South Carolina House Bill H5069

South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/29/26
• Refer: 1/29/26
• Engrossed: 4/15/26
• Refer: 4/15/26
• Enrolled: 5/13/26
• Passed: 5/18/26
• Chaptered: 6/2/26

Caption

AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING CHAPTER 61 TO TITLE 48 SO AS TO ESTABLISH THE "SOUTH CAROLINA PROTECTED LANDS AND CONSERVATION COORDINATION ACT"; TO RECOGNIZE CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES AS AN IMPORTANT STATE INTEREST; AND TO ESTABLISH A STATEWIDE PROTECTED LAND BENCHMARK.

Summary

H5069 creates the South Carolina Protected Lands and Conservation Coordination Act by adding a new chapter to Title 48 of the South Carolina Code. The bill declares conservation of natural resources to be an important state interest and directs state resource agencies to support conservation through planning, grant administration, land management, voluntary landowner partnerships, and other activities that help establish protected land. The bill also sets a statewide long-range benchmark of increasing protected land to 7 million acres by 2050, up from the roughly 3.4 million acres the General Assembly says are already protected. It frames that benchmark as a planning and performance-measurement goal only, not a legal mandate, and requires progress to be measured through voluntary conservation mechanisms and within existing statutory authority and available resources. The act takes effect upon gubernatorial approval.

Impact

The bill would add a new conservation policy chapter to Title 48 and formally establish a state framework for coordinating protected lands efforts across agencies. It does not create new regulatory authority over private property, require land acquisition, or obligate appropriations, and it expressly preserves private property rights. Its practical effect is to guide agency planning and reporting around conservation easements, public lands, and other legally enforceable protection tools, while setting a statewide acreage target for long-term tracking.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and a generally favorable reception in both chambers. It passed the House 103-2, the Senate 41-2 on second reading, and the House later concurred in Senate amendments 105-2, indicating strong consensus around the conservation goals and the bill’s non-mandatory framing. The absence of committee transcript material suggests no recorded public controversy in the available materials.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is the balance between conservation planning and private property rights. The bill repeatedly emphasizes that it does not authorize regulation beyond existing law, require land acquisition, or diminish private rights, which suggests lawmakers were attentive to concerns that a statewide conservation benchmark could be interpreted as a mandate. Any remaining disagreement likely centers on whether the 7 million acre goal is ambitious or whether it could influence future funding, land-use policy, or agency priorities even though the bill says it creates no entitlement or appropriation obligation.