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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How much control must Greenville Health Authority keep when a private corporation runs hospital operations?
The Attorney General said the Authority could use a private corporation for management and administrative work but could not surrender its core statutory duties or final decision-making power. The…
Could Lancaster County add leftover capital-projects sales-tax money to a later tax’s first project?
Yes, the Attorney General said. Once projects funded by the earlier tax were completed, excess collections could fund voter-approved projects in the reimposed tax’s listed priority order, in…
Could South Carolina charge the vehicle infrastructure fee when a licensed dealer bought cars for daily rentals?
The Attorney General said no. It treated a licensed dealer’s purchase of vehicles for subsequent daily rental as a purchase for resale under the fee exclusion, and expressly amended a 2021 opinion…
What happened to South Carolina state aid if a county cut the salary or office budget of an official receiving a state supplement?
The Attorney General said the State Treasurer had to make a corresponding reduction in aid to the county. The statute gave the affected officer no personal compensation remedy, and the Treasurer…
Did a qualifying student with exceptional needs need an education grant to play sports at the zoned public school?
No, under the 2021–22 budget proviso the Attorney General analyzed. A student meeting the proviso’s two cited definitions could participate in sports at the zoned public school without actually…
Was the publicly funded WeGOJA Foundation subject to South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act?
The Attorney General predicted yes. On the facts supplied, WeGOJA received public support without providing identified goods or services at arm’s length or being subject to another reporting…
Could Loris use local hospitality-tax revenue to buy land for sports tourism and flood-control ponds?
The Attorney General predicted the purchase could fit the permitted tourism-recreation and flooding purposes. The city still had to use the land for an authorized purpose, meet the special limits on…
Could South Carolina Housing set extra eligibility rules or an annual cap for the state housing tax credit?
The Attorney General said SC Housing could adopt additional eligibility criteria and deny applicants who failed them, but could not arbitrarily deny a qualifying applicant. The office said the…
Did South Carolina’s no-pay rule cover every public-works commissioner in cities over 50,000?
No. The Attorney General said the statute barred compensation only for ex officio public-works commissioners serving because of another office, not the three elected commissioners. It reversed…
Did the South Carolina AG think Columbia’s ban on conversion therapy for minors would survive a court challenge?
No. The Attorney General predicted a court would invalidate the ordinance as a content-based restriction on speech and might also find it preempted by state regulation of professional counseling.…
Could a legislator or DNR board member also hold a South Carolina DNR deputy law-enforcement commission?
No, the Attorney General said. A separate statute barred anyone holding another public office from appointment as a DNR deputy law-enforcement officer, including legislators and DNR board members.…
Could a school board majority block one member from adding information to the public meeting minutes?
No, the Attorney General said the state FOIA let any member request information in the minutes without a majority vote or board-policy veto. The board could still withhold, redact, or separate…
Does renting out a detached house make it commercial construction for a South Carolina fire impact fee?
No, according to this opinion. A detached single-family house no taller than three stories, with its own exit and rented for living purposes, should be charged the one-percent single-family rate,…
Who fills a vacancy on a Spartanburg County school district board?
The Attorney General concluded that the affected district board itself fills the vacancy. Its appointee serves the rest of the term because the local law calls for neither a special election nor…
Can Hampton Regional Medical Center use South Carolina’s tax-refund setoff and GEAR debt collection programs?
The Attorney General said a court would likely find the hospital eligible for both programs as a county agent and quasi-governmental entity. The opinion assumed the county ties described in the…
May a South Carolina county treasurer invest public funds in Synovus Trust Certificate repos?
The Attorney General said the repos described in the request did not appear to meet the statutory collateral rules. It could not reach a conclusive answer for that particular investment without…
Can a foreign exchange student at a South Carolina charter school join a public high school team?
The Attorney General concluded that the cited equal-access statutes did not authorize that student to participate on the public high school team. It read the charter-school provision as applying to…
Can a South Carolina delinquent-tax sale require bidders to register in advance?
The Attorney General said state law did not categorically prohibit a delinquent-tax collector from adopting preregistration. A particular policy could still violate the public-auction requirement if…
Can a South Carolina town require mayoral candidates to have lived there for six months?
The Attorney General said a court could find Latta’s six-month rule contrary to state law. The office could not invalidate the ordinance itself, and it read state law as imposing a thirty-day…
Can a South Carolina HOA hold a Zoom member meeting and mute all homeowners?
The Attorney General gave no blanket answer on remote meetings or muting. It said boards may set reasonable procedures, and meetings generally should facilitate member participation.
Can a South Carolina county send voters to fire stations for fire district commissioner elections?
The Attorney General said a court would likely find that county election boards cannot assign different polling places solely for fire district commission elections under the circumstances…
Did a South Carolina budget proviso override the law setting county magistrates’ pay?
The Attorney General did not find a direct conflict between the magistrate-pay statute and the 2021–22 budget proviso. It said a court must resolve the proviso’s constitutional validity; if a court…
Can South Carolina C-funds pave a public road to a county administration building?
The Attorney General said the described paving likely served a public purpose, but C-funds also had to advance an approved countywide transportation plan. Only a court could determine whether this…
Can a retrofitted golf cart be registered as a low-speed vehicle in South Carolina?
In 2021, the Attorney General said South Carolina law barred issuing a low-speed-vehicle VIN to retrofitted golf carts and similar vehicles. It declined to decide whether a particular fold-up…
Can a South Carolina county exceed its property-tax millage cap to fund a roads reserve?
The Attorney General said the reserve exception could support money set aside for a specific future need, including a large road project, but not a dedicated stream for ongoing road expenses. It…
Must a South Carolina company hire a real estate agent to sell property it owns?
The 2021 opinion said a company selling the same ownership interest it holds need not hire a real estate agent or comply with the licensing rules governing real estate professionals for that sale.…
Can a South Carolina town ban through-trucks from a highway in town?
The Attorney General said local authorities could restrict specified vehicle classes on highways they control for public safety and convenience. Restrictions that interfere with traffic on state…
Could town police patrol a leased park outside town limits, and which court heard offenses there?
The 2021 opinion said West Pelzer police could exercise authority on the leased land because the town controlled it, but that authority did not reach the adjacent road. Offenses on the land below…
Did South Carolina’s 2019 hemp law legalize delta-8 THC by itself?
In 2021, the Attorney General said a court would likely hold that the Hemp Farming Act did not legalize delta-8 THC or other THC isomers in themselves. It expressly left trace amounts in lawful hemp…
Did South Carolina charge a vehicle infrastructure fee when a rental company registered its fleet?
The Attorney General said the DMV could collect the infrastructure maintenance fee from an owner or lessee first titling or registering vehicles for short-term rental use. The fee was additional to…
Did a Horry County petition need a special form to change county council elections?
The 2021 Attorney General opinion found no prescribed petition form. It said the proposed referendum wording generally met the statute’s form requirements, but clarification might be needed because…
Could an event-storage business keep customers’ liquor and deliver it to venues?
The 2021 Attorney General opinion could not conclusively approve storage or delivery. It said the described business likely escaped one place-of-business storage ban, but a separate authorization to…
Who could request a South Carolina absentee ballot application for another voter in 2021?
Under the law discussed in this 2021 opinion, a voter, an immediate family member, or a qualifying authorized representative could request the application. A representative had to sign an oath; a…
Could a South Carolina DHEC Voluntary Cleanup Oversight Contract qualify as a voluntary cleanup contract despite its title?
In 2021, the Attorney General said a court would likely treat the described DHEC oversight agreement as a voluntary cleanup contract if its terms met the statute. Public notice depended on whether…
Could a South Carolina county charge a municipality a monthly fee to fund county 911 dispatch?
In 2021, the South Carolina Attorney General said a county could not charge a municipality within its territory a monthly fee to fund the county 911 system. It said the particular dispute was…
Could a South Carolina homeowners association prohibit handguns in its common areas?
The 2021 South Carolina AG opinion did not decide whether this HOA could prohibit handguns in its common areas. It said a court would need to examine the covenants, bylaws, and property interests.
Could a Richland-Lexington Airport Commission member be reappointed after two consecutive full terms?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said the commission statute barred reappointment after two consecutive full terms without a break. It distinguished a partial predecessor term and discussed uncertain…
Did Folly Beach and Isle of Palms parking fines violate the constitutional ban on excessive fines?
The 2021 South Carolina AG opinion said excessive-fines protections could apply to municipal parking penalties, but it could not decide whether the particular fines were unconstitutional without…
Could Furman University prohibit a permit holder’s firearm secured inside a locked vehicle on campus?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said Furman could not prohibit a concealed-weapon permit holder from keeping a firearm in an attended or locked vehicle in the specified closed compartments. The…
Could South Carolina DHEC issue school COVID-19 guidance without a declared public health emergency?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said DHEC had ordinary statutory public-health authority separate from emergency powers. Only the governor or an interim successor could declare the public health…
Could Aiken County adopt a firearm ordinance that repeated state law or rejected federal gun rules?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG expected courts to find such county firearm ordinances preempted by state law, even if a draft repeated state rules. It declined to decide the separate federal-law question.
Could South Carolina DMV share license photos with other state DMVs under South Carolina FOIA?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said the state FOIA provisions did not bar SCDMV from sharing license images with other government DMVs. It declined to decide whether the program complied with…
Could Rock Hill delay ward elections for redistricting while holding the mayoral election on schedule?
The 2021 South Carolina AG said a city could change election dates for a reasonable public purpose and could hold its mayoral election separately if it used four-year terms. The council had to…
Was Berkeley County’s proposed noise ordinance too vague to satisfy due process?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG expected a court to find the proposed noise ordinance facially constitutional against a vagueness challenge because its enforcement factors supplied an objective…
What did a South Carolina county risk if it failed to adopt a budget before July 1?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said a county had to adopt its budget before the July 1 fiscal-year start. Without an adopted budget, it might be unable to spend county funds until one was adopted.
Were South Carolina roadside markets exempt from state building codes as farm structures?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said a roadside market could qualify as an exempt farm structure, but whether a particular market did so required facts for a court to decide.
Could a South Carolina register of deeds require attorneys to submit all real estate documents electronically?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said a register of deeds who accepted electronic recordings still had to accept authorized paper documents and likely could not require attorneys to file everything…
Could a Pickens County school trustee keep serving after moving out of the district she represented?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said a trustee who ceased residing in her single-member district lost qualification and vacated the seat. It could not determine the named trustee’s residence without…
Were Columbia’s property-maintenance notice and vehicle rules unconstitutional or preempted?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG expected courts to uphold the code provisions against the facial due-process and preemption challenges discussed. It did not decide whether the rules were vague as…
Did a nonresident investor need a prior year of South Carolina taxes to qualify for the 2013 investment tax credit?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said prior-year tax payment was not required: a nonresident could qualify in the year they became subject to South Carolina tax. It noted unresolved proof and…
Did the Fifth Amendment prevent a warrant from compelling fingerprint or face unlock of a phone?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG predicted state courts would likely find compelled fingerprint or face unlocking non-testimonial under the Fifth Amendment. It stressed that courts were divided and…
Could a council-manager county elect its treasurer but appoint its auditor?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said a council-manager county had to choose the same method for both offices: the treasurer and auditor could both be elected or both appointed, but not one of each.
Did South Carolina FOIA require disclosure of deceased inmates’ names and causes of death?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG advised that, if the corrections department possessed a list of inmates who died and their causes of death, FOIA required disclosure. The office expected a court to…
Did South Carolina’s 24-hour bond-hearing rule also require a probable-cause decision within 24 hours?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG clarified that the 24-hour statutory limit governed bond hearings, while judicial probable-cause review after a warrantless arrest was a separate requirement with a…
Did South Carolina’s agriculture statute prevent local building codes from applying to roadside markets?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG found the statutory text suggested broad local preemption but the chapter’s nuisance-focused purpose created uncertainty. It urged legislative or judicial…
Could drug-forfeiture funds pay to construct a South Carolina law-enforcement training facility?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said a court could permit construction with forfeited funds if the facility’s primary purpose was law-enforcement training. The office could not decide that factual…
Could a school board policy deny an elected member access to district records outside financial documents?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said elected members’ access extended beyond financial records. It found the district policy facially compatible with that rule if denied priority requests still…
Who had to approve Anderson County Fire Protection Commission tax millage increases?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG expected a court to find two local acts unconstitutional, but said the commission had to follow them until a court ruled. The legislative delegation had to approve the…
Could a South Carolina county adopt and amend proposed land-development rules at one public hearing?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said counties and municipalities could adopt planning-commission land-development regulations with amendments at the same public hearing. It acknowledged the…
Did Richland County have to give COMET a proportional share of interest earned on the penny transportation tax?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG found no statutory pro-rata allocation rule. It said interest had to serve the tax’s approved purposes, while a court might find COMET owned interest attributable to…
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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.