I-95 Corridor Authority Act

2025-2026 Bill 4601: I-95 Corridor Authority Act - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 4601
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. Hosey
Document Path: LC-0449SA26.docx
Introduced in the House on January 13, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Labor, Commerce and Industry
Summary: I-95 Corridor Authority Act
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

12/16/2025

House

Prefiled

12/16/2025

House

Referred to Committee on
Labor, Commerce and Industry

1/13/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 33
)

1/13/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Labor, Commerce and Industry
(
House Journal-page 33
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
12/17/2025

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING CHAPTER
54 TO TITLE 11 SO AS TO ESTABLISH THE "I-95 CORRIDOR AUTHORITY ACT" AND TO
PROVIDE FOR THE COMPOSITION, DUTIES, AND POWERS OF THE AUTHORITY.

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
T
itle 11 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

C
HAPTER 54

I
-95 Corridor Authority Act

Section
11-54-5
. This
chapter may be cited as the "I-95 Corridor Authority Act."

Section 11-
5
4-10. There is established the I-95 Corridor
Authority. The authority must:

(
1) carry
out economic development, health, and educational improvement activities which,
in the opinion of the authority, will improve the economic conditions in its
member counties and are located in a member county or an adjacent qualified
census tract.

(
2) report
to the General Assembly, at least annually, on the progress made related to its
charge, any modification of the laws of this State needed to allow the
authority to better fulfill its charge, programs, and operations.

Section 11-
5
4-15. The authority is a public body, politic and
corporate, and an agency of the State and may:

(
1) adopt
bylaws, procedures, and regulations for the directors, officers, and employees
and for implementation and operation of the programs authorized by this act;

(
2) sue
and be sued in its own name;

(
3) enter
into contracts, agreements, and instruments and make offers to contract with
persons, partnerships, firms, corporations, agencies, or entities, whether
public or private, considered desirable in the furtherance of its purpose;

(
4) acquire
by purchase, donation, exchange, or otherwise, hold, improve, mortgage, pledge,
or otherwise, encumber, manage, lease, convey, transfer, or dispose of any real
or personal property, whether tangible or intangible, together with rights and
privileges as may be incidental and appurtenant thereto. To the extent that
administrative funds are involved, the authority must comply with the
provisions of the South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code. To the extent
that the liability of the authority is limited to program funds, any
acquisition or disposition may be pursuant to public or private sale upon terms
and conditions as the authority may approve in accordance with prudent business
practices;

(
5) appoint
officers, agents, employees, and consultants, prescribe their duties, and fix
their compensation; and

(
6) participate
in and cooperate with any agency or instrumentality of the United States and
with any agency or political subdivision of this State in the administration of
any of the programs authorized by this act.

S
ection
11-54-20
. The
member counties of the authority consist of Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun,
Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Hampton, Jasper, Lee,
Marion, Marlboro, Orangeburg, Sumter, and Williamsburg.

S
ection
11-54-25
.
(
A) The authority is governed by a
board of directors that is composed of fifteen members. The members must be
appointed as follows:

(
1)
five members appointed by the senators whose districts include the member
counties;

(
2)
five members appointed by the representatives whose districts include the
member counties; and

(
3)
five members appointed by the Governor, one of whom is designated as
chairperson.

N
o member may be a
legislator or a member of a legislator's family. No two members designated in
items (1) through (3) may reside in the same county. At least three of the five
members selected in each of items (1) through (3) shall reside in a member
county or adjacent qualified census tract. All members designated in items (1)
through (3) must have sufficient experience in the fields of education,
economic development, healthcare, or business management to deem them qualified
as determined by the appointing senators, representatives, or chairman.

(
B) Except
as provided in subsection (C), members must serve a three-year term and must be
limited to two terms. Any vacancy on the authority must be filled in the same
manner as the original appointment. Members of the authority shall serve
without mileage, per diem, and subsistence.

(C) Initial appointments to the authority pursuant
to subsection (A)(3) must be made within sixty days of the enactment of this
section. Appointments pursuant to subsection (A)(1) and (2) must be made from
sixty to one hundred twenty days of the enactment of this section.

F
ive appointees shall
serve for a one-year term and five appointees shall serve for a two-year term,
all determined by lot at the first called meeting except for the chairman who
shall serve a three-year term.

(
D) The
initial meeting of the authority shall be convened by the chairman as soon as
practical after the initial appointments are made. Business of the authority
only may be conducted when a quorum is present. A quorum consists of a majority
of the members appointed pursuant to subsection (A)(1)-(3).

Section
11-54-30
.
(
A) The authority shall receive state
funds as appropriated by the General Assembly.

(
B) In
addition to funding sources listed in subsection (A), the authority is
authorized to solicit and accept private and public donations, grants, gifts,
and federal funds. All funds received by the authority, regardless of their
source, are to be held and accounted for by the State Treasurer in a separate investment
account to be known as the "I-95 Corridor Authority Fund." This fund is
separate and distinct from all other funds. Earnings and interest on this fund
must be credited to it and any balance in this fund at the end of a fiscal year
carries forward in the fund in the succeeding fiscal year. Disbursements from
the authority fund only must be made upon the signature of the chairman of the
board of directors, or a designee of the board, upon written warrants of the
Comptroller General drawn on the State Treasurer to the payee designated in the
requisition.

(
C) The
authority must distribute funds as loans or grants, in a manner which fulfills
the charge in Section
11-54-10
. The authority must create guidelines to govern
the selection of recipients of grants or loans and the distribution of these funds.

(
D) The
authority must be audited annually by the State Auditor or by an independent
certified public accounting firm approved by the State Auditor.

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by
the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on January 13, 2026 at 2:42 PM