The city of Greenville will have to “re-evaluate” a stay-at-home ordinance that would have joined actions in Charleston and Columbia after the state Attorney General’s Office issued an opinion Friday saying Gov. Henry McMaster’s emergency orders take precedence.
Mayor Knox White told The Greenville News that the opinion pre-empts any action the city would take.
Later Friday, McMaster declined to issue any statewide order of what are considered "non-essential" businesses, saying that he wants "to see as many people working" as they can while following guidelines to prevent spread of the virus.
McMaster said the opinion issued by Attorney General Alan Wilson's office is "very good, I believe."
The mayor had scheduled a meeting of the City Council this Monday to take up an ordinance that would close non-essential businesses - particularly, he said, close-contact establishments like barbershops and nail salons - and order people to stay home except to conduct certain activities.
During a joint press briefing among Upstate leaders today, White implored the governor to provide more guidance.
“In light of the AG opinion, we will have to re-evaluate,” White told The News. “It doesn’t change our message to residents to stay at home and our urging the governor to define essential businesses.”
What we know: Coronavirus in South Carolina
The city will deliberate what it can do, he said.
In Columbia, Mayor Steve Benjamin pledged to forge ahead with its stay-at-home order, set to go in effect Sunday, despite the opinion.
"The actions taken by the City are entirely within our authority," Benjamin stated in an email statement. "Our actions do not contradict the Governor's actions because on this immediate issue before us — proven one of the most important and effective to stopping the spread of this virus, he has not acted."
The opinion issued by state attorney general on Friday morning states that "local government cannot exercise the emergency powers delegated to the Governor by the General Assembly."
"Therefore, counties and municipalities should be aware that any unauthorized exercise of such emergency powers could subject these political subdivisions to liability at the behest of a private citizen with requisite legal standing," the opinion states.
Friday's opinion, which affirms a 1980 opinion issued by the state attorney general, was requested by state Rep. Jeff Bradley, a Republican from Hilton Head.
The city of Greenville's order would have been less restrictive than those in Charleston and Columbia, White said.
The mayor said those two orders "went too far," and the city was considering issuing a revised version.
Charleston's stay-at-home order went into effect Thursday. Mayor John J. Tecklenburg and his senior aide could not be reached for comment.
An order approved by the Columbia City Council on Thursday calls for the city's residents to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary starting at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
McMaster has so far resisted calls to impose a statewide stay-at-home or shelter-in-place order to address rising number of COVID-19 cases in South Carolina. He has closed schools, banned on-premises dining at restaurants and ordered law enforcement to disperse groups of three or more people.
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March 28, 2020 at 03:23AM
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Greenville to 're-evaluate' proposed COVID-19 stay-at-home order in light of Attorney General opinion - Greenville News
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