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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Do local South Carolina Foster Care Review Board volunteers get mileage and per diem for community events, virtual trainings, or driving across town to attend a virtual case review in person?
Local Foster Care Review Board volunteers can receive mileage, per diem, and subsistence only for attending board meetings, not for community events. Virtual trainings may or may not qualify depending…
After the 2025 amendment, does the Clarendon County School District board still set its own budget and millage, or does county council have to approve them?
County Council must approve. The 2025 amendment stripped the Clarendon County School District board's prior 'total fiscal autonomy' and now requires the board to submit its budget to County Council, w…
Do South Carolina magistrate's constables count as 'law enforcement officers,' and does the magistrate's office have to comply with LETC minimum standards for law enforcement agencies?
No. A magistrate's constable is not a 'law enforcement officer' under S.C. Code § 23-23-10(E)(1), so the magistrate's office is not a 'law enforcement agency' subject to LETC minimum standards under §…
If someone buys an oceanfront SC property whose existing structure violates current setback rules, tears it down, and subdivides the lot into two, do the new properties keep the old nonconforming status or have to meet current rules?
Subdividing alone does not end nonconforming status. A court would likely require an express ordinance provision to find that subdividing a property terminates its nonconforming status, and Surfside B…
Can a South Carolina commodity board hold its producer assessment funds in its own outside bank account against the Agriculture Commission's instructions, and what can the Commission do about it?
No. A South Carolina commodity board cannot hold assessment funds in an external account without the Agriculture Commission's approval. If a board does so against the Commission's instructions, the Co…
Can a South Carolina city hire a law firm (rather than a single attorney) to be its city attorney on a contract basis, and if a lawyer at the firm also sits on a school board, does that violate dual-office-holding rules?
Yes to both. Under S.C. Code § 5-7-230 and Home Rule, a SC municipality can contract with a law firm to serve as outside city attorney for civil matters only. Because the retention is by contract (no …
Can South Carolina ETV claim the revenue from a National Guard cell tower lease under a budget proviso that gives it general authority to coordinate state tower operations?
No. Budget Proviso § 8.4's general directive that SC ETV 'coordinate' state tower and antenna operations does not give ETV the revenue from the Adjutant General's Fort Mill cell tower lease. The speci…
Does South Carolina's Family Privacy Protection Act force a state licensing agency to hand over licensees' personal email addresses to a trade association that wants to promote continuing-education classes?
No. South Carolina's Family Privacy Protection Act does not require the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation to release licensees' personal email addresses, even when a third party says it wa…
Can a South Carolina county put a transportation sales tax referendum on the ballot in an odd-numbered year, or does the 'time of the general election' language in § 4-37-30(A)(2) limit it to even-numbered federal election years?
Either is allowed. The county transportation sales tax referendum required by S.C. Code § 4-37-30(A)(2) to be held 'at the time of the general election' can take place in an odd-numbered November as w…
Do members of a South Carolina county library board of trustees have to take the constitutional oath of office?
Yes. Members of the Charleston County Library Board of Trustees hold public office under the South Carolina Constitution, so they must take and subscribe the oath of office prescribed by Article VI, S…
Can a South Carolina county stop a city from annexing nearby land, and do cities have to coordinate annexation with the county's comprehensive plan?
Mostly no. The Attorney General explained that annexation is controlled by the General Assembly, which has 'complete power' over municipal boundaries. Outside the protest and challenge mechanisms in T…
Can a car manufacturer like Scout Motors sell vehicles directly to consumers in South Carolina, bypassing franchised dealers?
No. South Carolina's franchise law (S.C. Code Ann. § 56-15-45) makes it unlawful for a manufacturer to sell vehicles directly to consumers in the state. New cars can be sold only through a licensed de…
Can a South Carolina state agency or public university agree to indemnify or 'hold harmless' another party in a contract?
No, not without express statutory authority. The Attorney General reaffirmed its longstanding position (dating to 1966) that a state agency has no authority to enter indemnification or 'hold harmless'…
In a South Carolina mayor-council town, can the mayor hire a deputy administrator without council approval, and can the council cut the budget to block it?
The Attorney General concluded that in a mayor-council form of government, the mayor has broad authority under § 5-9-30(1) to appoint municipal employees, and because no statute governs a deputy/assis…
Can a South Carolina county bill a city for 911 dispatch and for housing the city's inmates, even though the county already collects 911 fees and taxes residents?
It depends on whether there is a cost-sharing agreement. The Attorney General said it cannot decide whether a particular county bill is authorized because that turns on facts. But the Constitution and…
Does South Carolina's Procurement Code apply when a private developer builds student housing and a university foundation manages it for a fee?
Probably not. The Attorney General agreed that, on the facts presented, a court would most likely find the South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code inapplicable. A private developer builds and fin…
Does a written trespass notice turn later shoplifting into third-degree burglary in South Carolina?
A trespass warning does not by itself void the 'without consent' element of third-degree burglary, but it can be used as evidence that a person who later entered a store did so without consent. In the…
Can you drive a golf cart on a US highway like Main Street (US 178) in South Carolina?
No. Under § 56-2-105, a permitted golf cart may be driven only on a secondary highway or street with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or less, within set distance limits. Because the Main Street stretch…
Can a South Carolina city hire a private company to write and collect parking tickets?
No, in the AG's view. Enforcing parking ordinances is an exercise of a city's police power, and South Carolina local governments cannot delegate police powers to a private entity without constitutiona…
Can South Carolina police still charge students who fight at school under a city disorderly conduct ordinance?
Probably yes for the 'fighting' part, in the AG's view. Federal courts struck down South Carolina's disorderly conduct statute (§ 16-17-530) as unconstitutionally vague as applied to students, but Roc…
Can South Carolina keep its inmate phone-call surcharge that funds cell phone interdiction under the new FCC rule?
The AG would not answer directly, because interpreting the federal FCC rule and the Martha Wright-Reed Act is outside the scope of its opinions. It noted that if the FCC or a court treats South Caroli…
Can a South Carolina county sponsor a private dam owner's FEMA grant if it means spending public money to maintain private property?
Probably not without a real public purpose, the AG concluded. If Oconee County sponsors the privately owned Chattooga Lake Dam's FEMA HHPD grant, it must commit to operate and maintain the dam, and sp…
Can South Carolina police use a search warrant form other than the state's official SCCA 513 form?
Only if it matches the official form exactly. Section 17-13-160 requires all search warrants to use the form approved by the Attorney General, which is SCCA 513. The AG confirmed police may create the…
Do you pay the Infrastructure Maintenance Fee or sales tax when you buy a trailer in South Carolina?
It depends on whether the trailer must be registered with the DMV. The AG agreed that 'for hire' means hauling someone else's property for pay, not just any business use, so a privately owned trailer …
Who enforces the rules when a South Carolina rural telephone cooperative ignores its own bylaws?
The AG concluded that bylaw and corporate-formality problems at a rural telephone cooperative generally fall outside the Public Service Commission and Office of Regulatory Staff, whose authority cover…
How must the SC High School League apply the new 2024-25 budget provisos on appeals, forfeit fines, and private-school enrollment?
The AG concluded that under Proviso 1.49, an appeal stays all sanctions pending the outcome, even minimum sanctions, because the language draws no distinction. For forfeited-game fines, the League may…
Are hemp-derived THC drinks legal to sell in South Carolina?
Yes, as a matter of statute. The 2018 federal Farm Bill and South Carolina's 2019 Hemp Farming Act make non-alcoholic beverages legal if their delta-9 THC concentration is 0.3% or less on a dry weight…
Can you drive a UTV (utility task vehicle) on public roads in South Carolina?
Not as the law stood in 2024, in most cases. The Attorney General would not rule on the specific person's situation because that turns on facts, but it explained that SCDMV may refuse to register or l…
How is the 50% farm-income rule for South Carolina's Working Farmland Protection Fund measured?
Across all the owner's farmland, not parcel by parcel. The Attorney General read § 48-59-150(B) so that a landowner meets the requirement to derive at least fifty percent of his income from farming by…
If I move before a primary runoff, can I still vote in it in South Carolina?
No, not in the race you moved out of. The Attorney General concluded that a voter who was eligible in a primary but changes his residence to a spot inside the same county yet outside the runoff's dist…
Does a city police department have jurisdiction at a county detention center in South Carolina?
Generally no, the county sheriff does. The Attorney General would not answer the exact question because jurisdiction depends on the facts, but it explained that a municipal officer's authority usually…
Who has to update voter records after a South Carolina town redraws its ward map?
The town's municipal election commission. The Attorney General concluded that when a South Carolina municipality with its own election commission adopts a new redistricting map, that commission is the…
Is South Carolina's Robert Smalls Monument Commission a state agency, and is the monument a public purpose?
Yes on both. The Attorney General confirmed that the Robert Smalls Monument Commission, created by Act 183 of 2024, is an agency of the State of South Carolina, and that its job, designing a monument …
Does a South Carolina town have to accept a subdivision's roads, and who maintains them?
A town does not have to accept them, but if it does, it has to maintain them. The Attorney General concluded that accepting a proposed dedication of subdivision roads is discretionary; a municipality …
Can the SC Ports Authority sell land held under a deed saying 'for exclusively public purposes'?
Yes, in the office's view. The Attorney General concluded that the phrase 'for exclusively public purposes' in the 1957 deed conveying Charleston waterfront land to the State was ambiguous and, on the…
Can a religious-affiliated organization be denied public funding just for being religious?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution prevents a government from denying a religiously affiliated institution generally available public funding sol…
Can a city council get legal advice outside a public meeting and bind future councils to a city attorney's term?
On the open-meetings question, yes; on binding future councils, no. The Attorney General concluded the Freedom of Information Act does not restrict a city council or its members to requesting legal ad…
Can a special-purpose district's executive director also serve as a soil and water conservation commissioner in South Carolina?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that serving at the same time as Executive Director of the Chester Metropolitan District and as a commissioner of the Chester Soil and Water Conservation District d…
Can a South Carolina county use a special tax district to pay for private road maintenance?
It can set up the district, but not to pay for private roads. The Attorney General concluded that a county may create a special tax district to fund road construction and maintenance if it follows the…
Can a school board close a school by quietly defunding it in the budget?
Maybe not without proper notice. The Attorney General agreed a board of education has authority to close and consolidate schools, but flagged a real FOIA problem with how the Berkeley County board did…
Under South Carolina's 2023 bond reform, can a defendant pay a bail premium in installments?
Yes, with $100 down. The Attorney General resolved a dispute between a Greenwood judge and the clerk of court over the 2023 bond reform law (§ 38-53-170(e)). A bondsman must charge a minimum premium o…
When is a nonprofit a 'public body' subject to South Carolina's FOIA because it gets public money?
It depends on how the public money flows. The Attorney General concluded the Uptown Greenwood Local Development Corporation is not a FOIA public body just because it gets accommodations-tax (A-Tax) fu…
Are police body camera videos and cleared misconduct records public under South Carolina's FOIA?
Mostly no. The Attorney General told the Criminal Justice Academy that video and audio recordings can count as public records in general, but body-worn camera footage is specifically not a FOIA public…
Can South Carolina school staff move budget money mid-year without board approval?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a school board cannot let district employees make mid-year budget transfers without the board's approval. Setting and maintaining the budget is a discretionary …
Can a South Carolina county spend tax money to maintain private dirt roads?
No, and a workaround through a charity won't fix it. The Attorney General reaffirmed that public funds, including ad valorem taxes, cannot be used to maintain private roads because that serves no publ…
Are lottery ticket delivery (courier) services legal in South Carolina?
The law doesn't say, and it's the Lottery Commission's call. The Attorney General concluded that the South Carolina Education Lottery Act neither expressly prohibits nor authorizes lottery courier ser…
Can someone become a South Carolina probate judge without a college degree or four years' experience in a probate office?
Yes. The 1988 amendment to S.C. Code § 14-23-1040 that added a four-year-degree or four-years'-experience requirement for probate judges was objected to by the U.S. Justice Department under the Voting…
Can South Carolina set up a state employee payroll deduction to pay for a workplace wellness program?
The Attorney General did not decide whether a wellness plan counts as the kind of 'insurance' the Comptroller General could deduct for under S.C. Code § 8-11-80; that call belongs to the Comptroller G…
Do South Carolina charter school board members have to be registered voters, or is living in the state enough?
Residency alone is likely not enough. The Attorney General concluded a court would probably find charter school board members are public officers, so under Article XVII, Section 1 of the South Carolin…
Can a South Carolina county council tell the sheriff's deputies what to do at council meetings, and can deputies use force to enforce public comment rules?
Probably not, on both counts. The Attorney General concluded a court would likely find a county council's limited authority over elected officials does not extend to giving direct orders to the sherif…
How do the two-term limit and holdover rules work for South Carolina Commission on Higher Education appointments?
The Attorney General concluded the two-consecutive-term limit in S.C. Code § 59-103-10(1) applies to all ten Commission on Higher Education members the Governor appoints under that subsection, both co…
Does federal law let a military spouse keep using an out-of-state professional license in South Carolina without meeting state licensing requirements?
Likely yes where the laws conflict, but the Attorney General would not formally bless any specific approach. It explained that Section 19 of the federal VAEIA (50 U.S.C. § 4025a) requires recognizing …
Does a South Carolina city have to give public notice before annexing land by petition, and who checks the petitions?
The Attorney General would not rule on whether the City of Chester's specific annexation was legal, because that turns on facts it cannot resolve. As a matter of general law, it explained that the two…
Can a South Carolina county extend a local sales tax past its 20-year limit on its own, or does it need the Legislature?
It needs the Legislature. The Attorney General concluded that Clarendon County's 1% sales and use tax, authorized by Act 355 of 2004 for its school districts, is capped by the Act's plain language at …
Who decides whether a police recruit has a valid South Carolina driver's license, and does part-time living in another state break residency?
The Attorney General would not decide whether the specific living arrangement described in the request established South Carolina residency, because residency is a fact question the office cannot reso…
Can a South Carolina county council keep a citizen-initiated ordinance off the ballot after refusing to pass it?
Generally no. The Attorney General concluded that under S.C. Code § 4-9-1210, qualified electors can petition (with signatures from at least 15% of the county's electors) to have an ordinance adopted,…
Does moving an expelled student to an alternative school when they're readmitted count as double jeopardy?
No. The Attorney General concluded that penalties from school disciplinary proceedings under § 59-63-210(A), including expulsion and reassignment, are civil rather than criminal, so the Double Jeopard…
Did South Carolina's 2023 change to the Sexually Violent Predator Act lower the standard for civil commitment?
No. The Attorney General concluded the 2023 amendment defining 'likely to engage in acts of sexual violence' as 'predisposed' and 'more probably than not' did not change the burden of proof, which rem…
Do South Carolina public colleges have to let service-animals-in-training on campus, and can they set rules for them?
The Attorney General concluded that basic puppy raising, obedience, and house training do not make a dog an 'assistance or guide dog in training'; the dog must be learning to do tasks for a disabled p…
Can you collect ballot-petition signatures near a polling place in South Carolina, or does the 500-foot rule ban it?
You can. The Attorney General concluded that S.C. Code § 7-25-180, read narrowly as it has been for decades, prohibits only distributing campaign literature and placing political posters within 500 fe…
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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.