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2015 Op. S.C. Att'y Gen. 1 (2015)

handle is hein.sag/sagsc0088 and id is 1 raw text is: 0SOUTT L- ALAN WILsoN ATTORNEY GNERAL January 14, 2015 Da\ id W. Epperson. Esq. Clarendon County Administrator 4111Sunset Drive Manning. SC 29102 Dear Mr. Epperson: This Office receiv ed your request for an opinion regarding the authority of a County Board of Education to suspend or remove an appointed school board member after the member has been arrested and charged with a crime. You explain that the Clarendon County Board of Education appoints all nine (9) members to the Clarendon School District Two Board of Trustees. On or about November 13, 2014, a member of the Clarendon School District Two Board of Trustees was arrested and charged with petit larceny and impersonating a police officer. LAW/ANALYSIS: We addressed a similar situation in a prior opinion. In our June 27, 2005 opinion, a member of a school board w1as charged with simple assault and battery. We opined that the school board member could not be removed or suspended from oflice and she was not prevented from performing her official duties. We considered the following when reaching our conclusion: As our Supreme Court long ago stated. 'tjhe power of removal from office... is not an incident of the executive office, and it exists only where it is conferred by the Constitution or by the statute law, or is implied from the conferring of the power of appointment.' State ex re. Lyon v. Rhame. 92 S.C. 455. 75 S.E. 881. 882 (1912). If an officer holds office for a fixed term, summary removal is not authorized. Sta v. iannamaker. 213 S.C. 1, 48 S.E.2d 601 (1948). The right to hold an office during a fixed term unless remov ed for cause ma be overcome only by an unequivocal grant of power from the Legislature to remove at pleasure. Ic. Moreover, the Governor possesses no inherent power to remove or suspend from office. The Chief Executhe may not remoN e or suspend a public officer unless the power to do so is conferred by the Constitution or statute. Rose . Beasey. 327 S.C. 197, 489 S.E.2d 625 (1997). The power to suspend from office stands separate and apart from the power to remove. and must itself be found in statutory or constitutional authority. Id. r10 kiERT ( DENNIS BUILDING POST OFFICE BOX 11549 * COLLMBIA, VC29211-1549 * TELEPHONE 803-734-3970 . FACSIMIL 03-253-(283

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