SC 2026-OJRSA-executive-director-dual-office-holding January 6, 2026

Can the Executive Director of a joint regional sewer authority also serve on a city's planning commission, or does South Carolina's dual office holding ban prevent it?

Short answer: Yes, both positions can be held simultaneously. The AG concluded that an executive director hired by a board to run day-to-day operations is an employee, not an officeholder, so the constitutional dual office holding ban does not apply. Planning commission members ARE officeholders, but holding only one office is fine.

Disclaimer: This is an official South Carolina Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed South Carolina attorney for advice on your specific situation.

Plain-English summary

Article VI, Section 3 of the South Carolina Constitution prohibits any one person from holding two "offices of honor or profit" at the same time. The question for the Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority (OJRSA) was whether its Executive Director, who already sat on the City of Clemson Planning Commission, was running afoul of that ban.

The AG said no. The South Carolina test for whether a position is an "office" looks at several factors: was it created by the legislature, are there qualifications and tenure rules, does it carry an oath or bond, does the holder exercise sovereign power. None of those factors point toward "office" for the OJRSA Executive Director. The Joint Authority Water and Sewer Systems Act doesn't even mention the position of director or executive director. The position was created by the OJRSA board, the holder serves at the board's pleasure under contract, takes no oath, and runs operations rather than wielding sovereign power. By contrast, prior AG opinions consistently treat planning commission members as officeholders.

Because Executive Director is not an "office," holding both positions does not trigger the dual office holding ban.

What this means for you

If you serve on a special purpose district or regional authority board

The pattern that decides "office vs. employee" for executive directors is well-settled: the AG has repeatedly concluded that executive directors of boards and commissions are employees. The 2024 opinion on Chester Metropolitan District (2024 WL 3526737), the 2005 opinion on Lowcountry Regional Council of Governments (2005 WL 2250213), the 1994 opinion on the S.C. Real Estate Commission (1994 WL 378006), and the 2011 opinion (2011 WL 1444716) all reach this conclusion. So if your special purpose district hires a director by contract, that director can serve on city or county boards that are themselves "offices" without a dual office holding violation.

If you are an executive director or candidate for one

You can simultaneously hold one bona fide "office" (planning commission, city council, county council, certain regulatory commissions) without violating the dual office holding ban. You cannot hold two such offices. If you are unsure whether a particular volunteer position counts as an "office," look at the AG's prior opinions on that specific board, or ask for a new opinion. Advisory committees with no decision-making authority are usually not offices; bodies that make zoning, regulatory, or licensing decisions usually are.

If you are a municipal clerk or planning department staffer

When seating new planning commissioners, the dual office holding screening can flag false positives if you treat any "director" title as automatic. The AG's analysis confirms that an executive-director title alone does not create a conflict. The right question is whether the director exercises sovereign authority delegated by the legislature, takes an oath, has statutorily defined tenure, and represents the State in their duties. For most district executive directors, the answer is no, and the seat is fine.

If you are a city attorney advising the planning commission

When a candidate for planning commission also holds an executive-director role, you can clear the appointment if the executive-director position lacks the Crenshaw factors (legislative creation, oath, bond, defined qualifications, sovereign power). Document the analysis briefly in case the appointment is later challenged. The AG opinion gives you the analytical framework and a pile of supporting prior opinions to cite.

Common questions

What is the dual office holding ban?

Article VI, Section 3 of the South Carolina Constitution: "no person shall hold two offices of honor or profit at the same time." There are explicit exceptions for notaries, militia officers, constables, constitutional delegates, and members of lawfully and regularly organized fire departments.

How do you tell if a position is an "office"?

The AG used the Crenshaw test (1980): look at whether the legislature created the position, whether qualifications for appointment are established, whether duties, tenure, salary, bond and oath are prescribed, whether the holder represents the sovereign. No single factor is conclusive, and you don't need all of them. You apply the factors and ask: is this person exercising "some part of the sovereign power" in a "continuing, and not occasional or intermittent" way (Sanders v. Belue)?

Why is a planning commissioner an officeholder but an executive director not?

The AG treats planning commission membership as carrying the kind of zoning and land-use power that is genuinely sovereign: the commission's recommendations and decisions can bind landowners and shape development. Executive directors, by contrast, are typically hired by the board to run operations: budget, payroll, vendor management. They serve at the board's pleasure and don't independently exercise the State's authority.

Does it matter that the OJRSA Executive Director was originally appointed by the OJRSA Board?

Yes. The position is held under contract, not by appointment from a sovereign source. The Board sets terms, the Board can fire at will. That fact pattern weighs heavily against treating the position as an office.

Could the analysis change if the General Assembly amended the Joint Authority Act to create the director position by statute?

Possibly. If the legislature amended Title 6, Chapter 25 to require an executive director, prescribe qualifications, set a fixed term, require an oath, or assign sovereign duties, the Crenshaw factors would shift. The AG hinted at this by emphasizing that "the legislature did not create the position" as part of its reasoning.

Background and statutory framework

The South Carolina Constitution's dual office holding clause is Article VI, Section 3:

[N]o person shall hold two offices of honor or profit at the same time, but any person holding another office may at the same time be an officer in the militia, member of a lawfully and regularly organized fire department, constable, or a notary public.

The Supreme Court in Sanders v. Belue (1907) defined a public officer as "[o]ne who is charged by law with duties involving an exercise of some part of the sovereign power, either small or great, in the performance of which the public is concerned, and which are continuing, and not occasional or intermittent."

In Segars-Andrews v. Judicial Merit Selection Commission (2010), the Supreme Court applied a more concrete formulation drawn from Willis v. Aiken County (1943): a position is an office where "the power of appointment comes from the state, the authority is derived from the law, and the duties are exercised for the benefit of the public."

The State v. Crenshaw test (1980) supplied a checklist: legislative creation, established qualifications, defined duties and tenure, salary, bond, oath, and whether the holder is a representative of the sovereign. No single factor is conclusive.

Applying these to the OJRSA Executive Director:

Legislative creation: No. The Joint Authority Water and Sewer Systems Act, S.C. Code Title 6, Chapter 25, makes no reference to a director or executive director.
Oath: No. The Executive Director does not swear an oath.
Tenure: Serves at the pleasure of the OJRSA Board of Commissioners, by contract.
Sovereign power: Administrative and operational, not sovereign.

Compare to local planning commission members, where the AG has consistently found "officeholder" status:

2021 WL 1832299 (Feb. 22, 2021), unspecified town planning commission
2011 WL 3346433 (Jul. 19, 2011), Marion County Planning Commission
2003 WL 21790892 (Jul. 28, 2003), Town of Hollywood Planning and Zoning Commission
1995 WL 803333 (Mar. 14, 1995), City of Isle of Palms Planning Commission
1990 WL 599249 (Apr. 5, 1990): Florence County Planning Commission

The structural difference: planning commissions exercise legislatively-delegated land-use authority; executive directors execute the day-to-day operations of an entity their board oversees.

Citations

Cases:

Sanders v. Belue, 78 S.C. 171, 174, 58 S.E. 762, 763 (1907)
Segars-Andrews v. Jud. Merit Selection Comm'n, 387 S.C. 109, 124, 691 S.E.2d 453, 461 (2010)
Willis v. Aiken County, 203 S.C. 96, 103, 26 S.E.2d 313, 316 (1943)
State v. Crenshaw, 274 S.C. 475, 478, 266 S.E.2d 61, 62 (1980)

Constitution and statutes:

S.C. Const. art. VI, § 3, dual office holding ban
S.C. Code Ann. Title 6, Chapter 25, Joint Authority Water and Sewer Systems Act

Prior AG opinions on executive directors:

2024 WL 3526737 (Jul. 16, 2024), Chester Metropolitan District
2011 WL 1444716 (Mar. 31, 2011), director generally administrative
2005 WL 2250213 (Aug. 29, 2005), Lowcountry Regional Council of Governments
1994 WL 378006 (Jun. 24, 1994), S.C. Real Estate Commission

Source

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

ALAN WILSON
ATTORNEY GENERAL

January 6, 2026

Kevin Bronson, Chair
Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority
623 Return Church Road
Seneca, SC 29678

Dear Chairman Bronson:

Attorney General Alan Wilson referred your letter to the Opinions section for a response. You ask whether an individual can simultaneously serve as the Executive Director of the Oconee Joint Regional Sewer Authority (OJRSA) and a member of the Planning Commission for the City of Clemson. You advise that the Commissioners of the OJRSA believe that a person may permissibly hold both positions at the same time because the position of Executive Director of the OJRSA does not constitute an office for dual office holding purposes. Specifically, you note the Executive Director does not swear an oath of office and serves at the pleasure of the OJRSA's governing body by contract. As discussed below, it is the opinion of this office that a person would not violate the South Carolina Constitution's prohibition against dual office holding by simultaneously serving as both the Executive Director of the OJRSA and a member of the City of Clemson's Planning Commission.

Law/Analysis

Article VI, Section 3 of the South Carolina Constitution prohibits any person from simultaneously holding "two offices of honor or profit." The limitation does not apply to notaries, militia officers, constables, constitutional delegates, or members of lawfully and regularly organized fire departments. S.C. Const. art. VI, § 3. "One who is charged by law with duties involving an exercise of some part of the sovereign power, either small or great, in the performance of which the public is concerned, and which are continuing, and not occasional or intermittent, is a public officer." Sanders v. Belue, 78 S.C. 171, 174, 58 S.E. 762, 763 (1907). A position is considered an office for purposes of dual office holding when "'the power of appointment comes from the state, the authority is derived from the law, and the duties are exercised for the benefit of the public.'" Segars-Andrews v. Jud. Merit Selection Comm'n, 387 S.C. 109, 124, 691 S.E.2d 453, 461 (2010) (quoting Willis v. Aiken County, 203 S.C. 96, 103, 26 S.E.2d 313, 316 (1943)). When determining whether a position is an office under our constitution, relevant considerations include "whether the position was created by the legislature; whether the qualifications for appointment are established; whether the duties, tenure, salary, bond and oath are prescribed or required; [and] whether the one occupying the position is a representative of the sovereign; among others." State v. Crenshaw, 274 S.C. 475, 478, 266 S.E.2d 61, 62 (1980). No single characteristic is conclusive, and it is not necessary that all criteria be met. Id.

This office has repeatedly determined that members of local planning commissions are office holders. Ops. S.C. Att'y Gen., 2021 WL 1832299 (February 22, 2021) (unspecified town planning commission); 2011 WL 3346433 (July 19, 2011) (Marion County Planning Commission); 2003 WL 21790892 (July 28, 2003) (Town of Hollywood Planning and Zoning Commission); 1995 WL 803333 (March 14, 1995) (City of Isle of Palms Planning Commission); 1990 WL 599249 (April 5, 1990) (Florence County Planning Commission).

Executive directors, on the other hand, are typically viewed as employees. We have repeatedly concluded that the executive director of a board or commission does not hold an office. Ops. S.C. Att'y Gen., 2024 WL 3526737 (July 16, 2024) (Chester Metropolitan District); 2005 WL 2250213 (August 29, 2005) (Lowcountry Regional Council of Governments); 1994 WL 378006 (June 24, 1994) (S.C. Real Estate Commission). A director or executive director holds an administrative position, not an office. Op. S.C. Att'y Gen., 2011 WL 1444716 (March 31, 2011). A director generally serves at the pleasure of the governing board or commission and is considered an employee. Id. The OJRSA was created pursuant to the Joint Authority Water and Sewer Systems Act contained in Title 6, Chapter 25 of the South Carolina Code. The Act contains no reference to a director or executive director. Because the legislature did not create the position, the individual holding the position is not required to take an oath, and the individual serves at the pleasure of the OJRSA Board of Commissioners, it is the opinion of this office, consistent with our prior opinions, that the Executive Director of the OJRSA does not hold an office. Because Executive Director does not hold an office, there is no dual office holding violation created by the Executive Director also holding an office, such as serving as a Commissioner on the City of Clemson's Planning Commission.

Conclusion

It is the opinion of this office that the Executive Director of the OJRSA does not hold an office and thus the person holding that position may simultaneously hold an office without violating the dual office holding prohibition contained in the South Carolina Constitution.

Sincerely,

Sabrina C. Todd
Assistant Attorney General

REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:

Robert D. Cook
Solicitor General Emeritus