South Carolina H 4754: SC Career Opportunity and Access for All Act

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4754 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 17, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4754

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 
33-31-1709 SO AS TO ESTABLISH NEUTRAL PRINCIPLES OF LAW GOVERNING THE 
OWNERSHIP, TRANSFER, AND RELEASE OF TRUST INTERESTS IN REAL PROPERTY OF LOCAL 
CHURCHES DISAFFILIATING WITH STATE OR NATIONAL RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS WHICH 
ASSERTS A TRUST INTEREST IN THE REAL PROPERTY IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.

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

SECTION 1. Article 17, Chapter 31, Title 33 of the S.C. Code is 
amended by adding:

 Section 
33-31-1709. (A) The purpose of 
this section is to establish neutral principles of law governing the ownership, 
transfer, and release of trust interests in real property used by local 
churches affiliated with state or national religious organization conference. 
This section governs civil property consequences when a local church 
disaffiliates, but this section does not regulate doctrine, ecclesiastical 
authority, internal governance, or matters of faith.

 (B) 
For purposes of this section:

 (1) 
"Local church" means a congregation, parish, or other local religious body 
organized as a religious corporation under the provisions of this section.

 (2) 
"Organization conference" means any state, regional, national, or international 
religious body, denomination, convention, or conference with which a local 
church is affiliated, and which asserts a trust interest in the real property 
of the local church.

 (3) 
"Real property" means all land, buildings, and improvements used by the local 
church for religious, charitable, educational, or administrative purposes.

 (4) 
"Financial investments" means monetary contributions by the organization 
conference directly used for the acquisition, maintenance, improvement, or 
capital renovation of the local church's real property.

 (C) 
When a local church disaffiliates from an organization conference, the local 
church shall retain ownership of its real and personal property, free and clear 
of any trust, reversionary interest, or other claim asserted by the 
organization conference, when the local church, in its sole discretion, 
determines that:

 (1) 
the organization conference, or a national conference of which it is a member, 
has failed or refused to consistently uphold or abide by its own democratically 
adopted laws, doctrines, bylaws, or governing documents, including disciplinary 
rules, internal policies, or standards of conduct; and

 (2) 
the failure described in item (1) materially affects the ongoing relationship 
between the local church and the organization conference. A determination under 
this subsection must be made by the body authorized by the local church's 
governing documents and certified in writing; or

 (3) 
the local church determines that such disaffiliation is in the best interests 
of the church.

 (D) 
When a local church disaffiliates, the local church shall reimburse the 
organization conference for financial investments made by the organization 
conference for the acquisition, maintenance, or improvement of the real 
property used by the local church, as determined under subsection (E).

 (E)(1) Upon receiving written notice 
that a local church has disaffiliated or intends to disaffiliate, the 
organization conference shall provide the local church with a full, 
transparent, itemized, and documented accounting of all financial investments 
it has made in the acquisition, maintenance, or improvement of the real 
property used by the local church. The accounting must include dates, amounts, 
purposes, and supporting documentation.

 (2) 
A disaffiliating local church may not be required to reimburse the organization 
conference for:

 (a) 
any amounts attributable to financial investments for the acquisition, 
maintenance, or renovation of real property made by the local church itself; or

 (b) 
any amounts contributed by the local church to the organization conference that 
were allocated for general denominational purposes or for activities not 
directly related to the real property at issue.

 (F) 
When the reimbursement amount determined under subsection (E) has been paid, 
the organization conference shall execute and deliver all documents necessary 
to release, extinguish, or transfer any trust interest, lien, or encumbrance it 
claims in the local church's real property. The release must be recorded in the 
county where the property is located.

 (G) 
All disputes arising under this section must be resolved exclusively under 
neutral principles of law, without inquiry into or resolution of questions of 
doctrine, discipline, ecclesiology, or internal church governance.

 (H) 
The a