County of Florence and Florence County Council, Respondents v. West Florence Fire District, Purported to Have Been…

Summary

The South Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s judgment that the General Assembly’s creation of the West Florence Fire District violates Article VIII, § 7 of the State Constitution because the district is essentially a single‑county special purpose district. The Court held that the inclusion of a tiny parcel in an adjacent county does not transform the district into a true multicounty entity, and therefore the statute is unconstitutional under the home‑rule prohibition. The decision was remanded for the lower court to devise a plan to place the district under county control.