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.
Was Union County's board and commission term-limit ordinance enforceable despite conflicting timing language?
The Attorney General considered Union County's ordinance confusing but enforceable. He read it as allowing new board, committee, and commission appointees two consecutive terms, while those serving…
Did a filing fee charged to a losing restraining-order petitioner threaten South Carolina's STOP grant eligibility?
The Attorney General thought South Carolina appeared to remain eligible for STOP grants despite a law assessing a filing fee against the losing party in a harassment or stalking restraining-order…
Could South Carolina sell part of the Bull Street mental hospital property and use the proceeds elsewhere?
The Attorney General predicted a court would likely treat the Bull Street mental hospital property as held for a charitable purpose. He recommended court approval before a sale, with proceeds…
Could Mount Pleasant move its municipal election date even if that changed incumbents' time in office?
The Attorney General said a municipality could change its election date by ordinance even if that incidentally lengthened or shortened incumbents' time in office. It could not set mayoral or council…
Did owning property in a South Carolina school district excuse a nonresident child from tuition in 2005?
The AG read the property-ownership enrollment rule together with the nonresident tuition statute. Under his reading, owning real estate in the district did not automatically erase the payment;…
What authority did the Lake Wylie Marine Commission have over speeding boats and lake safety in 2005?
The Attorney General said the commission had broad authority to regulate Lake Wylie for public safety, subject to state law, public hearing, and notice requirements. He described law-enforcement…
Could South Carolina’s comptroller use unappropriated surplus funds to offset a GAAP deficit without legislative authorization?
The Attorney General concluded that the Comptroller General lacked authority to allocate roughly $104.9 million of unappropriated year-end surplus to offset the state’s GAAP deficit. The legislature…
Could a South Carolina dry cleaner leave the restoration trust fund after switching away from halogenated solvents?
The Attorney General found no statutory option for a participating drycleaner to leave the restoration trust fund after the 1995 election deadlines. Switching from halogenated solvents to other…
Did a South Carolina school board policy define which safety incidents administrators had to report to police?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the phrase “as defined in local board policy” modified only “his property,” not the entire school safety reporting duty. The opinion also identified a…
How many Jasper County members sat on the Beaufort–Jasper Water and Sewer Authority board under the 1983 ordinances?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the jointly adopted 1983 county ordinances provided two Jasper County seats on a nine-member board, despite a 1975 act describing four Jasper seats on an…
Could a private citizen prosecute a South Carolina fraudulent check case if the solicitor declined?
The Attorney General said in 2005 that a private citizen could not personally prosecute the case. The solicitor retained control of magistrate court prosecutions and could allow a private attorney…
Did years of living in South Carolina make a Canadian citizen eligible for in-state tuition in 2005?
The Attorney General declined to decide the student’s eligibility because it required facts the office could not determine in an opinion. The university had to classify his residency under the…
Could Greenville County’s register of deeds satisfy a mortgage when a court order named the clerk of court?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that Greenville County’s register of deeds could satisfy the mortgage under the master-in-equity order, even though the order named the clerk of court. In…
Could a lawyer licensed only in another state file South Carolina court pleadings without admission or pro hac vice approval?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that admission and swearing in another state did not itself authorize practice in South Carolina courts. He read Section 40-5-310 as referring to South…
Did a county officer’s bond eliminate personal liability, and did the register still have to record official bonds?
The Attorney General explained in 2005 that liability depended on the Tort Claims Act, insurance, and the facts; the county bond did not answer every liability question. He also said the statute…
Could a South Carolina city administrator suspend a municipal judge without pay after a citizen filed a misconduct complaint?
The Attorney General said in 2005 that he knew of no authority for a city administrator to do so. Suspension of a municipal judge on misconduct grounds belonged under the state judicial disciplinary…
Did South Carolina’s 1974 local act still support New Ellenton police jurisdiction over the school campus outside town?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the 1974 act retained its presumption of constitutionality, while acknowledging that local facts could affect the special-law analysis. He also identified…
Could York City Council extend expiring council terms to move municipal elections to a new schedule?
The 2005 letter referred to an earlier AG opinion allowing municipalities to extend terms when the change was reasonable, served a public purpose rather than incumbents, and obtained federal…
Could South Carolina’s preneed funeral loss fund reimburse a qualifying claim when the death occurred before the fund began?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the reimbursement statute was remedial and could apply retroactively. A beneficiary otherwise eligible for reimbursement could receive it even if the…
Could a South Carolina corrections employee run for and serve on a county council while keeping his state job?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that this administrative coordinator’s corrections job was not a second public office, so serving on county council would not violate the state dual-office…
Could an out-of-state owner use a South Carolina corporation to hold a commercial shellfish culture permit?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that a shellfish culture or mariculture permit had to be held by a South Carolina resident or a South Carolina domestic corporation. The application statute’s…
Could South Carolina counties accept electronically executed deeds and mortgages for recording in 2005?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that electronic execution and recording of deeds and mortgages was not recognized in South Carolina until the legislature specifically authorized it. He…
Did a South Carolina town have to appoint a temporary council member during an elected member’s Iraq deployment, and who was paid?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the town had to appoint a temporary replacement during the council member’s military absence. The appointee received the office’s regular pay; a…
Did a recurring surplus make Florence County’s road infrastructure fee an unlawful tax?
The Attorney General said in 2005 that a surplus alone did not invalidate the fee; the county council had broad discretion to carry funds forward. Whether the charge became an unlawful tax depended…
Could a South Carolina probate court charge a separate $150 filing fee for every petition in an estate?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the initial estate petition carried the value-based estate fee, with no separate action fee merely for opening the estate. A separate fee under the…
Did South Carolina’s 25-year airport lease limit apply to every public airport facility?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the general airport statute limited leases to twenty-five years, but later, facility-specific statutes might authorize leases without that limit. The…
Did service on South Carolina’s Education and Economic Development Coordinating Council count as a second public office?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that council membership did not count as a public office for the state dual-office rule. Its duties were primarily advisory and did not amount to an exercise…
Did Georgetown County’s authority to assign and pay election-board staff let its administrator supervise or fire them?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the county governing body could allocate and pay staff for the elections board, but that language did not give the county administrator supervisory or…
Could South Carolina DOT close a state highway inside city limits without the city’s agreement?
The Attorney General said in 2005 that no single exclusive method governed road openings and closures. State, municipal, and judicial authority depended on the statutory route used; one DOT…
Did a civil case transferred or remanded from federal court owe a South Carolina circuit-court filing fee?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the state filing fee was due when a case came from federal district court to the court of common pleas. He found no general statutory waiver for…
Did relatives on a Charleston County school board violate a state nepotism rule by voting to hire a vice principal?
The Attorney General found in 2005 that the cited teacher-hiring and local policy provisions did not apply to this vice-principal hiring vote. He did not decide whether the votes violated state…
Did South Carolina drug-seizure cash have to be audited before and after a forfeiture judgment?
The Attorney General said in 2005 that the seizure-reporting statute did not specifically require an audit of cash held before forfeiture. After forfeiture, special-account expenditures had to be…
Could the Medical University of South Carolina ban smoking throughout its buildings, grounds, parking lots, and parked cars?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that MUSC could prohibit smoking throughout its grounds, including owned and leased buildings, thoroughfares, parking lots, and vehicles parked on its…
Could one person serve as Anderson County auditor and on the Hammond Water District board?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that simultaneous service violated South Carolina’s dual-office rule. The auditor was a public officer, and Hammond’s conversion from a private nonprofit to a…
Could access to privately owned research equipment or buildings count toward South Carolina’s infrastructure funding match?
The Attorney General said in 2005 that access to equipment and a shared building could qualify as in-kind contributions, subject to the review board’s decision and valuation. He also read a…
Can a municipal election winner take office while an appeal of the election contest is pending?
The Attorney General said the winner should not be qualified while the contest could still be appealed or an appeal remained unresolved. The incumbent would hold over during that period.
Were unsolicited newspapers left on South Carolina driveways litter under the 2005 state litter statute?
The Attorney General concluded that lawmakers did not mean to include unsolicited newspapers and advertising circulars placed on driveways in the statute’s definition of litter. He also said…
Did South Carolina’s 2002 Sumter school-board election maps change the school districts’ boundaries?
The Attorney General concluded that the 2002 election-district changes also changed the boundaries of Sumter School Districts 2 and 17. The acts did not say the school district lines would remain…
Could a Hartsville council member also serve on the board of Rubicon Counseling Center?
The 2005 South Carolina AG said the two roles did not violate the dual-office rule if Rubicon was in fact a private nonprofit charitable organization. Its board seat would then not count as a public…
Could a South Carolina city prosecutor dismiss charges in exchange for a civil release?
The 2005 AG said a city solicitor could dismiss pending municipal charges in exchange for the defendant releasing civil claims against the city and relevant officials. In the office’s view, that…
Did an out-of-county seller have to collect Lexington County’s school sales tax on delivered goods?
The 2005 AG said South Carolina’s revenue ruling was a reasonable basis for requiring collection of Lexington County’s local use tax when goods were delivered there and the seller met the ruling’s…
Could a South Carolina magistrate dismiss a criminal charge before prosecution without the prosecutor?
The 2005 AG said a magistrate generally could not dismiss a criminal case before prosecution on the court’s own initiative. He identified limited statutory authority for fraudulent-check cases and…
Did Georgetown County’s administrator control election-board staff and the veterans affairs director?
On the stated assumption that Georgetown County’s legislative delegation appointed those offices, the 2005 AG said the county administrator had no authority over the election board or veterans…
Could a Hardeeville council member also serve as Jasper County’s zoning coordinator?
The 2005 AG concluded that the two roles could not be held together under South Carolina’s dual-office rule. He treated the described zoning coordinator duties, including enforcing zoning and…
Could Aiken County charge a local fee to file a creditor claim in probate court?
The 2005 AG said a county-specific probate filing fee would violate South Carolina’s constitutional rule for a uniform judicial system. The request described a fifteen-dollar fee that appeared to be…
Did the 2005 SC AG find insurers’ auto-glass claims networks unlawful?
No. The AG said he could not investigate or determine what the insurers and glass businesses had actually done. He identified state prohibitions on certain referral payments and deductible rebates…
Could a domestic-violence case and protection-order contempt case proceed from the same incident?
The 2005 AG said a domestic-violence prosecution and a family-court contempt proceeding for violating a protection order could proceed over the same incident without violating double jeopardy. He…
Could South Carolina buy all shares of a company solely to obtain its land and liquidate it?
The 2005 AG said the proposed stock purchase would not violate the state’s joint-ownership ban if the State immediately liquidated the company to acquire its land for a public purpose. The…
Could a Walterboro planning commissioner also direct a regional council and work for the airport commission?
The 2005 AG said the three roles could be held together. He treated the regional council executive director and the airport commission’s paid secretary as non-office positions, while saying a…
Could Tega Cay council members join a public meeting by telephone without a separate ordinance?
The 2005 AG said Tega Cay’s proposed telephone-meeting procedure would comply with the state FOIA because the meeting remained open, noticed, and recorded. He said a separate ordinance did not…
Who controlled Elloree’s water system, its rates, property, contracts, and surplus revenue?
The 2005 AG treated Elloree’s water commission as a town agency with independent management of the water system and rates, while the town owned the infrastructure. The council had to concur in debt…
Who signed Elloree’s water-extension contracts: the town council or water commission?
The 2005 AG said the Elloree Water Commission was the contracting party for extensions of the town water system. The town council still had to approve an extension beyond town limits; the commission…
Could North Myrtle Beach ban filling a privately owned, nonnavigable lake by ordinance?
The 2005 AG said an owner of the lakebed could fill the portion of a nonnavigable lake above that property, and the city could not enact the proposed blanket ban. He said a takings claim was…
Could a South Carolina legislator serve while his spouse sat on a regional hospital board?
The 2005 AG found no automatic bar to the representative’s service because his wife sat on the hospital board. He said a matter affecting either spouse’s economic interest could trigger written…
Could a SC scrap buyer accept a foreign photo license for a large copper purchase?
The 2005 AG said no where the seller’s only identification was a foreign-issued photo license. The copper-purchase statute he applied listed four accepted identification types, and a foreign license…
Could Jasper County use special-source revenue bonds to help build school facilities?
The 2005 AG predicted a court would allow Jasper County to issue the bonds for school construction because schools could count as county infrastructure under the statute. He said courts had not…
Were undocumented proxy votes automatically invalid in a Sumter delegation board appointment?
The 2005 AG did not decide that the two proxy votes were valid or invalid. Citing an earlier opinion, he said proxy policy for delegation appointments was a matter for that delegation to resolve;…
Did a South Carolina town have to warn schools and landlords about a registered sex offender?
The 2005 AG said the county sheriff, not town police, had the specified duty to notify nearby school and child-care leaders; no separate duty required notice to a landlord about a tenant’s offender…
Can South Carolina's law enforcement agency use emergency regulations to set policing standards for new towns?
The 2005 AG concluded that SLED could issue emergency regulations setting minimum law enforcement standards for municipal incorporation on the public-safety facts it described. He predicted a court…
Could commissioned county animal control and code officers use blue or red lights on county vehicles?
The 2005 AG said the specified animal control, fire code, and building code officers could display blue or red lights on county vehicles because they were commissioned under Section 4-9-145 and had…
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.