Could a South Carolina city council member also serve on the Spartanburg higher education commission?

Plain-English summary

A senator asked whether one person could sit on a city council and the Spartanburg County Commission on Higher Education. The February 2001 informal opinion said the combination violated South Carolina's dual office holding provision. Earlier AG opinions treated city and town council members as officers; a 1992 AG opinion treated the commission's members as officers because they exercised state sovereign power. The letter said no significant statutory change altered that earlier conclusion.

The official archive title calls the first role a Spartanburg County Council seat. The PDF itself asks about “city council” and concludes with “town council.” This page states the question and holding as they appear in the PDF.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2001. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Historical summary

City and town council members

The AG said prior opinions consistently treated these council seats as public offices for the dual office rule.

Higher education commissioners

The letter reaffirmed that this commission's powers and duties involved sovereign authority, so commission membership also counted as an office.

Common questions

Could one person hold the two seats described in the PDF?
A: No. The AG concluded that simultaneous town council and commission service contravened the state Constitution.

Why did commission membership count as an office?
A: The opinion relied on its earlier conclusion that members exercised a portion of state sovereign power through their duties.

Does the archive title match the PDF's council description?
A: No. The archive title names county council, while the PDF discusses city and town council. This summary follows the PDF.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion applied Article XVII's bar on simultaneous public offices. It drew on prior AG treatment of municipal councils and its earlier analysis of the Spartanburg commission, rather than conducting a new detailed review of the commission's powers.

Citations and references

• The PDF asks whether a person may serve as “a member of city council” and the commission.
• Its conclusion says both “town council” and commission service would contravene the dual office rule.

Official title

Concerning whether a dual office holding situation exists if a member of Spartanburg County Council simultaneously serves as a member of the County Commission on Higher Education.

Requester

The Honorable John D. Hawkins, Senator, District No. 12

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/february-27-2001-1/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/01feb-27-hawkins.pdf

Original opinion text

The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
CHARLIE CONDON
ATTORNEY GENERAL

February 27, 2001

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The Honorable John D. Hawkins
Senator, District No. 12
Post Office Box 142
Columbia, South Carolina 29202

RE: Informal Opinion
Dear Senator Hawkins:
By your letter of February 14, 2001, you have requested an opinion of this Office concerning dual office holding. Specifically you ask if a person may serve simultaneously as a member of city council and as a member of the Spartanburg County Commission on Higher Education.

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Article XVII, Section IA of the State Constitution provides that "no person may hold two offices of honor or profit at the same time ... ," with exceptions specified for an officer in the militia, member of a lawfully and regularly organized fire department, constable, or notary public. For this provision to be contravened, a person concurrently must hold two public offices which have duties involving an exercise of some portion of the sovereign power of the State. Sanders v. Belue, 78 S.C. 171, 58 S.E. 762 (1907). Other relevant considerations are whether statutes, or other such authority, establish the position, prescribe its duties or salary, or require qualifications or an oath for the position. State v. Crenshaw, 274 S.C. 475, 266 S.E.2d 61 (1980). This Office has advised on numerous occasions that a member of a city or town council would be considered an officer for dual office holding purposes. See, as representative of those numerous opinions, OPS. ATTY. GEN. April 12, 1998; June 12, 1995; Feb. 4, 1994; July 23, 1993; July 24, 1991. We have also issued a prior opinion specifically addressing whether service on the Spartanburg County Commission on Higher Education would constitute dual office holding. See OP. ATTY. GEN. March 27, 1992. In that opinion we concluded that because the Commission members appear to exercise a portion of the sovereign power of the State by their powers and duties, the members would be officers for dual office holding purposes. A copy of this opinion is enclosed for your review. It appears there have been no significant statutory amendments since this issuance of this opinion that would affect its outcome. As such, the conclusion reached therein continues to remain the opinion of this Office. Thus, it is the opinion of this Office that service on both the town

REMBERT

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POST OFFICE Box 11549

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COLUMBIA. S.C. 29211-1549

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TELEPHONE: 803-734-3970

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FACSI\tlLE: 803-253-6283

Senator Hawkins
February 27, 2001
Page 2 of2
council and on the Spartanburg County Commission on Higher Education would contravene the dual office holding provision of the State Constitution. This letter is an infonnal opinion only. It has been written by a designated Assistant Attorney General and represents the position of the undersigned attorney as to the specific question asked. It has not, however, been personally scrutinized by the Attorney General nor officially published in the manner of a fonnal opinion. With kind regards, I remain

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Very truly yours,

Susannah Cole
Assistant Attorney General

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