South Carolina S 902: Burdensome statutes and regulations

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 902 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 10, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 902

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 SO AS TO ENACT 
THE "DATA CENTER SITING ACT"; BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-10 SO AS TO DEFINE TERMS 
PERTAINING TO DATA CENTER SITING; BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-20 SO AS TO REQUIRE A 
CERTIFICATE ISSUED BY THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION BEFORE A DATA CENTER MAY 
BEGIN OPERATIONS IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPLICATION PROCESS; 
BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-30 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE CERTIFICATION PROCEEDING 
PROCESS; BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-40 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE PARTIES TO A 
CERTIFICATION PROCEEDING; BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-50 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE 
EVALUATIVE CRITERIA FOR CONSIDERATION OF AN APPLICATION; BY ADDING SECTION 
58-44-60 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF A RECORD OF ANY HEARING AND 
TESTIMONY TAKEN CERTIFICATION PROCEEDING; BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-70 SO AS TO 
PROVIDE FOR THE REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTING OR DENYING AN APPLICATION; BY ADDING 
SECTION 58-44-80 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF AN ORDER BY THE 
COMMISSION; BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-90 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR OPERATIONAL 
EFFICIENCY STANDARDS; BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-100 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR WATER 
EFFICIENCY STANDARDS; BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-110 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR ANNUAL 
REPORTING ON COMPLIANCE WITH WATER EFFICIENCY STANDARDS AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY 
STANDARDS; BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-120 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE 
ADEQUACY ASSESSMENTS, TO PROVIDE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTS, AND TO 
PROVIDE FOR REASONABLE BUFFER REQUIREMENTS; BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-130 SO AS 
TO PROVIDE FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION'S ROLE CONCERNING RATES, 
AGREEMENTS BETWEEN UTILITIES AND DATA CENTERS, AND COST ALLOCATION 
METHODOLOGIES; BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-140 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR DECOMMISSIONING 
PLANS AND FINANCIAL ASSURANCES ASSOCIATED WITH DECOMMISSIONING; BY ADDING 
SECTION 58-44-150 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE PROVISIONS 
OF THIS CHAPTER AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT LAND USE PLANNING; 
BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-160 SO AS TO REQUIRE DATA CENTERS TO IMPLEMENT 
REASONABLE MEASURES TO MINIMIZE NOISE, VIBRATION, AND LIGHT IMPACTS RESULTING 
FROM THEIR OPERATION; BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-170 SO AS TO PROVIDE PROTECTIONS 
FOR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION SHARED BY DATA CENTER OPERATORS; BY ADDING SECTION 
58-44-180 SO AS TO CLARIFY THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THIS CHAPTER AND OTHER 
ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS; BY ADDING SECTION 58-44-190 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR 
ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES; TO PROVIDE FOR REGULATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC SERVICE 
COMMISSION, THE OFFICE OF REGULATORY STAFF, AND THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL 
SERVICES; PROVIDE THAT FOR TWO YEARS AFTER ENACTMENT THE DEPARTMENT OF 
ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES SHALL PRIORITIZE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GUIDANCE OVER 
ENFORCEMENT TO FACILITATE INDUSTRY TRANSITION TO THE NEW REQUIREMENTS; 
AUTHORIZE THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO CREATE A GENERIC DOCKET BY THE 
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO IMPLEMENT THIS ACT AND DEVELOP REGULATIONS; AND 
PROVIDE FOR ANNUAL REPORTING BY THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.

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

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Data Center Siting Act".

SECTION 2. Title 58 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

CHAPTER 44

Data Center Siting Act

 Section 
58-44-10. For purposes of this chapter:

 (1) 
"Commission" means the Public Service Commission.

 (1) "Data 
center" means a facility comprised of one or more buildings that houses 
computer systems and associated components, including telecommunications and 
data storage systems, and that has a combined connected electrical load of one 
megawatt or more.

 (2) "Data 
center operator" means any person, corporation, partnership, or other legal 
entity that owns, operates, or controls a data center facility.

 (3) "Direct 
to chip cooling technology" means liquid cooling methods that remove heat 
directly from a processor package, rather than cooling the surrounding air in a 
server or device.

 (4) "Electrical 
infrastructure costs" means all costs associated with generating, transmitting, 
or distributing electricity to serve a data center, including but not limited 
to:

 (a) 
generation facility construction, expansion, or upgrade costs;

 (b) 
transmission line construction or upgrade costs;

 (c) 
substation construction or upgrade costs;

 (d) 
distribution system improvements;

 (e) 
grid reliability and stability improvements necessitated by data center load;

 (f) 
interconnection costs; and

 (g) 
any other capital or operational costs directly or indirectly resulting from 
serving the data center's electrical load.

 (5) 
"Infrastructure adequacy" mean