properly endorsed chaplains a privilege to refuse disclosure of certain confidential communications; the measure passed second reading on a unanimous roll call.
Representative Morris explained House Bill 37-98 as a measure to set minimum qualifications for military chaplains serving in South Carolina’s militia and to grant a qualified chaplain the right to refuse to disclose certain confidential communications.
"This bill outlines that at a minimum military chaplains must be properly ordained and endorsed by military endorsing agencies," Morris said, adding that the bill provides a privilege similar in purpose to the priest-penitent privilege but tailored to the militia context. The sponsor said that, under the bill, neither a commander nor a court could compel disclosure unless a judge determined that the privilege did not apply in a particular case.
The House adopted the bill on second reading by a roll-call vote recorded in the transcript as 113-0. The measure will return for further House consideration on later readings and any committee follow-up required for final passage.
