University Campus Events Zoning

2025-2026 Bill 832: University Campus Events Zoning

South Carolina General Assembly

126th Session, 2025-2026

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This Bill
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A197, R233, S832

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill

Sponsors: Senators Sutton, Graham, Goldfinch and Zell

Companion/Similar bill(s): 5015

Document Path: SR-0493KM26.docx

Introduced in the Senate on January 20, 2026

Introduced in the House on March 11, 2026

Last Amended on May 13, 2026

Governor's Action: May 18, 2026, Signed

Summary: University Campus Events Zoning

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

1/20/2026

Senate

Introduced and read first time (
Senate Journal-page 9
)

1/20/2026

Senate

Referred to Committee on
Family and Veterans' Services
(
Senate Journal-page 9
)

1/28/2026

Senate

Committee report: Favorable
Family and Veterans' Services
(
Senate Journal-page 17
)

3/4/2026

Senate

Amended (
Senate Journal-page 34
)

3/4/2026

Senate

Read second time (
Senate Journal-page 34
)

3/4/2026

Senate

Roll call Ayes-40 Nays-2 (
Senate Journal-page 34
)

3/5/2026

Senate

Read third time and sent to House (
Senate Journal-page 10
)

3/11/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 31
)

3/11/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Education and Public Works
(
House Journal-page 31
)

5/5/2026

House

Committee report: Favorable
Education and Public Works
(
House Journal-page 2
)

5/7/2026

House

Requests for debate-Rep(s). Gilliard, McDaniel,
King, Garvin, Hosey, Rivers, Waters, Reese,
Williams, Luck (
House Journal-page 77
)

5/13/2026

House

Amended (
House Journal-page 228
)

5/13/2026

House

Read second time (
House Journal-page 228
)

5/13/2026

House

Roll call Yeas-69 Nays-39 (
House Journal-page 235
)

5/14/2026

House

Read third time and returned to Senate with amendments (
House Journal-page 51
)

5/14/2026

Senate

Concurred in House amendment and enrolled (
Senate Journal-page 58
)

5/14/2026

Senate

Roll call Ayes-35 Nays-7 (
Senate Journal-page 58
)

5/15/2026

Ratified R 233

5/18/2026

Signed By Governor

6/5/2026

Effective date 05/18/26

6/2/2026

Act No. 197

View the latest
legislative information
at the website

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

01/20/2026
01/28/2026
03/04/2026
05/05/2026
05/13/2026

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

NOTE: THIS IS A TEMPORARY VERSION. THIS DOCUMENT WILL REMAIN IN THIS VERSION UNTIL FINAL APPROVAL BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

(A197, R233, S832)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 53-1-20, RELATING TO COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES EXEMPT FROM THE PROHIBITION ON SUNDAY PUBLIC SPORTS, SO AS TO DEFINE TERMS PERTAINING TO CAMPUS EVENTS AND LAND USE APPROVAL, TO PROVIDE THAT NO COUNTY OR MUNICIPALITY MAY PROHIBIT, RESTRICT, CONDITION, DELAY, OR REQUIRE LAND USE APPROVAL FOR EVENTS HELD ON THE CAMPUS OF A STATE-SUPPORTED INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING BASED ON ZONING ORDINANCES OR LAND USE CLASSIFICATIONS, AND TO CLARIFY THE APPLICATION OF GENERALLY APPLICABLE SAFETY LAWS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

University campus events zoning

SECTION 1. Section 53-1-20 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 53-1-20. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Campus" means real property owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by a state-supported institution of higher learning, including stadiums, arenas, athletic facilities, performance venues, and associated grounds and parking areas, whether the property is located within or outside municipal boundaries.

(2) "Event" means a concert, performance, commencement, lecture, exhibition, festival, ceremony, athletic contest, or similar gathering, whether hosted solely by the institution or in partnership with a third party, provided the event is approved by the governing board of the institution.

(3) "Land use approval" means any approval, permit, determination, exception, variance, or authorization required because of the use of land or a land use classification under a local ordinance, including approvals administered by a zoning administrator, planning department, board of zoning appeals, or similar body.

(B) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, college and university campuses shall be exempt from the provisions of Section 53-1-10.

(C) No county or municipality may prohibit, restrict, condition, delay, or require a land use approval for an event held on the campus of a state-supported institution of higher learning based on any zoning ordinance, zoning district, overlay district, land use classification, or other land use regulation including, but not limited to, any requirement for a special exception, conditional use approval, variance, zoning permit, certificate of zoning compliance, zoning determination, site plan approval, development plan approval, or similar land use approval, provided that the event is approved by the governing board of the institution.

(D) Nothing in this section may be construed to limit a county's or municipality's authority to apply and enforce generally applicable building, fire, life safety, health, and traffic laws and regulations.

(E)(1) Any event sponsored in an outdoor venue within one thousand feet of a residential neighborhood must provide public notice of the proposed event and must notify any impacted neighborhood association recognized by the applicable municipality at least thirty days before the scheduled vote for approval by the governing board of the institution where the event is proposed to be held pursuant to subsection (C). The affected public and neighborhood associations must be given an opportunity to appear before the governing board of the institution prior to approval of the event.

(2) This subsection applies only to nonathletic events, to events featuring speakers reasonably expected to attract one thousand or more attendees, and to outdoor musical concerts.

Time effective

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

Ratified the 15th day of May, 2026.

Approved the 18th day of May, 2026.

__________

This web page was last updated on
June 2, 2026 at 1:14 PM