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.
Which U.S.-connected corporations could South Carolina retirement systems invest in, and did the 1998 law permit investment-company securities?
The AG's office read the 1999 authority as allowing investment in corporations with some U.S. presence whose securities met the specified exchange or quotation condition; U.S. incorporation alone…
Could Blackville's mayor also serve as a state correctional officer, and were his mayoral acts void?
The AG's office said simultaneous service as Blackville mayor and a state correctional officer violated South Carolina's dual-office prohibition. Taking the second office vacated the first by law,…
Would a South Carolina bill barring uninsured drivers from recovering noneconomic or economic crash damages be constitutional?
The AG's office said a proposed bar on uninsured owners' or drivers' noneconomic damages was not clearly unconstitutional, citing similar California legislation upheld in court. It discussed adding…
Was South Carolina’s proposed statewide-provider rule for cosmetology continuing-education courses unconstitutional?
The AG’s office could not conclude in 1999 that the proposed rule was constitutionally suspect. It thought a rational basis might support a statewide-provider limit and said administrative duties…
Were laws making driving above a stated blood-alcohol limit an offense unconstitutional on due-process or equal-protection grounds?
The AG’s office concluded in 1999 that per se blood-alcohol driving offenses were constitutional under the cases it surveyed. It said such laws define prohibited conduct, leave prosecutors with the…
Could South Carolina’s governor remove Santee Cooper directors before their seven-year terms expired?
The Attorney General concluded in 1999 that the governor had doubtful authority to replace sitting Santee Cooper directors before their terms ended. He read the authority’s specific law as reserving…
Could police use a bench warrant to enter the defendant’s home or a third party’s home to make an arrest?
The AG’s office said a bench warrant carried the same Fourth Amendment protections as an arrest warrant. Officers could enter the defendant’s home on a valid warrant with reason to believe the…
Could a school-district youth counselor serve on the same district’s board while his work remained under district control?
The AG’s office thought a court would likely find the counselor’s simultaneous board service incompatible under common-law master-servant principles because the district supervised and funded part…
Did a South Carolina lender need a mortgage-broker license if it closed loans in its own name or sold all conventional loans to federally regulated lenders?
The AG’s office said no under the 1998 mortgage-broker law for a business that only closed loans in its own name rather than arranging loans for others. It also described an exemption for an…
Who had rights to vending-machine proceeds in South Carolina school-district administrative buildings: employees or the Commission for the Blind?
The AG’s office did not decide which side was entitled to the proceeds. It found the statute ambiguous on whether separate school-district administrative buildings counted as exempt public schools,…
Could one person serve on North Myrtle Beach’s zoning appeals board and the Horry County Higher Education Commission?
No, according to the AG’s 1999 opinion. It classified both positions as public offices exercising sovereign authority, so concurrent service would violate South Carolina’s constitutional prohibition…
Could Aiken County’s forfeited-land commission deduct cleanup settlement and legal expenses before distributing land-sale proceeds?
The AG’s office said in 1999 that attorney fees and a settlement needed to complete a forfeited-land sale could qualify as expense warrants deducted before proceeds were divided. The commission had…
Could a nonlawyer county treasurer represent the county in South Carolina magistrate’s court?
The AG’s office said a South Carolina Supreme Court decision allowing nonlawyer representatives for business entities gave support for a magistrate to allow a county treasurer or deputy to appear…
Could South Carolina let coastal counties opt out of a statewide casino-cruise ban while satisfying the federal Johnson Act?
The AG’s office warned in 1999 that a bill allowing coastal localities to suspend a statewide casino-cruise ban might fail the federal Johnson Act’s state-statute requirement. It also considered the…
Did housing and caring for seized animals automatically entitle a humane organization to half of an animal-cruelty fine?
No automatic entitlement followed from housing animals, the AG’s office said in 1999. The trial court had to decide on the case’s facts whether a local nonprofit humane organization was materially…
Who could be liable if South Carolina police spike strips injured an innocent person during a chase?
The 1999 AG letter gave no automatic liability rule. It said responsibility would turn on the particular facts, including whether the officers’ use of the device was objectively reasonable; possible…
Did South Carolina police have to give a detention center each victim’s contact information when booking a suspect?
Yes, under the provision the AG quoted in 1999. When an agency arrested or detained a person accused of an offense involving a victim, it had to give the custodial facility each victim’s name,…
What did South Carolina rental-car ads have to disclose about airport surcharges in 1999?
The AG read the 1999 law to require clear disclosure of any airport surcharge that did not apply to every rental customer, as a specific fee or range, and the method for avoiding it. He said a court…
Did South Carolina’s ban on correctional-staff sexual intercourse with inmates include oral or anal sex in 1999?
The AG read the term broadly in 1999, beyond penile-vaginal intercourse, to include oral and anal intercourse. He also read “inmate” to include people held before trial. The letter did not…
Could a South Carolina county council give its members bonuses or automatic annual pay increases?
The 1999 AG letter said bonuses without a preexisting legal or contractual obligation were inappropriate, and it read the salary statute as barring automatic increases without a new ordinance and…
Could a South Carolina school board promote a student after an appeal despite assessment results below standard?
The 1999 AG letter did not resolve that question. It said the Education Accountability Act preserved a district appeal process but did not define how broadly an appeal could consider factors beyond…
Would a proposed South Carolina ban on casino cruises require compensation to existing boat owners?
The 1999 AG letter said available authorities supported the view that a proposed ban would not create a compensable taking, but only a court could decide on specific facts. The office took no…
Did a Clarendon County charter school need county school-board approval after the district board approved its application?
The 1999 AG letter said no county-board approval was required under the charter statutes it reviewed. The local school district board handled the application and the approved charter was filed with…
Could Clemson’s law-enforcement director also serve as mayor of Easley under South Carolina’s dual-office rule?
The 1999 AG letter thought the constitutional constable exception would allow both positions because the director’s law-enforcement powers came solely from a state constable commission. It also…
Could South Carolina towns impose a 3% business license tax only on telecom companies?
The AG said the described 3% telecom tax was constitutionally suspect because municipalities supplied no rational basis for its large disparity from other business rates. It also said a court would…
Could Miller force South Carolina beer distributors to litigate in Wisconsin or lose their franchises?
The AG said South Carolina beer law would prevail over conflicting terms in Miller’s proposed distributor agreement. It concluded that refusal to accept an exclusive Wisconsin venue clause or…
Could Allendale County base its school tax cap on last year’s budget instead of last year’s millage?
The AG read the 1992 local act to base the cap on the preceding year’s millage, plus the specified inflation factor and up to four additional mills. It said the county auditor had a ministerial duty…
Could a South Carolina drug task force sell forfeited vehicles for salvage and keep the proceeds?
The AG said the county should dispose of the forfeited vehicles through its ordinary surplus-property procedures. The sale proceeds would go into the law enforcement agency’s special drug-forfeiture fund.
Could South Carolina deny commercial fishing licenses to residents of states that restrict South Carolina fishers?
The AG repeated its view that the reciprocity provision was constitutionally suspect but said agencies should continue following it until a court or the Legislature acted. Because the constituent…
Could South Carolina’s Education Oversight Committee review and approve state education decisions?
The AG concluded that the 1998 Education Accountability Act’s oversight and approval duties for an appointed committee were constitutional, even where they affected the elected superintendent and…
Could a Fountain Inn mayor replace standing council committee members during the mayor’s term?
The AG said the city ordinance gave standing committee members a term lasting through the mayor’s term, so the mayor’s ability to replace them was severely limited. The city council could amend the…
Could the public inspect adoption records or indexes held by a South Carolina court clerk?
No. The AG said adoption papers and records filed with the clerk were confidential and that this covered indexes in the clerk’s custody. The statute allowed inspection only on a court order for good cause.
Did South Carolina sheriffs have general law-enforcement authority outside their own counties?
No. The AG said a sheriff’s territorial authority was ordinarily confined to the county of election, even though sheriffs were classified as state officers for some purposes. Specific statutes and…
Did unclassified employees of South Carolina commodity boards keep state grievance rights?
The AG deferred to the state Office of Human Resources’ conclusion that unclassified commodity-board employees did not lose their grievance rights. The letter did not independently analyze those…
Could a Johns Island resident serve on the St. John’s Fire Commission after the property was annexed into Charleston?
No, if annexation placed the person outside the fire district. The AG said the 1978 act required a Johns Island commissioner to be both an island resident and a qualified elector of the fire…
Could someone buy a South Carolina garage’s storage lien and claim the uncollected vehicle?
The AG doubted that a repair or storage lien could be assigned to a third party under the then-current statute without court or legislative approval. It advised against the proposed transfer until…
Could a county election-board member attend a fundraiser for candidates whose election the member oversaw?
No, if the member knowingly attended a fundraiser benefiting candidates whose election was within the member’s jurisdiction. The AG said the statute made such a member subject to removal, and the…
How were South Carolina’s one-percent fire-insurance tax proceeds divided among fire departments?
The AG said qualifying organized fire departments received shares calculated under §23-9-420 using the assessed value of real-estate improvements in their service areas. It referred the county…
When did Lake City’s newly elected mayor take office after the incumbent died before the term ended?
The AG said the election winner would take office when the new four-year mayoral term legally began, assuming other requirements were met. The letter did not identify the exact date and referred…
Did a South Carolina county veterans affairs officer qualify for county personnel policies and grievance rights?
The AG said a court would likely find that county veterans affairs officers were outside the “county employee” category covered by the county personnel-policy statute. A 1966 opinion calling them…
Did South Carolina require rental-car airport surcharges and ways to avoid them to appear in rental agreements?
The AG read the then-current disclosure requirement as applying to advertisements of rental rates, not to rental agreements. The letter expressly limited its answer to that legal question and did…
Could a South Carolina county transportation committee pay members for attending meetings?
No. The AG said the committee statute did not authorize member salaries or per diem payments, so it could not pay the proposed per-meeting amounts. It allowed limited reasonable administrative…
Could a South Carolina merchant charge a bad-check writer for the bank fee imposed on the merchant, on top of the payee service charge?
The 1998 opinion treated the $25 payee service charge as the exclusive charge for processing a dishonored check. A bank fee imposed on the merchant could be covered by that charge, but the AG…
Did South Carolina’s School Safety Act let a Fort Mill police officer work at schools outside the town limits?
No. The 1998 opinion found no grant of general law-enforcement jurisdiction outside Fort Mill in the School Safety Act. It pointed instead to specific pursuit authority or an authorized agreement…
When did a South Carolina prisoner serving over three months enter state custody, and who had to arrange pickup?
The 1998 opinion said the prisoner entered Department of Corrections custody upon sentencing for more than three months. After notice, the department had to arrange pickup with reasonable…
Could a South Carolina magistrate court fund its operations and salaries from criminal fees it collected?
The 1998 AG opinion said a proposal to pay magistrate-court expenses, salaries and benefits from its own criminal fees and assessments would face constitutional difficulties. It did not decide the…
Could Marion County cut a magistrate’s pay after a city ended its municipal-court stipend?
The AG did not decide whether the county could reduce this magistrate’s pay. Its 1998 opinion said the statute protected salary during tenure, but whether the ended municipal-court stipend counted…
Did South Carolina’s 24-hour bond-hearing rule also require a probable-cause hearing within 24 hours after a warrantless arrest?
No. In 1998, the AG read the 24-hour rule as governing bond hearings for bailable offenses, not as replacing the separate probable-cause rule after warrantless arrest. The opinion said jail…
Could a South Carolina concealed-weapons permit holder carry a pistol in a purse or briefcase?
The 1998 AG opinion advised against prosecuting a valid concealed-weapons permit holder merely for carrying a pistol in a purse, handbag or briefcase under the holder’s control. It found the…
Could a South Carolina magistrate also serve on the Commission for Minority Affairs?
The 1998 AG opinion said simultaneous service was most probably allowed under the state constitution’s dual-office rule because commission membership was most probably not a public office. It also…
Are a South Carolina legislative delegation’s records and its members’ working papers open under FOIA?
The 1998 AG opinion said records held by a legislative delegation had to be assessed under FOIA’s public-record definition and disclosed unless exempt. It said individual legislators’ memoranda,…
Could a golf cart cross a South Carolina primary highway between parts of a golf course under the old golf-cart permit law?
The 1998 opinion said a golf cart crossing a primary highway was being operated on that highway. The then-current golf-cart permit provision covered secondary roads under stated conditions and…
What did Aiken County have to disclose and how did it appoint its elections executive director in 1998?
The 1998 opinion said the delegation had to disclose materials for at least the final three applicants and the number considered, subject to specified exemptions. The executive director required…
Did a South Carolina town owe police-academy training reimbursement after hiring an officer who left another town over working conditions?
The 1998 AG opinion said the later hiring town still owed statutory training reimbursement when it hired the officer within the specified period. The officer’s reasons for leaving the first…
Could a South Carolina House member also work as a public-school substitute teacher?
Yes, according to this 1998 opinion. The AG said earlier opinions had found no state statutory or constitutional bar to a legislator also serving as a teacher or other school-district employee, so…
Did public officials holding ex officio seats on the Walterboro-Colleton Airport Commission violate South Carolina’s dual-office ban?
The 1998 AG opinion said no. The officials held airport-commission seats by virtue of their existing offices, and the opinion treated all five seats, including the elected city-council seat, as ex…
Could South Carolina’s Budget and Control Board require every state agency to title land in the state’s name?
The 1998 opinion doubted the Board could impose a universal state-name titling rule, especially where an agency had express power to hold title in its own name. It said a carefully drafted statute…
Which 1998 South Carolina misdemeanor convictions were excluded from expungement, and did the three-year wait apply to older convictions?
The 1998 opinion read the “enhanced penalties” exclusion as applying to specified Title 50 offenses, not all offenses with repeat-offender penalties. It also reaffirmed the AG’s view that the…
Could South Carolina’s Juvenile Parole Board share a juvenile’s records with other agencies to make release decisions?
The 1998 AG opinion said the Juvenile Parole Board could release juvenile records to other agencies when necessary and appropriate to coordinate services and carry out parole or discharge decisions.…
Could a South Carolina school district require binding student enrollment promises with a charter-school application?
The 1998 opinion found nothing in the Charter School Act requiring students to make binding attendance commitments when a charter application was filed. It expressly declined to decide whether the…
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.