Heizer, 102220 SCAGO, AGO 2371

• Case Date: October 22, 2020
• Court: South Carolina

Francenia B. Heizer AGO 2371 No. 2371 South Carolina Attorney General Opinion State of South Carolina Office of the Attorney General October 22, 2020          Alan Wilson, Attorney General          Francenia B. Heizer, Esquire          Burr & Forman, LLP          P.O. Box 11390          Columbia, SC 29211          Dear Ms. Heizer:          Attorney General Alan Wilson has referred your letter to the Opinions section. The letter states the following:

This request for an opinion is being submitted on behalf of the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (the "Authority"). The Authority has been in existence since 2002 and has had several iterations of membership. ...

In the last couple of years, the service area has expanded to include more of Lexington County and now includes service into the City of Cayce, the City of West Columbia, and the Town of Springdale. One of the reasons for the expansion of service is that Federal regulations changed in 2015 thereby allowing federal funding to be used for operating expenses of transit services. As a result of the increased services, each of the municipalities mentioned above have requested membership in the Authority.

         After presenting this history for context, the letter poses three questions which are addressed below.          Law/Analysis          I. Is it, or is it not, a requirement that a municipality who wants to become a member of an existing authority as described in Section 58-25-40(3) of the Regional Transportation Authority Law (the "Act") must follow the procedures as outlined in Section 58-25-30 of the Act? What procedures should be followed to ensure that a prospective member of the authority meets the requirements of Section 58-25-30 of the Act?          It is this Office's opinion that a court would hold a local government must follow the procedures outlined in S.C. Code § 58-25-30 to become a member in an existing regional transportation authority ("RTA"). This Office has previously concluded that the Act permits a municipality to become a member of a RTA if it is within the service area of a RTA and has a population of five thousand or more persons. See Op. S.C. Att'y v. Gen., 2014 WL 1398586, at 3-4 (January 6, 2014). However, in 1997 the...