South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 5286


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A joint Resolution

 

TO PROHIBIT GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES OF THIS STATE, COUNTIES, MUNICIPALITIES, OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS FROM GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL FOR APPLICATIONS OR PERMITS FOR, OR INCENTIVES OR OTHER REQUESTS RELATED TO, NEW DATA CENTERS UNTIL JANUARY 1, 2028, AND TO DEFINE "DATA CENTER."

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  No governmental entity of this State, county, municipality, or a political subdivision thereof, shall grant final approval for any applications or permits for, or incentives or other requests related to, a new data center until January 1, 2028. This includes, but is not limited to, rezoning, special exceptions, special use permits, building permits, site plans, plan of development for siting, economic incentives, fee in lieu of taxes, or any other form of incentive. For purposes of this section, "data center" means a facility whose primary services are the storage, management, and processing of digital data and is used to house (i) computer and network systems, including associated components such as servers, network equipment and appliances, telecommunications, and data storage systems; (ii) systems for monitoring and managing infrastructure performance; (iii) equipment used for the transformation, transmission, distribution, or management of at least one megawatt of capacity of electrical power and cooling, including substations, uninterruptible power supply systems, all electrical plant equipment, and associated air handlers; (iv) internet-related equipment and services; (v) data communications connections; (vi) environmental controls; (vii) fire protection systems; and (viii) security systems and services.

 

SECTION 2.  This joint resolution takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on February 26, 2026 at 11:20 AM