South Carolina H 3646: Meeting Transparency Act

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3646 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 14, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3646

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 enacting THE 
"MEETING TRANSPARENCY ACT" BY ADDING SECTION 2-1-260 SO AS TO REQUIRE MEETINGS 
OF LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES TO BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AS WELL AS CERTAIN 
DOCUMENTS; AND BY ADDING SECTION 59-17-180 SO AS TO REQUIRE SCHOOL BOARD 
MEETINGS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE.

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

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Meeting Transparency Act."

SECTION 2. Chapter 1, Title 2 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
2-1-260. (A) In addition to any other 
open meetings requirement, each meeting of a legislative committee must be 
accessible to the public and also available by means of live electronic access, 
such as livestream transmission, on the General Assembly's website. The meeting 
must be made available to view while the actual meeting is occurring and must 
be archived for subsequent viewing. 

 (B) Within 
twenty-four hours after the conclusion of a legislative meeting, any committee 
records from the meeting, such as documents that were circulated during the 
meeting, approved meeting minutes from the previous meeting, and the 
preliminary minutes from the current meeting must be made available and 
archived on the General Assembly's website. Each meeting minutes must include 
the results and record of any votes taken of each individual member regardless 
of whether the vote was only a voice vote. 

 (C) 
For purposes of this section, legislative committee meetings include, standing 
committee meetings, subcommittee meetings, ad hoc committee meetings, Judicial 
Merit Selection Commission, and legislative study committee meetings.

SECTION 3. Chapter 17, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
59-17-180. In addition to any other open meetings requirement, each meeting of 
a school district's board of trustees must be accessible to the public and also 
available by means of live electronic access, such as livestream transmission, 
on the school district's website. The meeting must be made available to view 
while the actual meeting is occurring and must be archived for subsequent 
viewing.

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

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This web page was last updated on January 14, 2025 at 01:50 PM