State AG Opinions
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Which new Georgia misdemeanor offenses require fingerprinting on arrest, after the 2025 legislative session?
The Attorney General designated seven misdemeanor offenses as fingerprintable for the 2025 update: (1) public-area transfer of dogs, cats, and rabbits; (2) drones at ticketed enter…
In Texas, can a Secretary of State election inspector take photos or video at a polling place, and can poll watchers watch the handling and counting of mail-in ballots?
Yes to both. State inspectors are exempt from the polling-place recording ban while doing their official duties — and they're explicitly authorized to gather 'evidence,' which incl…
Can a Florida county require building permits for temporary lodging used during agritourism events on a working farm?
No. If the lodging is part of a bona fide agritourism activity (such as equestrian competitions on a working farm), Florida law preempts counties from imposing building permits or …
If I'm a Texas-licensed psychologist, counselor, social worker, or marriage and family therapist, am I covered by SB 14's restrictions on gender-transition care for minors — even though I can't perform surgeries or write prescriptions?
Yes, according to AG Paxton. The Behavioral Health Executive Council's licensees (psychologists, LPCs, MFTs, social workers) are 'health care providers' under Tex. Health & Safety …
Do Georgia professional licensing boards have to honor out-of-state licenses held by servicemembers and military spouses transferred to Georgia?
Yes. Under the 2024 amendments to the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a covered out-of-state professional license held by a servicemember or military spouse who relocates …
If a person held in a Texas county jail dies in a hospital or while on work release, does state law require an independent outside agency to investigate the death?
Not under Government Code § 511.021(a). That statute only forces an outside agency to investigate when the prisoner dies inside the county jail facility itself. But the Commission …
Does Florida's law on selling or leasing municipal hospitals (§ 155.40) apply when a city transfers hospital assets to a state university?
No. Section 155.40 only governs sales or leases of municipal hospitals to for-profit or not-for-profit Florida entities. A state university is a state agency — a governmental entit…
Can a Florida town pass an ordinance requiring stores to submit a shopping cart retention plan or install a cart-retention system?
No. Florida law (§ 506.5131) expressly preempts municipal ordinances that require retailers to submit shopping cart retention plans, allow the town to deny those plans, impose mone…
Are Florida laws that give racial preferences, use race-based classifications, or impose racial quotas unconstitutional?
Yes, in the Attorney General's view. The opinion concludes that Florida laws which mandate race-based state action — including affirmative action requirements (§ 110.112), minority…
Can a Florida county invoke 'extraordinary circumstances' to raise impact fees above the 50% statutory cap based on steady population growth alone?
No. A 17% population increase over five years (about 3.4% annually) is steady, not extraordinary, and does not qualify as the 'extraordinary circumstances' that § 163.31801 require…
If a Florida city's road was dedicated by an old subdivision plat, who owns the underlying land — the city or the abutting property owner?
Under a common law dedication (which is what most pre-1935 plats created), the abutting landowner keeps title to the land under the road, subject only to the public's easement. Tha…
After Florida's open carry ban was struck down in McDaniels, can private investigators, security officers, and repossession agents still be required to hold a Class G license or barred from carrying firearms while working?
Yes. The McDaniels decision invalidated Florida's general open carry ban for ordinary citizens but did not address the licensing and restrictions that apply to security professiona…
Can the Miami City Commission move municipal elections from odd to even years, or change officials' terms of office, without a vote of the electorate?
No. Because Miami sits in Miami-Dade County, the 1885 Florida Constitution and the County's Home Rule Charter make the voter-referendum process the exclusive method for amending a …
Can a Florida chief judge ban state attorneys and their investigators from carrying firearms in the courtroom?
No. State attorneys, assistant state attorneys, and their investigators are statutorily defined as law enforcement officers and are exempt from Chapter 790's restrictions when acti…
Can a Georgia citizen file a complaint with the Governor to start the process of removing a state board or commission member under O.C.G.A. § 45-10-4?
No. The phrase 'upon formal charges being filed' in O.C.G.A. § 45-10-4 requires a structured, formal pleading — not just an informal letter or grievance from a member of the public…
Can the State Election Board force the Georgia Attorney General to hire outside counsel or to investigate election fraud allegations on the Board's behalf?
No. The Georgia Constitution and statute make the Attorney General the sole legal counsel for the executive branch and give him exclusive authority to decide whether to hire outsid…
Can a Florida university presidential search committee use a search firm to anonymously survey its members and rank candidates outside of a public meeting?
No. Florida's Sunshine Law applies to university presidential search committees, and using an outside firm to anonymously rank candidates is an 'evasive device' that circumvents pu…
Under Florida law, does attaching a stabilizing brace to a pistol turn it into a 'short-barreled rifle'?
No. Under § 790.001(11), Fla. Stat., a 'short-barreled rifle' is defined by the firearm's fundamental design and operational characteristics — barrel length and overall length on a…
Can the owner of one townhouse unit in a four-unit building use the Florida owner-builder exemption to do their own construction work without a contractor's license?
No. The owner-builder exemption in § 489.103(7)(a)(1), Fla. Stat. applies only to one-family or two-family residences with a single owner. A townhouse unit in a four-unit building,…
Can a Florida circuit court clerk sell uncollected court-ordered debts (court costs, fines, attorney-fee liens) to a third-party debt buyer?
No. Section 28.246, Fla. Stat. lays out an exhaustive list of how clerks must pursue collection of court-ordered debts (in-house, payment plan, private attorney, or registered coll…
Can a Florida city use a zoning overlay to allow vacation rentals in only part of a residential neighborhood while banning them in the rest?
No. Florida law (§ 509.032(7)(b)) prohibits cities from regulating the 'frequency' of vacation rentals, and a zoning overlay that allows rentals in some areas but not others with t…
Can a private company building a factory on land owned by the State of Georgia be required to comply with local zoning ordinances?
No. Real property owned by the State of Georgia is exempt from local zoning ordinances under the long-standing principle that local governments cannot exercise legislative power ov…
When and how can Georgia's Ethics Commission adjust campaign contribution limits, and can it delegate that authority to its staff?
The Commission can adjust contribution limits only in $100 increments based on the Consumer Price Index, only at the end of an election cycle (or every four years for special elect…
Can a Georgia city ban retail pet stores from selling dogs and cats and limit them to adoption-only?
No. The City of Canton's ordinance restricting pet shops to adoption-only sales of dogs and cats and imposing recordkeeping/disclosure requirements is preempted by the Georgia Anim…
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