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 an Aiken election commissioner chair a legislative campaign, and did the city have to remove that commissioner?
Serving as a volunteer campaign chair appeared to violate the political-activity ban, but the assistant attorney general left a final fact finding to Aiken's city council. The statute allowed…
Was a homeowner who sheltered evacuees as a volunteer protected from simple-negligence claims?
The assistant attorney general said federal and state volunteer protections should shield a homeowner from simple-negligence liability when sheltering evacuees on behalf of a nonprofit or the state,…
Which South Carolina assessment percentages applied when a court fine was paid in installments?
The assistant deputy attorney general concluded that the newer assessment percentages for general sessions, magistrate, and municipal courts controlled how installment payments were allocated. He…
Could a South Carolina municipal judge require an officer to explain a traffic-case dismissal request?
The assistant deputy attorney general thought a municipal judge generally lacked authority to demand the arresting officer's reason for seeking dismissal of a misdemeanor traffic case. He noted that…
Would South Carolina owe money if its Patient's Compensation Fund became insolvent through mismanagement?
The assistant deputy attorney general thought the state should not be liable under the fund statutes and immunity defenses if the fund became insolvent through mismanagement or negligence. He said…
Could a South Carolina county spend court victim-assistance assessments on unrelated projects?
No. The assistant attorney general concluded that local revenue from the cited court assessments and surcharges had to be used exclusively for victim services. Required programs came first;…
Could a South Carolina business charge police to produce records required by a search warrant?
The assistant deputy attorney general did not decide the fee question. He found no South Carolina authority addressing it and said a court or legislature would need to clarify whether a business…
Can a South Carolina jail director start a work program for people held in civil contempt?
The AG said the prison director lacked authority to create the proposed program. A sentencing judge could include work release and directions for the inmate's earnings in a civil-contempt order.
Was a South Carolina town protected from tort liability when it opened a hurricane shelter?
The AG said the Tort Claims Act, read with the shelter statute, preserved a municipality's immunity for operating a hurricane shelter in the circumstances presented. It also thought the Act's…
Would South Carolina's AG answer a video-poker operator's questions after a Revenue Department citation?
No. The AG's office directed the questions to the Department of Revenue and its administrative process, declining to supersede the agency after it issued a citation. It also said many questions…
Does refusing to prosecute automatically disqualify a South Carolina crime victim from compensation?
No. The AG said a victim's mere refusal to prosecute did not itself show failure to cooperate. Whether an offender would chiefly benefit from an award, or a parent's conduct affected a minor's…
Could a South Carolina municipal election commissioner chair a candidate's campaign?
The AG said a municipal election commissioner serving as a volunteer campaign chair appeared to violate the campaign-participation ban, subject to the facts found by city council. A violation made…
How could South Carolina handle town incorporation petitions after a federal court struck down its freeholder-signature rule?
The AG outlined two possible courses for the Secretary of State: decline to process pending and new petitions based on the district court ruling, or continue statutory duties while an appeal or…
Was stopping an incorrect final paycheck criminal fraud if a merchant had already cashed it?
The AG said the employer's stated clerical-error correction did not violate the stop-payment fraud statute. A merchant who cashed the check could still have holder-in-due-course rights against the…
Could a South Carolina city zoning amendment take effect at its second reading?
The AG found no required seven-day wait after second reading. Assuming Florence had met the public-hearing requirement and the readings were on separate days at least six days apart, the zoning…
Did South Carolina public employees called up for Operation Southern Watch qualify for extra paid military leave?
Yes. Based on the involuntary presidential call-up and the mission facts presented, the AG said South Carolina's emergency military-leave provision gave affected state and local employees up to…
Did moving into and back out of a South Carolina school district end a student's tuition exemption?
No, on the stated facts. The AG said a temporary move into and back out of the district did not erase the exemption for students enrolled by September 9, 1996, if they remained continuously enrolled…
Who could set a South Carolina county landfill's hours: county council or the county supervisor?
The AG said county council could regulate county facility hours through its personnel-policy authority, and the supervisor would have to carry out that council action. Without council action, the…
Did South Carolina municipal judges receive magistrates' statutory arrest powers?
The AG concluded, with stated uncertainty, that § 14-25-45 did not appear to give municipal courts the separate arrest powers granted to magistrates by §§ 22-5-140 and 22-5-150. The office read…
Could a South Carolina high school remove a sexually explicit book from its library?
The AG said Chester's school board could remove Beginner's Love from its high school library without violating the First Amendment because the book met the office's view of pervasive vulgarity. It…
Did Georgetown County's water district have to elect its board instead of using the 1967 appointment law?
The AG said the 1967 act's appointment method governed the Georgetown County Water and Sewer District. Although the court had not expressly compared that method with the general election statute,…
Did a South Carolina school trustee's new term begin when she was reelected and sworn in?
No. The AG said the trustee's new term began July 1, 1999, after her prior term ended June 30, even though she was reelected and sworn in during May. An early oath did not accelerate the statutory term.
Could South Carolina responders compel a blood test after exposure to contaminated saliva?
The AG said testing probably could be compelled under § 44-29-230 for a person under arrest or in qualifying custody, subject to the statute's conditions. It could not recommend applying the law to…
Could South Carolina compel a blood test when an exposed person's source refused consent?
The AG said compulsory testing probably was available for an arrestee or a person in qualifying custody under § 44-29-230, if its conditions were met. It cautioned against extending the law to every…
Could Florence City Council give a zoning amendment first reading before the public hearing?
Yes. The AG said Florence could give the proposed zoning amendment a first reading before the planning commission's public hearing, provided the hearing occurred before the second reading that…
Could a South Carolina attorney use the mortgage-satisfaction statute to release only part of the property?
No. The AG said the mortgage-satisfaction provision did not address releasing only part of the collateral when the mortgage was not paid in full. Whether a partial release could be made through an…
Would South Carolina's AG settle a boundary dispute between a special district and another local government?
No. The AG's office said it generally did not advise or intervene in boundary disputes between a special district and another political subdivision, regardless of when the district was created.…
Did members of a South Carolina county disabilities board have to be U.S. citizens?
The AG said a member of the York County Board of Disabilities and Special Needs held public office and, under its reading of the state constitution, had to be a U.S. citizen to be properly…
Could a South Carolina municipal judge run for county solicitor while still serving as a judge?
The AG found no statute or constitutional provision barring a municipal judge from seeking the solicitor’s office. It declined to decide whether judicial conduct rules created a conflict and…
Could the Irmo-Chapin Recreation District build and operate Saluda Shoals Park?
Yes. Based on the facts presented, the AG concluded that the district’s statutory powers to establish and operate recreational facilities covered Saluda Shoals Park, and the law supplied funding…
Did South Carolina officers have to record a DUI arrest when the arresting car had no camera?
In 1999, the AG said the arresting officer did not have to produce a tape from a patrol car that was not yet camera-equipped. Backup officers with cameras should begin recording on arrival, but a…
Could a South Carolina business owner be charged when minors bought cigarettes from an unsupervised vending machine?
Yes. The AG said the tobacco-sales statute covered a business owner who furnished cigarettes to minors through an unsupervised vending machine; using a machine did not avoid possible misdemeanor liability.
Could the Florence County Fire Board hold title to land in its own name?
The AG could not give a definitive yes or no. The district’s enabling act did not expressly grant a power to own land, though its authority to build fire equipment housing might imply that power;…
Could South Carolina make future private building-code revisions law automatically?
No. The AG said South Carolina could adopt existing national codes by reference and authorize agencies to adopt them under a stated legislative policy, but could not make unknown future revisions…
Where could fraudulent checks be prosecuted in South Carolina, and could the payee sue?
The AG said the possible prosecution belonged in Lexington County if the checks were issued or delivered there. On the stated amounts, general sessions court appeared appropriate, and the payees…
Could Goose Creek recreation commissioners remain in office after new boundaries placed them outside the district?
The AG said a commissioner whose residence fell outside the district after boundary changes vacated the office by operation of law. The member could act as a de facto officer until a replacement was…
Was a South Carolina defendant still entitled to a preliminary hearing after a grand jury indictment?
No. The AG pointed to Rule 2, which said a preliminary hearing would not be held if the defendant was indicted by a grand jury before the hearing. It also cited a state appeals decision applying that rule.
Could a South Carolina magistrate jail a defendant repeatedly for unpaid restitution?
The AG said contempt could be a remedy for failing to pay court-ordered restitution, especially when a person could pay but refused. For an indigent defendant, the court could use a payment schedule…
Could South Carolina’s Legislative Audit Council audit a county water and sewer district?
No. The AG said the Georgetown County Water and Sewer District was a special purpose district, not a state agency within the Legislative Audit Council’s statutory audit authority. A separate law…
Could South Carolina probation conditions require reasonable searches without a warrant?
The AG said a court could likely impose a probation condition permitting reasonable warrantless searches by probation officers. The opinion stressed that the search itself needed reasonable grounds…
Could someone serve on a South Carolina county council and the State Board of Nursing at the same time?
No. The AG said both county council membership and State Board of Nursing membership were public offices for the state constitution’s dual-office prohibition, so one person could not hold both…
Could a South Carolina rural electric cooperative sell services beyond electricity?
Yes. The AG said the Rural Electric Cooperative Act did not bar cooperatives from offering other products and services, either directly or through a subsidiary. It relied on their statutory power to…
Could Chester’s water district shut off water over an unpaid city garbage fee?
The AG did not give a yes or no. After reviewing the district’s enabling law and related statutes, the office found no clear authority on the proposed water shutoff and suggested a declaratory…
Did Irmo-Chapin recreation rangers gain arrest powers from the law allowing the commission to hire them?
No. The AG said the 1997 act allowed the recreation commission to employ qualified law enforcement officers but did not itself grant arrest powers to its employees. A ranger needed an independent…
Could a South Carolina register of deeds rely on an affidavit when recording satisfaction of a lost mortgage?
Yes. The AG said the recording officer no longer had to independently determine whether the signer was the current mortgage holder when the satisfaction instrument and affidavit complied with the…
Who owned artifacts donated to South Carolina’s Confederate Relic Room?
The AG said ownership depended on the donor’s intent for each artifact. Earlier gifts generally appeared intended for the United Daughters of the Confederacy, while some later records did not…
What grounds and procedure could Georgetown County use to remove a planning commissioner?
The AG said a planning commissioner could be removed only for cause, meaning a substantial issue affecting fitness for office or the public interest. Although the act did not spell out a procedure,…
Could a hospital-owned physician network claim South Carolina’s peer-review confidentiality protection?
The AG concluded that a cardiac physician network wholly owned alongside hospitals by the same parent, sharing officers and peer-review information, would be treated as part of the hospital for…
Could a South Carolina highway patrol officer serve on a county school board at the same time?
No. The AG said both positions counted as public offices, so taking the school board seat automatically vacated the patrol office under the dual-office rule. The person could act temporarily as a de…
Did police have to remove a suspect’s name before releasing a South Carolina incident report?
No automatic deletion was required. The AG said the cited statutes did not by themselves require removing suspect information because an investigation was pending, no warrant had issued, or no…
Could an indigent South Carolina defendant remain jailed before trial longer than the maximum possible sentence?
The AG said detention beyond the possible maximum sentence raised serious statutory and equal-protection problems, especially for a person unable to post bond. A detention facility could not release…
Could a South Carolina transportation commissioner serve a second consecutive term?
No. The AG reaffirmed earlier opinions that district commissioners could not succeed themselves. A former commissioner could be elected again after representation rotated to another county for at…
Did South Carolina’s DUI breath-test video rules apply to cameras supplied by a county rather than SLED?
The AG said the 1998 breath-test videotaping statute appeared to apply only to equipment purchased and supplied by SLED. It did not read the new requirements as applying retroactively to Orangeburg…
Could South Carolina require a Social Security number to register a boat under the 1996 welfare law?
The AG concluded that the federal Privacy Act prevented South Carolina from requiring a Social Security number on a watercraft registration application. Although state law treated watercraft…
Who was responsible for providing office space for a South Carolina county magistrate in 1999?
The Attorney General's office read the law in 1999 as placing responsibility for a magistrate's office facilities on the county. It suggested that the magistrate ask the county attorney for help…
Could a South Carolina county tax a nonresident's rental property business merely because the property was inside the county?
In 1999, the AG's office said a county could impose a business license tax on a nonresident who conducted business inside the county. Whether a particular rental owner did so depended on the owner's…
Did South Carolina marriage licenses have to display Social Security numbers, and could the public see numbers on applications?
The AG's office concluded in 1999 that Social Security numbers had to be recorded on marriage-license applications, but not displayed on licenses. It said South Carolina's public-records law allowed…
When did Greer's hospitality tax apply, and could the city exempt sellers or require separate business licenses?
The AG's office said Greer's hospitality tax applied from the ordinance's October 1, 1998 effective date despite later notice to businesses, assuming no local notice rule changed that result. It…
Did four votes at a six-member Berkeley County delegation meeting validly recommend a Goose Creek Recreation Commission appointment?
Yes, under the AG's 1999 reading of the appointment act. Six of nine delegation members formed a quorum, and four affirmative votes were a majority of those present, so the person was properly…
Could South Carolina's Agriculture Commission or legislature take over the elected Agriculture Commissioner's control of the department?
The Attorney General concluded in 1999 that heading the Department of Agriculture was an essential duty of the elected, constitutional Agriculture Commissioner. The Agriculture Commission could…
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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.