SOUTH CAROLINA REVENUE AND FISCAL AFFAIRS OFFICE
S
TATEMENT OF ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT
WWW.RFA.SC.GOV • (803)734-3793
This fiscal impact statement is produced in compliance with the South Carolina Code of Laws and House and Senate rules. The focus of
the analysis is on governmental expenditure and revenue impacts and may not provide a comprehensive summary of the legislation.
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H. 3013
Fiscal Impact Summary
This bill requires that an individual must undergo a criminal background check conducted by the
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) prior to each appointment as a guardian ad
litem, pursuant to §63-3-810. Further, the cost of the background check is to be covered by the
individual seeking to be appointed as the guardian ad litem. Additionally, this bill adds that upon
appointment to a case, a guardian ad litem must provide a copy of the criminal background check
from SLED in the affidavit provided to the court.
Judicial and the Department of Children’s Advocacy (DCA) do not anticipate that this bill will
have a fiscal impact on family court or the agency respectively since the bill does not alter their
responsibilities.
SLED anticipates that any increase in workload created by the background checks can be
managed within existing staff and appropriations. Therefore, this bill will have no expenditure
impact on the agency.
The cost to run a name-based, SLED CATCH, check required by this bill is $25. This fee is
retained by SLED. Pursuant to Section 23-3-115(A), revenue generated by criminal records
checks performed by SLED up to an amount of $4,461,000 must be deposited in the General
Fund. Any revenue over that amount is retained by SLED. The current three-year average in fees
collected for background checks totals approximately $17,541,968, of which $4,461,000 is
deposited to the General Fund, and the remainder is retained by SLED. The potential increase in
fee revenue for SLED will depend on the number of additional CATCH checks done as a result
of this bill. Therefore, the impact to Other Funds revenue for the increase in criminal record
checks fee is undetermined.
Explanation of Fiscal Impact
Introduced on January 14, 2025
State Expenditure
This bill requires that an individual must undergo a criminal background check conducted by
SLED prior to each appointment as a guardian ad litem, pursuant to §63-3-810. Further, the cost
of the background check is to be covered by the individual seeking to be appointed as the
guardian ad litem. Additionally, this bill adds that upon appointment to a case, a guardian ad
Bill Number: H. 3013 Introduced on Januar
y 14, 2025
Subject: Guardians ad Litem
Requestor: House Judiciary
RFA Analyst(s): Boggs
Impact Date: February 20, 2025
__________________________________
Frank A. Rainwater, Executive Director
DISCLAIMER: THIS FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT REPRESENTS THE OPINION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE
AGENCY OFFICIAL WHO APPROVED AND SIGNED THIS DOCUMENT. IT IS PROVIDED AS INFORMATION TO
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED AS AN EXPRESSION OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT.
Page 2 of 2
H. 3013
litem must provide a copy of the criminal background check from SLED in the affidavit
provided to the court.
Judicial and DCA anticipate that this bill will have no expenditure impact. Judicial states that this
bill will not result in any additional actions or workload for family court. DCA indicates that it
administers the Cass Elias McCarter Guardian ad Litem Program which manages volunteer
guardians ad litem, not private guardians ad litem, and therefore, are not subject to the
requirements of this bill.
SLED anticipates that any increase in workload due to the increase in requests for background
checks can be managed within existing staff and appropriations. Therefore, this bill will have no
expenditure impact on the agency. For information, SLED notes this bill will require the agency
to run a name-based check, a SLED CATCH, rather than a more extensive, finger-print based
background check.
State Revenue
The cost for a SLED CATCH check is $25, which is retained by SLED. Pursuant to Section 23-
3-115(A), revenue generated by criminal records checks performed by SLED up to an amount of
$4,461,000 must be deposited in the General Fund. Any revenue over that amount is retained by
SLED. The current three-year average in fees collected for background checks totals
approximately $17,541,968, of which $4,461,000 is deposited to the General Fund, and the
remainder is retained by SLED. The potential increase in fee revenue for SLED will depend on
the number of additional CATCH checks done as a result of this bill. Therefore, the impact to
Other Funds revenue for the increase in criminal record checks fee is undetermined.
Local Expenditure
N/A
Local Revenue
N/A