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 South Carolina’s subdivision lot tax discount estimate restart when a developer applied each year?
The Attorney General’s 2009 reading was yes: the assessor’s sales-period estimate under Section 12-43-224 could start over with each annual discount application if the other requirements were met.…
For a South Carolina city annexation, are the 75% petition thresholds measured across the whole proposed area?
Yes, under the annexation method examined in this 2009 opinion. The Attorney General said the city should count freeholders and assessed property value across the entire proposed area, including…
Could Cherokee County School District use bond sales tax revenue to cover its operating deficit?
The Attorney General said the 2009 funding-flexibility resolution did not change the earlier bond-tax law. Excess sales tax revenue could support operations only under the earlier act’s conditions,…
Could a South Carolina city impose jail time for drug paraphernalia possession when state law set only a civil fine?
The Attorney General stood by a 2004 opinion finding a local criminal penalty valid, reasoning that the state paraphernalia law imposed a civil penalty. It acknowledged ambiguous case law and…
Must a county offer the Commission for the Blind the first chance to place vending machines if it uses contracts instead of permits?
Yes, under the 2009 opinion. The Attorney General treated Anderson County’s vending contract process as a permit for this statute, so the Commission for the Blind had to receive the first option; a…
Could a South Carolina county shelter and care for animals other than dogs and cats?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that a county or municipality could establish and fund a shelter to impound, care for, house, adopt, or euthanize animals beyond dogs and cats, and could…
Did Georgetown police have original jurisdiction over the navigable Sampit River?
The Attorney General said the city’s ordinary authority extended to the strip between the high- and low-water marks under Section 5-7-140(B), but found no basis for general city jurisdiction over…
Could a South Carolina state constable also serve as a part-time county magistrate?
The Attorney General said the constitutional dual-office ban did not itself bar the combination because constables were exempt. Even so, the office advised against serving in both roles because…
Could children avoid out-of-district school tuition by owning property in the district they attended?
The Attorney General concluded that property ownership could satisfy an attendance qualification but did not remove the payment requirement for nonresident students. It also found that general…
Did a mayor pro tempore filling a vacancy become mayor and receive the mayor’s salary?
The Attorney General maintained that the mayor pro tempore served as mayor until a successor was elected without becoming the mayor. It concluded that, while performing the mayor’s duties during the…
Could a South Carolina assessor deny the legal-residence tax ratio solely because a homeowner’s vehicle was taxed or registered elsewhere?
The Attorney General said no: a vehicle’s tax or registration location alone did not prove the homeowner’s domicile had changed. The assessor could consider it with other evidence, and the homeowner…
Did being a veterinarian automatically exempt someone from South Carolina animal-cruelty prosecution?
No. The Attorney General read the statutory exception for “the practice of veterinary medicine” as referring to acceptable or ordinarily recognized veterinary practice, and said it did not exempt…
How long did a governor-appointed Beaufort County clerk of court serve after the elected clerk resigned?
The Attorney General concluded that the appointee served the rest of the unexpired clerk’s term, with a new clerk elected at the next general election for that office. For the vacancy described in…
Could the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy hold classes at local buildings instead of its Columbia campus?
Yes, for the kinds of field or continuing classes considered in the opinion. The Attorney General said a training facility could be a location designated by the Academy director or Law Enforcement…
Did a civil fine for drug paraphernalia possession count as another conviction that blocked expungement?
The Attorney General concluded that the civil fine should not prevent an expungement otherwise authorized under the statute. It distinguished a civil penalty from a criminal conviction and relied on…
Did the type of ticket determine which court heard a South Carolina accessible-parking violation?
The Attorney General said the statutory uniform parking violation ticket was needed to give a magistrate or municipal court jurisdiction over the state-law violation. If a jurisdiction used an…
Should a South Carolina jail keep sending federal immigration notices and housing invoices when DHS refused to reimburse it?
The Attorney General said the jail should continue the notification and invoicing required by the state statute. It did not decide whether federal law required DHS to pay and suggested asking the…
Could a South Carolina town send unpaid municipal court fines to a private collection agency?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that, without specific statutory authority, a town could not report outstanding municipal court fines to a credit collection agency for debt collection. The…
Could a South Carolina town council member work as an election poll manager or clerk when not on the ballot?
The Attorney General said no. It treated council membership and poll-manager or clerk service as two public offices under the state dual-office prohibition, regardless of whether the member was a…
Did South Carolina’s EMS confidentiality law cover response times and trip counts as well as patient names?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that the statute protected all data collected or prepared in connection with emergency medical services, including response times, trip numbers, helicopter…
Could South Carolina keep assessing workers’ compensation carriers after the Second Injury Fund stopped accepting new injury claims?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the 2007 reform law continued carrier assessments during the fund’s wind-down to pay accepted claims, even though injuries on or after July 1, 2008 were…
Could a South Carolina school district spend bond-sale premium proceeds on operating expenses?
The Attorney General said school bond proceeds had to serve the purposes for which the bonds were issued and fund capital expenditures, not ordinary operations. It found no express South Carolina…
Could Ehrhardt’s police chief run for mayor of Norway and keep the police job if elected?
The Attorney General found no state dual-office prohibition on merely running. If elected and serving as Norway’s mayor, the chief could not simultaneously hold the Ehrhardt police-chief office; the…
Could a South Carolina register of deeds accept electronic recordings before the implementing rules were final?
The Attorney General said no in this 2009 opinion. It advised the Greenville County register of deeds to wait until the Secretary of State’s regulation process under the electronic-recording act was…
Did summary-court judges have to expunge dismissed traffic or wildlife tickets with no arrest file?
The Attorney General said the 2009 no-conviction expungement provisions applied to Title 56 traffic and Title 50 wildlife charges brought in summary court when the defendant was acquitted or the…
Did South Carolina’s 2009 expungement law cover dismissed traffic and wildlife charges?
The Attorney General said summary courts had to expunge records of Title 56 traffic and Title 50 wildlife charges when the accused was acquitted or the charges were dismissed or nolle prossed,…
Could a licensed South Carolina security guard arrest someone and sign a warrant for an offense on assigned property?
The Attorney General said a registered or licensed guard had sheriff-deputy arrest powers on the property the guard was employed to protect, and could swear out an arrest warrant before a magistrate…
Could a South Carolina assistant solicitor also work as a part-time city prosecutor?
The Attorney General concluded that simultaneous service would most probably constitute holding two offices in conflict with the state Constitution. It relied on prior opinions treating both…
Could an Anderson County sheriff return a found handgun to the person who turned it in?
Yes, if the conditions in the 2009 statute were met. The Attorney General pointed to the required holding period, owner and crime checks, newspaper notices, the finder’s completed application and…
Could Tega Cay swear in newly elected council members after election certification instead of waiting until January?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that a city had authority to move the date its council members took office, including the proposed shift from January to the first council meeting after…
Did South Carolina’s millage cap apply to the Anderson 1 & 2 Career and Technology Center, and could the county delegation approve a tax increase?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that the Center had no authority to levy taxes, so the statutory millage cap could not apply to it. The Anderson County legislative delegation also could not…
Could a South Carolina House member also sit on the USDA Farm Service Agency state committee?
The Attorney General said a federal Farm Service Agency state committee seat was outside South Carolina’s constitutional ban on holding two state offices. It did not decide federal eligibility; it…
Could Greenwood County cut a part-time magistrate’s hours or pay when another magistrate returned or was appointed?
The Attorney General did not decide how hours should be reassigned after a suspended magistrate returned; any Supreme Court order controlled, and the Chief Magistrate was directed to State Court…
Could Anderson County require every service contractor to use E-Verify as the only way to satisfy South Carolina’s work-authorization law?
No. The Attorney General read the statute enacted in 2008 as giving covered service contractors alternatives to E-Verify, including specified driver’s-license or identification-card routes. Anderson…
Could a city without its own municipal court bring cases before a county magistrate whose office was outside city limits?
Yes, under the 2009 opinion, a municipality could prosecute its cases in any magistrate court in its county, even if that court sat outside municipal limits. The county governing body’s approval was…
Could Tega Cay require a sitting city council member to resign as soon as the member filed to run for mayor?
The Attorney General concluded that South Carolina’s Legislature had set mayoral qualifications and had not authorized cities to add a resign-to-run rule. The proposed Tega Cay ordinance would…
Could one person serve on both Charleston’s regional transit authority board and the state transportation review committee?
The Attorney General concluded that a seat on Charleston’s regional transit authority board counted as a public office, while service on the Joint Transportation Review Committee likely did not. It…
Did a South Carolina register of deeds have statutory authority in 2009 to accept credit cards for recording fees and taxes?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that he knew of no statute expressly authorizing a register of deeds to accept credit cards for recording fees or taxes. The credit-card provision he found applied…
Could a South Carolina Class III officer issue a summons when assigned limited arrest or special duties by a police chief or sheriff?
The Attorney General said a Class III officer could issue a summons when directed by the sheriff or police chief while performing limited arrest powers or special duties. The opinion excluded…
After a county shelter released a dog or cat under a written sterilization agreement, did the county have to police the adopter’s compliance?
The Attorney General concluded that a county shelter was relieved of responsibility and liability after releasing an animal under the written sterilization agreement described in the 2009 statute.…
What could a South Carolina county do with an indigent or unclaimed person’s remains, and who could authorize cremation?
The Attorney General said counties could spend public funds disposing of indigent remains and that a coroner or public administrator could authorize cremation when no higher-priority agent served…
Could children who jointly owned district property qualify for tuition-free enrollment under South Carolina’s property rule?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that joint ownership did not meet the statutory property exception, even if each child’s share had an assessed value of three hundred dollars. Each child had to own…
Was the Housing Authority of the City of Spartanburg a public body under South Carolina law?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that the Housing Authority of the City of Spartanburg was a public corporate body and a South Carolina political subdivision. The letter relied on its…
Were the Town of Lane’s limits a square under its charter or a circle as residents had long assumed?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that Lane’s charter boundaries likely controlled and described a square. Long public acceptance of a circular boundary did not override a definite charter…
Could a local South Carolina bill authorize one school district to charge residential developers a school impact fee?
The Attorney General thought a court would likely treat Dorchester District 2’s charge as a fee rather than a tax, subject to factual review. It saw a possible special-legislation problem if a…
Could a Moncks Corner volunteer firefighter also serve on the rural fire commission that supervised the department?
The Attorney General said the constitutional dual-office ban did not prevent a member of a lawfully organized volunteer fire department from serving on its fire commission. But if commissioners…
When a county shelter transferred unclaimed animals to a humane society, did the county have to keep the society’s sterilization records?
The Attorney General said Cherokee County could release eligible unclaimed animals to the Humane Society without liability for that transfer, and need not retain sterilization records for those…
Could a Dorchester election board member take leave to campaign for his wife, resume the seat, and have his unpaid stipend shared by other members?
The Attorney General said no law authorized that board leave and concluded the member should have been deemed resigned under the three-consecutive-meeting rule, though a court alone could finally…
Could South Carolina’s labor and licensing department issue pharmacy licenses, permits, and technician registrations for the Board of Pharmacy?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that the Board of Pharmacy held authority to license pharmacists, permit facilities, and register technicians. The labor and licensing department had…
Did registering a car and motor home in Florida automatically disqualify a South Carolina homeowner from the legal-residence tax rate?
No automatic disqualification followed from the Florida vehicle registrations. The Attorney General said the property had to be the taxpayer’s legal residence or domicile for the assessment and…
Could Williamsburg County franchise private ambulance services and cap the number of providers at four?
The Attorney General said the EMS Act did not bar Williamsburg County from requiring ambulance franchises. But it found no county authority to limit convalescent-transport franchises to four and saw…
Could South Carolina budget provisos let county legislative delegations approve Department of Natural Resources spending?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that a court would likely find two DNR budget provisos unconstitutional because they let legislative delegations execute an enacted spending law. The office…
Could a transportation district elect a commissioner from the same county as South Carolina’s sitting at-large transportation commissioner?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that a person from the same county as the sitting at-large transportation commissioner was not eligible for election as a district commissioner. The statute…
Could Tega Cay charge nonresidents for annual parking stickers at parks while residents parked without a fee?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that Tega Cay’s ordinance was lawful: the city could charge nonresidents for an annual parking sticker at selected parks while charging residents nothing. The…
Was a local bill needed to pay Chester County schools for Fairfield County students who lived closer to Chester schools?
The Attorney General said the proposed local bill appeared unnecessary because existing law already addressed students who lived closer to schools in an adjacent county. Their home district had to…
Could a South Carolina school board add agenda items at the start of a meeting by majority vote under its own policy?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that posting the agenda in its most final form at least twenty-four hours before a meeting best served FOIA. It did not say every late change was forbidden, but…
Could a McBee town council member also serve on the Chesterfield County Economic Development Board?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that a McBee Town Council member could also sit on the Chesterfield County Economic Development Board without violating the state dual-office prohibition.…
Could a South Carolina charity give door prizes at a fundraising event without conducting an unlawful raffle?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that he knew of no prohibition on charity door prizes that did not operate like a raffle with prize, chance, and consideration. He reiterated that a nonprofit or…
Could an Iva Fire Department board member also serve on the Anderson County Election Commission?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that one person could serve on both the Anderson County Election Commission and the Iva Fire Department Board of Directors. The election commission seat was a…
Could an MUSC trustee remain his congressional district's representative when his spouse claimed residence in another county?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that the trustee might remain eligible to represent his congressional district. His own intent and connections to his Columbia home could support continued…
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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.