South Carolina S 784: Rebecca Murray--Hodges Elementary School Teacher of the Year

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 784 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 14, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 784

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 AMENDING 
SECTION 58-37-20, RELATING TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, SO AS TO PROVIDE 
FOR DEMAND-SIDE PILOT PROGRAMS; BY AMENDING SECTION 58-37-120, RELATING TO 
APPLICATIONS FOR PERMIT, SO AS TO REQUIRE A PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR ANY 
APPLICATION FOR A PERMIT FOR AN ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT AND to REQUIRE 
NOTICE TO AFFECTED LANDOWNERS IF A PUBLIC UTILITY THAT PLANS TO CONSTRUCT, OR 
HAS ENTERED INTO AGREEMENTS TO CONSTRUCT, AN ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT THAT 
MAY RESULT IN THE USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN AND TO PRESCRIBE THE METHODS AND 
CONTENT OF THE NOTICE; BY ADDING SECTION 58-37-835 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE 
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF ELECTRIC SERVICE TO COMMERCIAL DATA CENTERS; BY ADDING 
SECTION 58-37-836 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR REPORTS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF 
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES CONCERNING SURFACE AND GROUND WATER USED BY COMMERCIAL 
DATA CENTERS; BY AMENDING SECTION 12-36-2120, RELATING TO EXEMPTIONS FROM SALES 
TAX, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMPUTER EQUIPMENT EXEMPTION IS AVAILABLE TO A 
TAXPAYER THAT ENTERED INTO A FEE IN LIEU AGREEMENT ON OR BEFORE MAY 30, 2025; 
TO PROVIDE THAT THE EXEMPTION FOR ELECTRICITY USED BY A TECHNOLOGY INTENSIVE 
FACILITY IS NOT AVAILABLE TO A TAXPAYER THAT DID NOT CLAIM THE CREDIT PRIOR TO 
MAY 30, 2025; TO PROVIDE THAT TO CLAIM THE EXEMPTION FOR ORIGINAL OR 
REPLACEMENT COMPUTERS, COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, AND COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE 
PURCHASES USED IN A DATACENTER, THE TAXPAYER MUST HAVE NOTIFIED THE DEPARTMENTS 
OF REVENUE AND COMMERCE OF ITS INTENTION TO CLAIM THE CREDIT ON OR BEFORE MAY 
30, 2025; AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE EXEMPTION FOR ORIGINAL OR REPLACEMENT 
COMPUTERS, COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, AND COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE PURCHASES 
USED IN A DATACENTER THE TAXPAYER MUST HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF 
COMMERCE PRIOR TO MAY 30, 2030.

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

SECTION 1. Sections 58-37-20 (B) and (C) of the S.C. Code are 
amended to read:

 (B) The commission may shall approve any program 
filed by a public utility if the program is found to be cost-effective. 
Furthermore, the commission may, in its discretion, approve demand-side pilot programs and any program filed by a 
public utility that is not cost-effective, so long as the proposed demand-side 
management program is targeted to low-income customers, 
provided that and the public utility's 
portfolio of demand-side management programs is cost-effective as a whole.

 (C) 
The South Carolina Public Service Commission must adopt procedures that require 
electrical utilities and public utilities providing gas services subject to the 
jurisdiction of the commission to plan for and invest in all reasonable, 
prudent, and available energy efficiency and demand-side resources that are 
cost-effective energy efficient technologies and energy conservation programs in an amount to be determined by the commission that achieve net energy savings of at least 0.66 percent of 
total retail sales as of May 15, 2027, or a higher level as determined by the 
commission. Energy efficiency shall be considered a 
component of the requirement for a utility to make every reasonable effort to 
minimize fuel costs as outlined in Section 58-27-865(F) and the commission may 
grant a proportional disallowance based on evidence in the record. If an 
electrical utility fails to meet the requirements of this section as determined 
by the commission, then the commission is 
authorized to appoint a third-party administrator to carry out the residential 
low-income energy efficiency duties pursuant to this section on behalf of the 
electrical utility if the commission determines that having such a third-party 
administrator is in the public interest and consistent with law. Such a program shall be funded through the existing energy 
efficiency rider mechanism with those funds transferred to the third-party 
administrator. Upon notice and hearings that the commission may require, 
the commission may issue rules, regulations, or orders pursuant to this chapter 
to implement applicable programs and measures under this section. If adopted, 
these procedures must: provide incentives and cost recovery for energy 
suppliers and distributors who invest in energy supply and end-use technologies 
that are cost-effective, environmentally acceptable, and reduce energy 
consumption or system or local coincident peak demand; allow energy suppliers 
and distributors to recover costs and obtain a reasonable rate of return on 
their investment in qualified demand-side management programs sufficient to 
make these programs at least as fin