SC H4266

Adds definitions for key terms including "climatological" (weather conditions like hurricanes, tornadoes, floods), "physical" (land characteristics like topography, geology, seismic activity), "code," and "council" to South Carolina building code law

Requires the South Carolina Building Codes Council to grant local modifications to building codes when requested by municipalities or counties, rather than having discretionary approval authority

Establishes mandatory criteria for approving local modifications: the local governing body must authorize the request, the modification must be based on physical or climatological conditions, the modification must address code provisions that burden local needs or increase construction costs unnecessarily, and it must not adversely affect public health, safety, or welfare

Requires the Council to give deference to local governing bodies' findings when reviewing modification requests, and limits denial only to cases that are "manifestly unreasonable" or pose a "clear and articulable risk" to public welfare

Mandates that when codes reference physical or climatological boundaries, the Council must define those boundaries using logical geographic features (highways, waterbodies, ridgelines) rather than political boundaries