Texas Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Texas, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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When could Texas's historic building rehabilitation tax credit first be claimed, and could a nonprofit or homeowner use it?
The AG laid out a timeline. The franchise-tax credit for rehabilitating certified historic structures, created by House Bill 500 as subchapter S of Tax Code chapter 171, did not become operative…
Can a Texas justice court charge a fee to file a petition for an occupational driver's license?
Yes. After House Bill 438 let justice courts receive these petitions and deleted the word 'civil' from Transportation Code section 521.242(e), Senator-turned-Representative Harold Dutton asked…
Can a Texas city use its city attorney to sue and stop a recall election against its own council members?
The AG gave a layered answer. An individual officeholder who is the target of a recall petition generally does have standing to file a declaratory-judgment action to test whether the petition meets…
How is a Texas county court at law judge's minimum salary set when the district judge gets pay supplements from other counties?
The AG said every county counts. A statutory county court at law judge's minimum salary is pegged by Government Code section 25.0005(a) to no less than $1,000 below the total annual salary of a…
Can a Texas county offer internet (VoIP) phone service to county jail inmates, and can it make money from it?
The AG said yes, a county may offer it, with strings attached. No Texas statute or jail rule expressly bars a county from providing voice-over-Internet (VoIP) local and long-distance phone service…
What must a Texas county appraisal district do with leftover budget money, and can it pay its staff a bonus?
The AG answered five budget questions for county appraisal districts. Funds the district commits during the fiscal year to meet or secure an obligation count as 'obligated to be spent' under Tax…
What can a Texas county spend pretrial intervention program fees on?
The AG said the money is tightly restricted. Under Code of Criminal Procedure article 102.0121, a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney may collect a fee of up to $500…
Do Texas regional education service centers have to keep the model lesson plans they developed, and can parents see them?
The AG said the plans are public records that must be kept, and parents can see them. The lesson plans came from the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC), a nonprofit ten…
Does a Texas council of governments count as a 'unit of general local government' for the federal HOME housing program?
The AG declined to answer, because it is a federal question. The federal HOME Investment Partnership Program, run by HUD, sends affordable-housing money to a 'participating jurisdiction,' which can…
Can a Texas constable also serve as a commissioner of an emergency services district?
No. The AG concluded that Article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution, which forbids holding more than one 'civil office of emolument' at the same time, stops a person from serving as both a…
Do Texas's juvenile misdemeanor record laws conflict, and must those court hearings be closed to the public?
The AG untangled three 2013 laws and said they fit together. The Eighty-third Legislature passed Senate Bill 393, Senate Bill 394, and House Bill 528, all amending the statutes that keep certain…
Is it unconstitutional to charge a Texas defendant the court costs in effect on the conviction date instead of the offense date?
No, in the ordinary case. Comptroller Susan Combs asked the Attorney General whether Government Code section 51.608, which says the court costs imposed on a criminal defendant are the amounts in…
Can the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association use future premiums to pay off old obligations from a past storm?
On the funding question, yes. Representative Todd Hunter asked the Attorney General two things about the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA). First, whether it was negligence or a failure…
Can a Texas county fund a second bailiff for a multi-county district court?
Not a second bailiff, but the court can hire other staff. Kleberg County Attorney Delma Rios-Salazar asked whether the Kleberg County commissioners court could create and fund an extra full-time…
Can Austin shift Austin Energy to an independent board by ordinance, and can out-of-city customers have a say?
Mostly yes, by ordinance, but charter amendments still belong to city voters. Senator John Carona asked whether the Austin City Council could move governance of Austin Energy, the city-owned…
Can a Texas justice of the peace also work as a court-appointed investigator in felony cases?
No single law flatly forbids it, but the ethics question is for the judicial-conduct commission. District Attorney Micheal Murray asked the Attorney General whether a sitting justice of the peace…
Does renaming police captains to 'assistant chiefs' change how many a Texas city can appoint?
No. The cap follows the 1983 headcount, not the title. Representative Tracy King asked how many officers a police department head may appoint to the rank just below chief under Local Government Code…
Can Houston METRO use job order contracting for civil works like roads and water projects?
Only for building work, not civil works. Representative Bill Callegari asked whether the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) could use 'job order contracting,' a streamlined…
Are Texas landowners liable for police actions on their land or for livestock that escape due to outside interference?
The Attorney General declined to answer. Representative Ryan Guillen asked whether existing law shields landowners, lessees, and occupants of agricultural land from liability in two situations: law…
Can a Texas state employee run for and hold an elected county office while keeping both salaries?
Generally yes, with one federal caveat. The Attorney General concluded that no Texas statute prohibits a state employee from running for an elected county office, and that Article 16, Section 40(b)…
Do university psychology staff need a specific job title to be exempt from the Texas Psychologists' Licensing Act?
The Attorney General answered two questions from the State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. First, a university does not have to use the official title 'psychologist' or 'psychological…
Does a part-time or seasonal employee still count under the Texas nepotism continuous-employment exception?
Brazoria County's district attorney asked whether an at-will employee who works consistently but only periodically can use the continuous-employment exception to the Texas nepotism law, Government…
Is a Texas district court reporter a state or county employee, and who can fire one?
Kerr County's attorney asked whether the official court reporter for a multi-county judicial district is a state or county employee. The Attorney General said there is no single answer: a court…
Can Texas create a second emergency services district over the same area to raise more property tax?
A House committee chair asked whether Texas can create a second emergency services district (ESD) covering the same area as an existing one, offering the same services, just to collect more property…
Which court does a bail bondsman file with to surrender a defendant before charges are formally filed?
Houston County's attorney asked which court a surety, usually a bail bondsman, should use to file the paperwork that surrenders or releases liability on a bond principal under articles 17.16 and…
Is Texas's 10% cigarette advertising fee blocked by federal law or the First Amendment?
A House committee chair asked whether Texas's 'Advertising Fee Statute,' which charges a 10 percent fee on outdoor advertising of cigarettes and tobacco products, is blocked by the Federal Cigarette…
Can a bail bondsman's ad in a county jail magazine count as illegal solicitation in Texas?
Bexar County's district attorney asked whether a bail bond licensee's advertising in a magazine handed out to pretrial detainees in the county jail, especially under a deal giving that licensee…
Can a Texas county ban an elected official from bringing a pet to their own office?
The Titus County Attorney asked whether the county commissioners court could enforce its new ban on animals in county buildings against an independently elected official's office, after he had…
When can Texas juvenile case records be destroyed, on paper or permanently?
Brazoria County's district attorney asked the Attorney General to untangle Family Code section 58.0071, whose subsections seemed to conflict about when juvenile case records can be destroyed. The AG…
How long must a school trustee's spouse have worked to keep their job under Texas nepotism law?
A House committee chair asked the Attorney General three questions about the continuous-employment exception to Texas nepotism law, Government Code section 573.062, as it applies to a school…
Is machinery used at a cattle feedlot exempt from property tax in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that a court would likely uphold the Comptroller's reasonable interpretation that cattle feedlots produce farm or ranch products under Tax Code section 11.161. Whether…
Can a Texas county take money from private companies to fix specific roads?
Waller County's district attorney asked whether a county that runs its roads under the County Road Department System (subchapter D of Transportation Code chapter 252) can accept money from private…
Can a Texas county charge oil companies a permit fee for new driveways onto county roads?
Howard County asked whether its commissioners court could make oil and gas operators get a permit, and pay a fee, before building a new access point connecting a private road to a county road, to…
Does Texas have to pay hurricane claims that TWIA can't cover?
A House committee chair asked whether the State of Texas is legally obligated to pay windstorm and hail losses that exceed what the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) can pay. The AG…
Can a Texas water district make rules about weeds and illegal dumping?
State Senator Glenn Hegar asked whether a water control and improvement district (WCID) can adopt and enforce rules on weed control and illegal dumping. The AG concluded that a WCID has only the…
Can a private company pay a Texas county to fix specific roads?
A county auditor asked two questions about letting a private company fund repairs to specific county roads, where the construction company bills the county, the county passes the bill to the…
Can Texas deny housing tax-credit points for funding from a related party?
Senator Leticia Van de Putte asked whether the 2013 Qualified Allocation Plan that Texas's housing agency (TDHCA) uses to award low-income housing tax credits complied with Government Code section…
Can Texas Medical Board investigators carry a concealed handgun on the job?
The Texas Medical Board asked whether it could let its investigators who hold a concealed handgun license (CHL) carry a concealed handgun while on duty without exposing the Board to liability. The…
Can a Texas county treat a rental cabin development as a subdivision?
Wilson County asked whether it could regulate, as a subdivision, the partition of land into individual cabin-rental tracts in the unincorporated part of the county (a setup in the Eagle Ford Shale…
What is the $20 fee for unpaid county fines on Texas vehicle registration?
The Office of Court Administration asked seven questions about how to apply Transportation Code section 502.010 after two different 2011 bills amended it, one of which simply reenacted the whole…
How does Texas appoint and pay a temporary justice of the peace?
A county auditor asked five questions about temporary justices of the peace appointed under Government Code section 27.055. The AG concluded that a county judge may appoint only one qualified person…
Does Texas charge interest to restore a reinstated state worker's pension credit?
The Health and Human Services Commission asked whether it may pay, or an employee must pay, interest on the money used to restore service credit in the Employees Retirement System (ERS) when a…
Could Texas cities and school districts offer domestic partnership benefits to employees?
Senator Dan Patrick asked whether article I, section 32 of the Texas Constitution stopped Texas cities, counties, and school districts from offering domestic partnership benefits to their employees.…
Can a Texas county auditor inspect inmates' property held in the county jail?
The Tarrant County district attorney asked whether the county auditor could examine inmates' noncash property held at the county jail to verify the property receipts, after the sheriff refused on…
Can a Texas commissioners court change the weekday it holds its regular monthly meetings?
A county district attorney asked whether a commissioners court could change the day of the week it convenes for its regular monthly term during the current fiscal year, after it had already…
Is it constitutional for a Texas judge to shorten a state jail sentence for program participation?
A district attorney asked whether article 42.12, section 15(h)(6) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which lets a judge shorten the time a defendant must serve in a state jail felony facility by up…
Does the Texas Open Meetings Act apply to a legislative advisory commission?
A state representative who chaired the Partnership Advisory Commission asked whether the commission, which reviews public-private partnership proposals and makes recommendations, was subject to the…
Does Texas require competitive bidding for Permanent School Fund investments?
The chair of the State Board of Education asked whether the board must use the competitive bidding process in the State Purchasing and General Services Act for three kinds of Permanent School Fund…
Can a Texas district attorney keep a commission on bond forfeiture money?
A district attorney asked whether he could retain a commission on money his office collects in bond forfeiture cases under Government Code section 41.005, whether the commissioners court must…
Can a Texas school board move a single-member trustee into a new at-large seat?
A House committee chair asked whether the Beaumont ISD board could appoint one of its sitting single-member district trustees, whose term ran to 2015, to one of two new at-large positions running to…
Do State Bar of Texas petition candidates still have to follow election rules?
The State Bar of Texas executive director asked whether candidates for president-elect who get on the ballot by petition under Government Code section 81.019(c) are still subject to the State Bar's…
Does a Texas sheriff need the commissioners court to approve the office policy manual?
A county attorney asked whether a sheriff must submit the sheriff's office policy manual to the county commissioners court for approval or rejection. The Attorney General concluded that no statute…
Can an arrested person in Texas waive being read their rights by a magistrate?
A House committee chair asked whether a magistrate's duty to admonish an arrested person under article 15.17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is mandatory, and whether an arrested person may waive…
Can a Texas court order destruction of blood evidence after a DWI case ends?
The Harris County District Attorney asked whether a court may order the destruction of blood seized while investigating an intoxication-related misdemeanor, and whether the DA's office may petition…
Can a Texas judge order a probation department director to personally prepare a presentence investigation report?
The Hunt County District Attorney and County Attorney asked whether a district judge could compel the local community supervision (probation) department's director to personally prepare and present…
Can a Texas economic development corporation get its employees health benefits through a government risk pool?
State Senator John Carona asked whether an economic development corporation could cover its employees through a risk pool set up under chapter 172 of the Local Government Code, since those pools are…
Can a city council member step aside during a public meeting to talk privately with a city employee?
A district attorney asked whether a member of a governmental body, such as a city council member, may leave an open public meeting to confer privately with an employee of that body while a quorum…
Can a Texas county require trash service in a city's extraterritorial area without the city's agreement?
A state representative asked whether a county could provide mandatory solid waste (trash) disposal service, by contract or otherwise, in part of the county that lies within a city's extraterritorial…
Does a Texas city need a voter election before collecting crime and fire district sales tax in limited-purpose annexed areas?
A state representative asked, on behalf of a former colleague, whether the Comptroller could adopt rules that effectively stop a city from imposing a sales and use tax under an existing strategic…
Can a Texas prosecutor make you plead guilty to get into a pretrial diversion program?
The Office of Court Administration asked whether a prosecutor may require a defendant to plead guilty as a condition of entering a pretrial intervention (pretrial diversion) program under section…
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Attorney general opinions in Texas are written by the Texas 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.