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The South Carolina House Judiciary Committee has approved legislation that would require taxpayers to fund security upgrades to the private property of qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofits, out of concern over attacks on religious institutions nationwide.

Bill H.4145, the South Carolina Pray Safe Act, addresses protections against so-called “religiously motivated crimes” and would establish a $750,000 annual grant program for organizations claiming a risk of religion-based targeting. On January 28, 2026, in a vote of 21-0, with four not voting, the committee advanced H.4145, making it eligible for consideration by the full House.

During committee discussion, legislators from both parties agreed that nearly any religious 501(c)(3) nonprofit could plausibly claim risk in today’s climate and agreed that eligibility should remain broad. According to bill sponsor Rep. Beth Bernstein, as many as 150 nonprofits could qualify for $5,000 grants annually, paid for by taxpayers.

H.4145 relies on the intentionally broad definition of a qualifying “religious organization” in South Carolina Code §1-33-10(3), a provision originally enacted to provide religious-freedom protections. That definition encompasses churches, synagogues, mosques, and organizations involved in studying, practicing, or advancing religion, including social agencies, groups, corporations, and educational institutions. It also extends to an organization’s clergy, religious leaders, and ministers. Legislators make them all potentially eligible for public funding through H.4145.

New legal definitions

The bill then introduces new definitions governing eligibility for funding. It defines an “offense against a religious organization” to apply to all property owned, rented, or operated by a qualifying organization, and not solely to a house of worship. It further defines a “religiously motivated crime” to include the commission, attempted commission, or alleged commission of such an offense, expanding eligibility beyond threats to buildings or clergy to include incidents involving an organization’s employees or agents, as well as individuals who frequent its facilities as part of the population it serves.

Finally, the bill would establish a grant program within the South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS), giving the agency broad authority to set eligibility and ranking criteria. According to Bernstein, the SCDPS Public Safety Coordinating Council would be involved. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) was originally approached to oversee the program, but declined for logistical reasons, Bernstein told the Judiciary Committee.

Private property is not taxpayers’ responsibility

South Carolina taxpayers currently fund security and protection for public institutions such as courts and schools, as well as for critical infrastructure like utilities, on the grounds that these facilities serve the general public. H.4145 would represent a different approach by authorizing taxpayer-funded security upgrades for privately owned property operated by qualifying nonprofit organizations. Traditional public safety funding models focus on strengthening law enforcement resources that can be deployed across communities as needs arise, rather than subsidizing security improvements for select private entities.

H.4145 is a “pre-hate crime” bill

The Pray Safe Act closely parallels the logic of the three proposed hate crime bills currently circulating through state House (H.3039) and Senate (S.247 and S.99), sponsored by many of the same legislators behind H.4145. Hate crime laws create a separate legal framework based on identity in which only certain victims, rather than the general public, receive special legal treatment, as described in this Palmetto State Watch article.

Over in the Senate, nearly identical bills, also called the SC Pray Safe Act exists as S.518 and S.520, both currently in committee.

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