The "Small Business Regulatory Freedom Act" seeks to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by creating a Small Business Regulatory Review Committee tasked with evaluating regulations pending reauthorization. The committee's goal is to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses by at least 25%, while considering the impact of regulations on small businesses and economic development. The bill prohibits state agencies from promulgating new regulations without explicit statutory authority and requires them to eliminate two existing regulations for every new one proposed. Additionally, it allows individuals affected by a regulation to challenge its validity in court and mandates that all proposed regulations include a cost-benefit analysis, which must be publicly available.

Further provisions of the bill include automatic expiration of administrative regulations eight years after their effective date unless readopted, with certain exemptions. It also establishes that the one-hundred-twenty-day period for automatic approval of a regulation is paused if a disapproval resolution is introduced, and it outlines the requirements for such resolutions. The bill clarifies that courts will not defer to agency interpretations of regulations, instead interpreting them de novo. These changes aim to streamline regulatory processes, enhance transparency, and ensure that regulations do not impose unnecessary burdens on small businesses, with the act set to take effect on July 1, 2026.

Statutes affected:
12/05/2024: 1-23-285, 1-23-110, 1-23-115, 1-23-120, 1-23-380
02/26/2025: 1-23-285, 1-23-110, 1-23-115, 1-23-120, 1-23-380
02/27/2025: 1-23-285, 1-23-110, 1-23-115, 1-23-120, 1-23-380
03/05/2025: 1-23-285, 1-23-110, 1-23-115, 1-23-120, 1-23-380
03/06/2025: 1-23-285, 1-23-110, 1-23-115, 1-23-120, 1-23-380
Latest Version: 1-23-285, 1-23-110, 1-23-115, 1-23-120, 1-23-380
12/06/2024: 1-23-285, 1-23-110, 1-23-115, 1-23-120, 1-23-380