South Carolina H 4339: A HOUSE RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE LIEUTENANT COLONEL JAMES "JIMMY" BROWNLEE UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT, TO SALUTE HIM FOR HIS TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF SERVICE AND TO EXTEND BEST WISHES FOR CONTINUED SUCCESS AND FULFILLMENT IN THE YEARS TO COME.

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4339 Text of Previous Version (May. 06, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4339

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

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

Amended

May 6, 2025

H. 4339

Introduced by Reps. Erickson, Terribile, 
Bradley, Martin, Huff, Mitchell, Forrest, Anderson, Duncan, Kilmartin, Lawson, 
Hager, M. M. Smith, Beach, Frank, J. L. Johnson, Gilliam, Rankin, Bauer, 
Teeple, Pedalino, McCabe, Bustos, Wickensimer, Cobb-Hunter, Vaughan, Haddon, 
Willis, Long, Chapman, Pace, Caskey, Chumley, Whitmire, Morgan, Magnuson, 
Gibson, Davis, Edgerton, Hartz, Bernstein, Harris, B. Newton, Hewitt, Waters, 
Luck, Rivers, Hartnett, B. L. Cox, Reese, Taylor, Bowers, Gagnon, Herbkersman, 
Jordan, McGinnis, Moss, Spann-Wilder, Weeks, Gilreath, Cromer, Guffey and Pope 

S. Printed 5/6/25--H.

Read the first time April 9, 2025

________

statement of estimated fiscal impact

Explanation of Fiscal Impact

State Expenditure

This bill, as amended, prohibits any 
public school, excluding charter schools, participating in a federally funded 
or assisted meal program from serving or allowing a third party to sell 
ultraprocessed food to students on school premises during the regular 
instructional day beginning July 1, 2027. The bill requires each public school to 
annually submit a standardized certification form to SCDE's Office of School 
Nutrition attesting its compliance with the provisions of the bill. SCDE must 
post the certification form and a list of compliant schools on its website and 
conduct random audits of school meal samples every two years to verify 
compliance, using third-party laboratory testing if necessary. 

If a prohibited additive is found, 
the school and supplier will receive a warning from SCDE and will have sixty 
calendar days to correct the violation. The school or district personnel 
responsible for procuring food served to students for school breakfast and 
lunch during the instructional day must undergo training from SCDE regarding 
the purchase and procurement of food allowed under the provisions of the bill. 
A second violation incurs a fine of up to $5,000 per supplier. The fine must be 
paid to the school and used for the purpose of improving or establishing a 
vegetable garden on school grounds. A third violation may disqualify the 
supplier from providing school meals for one fiscal year. Each violation must 
be reported by the school to its respective school district immediately upon 
notice of a violation. 

Every five years, SCDE, in 
consultation with the Department of Agriculture, must review scientific 
evidence and international regulations to determine if additional additives 
should be prohibited. SCDE must oversee implementation and ensure compliance 
with the provisions of the bill, as amended, as well as issue a model policy 
and promulgate regulations as necessary.

S.C. Department of Education. 
SCDE indicates that this bill, as amended, will increase expenses by an amount 
up to $93,750 per year beginning in FY 2025-26. Of this amount, $78,750 is for 
1.0 FTE (registered dietitian) including annual salary and fringe benefits, and 
$15,000 is for training and travel. SCDE will request a General Fund 
appropriation increase to cover the cost of the new FTE and training and travel 
expenses.

Department of Agriculture. The 
expenditure impact of this bill, as amended, on the Department of Agriculture 
is undetermined at this time. The Department of Agriculture indicates that 
depending upon the workload and what SCDE requests their consultation on, the 
department may need to hire scientists or legal consultants who specialize in 
food additive ingredients to assist in reviewing scientific evidence and 
international regulations and providing guidance. 

State Agency Schools. The 
overall expenditure impact of this bill, as amended, on state agency schools 
will vary. The Governor's School for Agriculture at John de la Howe indicates 
that the agency will have to work with its food vendor to ensure the products 
purchased do not have additives. The agency anticipates this will make purchasing 
food more costly but reports the cost is currently undetermined. GSAH does not 
anticipate any fiscal impact. However, GSAH indicates that prohibiting the use 
of food additives in school meals will require a state contract change with its 
food vendor, which does not expire for three more years, as well as an addendum 
to the contract. GSSM reports that compliance with the proposed legislation 
will require a custom contract modification to eliminate foods with the 
prohibited additives. GSSM further reports that based on a preliminary 
estimate, ingredient costs will increase by approximately 15 percent, which 
will directly affect the overall cost of the school's meal plan and increase 
expenses by an amount up to $1