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2001 South Carolina Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (2001)

handle is hein.sag/sagsc0085 and id is 1 raw text is: The State of South Carolina OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CHARLIE CONDON ATTORNEY GENERAL January 2. 2001 Robert M. Bell, Esquire Aiken County Attorney P.O. Box 1890 2625 Jefferson Davis Highway Langley, South Carolina 29834 RE: Informal Opinion Dear Mr. Bell: By your letter of December 18, 2000, you have requested an opinion of the Attorney General's Office on the use of a credit card by a county for small purchases. You inform us that the State of South Carolina. through the Materials and Management Office of the Budget and Control Board, has entered into a statewide contract with the Bank of America for a Visa Purchasing Card. Counties and various state agencies are also authorized to use the State Contract to enter into an agreement with Bank of America to provide their own cards. Specifically you ask if Aiken County can legally enact an ordinance to enter into such a contract for a county purchasing card. Determining whether a local ordinance is valid is a two-step process. The first step is to determine whether the municipality has the power to adopt the ordinance. If no power exists, the ordinance is invalid. If the municipality has the power to enact the ordinance, the second step is to determine whether the ordinance is consistent with the Constitution and general law of the State. Bugsy's, Inc. v. City of Myrtle Beach, 340 S.C. 87, 530 S.E.2d 890, 893; Diamonds v. Greenville County, 325 S.C. 154, 480 S.E.2d 718 (1997). Furthermore, an ordinance is entitled to the same presumption of validity as a statute of the General Assembly, and must be proved unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt. Southern Bell Tel. and Tel. Co. v. City of Spartanburg. 285 S.C. 495. 331 S.E. 2d 333 (1985). Thus, at the outset, the ordinance is entitled to a presumption of validity unless expressly inconsistent with general or Constitutional law. South Carolina law requires the governing bodies of the counties to provide for a centralized purchasing system for procurement of goods and services required by the county government. S.C. CODE ANN. § 4-9-160. The South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code, codified at S.C. Code Ann. § 11-35-10 et seq., similarly requires all political subdivisions to adopt ordinances ensuring competitive procurement. S. C. CODE AN,\,. § 11-35-50. Presumably, the use of the purchasing card Rt: NwkT C. DrN'.Ws BIAtnDINK; - ost OFFIt'r Box 11549 - COtM A. S.C. 29211 1549 • Ti, 74-7( • , 8j 1-253-23