South Carolina § 4-9-145 - Litter control officers; custodial arrest authority; number of officers; powers and duties.

§ 4-9-145. Litter control officers; custodial arrest authority; number of officers; powers and duties.

(A) Except as provided in subsection (B), the governing body of a county may appoint and commission as many code enforcement officers as may be necessary for the proper security, general welfare, and convenience of the county. These officers are vested with all the powers and duties conferred by law upon constables in addition to duties imposed upon them by the governing body of the county. However, no code enforcement officer commissioned under this section may perform a custodial arrest, except as provided in subsection (B). These code enforcement officers must exercise their powers on all private and public property within the county. The governing body of the county may limit the scope of a code enforcement officer's authority or the geographic area for which he is authorized to exercise the authority granted.

(B)(1) The number of litter control officers vested with custodial arrest authority who are appointed and commissioned pursuant to subsection (A) must not exceed the greater of:

(a) the number of officers appointed and commissioned by the county on July 1, 2001; or

(b) one officer for every twenty-five thousand persons in the county, based upon the most recent census. Each county may appoint and commission at least one officer, without regard to the population of the county.

(2)(a) A litter control officer appointed and commissioned pursuant to subsection (A) may exercise the power of arrest with respect to his primary duties of enforcement of litter control laws and ordinances and other state and local laws and ordinances as may arise incidental to the enforcement of his primary duties only if the officer has been certified as a law enforcement officer pursuant to Chapter 23, Title 23.

(b) In the absence of an arrest for a violation of the litter control laws and ordinances, a litter control officer authorized to exercise the power of arrest pursuant to subitem (a) may not stop a person or make an incidental arrest of a person for a violation of other state and local laws and ordinances.

(3) For purposes of this section, the phrase "litter control officer" means a code enforcement officer authorized to enforce litter control laws and ordinances.

HISTORY: 1990 Act No. 598, SECTION 3, eff June 25, 1990; 1992 Act No. 411, SECTION 1, eff June 1, 1992; 1996 Act No. 373, SECTION 1, eff May 29, 1996; 2001 Act No. 109, SECTION 1, eff October 4, 2001; 2025 Act No. 67 (H.4247), SECTION 14, eff May 22, 2025.

Editor's Note

Article 9, Chapter 6, Title 23, referenced in the text, was repealed by 2006 Act No. 316. For law enforcement training requirements, see, now, Chapter 23 of Title 23.

Effect of Amendment

The 1992 amendment deleted language at the end of the second sentence relative to noninterference with the sheriff's department, added the third sentence, and inserted "code" preceding "enforcement officers" in two places.

The 1996 amendment added the last sentence beginning "The governing body of the county."

The 2001 amendment designated the former section as subsection (A), inserted references to subsection (B), and made language changes; and added subsection (B).

2025 Act No. 67, SECTION 14, in (B)(1)(b), substituted "most recent census" for "2000 census"; and in (B)(2)(a), substituted "Chapter 23" for "Article 9, Chapter 6".