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Senate adopts H.3309 after amendments; Davis’s competitive-procurement language and date change win floor approval
Summary
H.3309, the broader energy package, received floor amendments addressing competitive procurement and a timeline tweak for data center fee-in-lieu dates and passed third reading on a 38-3 vote after extended floor debate and multiple unanimous-consent adjustments.
The South Carolina Senate on third reading adopted H.3309 after floor amendments and procedural adjustments, with the clerk reporting a final vote of 38-3 in favor.
On third reading the Senate considered an amendment offered by Senator Davis (Beaufort) that removed House competitive-procurement language and replaced it with a more prescriptive process the Senate had adopted earlier. Davis told the chamber the change was intended to remove overlapping House text that the Senate’s earlier amendment had already replaced. After floor colloquy and questions from other senators — including questions about whether the procurement language applied to all sections of the bill and whether stakeholders supported the approach — the amendment was adopted.
Separately, the body approved by unanimous consent a change to deadlines in the bill related to data-center fee-in-lieu provisions. The amendment moved several cutoff dates from May 15 to May 30 (and adjusted associated five-year references accordingly) at the request of the senator from Marion; the change was approved by unanimous consent on the floor.
Why it matters: Floor debate and amendments addressed how utilities must solicit bids from independent power producers for renewable portions of their integrated resource plans, a provision supporters described as more directive than the House’s permissive language. The adopted competitive-procurement language requires periodic solicitations tied to a utility’s IRP and sets criteria for the Public Service Commission to compare IPP proposals to utilities’ avoided costs. Advocates on the floor said stakeholders, including utilities and IPPs, had negotiated the language, though some senators asked clarifying questions about price-setting and regulatory implications.
Vote and outcome: After adopting the Davis amendment and resolving the date-change request, the Senate proceeded to third reading and recorded a final tally of 38 in favor and 3 opposed; the clerk announced the bill received third reading. The transcript records procedural steps, floor explanations, and the final roll-call result.
Ending: With passage on third reading in the Senate, H.3309 advanced through the chamber with the Senate’s competitive-procurement approach in place and with minor date adjustments for certain data-center timelines; additional step(s) (e.g., enrollment, conference, or concurrence) remain depending on the bill’s status in the other chamber.
