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 a South Carolina fire department consider an applicant pardoned for arson?
The Attorney General concluded in 2017 that a pardon removed the statute’s lifetime legal bar on firefighter employment for an arson conviction. The hiring authority could consider the applicant on…
Could Beaufort County use tourism taxes to build a culinary institute or tourism center?
The 2017 opinion treated a technical college culinary institute as generally a local educational benefit, not automatically a qualifying tourism use. It saw a possible hospitality tax argument if…
Could South Carolina’s Inspector General review a nonprofit foundation supporting a state school?
The Attorney General concluded in 2017 that the State Inspector General could review the foundation created to support the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics. The school could delegate…
Could an indictment for interfering with an officer count as a crime of moral turpitude for suspending a public official?
On the alleged facts presented in 2017, the Attorney General thought a court would likely treat an elected official’s deceptive impersonation of a police commissioner to hinder a traffic citation as…
Did a South Carolina House candidate need to file an economic interest statement before formally entering the election?
The 2017 opinion followed House Ethics Committee guidance that opening a campaign account could trigger an annual statement of economic interest duty before a formal statement of candidacy. It said…
Was a recorded South Carolina deed invalid if the auditor did not endorse it before recording?
In a 2017 clarification, the Attorney General withdrew its earlier conclusion that strict prior auditor endorsement was necessary for validity. It thought a court would find substantial compliance…
Could a South Carolina county fund school resource officers without charging its school district?
The 2017 Attorney General opinion said a county or municipality could contribute toward school resource officers from a separate public revenue source. It could not use property taxes on…
Could an incorporation petition change its proposed town boundaries after voters signed it?
The 2017 South Carolina AG opinion predicted that a substantial change to proposed municipal boundaries after petition signatures would not be allowed. It distinguished minor errors and…
Could Dillon County stop sharing its local option sales tax proceeds with its school board?
The 2017 South Carolina AG opinion predicted a court would enforce the county’s agreement to divide its portion of the tax proceeds equally with the school board. The opinion relied on the…
Did a license suspension for unlawful alcohol concentration bar South Carolina law enforcement certification?
The 2017 AG opinion said a suspension within the preceding five years for driving with an unlawful alcohol concentration automatically barred certification. A suspension for refusing an alcohol test…
When was a South Carolina deferred presentment debt paid in full by debit card?
The 2017 AG opinion treated an approved debit card payment as cash equivalent and said the transaction was paid in full when the debit was authorized at the point of sale. The licensee could notify…
Which South Carolina fee rules governed Clemson and Coastal Carolina championship license plates?
The 2017 AG opinion said the later, specific statutes for Clemson and Coastal Carolina championship plates governed their fees and distribution. It predicted a court would treat them as exceptions…
Did South Carolina highway funding legislation repeal special license plate fee rules?
The 2017 AG opinion said the highway funding act did not expressly or implicitly repeal the separate fee rules for personalized organizational, sample, and souvenir plates. It predicted a court…
Could an irrevocable line of credit release a South Carolina mechanic’s lien from real property?
The 2017 AG opinion predicted a court would reject an irrevocable line of credit as security for discharging a mechanic’s lien. The statute listed cash, certain federal or state securities, and a…
Could a South Carolina town council member also serve on the Advisory Council on Aging?
The 2017 AG opinion predicted that serving on the purely advisory Council on Aging did not count as holding a second office of honor or profit under the state constitution. On the facts supplied,…
Did years served before 2016 count toward the South Carolina transportation commission’s twelve-year limit?
The 2017 AG opinion said the new cumulative twelve-year service limit operated prospectively. It predicted a court would not count a transportation commissioner’s service before the 2016 amendment…
Could a South Carolina county transportation committee use C-funds to pay project attorneys?
The 2017 AG opinion deferred to the Department of Transportation’s view that legal services tied to committee-selected road projects could be eligible project costs paid from C-funds. It separately…
Could a South Carolina clerk use bail bondsman fees for employee bonuses?
The 2017 AG opinion said the clerk controlled the bondsman fee account, subject to county accounting and spending rules, but could not use it for a retrospective morale bonus beyond agreed…
Was South Carolina’s landowner petition requirement for special purpose districts constitutional?
The 2017 AG opinion said the requirement remained operative unless a court struck it down. It saw a possible equal protection problem with giving landowners the petition role, but said a court might…
Could a South Carolina police department buy a gyroplane with drug forfeiture funds?
The 2017 AG opinion said forfeiture money could buy a gyroplane, related equipment, and pilot training when its primary purpose remained drug law enforcement, even with incidental other uses. It…
Did a county nuisance ordinance prevail over HOA covenants, and was a complainant owed notice?
The 2017 AG opinion said a valid county ordinance prevailed over conflicting homeowners association covenants. It also said a person who reported a violation but was not a party to the enforcement…
Could a nonlawyer help a South Carolina business with magistrate court abandoned-property proceedings?
The 2017 AG opinion said a genuine nonlawyer officer of the business could represent it in a civil magistrate proceeding under the court rule, with required written authorization. A separate…
Could one person serve on both Allendale County’s school and hospital boards?
The 2017 South Carolina AG opinion predicted that holding both seats would violate the state constitution’s dual office prohibition. It treated membership on each board as an office of honor or…
Did South Carolina’s AG think proposed ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) violated lawyers’ constitutional rights?
In 2017, the AG said the proposed lawyer conduct rule was constitutionally suspect and predicted a substantial chance of a successful First Amendment or due process challenge if adopted. The opinion…
Were South Carolina caterer service fees and portable toilet transactions subject to sales tax?
The 2017 AG opinion declined to decide either constituent’s actual sales tax liability because that required facts about each transaction. It cited decisions taxing catering service fees and…
Could South Carolina local governments require or incentivize affordable housing through zoning?
The 2017 AG opinion said counties and municipalities had delegated zoning power to consider affordable housing. It predicted that a court would reject a zoning amendment compelling low- or…
Could children affected by the Carolina border correction attend a South Carolina school without tuition?
The 2017 AG opinion said families living on property newly classified as North Carolina could keep children in the South Carolina district formerly thought to contain that property without charge if…
Could a South Carolina engineering corporation subcontract construction in an environmental cleanup?
The 2017 AG opinion said the environmental remediation procurement exemption governed how the state bought those projects and did not waive contractor licensing. It predicted a qualified engineering…
Could a South Carolina school board chair mark a present member absent for sitting away from the table?
The 2017 AG opinion said the chair could not mark a physically present member absent or bar that member’s vote for refusing the board’s table-seating rule. It thought the chair might have exceeded…
Could Pioneer Rural Water District build a new freshwater treatment facility?
The 2017 AG opinion reaffirmed its earlier conditional answer: the district’s statutory water distribution powers could imply authority to build or contract for a treatment facility if the facility…
Was a school district’s audio recording of a board meeting a public record under South Carolina FOIA?
The 2017 AG opinion said an employee-made audio recording of a school board meeting was a public record even if it was made only to help prepare official minutes. It predicted disclosure under FOIA…
Was South Carolina DMV required to translate driving tests for limited-English-proficiency applicants?
The 2017 AG opinion declined to decide which DMV tests or materials Title VI required it to translate for a particular language group. It summarized federal agency guidance, including a…
Could a South Carolina city require developers to fund public art through building permits?
The 2017 AG opinion predicted a city could not add an art charge to building permit fees or impose a new art tax without specific statutory authority. A rule making private developers pay for art…
Did South Carolina law require a county ambulance to transport patients involuntarily admitted for mental health care?
The 2017 AG opinion said the amended mental health transport statute did not require Richland County to supply an ambulance or EMT. Absent a friend or relative taking responsibility or an agreed…
Could proposed legislation change Florence County school board terms and move its elections?
The 2017 AG opinion predicted a court would uphold a draft law extending Florence County School District Three board terms, moving elections to even-year general elections, and shortening some…
Could a South Carolina mayor pro tempore also serve as a county deputy coroner?
The 2017 AG opinion reaffirmed its earlier conclusion that both positions were offices of honor or profit. It said serving in both at the same time would violate South Carolina’s constitutional dual…
Could a Richland County council member also take an elections, college, or museum job?
The 2017 AG opinion could not conclusively classify the elections director job without knowing whether it included deputized sovereign powers. It said the Midlands Technical College campaigns…
Could South Carolina’s Manufactured Housing Board require continuing education to renew licenses?
The 2017 AG opinion said the board had express and implied authority to require continuing education for licensed manufactured home retail dealers, salespersons, contractors, installers, and…
Could Greenville County require a three-fourths council vote for new or increased service fees?
The 2017 AG concluded that state law set a minimum positive-majority vote for service fees but did not bar Greenville County from requiring three-fourths of its full council. Its existing ordinance…
Did a second degree domestic violence indictment qualify as a crime of moral turpitude for a South Carolina governor to suspend an officer?
The 2017 AG concluded that a court would most likely treat second degree domestic violence as a crime of moral turpitude for the governor’s constitutional suspension power. It found the described…
Could Barnwell County take back property its economic development corporation received from three towns?
The 2017 AG said a court could invalidate a county ordinance transferring the corporation’s property if the towns were beneficiaries of a trust holding that property. That conclusion depended on…
When a new South Carolina DHEC director replaced a predecessor, did the director get a full four year term?
The 2017 AG predicted that a newly selected and confirmed DHEC director would serve a new, full four year term, not just the predecessor’s remaining time. It reasoned that the director statute fixed…
Who paid the juvenile detention charge when a South Carolina highway patrol trooper made the arrest?
The Attorney General predicted that, when a highway patrol trooper arrested and took a juvenile into custody on the facts supplied, the State was the governing body responsible under the juvenile…
Could a Bishopville city council member also sit on the Lee County Archives Commission?
The 2017 AG concluded that the archives commission board seat was not a second public office under the ordinance as described, so the combination did not violate the constitutional dual office rule.…
Could South Carolina let the Municipal Association set business license tax classes and collect the tax?
The 2017 AG identified serious constitutional concerns in a proposed bill requiring municipalities to adopt tax classifications revised by the Municipal Association and use its tax portal. It did…
Did Charleston’s airport authority have to provide free disability placard parking under South Carolina’s municipal parking law?
The 2017 AG predicted that a court would not treat the Charleston County Aviation Authority or Airport District as a municipality under the cited free parking statute. It limited its answer to that…
Did Berkeley County’s accommodations tax board members have to live in the revenue area, and could the county fund more than advertising?
The 2017 AG said the board’s geographic representation requirement did not impose residency; relevant business ties or experience could suffice. It also said Berkeley County’s ordinance did not…
Could a Columbia resident serve on the Richland County Recreation Commission or recommend its appointees?
The 2017 AG said a person living inside Columbia could not serve as a commission member because the recreation district excluded the city. A Richland legislative delegation member living in Columbia…
Did Beaufort County have responsibility under state law to clear hurricane debris from coastal tidelands?
The 2017 AG concluded that Beaufort County had legal responsibility for debris cleanup in tideland areas between mean high and low water where its delegated police power applied. It separated that…
After a South Carolina election was voided, did voter registration close before the original vote or the new election?
The 2017 AG predicted that the registration cutoff would run from the newly ordered election, allowing voters eligible under that new deadline to appear on its rolls. It treated the first,…
Could a South Carolina town mayor also work as a state probation agency procurement manager?
The 2017 AG predicted the procurement manager was an employee, not a second constitutional office, so the described pairing would not violate the dual office rule. It separately warned about…
Could one person sit on Denmark Technical College’s commission and a regional community action agency board?
The 2017 AG predicted that Denmark Technical College’s local area commission seat was a public office, while the described OCAB community action agency board seat likely was not. On those facts,…
Could a South Carolina town with zero property tax millage begin or resume a property tax?
The 2017 AG said a town that had levied property tax before could raise a current zero millage only within the statutory increase limits and exceptions. A new local government needed specific…
Who paid a South Carolina condominium association’s hurricane insurance deductible and uncovered repair costs?
The 2017 AG said the council of co-owners should fund the deductible in the same manner as insurance premiums. For insured property, repair costs beyond insurance proceeds and reserves were a common…
Did South Carolina’s pension law require a fixed payoff schedule using approved contribution rates?
The 2017 AG concluded that the retirement system’s unfunded liability should be calculated on a closed amortization schedule, not an annually reset open one. It also said the calculation should use…
Could the first payment on a South Carolina supervised loan be due sooner or later than later installments?
The 2017 AG said the first due date could be closer to the loan date than later payment intervals, or farther away than one and one-half such intervals. It read the equal interval requirement as…
Could a South Carolina payday lender treat a debit card payment as cash before the funds settled?
The 2017 AG reaffirmed that a debit card could be a cash payment under the deferred presentment law, but clarified that the loan was not paid in full until settlement credited the lender’s account.…
Did a South Carolina city’s historic property tax discount also reduce county and school taxes?
The 2017 AG predicted that a Bailey Bill special assessment granted by a city applied only to the city’s portion of property taxes. A county discount likewise did not require the city to discount…
Could South Carolina’s attorney general investigate a homeowners association incorporated as a nonprofit?
The 2017 AG said the Nonprofit Corporation Act applied to a homeowners association organized under it and gave the Attorney General authority to investigate such an association. The office also said…
Could a South Carolina disability services commission prohibit its members and staff from recording an open meeting?
The 2016 AG read the FOIA phrase “any person in attendance” to include commissioners and board members at an open meeting. It predicted a court would be reluctant to uphold a blanket recording ban,…
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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.