PROOF OF CONCEPT — full quality-of-life profile for South Carolina, 16 dimensions of the sex-offense registry regime. Ratings are researcher judgments from the registrant's perspective; each links its statute. NOT legal advice.
Weighted burden index 59.7/100 · rank 13 of 56 (1 = least burdensome) · 12/16 dimensions statute-verified.
Legend: 🟢 favorable (less burden) · 🟠 moderate · 🔴 restrictive · ℹ️ context · ⚪ unknown. ✓ = statute-verified.
| Dimension | Rating | Detail | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration length | 🔴 restrictive | Registration is biannually for LIFE for all registrants, subject only to the narrow 23-3-462/463 petition process — lifetime | S.C. Code § 23-3-460 ✓ |
| Removal / petition off | 🔴 restrictive | Post-Act-221 petition exists but requires 15 yrs (Tier I) / 25 yrs (Tier II) plus treatment and no failure-to-register conviction; Tier III adults may NEVER petition (no removal path) — ⚑ needs human review | S.C. Code § 23-3-462 ✓ |
| Individualized risk assessment | 🔴 restrictive | No — risk assessment not used to assign tiers | n/a |
| In-person reporting frequency | 🟠 moderate | Quarterly or biannually | 23-3-460(A)(B) |
| Registration fee | 🔴 restrictive | Yes — recurring $150/year fee (indigent/below-poverty registrants may be exempted); set by annual State Appropriations Act proviso, not a permanent code section | S.C. State Appropriations Act, Proviso 62.10 (annual) ✓ |
| Residency restriction | 🟠 moderate | 1,000 ft from a school, daycare center, children's recreational facility, park, or public playground — but only for offenders convicted of enumerated offenses against minors (CSC with a minor 1st/2nd, assault w/ intent, kidnapping/trafficking of a person under 18), not all registrants — 1000 ft · local: preempted — § 23-3-535(E) bars local governments from expanding or contracting the 1,000-ft zone | S.C. Code § 23-3-535 ✓ |
| Employment restriction | 🟢 favorable | No employment restriction — review of the full SORA chapter (Title 23, ch. 3) found no job bar; the only location-based restriction is the § 23-3-535 residency rule | S.C. Code Title 23, ch. 3 ✓ |
| Presence / loitering restriction | 🟢 favorable | No presence/loitering ban — review of the full SORA chapter (Title 23, ch. 3) found no exclusion zone barring registrants from being present at or loitering near schools, parks, or playgrounds; the only location-based restriction is the § 23-3-535 residency rule | S.C. Code Title 23, ch. 3 ✓ |
| Visitor registration trigger | 🟠 moderate | Must register after 10 or more consecutive days in state | n/a |
| Internet identifiers required | 🔴 restrictive | Yes — E-STOP Act requires reporting Internet accounts and Internet identifiers (email, username, screen name) at registration/reregistration (§ 23-3-555) | 23-3-555d ✓ |
| Civil commitment | 🔴 restrictive | Yes — Sexually Violent Predator civil commitment law | 44-48-10 – 44-48-170 |
| Public website exposure | 🔴 restrictive | Registry information is open to public inspection and must be made available on the Internet, with no tier carve-out (lowest tier public) | S.C. Code § 23-3-490 ✓ |
| Halloween / holiday restriction | 🟢 favorable | None — SORA (§ 23-3-400 et seq.) contains no Halloween or holiday-specific restriction on registrants | n/a ✓ |
| Marked driver's license / ID | 🟢 favorable | Not marked — no driver's license/ID branding requirement; DMV must only inform applicants in writing of the duty to register (§ 23-3-460(J)) | S.C. Code § 23-3-460(J) ✓ |
| Community notification (& who pays) | 🔴 restrictive | Active notification — sheriff SHALL notify schools/day cares within one-half mile and MAY publish the full registry in a newspaper of general circulation; registrant does not pay (SLED may charge the requester a copy fee only) | S.C. Code § 23-3-490 ✓ |
| Age of consent (context) | ℹ️ context | 16 — with close-in-age exception (no conviction if actor is 18 or younger and partner is at least 14, consensual) | S.C. Code § 16-3-655 ✓ |
Source wiki page: South Carolina · compare with others via the index. Weighted index from the v1 model (weighted_score.py); weights encode NARSOL's judgment about everyday lived burden. Removal ratings and the weights need NARSOL/attorney sign-off before authoritative use.