South Carolina H 5286: Data Center Moratorium

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 5286 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 26, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 5286

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

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

A joint Resolution

TO PROHIBIT GOVERNMENTAL 
ENTITIES OF THIS STATE, COUNTIES, MUNICIPALITIES, OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS 
FROM GRANTING FINAL APPROVAL FOR APPLICATIONS OR PERMITS FOR, OR INCENTIVES OR 
OTHER REQUESTS RELATED TO, NEW DATA CENTERS UNTIL JANUARY 1, 2028, AND TO DEFINE 
"DATA CENTER."

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

SECTION 1. No 
governmental entity of this State, county, municipality, or a political 
subdivision thereof, shall grant final approval for any applications or permits 
for, or incentives or other requests related to, a new data center until 
January 1, 2028. This includes, but is not limited to, rezoning, special 
exceptions, special use permits, building permits, site plans, plan of 
development for siting, economic incentives, fee in lieu of taxes, or any other 
form of incentive. For purposes of this section, "data center" means a facility 
whose primary services are the storage, management, and processing of digital 
data and is used to house (i) computer and network systems, including 
associated components such as servers, network equipment and appliances, 
telecommunications, and data storage systems; (ii) systems for monitoring and 
managing infrastructure performance; (iii) equipment used for the 
transformation, transmission, distribution, or management of at least one 
megawatt of capacity of electrical power and cooling, including substations, 
uninterruptible power supply systems, all electrical plant equipment, and 
associated air handlers; (iv) internet-related equipment and services; (v) data 
communications connections; (vi) environmental controls; (vii) fire protection 
systems; and (viii) security systems and services.

SECTION 2. This joint resolution takes effect 
upon approval by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on February 26, 2026 at 11:20 AM