Still Time to Act on S.508 – Oppose Heritage Act Amendments
Photo: A QR code affixed to the Gibbes Landing State Historical Marker, sponsored by the Preservation Society of Charleston and The M.A.R.S.H. Project, links to the historical material provided during the 2024 marker unveiling celebration. QR codes like this would be banned under Bill S.508.
The PSC has been raising concerns about proposed amendments to the South Carolina Heritage Act, a story that is gaining national attention. Last week, the State Senate debated and passed S.508, a bill that would vastly expand the scope of the bill by curtailing local governments’ abilities to add historic information to monuments or markers in public spaces. Under the bill, a joint resolution of the State Legislature would be required to add new information including digital aids like QR codes. The bill would also allow virtually anybody to sue cities into compliance.
The bill now moves to the State House of Representatives, and there is still time to act. We encourage PSC members to let your State Representative know that you share our concerns about this regressive legislation.
Here are two points we suggest emphasizing:
- Historical literacy is a value deeply held by South Carolinians. Bill S.508 would have a chilling effect on efforts to interpret our public spaces by allowing virtually anybody to sue and recover costs for new plaques, or even digital aids like QR codes.
- The bill attempts to address a problem that does not exist. We are not aware of an instance in which a public monument or memorial has been improperly contextualized or editorialized in a way that harms the reputation of a historic figure. History is not static, and the public benefits from modern research and scholarship that deepens understanding of public spaces and the people associated with them.
The Preservation Society opposes the bill and is calling on our supporters to contact your State Representative in opposition. Please express your strong support for interpreting history in public space, and object to the bill to the extent that it would discourage efforts to tell our state’s shared story.
To find your State Representative, enter your address at this link: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/legislatorssearch.php. Scroll down to “Enter your address, scroll down to “Your South Carolina State Representative is…” and click on your Representative’s name to send a message.
