Could a South Carolina county transportation committee pay members for attending meetings?

Plain-English summary

Horry County's transportation committee asked whether members could be paid for out-of-pocket and special-meeting expenses. Members had suggested $50 per meeting and $75 for the chair. The Attorney General said the committee statute did not authorize salaries or per diem for members and expressly excluded those payments from its limited administrative-expense allowance. It therefore concluded that the proposed compensation for meeting attendance was not permitted.

The statute allowed a committee to spend up to one thousand dollars of its allocated gasoline-tax funds on reasonable administrative expenses directly related to its activities, such as copying, mail, public notices, correspondence, and recordkeeping. The opinion did not decide whether any particular out-of-pocket cost apart from attendance pay fit that category. It also said the AG was unaware of other county committees paying members but could not speak with certainty about their practices.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1998. 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

Could members receive a flat amount for attending meetings? A: The AG said no. The statute did not authorize member salaries or per diem, and its administrative-expense allowance expressly excluded them.

Was any committee administration expense allowed?
A: The opinion described a statutory allowance of up to one thousand dollars for reasonable administrative expenses directly related to committee work. It did not classify a particular claimed expense.

Could the chair receive a higher meeting payment?
A: No under the proposal described. The AG rejected compensation for attending meetings, including the suggested $75 chair amount.

Did the AG confirm what other county committees paid? A: No. It said it knew of no such payment elsewhere but could not state that with certainty.

Background and statutory framework

Section 12-28-2740 governed county transportation committees and the allocated gasoline-tax funds known as “C” funds. The opinion separated permissible limited administrative spending from prohibited member salaries and per diem. Its conclusion was about the law as it stood in 1998.

Citations and references

The opinion quoted and discussed Section 12-28-2740. The official PDF contains its analysis of the proposed meeting amounts.

Official title

Asking whether members of the Horry County Transportation Committee may be compensated for out-of-pocket expenses and special meeting expenses.

Requester

George R. Vereen, Chairman, Horry County Transportation Committee

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/october-21-1998-1/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/98oct21vereen.pdf

Original opinion text

The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
CHARLES M. CONDON ·
ATIORNEY GENERAL

October 21, 1998

George R. Vereen, Chairman
Hony County Transportation Committee
Post Office Box 1236
Conway, South Carolina 29538
RE:

Informal Opinion

Dear Mr. Vereen:
Your opinion request has been forwarded to me for reply. You have asked whether members of the Hony County Transportation Committee may be compensated for out-ofpocket expenses and special meeting expenses. The members of the Committee have suggested $50.00 per meeting for members and $75.00 per meeting for the chairman. You have also asked whether members of other county transportation committees receive compensation for their service. Section 12-28-2740 of the South Carolina Code of Laws governs the distribution of a portion of the gasoline tax, or "C" funds, among the counties and sets forth the procedures to be followed when establishing county transportation committees to expend these funds. County transportation committees are appointed by the county legislative delegation and must be made up of fair representation from municipalities and unincorporated areas of the county. S.C. Code Ann. § 12-28-2740(8). Funds received by a county must be approved by and used in furtherance of a countywide transportation plan adopted by a county transportation committee. Id. A county transportation committee may also join in approving a regional transportation plan and the funds must be used in furtherance of this plan. Id. A county transportation committee is authorized to expend from the funds allocated under Section 12-28-2740 an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars for reasonable administrative expenses directly related to the activities of the committee. These expenses may include costs associated with copying,

REMBERT

c. DENNIS Bull.DING

•

Posr OFFICE f:lox 1154')

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COUJMBIA. S.C. 29211-1549

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TELJ:l'HONE: 80J-734-397()

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FACSIMILE: 803-253-6283

Mr. Vereen
Page 2
October 2 L 1998
mailing, public notices, correspondence, and record keeping but do not include the payment of per diem or salaries for members of the committee. Id.

I

Compensation is not indispensable to a public office; it is merely incident to the office. 63C Am.Jur.2d Public Officer and Employees § 271. A public official is entitled only to compensation provided by law, for whatever may be the character of the compensation- whether an annual salary, a per diem allowance, or fees for particular services- it must depend upon the will of the people speaking through their constitutions, statutes, or ordinances. Id. The right to receive the compensation annexed to public offices is legislative or constitutional in nature; and, in this regard, it has been said that a public official is not entitled to receive payment for services out of the public treasury, unless there is some statute authorizing such payment. Id. As a general rule, there is no constitutional right to receive compensation in any amount for public service; or, as is sometimes stated, there is no general constitutional requirement that every officer be compensated. Id. A law creating an office without any provision for compensation may carry with it the implication that the services are to be rendered gratuitously. Id; See Ridgill v. Clarendon County, 188 S.C. 460, 199 S.E. 683 (1938).

I

The statute establishing and governing county transportation committees does not, at the present time, authorize the payment of salaries or per diem to members of these committees. In keeping with the above cited general law, the absence of such a provision implies that the members' service is gratuitous. Therefore, since there is no statutory authorization for the payment of salary or per diem to members of the committees, the committees are not permitted to compensate members for attending committee meetings. The above stated conclusion is supported by the fact that Section 12-28-2740 only authorizes the expenditures of funds for transportation matters and limited administrative expenses. As to what constitutes administrative expenses, the General Assembly has expressly stated that funds expended for administrative reasons may not be used for the payment of per diem or salaries for members of the committee. In regards to your question of whether members of other county transportation committees are receiving any form of compensation for their service, I am unaware of such an occurrence. However, I cannot speak with any degree of certainty on this subject. This letter is an informal opinion only. It has been written by a designated assistant attorney general and represents the position of the undersigned attorney as to the

Mr. Vereen
Page 3
October 21, 1998

specific questions asked. It has not, however, been personally scrutinized by the Attorney General nor officially published in the manner of a formal opinion. With kindest regards, I remain

Very truly yours,

7?J.A (.~

I

Paul M. Koch
Assistant Attorney General