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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Did Class 3 South Carolina officers have authority to carry firearms on duty?
The 2021 South Carolina AG declined a formal answer while the Law Enforcement Training Council reviewed Class 3 officers’ duties. It said certification alone did not settle every role’s firearm authority.
After a South Carolina DUI suspect refused a chemical test, could police seek a blood-draw warrant?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said the implied-consent statute did not bar a search warrant for a blood sample after refusal. It also said refusal still required license suspension or denial even…
How did South Carolina’s anatomical-gift law balance organ donation with a coroner’s investigation?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said coroners should cooperate with procurement organizations to fulfill donors’ wishes without compromising their investigative duties. It said a good-faith immunity…
Did an independent college chartered before 1962 need to offer bachelor’s degrees before 1962 to qualify for tuition grants?
The 2021 South Carolina AG said the definition was ambiguous: a college chartered before 1962 might or might not need pre-1962 bachelor’s instruction. It expected courts to defer to a reasonable…
Could a South Carolina county require an affidavit before fulfilling a public-records request?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said a public body could not make an affidavit a precondition to a FOIA response. A separate privacy law required notice and reasonable measures against commercial…
Did South Carolina have to verify immigration status for its COVID rent and mortgage assistance program?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG viewed the federally funded program as a public benefit potentially subject to verification, but left its emergency-relief exemption unresolved. It advised seeking HUD…
Could Richland County make operating a nuisance business a crime and close it under its ordinance?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said the county could regulate nuisance businesses, but a court might invalidate the ordinance’s new criminal penalty or its undefined business-license discretion.…
Could a South Carolina town council member also serve on the town planning commission?
No under the law analyzed in 2021. The South Carolina AG said both positions were public offices and the planning statute separately barred commission members from holding elected municipal office.
Could a Bamberg County coroner also sit on the county planning commission?
The South Carolina AG concluded in 2021 that simultaneous service as county coroner and county planning commissioner violated both constitutional and statutory dual-office rules.
Can a South Carolina licensing board hold a FOIA meeting through a group email exchange?
The 2021 South Carolina AG said a quorum actively discussing board business by email could constitute a FOIA meeting. Scheduling replies alone likely would not; a message to one member would not.
Could a South Carolina school district keep two percent of state funding for a charter school it sponsored?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG said the two-percent administrative fee applied to the state Public Charter School District, not local district sponsors. It said local sponsors needed negotiated…
Could a South Carolina county or city collect overdue assessments for a private homeowners association?
In 2021, the South Carolina AG doubted that local governments could collect HOA assessments serving only private owners. It said a court would likely question the public purpose, but left any…
Did dividing or combining South Carolina parcels trigger a new property tax appraisal without a sale or change in use?
The 2021 South Carolina AG said parcel subdivision or combination alone did not create an assessable transfer when ownership and use stayed the same. It left proportional appraisal-cap questions…
Could a Pine Ridge town council member also serve on South Carolina’s Respiratory Care Committee?
Yes under the law analyzed in 2021. The South Carolina AG said the committee only advised the medical board and did not exercise sovereign power, so its membership was not a second public office.
Did South Carolina FOIA bar citizens from speaking privately with one board member about nondisciplinary matters?
No. The 2021 South Carolina AG said FOIA did not confine citizen contact with individual public-body members to open meetings. Separate rules could restrict certain communications, including…
Did Santee Cooper need a legislative act to sell an outdoor lighting system to a homeowners association?
The 2020 South Carolina AG thought legislative approval likely was unnecessary for a lighting system outside electricity generation, transmission, or distribution. It could not decide whether the…
Could a disabled veteran’s surviving spouse claim the South Carolina home-tax exemption if the veteran never owned the house?
The 2020 South Carolina AG said no under the statute and agency decisions it analyzed. It read the exemption as requiring the veteran’s ownership and prior approved exemption before a spouse could…
Could a Richland County council member also serve on the South Carolina First Steps board?
Yes under the constitutional dual-office analysis in 2020. The South Carolina AG treated county council as a public office but First Steps trusteeship as nonprofit-board service, and left separate…
Could a Lancaster County auditor keep serving after losing voter registration in the county?
The 2020 South Carolina AG said an elected auditor had to remain a qualified local elector. It could not verify this auditor’s status; if she had lost that qualification, the office said a vacancy…
Which court handled a bond violation, and could a South Carolina magistrate use a regular deputy for service?
In 2020, the South Carolina AG said general sessions court handled bond revocation for its charges and regular deputies could serve magistrate process under the sheriff’s responsibility. It left…
Could Beaufort County’s clerk of court also serve on the Technical College of the Lowcountry commission?
No under the 2020 South Carolina AG opinion. It said county clerk of court and area technical-college commissioner were both public offices, so simultaneous service violated the constitutional…
Did Bamberg County owe salary and insurance benefits to a council member suspended after indictment?
The 2020 South Carolina AG said a lawfully suspended council member was not entitled to compensation during suspension, including the county’s insurance contribution. It applied a state Supreme…
Could Walhalla ban public possession of firearms and ammunition during an emergency curfew?
The 2020 South Carolina AG said the draft city ban on public possession would likely be preempted by state firearms law if enacted. It did not fit the statute’s narrower exceptions for negligent…
If a South Carolina city took over fire service after annexation by petition, did it need a service-transfer plan?
The city could elect to take over the district's service in the annexed area. If it did, the AG said the transfer had to follow a statutory plan even though annexation occurred by petition;…
Did Berkeley County’s proposed parade permit ordinance satisfy free-speech protections?
The 2020 South Carolina AG thought most of the draft ordinance was defensible but flagged open-ended information demands and a permit criterion tied to audience reaction. It considered the…
Could Berkeley County lease its building to the chamber of commerce for nominal rent?
The 2020 South Carolina AG said no. It treated the chamber as a private organization and concluded the county had to require fair market rent or equivalent monetary value, including qualifying…
Did South Carolina’s emergency crowd-dispersal rule apply to guests or tenants in their own home?
The 2020 South Carolina AG said the statute’s “in their homes” exception depended on whether a person actually treated the place as home, not on ownership. It left individual residency facts…
Did an attempt to deliver contraband to a South Carolina prisoner have to occur on prison property?
No under the 2020 South Carolina AG opinion. It said the attempted-delivery statute focused on prisoners under Corrections jurisdiction and made prison-property location no element, although…
Could South Carolina transit-authority board seats reflect member contributions rather than population?
No under the 2020 South Carolina AG opinion. It said a regional transit board’s seats were apportioned by population, while joining an authority required the statutory procedure and board approval.…
How did South Carolina evaluate good moral character for an insurance producer license?
The 2020 South Carolina AG said the insurance department had to make a case-specific character finding. Relevant dishonest conduct and convictions mattered, but a pardon or conviction alone did not…
Could a South Carolina taxing jurisdiction pay a contractor a contingency fee to find unlicensed businesses?
No under the 2020 South Carolina AG opinion. It said contingency pay was authorized for collecting delinquent business-license taxes, not for other contractor services such as identifying unlicensed…
Could a South Carolina town enforce a mask ordinance at a polling place in a private building?
The 2020 South Carolina AG said the town ordinance remained enforceable within town limits, but election managers controlled order at the polls and calls for police help. A private owner could not…
Could a South Carolina county council member also work as a licensed bail bondsman?
Yes under the statute analyzed in 2020. The South Carolina AG said county council members were not among the listed disqualified people and were not public employees assigned to administering courts.
Did South Carolina FOIA require release of voted ballots, ballot images, and vote-cast records?
The Attorney General believed a court would hold that FOIA did not require production of voted ballots, scanned ballot images, or vote-cast records. Its reasoning centered on the state…
Could Myrtle Beach tourism development fees pay for city beautification?
The Attorney General concluded that the fees could be spent only on the uses listed in the statute. It could not decide whether the unspecified beautification project qualified, though it doubted…
Could a newly elected South Carolina legislator work temporarily for Folly Beach or assist its city attorney?
The Attorney General concluded that the described transition coordinator and civil-case assistant roles were employment, not public offices, so holding either while serving in the legislature did…
Could a South Carolina nonprofit hold its annual meeting online during the pandemic?
The AG said an online annual meeting complied with the statute if the nonprofit’s bylaws allowed it. If the bylaws were silent, the office believed a court could find substantial compliance, but the…
Could South Carolina counties conduct delinquent-tax sales online during COVID-19?
The AG saw a possible path for a live county tax auction with online bidding during the pandemic, but said an out-of-state hosted sale did not substantially comply with the county-location rule. It…
Did a South Carolina county need a referendum before adopting a stormwater fee?
The AG concluded that no referendum was required. It expected a court to accept a fee based on impervious surface area as reasonable and equitable, while describing notice, hearing, public-comment,…
Could a pardoned former councilmember vote and run to fill the seat he forfeited?
The AG said a pardon restored the person’s voting and public-office rights generally, but a councilmember who forfeited office for lacking a qualification during that term could not run in the…
Could a South Carolina sheriff be personally liable for spending beyond the county budget?
The AG said sheriff spending above an adopted appropriation could be unlawful, and a court could impose personal liability if it found negligence. It could not decide whether the Jasper County…
Could a Liberty councilmember also serve on a county arts foundation and chamber board?
The AG concluded that serving on both nonprofit boards while on the Liberty City Council did not violate the constitutional dual-office rule. It left possible ethics conflicts to the State Ethics…
Did Saluda County’s COVID-19 disaster declaration restrict firearms or alcohol sales?
The AG said the declaration itself only announced an emergency and copied an older ordinance’s powers; it did not impose those restrictions. The older ordinance’s firearms and governor-level…
Could a South Carolina county hold a live tax auction with online bidding during COVID-19?
The AG said the statute likely contemplated a physical sale within the county, but a court could find a live in-county auction with online bidding substantially compliant during the pandemic if…
Did South Carolina’s evidence-preservation law require police to keep an impounded car after searching it?
The 2020 South Carolina AG said a searched vehicle might itself be physical evidence in a covered case. Local authorities had to decide that question; the custodian could seek a court order for…
What did South Carolina’s Family Privacy Protection Act require counties to do with records sought for commercial solicitation?
In 2020, the South Carolina AG said counties had to give notice and take reasonable additional measures against commercial-solicitation use of personal information. It left the choice of measures to…
Could a South Carolina Lottery Commission member also serve on Spartanburg’s hospitality-tax grant committee?
Yes under the dual-office rule analyzed in 2020. The South Carolina AG said the city grant committee only recommended allocations and did not hold sovereign authority; it deferred separate ethics…
Who enforced the fire code in Orangeburg County’s unincorporated areas?
The AG expected a court to hold that the county had building and fire code enforcement responsibility in its unincorporated areas. A city or district providing fire services there did not…
Could a South Carolina judge issue a fugitive warrant for an out-of-state bench warrant or probation violation?
The AG said the judge should examine the underlying out-of-state crime and its possible punishment, rather than the bench warrant or probation violation alone. Transferred supervision under the…
Could Benedict College police arrest someone on a nearby road that did not touch campus?
The AG believed campus officers’ general jurisdiction reached roads that actually touched college property, not roads merely nearby. Off-campus authority could arise from another source, but the…
Could North Augusta remove the Meriwether Monument without action by the South Carolina legislature?
The AG said no: the monument was erected under state legislation that remained in effect, so the city needed legislative relief. It did not decide whether the Heritage Act also protected the monument.
Did a beer wholesaler’s ownership automatically bar the wholesaler’s spouse from a retail beer permit?
The AG said one spouse’s ownership did not necessarily give the other a financial interest, but the particular facts required a court. It also concluded the Department of Revenue had broad authority…
Could Bamberg County Council move a Confederate statue from the courthouse grounds on its own?
The AG said the county should not move the statue on its own. Whether the Heritage Act covered this particular monument required a court’s factual determination; legislative permission could then be…
Could South Carolina’s Real Estate Commission keep requiring Social Security number-based background checks?
The AG expected a court to say no. The amended licensing statute specified fingerprint-based checks by SLED and the FBI and removed the commission’s former authority to choose the check sources.
Could the Clarendon County legislative delegation appoint the new consolidated school board?
The AG concluded that the 2020 consolidation act expressly authorized the delegation to make the initial appointments. It saw no constitutional or Voting Rights Act preclearance bar under the…
Was in-state tuition status enough for a veteran’s child to receive free South Carolina college tuition?
The AG said no. Under the statute discussed in 2020, the child had to meet the student criteria and the veteran had to satisfy separate service and residency requirements.
Who could address patient mistreatment and staffing concerns at South Carolina mental health facilities?
The AG described layered personnel authority among hospital directors, the state director, and the Mental Health Commission. It said the commission could investigate patient-care complaints and…
Could South Carolina change the Heritage Act or a protected monument by a simple legislative majority?
The AG considered the Act generally constitutional, but said its statutory two-thirds vote rule likely could not bind a future legislature. It concluded protected monuments still needed legislative…
How long could an Anderson County appointed school trustee serve after a vacancy?
The AG said the county board’s appointee served only until an elected successor took office on January 1 after the next general election, even if the vacant seat’s original term ran longer. It…
Did environmental mitigation on Chester County land violate a deed restriction allowing commercial use?
The AG could not decide without reviewing the deed and resolving facts about the proposed use. It said conservation on the tract itself might be noncommercial, while its role in a larger development…
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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.