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Votes at a glance: committee advances kinship licensing, pharmacy access fix, criminal‑law and procedural bills

South Carolina House Judiciary Committee (subcommittee reports) · January 28, 2026

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Summary

Several bills received favorable reports with little debate: SB415 (kinship foster licensing), SB477 (pharmacy access technical fix), S.405 (homicide by child abuse age adjustment), HB3774 (workers' compensation third‑party timing) and HB4720 (PTI eligibility). This roundup lists outcomes and key provisions.

The House committee reported favorably on several additional bills during the Feb. 20 session. Key outcomes and one‑line summaries follow.

• SB415 (favorable report): Licensing standards for kinship caregivers; lowers minimum age for kinship foster parents from 21 to 18 and removes non‑safety licensing requirements to increase kinship placements. (Vote: 21‑0‑4).

• SB477 (favorable report): Technical clarifications to the Pharmacy Access Act of 2022 so pharmacists may dispense self‑administered hormonal contraceptives under written protocols without a continuing standing order; clarifies when minors may receive meds if they have prior prescriptions. Stakeholders (pharmacy and medical associations) supported the technical fix. (Vote: 20‑1‑4).

• S.405 (favorable report, as amended): Adjusts the age threshold for homicide by child abuse to apply to persons under 16 in the amended text and adds a carve‑out to cover children with qualifying intellectual disabilities under Title 44 definitions. (Vote: 22‑0‑3).

• HB3774 (favorable report): Clarifies timing for third‑party actions and the carrier’s ability to commence actions in workers' compensation cases and addresses Supreme Court interpretation in the Callahan case. (Vote: 22‑0‑3).

• HB4720 (favorable report): Allows re‑entry into pretrial intervention if more than 20 years have passed since successful completion; solicitors retain discretion to admit participants. (Vote: 22‑0‑3).

All measures will move to the House floor; several have technical amendments to be incorporated before floor debate.