South Carolina Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in South Carolina, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Could South Carolina sign a federal highway review agreement, and was its records law comparable to FOIA?
The South Carolina AG's office said the proposed transportation agreement would bind the state upon execution and appeared consistent with state law. It also found South Carolina's and federal…
Can South Carolina's Ethics Commission require a political party to report its operating account under section 8-13-1308(G)?
The Attorney General advised against enforcing that reporting provision at all under its current wording. A party's operating account can fund issue advocacy, and the statute does not explain how to…
Can a South Carolina county ban its sheriff from using license plate readers or cut funds to agencies that use them?
The AG concluded that Oconee County’s broad license plate reader ordinance faced a credible legal challenge, especially where it used funding or control of county roads to restrict the sheriff or…
Who recommends board members for water districts serving Pickens County, South Carolina?
The Governor appoints members of the Bethlehem-Roanoke, Six Mile and Easley-Central water boards on the Pickens County legislative delegation's recommendation. The AG could not resolve how…
Who must hold the public hearing before a South Carolina transportation sales tax referendum, and when?
Either county council or the county election commission may hold the hearing, though the AG considered council better suited. It must occur after the commission receives the tax ordinance and at…
When can a South Carolina county challenge a municipal annexation, and how do railroad tracks affect contiguity?
A county generally could not challenge a 100% annexation without showing harm to its proprietary interests or statutory rights, while a 75% annexation could be challenged by a county owning land in…
Could Cherokee County charge its trash-removal fee to owners who did not use the service or require payment with property taxes?
The AG concluded that Cherokee County could impose a uniform trash-service charge, but likely could not charge owners who fully opted out and received no trash-removal benefit. The opinion also…
Can South Carolina Highway Patrol require a rotation tow truck to drive motorists away from a crash scene?
A rotation wrecker's standard-tow fee included responsible assistance to help the vehicle owner reach a safe location, subject to reasonableness. The AG found no authority allowing Highway Patrol to…
Could South Carolina's Treasurer withhold local-option sales-tax payments from a town that missed its audit deadline?
Yes. The AG concluded that local-option sales-tax distributions were state payments under Proviso 98.9 and had to be withheld from a municipality that failed to submit the required financial…
If a South Carolina county approves Sunday liquor-by-the-drink sales, does the result cover municipalities, and may municipal residents vote?
Yes. The Attorney General read S.C. Code § 61-6-2010 to make a favorable county referendum effective throughout the county, including inside incorporated municipalities. All qualified county…
Can a South Carolina mayor issue proclamations or awards on behalf of town council without council approval?
Generally no. The South Carolina Attorney General concluded that a mayor or other council member could not independently exercise the council's authority without specific legal authorization or…
Can a South Carolina school district with universal free lunch charge students fees for attendance make-up time?
Likely no. Although make-up time could qualify as an incidental fee, the South Carolina Attorney General concluded that a district providing free lunch to every student could not charge the fee…
What happens if a South Carolina county council member no longer lives in the district after a county-boundary change?
A council member who ceases to be a qualified elector of the represented district forfeits the office, but may continue serving de facto until a successor is seated. The AG could not determine the…
Can the South Carolina Department of Revenue audit an electric cooperative's governance, financial disclosures, and patronage capital?
No. The Department of Revenue may audit electric cooperatives for South Carolina taxes it administers, but it may not conduct the separate governance and compliance audits assigned to the Office of…
Who has to calculate the interest on a South Carolina property tax refund after a successful appeal, the assessor or the auditor?
Neither Section 12-60-2550(C) nor Section 12-60-2930(B) says who must calculate the interest owed on a property tax refund after a successful protest or appeal, so which office does it is a policy…
Has South Carolina legally waived its sovereign immunity so the federal government can enforce its highway environmental-review duties in federal court?
Yes. The South Carolina Attorney General confirmed the State has validly waived its Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity and accepted federal court jurisdiction for lawsuits arising from the…
Can a South Carolina county use transportation sales-tax money to build a highway noise barrier?
Likely yes. The Attorney General concluded that an engineered highway noise barrier, built to mitigate noise from a county transportation project and serving no other purpose, likely qualifies as an…
Can a South Carolina county zoning ordinance block the state parks agency from building hiking and biking trails on land bought for that purpose?
Probably not. A court would likely hold that Article VIII, § 14 of the South Carolina Constitution prevents Greenville County's zoning ordinance from blocking the Department of Parks, Recreation and…
What can a South Carolina city legally do with development impact fee revenues, and can the money fund parking lots for existing buildings?
Two answers. First, expenditures of development impact fees in South Carolina must be tied to the city's adopted capital improvements plan; spending outside the plan is not allowed. Second, parking…
If a South Carolina landowner subdivides farmland but keeps owning it and keeps farming it, does the owner need to reapply for the agricultural property tax exemption?
No. Once a parcel has been classified as agricultural under S.C. Code § 12-43-220, the owner does not have to file a new application to keep that classification after subdividing the tract, as long…
Does a South Carolina solicitor have to report a healthcare provider's pre-trial intervention to the National Practitioner Data Bank, even though state law makes that information confidential?
The AG advises that solicitors should make the federally-required report to the National Practitioner Data Bank when a defendant in a healthcare-related prosecution enters pre-trial intervention.…
If someone serves on the board of the South Carolina Medical Malpractice Association, does that count as a 'public office' that would prevent them from holding any other state office?
Probably not. The AG concluded that a court would likely find the Association's board does not exercise sovereign power. The board takes no oath, receives no pay, has no regulatory authority, and…
Can Charleston voters approve using Transportation Sales Tax funds to build the Battery Extension, a $300M project that is mostly described as flood control, even though TST funds are supposed to pay for transportation projects?
The AG predicts a court would likely allow Transportation Sales Tax funds for the Battery Extension project as described by Charleston's mayor, if county voters approve the tax. The opinion relies…
Can a Jasper County, South Carolina elected treasurer hire his own outside lawyer (separate from the county attorney) and bind the county to pay the bills?
Generally no. The county ordinance requires county council approval before any county agency hires outside counsel, and state law gives the county council, not the treasurer, the exclusive authority…
When a South Carolina special purpose district sells services outside its statutory boundary in competition with private companies, can it shield its customer list from a FOIA request as a 'trade secret'?
Probably not. The trade secrets exemption in S.C. Code § 30-4-40(a)(1) is narrowly construed because FOIA is a remedial statute meant to favor disclosure. The Court of Appeals' Campbell decision and…
Did South Carolina's 2010 and 2013 permit extension resolutions, which tolled development approval deadlines after the Great Recession, also extend a 1995 water and sewer infrastructure agreement between a private trust and a municipal utility?
The AG predicts a court would find the 2010 and 2013 resolutions applicable to the particular 1995 CPW and trust agreement for water and wastewater services supporting development. It does not…
Can a South Carolina county add the local option sales tax (LOST) on top of the transportation tax and educational capital improvements tax it already collects, when a city inside the county is also charging the tourism development fee?
Yes, if voters approve. The AG found no statutory bar to Horry County adding the local option sales tax while its transportation and educational capital improvements taxes and Myrtle Beach’s tourism…
Can the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice charge counties a $50 per-day fee for keeping juveniles in custody after they have been adjudicated and committed?
No. The AG concluded that DJJ's per-diem authority under Section 63-19-360(4) is limited to pre-adjudication detention. Once a juvenile has been adjudicated and committed, the State must bear the…
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?
Yes for the OJRSA executive director position the AG examined. It was not created by the legislature, required no oath, and served at the board's pleasure. The AG concluded that its holder could…
If a hunter sends a deer dog onto private land where the hunter has no permission to hunt, can the hunter be charged with criminal trespass under South Carolina Code Section 50-1-90?
The AG declined to say yes outright. The Office acknowledged that 1960s opinions reading Section 50-1-90 narrowly may be outdated, but stopped short of declaring the dog an extension or agent of the…
If a Family Court temporary order gives one spouse exclusive use of the home, can law enforcement issue a trespass notice against the excluded spouse, even though they still co-own the property?
Yes. The AG concluded that South Carolina's trespass-after-notice statute applies to anyone, including a property co-owner, when the person in peaceful possession asks them to leave. A pending…
If someone is caught driving in South Carolina without a driver's license and they have a prior conviction that would have suspended a license they never had, what should they be charged with?
Section 56-1-450, not Section 56-1-460. The AG explained that 56-1-460 only applies when a license was once issued and then canceled, suspended, or revoked. A person who has never been licensed has…
Who enforces South Carolina's Kratom Consumer Protection Act, and can the Department of Public Health write rules under it?
The AG says the Act does not expressly assign enforcement to any entity and contains no specific rulemaking delegation. It considers the Department of Public Health unlikely to gain enforcement…
If the Governor wants to appoint someone who already holds a state office to the Health Planning Committee, does the dual office holding ban block it?
No. The AG concluded that members of South Carolina's Health Planning Committee are not officeholders for dual office holding purposes because the Committee plays a purely advisory role to the…
When South Carolina county auditors decide whether a pickup truck qualifies for the lower 6 percent personal property tax assessment, should they use the truck's empty weight, its gross weight, or the gross vehicle weight rating set by the manufacturer?
The AG reads the classification statutes to use empty weight of 9,000 pounds or less and gross weight of 11,000 pounds or less, rather than manufacturer-set GVWR. It cautions that its opinions do…
Can a South Carolina magistrate issue an administrative search warrant to allow a county code enforcement officer to inspect a home for fitness for human habitation under S.C. Code § 31-15-380, and can the code enforcement officer prosecute the resulting case in magistrate's court?
The AG says § 31-15-380 does not authorize a magistrate or other judge to issue an administrative search warrant. It did not decide when officers may otherwise enter. It also says code enforcement…
Do the sex-education curricula in use in some South Carolina school districts (Be Proud! Be Responsible!, Making a Difference, Making Proud Choices, Reducing The Risk, Rights Respect Responsibility, Safer Choices) violate the state's Comprehensive Health Education Act or the First Amendment?
The AG would not declare any specific curriculum unlawful (that requires factual findings beyond an AG opinion's scope), but reaffirmed two binding rules. First, South Carolina's Comprehensive…
Does South Carolina DSS's regulation requiring foster parents to keep firearms inoperable and locked away violate the Second Amendment?
The South Carolina AG concluded a court would likely find the DSS foster-home firearm storage rule unconstitutional. The opinion also found no statutory support for the rule, but says it remains…
If a South Carolina tax collector sells a property at a delinquent-tax auction and then receives a check in the mail postmarked before the sale, can the collector cancel the sale?
No. The AG says payment must be made before the sale date to prevent the sale. A check received after a completed sale does not cancel it merely because it was postmarked earlier. The opinion…
When a South Carolina state agency has both general-fund appropriations and federal funds for the same program, which money has to be spent first?
Under S.C. Code § 11-9-125, the AG says an agency must spend available federal and other funds before state general-fund appropriations whenever possible. State general funds may be used when no…
If I own a pickup truck with an empty weight of 8,000 pounds and a gross weight of 9,000 pounds, do I get the 6% personal motor vehicle property tax rate or the 10.5% rate for other personal property?
On the facts supplied, the AG says the truck should receive the 6% rate if it is designed, used, and maintained to transport ten or fewer people. The AG cannot verify the particular truck. Its legal…
Can a South Carolina city pass its own hate crimes ordinance when the state legislature has not enacted a hate crimes law?
The AG predicts a court could find a proposed criminal hate-crimes ordinance inconsistent with South Carolina’s statewide criminal-law rule and the First Amendment. The opinion says a municipality…
Can a South Carolina county council withhold an elected sheriff's salary while he is on extended leave?
The AG found no authority for a county constitutional officer to take a leave of absence and concluded a county may withhold pay from an officer who purports to take one until duties resume. The…
When a South Carolina probate court commits a child under 16 to a mental institution, can the state withhold that record from the federal NICS background check system since the federal firearms ban only applies at age 16 and up?
No. § 23-31-1020 requires probate courts to forward every mental adjudication and commitment order to SLED, and SLED to forward all of them to NICS, with no age carve-out. SLED has no statutory…
If my child goes to a private school outside of South Carolina, can he or she play on a South Carolina public high school sports team under the state's 'Tim Tebow' athletic-access proviso?
No. Proviso 1.112 of the 2025-2026 SC budget only opens public school interscholastic athletic programs to students who attend independent schools located in South Carolina. The proviso's chapeau…
If I'm convicted of a minor offense and then pick up a second conviction during the waiting period, can I still get the first one expunged in South Carolina?
No. A disqualifying conviction during the three- or five-year waiting period bars expungement of the first conviction under § 22-5-910 as currently written. The second conviction may itself qualify…
Does South Carolina's six-week paid parental leave for state employees and teachers cover a stillbirth?
Probably yes. The AG concluded that a court would likely read the word 'birth' in §§ 8-11-150 and 8-11-151 to include stillbirths, but warned the statutes do not say so explicitly and recommended…
When a federal agency like DCSA or DoD asks a South Carolina sheriff or court for someone's arrest history for a security clearance, do they have to provide it?
Yes. The AG says qualifying South Carolina criminal justice agencies must provide criminal history record information to a covered federal agency when the subject has given written consent. Section…
Can one person serve on a South Carolina county hospital board and a county elections commission at the same time?
No. Both positions are 'offices of honor or profit' that exercise sovereign power. Under Article XVII, § 1A, holding both at once is unconstitutional dual office holding, and the law treats the…
In South Carolina, is it a crime to publish the name of an alleged sexual assault victim even if the assault was never reported to police?
The AG reads § 16-3-730 as containing no requirement that an alleged sexual assault first be reported to police. It cautions that a court could interpret the text in light of the statute’s purpose…
Can the Spartanburg City Council relocate or demolish the downtown Bicentennial clock tower without legislative approval?
The AG did not decide whether the Spartanburg clock tower is protected by the Heritage Act; that is a factual question. If it is protected, only the General Assembly may lift those protections.
Whose interpretation of the 2023 bail-bond premium rules controls in South Carolina, the Attorney General's or the Department of Insurance's?
The Attorney General modified its earlier opinion to defer to the South Carolina Department of Insurance's reading of Section 38-53-170(e) on bond premiums. Bail bondsmen and runners should follow…
What happens to a South Carolina commissioner whose six-month holdover period expires before a successor is appointed, and can their votes still count?
Once a South Carolina commissioner holds over past the statutory six-month limit, the seat is legally vacant and should be filled. The commissioner becomes a de facto officer; their votes still…
Can South Carolina's Board of Paroles and Pardons grant a pardon for a crime that has already been expunged, what counts as a quorum, and when does a social gathering of board members trigger the open-meetings law?
An expunged conviction can still be pardoned; adult expungement does not erase the crime. Four members form a quorum of the seven-member board, while all three members of a current parole panel form…
When a South Carolina county consolidates fire protection districts, does the new district automatically own the property of the dissolved districts?
Likely yes. When a South Carolina county council consolidates special purpose fire protection districts under Article 3 of Title 6, § 6-11-620 says the new consolidated district 'assumes all…
Can a South Carolina code enforcement officer prosecute ordinance violations in magistrate's court without it being the unauthorized practice of law?
The AG predicts the South Carolina Supreme Court would allow code enforcement officers to prosecute criminal ordinance violations in magistrate court. The opinion is advisory: until that Court…
Can South Carolina's Hartsville Community Center Building Commission issue general obligation bonds, and what does the constitutional ban on taxation without representation mean for appointed special purpose districts?
No, not on its own. The Hartsville Commission is appointed, and GO bonds pledge taxing power. The AG says a court would likely uphold bonds issued through § 6-11-490 with county council authorization.
Can a South Carolina school board set its own compensation under a policy adopted by majority vote, and does failing to reaffirm the policy in a later year invalidate it?
Section 59-1-350 permits school boards to develop compensation policies within its parameters unless local law or another controlling authority says otherwise. The AG did not decide whether…
Is the Chester Fire District required to keep contracting with the City of Chester for fire protection services, or can it pick another provider or run its own department?
The AG says the 1972 act does not require the Chester Fire District to use the City of Chester exclusively or forever. A court would likely read the commission’s powers to allow renegotiation, a…
Did the South Carolina AG approve a water district’s use of an exclusive contractor list for a developer’s water-line work?
The opinion does not decide whether a district may require an approved-list contractor. Assuming the listed qualifications relate to regulatory approvals, the AG says § 33-36-1360(A)(17) may well…
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Attorney general opinions in South Carolina are written by the South Carolina Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.