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House adopts amendment to create 'Pray Safe' grant program for places of worship
Summary
Lawmakers adopted an amendment to House Bill 4145, the 'South Carolina Pray Safe Act,' creating a grant program within the Department of Public Safety to help eligible places of worship apply for security enhancements (grants up to $5,000, and a grant fund up to $750,000 at the budget committee's discretion). Members debated the scope of eligible 'religious organizations.'
The House adopted Amendment 1 to House Bill 4145, the 'South Carolina Pray Safe Act,' which sets up a grant program intended to help places of worship fund security enhancements.
Representative Bernstein, who explained the committee report, said the bill "would assign a statutory definition" and create a Pray Safe grant program in the Department of Public Safety that would allow eligible places of worship to apply for "state grants up to $5,000." Bernstein told the chamber the overall grant fund could be "up to $750,000" at the budget committee's discretion.
Questions from members centered on how broadly "religious organizations" are defined and whether groups such as mosques, synagogues or other faith‑based entities would qualify. Bernstein referenced South Carolina Code §1‑33‑10 as the statutory reference for the definition and said the eligibility language would require applicants to demonstrate they are tax‑exempt, at risk of a religiously motivated crime, and meet criteria set in the statute and amendment. She emphasized the program is intended for "safety protocols" not to promote religious belief.
Miss Bernstein said the measure passed out of judiciary with broad support; the House adopted Amendment 1 and recorded that HB 4145, as amended, received second reading.
Next steps: HB 4145 was amended on the floor and recorded as receiving second reading; any appropriation (the $750,000 fund) remains subject to budget committee discretion and is not an enacted appropriation in this session record.
