Did a county need a landowner petition under § 6-11-20 before forming a fire district under § 4-19-10?

Plain-English summary

A Greenwood County resident asked whether landowner initiative under § 6-11-20 was required before county action to form a fire protection district. The Assistant AG understood the question’s reference to a different code chapter as a typographical error and analyzed the county’s assumed plan under Section 4-19-10 et seq. He said South Carolina law supplied distinct district-creation methods: the Section 6-11-10 route included a petition and referendum, while Section 4-19-10 had its own procedure.

Because the routes were separate, the author found no basis to require a Section 6-11-20 petition before a county used Section 4-19-10. He also mentioned a special tax district route under Section 4-9-30(5) and another code chapter, without analyzing their requirements for the requester’s plan. The answer was conditional on the intended statute and was informal.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1997. 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: Was a § 6-11-20 petition required before using § 4-19-10? A: The author said no; the sections belonged to different methods of establishing a fire district.

Q: Did the AG assume the requester cited the right county route? A: No. He expressly treated the cited section in the question as a misprint and analyzed Section 4-19-10 instead.

Q: Did the letter spell out every fire-district formation path? A: It named several routes but focused on the relationship between the two at issue.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion contrasted the petition-and-referendum process associated with Section 6-11-10 et seq. and Section 6-11-20 with county action under Section 4-19-10 et seq. It also cited Section 4-9-30(5) as another possible type of district.

Citations and references

Statutes discussed: Section 6-11-20; Section 4-19-10 et seq.; Section 4-9-30(5).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/october-6-1997-1/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/97oct6richardson.pdf

Original opinion text

The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
CH A RLES M OL ONY CONDON
ATTO RNEY GENERAL

October 6, 1997

Mr. Dan Richardson
134 Richardson Drive
Greenwood, South Carolina 29649
Re:

Informal Opinion .

Dear Mr. Richardson:
Representative Carnell has asked this Office to respond to the question raised in your September 15, 1997 letter addressed to Representative Carnell. You have asked the following question: "IS THE LANDOWNER INITIATIVE AS SET OUT IN 6-11-20 A PREREQUISITE TO ACTION BY A COUNTY GOVERNING BODY UNDER 4-11-10 ET SEQ IN THE FORMATION OF A FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT?" For purposes of answering this question, I will assume that reference in your ·question to Section 4-1110 is a misprint and the Code section that you intended to refer to is Section 4-19-10 et seq. The South Carolina Code of Laws provides several distinct methods by which a fire protection district may be created within a county. In an opinion dated March 5, 1990, this Office described these several methods. One method of creating an autonomous political subdivision to provide fire protection services would be pursuant to Section 6-1110 et seq. of the Code. This method would require a petition for formation of the district and a referendum, as outlined in the statutes. A second way to create a fire district for a specified area of a county would be the establishment of a special tax district by the county council acting pursuant to Section 4-9-30(5) of the Code. Finally, a county may follow the procedures set forth in Section 4-19-10 et seq. or 4-21-10 et seq. of the Code. Section 4-19-10 et seq. and Section 6-11 -10 et seq. are distinct methods of providing fire protection. I gather from your letter that the Greenwood County Council intends to create a fire protection district pursuant to Section 4-19-10 et seq. of the Code.
~D~:~ .... POST OFFICE Box 11 549

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COLUM BIA , S.C. 292 11-1549

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T ELEPHONE:

803-734-3970

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F ACSIMILE: 803-253-628 3

Mr. Richardson
Page 2
October 6, 1997
If this is the case, then the County Council must follow the provisions of Section 4-19-10 et seq. There is nothing contained in Section 4-19-10 et seq. which would indicate that Section 6-11-20 must be followed prior to the creation of a fire protection district pursuant to Section 4-19-10 et seq.

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I

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 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,

RJ A. Ko~
Paul M. Koch
Assistant Attorney General
cc:

The Honorable Marion P. Carnell
The Honorable John Drummond
The Honorable Jim Klauber
The Honorable Anne Parks
The Honorable Harry Stille