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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When would Union’s change to a strong-mayor government take effect after voters approved it?
The AG said the change would take effect when council members elected at the next general election began their terms, rather than immediately after the referendum. It also said the municipal…
Did the 2004 Help America Vote Act require each voter to verify a printed paper record of their ballot?
The AG said the Act required a permanent paper record for manual audits and recounts, but did not require voters to see and verify that paper record or take home a receipt. Voters had to be able to…
Was a non-tenured MUSC faculty member a classified South Carolina state employee?
The AG said the faculty member described in the request was not a classified employee. The opinion treated academic personnel as outside the ordinary classification plan and noted a separate…
Could a private company collect unpaid magistrate tickets and charge defendants a collection fee?
The AG said the cited statute did not authorize a private company to collect those ticket payments. Court staff had to handle the money absent express legislative authority, though a company could…
Did a South Carolina public hospital district need the AG’s approval to sell a hospital?
The AG said it knew of no provision requiring AG notice, approval, consent or review for a sale by the described public hospital corporation. The opinion relied on the district being formed under…
Could a corrective affidavit reopen a South Carolina mortgage mistakenly marked satisfied?
The AG said a corrective affidavit appeared insufficient to reinstate a mortgage already cancelled of record. A party seeking reinstatement should bring an equitable proceeding in circuit court.
Which court handled a South Carolina charge for selling or transferring beer to someone under 21?
The AG said the 2004 transfer-for-consumption offense belonged in magistrate court and could be charged by uniform traffic ticket, while the sale offense belonged in general sessions court and…
Could a fire district commissioner vote on pay and grievances affecting firefighter relatives?
The AG did not decide whether the commissioner could vote. It directed State Ethics Act questions to the State Ethics Commission and local manual questions to the district’s attorney; it said the…
Could a Mount Pleasant town administrator also serve on Charleston County’s election commission?
The AG said yes on the described facts. Election commission membership was a public office, but the town administrator role appeared to be employment rather than a second public office.
Could South Carolina’s Department of Insurance review Medicaid decisions about optometrist reimbursement?
The AG said no. It kept its earlier equal-reimbursement conclusion for comparable eye-care services but clarified that the Department of Insurance had no administrative review authority over…
Could a South Carolina town make drug paraphernalia possession a crime when state law set a civil fine?
The AG said the Bowman ordinance appeared valid in 2004. It found no state-law preemption or irreconcilable conflict despite the state statute’s civil penalty, while noting only a court could…
Could someone claiming to be a child’s father take the child despite an existing custody order?
The AG said the existing custody order remained binding until changed by a court; a pending petition or claimed parentage did not authorize taking the child. It also said criminal liability depended…
Could a Georgia judge lawfully officiate a marriage ceremony in South Carolina?
The AG said it knew of no authority for a Georgia judge to perform a South Carolina marriage ceremony under the cited statute. The office expressly said it could not declare the particular marriage…
What was the penalty for hitting an unattended car and leaving no notice in South Carolina?
The AG said the general traffic-chapter penalty applied because the unattended-vehicle notice rule had no separate penalty. Under the statute quoted in 2004, that meant a misdemeanor with a fine up…
Could an ATV be driven on a South Carolina public highway in 2004?
The AG said an ATV had to meet driver licensing, highway equipment, registration and insurance requirements. Because the state did not then register or license ATVs, the opinion concluded they could…
Could South Carolina police cite road users or parents for gasoline or electric scooter riding?
The AG said several motor-vehicle statutes arguably applied to powered scooters, including driver licensing, registration, insurance and rules against permitting unauthorized minors to drive. It…
Could a South Carolina church or charity hold a fundraising raffle under the 2004 lottery amendment?
The AG said ordinary raffles remained prohibited lotteries even when a charity ran them or called the entry payment a donation. It acknowledged a statute appearing to allow some licensed…
Could one person sit on Hilton Head’s tax advisory committee, Beaufort’s aviation board, and the state tourism review committee?
The AG said the three positions could be held together on the described duties. It viewed only the state tourism committee as a public office; the local tax committee and aviation board were…
Could a South Carolina probate judge issue a marriage license to someone unable to obtain either an SSN or alien ID?
The AG advised issuing the license if every other requirement was met and the judge was satisfied the applicant could not obtain either number. It treated the number rule as an aid to child-support…
Could an Oregon juvenile harassment adjudication require sex-offender registration after a move to South Carolina?
The AG said registration could be required if the facts showed an offense similar to a South Carolina registrable assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct. It did not decide this…
Could Horry County’s register of deeds also serve on the county social services board?
The AG said yes under the 2004 duties. The register of deeds was a public officer, but the social services board had become advisory after a statutory change and its members no longer held a second…
Did South Carolina require an associate probate judge to retire at age 72 in 2004?
The AG said no. Associate probate judges were part of the unified judiciary, but the general age limit had been repealed and the remaining judge and magistrate retirement rules did not cover them.
Could a Beaufort County election board member also serve as an officer of a political party?
The AG said no. It interpreted the 2004 ban on election board members participating in political management to include holding party office, while noting no South Carolina court had yet defined the phrase.
Could an Aiken County council member also hold one of three state agency jobs?
The AG said the two described program coordinator jobs were employment and compatible with a council seat, but the Victim Assistance Investigator II job exercised state police power and would create…
Could Sumter’s alcohol and drug abuse commission director also serve on county council?
The AG said the director job was employment rather than a second public office, so the dual-office ban did not bar council service. It flagged possible indirect supervision and personal financial…
Was a county clerk acting as probate judge entitled to the probate judge’s pay?
The AG reaffirmed that a clerk temporarily performing a vacant probate judge’s duties was entitled to the probate judge’s salary. It rejected an earlier follow-up letter’s unsupported objection to…
Could Dorchester school trustees also sit on the county vocational education board?
The AG said the 2004 appointment law made those separate offices, so one person could not hold both. It described two legislative fixes: replace school-board appointees or make vocational-board…
Did a school band booster club incorporated before 1994 have to follow South Carolina’s later nonprofit corporation law?
The AG said yes for the Goose Creek High School Band Booster Club. The 1994 Act applied to domestic nonprofit corporations governed by the prior chapter on its effective date, including the described club.
Could South Carolina’s State Election Commission buy one statewide voting system without express authority from the legislature?
The AG doubted that existing state law authorized the proposed statewide purchase. Although procurement officials had approved the solicitation, the AG urged a declaratory judgment before implementation.
Could a Blackville town council member also serve on Barnwell County’s economic development board?
The AG concluded that the appointment would not violate South Carolina’s constitutional dual-office rule. It treated the county development-board seat as outside the definition of a public office…
Could an Olar town maintenance worker keep that job after election to the town council?
The AG found no constitutional dual-office violation because a maintenance worker was an employee rather than an officer. It nevertheless concluded that simultaneous council service and town…
Could a South Carolina capital-project sales tax pay for park land or a partly funded park?
The AG said necessary costs incidental to an authorized project could be covered, but questioned a tax proposal limited to buying land for a future park or building only a token first phase. Voters…
Could a South Carolina jail release someone who earned good-time credit but had not paid a court fine?
The AG said an eligible prisoner still appeared entitled to statutory good-time credit despite an unpaid fine. A detention center could release someone who had served the adjusted sentence unless a…
What counted as a substantial business conflict when a South Carolina candidate withdrew?
The AG said the statutory examples did not exhaust the possible business conflicts. The county election commission had to decide whether the candidate’s particular sworn reason qualified; the AG…
Could a federal district judge conduct a marriage ceremony in South Carolina?
The AG concluded that the requesting federal district judge could perform a South Carolina marriage ceremony because he was authorized to administer oaths in the state.
Could a seller take payment for a preneed casket, have the buyer sign for delivery, and keep it in storage?
The AG said no. A paper acknowledgment did not make a warehoused casket an immediate delivery; the payment belonged in a preneed trust until the statutory conditions were met.
Did South Carolina Medicaid have to reimburse optometrists and ophthalmologists equally for the same eye-care services?
The AG concluded that South Carolina law required equal reimbursement for services common to both professions and that the public Medicaid plan likely came within the relevant statute. It said no…
Was Richland Memorial Hospital’s board still a county government body after the hospital alliance?
The AG concluded that the board remained an agency and unit of Richland County government despite the hospital alliance. Its members were public officers, and the board retained governmental powers.
Could a manufactured-home owner retire its title without a county certificate-of-occupancy form?
The AG said the certificate-of-occupancy requirement was mandatory. It thought a court would likely accept a building official’s affidavit as substantial compliance where the locality used no…
Could a Mount Pleasant council member also become a Charleston port pilotage commissioner?
The AG said the two positions were public offices and could not be held together under the state constitution. Accepting the pilotage appointment would automatically vacate the earlier council office.
Could a South Carolina optometrist obtain equal Medicaid payment and recover earlier underpayments?
The AG said state law required equal fees for shared eye-care services and understood Medicaid to have changed its schedule in 2003. It declined to order retroactive payment, which it said had to be…
Did Charleston County have to mail new voter cards after council redistricting that left precincts unchanged?
The AG said no. The cited notice statute required mailing when an elector’s ward or precinct changed, and the described council-district redraw changed neither.
Could an unlicensed employee drive a permitted golf cart on a South Carolina public street?
The AG said no, unless a statutory licensing exemption applied. The owner’s license qualified the cart for the permit, but agents and employees driving it on public roads also needed their own licenses.
Could a Charleston County Council candidate file before moving into the district?
The AG said yes. For the District 7 seat, residence in the district was required by election day, not when the candidacy statement was filed.
Could a county election commission reject a council candidate solely because the candidate had not moved into the district by filing day?
The AG said the described candidate was not barred from running merely because he lived outside Charleston County Council District 7 when he filed. He had to reside in the district by the election.
Could one person serve on both Abbeville County’s hospital board and school board?
The AG said such simultaneous service would most probably violate South Carolina’s constitutional dual-office rule. It treated the school-board position as an office and considered the hospital…
Could a South Carolina county let property owners pay annual real-estate taxes monthly?
The AG said no. The statute then allowed a county ordinance to offer quarterly installments, and its direction to set due dates did not authorize monthly payments.
Could a deputy county administrator run for the South Carolina Senate while keeping the county job?
The AG said a deputy county administrator generally was likely an employee, so the constitutional dual-office bar probably did not apply. It could not decide the particular job without the county…
Could a circuit solicitor admit a qualified municipal-court defendant to pretrial intervention?
The AG said yes. The solicitor retained final PTI admission authority for an otherwise qualified defendant charged in municipal court, with the statutory opportunity for the victim and arresting…
Did the 1993 Catawba settlement allow video poker on the reservation after South Carolina’s statewide ban?
The AG said the Tribe had a serious, credible claim, but the State had substantial arguments that the statewide ban ended any such right. It did not resolve the dispute and expected a court to need…
Could a Dillon architectural-review board member also serve on the Marion-Dillon disabilities board?
The AG said no. It treated both board seats as public offices under the constitutional dual-office rule; taking the second seat would vacate the first by operation of law.
Could a school board revive a superintendent-contract motion months after a tie vote?
The AG said the later proposal was a renewal of the motion under the board’s Robert’s Rules procedure, not a timely motion to reconsider the earlier tie vote.
Could a physical therapist work for a doctor who referred patients to the therapist?
The AG said the then-current fee-splitting rule prohibited paid employment by a referring physician or a physician-owned professional corporation whose owner or employee referred patients. It said…
Could Winnsboro ticket a driver for a loud car radio under its sound-amplification permit ordinance?
The AG said a car radio did not appear to be the kind of sound-amplification equipment covered by the cited ordinance, so the ordinance did not support that ticket.
Did a surety bond releasing a South Carolina mechanic’s lien need acknowledgment or proof before recording?
The AG said yes. It treated the bond as an “other instrument” under the general recording statute, so the recording office’s acknowledgment or proof requirement applied.
Could a town force a tax sale when property taxes were paid but municipal cleanup fees remained unpaid?
The AG said no. Cleanup and demolition charges were collectible like taxes but were not taxes; a county tax-collection agreement did not automatically cover them, and unpaid charges alone did not…
Did renting spaces for other people to display cars for sale require a South Carolina dealer license?
The AG concluded that it did under the facts presented, even though the space renter received monthly rent rather than sales commissions. It deferred to the administering agency’s view that…
Could a Beaufort election-board member also serve on Bluffton’s advisory public-safety commission?
The AG said yes on the facts supplied. The election-board seat was a public office, but the Bluffton commission only advised the town council and did not count as a second office.
Would South Carolina’s proposed dairy fee and producer fund withstand a Commerce Clause challenge?
The AG called the proposed dairy bill constitutionally suspect because it linked buyer fees to payments only for South Carolina producers. It also identified a credible distinction: the fee applied…
Could Lancaster’s public utilities director serve on county council while keeping the city job?
The AG said the city utilities director was an employee rather than a public officer on the supplied job description, so simultaneous county-council service did not violate the constitutional…
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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.