South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

H 3845 — Transportation improvement projects

Last action — Committed to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry

Track this bill free

No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 30, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Stalled 14% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 57-5-880, RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE AN ENTITY UNDERTAKING A FEDERAL HIGHWAY PROJECT SHALL BEAR THE COSTS RELATED TO RELOCATING BROADBAND SERVICE LINES AND TO PROVIDE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BROADBAND SERVICE PROVIDERS TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR RELOCATION PAYMENTS; AND BY REPEALING SECTION 2 OF ACT 36 OF 2019 RELATED TO A SUNSET PROVISION.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

171 added · 9 removed

Plain-language change summary

The recent amendments to Bill H 3845 change who is responsible for the costs of relocating broadband service lines during federal highway projects. Now, entities undertaking these projects must cover the related relocation costs, and the bill provides specific criteria for broadband service providers to qualify for these payments. This shift ensures that projects can proceed more smoothly without passing relocation expenses onto local governments or taxpayers, facilitating better planning for infrastructure improvements. Additionally, the amendment removes an expiration date for certain provisions, allowing for more ongoing support for these initiatives.

→
Previous
Latest
PK |FZí°Ì«þ ä customXml/item3.xml͚ßrâ8‡ï÷)\\Lnâ`ù¿Ó4³Dð41YÛôTjªË%ËRšm)L’éššª}…}Å}’=–Á۞M³;UMƒuÎïè“,ëD:?þ:Ϥg¶ÊgËÅût¥\HlA—élñðþb eûBÊ×d‘’l¹`ï/ˋ»éd/‰f*·lMR²&Yäï[Ÿ×ëÇëv;§ŸÙœäWËG¶ _®æd —«‡ö#¡_Èk«Šb¶çy»Œ&o¯[ÝÎ`ҟÞb?Š£û;ÜíͲ¬ÓÞoë½1öÝ[Üý![¿+^|–±™³à^våÒñÝÔ1•Ä2R9!œÊ:%TNtÄåT5S)©ŠTÚiƒc'Š{Þx÷⑆Qà}Àîxܒ,göqãNã…n?zå\¶xýäö?à¾Ûž?(& šô'~yÑ4ò&þ1ý Ïz´þäö֋"Œ|7 ŽQzì«ý!´ûýÿ$?pÙÓO0EÝhõt ÚêÎ<ŽÜ#=”í{ž;<=­uk]åùQ0Lûxðš§f«KnÝàLïŽôR™öüqp!Žx—†ºï]€‹…{Ì»2Õý, ávݹþññÊ¥®ð-Ü7¸?"ÜÙ¶ŠAÄAXQՐ$kJ¤(×⟬ð¢æ\éãÑd–<7µ(;Ù¡ÏNü Ýk‰_´áÀwÇzÛÃAUªS»!ŐjÖTÛ֝ßéNE¾Çn FRóm[— ÿmŠÃhûÞµ95uÅ2å„3KÖ-3‘Êa"töN› ÛNªX‡â*h< ¼F,‰.ašípbÉ&QŠ ©áGN5GeÄN˜cé» âmÐð¶šI°}ïj\åªi0™ëŽ.놪˶JLÙQŒ!F%åUÐCñ6hù&öð_4[7>UŠšåÀ¹œãÂûÐyöË7ØǸM$±iJÑKád¤¾LÆ0L©?`i2”ÆîÏ¡Ô»/=ÿF q¿ØV%Ãú×?þiÀ˶•K)Àc7*Ì3 \?,6?W8z·wÁä#.vf >ýúðº“Ü°ð.Œôåúxxѽ4õĊp®4Äp厥‘w3úٽ߆Â¤ ©ËFà÷'a–xPą“~ÉÔ&î çÂ@C|ôúX‚!âP*ZjE˜bÑx€ ¥á$8¢Ý¸‚¾‡%<†…Ñcá¾íÆ}çދ0ïD?ÉW°ÝAڄ£šCµ˜aÈ{’fŸT9õ!¸R8õC•]ÒÕÁÍ-ïãîÞöG®¸ÛŸ—Oµ=m׾󬪩æ¶+ª¦1¾•GÕH5њ½ÌÒzè­ÃN¸Q¹èŠJÁ¿éŽ|(¢jŠCûN¹™—°ûËo­Ñ5”gÓ©7h]·c3Ӂê…ZH“u®¨2qˆ.sÛ4‘ÎU#MÌÖåVäCA"¨èXœ—M5ãӨ׳õS¡Úˆ[×¼H9`MÙl_!‚aɆj¡ñÙKå>%{cöÌ2_SW‡n«.9ÀÌk˜¡gÏ(æjâ¨ÔRœmÇ;ñ„€=f„²9táZ¿_~“§×˜§'xLÎ [·uv&ž~cž¾àI FµôL<ƒÆ<ƒr~´¥(ÕÕ3ñóM,‹Âì3ñÜ4æ¹<Žê8¶m&ôL<£Æ<£òù2àËW ÛÁ™x¼Æ<žà1®˜¶a¼uý¨'xPcKfHâ˕D—ù:¿jm:—n.¢CÀe:ÛàUûu½q˜å$ÉX¹X¯–Y^c_xقÑ0’yk6/µ>Uq³–äñâi£8Q5ÒSq#öOj$”PCÖM›É:牜¤ª-‡¦PL™LÅøþÉ L·ÔËÈâËö(öõñ zx<¸`/¯OÿWs û±miJÊuëÈØ\Ñ(qÙæ„ÈzªkÅðUÙ&œêŽ­XF’¾šƒòîU3ÎãVÑé£Ríp.ÒáëÙâ!¦yÊÙÿo^àÙ&°\7à¿×)©“kçËÓ^ñÛA·Á“R´QmãLƒXü„ƒ.%«lNg‹õ2ÿüלŠóqqö~õ°|®Bԇ1<ÿÆ C/Œ\?ê>¼ Áç§Õ|¹H¿mOÚiïÿqB÷ßPK |FZÙî!å Y customXml/itemProps3.xml±NÃ0†wžÂÊâɵJÚTI*“©+‰Õ8—Ô"¶#Û$Ä»ã¨b ã'}ÿwW?õ„ÞÁyeM…Ó Ì´½2c…ŸŸ:²ÇÈaz1Y6뛲÷‡^áƒup  QĘ8óUra>Pêå´ð;ƒ‰ËÁ:-BŒn¤v”„ÖÊEƒ 4c,§r‰,ý¢§E¶ŠÈS[%_|Çx“uiº»‚ls^¾ç;’Í}ËÚmš²ï¤^}.…0ø¿qå-NýGlòMŒp1ÒÄz#>^osF~sBë’^õÑëÔ?PK |FZ\îŠ#½ ' customXml/_rels/item3.xml.relsÏÁŠÂ0àû>EÈ%'›ª°ÈÒ´¼‰ta¯!¶Á&2£èÛö´Â<Îÿ÷3Mw‹¸A&Ñ¨uU+ÑáàãdÔwXí” ¶q°F0ꤺö£9Ãb¹dhö‰DA"93§/­ÉÍ,U˜ –ˈ9X.cžt²îb'ЛºþÔù¯!ÛS#óqØJÑ?¼cã8z{t× ‘ÿ©ÐîJŒá',§Œ¥Qô6OÀFz†ð»ÚVŔºmôËíPK ! 3“h›è [Content_Types].xml͗M‹Û0†ï…þ£ë+¥”gý8¶ÝB¯Š4NDõ…f²»ù÷•íÄ-%³M¼ÎÅkæ}E43¿}²&{€ˆÚ»‚Mò1ËÀI¯´[ìûýçÑ;–! §„ñ ¶d·‹×¯æ÷Û ˜¥l‡[…÷œ£\ƒ˜û .­”>ZAég\ñ äO±>ßr遣Ul1ÿ¥ØÊ>=¥× Iƒ,ûÐV^!-¥uþàÔ_.£Cž2ë\ë€7)€ñƒÕÊ¿ vy_Si¢VÝ‰H_„MQüÑGŕ—›2óã28}Yj m~¥¢—€˜jnMÞ®X¡Ý͹Aòö‡5\Ø»èNÎÆiE+=ˆ¤ŸÉ0½†Ù0¼yi†ú\º]BL'éò³•î„@ÚÀË4ºÝö@”ú Ø)w"<Âò[oˆw‚”Þ“óÔÇ×h¥;!À©žöʝk âäòð‰þÓÁü«ÕËþáý§ƒù7eš \ÿـõO~bi ‚t'ÄÊxD·/Ñ=í½N‡øÖúÍ1üõÕ²\Í=Ö]ÅA¦4ç@ó<ÿ/µ–9f™"ëŽ2ÍMñ?¶½ŒªìQ8©•l“ôÙûƒjæR žëÝ´¿ê¢˜óz„]üPK ! ™U~ù á _rels/.rels­’MK1†ï‚ÿ!̽;Û*"ÒÝ^DèMdýC2û›’©¶ÿÞX]¨k=fòΓg†¬7{;ªwŽið®‚eQ‚b§½\WÁk󴸕„œ¡Ñ;®àÀ 6õõÕú…G’Ü”ú!$•).UЋ„Ĥ{¶” Øå›ÖGK’±Ã@ú:ÆUYÞaǜzÂT[SAܚPÍ!ð9l߶ƒæG¯w–œxy/ì›Eˆ¹?ʐ§Q Ŏ¥ãõs.'¤ŠŒò¼ÏWbNhyÉM?6>ÌJÇòœÍí%mô.‰·ÿ¬ç˜ùVÂÉǬ?PK ! ¢+ËG[ - word/_rels/document.xml.rels͗Ír›0€_…áÐ[ ñ—†x¦Órè%õ¡‡Ìd„X ‰Ø~¶úH}…ÊƎí´9Tv.Ìì ­¾]í.ËÏï?n›¦¶ž¡oSÛu°mAËx^µ«Ôdqۋۛ{¨©Toˆ²ê„¥¶´"µK)»k„+¡¡Âá´j¥à}C¥ûê({¢+@Æ!ê§6lݦµÜvð‹¼(*9hå£5d_@JÅ/lkIûÈԞ(eѶîòÔîïòض1’‚s ý b”] ÀõM¬j.í·ÇwN,ǔ–t*£qaƒ¼ùº;ïˆã8'-ª$4¾Æc4Hâ·l9j4†È$C 4Ÿ¦Ê({ú¥xf“µ•KšÕ0Í׃JLj.zX¼ó—°žœnxé€ÌZŠÑb‘Û¦¥²—µóÃóÊ, F#ÐM½j'ˆ•†œ?³Ä4J mÞªb˜äÂQ£C`“Rít¬½8*g)‘\ºF‰ÆCL7­ÙÕ¼¨4Šäü­söI3‡RYêëª}š”‰2+”Ýõzí&$•PòA€³âÏ(«êZ íYéte·Ø‰ce‹ÔIðŽ6Ý{b?)»^8ÊCÓ¨1*ýp<ã3Ïþ§òµ¥Oï£$Ãàù,a9<¢oÉëGʛG{Á•z„¨ëAý Ï{-v}ì¨9qóWJ]ŸE¸!E–ŸÛÇë‡òÛÃëq3€$x$s‰ŸDoקY„Ã<Œ}Ÿš—ÃõpøoܨÀ¸(â8YFp`t~ÿ¸~–PBc?ð< €Ç‘i?½·¿ PK ! ¨Ô+=! ¤Õ word/document.xmlí]ënÛH–~¦86ï÷$J¤÷:Ž×r÷Lc±0x)ZìP¢–¤ìxô+ìÏv€}–}”y’=§Š¤HŠ’HYVœLè˜"Y§nçœ:—¯ŠüÓçiÄݓ$ ãٛ#á„?âÈ̋ýpv÷æh‘¯õ#.͜™ïDñŒ¼9z$éџÞþñá̏½Å”Ì2ÌÒ³‡¹÷æh’eó³ÓÓԛ©“žLC/‰Ó8ÈN¼xzAè‘Ó‡8ñOE^àéÕ<‰=’¦PÛЙÝ;éQNÎû܍šŸ8P ʧÞÄI2òyICèMD95NõUB℠‡¢°JJêMJ=ÅV­’w"­Z¡¤ìF©¥sên”ÄUJÚn”¤UJún”VØiºÊàñœÌàa'S'ƒŸÉÝéÔI>-毁ðÜÉB7ŒÂìhòjAÆ gŸvh”*)L%¿7ítû$’ü‚JâÌÎòò¯ËòØô3V>ÿS– Q·j¡:ã”|΢4+Ê&]Ǝ·rÅBGí4!Œc
2025-2026 Bill 3845 Text of Previous Version (Jan.
30, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 3845Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates 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 AMENDING SECTION 57-5-880, RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE AN ENTITY UNDERTAKING A FEDERAL HIGHWAY PROJECT SHALL BEAR THE COSTS RELATED TO RELOCATING BROADBAND SERVICE LINES AND TO PROVIDE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BROADBAND SERVICE PROVIDERS TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR RELOCATION PAYMENTS;
AND by REPEALing SECTION 2 OF ACT 36 OF 2019 RELATED TO A SUNSET PROVISION.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Section 57-5-880 of the S.C.
Code is amended to read:
      Section 57-5-880.  Section effective until July 1, 2026.
    (A) For the purposes of this section:
       (1) "Betterment" means any upgrade to a facility being relocated that is made solely for the benefit of the public water system or broadband service and that is not attributable to the improvement, construction, reconstruction, or alteration of roads, streets, or highways undertaken by the department.
       (2) "Broadband service" means a service that meets the definition of "broadband service" as defined in Section 58-9-10 and that has transmission speeds that are equal to or greater than the requirements defined by the Federal Communications Commission for broadband data gathering and reporting.
This definition does not modify or otherwise affect the definition of "broadband services" for the purposes of Section 58-9-280.
       (3) "Broadband service provider" means a person or entity that offers broadband service to the public.
       (2)(4) "Costs related to relocating water, and sewer, and broadband lines" means the amount attributable to the relocation, less the amount of any betterment made to the system, and as to broadband service lines, less any salvage value derived from the old facility.
Costs related to relocating water, and sewer, and broadband lines include, but are not limited to, right-of-way right of way acquisition to accommodate the relocated utility or broadband service provider, if in the best interests of the transportation improvement project, design, engineering, permitting, removal, installation, inspection, materials, and labor costs.
       (5) "Federal highway project" means any project in connection with the federal-aid highway system that is funded in whole or in part with federal funds.
       (3)(6) "Large public sewer utility" means a public sewer utility that does not meet the definition of a small public sewer utility.
       (4)(7) "Large public water utility" means a public water utility that does not meet the definition of a small public water utility.
       (5)(8) "Public highway system" means:
           (a) the state highway system as defined in Section 57-5-10;
           (b) roads, streets, and highways under the jurisdiction of a county or municipality;
and            (c) bridges, tunnels, overpasses, underpasses, interchanges, and other similar facilities located throughout the State.
       (6)(9) "Public sewer system" means a sewer system that provides sewer services to the public and that is publicly owned or owned by a private, not-for-profit entity as defined in Chapter 31, Title 33.
       (7)(10) "Public water system" means, for the purposes of this chapter, any publicly owned or privately owned not-for-profit, as defined in Chapter 31, Title 33, waterworks system that provides water, whether piped or delivered through some other constructed conveyance, for human consumption, including the source of supply, whether the source of supply is of surface or subsurface origin.
       (8)(11) "Relocating" or "relocated" means an adjustment necessitated by a transportation improvement project of a public water system or public sewer system facility by removing and reinstalling the facility;
a move, rearrangement, or change of the type of existing facilities;
necessary safety and protective measures;
or the construction of a replacement facility that is both functionally equivalent to, but not including any betterment of, the existing facility that is necessary for the continuous operation of the system's service.
       (9)(12) "Small public sewer utility" means a public sewer utility that has ten thousand or fewer sewer connections and that serves a population of thirty thousand or less.
In determining whether a public utility offering water or sewer services qualifies as a small utility, the number of water taps and sewer connections shall be counted separately and shall not be combined.
       (10)(13) "Small public water utility" means a public water utility that has ten thousand or fewer water taps and that serves a population of thirty thousand or less.
In determining whether a public utility offering water or sewer services qualifies as a small utility, the number of water taps and sewer connections shall be counted separately and shall not be combined.
       (11)(14) "Transportation improvement project" or "project" means a permanent improvement, construction, reconstruction, or alteration to the public highway system undertaken by a state or local governmental entity, or a political subdivision.
    (B)(1) Notwithstanding any encroachment permit conditions to the contrary, an entity undertaking a transportation improvement project or federal highway project must bear the costs, according to the schedule prescribed in subsections (C) and (D), related to relocating water and sewer lines:
           (a) that are maintained and operated by a public water system or a public sewer system and are located within the rights-of-way rights of way for a transportation improvement project;
and            (b) that are maintained and operated by a broadband service provider and are located within the rights-of-way for a federal highway project;
and            (b)(c) that must be relocated to undertake the project.
       (2) To be eligible for payment of the relocation costs, the relocation must be placed under the control of the general contractor for the transportation improvement project or federal highway project, unless the public water system,or public sewer system, or broadband service provider opts out of placing the relocation under the control of the general contractor according to subsection (F).
       (3) To be eligible for payment of the relocation, the public water utility,or public sewer utility, or broadband service provider must meet the bidding and construction schedule established by the entity undertaking the transportation improvement project or federal highway project, such as design conferences and submittal of all relocation drawings and bid documents.
All documents necessary for inclusion in the transportation improvement project or federal highway project must be provided by the utility or broadband service provider at least one hundred eighty days prior to the receipt of bids for the project.
Show all 56 changed rows (16 more)
Previous
Latest
However, if the transportation improvement project or federal highway project is under an accelerated schedule, then the entity undertaking the project shall notify the utility or broadband service provider of the date by which the documents must be provided.
Failure to meet the bidding and construction schedule requirements shall result in the utility having to bear all relocation costs, except if the delay is due to an event beyond the control of the utility or broadband service provider.
    (C) For a small public water utility or a small public sewer utility, the transportation improvement project shall bear all of the relocation costs, including design costs.
    (D) Subject to subsection (E), for a large public water utility or a large public sewer utility, the transportation improvement project shall bear all of the relocation costs, including design costs, up to four percent of the original construction bid amount of the transportation improvement project.
Should more than one large public water utility or large public sewer utility be required to relocate by a single transportation improvement project, the total cost share of up to four percent under this section shall be divided pro rata among the large public water or public sewer utilities required to relocate under the project.
        (E) For a broadband service provider, the federal highway project shall bear all of the relocation costs, including design costs.
    (E)(F) For a transportation improvement project that impacts both a large public utility and a small public utility, the entity undertaking the transportation improvement must pay all of the small public utility's relocation costs, with  out limitation.
The entity must also pay up to four and one-half percent, minus the costs of the small public utility's relocation costs, of the original construction bid amount of the transportation improvement project toward the large public utility's relocation costs.
    (F)(G) A large public water utility, or a large public sewer utility, or a broadband service provider may choose not to have the relocation placed under the control of the general contractor.
A decision by a large public water utility, ora large public sewer utility, or a broadband service provider to not have the relocations placed under the control of the general contractor must be communicated in writing to the entity undertaking the transportation improvement project or federal highway project one hundred eighty days prior to the receipt of bids for the project.
Failure to meet the project contract requirements and construction schedule shall result in the utility or broadband service provider having to bear all relocation costs.
    (G)(H) Nothing herein shall prohibit or limit payment by a transportation improvement project or federal highway project for the relocation of public water, or public sewer, or broadband service lines necessary for the transportation improvement project or federal highway project if a public utility or a broadband service provider has a prior right to situate the water, or sewer, or broadband service lines in their present location.
    (H)(I) The department shall include metrics on utility and broadband service provider relocation under this section in its annual accountability report.
  SECTION 2.  SECTION of Act 36 of 2019 is repealed.
  SECTION 3.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on January 30, 2025 at 11:19 AM
⬇ Download PDF
View plain text versions (2)
  • 01/30/2025 View text Current html
  • Introduced Filed vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document

Action History

  1. Committed to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry

  2. Recalled from Committee on Education and Public Works

  3. Referred to Committee on Education and Public Works

  4. Introduced and read first time

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 169 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (169)

169 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 169 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

transportation technology
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does H 3845 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 57-5-880, RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE AN ENTITY UNDERTAKING A FEDERAL HIGHWAY PROJECT SHALL BEAR THE COSTS RELATED TO RELOCATING BROADBAND SERVICE LINES AND TO PROVIDE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BROADBAND SERVICE PROVIDERS TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR RELOCATION PAYMENTS; AND BY REPEALING SECTION 2 OF ACT 36 OF 2019 RELATED TO A SUNSET PROVISION.
Who sponsors H 3845?
H 3845 is sponsored by Representative Gil Gatch.
What is the current status of H 3845?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 30, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track H 3845?
Track H 3845 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on H 3845

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of H 3845

Last checked for changes 2 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →