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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Did a South Carolina Geodetic Survey boundary revision immediately change voters’ county or precinct registration?
The Attorney General predicted that a survey cover letter revising a county boundary would not itself require election officials to change voters’ county or precinct registrations immediately. It…
Who controlled Hilda’s volunteer fire department equipment and financial records?
The Attorney General predicted that Hilda’s fire chief controlled operations and equipment, the mayor could remove the chief under the stated municipal standard, and the mayor and council had…
Which South Carolina county received rollback taxes after farmland shifted county boundaries?
The Attorney General predicted that the county containing the land when its use changed would receive the rollback taxes. The calculation could still use different taxing district rates for…
What did a South Carolina notarial certificate need when a subscribing witness proved a power of attorney?
The Attorney General predicted that the certificate had to state the subscribing witness certified that they were not a party to or beneficiary of the transaction, along with the other information…
Did South Carolina’s Iran Divestment Act contracting restriction continue after federal Iran sanctions were revoked?
The Attorney General concluded in 2018 that the federal revocation order triggered the state Act’s termination provision for the described Iran energy sector restrictions. It treated restrictions…
Did a proposed interim South Carolina utility rate rollback violate constitutional limits?
The Attorney General predicted that the proposed House version of S. 954, if enacted, would be constitutional and not confiscatory under the utility rate balancing test. It left final judicial…
Did South Carolina’s self defense law automatically immunize a permit holder responding to a mass shooting?
The Attorney General declined categorical immunity. It said immunity could apply if the required self defense elements and statutory conditions were met, with case specific decisions for courts; it…
Could South Carolina legislators retroactively ratify Greenville Hospital System agreements during litigation?
In an expedited opinion, the Attorney General predicted that proposed S. 1116 would likely withstand constitutional challenge because the legislature could generally ratify a subordinate agency’s…
Could South Carolina fine locomotives without Positive Train Control equipment under proposed S. 970?
The Attorney General predicted that a court would find proposed S. 970 preempted because its fines regulated locomotive equipment, a field governed by the federal Locomotive Inspection Act. It…
Could South Carolina’s contractor licensing board consider an applicant’s employee stock ownership plan finances?
The Attorney General concluded that the board could consider ESOP financial information when evaluating net worth, whether it helped or hurt an applicant’s qualification for a general contractor license.
Could a South Carolina nonprofit deny members record inspection because it had 501(c)(6) tax status?
The Attorney General predicted that a nonreligious nonprofit could not eliminate statutory member inspection rights solely because it had federal 501(c)(6) status. Which accounting records a…
Did a vendor installing an industrial paint shop need a South Carolina general contractor license?
On the stated facts, the Attorney General thought a vendor merely supplying and securing specialized equipment inside a building might not need a general contractor license. It emphasized that any…
Did South Carolina DMV have to remove expunged charges from online driving records?
The Attorney General predicted that DMV generally had to comply with a proper expungement order and remove an eligible charge from internet based public records, including a public driving record if…
Could South Carolina search warrant affiants be sworn through any electronic messaging service?
The Attorney General declined to approve additional electronic oath methods. It noted that the telephone-and-fax order expressly covered Richland County and advised courts elsewhere to seek Supreme…
Could a South Carolina county collect municipal code liens on tax bills without a collection agreement?
The Attorney General predicted that a county could collect the described municipal lien using property tax procedures only when it had a collection contract with the municipality and followed state…
Did South Carolina’s standard sheriff election schedule override exceptions preserving four year terms?
The Attorney General concluded that the standard sheriff election schedule was subject to exceptions where needed to preserve constitutionally required four year terms, including the historical…
Who could appeal a South Carolina Human Affairs Commission panel decision?
The Attorney General said a commission attorney representing an aggrieved party could seek review; an unlisted complainant first had to intervene; the Commission itself could be aggrieved by a panel…
Could a South Carolina local ordinance require towing a vehicle when proof of insurance was missing?
The Attorney General predicted that a properly drafted county or municipal towing ordinance could coexist with the state misdemeanor for failing to maintain proof of insurance. It lacked a proposed…
Could a South Carolina watershed district director also work as a circuit judge’s law clerk?
The Attorney General concluded that the two roles could be held together because a judicial law clerk was an employee who did not independently exercise sovereign power, so the clerkship was not a…
Could readySC use South Carolina’s in state tuition residency rule to select free job training participants?
The Attorney General doubted the tuition rule applied to a free training program where a company selected participants. It distinguished a fixed residency duration from a bona fide residency…
Could a South Carolina railroad special constable work part time for a municipal police department?
The Attorney General predicted that a South Carolina commissioned special officer or constable could work part time for municipal police while the railroad or common carrier commission remained…
Could South Carolina counties and cities sue opioid companies for their own losses?
The Attorney General found legal support for county and municipal opioid suits but said their standing and the effect of the State’s Purdue case remained unsettled. Local governments could not sue…
Could a Marion County detention center lieutenant also serve on county council?
The Attorney General concluded that serving as both a Marion County council member and a detention center correctional officer would violate South Carolina’s dual office holding prohibition and the…
Could a school board or town council member join the Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library Board?
The Attorney General concluded that an Allendale County school board member was barred from the regional library board under the older library statute. It also predicted that a Fairfax town council…
Could a South Carolina city assign its police officer to a school outside city limits?
The Attorney General predicted that the school resource officer statute did not itself let a municipal officer serve routinely at a school outside the city. It said an appropriate contract under the…
Did Anderson County have to supervise its fire district, and how could the district raise its millage?
The Attorney General said Home Rule did not require Anderson County to supervise its preexisting fire protection district. For operating millage, it adhered to earlier opinions identifying two…
Who could administer a new South Carolina municipal police officer’s oath?
The Attorney General predicted that any public officer with general authority to administer oaths could give a municipal police officer the required oath. It identified judicial officers, clerks of…
Could Chapin require a town attorney by ordinance, and did a candidate’s past lawsuits bar appointment?
The Attorney General predicted that Chapin’s ordinance requiring appointment of a town attorney was consistent with the state statute allowing one. It did not decide whether the proposed lawyer’s…
Could an Aiken city council member also serve on a school district area advisory council?
The Attorney General predicted no. Although named an advisory council, the Area 1 body exercised delegated policy and fiscal powers that the office treated as a public office, making concurrent city…
Did South Carolina parks have to sell harvested timber through the state surplus property process?
The Attorney General predicted that timber sales by the parks department were exempt from surplus personal property sale procedures. Standing timber remained part of the land, while statutes…
Could an elected school board authorize an unelected school employee to give a trespass notice?
The Attorney General predicted that an elected school board could delegate its school property trespass authority to a person who was not elected. It relied on the trespass statute’s reference to a…
Could South Carolina recover crime victim assistance after a victim received uninsured motorist proceeds?
The Attorney General reaffirmed its view that the State could recover assistance above the victim’s full actual losses and expenses despite a conflicting uninsured motorist non-subrogation rule. It…
Could South Carolina’s public charter school district set criteria for a school seeking a new sponsor?
The Attorney General concluded that the proposed transfer policy was within the public charter school district’s authority. A charter school needed its current sponsor’s agreement to dissolve the…
Could a county register of deeds reject a South Carolina tax lien filed on paper instead of electronically?
The Attorney General predicted that a register of deeds could not refuse a paper Department of Revenue document merely because the department should have filed electronically. It declined to decide…
Could South Carolina’s health department continue licensing lay midwives after the medical practice law changed?
The Attorney General saw no reason to abandon its earlier conclusion that the health department could regulate lay midwives under its broad public health powers. It read the medical practice…
Did South Carolina’s exceptional needs education grant violate the ban on direct aid to private schools?
The Attorney General predicted that the grant proviso would survive a state constitutional challenge. It viewed the program as benefiting exceptional needs children, with private schools receiving…
Could online real estate courses count toward a South Carolina license despite a classroom instruction rule?
The Attorney General concluded that online and distance learning could satisfy real estate prelicensing and continuing education requirements. It read the newer distance learning provision together…
Could Jasper County use local tourism taxes to buy sheriff patrol cars serving tourist facilities?
The Attorney General predicted the county could use local accommodations and hospitality tax revenue for patrol cars if the law enforcement service had a sufficient direct connection to qualifying…
Could a permitted South Carolina hemp grower obtain seed from another state’s pilot program?
The Attorney General concluded that a grower in South Carolina’s industrial hemp pilot program could obtain seed from a qualifying program in another state. It read the then applicable federal…
Did a part time Ravenel town attorney qualify for state benefits as a full time employee?
The Attorney General did not determine the attorney’s benefits eligibility or whether the arrangement was ethical. It directed state health plan questions to the Public Employee Benefit Authority…
Could Allendale’s consolidation commission continue after town councils voted to opt out?
The Attorney General predicted the commission could continue despite the councils’ advance votes. It expected the commission to keep working unless and until electors of all municipal corporations,…
Could South Carolina’s technical college board take over a college’s finances when a deficit was projected?
The Attorney General said the state board had budget and financial accountability powers, including the ability to reject budgets that violated those rules. Without a specific takeover statute, it…
Could each South Carolina school district create more than one school of choice under the statute?
The Attorney General reaffirmed its prediction that the statute allowed one school of choice per district. It rejected a competing reading of the rule that singular words can include plurals,…
Can a South Carolina deputy coroner also serve on a county rescue squad board?
The Attorney General concluded in 2017 that serving as both a Newberry County deputy coroner and a member of its Board of Rescue Squads would violate the state constitutional ban on dual office…
Could James Island raise its property tax millage to pay a public service district for trash collection?
The 2017 opinion did not give the proposed contract an unconditional approval. It said a new tax required specific legislative authority, any municipal millage increase had to meet statutory limits,…
Could a South Carolina city require tobacco stores to get a local retail license?
The Attorney General concluded in 2017 that cities and counties likely could license tobacco retailers by ordinance. A local ordinance still could not effectively prohibit a retail business that…
Could a South Carolina charity hold a paid casino night if play was for entertainment and awarded no prizes?
The Attorney General concluded in 2017 that a court would likely find the described $75 ticket casino night illegal. The opinion treated admission as consideration, games as chance, and continued…
What should a South Carolina sheriff do with seized cash or property when forfeiture is uncertain?
The 2017 opinion urged case-by-case coordination with prosecutors. It identified a possible human trafficking forfeiture route for certain prostitution payments, read drug forfeiture petitions as…
Could a South Carolina charter school board member help start a second charter school?
The Attorney General concluded in 2017 that a public charter school board member could also serve on a charter committee for a separate proposed school without violating the dual office holding ban.…
Could a South Carolina magistrate also serve as attorney for the same county?
The Attorney General advised against a Hampton County magistrate also serving as county attorney. It thought the attorney role could compromise the judicial detachment required of a magistrate,…
Could a South Carolina charity hold a casino night with chips but no cash prizes?
In 2017, the Attorney General reiterated its view that casino style charity events with chance games and continued play won through chips violated state gambling law, even without a material prize.…
How must a South Carolina school board approve hiring a trustee or close family member as a teacher?
The 2017 opinion said the board could choose the format of the required written approval, but approval had to come from a majority vote with a quorum at a public meeting. The board could discuss…
Could Charleston require carriage horses to join a scientific working conditions study?
The Attorney General did not decide whether Charleston could compel carriage businesses to participate in a proposed horse welfare study. With no ordinance or testing procedure to examine, it…
Could heirs of former Thomas Island owners repurchase land acquired for a ports project?
The Attorney General concluded in 2017 that a court would more likely than not read the statutory right of first refusal to include heirs and beneficiaries of former Thomas Island owners. It called…
Could Greenville County Council’s chair change committee assignments before members’ terms ended?
The Attorney General concluded in 2017 that the amended Greenville County Council rules likely let the chair change standing committee membership as merited and make additional appointments as…
Could Summerville use one central polling place for its municipal election?
The 2017 opinion said South Carolina law allowed a municipality to pool precincts for municipal elections and use a central voting place if all five statutory conditions were met. It warned that a…
Were South Carolina state highway projects and their borrow pits subject to local zoning?
The Attorney General concluded in 2017 that a court would likely exempt Department of Transportation projects from local zoning when they furthered the state’s eminent domain power or its uniform…
Did South Carolina’s Base Load Review Act constitutionally make utility customers pay for an abandoned nuclear plant?
In a 2017 advisory opinion, the Attorney General called several provisions constitutionally suspect as applied to the abandoned V.C. Summer project, particularly customer charges for unfinished…
Could a South Carolina county keep legal control of its jail while contracting day to day control to the sheriff?
The Attorney General concluded in 2017 that the proposed split control contract likely conflicted with state law. The statutes placed jail custody and control with either the sheriff or county…
Could South Carolina education officials transfer charter school funds when a school changed sponsors?
The 2017 opinion concluded that the Department of Education likely could transfer funds allocated to the Public Charter School District to an independent higher education institution that became the…
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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.