Hotlist: February 17, 2026
We’re now about a month into the 2026 legislative session. With the Super Bowl last week, we’ll borrow a football analogy and say this means we’re settling into the second quarter of the game.
Columbia was busy last week. Large groups filled the Statehouse for recognitions, crowds gathered across the street at the Supreme Court for a hearing in the Murdaugh case, and lawmakers delivered a range of memorable moments from tax debates invoking beagles and rabbits to a Cub Scout testifying in support of a bill to establish the prothonotary warbler as the state migratory bird.
The House advanced legislation to shift judicial selection authority from the legislature to the Governor, while the Senate passed charter school reform and began debate over major tax reform measures. Specifically, Chairman Harvey Peeler’s Homestead Exemption bill was a major topic of conversation on Wednesday and Thursday, and is expected to generate further debate this week.
On the conservation front, CVSC testified in support of Senator Davis’ Concurrent Infrastructure Requirement bill (S.227) to better align growth with infrastructure planning, and Senator Rankin introduced an additional data center bill, adding to an already crowded field of data center proposals in the Senate.
This week should be exciting, with another hearing on Senator Davis’ Data Center Development Act (S.867), CVSC’s Legislative Kick-Off Reception on Wednesday, and a hearing on the House version of Concurrent Infrastructure Requirement (H.4050), and likely more. Let’s jump in!
Updates
Sustainable land use planning plowing ahead
The Senate Concurrent Infrastructure Requirements bill (S.227) was heard in front of an Ad Hoc Labor, Commerce, & Industry subcommittee chaired by bill sponsor, Senator Tom Davis. CVSC testified alongside local government officials and SC Conservation Coalition partners in support of the bill, stating the need to strengthen local governments with tools to push back against irresponsible development.
This is a battle between the will of the people and industry special interest groups. Recent polling from the Governor’s office shows overwhelming public support for growth management. Here’s the truth: South Carolinians are feeling the impacts of overburdened infrastructure in their everyday lives, and they want relief and action. The committee will continue working on the bill and we are working alongside them while we await our next Senate subcommittee.
We also have traction through the House version of the bill (H.4050), which will be heard in front of the Municipal Subcommittee of the House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs (3M) Committee. This will be another important opportunity to show support for growth management in our state and CVSC will be there to advocate. If you’d like to lend your voice to those efforts, head to our Action Center to see if your representative sits on that subcommittee and, if so, urge them to vote in favor of the bill.
The Senate Transferable Development Rights bill (S.288) still remains poised for a Senate floor vote but was not heard last week. We are hopeful for a vote this week. In the meantime we continue to build support for this tool which will direct growth to suitable areas, combating sprawl, and infuse private funding to protect our natural and agricultural resources. We need your voice too, visit our Action Center to urge your senator to support Transferable Development Rights (TDR).
Data center safeguards in the Senate
Last week, Senator Rankin introduced the Data Center Siting Act (S.902), a proposal that closely resembles Senator Davis’ Data Center Development Act (S.867) with some notable distinctions. Most significantly, Rankin’s bill would place responsibility for environmental review and siting decisions for new data centers with the South Carolina Public Service Commission (PSC) rather than the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (DES). While some portions of the bill are still unclear, this shift could limit local governments’ authority to decide whether data centers are located in their communities, making home rule a major part of the discussion.
Beyond siting, a central issue is how large new data centers could affect electric bills for households and businesses. Both the Rankin and Davis bills direct the PSC to ensure customer protections, but CVSC and partners have identified potential gaps in those safeguards and plan to work with lawmakers to address them as the bills move through the committee process.
Tom Davis’s bill is scheduled for another subcommittee hearing this week, and additional action on other data-center proposals is expected soon.
The policy landscape remains fluid, with several legislative approaches under consideration. Notably, Senator Massey’s Energy Consumer Protection Bill (S.784) includes additional consumer and environmental protections, including efficiency standards, public input provisions, and landowner safeguards, and CVSC will continue to emphasize these elements as discussions evolve.
Action Center
Here’s a round-up of current actions you can take to help us advance conservation policy during this legislative session. If you’ve already taken these actions, thank you! We’ll add more actions and provide updates as progress unfolds.
- NEW: Tell your representative to vote in favor of sustainable planning tools: CIR
- Tell your senator to vote in favor of sustainable planning tools: TDRs
- Tell lawmakers: we need qualified, unbiased energy regulators
- Tell your legislators that your energy bill is too high
- Tell your legislators to make land and water protection a top priority in 2026
The Legislative Hotlist is a weekly update from CVSC’s Senior Vice President of Policy & Government Relations, John Brooker. Sign up for emails to get the Hotlist delivered directly to your inbox!