# South Carolina H 3650: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-1-60, RELATING TO OFFENSES DEFINED AS VIOLENT CRIMES, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE OFFENSE OF DISCHARGING FIREARMS AT OR INTO A DWELLING HOUSE, OTHER BUILDING, STRUCTURE, ENCLOSURE, VEHICLE, AIRCRAFT, WATERCRAFT, OR OTHER CONVEYANCE, DEVICE, OR EQUIPMENT; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 16-23-440, RELATING TO DISCHARGING FIREARMS INTO A DWELLING HOUSE, OTHER BUILDING, STRUCTURE, ENCLOSURE, VEHICLE, AIRCRAFT, WATERCRAFT, OR OTHER CONVEYANCE, DEVICE, OR EQUIPMENT, SO AS TO CREATE A TIERED PENALTY STRUCTURE. South Carolina H 3650, AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-1-60, RELATING TO OFFENSES DEFINED AS VIOLENT CRIMES, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE OFFENSE OF DISCHARGING FIREARMS AT OR INTO A DWELLING HOUSE, OTHER BUILDING, STRUCTURE, ENCLOSURE, VEHICLE, AIRCRAFT, WATERCRAFT, OR OTHER CONVEYANCE, DEVICE, OR EQUIPMENT; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 16-23-440, RELATING TO DISCHARGING FIREARMS INTO A DWELLING HOUSE, OTHER BUILDING, STRUCTURE, ENCLOSURE, VEHICLE, AIRCRAFT, WATERCRAFT, OR OTHER CONVEYANCE, DEVICE, OR EQUIPMENT, SO AS TO CREATE A TIERED PENALTY STRUCTURE., is a 126th General Assembly (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by G. Murrell Smith, Jr. (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-05-26 (Act No. 138); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/SC-H3650-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: South Carolina H 3650 - State: South Carolina - Session: 126th General Assembly (2025-2026) - Title: AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-1-60, RELATING TO OFFENSES DEFINED AS VIOLENT CRIMES, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE OFFENSE OF DISCHARGING FIREARMS AT OR INTO A DWELLING HOUSE, OTHER BUILDING, STRUCTURE, ENCLOSURE, VEHICLE, AIRCRAFT, WATERCRAFT, OR OTHER CONVEYANCE, DEVICE, OR EQUIPMENT; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 16-23-440, RELATING TO DISCHARGING FIREARMS INTO A DWELLING HOUSE, OTHER BUILDING, STRUCTURE, ENCLOSURE, VEHICLE, AIRCRAFT, WATERCRAFT, OR OTHER CONVEYANCE, DEVICE, OR EQUIPMENT, SO AS TO CREATE A TIERED PENALTY STRUCTURE. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2024-12-12 - Last action: 2026-05-26, Act No. 138 - Sponsor: G. Murrell Smith, Jr. (Republican) - Cosponsors: 13 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 3 (262 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 3 ## Summary Discharging firearms into dwellings and other structures ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Shooting into homes is a violent crime: benefit, medium. Beginning May 15, 2026, South Carolina treats firing a gun at or into a home, building, vehicle, or similar place as a violent crime. This status lets courts apply tougher sentences and other legal limits that come with violent offenses. Only crimes listed in the violent‑crimes statute count as vio… - Hunting mishaps not charged under this law: benefit, low. Starting May 15, 2026, a criminally negligent gun discharge while getting ready for, during, or returning from hunting is not charged under this section. This applies when the act violates Section 50-1-85. Other criminal charges can still apply. - Felony penalties for shooting into homes, cars: mixed, medium. Beginning May 15, 2026, it is a felony to fire a gun at or into an occupied home, building, or enclosure. It is also a felony to fire at or into an occupied vehicle, boat, or aircraft. A conviction can bring up to a $20,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison. If someone inside is hit or injured, pen… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: G. Murrell Smith, Jr. (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Brandon Newton (Republican), House - Cosponsor: William H. Bailey (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Micajah P. "Micah" Caskey IV (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Donald G. "Don" Chapman (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Heather Ammons Crawford (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Cally R. "Cal" Forrest, Jr. (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Thomas Duval "Val" Guest, Jr. (Republican), House - Cosponsor: William M. "Bill" Hixon (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Thomas E. "Tommy" Pope (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Robby Robbins (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Bill Taylor (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Wm. Weston J. Newton (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Chris Wooten (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-04-23 | House | (Discharging firearms into dwellings and other structures)Concur in Senate Amendments | pass | 106 | 0 | | | 2026-04-15 | Senate | (Discharging firearms into dwellings and other structures)2nd Reading | pass | 45 | 0 | | | 2025-03-04 | House | (Discharging firearms into dwellings and other structures)Passage of Bill | pass | 111 | 0 | | ## Actions (27) - 2026-05-26: Act No. 138 (legislature) - 2026-05-26: Effective date 05/15/26 (legislature) - 2026-05-15: Signed By Governor (Governor) - 2026-05-14: Ratified R 181 (legislature) - 2026-04-23: Roll call Yeas-106 Nays-0 (House) - 2026-04-23: Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled (House) - 2026-04-22: Scrivener's error corrected (legislature) - 2026-04-16: Read third time and returned to House with amendments (Senate) - 2026-04-15: Roll call Ayes-45 Nays-0 (Senate) - 2026-04-15: Read second time (Senate) - 2026-04-15: Amended (Senate) - 2025-04-16: Committee report: Favorable Judiciary (Senate) - 2025-03-06: Referred to Committee on Judiciary (Senate) - 2025-03-06: Introduced and read first time (Senate) - 2025-03-05: Read third time and sent to Senate (House) - 2025-03-04: Roll call Yeas-111 Nays-0 (House) - 2025-03-04: Read second time (House) - 2025-03-04: Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Forrest, B.Newton, Hixon, Taylor (House) - 2025-02-27: Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Caskey (House) - 2025-02-26: Committee report: Favorable Judiciary (House) - 2025-02-13: Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Crawford, Guest (House) - 2025-01-30: Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Robbins (House) - 2025-01-29: Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Bailey (House) - 2025-01-14: Referred to Committee on Judiciary (House) - 2025-01-14: Introduced and read first time (House) - 2024-12-12: Referred to Committee on Judiciary (House) - 2024-12-12: Prefiled (House) ## Bill text - Introduced: [HTML](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/bills/3650.htm) ## Related bills - S 0623: AN ACT TO EXEMPT GEORGETOWN COUNTY FROM CERTAIN BUILDING REQUIREMENTS AND TO ALLOW THE COUNTY TO INSTEAD ENFORCE AE STANDARDS IN GEORGETOWN COUNTY'S FLOOD DAMA… (became law) - S 0586: AN ACT TO AMEND ACT 172 OF 1995, RELATING TO THE KERSHAW COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT EACH MEMBER OF THE KERSHAW COUNTY TRANSPORTATIO… (signed) - H 5653: AN ACT TO AMEND ACT 843 OF 1952, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE LEE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION, SO AS TO CLARIFY THE METHOD BY WHICH PERSONS FILE TO BECOME A CANDI… (signed) - S 1062: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO APPROVE REGULATIONS OF THE STATE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION, RELATING TO DETERMINATION OF RATES OF TUITION AND FEES, DESIGNATED AS RE… (signed) - S 0779: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO PROVIDE THAT EACH MEMBER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SHALL RECEIVE A MONTHLY LEGISLATIVE EXPENSE ALLOWANCE OF ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS; TO PROVID… (signed) - H 5261: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO EXTEND THE DEADLINE FOR RECEIVING ALCOHOL SERVER TRAINING AS PROVIDED FOR IN CHAPTER 3, TITLE 61 TO MAY 1, 2026. (signed) ## Sources - [Introduced (HTML)](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/bills/3650.htm) ## Related - [S 0623: AN ACT TO EXEMPT GEORGETOWN COUNTY FROM CERTAIN BUILDING REQUIREMENTS AND TO AL…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/SC-S0623-2025-2026) - [S 0586: AN ACT TO AMEND ACT 172 OF 1995, RELATING TO THE KERSHAW COUNTY TRANSPORTATION…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/SC-S0586-2025-2026) - [H 5653: AN ACT TO AMEND ACT 843 OF 1952, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE LEE COUNTY BOARD O…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/SC-H5653-2025-2026) - [S 1062: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO APPROVE REGULATIONS OF THE STATE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDU…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/SC-S1062-2025-2026) - [S 0779: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO PROVIDE THAT EACH MEMBER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SHALL RE…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/SC-S0779-2025-2026) - [H 5261: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO EXTEND THE DEADLINE FOR RECEIVING ALCOHOL SERVER TRAINING…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/SC-H5261-2025-2026) - [South Carolina bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/south-carolina/bills) - [South Carolina state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/south-carolina) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/SC-H3650-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-19).