S.C. Supreme Court holds that DOT Commissioners must resign

In Sloan v. Hardee, several DOT Commissioners served their appointed four year terms and were reelected to serve second terms. Sloan brought suit arguing that the reelection violated statutory provisions prohibiting Commissioners from serving more than one consecutive term. The Commissioners argued that the term "consecutive," permits a commissioner to serve one term, consecutive to a first term such that the commissioners may actually serve two successive terms. The Court rejected this interpretation, holding that "consecutive" means "successive; succeeding one another in regular order; to follow in uninterrupted succession." Hence, the commissioners were serving consecutive terms in violation of the statute.