Bill > H4709

This bill requires that any public entity in South Carolina entering into a contract for a public works project, which includes construction, maintenance, or improvement of various facilities like buildings, roads, or utility systems, must ensure that any iron or steel product permanently incorporated into the project is produced in the United States. "Produced in the United States" means all manufacturing processes, from initial melting to coating, occur within the U.S., with limited exceptions for refining steel additives. This requirement applies to "iron or steel products," defined broadly to include items like pipes, bars, wire, forgings, and structural steel, as long as they are "made primarily of iron or steel," meaning more than fifty percent iron or steel by cost, volume, or weight. However, there are exceptions: the requirement does not apply if U.S.-produced iron or steel is not available in sufficient quantities, satisfactory quality, or if using it would increase the project's total cost by more than twenty-five percent, or if it's inconsistent with the public interest. Additionally, minimal use of foreign iron or steel is allowed if it's incidental to the main product and its cost is very low, or if foreign steel is a minor component of an otherwise domestically produced product. Electrical components are generally exempt, and the bill also clarifies that it must be applied consistently with international agreements and federal policies related to the "Safe Drinking Water Act" and does not apply to contracts managed by the Department of Transportation under specific federal "Buy America" rules.

Budget and Finance, Business and Industry

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=4709&session=126&summary=B