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.
No South Carolina opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Did a retired South Carolina state law enforcement officer retain full police power with a retired commission in 2006?
No. The Attorney General said the officer retained the same kind of commission in retired status and could keep the issued service weapon, but retirement did not preserve full law enforcement authority.
Did South Carolina’s 2006 Romeo amendment lower the general age of consent or create a broad mistake-of-age defense?
The Attorney General said it did neither. The office read the exemption and age-mistake language narrowly within one second-degree offense, and considered the mistake-of-age sentence likely…
Could an Education Oversight Committee member also sit on South Carolina’s charter school district board in 2006?
The Attorney General said yes if the charter board appointment arose by virtue of the member’s Education Oversight Committee role. In that case the second seat was ex officio for dual office purposes.
Could a Rock Hill municipal judge issue warrants for card fraud when the card number was taken in town but used elsewhere?
The Attorney General said a Rock Hill warrant could charge card-number theft and also card fraud in the described situation, because obtaining the number in town was a material part of the conduct…
Where could a South Carolina real estate broker file a magistrate interpleader over earnest money when buyer and seller lived elsewhere?
The Attorney General said the action could be filed in a county where at least one defendant lived. If both buyer and seller lived outside South Carolina, the office knew of no authority for a South…
Did a South Carolina home day care with DSS approval also have to meet building code requirements in 2006?
The Attorney General said yes. DSS licensing and the statewide building code served related but distinct purposes and both applied; the office found no direct conflict even where building…
Did offering a free sandwich to anyone wearing an “I Voted” sticker violate South Carolina election law in 2006?
The Attorney General said the described offer did not appear to violate the election bribery provisions because it encouraged voting without seeking a vote for or against a particular measure or…
Did Charleston have to keep providing wholesale sewer or water service to Hollywood outside city limits in 2006?
The Attorney General said state law did not itself require a municipality to serve nonresidents. Charleston had such a duty only if its contract with Hollywood required it.
Could South Carolina’s State Museum Commission contract with its foundation for fundraising and shared operations in 2006?
The Attorney General said the commission had implied authority to contract with the foundation for museum fundraising and to retain oversight by agreement. It found the selected agreement terms…
Were Berkeley County school district’s 2005 budget notice and property tax levy procedures unlawful?
The Attorney General could not decide the fact-heavy legality of the procedures. It found the supplied notice and hearing information appeared to satisfy the cited budget rule, explained that…
Did numbering candidates beside their names invalidate Beaufort County ballots in 2006?
The Attorney General did not read the election law as prohibiting candidate numbers. Even if numbering departed from a prescribed form, ballot invalidity depended on whether it misled voters enough…
Could a Sumter housing board member also serve on the county election commission in 2006?
The Attorney General said yes on the facts supplied. Election commission membership was a public office, but the city housing board role was not treated as one because its duties and terms were not…
Could Aiken County’s elected clerk of court hire additional staff without county council’s concurrence in 2006?
The Attorney General said the elected clerk controlled hiring, discharge, staffing needs, and employee duties within her office without council oversight of those employment decisions. The opinion…
Could a Florence school trustee also serve as a South Carolina town judge in 2006?
No. The Attorney General regarded both a school trustee and a municipal judge as public offices under the dual office rule. A trustee could seek the judgeship, but assuming it would create a vacancy…
Could a South Carolina circuit court hear a criminal child-nonsupport charge without first going to family court in 2006?
The Attorney General said yes. The criminal nonsupport statute gave circuit court jurisdiction, while family court separately could order support and enforce its orders through contempt.
Could North Myrtle Beach close dedicated beach walkways for a condominium project despite a resident’s claimed easement?
The Attorney General could not decide the fact-dependent legality of closing the ways. It thought public abandonment unlikely on the facts supplied and said a proper public closure would not…
Could a South Carolina golf cart owner let an unlicensed child or employee drive the permitted cart on public streets in 2006?
No. The Attorney General said the owner’s license and golf cart permit did not substitute for the driver’s own valid license; an agent, employee, or child driving on permitted streets had to be…
What traffic and child-restraint rules did South Carolina’s 2006 AG apply to golf carts and pickup passengers?
The Attorney General said the cited child-restraint law did not appear to apply to golf carts, although general driving rules did. A permitted cart could be driven by the owner, an agent, or an…
Could a South Carolina town force residents to remove driveway vehicles that lacked tags or insurance in 2006?
The Attorney General said the proposed ordinance probably would be unconstitutional. The state laws it reviewed tied registration and insurance to vehicles driven on highways, and the office…
Could South Carolina’s new Law Enforcement Training Council act before its appointed members began serving in 2007?
Yes. The Attorney General said the council began functioning when the law took effect in 2006; its six ex officio members formed the interim council and a quorum, and could meet before the appointed…
Did service on a South Carolina regional education center advisory board count as a public office in 2006?
The Attorney General said no. The board was advisory, and its enabling provision gave members no sovereign power, fixed term, compensation, or oath; membership did not bar holding a separate public office.
Could a separate Thornwell charter school use a private school’s facilities without triggering the 2006 conversion delay?
The Attorney General said yes on the described facts. The proposed charter school was a separate nonprofit with its own applicants and staff selection, so leasing Thornwell Home facilities was not a…
Could paid employees of a South Carolina charter school serve on its governing board after the 2006 law change?
The Attorney General said no, whether voting or nonvoting. Employees already serving or elected for the next term could not stay on the board while remaining paid school employees; a replacement…
Could a Fairfield County council member direct the county recreation district, and could council remove its commissioners?
In 2006, the Attorney General treated the district director as an employee, so simultaneous council service did not violate the constitutional dual office rule. Council could remove appointed…
Could a city make water and sewer service conditional on annexation of land in a South Carolina fire district?
The 2006 Attorney General found no law forcing owners to annex merely because a city offered water or sewer service, but presumed the city could choose not to serve land outside its limits.…
Could a South Carolina town calculate its business license tax from gross income instead of net profit?
The 2006 Attorney General said yes. It read the municipal powers statute as authorizing and apparently requiring gross income as the basis for a business license tax, while quoting statutory…
Did South Carolina's transportation department need Budget and Control Board approval for permanent improvement spending?
The AG said the 2006 statute exempted all Department of Transportation permanent-improvement expenditures from that Board's approval and regulation under § 10-1-180. Other project review and…
Must a South Carolina county appoint one board member from each council district?
The AG said appointed county boards did not have to mirror council districts unless their enabling legislation required geographic representation. The federal one-person, one-vote principle did not…
Did South Carolina FOIA require a sheriff to release internal affairs reports about deputies' public duties?
The AG said the sheriff's office had to disclose internal investigation reports about employees' performance of public duties under the Court of Appeals' Burton decision. The possibility of employee…
Could South Carolina use surplus Education Lottery money for projects outside education?
The AG said lottery surplus remained restricted to educational purposes, with more than a tangential link to education, and could not cover nonlottery budget deficiencies. It lacked enough facts to…
Did South Carolina FOIA apply to House Majority Caucus meetings and records?
The AG said yes in 2006. State-provided office space, equipment, and staff support made the House Majority Caucus a publicly supported body under FOIA, regardless of whether a quorum of the full House met.
Could one person serve on South Carolina's Human Affairs Commission and a county elections board?
The AG said no. In 2006 it treated membership on both the State Human Affairs Commission and Beaufort County Board of Elections as holding two public offices, contrary to the state constitution's…
Could a South Carolina election commissioner also serve as an assistant solicitor in another county?
The AG said simultaneous service on Marion County's voter registration and election commission and as a Horry County assistant solicitor would most probably violate the state constitution's…
Could one person serve on Bluffton's historic preservation commission and Beaufort County's corridor review board?
The AG said no. It treated both board memberships as public offices under South Carolina's dual-office rule and identified a separate statutory restriction on corridor board members holding another…
Could South Carolina lawmakers preempt county rules for agricultural facilities without violating home rule?
The AG said the General Assembly could enact the proposed S.1205 without violating county home rule. The bill would have preempted nonidentical county regulation of covered agricultural operations…
Could Benedict College police carry handguns and exercise police powers at Williams-Brice Stadium?
The AG said Benedict officers commissioned under the private-college campus police statute could carry handguns at the stadium, but their police jurisdiction did not extend there. The carry…
Could a Patriots Point board member run for Mount Pleasant Town Council and keep both seats?
The AG said the board member could run for town council, but could not hold both offices. If elected and sworn into the council seat, the member would automatically vacate the Patriots Point…
Could Greenville County move budgeted Register of Deeds money to another department midyear?
The AG said the county council could make a midyear transfer, but had to approve it by an ordinance amending the annual budget. The county administrator could not transfer the money alone; the…
Could Goose Creek replace a recreation commissioner who missed meetings during military service?
The AG said military service did not forfeit the commissioner's seat despite an absence rule in the board's bylaws. The Governor could appoint a temporary replacement until the commissioner returned…
Who paid the filing fee after a South Carolina harassment or stalking restraining-order hearing?
The AG said the court assessed the fee against the party who did not prevail after the hearing. That could be the plaintiff if the order was denied or the defendant if the plaintiff obtained the…
Did South Carolina law require a sheriff to keep every juvenile crime victim's name confidential?
The AG found no blanket statute barring sheriffs from releasing all juvenile victims' names, but advised against casual disclosure. Specific agency records were confidential, and FOIA allowed…
Did Georgetown County's elections board invalidate an officer election by changing its bylaws?
The AG said an election held at a time different from the board's bylaws was not automatically invalid. The board had implied power to adopt and change its rules and elect officers other than its…
Could South Carolina bar sales of certain fish legally caught elsewhere or in federal waters?
The AG read a federal district court ruling as finding one South Carolina fish-sales restriction contrary to the Commerce Clause and predicted a similar result for another. It also thought federal…
Could a South Carolina developer give an unlicensed homebuyer a gift for referring a buyer who purchases a home?
The AG said the rewarded referrer could be treated as an unlicensed real estate broker if the gift was valuable consideration. It applied a court decision on bringing parties together, while…
Could one person serve on both South Carolina’s Education Oversight Committee and Conservation Bank Board?
The AG concluded that both seats were public offices for purposes of the state constitution. Holding them at the same time would violate its dual office holding prohibition.
Could a South Carolina mayor require separate mayoral approval to fire a city administrator?
The AG read the statute to give a mayor one vote as a council member, without a separate veto over a city administrator’s removal. It said an employment-contract term requiring separate mayoral…
Could South Carolina’s archives director accept a university teaching honorarium?
The AG said the director could teach and accept the offered $2,500 honorarium if the course did not divert the director’s time or attention from official duties. It also recommended seeking State…
Was South Carolina’s lieutenant governor a constitutional officer in 2006?
Yes. The AG said the lieutenant governor’s office was created by the South Carolina Constitution, making its holder a constitutional officer.
Could a Bamberg County election commissioner stay in office while running for county council?
The AG said a commissioner with jurisdiction over the county council election had to resign on filing as a candidate. The commissioner had to tender the resignation to the appointing body, which had…
Could a South Carolina sewer district waive grinder-pump fees for low-income households?
The AG said Greenwood Metropolitan District lacked statutory authority to waive the monthly grinder-pump charge based on household income. It said the district would need a general law granting that…
Could a South Carolina sheriff keep a computer network separate from the county’s?
The AG said a sheriff’s department could maintain an independent network for law-enforcement records. The county, however, retained discretion over whether to support a grant application to fund…
Could one person serve on a Chesterfield County transportation committee and school board?
The AG said simultaneous service would most likely violate South Carolina’s constitutional ban on holding two public offices. It relied on earlier opinions treating both positions as offices for…
Could South Carolina’s Forestry Commission pay 2005 employee bonuses beyond its carry-forward funds?
The AG said yes. It read the fiscal-year 2005 appropriations provision as authorizing the bonuses without limiting their funding source to money carried forward from the prior year.
Did South Carolina speech and hearing licenses satisfy federal Medicaid provider rules in 2006?
The AG found the state’s speech-language pathology license routes consistent with federal qualifications. Audiology depended on the license route: a current ASHA certificate qualified, while other…
Could a South Carolina solicitor reduce a second-offense domestic violence charge to a first offense?
The AG said a solicitor had discretion to reduce the charge. It also said first offenses belonged in summary court, while eligible second-offense cases could be transferred from general sessions…
Could South Carolina DHEC regulate development outside coastal critical areas through bridge-permit rules?
The AG reaffirmed that DHEC had authority to adopt the proposed minimum standards for coastal-island bridge applications, including measures for nearby land affecting critical areas. It limited the…
Could South Carolina’s Employment Security Commission rename its state office building?
The AG said the commission lacked express or implied authority to name the building. The existing name came from a nonbinding concurrent resolution, so the AG suggested legislative action with legal…
Could a South Carolina register record a deed with street or subdivision names that differ from an earlier plat?
The AG said the register had to record a deed that met statutory filing requirements and did not have to decide whether its names matched an earlier plat. It left the deed’s validity to the courts.
Could Folly Beach adopt its own vested-rights ordinance after South Carolina’s July 2005 deadline?
The AG said no. It read the Vested Rights Act as requiring a local ordinance by July 1, 2005; a municipality that missed that date had to operate under the Act’s default provisions.
Which Bluffton board seats did the AG treat as public offices for dual-office purposes?
The AG cited earlier opinions treating election commissioners and planning commissioners as public officers. It could not decide the requested seat combinations involving historical-preservation,…
Browse South Carolina opinions by topic
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.