Bill > S0698

This bill establishes legal protections and guidelines for military chaplains serving in South Carolina's three militia classes (National Guard, organized militia, and unorganized militia). The legislation requires chaplains to be properly ordained and endorsed by a recognized military-endorsing agency and grants them a privileged communication status with militia members, authorized dependents, and personnel. Confidential communications are defined as those made to a chaplain either as a formal religious act, a matter of conscience, or in the chaplain's official spiritual advisory capacity. The bill ensures that chaplains cannot be compelled to disclose such confidential communications without the informed, voluntary, and specific consent of the person who made the communication. Additionally, commanders and courts are prohibited from requiring chaplains to disclose privileged communications, though a military judge may override this privilege in certain circumstances. The primary purpose of this bill is to protect the confidentiality of personal and spiritual conversations between military chaplains and those they serve, recognizing the unique counseling role chaplains play in military settings.

Military Affairs and Security

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=0698&session=126&summary=B