South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee 1 R cosponsors

H 5286 — Data Center Moratorium

Last action — Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Gilliam

  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 February 26, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

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

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · 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.

  • 19 sponsors

    19 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 R).

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 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."

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

33 added · 3 removed

Plain-language change summary

The latest version of Bill H 5286 adds a provision that prohibits governmental entities in South Carolina from granting any approvals related to new data centers until January 1, 2028. This includes permits for construction, rezoning applications, and any economic incentives. This change aims to pause the approval process for data centers to assess their impact on the community and resources, ensuring that local governments have time to address concerns about growth and infrastructure. This matters because it allows for a more measured approach to managing the rapid expansion of data centers, which can have significant environmental and economic implications.

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2025-2026 Bill 5286 Text of Previous Version (Feb.
26, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 5286Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates 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.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on February 26, 2026 at 11:20 AM
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Action History

  1. Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Gilliam

  2. Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Hager

  3. Referred to Committee on Ways and Means

  4. Introduced and read first time

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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19 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 151 not signed on

Sponsors (19)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (151)

151 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 151 →

"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

environment 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 5286 do?
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."
Who sponsors H 5286?
H 5286 is sponsored by Representative Steven Wayne Long, Representative Travis A. Moore, Representative Richard L. "Richie" Yow, Representative Cody T. Mitchell, Representative David Martin, Representative Sarita L. Edgerton, Representative William M. "Bill" Chumley, Representative Josiah Magnuson, Representative M. Brian Lawson, Stephen D. Frank (Republican), Representative William C. "Chris" Huff, Representative Heather Ammons Crawford, Representative Donald G. "Don" Chapman, Representative Lucas Atkinson, Representative Richard Blake Sanders, Representative James Mikell "Mike" Burns, Representative William H. Bailey, Representative Thomas Duval "Val" Guest, Jr., and Representative Kevin Hardee.
What is the current status of H 5286?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 26, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track H 5286?
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