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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Can a Texas county attorney also volunteer as an ESGR ombudsman for the Guard and Reserve?
The Attorney General concluded yes. A county attorney holds a state office, and the Texas Constitution bars one person from holding both a state office and a federal 'office of profit or trust.' But a…
Does a Texas home-rule city have to pave and maintain a dedicated road so it can serve newly annexed property?
The Attorney General gave a two-part legal rule but left the facts to be decided elsewhere. A city must improve and maintain a dedicated right-of-way within its limits in two situations: (1) if the ci…
Can multiple companies get a single group license to manufacture or distribute bingo supplies in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded yes. The Bingo Enabling Act requires a manufacturer or distributor of bingo equipment to be licensed, and it defines the 'person' who can hold a license to include an 'i…
Can Texas city police officers set bail for someone they arrest, or does a judge have to do it?
The Attorney General read the bail statutes to give municipal police officers limited bail-setting authority. Under Code of Criminal Procedure article 17.20, a City of El Paso police officer may set r…
Can the Texas State Board of Education require school textbooks to meet content standards before approving them?
The Attorney General concluded the State Board of Education could adopt general textbook content standards, but only the kinds the Education Code already authorizes: the TEKS curriculum standards, phy…
Is it constitutional for Texas to let state legislators' letters affect who gets low-income housing tax credits?
The Attorney General concluded that Government Code section 2306.6710(b)(1) did not, on its face, violate the separation-of-powers doctrine in the Texas Constitution. The statute makes the Texas Depar…
Do I have to register as a sex offender in Texas for an out-of-state conviction if I was never on Texas probation or parole?
The Attorney General concluded that yes, a person who lives in Texas and has a reportable out-of-state sex-offense conviction must register under Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 62, even if the ent…
Can a Texas junior college district annex several school districts or counties with a single election?
The Attorney General concluded that a junior college district may not hold one annexation election covering territory that spans more than one school district or county. Education Code section 130.063…
Can a Texas junior college board start an annexation election without collecting voter signatures?
The Attorney General concluded that the governing board of a junior college district may call an annexation election without a voter petition when the student-enrollment conditions in Education Code s…
Can a Texas municipal utility district that never provided service dissolve and refund leftover taxes?
The Attorney General concluded that Lake LBJ Municipal Utility District No. 2 could not be dissolved by the TCEQ as an 'inactive' district under Water Code section 49.321, because TCEQ rules require t…
Can I file a 'common-law copyright' on my name at the Texas county clerk's office?
The Attorney General concluded that a county clerk cannot file or record a 'common-law copyright' notice. A county clerk may record only documents that a statute authorizes, requires, or permits, and …
Do health insurance and a car allowance count as pay for a Texas city's mayor and council under the city charter?
The Attorney General offered a general observation that health insurance premium payments and fixed car allowances exceeding actual expenses count as 'compensation' for a city's mayor and commissioner…
Can a Texas family bury relatives on their own land without filing cemetery paperwork with the county?
The Attorney General concluded that an unincorporated family burying its own members on family-owned land is not a 'cemetery organization' under chapter 711 of the Health and Safety Code, so it is not…
Is the Texas Office for the Prevention of Developmental Disabilities an independent state agency?
The Attorney General concluded that the Office for the Prevention of Developmental Disabilities was not subject to the fiscal control or oversight of the Health and Human Services Commission, which on…
Did Texas conflict-disclosure law require every local vendor, including professionals and small sellers, to file a questionnaire?
Under the law as it stood in 2006, vendors contracting or seeking to contract with a Texas local governmental entity generally had to file a conflict-of-interest questionnaire even when they had no re…
Does a veteran have to be a U.S. citizen to get the Texas veteran tuition exemption?
The Attorney General concluded that an honorably discharged veteran does not have to be a United States citizen at the time of registering for college to receive the tuition-and-fee exemption in Educa…
Can Texas public school textbook funds be spent on computers and other equipment?
The Attorney General concluded that money in the state textbook fund cannot be used to buy computer hardware or other equipment. The Education Code defines a 'textbook' (which includes an 'electronic …
Does a property tax lien on a manufactured home follow the home or the owner?
The Attorney General concluded that a tax lien for taxes on a manufactured home attaches to the specific home (not the owner) on January 1 of the tax year, so it follows the home. A taxing unit may pe…
Can a Texas county auditor be removed for having a personal interest in a county contract?
The Attorney General concluded that a county auditor who has a personal interest in a county contract, contrary to the oath required by Local Government Code section 84.007(b)(2), may have committed '…
What rules apply when a Texas city leases its oil, gas, or mineral land?
The Attorney General concluded that two statutes governing mineral leases by a city cannot be reconciled, and that Local Government Code section 253.005 wins. That statute lets a municipality lease it…
Can Texas put red-light enforcement cameras on state highway rights-of-way?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Department of Transportation may install cameras on state highway rights-of-way to monitor compliance with traffic-control signals and help enforce traffi…
Can a city building official rely on an engineer's seal that a plan meets building codes?
The Attorney General explained that Occupations Code section 1001.402 lets a city building official accept a plat or plan only if it bears a professional engineer's seal, but the statute does not crea…
Can Texas university systems buy printing services without competitive bidding?
The Attorney General concluded that The University of Texas System and The Texas A&M University System may, if they choose, acquire printing services under Government Code chapter 2155 and the Texas B…
What was the maximum salary a Texas district judge could be paid?
The Attorney General concluded that the maximum lawful salary payable to a Texas state district judge under Government Code section 659.012 was $140,000. The figure works up a chain: an associate Texa…
Does a Texas county clerk have to deduct a fee from a cash bail bond refund?
The Attorney General concluded yes. A county or district clerk is required, under section 117.055 of the Local Government Code, to charge an administrative fee when returning funds deposited as a cash…
Can an off-duty reserve police officer wear their uniform working a private security job?
The Attorney General concluded no. A reserve peace officer employed by a sheriff, constable, navigation district, or municipal police department may not wear the official uniform or display the insign…
Can El Paso's water utility board charge developers an impact fee?
The Attorney General concluded no. The El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board had no authority to establish impact fees for water and wastewater infrastructure. Local Government Code chapter 395…
Can a Texas home-rule city change its charter without a public vote?
The Attorney General concluded no. A home-rule city charter provision letting the city commission amend the charter by ordinance is void, because article XI, section 5 of the Texas Constitution requir…
Do Texas nail salons have to sterilize tools in an autoclave?
The Attorney General found two 2005 laws in conflict. Senate Bill 411 required nondisposable nail, hand, and foot tools to be sterilized in an autoclave; House Bill 1304 allowed an autoclave or a dry …
Can a Texas city change its budget without passing a new ordinance?
The Attorney General concluded that a city which adopts its budget by ordinance can amend that budget only by another ordinance, an act of equal dignity, and not by a mere resolution, motion, or order…
Who can remove an abandoned mobile home from a Texas county road?
The Attorney General concluded that a county constable could not use Transportation Code section 545.3051, the roadway personal-property removal statute, to remove an abandoned manufactured (mobile) h…
Which payment deadline applies when a Texas school district owes a city gas utility?
The Attorney General concluded that Government Code chapter 2251 (the prompt-payment statute), not the city-owned Alto Natural Gas Company's own payment policy, governs when the Wells Independent Scho…
Can a part-time college instructor get paid to serve on a water district board?
The Attorney General concluded yes. Article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution generally bars a state employee from drawing a salary for serving on a local governing body, but it makes an excep…
Can the Texas Comptroller investigate and report on a state agency?
The Attorney General concluded that the Comptroller does not have authority to initiate and conduct an investigation into the effectiveness and efficiency of a state agency's policies, management, fis…
In Texas, do all judges in a county have to give arrest warnings, or just the justice of the peace?
The Attorney General concluded that every officer who is a magistrate under article 2.09 (district judges, county judges, county-court-at-law judges, statutory probate judges, justices of the peace, a…
Can Texas stop minors from crossing into Mexico, or limit where teenagers can be near the border?
The Attorney General drew a line between two different things. A state law that tries to stop minors from crossing the international border would intrude on the federal government's exclusive power ov…
Can a Texas county sheriff send jail inmates to work for a nonprofit, and what approval is needed?
The Attorney General concluded that a county sheriff has no free-standing power to run an inmate work program. The only legal sources for one are article 43.09 or 43.10 of the Code of Criminal Procedu…
Does a Texas therapist need a separate state license to treat sex offenders, on top of their professional license?
The Attorney General concluded that a person needs two licenses, not one, to provide sex offender rehabilitation services in Texas. The professional license (as a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist…
Are grand jury and trial jury name lists confidential in Texas, or can lawyers and the public see them?
The Attorney General concluded that jury lists, which are just the jurors' names, are presumed public, and neither a clerk nor a judge has a duty to keep them confidential once the clerk opens the sea…
Can a Texas city council member who isn't paid for his current term run for the state legislature?
The Attorney General concluded that the council member was eligible to run. Article III, section 19 of the Texas Constitution bars a person who holds a 'lucrative office' from being elected to the leg…
Does a Texas private school have to admit a child who has a vaccine exemption?
The Attorney General concluded that a private school that does not accept state tax funds is not required to accept for enrollment a child who has an exemption from the immunizations required by the H…
Can a private prison company hire the county sheriff's relative, or does nepotism law block it?
The Attorney General concluded that the nepotism statute does not apply, so the private operator of the Reeves County Detention Center was not prohibited from hiring the sheriff's son. Texas nepotism …
If a Texas seller missed annual contract-for-deed statements, do the old higher penalties or the new lower ones apply?
The Attorney General concluded that the 2005 version of Property Code section 5.077(c), which sets the lower liquidated-damages amount, applies retroactively. Under a contract for deed, the seller mus…
When must a Texas school district file a truancy complaint, and what happens if it misses the deadline?
The Attorney General answered three questions about the 2005 version of Education Code section 25.0951. First, the seven-school-day filing deadline runs from the student's tenth unexcused absence: a s…
Does Texas's 'provider of last resort' rule for local MHMR authorities cover mental health services too, or only mental retardation services?
The Attorney General concluded that section 533.035(e), which says a local mental health and mental retardation authority 'may serve as a provider of services only as a provider of last resort,' appli…
Does Texas's nepotism law apply to a junior college board hiring a relative of a board member if the president actually does the hiring?
The Attorney General concluded that the nepotism statute, Government Code section 573.041, prohibits Del Mar College from employing an adjunct instructor related within a prohibited degree to a member…
Do apartment maintenance workers in Texas need a pest-control license to spray pesticides on the landscaping?
The Attorney General concluded that under Occupations Code section 1951.051, the Texas Structural Pest Control Board may not require an employee of an apartment building owner to get a license before …
If I was let off probation when my term ended but never paid my court fines, do I still owe them in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that for both regular and deferred adjudication community supervision, the supervision period ends automatically when the term expires, even if the judge never signs a d…
How many votes does a Texas hospital district board need to pass something, and do abstentions count against it?
The Attorney General concluded that because the Harris County Hospital District Board of Managers adopted Robert's Rules of Order to govern its meetings, it approves an action by a majority vote of th…
Two Texas bills changed the same water-funding law in 2005, so which version of the 'affected county' rule actually applies?
The Water Development Board pointed out that two bills from the 2005 legislature, Senate Bill 425 and House Bill 467, amended the same Water Code sections (16.341 and 17.923) in conflicting ways, and …
Can an 18, 19, or 20-year-old in Texas collect a lottery prize directly, or does it have to go through an adult?
The Attorney General concluded that for purposes of the State Lottery Act, a 'minor' is anyone who has not yet turned 21. That is because Government Code section 466.405, which governs paying prizes t…
Can Texas's Private Security Board make new alarm installers work under supervision or meet electrical-code standards?
The Chair of the House Public Health Committee asked whether the Private Security Board could adopt two rules for newly registered alarm installers. The Attorney General split the answer. On the first…
If a small Texas city already taxes hotels in its ETJ, does a new county hotel tax force the city to drop its tax over the 15% cap?
The Attorney General concluded that section 351.0025(b) of the Tax Code limits cities, not counties, so it is not a question of which one has priority. A city with fewer than 35,000 people may tax hot…
Can a Texas waterfront owner rebuild eroded land that became School Fund property and keep title without paying the fund?
The General Land Office Commissioner asked whether a 2005 law, Natural Resources Code section 33.613, was constitutional. The Attorney General concluded it was not. When a waterfront (littoral) owner'…
Can a Texas attorney ad litem meet with a foster child by phone before a court hearing, or does the law require an in-person meeting?
Two legislators asked whether a telephone interview satisfies an attorney ad litem's duty under Family Code section 107.004(d) to meet, before each court hearing, with a child in a child-protection ca…
When a Texas county distributes county permanent school fund money to its districts, are transfer students counted where they live or where they attend school?
Dawson County's attorney asked how to split a county permanent school fund reduction among five school districts when many students live in one district but attend another. The Attorney General conclu…
Does a Texas county clerk have to impress a raised seal on every page of a certified copy, or only on the last page?
The Office of Court Administration asked whether the county clerk's certificate that goes on each page of a certified copy has to include a raised (embossed) seal on every page, or whether the seal ca…
Does a Texas retirement home that makes residents use the owner's own home health agency for care have to be licensed as an assisted living facility?
The Department of Aging and Disability Services asked about a place, marketed as a retirement community, that housed more than four unrelated residents and required them, by contract, to get all perso…
Can a Texas elected constable also work full-time as a deputy sheriff at the same time?
Fannin County's attorney asked whether an elected constable is barred from also serving as a full-time deputy sheriff. The Attorney General concluded there is no such bar. Article XVI, section 40 of t…
If a Texas wireless carrier disputes whether the 911 fee applies to its service and seeks a refund, does the 911 Commission or the Comptroller decide?
A wireless carrier filed a refund claim with both the Commission on State Emergency Communications and the Comptroller, arguing the 9-1-1 fee did not apply to its prepaid service. The Commission asked…
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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.