Connecticut Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Connecticut, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Did Connecticut have to fill every state marshal vacancy up to each county’s statutory limit?
The AG concluded that the State Marshal Commission could appoint fewer marshals than the number listed for each county. The phrase “shall not exceed” set maximums, not required staffing levels.
Could Connecticut’s governor make the AG release eight CRRA documents about the Enron loan?
The AG said CRRA, rather than his office, could decide whether to release eight records a FOIA ruling had found exempt. He concluded their release would not force disclosure of additional privileged…
Did Connecticut mandate an abuse report for every sexual relationship involving a teen under sixteen?
The AG found DCF’s reading reasonable: consensual activity between a teen aged thirteen to fifteen and a partner under twenty-one who was more than two years older did not automatically require a…
Did Connecticut banking regulators have to pay a service provider’s costs of answering an electronic-records subpoena?
The AG concluded that Connecticut’s banking department had to reimburse reasonable, directly incurred costs when it obtained covered electronic records from a remote computing service under a…
Could Connecticut sell state lottery tickets inside its building at the Big E in Massachusetts?
The AG concluded that Connecticut could not approve state lottery ticket sales in its Eastern States Exposition building in West Springfield. Connecticut owned the building and land, but the site…
Did Connecticut’s annual pay cap cover all work by Siting Council members?
The AG concluded that the annual compensation cap in the Connecticut Siting Council statute applied only to attendance at hearings. Executive sessions and other council business were compensable…
Could a teacher’s spouse claim enhanced survivor benefits when the named retirement beneficiary was a trust?
The AG concluded that the surviving spouse could not claim the enhanced teachers’ retirement survivor benefit because the teacher had designated only a trust, not the spouse, as beneficiary. The…
Could Connecticut DEP officials refuse legislative testimony by invoking FOIA or pending agency cases?
FOIA did not let subpoenaed DEP officials refuse oral testimony. A privilege for an agency decision maker’s mental or deliberative process might apply to specific questions, but the AG could not…
Could Connecticut put state candidates on a party primary ballot by petition after a court injunction?
The AG said the secretary could not issue or accept petitions as a substitute route to Democratic or Republican state and district primary ballots. The court’s injunction did not establish a…
Could an investigated Connecticut employee get the whistleblower complaint before any charges?
The AG said an investigated employee had no due-process right to the complaint or investigation files before discipline or charges. The agency could release a redacted version only if the…
Could Connecticut’s treasurer exempt a tribal casino employer from Second Injury Fund assessments?
The AG found no binding exemption: the letters did not make a contract, and the treasurer lacked power to waive the statutory assessment. Federal law also barred Connecticut from forcing the tribal…
Did Connecticut have to approve Mohegan Sun’s cashless slot software before it went live?
The AG concluded that Connecticut gaming regulators had to review proposed technical standards for Mohegan Sun’s cashless slot wagering before implementation. The Tribal/State Compact did not…
Could Connecticut’s waste authority pay a former president’s legal fees for criminal investigations?
The AG concluded that CRRA could not enforce a separation-agreement clause requiring it to cover a former president’s legal fees and costs for possible criminal matters. The board and its bylaws…
Could Connecticut legislative committees veto a social services federal-waiver application?
The AG concluded that legislative committees’ review of a social-services federal waiver was advisory under the statute then in force. They could not block or compel changes to an application; the…
Could new Connecticut human rights commissioners serve before legislative confirmation?
The AG found the governor’s and House speaker’s vacancy appointments valid and effective while the legislature was out of regular session. The governor’s appointee and the speaker’s later full-term…
Could Connecticut’s governor use Banking Fund surplus to pay for an unbudgeted agency move?
The AG concluded that the governor could not add unappropriated relocation, renovation and furniture costs to the banking department’s budget using Banking Fund surplus. The legislature could…
Could Connecticut’s governor appoint a CRRA chair while a budget-only special session was underway?
The AG concluded that the governor’s interim appointment of CRRA chairman Michael Pace was valid. The legislature’s special session was limited to budget matters and could not consider his…
Could Connecticut discipline a state marshal for misconduct before the marshal system began?
The AG concluded that the State Marshal Commission could investigate conduct from a marshal’s earlier service as a deputy sheriff if it bore on current suitability. The commission could take action,…
Could Mohegan Sun guests use hotel phones to place race bets from their rooms?
The AG concluded that Mohegan Sun’s proposed in-room race wagering by hotel telephone fell within the compact’s definition of telephone betting. The compact’s moratorium still applied, despite the…
Could Connecticut deny a state worker military-service pension credit because the worker also earned a military pension?
The AG concluded that federal law displaced state plan terms that denied purchase of prior active-duty retirement credit solely because the employee also qualified for a military pension. He did not…
Did a temporary Long Island Sound cable moratorium unconstitutionally take a permit holder’s property?
The AG reaffirmed his view that a proposed temporary moratorium on development of state-owned Long Island Sound land was constitutional. A new U.S. Supreme Court decision rejected treating every…
Could Connecticut’s governor delay required power-line decisions through an executive order?
The AG read an executive order on gas and electric transmission projects as valid only because it deferred decisions “insofar as permitted by law.” Agencies still had to meet statutory deadlines and…
Would a one-year Connecticut ban on building power lines across Long Island Sound take an approved cable permit?
The AG concluded that a proposed one-year Long Island Sound construction moratorium would be constitutional for projects already holding permits. He reasoned that the state owned relevant submerged…
Who controlled police services at Rentschler Field and Adriaen’s Landing in 2002?
The AG concluded that Connecticut’s policy and management secretary had authority to arrange police and security services at Rentschler Field, while consulting East Hartford and reimbursing…
Could a greyhound track block off-track simulcasts while it was not running races?
The AG concluded that a Connecticut greyhound racing association could block similar off-track simulcasts only during the approved days and times when it actually conducted its own races. Its…
Could Waterbury replace its charter revision commission before the first commission finished?
The AG concluded that Waterbury lawfully created a nine-member charter revision commission in February 2002. The city could not rescind it and create a new fifteen-member commission in March before…
Could the Connecticut resources authority chair serve before legislators voted on his appointment?
The AG concluded that Peter Ellef was properly serving as chair of the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority under a later gubernatorial appointment made while the legislature was out of session.…
Where did unclaimed victim restitution go under Connecticut’s 1997 compensation fund amendment?
The AG concluded that unclaimed restitution collected before the 1997 amendment took effect went to the Treasurer under the old unclaimed-property rules. Restitution collected afterward went to the…
Could Connecticut merge local workforce investment areas despite satisfactory performance?
The AG concluded that Connecticut could not consolidate a local workforce area or force its board to change service area or operations if it met the federal performance and fiscal criteria. He said…
Which wage withholding came first when a Connecticut employee owed both child support and state tax?
The AG concluded that a dependent support withholding order took priority over a Connecticut tax warrant against an employee’s wages. The employer had to calculate each under its own statute, then…
Who owned the Anthem demutualization shares issued for Connecticut state health policies?
The AG concluded that the state owned shares issued through its group health policies and other Anthem contracts, rather than individual group-policy certificate holders. Pending challenges did not…
Could allowing company casino nights end Connecticut’s tribal slot-revenue payments?
The AG concluded that a proposed law allowing for-profit businesses to host casino-style games would likely let the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes stop their slot-revenue contributions under…
Could Connecticut’s economic development department participate in federal public housing programs as a housing agency?
The AG concluded that Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development qualified as a public housing agency under the federal Housing Act. Its state housing duties brought it within…
Could Connecticut notify a victim about an offender’s registry-exemption request despite a federal disclosure injunction?
The AG concluded that Connecticut could implement victim notification when an offender applied to be exempt from sex-offender registration despite a federal order restricting public release of the…
Did Connecticut judicial marshals need special licenses to drive prisoner transport vans?
The AG concluded that judicial marshals needed an appropriate special license for prisoner vehicles designed to carry at least ten passengers. Larger vans qualified as commercial motor vehicles;…
Could Connecticut require marshals to rotate courthouse restraining-order duty without state pay for waiting?
The AG concluded that the State Marshal Commission could require a rotating courthouse and on-call schedule for prompt restraining-order service. Under the laws and working arrangement he examined,…
Could Connecticut’s chief court administrator close a courthouse and eliminate its geographic area?
The AG concluded that the chief court administrator could close the West Hartford courthouse and eliminate its G.A. 16 area by changing boundaries. Statutes required court sessions in Hartford, but…
When did a changed Connecticut state project need renewed environmental review, and who could challenge an omission?
The AG said a new or revised environmental evaluation or finding was warranted when changed plans or mitigation created a reasonable possibility of environmental harm. The Council on Environmental…
Could a Connecticut marshal keep collecting wage executions after resigning?
The AG concluded that a resigned marshal or former sheriff could not continue collecting on wage executions begun while in office. Another authorized officer could complete service and receive fees…
Could Connecticut tax officials scan paper returns, discard originals and accept electronic filings?
The AG said DRS could use accurate electronic copies of paper records and, under applicable record rules, destroy originals. It could permit electronic filings but need not accept defective…
Could a town scholarship committee obtain a Connecticut raffle permit without an IRS charity letter?
The AG concluded that Watertown’s scholarship committee was a charitable organization eligible for a raffle permit. Its scholarship purpose and donation-funded activity met the relevant test, and…
Could Hartford city purchasing rules control the school building committee’s choice of a construction manager?
The AG concluded that the state-created Hartford School Building Committee could select a construction or program manager under Special Act 01-7. Conflicting city charter, ordinance and bidding…
Could more than one Connecticut state university offer the pilot education doctorate?
The AG concluded that the five-year education-doctorate authorization was not confined to a single Connecticut State University campus. More than one institution could award the degree if the Board…
Could a petroleum refiner jointly operate a Connecticut gas station with a travel-center company?
The AG concluded that a petroleum refiner could not operate a Connecticut retail gas station through a joint venture with a non-refiner. Equal ownership and management largely supplied by the…
Could Connecticut auditors share confidential client records with the AG during a whistleblower inquiry?
The AG concluded that state auditors could share confidential agency client records with his office while reviewing a whistleblower complaint. The joint investigative statute contemplated full…
Which Connecticut office represented the state in youth-in-crisis juvenile cases?
The AG concluded that the Division of Criminal Justice, rather than the Attorney General’s Office, should handle youth-in-crisis proceedings. He read the new program as an extension of…
Did Connecticut state marshals have to take an oath, and could they exercise police powers?
The AG concluded that state marshals should take the public-officer oath before service. Their peace-officer and warrantless-arrest authority existed only while exercising statutory marshal duties,…
Could Connecticut’s IT chief verbally delegate purchasing power for an agency technology contract?
The AG agreed that a verbal delegation of information-technology purchasing authority to the social services department was improper. The chief information officer could delegate purchasing power,…
Could Connecticut nurse practitioners, midwives and physician assistants provide mifepristone in clinics?
The AG concluded that licensed APRNs, nurse-midwives and physician assistants could dispense mifepristone in a licensed clinic under a qualified physician’s supervision and their own practice rules.…
Could Connecticut fund a veterans’ Stand Down event if some attendees were ineligible, and was it liable for an assault?
The AG said the veterans agency could fund Stand Down outreach even if some attendees later proved ineligible for services. He did not decide liability for a participant assault; a duty and breach…
Could a business lender collect from a Connecticut mortgage lender’s required license bond?
The AG concluded that a commercial creditor of a licensed first-mortgage lender could not recover on the lender’s statutory bond. The bond protected borrowers and prospective borrowers harmed in…
Could an accredited Connecticut career school stop keeping student attendance records?
The AG concluded that renewal based on recognized institutional accreditation did not release a private occupational school from Connecticut’s student attendance-record requirements. Those standards…
Did federal prisoner-transport laws invalidate Connecticut’s private security licensing rules?
The AG concluded that the federal Extradition Act and 2000 private-prisoner-transport law did not displace all Connecticut licensing and armed-guard rules. He could not determine whether particular…
Should Connecticut mark hazardous state-owned dams even if warning signs might affect liability?
The AG advised Connecticut’s environmental agency to mark potentially hazardous state-owned water-retention dams. The applicable duty depended on each visitor’s status and facts, but a failure to…
Did Connecticut lawmakers have to renew a three-fifths surplus-allocation law every year?
The AG concluded that a law directing unappropriated budget surplus to a purpose beyond the reserve fund or debt reduction did not need a fresh three-fifths vote each year. Once enacted by the…
Could a Connecticut mail-order liquor seller keep a hidden package store, and how often must a cafe offer food?
The AG said a package store could not be a nearly invisible permit location serving only mail-order sales; it had to be open and accessible to the public. He declined to decide whether a cafe…
Could Connecticut pay for National Guard deployment or replacement staff during a nursing home strike?
The AG said federal labor law sharply limited state spending that could affect a private strike. He did not decide whether paying for the Guard or replacement workers met the narrow life-and-health…
Could Connecticut deploy the National Guard during a nursing home strike without violating federal labor law?
The AG said federal labor law permitted state action during a private strike only in extremely narrow circumstances to protect residents from direct, imminent danger. He did not decide whether…
Could Connecticut reimburse a heating-oil tank cleanup if an unregistered worker removed the tank?
The AG concluded that the residential heating-oil tank cleanup board could not reimburse a job where an unregistered contractor removed or replaced the tank, even if a registered contractor later…
Could Connecticut release health-license applicants’ photos in public records requests without consent?
The AG concluded that photographs supplied for public-health licenses could not be disclosed to the public without the individual’s express consent, despite access to other parts of the license…
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Attorney general opinions in Connecticut are written by the Connecticut Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.