Did a school band booster club incorporated before 1994 have to follow South Carolina’s later nonprofit corporation law?

Plain-English summary

A senator asked whether the Goose Creek High School Band Booster Club, incorporated in 1989, had to operate under South Carolina's 1994 Nonprofit Corporation Act. The Attorney General said yes. It quoted Section 33-31-1701, which applied the new chapter to domestic corporations governed by the old nonprofit chapter when the new law took effect, and reported that the Secretary of State's office agreed it covered the club.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2004. 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.

Common questions

Q: Did forming the booster club before 1994 exempt it from the new Act?
A: The AG said no. The transition provision carried existing covered domestic nonprofit corporations into the 1994 chapter.

Q: Did the letter decide particular filing or governance duties?
A: No. It answered only whether the Act applied to the described club.

Background and statutory framework

The club had filed its charter with the Secretary of State in 1989. Section 33-31-1701 was the transition rule the AG used to determine coverage after the 1994 Act became effective.

Citations

• Section 33-31-1701

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/may-25-2004-1/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/04may25mescher.pdf

Original opinion text

The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
HENRY MCMASTER
ATTORNEY GENERAL

May 25, 2004

The Honorable William C. Mescher
Senator, District No. 44
303 Gressette Building
Columbia, South Carolina 2921 1
Dear Senator Mescher:
fn a letter to this office you indicated that the Goose Creek High School Band Booster Club is registered as a nonprofit corporation of the State of South Carolina having filed its charter with the South Carolina Secretary of State' s office in 1989. Referencing such, you have asked whether the Booster Club is obligated to operate under the South Carolina Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1994 which is codified as S.C. Code Ann. Sections 33-31-101 et seq. (Supp. 2003). The Act was effective May 10, 1994.

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Section 33-31-1701 provides that the Nonprofit Corporation Act " ...applies to all domestic corporations which on this chapter' s effective date were governed by Title 33, Chapter 31 of the l 976 Code." Those provisions pertained to nonprofit corporations generally. I contacted Neil Rashley with the Secretary of State' s office and he indicated that consistent with such provision, the Nonprofit Corporation Act of 1994 would be applicable to the Goose Creek High School Band Booster Club.

If there are any questions, please advise.
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Sincerely,

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Charles H. Richardson
Senior Assistant Attorney General

REVfEWED AND APPROVED BY:

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Rol.rt D. Cook

Assistant Deputy Attorney General

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OFFICE Box 11549

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