South Carolina S 686: A JOINT RESOLUTION TO APPROVE REGULATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION, RELATING TO BOARD OF ACCOUNTANCY, DESIGNATED AS

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 686 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 10, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 686

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

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

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 
11-35-5305 SO AS TO PROHIBIT PUBLIC ENTITIES FROM AWARDING CONTRACTS AND GRANTS 
THAT DISCRIMINATE BASED ON RACE AND TO PROVIDE THAT ANY SUCH CONTRACT IS VOID 
AND UNENFORCEABLE.

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

SECTION 1. Chapter 35, Title 11 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
11-35-5305. (A) For the purposes 
of this section, "public entity" means any agency, office, division, or other 
unit by any name of every agency, office, or department of this State, and all 
of its political subdivisions, including all institutions of higher learning, 
public school districts, public charter school authorizers, and public charter 
schools.

 (B) 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a public entity may not require, 
impose, mandate or administer any procurement preference, set-aside, quota, 
goal, or similar program that classifies, prioritizes, or discriminates based 
on race in awarding contracts, subcontracts, grants, or any other public 
benefit.

 (C) 
Any policy, rule, regulation, or practice adopted or enforced by any public 
entity in violation of subsection (A) is void and unenforceable.

 (D) 
Any contract provision entered into by any public entity that violates 
subsection (A) is void and unenforceable.

 (E) 
Any statute or part of a statute in conflict with this section is repealed to 
the extent of the conflict.

SECTION 2. Sections 
12-28-2930(A)(1)(a), 11-35-5210, 11-35-5240, and 11-35-5270 of the S.C. Code 
are repealed.

SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, 
paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for 
any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not 
affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, 
the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and 
each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, 
phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other 
sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, 
or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise 
ineffective.

SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on December 10, 2025 at 02:11 PM