Beaufort Co. Sheriff says he can’t enforce local coronavirus shelter-in-place orders
Beaufort County municipalities may be toying with the idea of passing local “shelter-in-place” ordinances, but Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said the coronavirus state-of-emergency declaration from S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster prevents him from being able to enforce those ordinances.
Tanner said Friday during a news conference that in a state of emergency, sheriff’s deputies must enforce state laws over local ones. He said a municipality’s ordinance to shelter in place would contradict the governor — who has not issued any such order.
“I work directly for him,” Tanner said. “It’s my job to enforce his laws.”
That hasn’t stopped municipalities from considering their own stay-at-home measures.
Town of Hilton Head Island leaders sent a letter Friday to McMaster encouraging a statewide shelter-in-place order. If they get no response in 48 hours, Mayor John McCann said the town will begin work on its own ordinance early next week.
He said it could be similar to that passed by the City of Charleston earlier this week. That ordinance closed non-essential businesses and enacted a two-week “shelter-in-place” order to its residents outside of grocery, pharmacy and doctor visits.
On Thursday, Hilton Head leaders encouraged those who are able to voluntarily shelter in place.
Are local shelter-in-place orders legal?
Tanner’s comments came the same day S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson cautioned local governments that their own shelter-in-place ordinances may be illegal.
The state Attorney General’s Office says cities and counties in South Carolina have limited powers during states of emergency, raising questions about the legality of stay-at-home orders issued by Columbia and Charleston this week.
The opinion was published Friday morning and written by Solicitor General Robert D. Cook in response to a letter from Rep. Jeff Bradley, R-Beaufort, asking for clarification.
The opinion cited a state law that gives the governor extraordinary powers during a state of emergency — powers which preempt that of local and county governments, The State newspaper of Columbia reported.
While Friday morning’s opinion does not specifically say local stay-at-home orders are illegal, it notes a 1980 opinion by the South Carolina Attorney General that said certain steps, such as evacuation orders during emergencies, can be ordered only by the governor, not local municipalities.
Bradley told The State newspaper that he has communicated with Hilton Head leaders about local orders to stay home. He said such ordinances would be “awfully hard to implement.”
“I want them to know that there is a potential liability that they have if they don’t have constitutional authority to implement these rules,” he said.
Bradley said he’s wary of such ordinances because it’d be difficult to iron out the details in each municipality.
“What we don’t want to do is live in a state of martial law,” he told The State. “How do you implement it? Do you let people go to the grocery store? Do you let them go pay their utility bills? What does shelter-in-place mean? We don’t really know what that means. I’m not sure it’s definable.”
Beaufort County beaches
Tanner also answered questions Friday about deputies’ increased presence on Hilton Head Island beaches and Beaufort County waterways. His department is dispersing groups of three or more.
Tanner said deputies have not issued a ticket yet, only warnings.
Asked about groups of people spotted on beaches in private communities on Hilton Head Island, he said groups of three or fewer are not violating the law since they have private access points.
Only public access points are closed, but earlier this week McCann encouraged all people to stay off Hilton Head’s beaches.
This story was originally published March 27, 2020 at 3:38 PM.
