Bamberg County Says Bamberg Facilities Corporation Records Not Subject to FOIA

Bamberg County told a requester that many documents linked to the Bamberg Facilities Corporation (BFC) do not fall under South Carolina's Freedom of Information Act because the BFC is a nonprofit rather than a public body. The county's position appears in a five-page legal response dated January 9, 2026 and prepared by outside counsel, following a broad FOIA request submitted on December 22, 2025.

The December 22 request sought financial records, governance materials and correspondence related to the BFC covering 2019 through the present. Bamberg County acknowledged that some responsive records might exist in county files and therefore could be public, but overall asserted that the BFC itself is not a public body under state law and that many of the requested documents belong to the nonprofit rather than to the county. The county also asked that future FOIA submissions use the county's approved form.

The issue centers on custody and legal status. If records are held by the county in official files, they may be subject to disclosure; if records are owned and maintained by the BFC as a separate nonprofit, the county says state FOIA does not apply. The dispute touches on routine questions of public access and oversight when governmental entities or local nonprofits intersect in the management of public facilities.

For Bamberg County residents, the stakes are practical. Records such as financial statements, board governance documents and internal correspondence can reveal how taxpayer resources are allocated and how decisions about county facilities are made. The county's response leaves open which specific documents it considers to be county records and which it treats as private nonprofit files, creating uncertainty for residents seeking transparency.

Procedurally, the response sets up a next phase in which the requester may seek clarification, narrow the scope of demands, or pursue administrative or legal remedies to resolve custodial questions. Bamberg County's acknowledgment that some records may reside in county files suggests that not all material is off-limits, but the broad characterization of the BFC as a nonpublic nonprofit limits the scope of what the county will produce under FOIA.

The dispute underscores a broader pattern in local governance where nonprofits are used to operate or manage assets that have public purpose. For residents of Bamberg County, the practical effect will be whether key documents about facility finances and governance become available for public review. Watch for follow-up filings or county actions that clarify which records will be released and for any meetings of county officials where the relationship with the Bamberg Facilities Corporation is discussed.