Expenditure and investment prohibition

2025-2026 Bill 4697: Expenditure and investment prohibition - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 4697
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. McCravy, Chumley, Edgerton and Gilliam
Document Path: LC-0354DG26.docx
Introduced in the House on January 13, 2026
Currently residing in the House
Summary: Expenditure and investment prohibition
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 60
)

1/13/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Labor, Commerce and Industry
(
House Journal-page 60
)

1/21/2026

House

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Gilliam

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 ARTICLE
29 TO CHAPTER 1, TITLE 1 SO AS TO PROHIBIT ALL STATE AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
AND ALL POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF THE STATE FROM INVESTING, CONTRACTING, OR
EXPENDING ANY PUBLIC FUNDS WITH CHINESE COMPANIES, AND TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN
INCENTIVES FROM BEING AWARDED TO CHINESE COMPANIES.

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

S
ECTION 1.
C
hapter 1, Title 1 of the S.C. Code is amended by
adding:

A
rticle 29

P
rohibition on Investments and Expenditures on China

S
ection
1-1-1910
.
(
A) Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, no state agency or institution thereof, including the
State Treasurer and the Retirement System Investment Commission, nor any
political subdivision of this State, including school districts, may invest any
public funds, in any manner, in Chinese companies.

(
B)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no state agency or institution
thereof, or political subdivision of this State, including school districts,
may contract with or expend any public funds with Chinese companies.

(
C)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department of Commerce,
including any division thereof, may not offer or award any incentive or
development grant to any Chinese company. Further, any company who is offered
or awarded incentives from the Department of Commerce must sign a statement
agreeing that the company will not contract with any company prohibited from
receiving an incentive or grant pursuant to this subsection.

(
D)
For purposes of this section:

(
1)
"Chinese company" means any company or development:

(
a)
owned or controlled by a company that is owned, in whole or in part, by, or is
a subsidiary of, a company that is owned by the People's Republic of China or
the Chinese Communist Party; or

(
b)
whose principal place of business is located within the People's Republic of
China.

(
2)
"Chinese Communist Party" includes all agencies, institutions, and
instrumentalities of the Chinese Communist Party;

(
3)
"Incentive" or "development grant" means tax credits, deductions, exemptions,
exclusions, fees in lieu of taxes, monetary benefits, subsidies, rebates,
information required by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board regarding
economic incentives, awards from the Governor's Closing Fund, assistance from
the State provided on a discretionary basis to attract or retain business
operations, and other preferential tax benefits given to businesses for the
purpose of recruitment.

(
4)
"People's Republic of China" includes all agencies, institutions,
instrumentalities, and political subdivisions of the People's Republic of
China.

S
ECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on January 13, 2026 at 2:43 PM