Opinions Archive -

May 09, 2022

Opinion on whether the purchase of small amounts of nonferrous metals for a hobby requires a permit as a secondary metals recycler pursuant to section 16-17-680 of the South Carolina Code of Laws.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Micah Caskey, Member, South Carolina house of Representatives.

May 09, 2022

Opinion on whether the House of Representative Delegation Member for Hampton County has the authority pursuant to Section 55-1-80 of the South Carolina Code of Laws to appoint an additional member to the Hampton County Airport Commission.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Shedron D. Williams, Member, South Carolina House of Representatives.

May 05, 2022

Opinion considering the allocation of fees in lieu of taxes for property located in a joint county industrial or business park to local taxing entities.

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Requested by: Requested by Alexander Sherard, Esquire, Attorney for Greenwood School District 52.

Apr 29, 2022

Opinion on the legality of booking at a local police department without a magistrate involved for certain things.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable John N. Rebolj, Chief of Police, Pelion Police Department.

Apr 29, 2022

Opinion addressing who is responsible for enforcing specific statutes in the Claims Practice Act.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Donald R. "Ryan" McCabe, Member, South Carolina House of Representatives.

Apr 28, 2022

Opinion addressing impact of Act 117 of the 124th General Assembly on senate election districts prior to the 2024 General Election.

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Requested by: Requested by Mr. Howard Knapp, Executive Director, South Carolina Election Commission.

Apr 26, 2022

Opinion addressing service of judges in the unified judicial service after age seventy-two.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Katrina F. Shealy, Member, South Carolina Senate.

Apr 22, 2022

Opinion addresses whether county code commissioners can receive second commission in an adjacent county in furtherance of an agreement for the joint administration of services.

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Requested by: Requested by Brittany L. Ward, Esquire, Deputy County Attorney for Beaufort County.

Apr 22, 2022

Opinion addresses whether someone may simultaneously serve as both a member of the Irmo-Chapin Recreation Commission and as Superintendent for the Lexington-Richland School District 5 without violating the constitutional prohibition on dual office holding.

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Requested by: Requested by Dr. Akil E. Ross Jr., Superintendent, Lexington-Richland School District 5.

Apr 20, 2022

Opinion on whether candidates are permitted to file a Statement of Intention of Candidacy/Party Pledge (SICPP) forms by mail or other remote methods.

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Requested by: Requested by Mr. Howard Knapp, Executive Director, South Carolina Election Commission.

Apr 11, 2022

Opinion on whether a vacancy was created on the Clarendon County School District Board of Trustees when the Vice Chairperson was recently elected to the position of Mayor of a local municipality.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Kevin L. Johnson, Member, South Carolina Senate.

Apr 01, 2022

Opinion on whether a circuit’s Solicitor’s Office or the Department of Juvenile Justice is the proper party to present a probation violation in family court.

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Requested by: Requested by Isaac McDuffie Stone, Chairman, South Carolina Commission on Prosecution Coordination and Mr. L. Eden Hendrick, Director, South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice.

Mar 31, 2022

Opinion addressing a county's ability to use excess funds from a prior Capital Projects Sale Tax for projects listed in the ordinance reimposing the tax.

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Requested by: Requested by Francenia B. Heizer, Esquire, Attorney for Lancaster County.

Mar 31, 2022

Update of the September 28, 2015 opinion regarding The Greenville Health Authority and its power to delegate functions to a private corporation.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Garry R. Smith, Chairman, Greenville County Legislative Delegation and The Honorable Mike Burns, Chairman, Committee on Municipal Affairs, Medical Affairs and Special Purpose Districts.

Mar 28, 2022

Opinion on infrastructure maintenance fees on short-term rentals.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Scott F. Talley, Member, South Carolina Senate.

Mar 28, 2022

Opinion addresses questions related to reduction in State Aid to Subdivisions under Section 8-15-65 of the South Carolina Code.

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Requested by: Requested by Shelly Kelly, General Counsel, Office of the State Treasurer.

Mar 25, 2022

Opinion addressing student eligibility for sports offered at the public school for which the student is zoned to attend under Proviso 1.85 of the 2021-22 State Budget.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Ross Turner, Member, South Carolina Senate.

Mar 23, 2022

Opinion addressing whether a non-profit corporation that receives state and federal funding is a "public body" according to the S.C. Freedom of Information Act.

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Requested by: Requested by W. Eric Emerson, Ph.D., Director and SHPO, South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Mar 07, 2022

Opinion addresses the expenditure of local hospitality tax revenue to purchase land for tourism-related recreational facilities and control flooding and drainage within or on tourism-related lands or areas.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Todd M. Harrelson, Mayor, City of Loris.

Mar 02, 2022

Opinion addressing the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority's role in administering South Carolina housing tax credits.

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Requested by: Requested by Tracey Easton, General Counsel, South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority.

Feb 28, 2022

Opinion addresses the compensation prohibition in S.C. Code Section 5-31-220 and whether it applies to all commissioners on boards of commissions of public works in cities of fifty thousand inhabitants or more.

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Requested by: Requested by Jennifer C. Blumenthal, attorney for the Commissioners of Public Works for the City of Charleston.

Feb 16, 2022

Opinion on a proposed City of Columbia ordinance which prohibits professional therapists from offering any form of therapy that attempts to change the sexual orientation of LGBTQ minors which violates the First Amendment.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Josh Kimbrell, Member, South Carolina Senate.

Feb 11, 2022

Opinion on the use of "off-label use medications" by treating physicians at hospitals.

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Requested by: The Honorable Shane Martin, Member, South Carolina Senate and The Honorable Bill Taylor, Member, South Carolina House of Representatives.

Jan 28, 2022

Opinion regarding prohibition against SC DNR Dep Law Enforcement Officers holding "another public office" in S.C. Code Section 50-3-315(A).

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Requested by: Requested by Colonel A. Chisolm Frampton, Deputy Director for Law Enforcement, S.C. Department of Natural Resources.

Jan 18, 2022

Opinion regarding a proposed "joint hearing" between the Public Service Commission of South Carolina and the North Carolina Utilities Commission.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Bill Sandifer, Chairman, Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee.

Jan 04, 2022

Opinion addressing limitations on what material may be attached to meeting minutes by a single member of a public body.

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Requested by: Requested by Anne Marie Green, Board Chair, Lexington County School District One.

Dec 16, 2021

Opinion addressing the vacancy appointment authority on a school district board of trustees in Spartanburg County.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Tom Corbin, Member, South Carolina Senate.

Dec 16, 2021

Opinion regarding the charging of a fire impact fee.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Gene M. Connell, Jr., Chairman, Murrells Inlet-Garden City Fire District.

Dec 14, 2021

Opinion addressing whether the Hampton Regional Medical Center is eligible to participate in the Setoff Debt Collection Program and the GEAR Program.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Charles H. "Buddy" Phillips, Chairman, Hampton County Council.

Dec 13, 2021

Opinion addressing whether a county or a county treasurer may invest county funds in a particular repurchase agreement.

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Requested by: Requested by William J. Condon, Jr., Deputy General Counsel, Office of the State Treasurer.

Nov 22, 2021

Opinion on the application of S.C. Code Ann. Section 59-63-100 as it relates to the South Carolina High School League's eligibility rules for foreign exchange students.

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Requested by: Requested by Commissioner Jerome P. Singleton, South Carolina High School League.

Nov 16, 2021

Opinion addressing the validity of a town ordinance imposing a six-month residency requirement for its mayor and council members.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Jarett Taylor, Brian Mason, Abbott Shelley and Joe Williamson, Council Members, Town of Latta.

Nov 16, 2021

Opinion addressing whether delinquent tax collectors are permitted to adopt bidder registration procedures for public tax sales.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable John Richard C. King, Member, South Carolina House of Representatives.

Nov 10, 2021

Opinion clarifying our prior opinion of September 3, 2020 which addressed a nonprofit corporation holding a member meeting through the use of remote technology.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Luke A. Rankin, Member, South Carolina Senate.

Nov 05, 2021

Opinion addressing whether a county board of voter registration and elections is authorized to designate special precincts and polling places for fire district commission elections.

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Requested by: Requested by Mr. Howard Knapp, Interim Executive Director, South Carolina Election Commission.

Nov 01, 2021

Opinion considering the constitutionality and preemption of provisos relating to magistrate's salaries in the 2020-2021 appropriations act.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Jimmy W. Gantt, Jr., Magistrate, Barnwell County.

Oct 25, 2021

Opinion on whether C-funds can be used to finance paving a road that connects a county administration building to a highway.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Kent M. Williams, Member, South Carolina Senate.

Oct 19, 2021

Opinion addressing low speed vehicle licensing and operation on South Carolina highways.

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Requested by: Requested by Chief Andrew Gilreath, Director of Public Safety, City of Folly Beach.

Oct 18, 2021

Opinion addressing whether a county may exceed the millage rate limitation established by Section 6-1-320(A) of the South Carolina Code to create a reserve account for its roads department.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Rex Rice, Member, South Carolina Senate.

Oct 08, 2021

Opinion addressing whether an entity must engage a real estate agent in order to sell property owned by the entity.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable A. Gary Simrill, Member, South Carolina House of Representatives.

Oct 07, 2021

Opinion addressing the authority of local governments to prohibit the operation of classes or sizes of a motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer on highways within their jurisdictions.

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Requested by: Requested by Mr. Michael D. Smith, Town Administrator, Town of Cheraw.

Oct 04, 2021

Opinion clarifying the application of South Carolina's Hemp Farming Act as it relates to THC and THC isomers including delta-8 THC.

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Requested by: Requested by Mark A. Keel, Chief, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Oct 04, 2021

Opinion addressing law enforcement and court jurisdiction on property leased and controlled by a municipality outside of its corporate boundaries.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Scott Stoller, Chief of Police, Town of West Pelzer

Sep 30, 2021

Opinion on whether the SC DMV can collect infrastructure maintenance fees from entities that title or register vehicles in South Carolina with the intent of using them for short-term rentals.

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Requested by: Requested by Mr. Kevin A. Shwedo, Executive Director, South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles.

Sep 22, 2021

Opinion addresses form requirements in S.C. Code Section 4-9-10(c) for a petition to change the method of election of county council members.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable William H. Bailey, Member, South Carolina House of Representatives.

Sep 16, 2021

Opinion addressing whether a business, which provides storage space to event hosts, may legally allow for the storage of alcoholic beverages and whether an individual may legally possess alcoholic beverages in a storage unit. The opinion also address the ability of such a business to transport alcoholic beverages from the storage unit to the event location.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable William S. Cogswell, Member, South Carolina House of Representatives.

Sep 14, 2021

Opinion on who may request an absentee ballot application on behalf of a voter.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Lee Hewitt, Member, South Carolina House of Representatives.

Sep 13, 2021

Opinion concerning the statutory, regulatory and other legal requirements governing South Carolina's Brownsfield/Voluntary Cleanup Program and the specific contracts executed by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable Lee Hewitt, Member, South Carolina House of Representatives.

Sep 13, 2021

Opinion addressing whether a municipal police officer assigned as a school resource officer has jurisdiction to enforce state law at a school board meeting for his assigned school district when the meeting is held outside of the municipality.

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Requested by: The Honorable Kevin S. Brackett, Solicitor, 16th Judicial Circuit.

Sep 02, 2021

Opinion on 911 dispatch fees.

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Requested by: Requested by The Honorable G.Z. Alexander, Chief of Police, Town of Yemassee.