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 South Carolina join Powerball under its 2002 state-lottery constitution?
The AG said South Carolina’s participation in a multistate lottery may well have conflicted with the then-current constitution, which allowed only the state to conduct lotteries. He concluded a new…
Could South Carolina’s legislature authorize state recognition of Native American organizations?
The AG said the General Assembly could decide whether and how to recognize Native American organizations, including the criteria and any benefits or obligations. He did not conclude that calling…
Was DIRECTV’s mailed customer agreement enforceable without a new signature in South Carolina?
The AG did not decide whether the mailed DIRECTV agreement or its change-of-terms clause was enforceable. He said an adhesion contract was not automatically unconscionable and that the particular…
How long could a South Carolina criminal judgment be enforced after the defendant died?
For the specified criminal judgments, the AG said execution remained available for ten years from filing in the court’s civil judgment records and the judgment could not be renewed after expiration.…
Could an individual South Carolina school board member access student records under FERPA?
The AG said school board members had broad authority to request district records, but an individual member’s access to student records required the board to determine that the member had a…
Were FREESPIN and FREEDRAW collector-card vending machines legal in South Carolina?
The AG concluded that the described FREESPIN and FREEDRAW collector-card vending machines were illegal games of chance prohibited by §12-21-2710, making their possession in South Carolina illegal.…
Could South Carolina police independently arrest people for federal immigration crimes in 2002?
The AG concluded that South Carolina state and local officers then lacked state-law authority to enforce federal immigration law independently. He said legislation was needed to empower them to…
Did South Carolina’s 2001 machine-gun exception also cover sawed-off shotguns and rifles?
The AG said a 2001 exception for federally authorized possession appeared to cover machine guns and military firearms, not sawed-off shotguns or rifles, though the point was not free from doubt. For…
Could a Beaufort County council member keep a merged district seat without an election?
The AG said an election was required after Beaufort County redistricting placed two sitting council members in the same new district. One member’s announced intention not to seek reelection did not…
Could a county council member’s spouse serve on South Carolina’s local election board?
The AG found no law automatically barring a county council member’s spouse from serving on a county election commission or voter registration board. He said campaign-activity restrictions and the…
Must a South Carolina agency reopen public comment after a substantive regulation change?
The AG said a substantive change to a proposed regulation had to be refiled, re-noticed and processed as a new regulation if it had not been raised, considered or discussed in public comment. The…
Could Myrtle Beach suspend business licenses over missing employee I-9 forms?
The AG said Myrtle Beach’s proposed suspension or revocation of business licenses for failure to maintain or produce employee I-9 forms would not improperly regulate or enforce federal immigration…
Could South Carolina public schools display “In God We Trust” under the Establishment Clause?
The AG concluded in 2002 that a public school could display “In God We Trust” without violating the federal Establishment Clause. He relied on the phrase’s status as the national motto and judicial…
What did “highland,” public notice and the 14-day filing period mean for SC development agreements?
The AG said “highland” generally excluded marshland, waterways, wetlands, submerged land and tideland; a proposed agreement’s duration should be public before execution; and the 14-day recording…
Could licensed vendors sell South Carolina lottery tickets at state farmers markets?
The AG concluded that the Department of Agriculture’s prohibition on gambling at state farmers markets barred lottery-ticket sales there, despite vendors’ lottery licenses. He read the market…
Did Anderson County’s school board election and district tax rates violate constitutional rules?
The AG pointed to an earlier opinion finding the countywide election of board members from differently sized residency districts facially valid. He said different millage rates appeared permissible…
Who represented South Carolina at preliminary hearings for General Sessions cases?
The AG concluded that the circuit solicitor had the responsibility and right to represent the state at preliminary hearings in General Sessions cases unless the Attorney General had assumed…
Was South Carolina’s proposed Respect for Law Day school display constitutional in 2002?
The AG concluded in 2002 that proposed bill S.793, requiring a school curriculum and display of the Ten Commandments alongside historical legal documents, was constitutional. He treated the proposal…
Could Spartanburg’s mayor also serve on South Carolina’s Education Oversight Committee?
The AG concluded that one person could not simultaneously serve as Spartanburg mayor and a member of South Carolina’s Education Oversight Committee. He treated both positions as public offices…
Could a South Carolina sheriff post unserved arrest warrants online?
Assuming the sheriff posted outstanding warrants to help locate the people charged, the AG concluded the posting would not violate South Carolina’s constitutional privacy right. He noted prior…
Could South Carolina public officials play the newly authorized state lottery in 2002?
The AG concluded that holders of a South Carolina office of honor, trust or profit could not play the state lottery, even though the lottery was legal. An officer who did so would be subject to…
Could South Carolina college students register to vote from a dormitory address in 2001?
The AG said a South Carolina student could establish a dormitory as a voting residence under the 1999 domicile statute and could not be rejected solely because the address was a dorm. Registration…
Which South Carolina court surcharge paid for local computer upgrades used to track DUI revenue?
The AG said local governments had to deduct the specified one-time computer upgrade and programming costs only from the DUI surcharge revenue under subsection (A)(2), before sending the balance to…
Must a South Carolina probate judge apply a statute the state Supreme Court struck down?
The AG said a probate judge had to follow the South Carolina Supreme Court’s ruling that Section 15-1-290 was unconstitutional, even though the legislature had not formally repealed it. He did not…
Which rule controlled when Columbia’s building code conflicted with state fire-marshal regulations?
The AG said Columbia’s duly adopted building-code provisions controlled to the extent they conflicted with the State Fire Marshal’s regulations. The state regulations still applied where no such…
Could Charleston County use victim assessments to pay for drug-defendant satellite monitoring?
The AG said Charleston County could not pay for satellite monitoring of defendants charged with drug-related offenses from victim-assessment funds reserved exclusively for victim services. He…
Could a South Carolina court require GPS monitoring as a bail condition in 2001?
The AG said a magistrate or circuit court could impose reasonable electronic monitoring as a condition of bail under the general bail statute, despite the Home Detention Act’s separate limits on…
Could a South Carolina Class 2 detention officer contract to provide police bloodhound tracking?
The AG said a Class 2 detention officer could contract to provide bloodhound tracking for a police department only in the capacity of a private citizen when outside detention-related duties. The…
Could South Carolina’s Employment Security Commission prosecute labor-law crimes on its own?
The AG read the labor-law prosecution statute to require both circuit solicitors and other prosecuting attorneys to act at his request and under his direction. The opinion did not authorize the…
Could a South Carolina city add new hospitality and lodging taxes atop its pre-1997 tax?
The AG said local accommodations and hospitality tax caps counted taxes by what they covered, regardless of an ordinance’s label. A government could preserve a qualifying higher pre-1997 rate, but…
Could a South Carolina city impose a new lodging tax on hotel stays already taxed under an older hospitality ordinance?
The AG said a city or county could not evade the cumulative accommodations and hospitality tax caps by giving an older tax a different name. A qualifying pre-1997 rate could remain at its historical…
Who could approve a South Carolina bond set by a circuit judge after a defendant violated an earlier bond?
The AG said the clerk of the circuit court should approve the surety and finalize a bond when that court amended its conditions. Before indictment, either the magistrate or circuit judge could amend…
Could one person serve on both a county accommodations tax advisory committee and South Carolina’s tourism expenditure review committee?
The AG said the county accommodations tax committee was advisory and its members did not hold a public office for dual-office purposes. The state Tourism Expenditure Review Committee did hold public…
Did a mortuary school certificate qualify someone for appointment as a South Carolina magistrate in 2001?
The AG said an initial magistrate appointee needed a two-year associate degree under the 2001 law, while a magistrate already serving on June 30, 2001 was exempt during continued service. The office…
Could South Carolina tax a Tennessee-owned car used by Aiken County residents even if it did not need South Carolina registration?
The AG said the nonresident-owned, Tennessee-registered vehicle did not have to be registered in South Carolina on the facts given, because its South Carolina users were residents and the…
Did South Carolina drivers have to slow down and obey emergency personnel when approaching an emergency scene?
The AG said an emergency scene was a special hazard under the then-current statute, so an approaching driver should use an appropriately reduced speed and control the vehicle to avoid collisions.…
Did a scratch-off game sold with a prepaid phone card violate South Carolina gambling law?
The AG’s office said it had viewed phone cards sold with scratch-off games as a way to evade gambling restrictions, despite claims that the games were free promotions. It declined to issue an…
Could a private security guard ticket drivers or use amber lights to stop them on roads inside a gated South Carolina community?
The AG said a properly registered guard could issue a uniform ticket for a state traffic violation on a private road properly enrolled under the Uniform Act Regulating Traffic, but not for a private…
Did a South Carolina clerk temporarily acting as probate judge receive the probate judge’s salary?
The AG said a clerk of court temporarily filling a probate-judge vacancy should receive the probate judge’s salary under common law. The letter could not say with confidence that the older statute’s…
Did South Carolina’s 2001 seat-belt law prohibit teenagers from riding in a pickup bed?
The AG said a pickup was covered by South Carolina’s seat-belt law, so an unrestrained passenger in its bed appeared to violate that law if a seat with an available belt remained in the cab. The…
Who had to arrange and pay for follow-up medical treatment for a South Carolina pretrial detainee?
The AG said the government holding a pretrial detainee had to ensure needed medical care, whether emergency or follow-up. That duty did not automatically make the government pay; it had to pay if…
Could a South Carolina city disclose the business-license fee paid by each builder under FOIA?
The AG advised Anderson to withhold each contractor’s actual business-license payment where it was calculated from the contractor’s gross receipts. FOIA permitted an exemption for that information,…
Could a South Carolina county ban all hunting from public roads and carrying loaded guns in vehicles there?
The AG said a court would probably find the proposed Chesterfield County ordinance unconstitutional to the extent it barred conduct state hunting law allowed or changed the state penalty. The…
How much per diem could Fairfield County school trustees receive in 2001, and did extra payments force repayment or resignation?
The AG said Fairfield County school trustees served without salary and were limited to the then-current $35 daily per diem allowed for boards and commissions, plus authorized mileage. The office did…
Could a South Carolina rescue squad photograph a deceased accident victim and display the pictures?
The AG said death-scene photographs could serve legitimate training or criminal-evidence purposes, depending on why they were taken. Gratuitous display or misuse could implicate relatives’ privacy;…
Could a nonprofit operating a South Carolina county hospital use the state tax-refund debt setoff program?
The AG said the proposed public-benefit nonprofit that would take over Williamsburg County’s hospital district could qualify as a claimant agency under the Setoff Debt Collection Act. The opinion…
Could South Carolina police seize a Cadillac Jack redemption machine that awarded coupons or merchandise?
The AG said the described Cadillac Jack or racing machine appeared to be a prohibited game of chance despite its redemption label and purported skill points. The office found clear probable cause…
How could South Carolina police dispose of seized or recovered guns when the person claiming them was a convicted felon?
The AG said there was no single disposal rule. Some pistols seized under specified handgun provisions might be forfeited without a conviction, though the letter recommended judicial guidance; a…
Could Colleton County charge the same fire-protection millage countywide but give different fire districts different budgets?
The AG said Colleton County’s fire commission did not receive final budget authority because county council reviewed and could change its proposals. Different district allocations under a common…
Did a South Carolina massage therapist also need a cosmetology or esthetician license?
The AG said a massage or bodywork license generally sufficed for massage services; state law did not require a cosmetology or esthetician license merely to obtain it. A second license might be…
Could Blackville police patrol or enforce traffic law on a highway segment entirely outside town limits?
The AG said Blackville officers lacked general police jurisdiction on the illustrated Highway 61 segment, which lay wholly beyond municipal limits. A statute extended jurisdiction to certain road…
Did South Carolina’s local hospitality tax cover grocery-store bread and pies in 2001?
The AG read the then-current hospitality-tax definition of “prepared meals” as excluding grocery-store bread and pies, which normally were components of a meal rather than meals themselves. The…
Could a South Carolina legislator take the newly created lottery executive-director job in 2001?
The AG said the Lottery executive director was an employee serving under the board, not the holder of a civil office. Because the 2001 restriction on legislators applied to a newly created civil…
Could a South Carolina legislator’s consulting firm help a state agency seek federal grants and then manage the funded program?
The AG found no absolute bar to the proposed consulting arrangement if the legislator complied with the State Ethics Act. The letter barred use of office or confidential information for financial…
Could a part-time South Carolina magistrate receive county-paid health and life insurance benefits?
The AG said magistrates were generally county employees and could join state insurance plans if the county participated. A part-time magistrate was entitled to the same perquisites as comparable…
Could a South Carolina public-safety attorney who prosecuted cases also serve on a town council?
The AG said the attorney’s ordinary legal-instruction duties looked like employment, but his occasional prosecution of criminal cases exercised state sovereign power. With those prosecution duties,…
Could a person be arrested for a fraudulent check drawn on a corporation’s bank account?
The AG said the individual who knowingly issued a fraudulent check could be charged even when the account belonged to a corporation; the warrant need not name the company. A sheriff could not refuse…
Which organization counted as the body responsible for a historic monument under South Carolina’s 2000 preservation act?
The AG said the phrase “public body responsible for the monument or memorial” could include bona fide nonprofit heritage groups that cared for Confederate memorials on public property, rather than…
Could an independent-college president sit on both South Carolina higher-education commissions without violating the dual-office rule?
The AG said membership on the Tuition Grant Commission was a public office because it exercised state power over tuition grants. The independent-college representative’s ex officio seat on the…
Did a part-time South Carolina magistrate count as one quarter of a full-time position regardless of weekly hours?
The AG reaffirmed that each magistrate regularly working fewer than 40 hours counted as one quarter of a full-time magistrate for the statutory position formula, whether the schedule was 10, 20 or…
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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.