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 retired South Carolina legislator’s son join the state transportation commission?
The AG concluded that “immediate family member” likely included a legislator’s son. Under the statute it analyzed, a son was ineligible during the parent’s General Assembly service and for four…
Could a North Carolina false-imprisonment conviction require sex-offender registration in South Carolina?
The AG concluded that a North Carolina false-imprisonment conviction would likely require South Carolina registration because the conduct could qualify as kidnapping under South Carolina’s broader…
Who filled a McCormick County school-board vacancy under the 2013 South Carolina AG opinion?
The AG concluded that the governor appointed a trustee for an unexpired term on McCormick County Council’s recommendation. The council could seek a candidate proposed by the school board, but…
Could a South Carolina scrap-metal recycler pay cash for copper, catalytic converters, or beer kegs?
The AG concluded that a secondary metals recycler could pay cash for those items only in a transaction with another secondary metals recycler. For other sellers, the statute the opinion reviewed…
Could Mullins City Council transfer the mayor’s powers to a mayor pro tempore by ordinance?
The AG predicted that Mullins Ordinance 11-304 would likely fail because state law limited when a mayor pro tempore could act as mayor. The office understood Mullins to use the council form of…
Could volunteer firefighters use private cars with lights and sirens to respond to calls in South Carolina?
The AG said a volunteer firefighter’s private vehicle could qualify for limited emergency-vehicle traffic exemptions while actually responding to an emergency with required audible and visual…
Could CERRA settle repayment debts from South Carolina Teaching Fellows scholarships?
The AG concluded CERRA could not compromise Teaching Fellows debts owed to the state. The attorney general could decide whether to settle a particular claim in the state’s interest, but could not…
Could a South Carolina register of deeds reject a manufactured-home title affidavit on form alone?
The AG concluded a recording officer could refuse a manufactured-home title-retirement affidavit if it lacked a statutory requirement. A different form or illegibility alone was not enough to refuse…
Could Seneca Police give Christmas bonuses to reserve officers for their service?
The AG concluded Seneca’s proposed service-based Christmas bonuses for reserve police officers were inappropriate. It distinguished a statutory exception for approved off-duty work paid by a party…
Could Camden withhold City Drug Fund records showing payments linked to dismissed charges?
The AG concluded the fund’s financial records were generally subject to disclosure under South Carolina FOIA. It did not accept expungement law or donor privacy as grounds to hide the identities of…
Who could fire the first director of Richland County’s combined election board?
The AG predicted the Richland County Board of Elections and Voter Registration could directly discharge its initial director. The county’s legislative delegation appointed that first director, but…
Could a South Carolina water utility charge extra for a shared fire-sprinkler tap?
The AG concluded the statute’s limit on fire-sprinkler installation and maintenance fees likely applied whether the tap served only sprinklers or also other water uses. It declined to decide a…
Could a South Carolina soil and water conservation district qualify for rural infrastructure funding?
The AG said a soil or water conservation district could qualify if it was a special purpose district under the statute. That classification required an individual review; the opinion did not declare…
Could Beaufort County’s treasurer add fees or keep penalties when collecting delinquent taxes?
The AG concluded the treasurer could collect only the penalties and qualifying costs authorized by statute, not an extra flat or arbitrary collection fee. It also said delinquency penalties could…
Which physicians could sign a candidate petition for South Carolina’s medical board?
The AG read the election regulation as requiring 50 signatures from permanently licensed physicians eligible to vote in the candidate’s district contest. It left disputed signatures and the…
Could South Carolina prison wardens carry state-issued pistols at all times?
The AG concluded the described wardens, certified as Class 2 law enforcement officers and on call around the clock, could carry their department-issued firearms at all times because the office…
Could a Lincoln student transfer to Wando for a career cluster unavailable at Lincoln?
The AG concluded the student-transfer law permitted a Lincoln student to seek Wando’s career cluster if Lincoln did not offer it, but both constituent district trustee boards had to approve the…
Could a South Carolina city share confidential taxpayer data with county officials for their duties?
The AG concluded the statutory exception for data sharing in official duties likely extended between a municipality and county. It found no same-office or same-government limit in the provision it…
When did a South Carolina inspector-general investigation become public under the 2012 opinion?
The AG said investigative records became subject to FOIA after an investigation ended and its required final report issued. The inspector general could decide whether an investigation needed a…
Could two South Carolina DOT commissioners from the same county serve at the same time?
The AG concluded that two DOT commissioners from the same county could not serve simultaneously. A candidate from the county of a sitting district or at-large commissioner had to wait until that…
How far back could Jasper County assess property taxes it missed through its own error?
The AG concluded the county auditor was probably limited to 36 months of omitted property-tax assessments caused by county error. It distinguished taxpayer-caused omissions under a different provision.
Could Fripp Island private security cite people for beach-rule violations below the high-water mark?
The AG concluded the association’s private guards lacked law-enforcement authority to enforce its beach rules below the high-water mark, where state ownership was presumed absent a specific grant.…
Could Bishopville council vote itself per diem payments for official work?
The AG said per diem payments to Bishopville council members were not authorized under the statute permitting reimbursement of actual official expenses, so a vote on per diems was unnecessary. Other…
Could Fairfield County Council vote for board nominees by number without revealing their names?
The AG said Fairfield County Council’s number-based voice-vote method would likely violate FOIA if a council member requested individual votes in the minutes or the public sought the candidates’…
Could a Fairfield County deputy sheriff also serve on the county council on aging board?
The AG concluded a deputy sheriff likely could not also hold the described Fairfield County Council on Aging board seat because both positions counted as public offices. It recognized an exception…
Could a South Carolina civil-contempt citation be entered into criminal-history databases?
The AG concluded a civil-contempt citation was not criminal-history record information and should not be entered into the state criminal information system or NCIC on that basis. It distinguished…
Could a state retirement investment commissioner also serve on Aiken’s planning commission?
The AG concluded simultaneous service on the retirement investment commission and Aiken’s planning and zoning commission violated both the state dual-office rule and a separate statutory restriction.
Did a South Carolina roll-your-own cigarette shop count as a manufacturer in 2012?
The AG concluded that the retail business operating the described roll-your-own machines was a cigarette manufacturer for the state rules examined. It said the transaction was subject to cigarette…
Could a South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy instructor also perform deputy coroner duties?
The AG concluded the described Academy instructor’s Class 3 officer status and state constable commission conflicted with taking a separate part-time deputy coroner role. Calling the job “death…
Did a “residential purposes only” covenant allow vacation rentals in Crystal Bay?
The AG predicted Crystal Bay’s covenant would bar use of a house as a vacation rental but would not bar an ordinary tenant. It found no basis in the covenant for treating 90 days as the dividing line.
Did South Carolina public-school speech therapists need a master’s degree in 2012?
The AG predicted a court would not find the state education department had improperly certified speech-language therapists with bachelor’s-level education under the rules then in force. It said…
Could a South Carolina private guard swear out an arrest warrant after an on-property arrest?
The AG concluded a licensed guard who lawfully arrested someone on assigned property should swear out a warrant before a magistrate. The guard’s law-enforcement authority ended at the protected…
Could a South Carolina nonresident qualify for a 2012 lifetime hunting and fishing license through property owned by an LLC?
No. The AG concluded that the temporary 2012 license provision required the individual applicant to have personally held title to South Carolina land for five years. Title held by a corporation or…
Did a South Carolina sheriff have to repay another agency for an officer’s optional training in 2012?
No under the cited reimbursement statute. The AG said it covered mandatory training and related costs incurred while the officer attended it, not separate optional courses. Whether a particular…
Could an active South Carolina sheriff serve on the Public Employee Benefits Authority board in 2012?
Yes, in the representative seat reserved for an active or retired Police Officers Retirement System member. The AG read the appointment as ex officio for active officers and concluded the…
How were short sale proceeds to be divided between property taxes and bond assessments in a South Carolina forfeited-land sale?
The AG could not settle the allocation. It identified three possible approaches when a forfeited land commission resold property for less than the taxes and assessments due, but could not predict…
Could a South Carolina city council use a simple motion instead of a written resolution in 2012?
Generally yes for business that did not require an ordinance or a particular form under another law. The AG said a resolution could take the form of a motion; the city council retained discretion…
Could the Lugoff Fire District issue bonds and set debt-service millage without Kershaw County approval?
The 2012 AG said district commissioners set the amount of bonds under the cited statute, subject to a voter election, while county approval was required for the annual budget that included debt…
Did a South Carolina PEBA board seat count as a public office for dual-office rules in 2012?
The AG predicted a court would treat PEBA board membership as a public office. The board’s statutory creation, fixed terms, pay, and power over state retirement programs indicated an exercise of…
Could South Carolina highway patrol prosecute union handbilling beside a road in 2012?
The AG said the roadside solicitation statute remained enforceable and predicted it was facially content-neutral, but declined to decide whether the union’s particular handbilling solicited…
What expenses counted toward a South Carolina extraordinary retailer’s tourism tax benefits in 2012?
The AG said land, building, and site preparation could count toward the required capital investment even when the retailer leased the building, while a separate hotel built to serve the store could…
Could Patriots Point move the Cold War Submarine Memorial to build another museum in 2012?
The AG concluded the memorial could not be relocated, removed, disturbed, or altered under its reading of South Carolina’s public-monument statute. It also noted the World War II memorial on the…
Could a South Carolina home school student join a public school JROTC program for credit in 2012?
The AG predicted the Equal Access to Interscholastic Activities Act covered Junior ROTC even when it awarded academic credit. It concluded a home school student who met the other statutory…
Could a South Carolina high school league bar otherwise eligible home school students from football in 2012?
The AG said the equal-access statute controlled league rules and covered otherwise eligible home school, Governor’s School, and charter school students. It also concluded JROTC was covered despite…
Could South Carolina magistrate jury lists include licensed drivers who were not registered voters in 2012?
Yes. The AG said a 2004 amendment required magistrate jury lists to follow the merged voter and eligible driver or identification-cardholder source used for circuit juries, and it overruled its…
Could South Carolina public works board members attend a public meeting by telephone in 2012?
The AG said the Bamberg Board of Public Works could hold a telephone conference meeting if it met all Freedom of Information Act requirements and no law required physical presence. It did not give a…
Could a South Carolina city add a flat fire-protection charge to utility bills in 2012?
For city customers, the AG said a new service fee required an ordinance, a positive-majority vote, public notice, and a hearing; the fee’s validity depended on its actual benefit and use. For…
Could South Carolina education officials require charter applications by May 1 and screen them for completeness in 2012?
The AG found the May 1 deadline reasonably tied to statutory approval timing and allowed staff completeness screening before advisory review, provided it did not unreasonably delay an application.…
Could a South Carolina municipal court require a traffic defendant to plead within ten days of arrest in 2012?
No. The AG reaffirmed that the traffic-specific statute barred a compelled plea before ten days had elapsed, despite the municipal speedy-trial provision. A defendant could voluntarily plead or…
Would a proposed South Carolina bill force Cayce to give an airport district city utility rates for earlier annexations?
The AG predicted the proposed bill would apply prospectively unless the legislature clearly required retroactive operation. It said retroactive changes might impair existing utility and bond…
How far offshore did a South Carolina gambling cruise have to sail before gambling under the 2012 AG opinion?
The AG interpreted South Carolina territorial waters under the Gambling Cruise Act as extending three geographic miles seaward from the mean low-water line of the state’s naturally occurring coast.…
Could a South Carolina fire investigator also hold a police office in 2012?
The AG distinguished ordinary fire-department membership, which the constitution exempted, from a certified fire or arson investigator exercising State Fire Marshal powers, which it treated as a…
Could South Carolina’s governor suspend a water-district board member indicted for an ethics violation in 2012?
The AG concluded the governor lacked authority to suspend the identified board member under the constitutional provision because the indictment’s alleged conduct was unlikely to be a crime of moral…
Who filled a South Carolina county auditor vacancy before the next elected term began in 2013?
If the governor appointed an interim auditor, the AG said an election for the unexpired term generally belonged on the next general-election ballot unless practically impossible. If no appointment…
Could a South Carolina town council disband its police department in 2012?
Yes, the AG said a municipality could abolish a police department, but it had to do so by ordinance with the required separate readings. The AG could not determine whether Norway’s council actually…
Could a South Carolina party renominate candidates disqualified for missing ethics filings in 2012?
The AG said the candidate-substitution provision did not apply. The disqualified candidates had never been properly certified nominees, so the party could not use that replacement procedure to put…
Could two South Carolina school trustees finish their terms after redistricting put both homes in one new district?
Yes. The AG said Lancaster County’s incumbent trustees from old Districts 5 and 7 could finish their existing terms representing the correspondingly numbered new districts, even though both lived in…
Could a South Carolina municipal judge continue serving after a four-year term ended without reappointment?
Yes. The AG said the judge remained in a holdover capacity until town council appointed and qualified a successor. It also said the town could contract for a county magistrate to handle municipal…
Did a South Carolina horse boarding and trail property qualify for agricultural tax classification in 2012?
On the facts supplied, the AG predicted the pasture and stables used to feed and manage horses qualified, even without horse sales. The riding trails and other acreage did not appear to qualify…
Who could decide whether South Carolina’s voter ID law applied to the November 2012 election after preclearance?
The AG said election officials lacked discretion to refuse implementation if the self-executing law received preclearance in time. It regarded preclearance before September 15 as sufficient for full…
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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.