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.
No Texas opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Can a Texas county commissioners court force county offices onto new software over the elected officials' objections, and what can those officials do about it?
Mostly yes for the commissioners court. Hood County was converting offices from NET Data to Tyler Technologies, and some justices of the peace objected. A JP is the 'records management officer' for…
Can a Texas city hire a law firm that employs a relative of the city manager, and does anyone have to disclose the relationship?
Yes, the contract is allowed, but it triggers disclosure paperwork. The City of Petersburg used a law firm, and the city manager's son-in-law later joined that firm and did some city work. The Hale…
When is a physician-owned eyewear company exempt from the Texas rules that bar ophthalmic-goods sellers from controlling optometrists?
Only if it stays small. The Texas Optometry Board asked four questions stemming from earlier opinion KP-0297. The AG declined the first three because they were the subject of pending cases before…
Can the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council repeal or change a rule about counselor or therapist licensing on its own, or does the examining board have to act first?
The examining board has to act first. The Behavioral Health Executive Council is the umbrella agency that regulates marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, social workers, and…
Is a 'skill game' amusement machine illegal gambling in Texas if chance affects how much you can win, not just whether you win?
Likely yes, it counts as a gambling device. Three Panhandle prosecutors asked whether the 'Lone Star Skill Game' offered by Republic Amusements is a gambling device under Penal Code subsection…
Can a company (not just an individual) act as the substitute trustee that runs a mortgage foreclosure sale in Texas?
Yes, a corporate entity can. Senator Donna Campbell asked the AG to clear up confusion about whether a substitute trustee under Property Code chapter 51 has to be a human being or can be a legal…
What can a Texas online notary add to a document, what fees can they charge, and what has to be redacted before sharing the record?
The AG answered three online-notary questions. First, an online notary may add extra information like a barcode to the notarial certificate or elsewhere on the document, as long as it does not…
Who decides how Texas ballots get numbered, and can a voting machine print the number instead of using pre-printed ballot stock?
The county elections administrator decides, and yes, a machine can print the number. Hood County switched to a hybrid voting system (the Hart Verity 2.4) and asked three questions about Election…
Can a former county judge who retired through TCDRS fill in as a visiting judge when a Texas county judge is absent?
Probably not. Lampasas County asked whether a former constitutional county judge, who retired under the Texas County and District Retirement System but does not meet the Government Code's definition…
How can a Texas county legally get rid of worn-out items like old culverts when nobody bids on them at auction?
Cherokee County removes about one culvert a week and tries to sell them as 'salvage property' under Local Government Code section 263.152, but sometimes the bids do not even cover the newspaper…
Can a Texas store offer a suspected shoplifter a theft deterrent class instead of calling the police?
There is no Texas law that prohibits it. A House committee chair asked whether a merchant operating under the shopkeeper's privilege in Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 124.001 can offer a…
Can a Texas city council member also serve as a volunteer reserve police officer for the same city?
No, at least in Freeport. A man who was serving on the City of Freeport's police reserve force was then elected to the city council, and the Brazoria County Criminal District Attorney asked whether…
Can a Texas magistrate change the bail set in the county where someone was arrested on an out-of-county warrant?
Likely yes, in the right circumstances. When a warrant issues in one county but the person is arrested elsewhere, the arresting county magistrate sets bail and the accused may be transferred back to…
Can a Texas county give the sheriff's office a pay raise in the middle of the budget year?
Usually not without an emergency. San Jacinto County's commissioners court wanted to give every sheriff's office employee a raise mid-budget-year, but the budget had no money set aside for it. The…
Can a company that owns farmland in a Texas water district send a representative to vote in the district's elections?
Likely no. An LLC that owns irrigable farmland in the Maverick County Water Control & Improvement District No. 1 and uses the district's irrigation water wanted its authorized representative to…
If a city council member also works for the state, can the city still pay them per-meeting compensation?
It depends on whether the payment is a 'salary,' and the AG would not decide that. A Hutto city council member took a job with a state college system and was paid from state funds. Article XVI,…
Did a Texas county have to give public notice before paying elected officials federal COVID 'premium pay'?
Probably not. Tyler County received federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money and, in September 2021, the commissioners court voted a one-time 'premium pay' payment to county employees and…
Can the Texas Greyhound Association pay simulcast purse money straight to kennel and dog owners?
Likely not. When a Texas horse racetrack carries a simulcast of an out-of-state greyhound race (an 'interstate cross-species simulcast'), the Texas Racing Act requires it to pay 5.5 percent of each…
Can the public or a legislator inspect voted ballots in Texas during the 22-month preservation period?
Yes, for anonymous ballots. After an election, Texas keeps voted ballots locked up for at least 22 months, and election officials had been citing Election Code section 66.058 to refuse all access.…
Does the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act stop a Texas utility from serving a factory owned by a Chinese company?
Not by itself. The Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act bars Texas businesses and government entities from signing agreements that give certain foreign-owned companies (those tied to China, Iran,…
In Texas, can an engineer certify a county subdivision plat, or must a registered land surveyor do it?
Both have to sign off on their own parts. Local Government Code section 232.023(b)(1) says a county subdivision plat must 'be certified by a surveyor or engineer registered to practice in this…
Can Texas force a county probation department to refund its locally collected fees to the state at the end of the biennium?
No. County community supervision and corrections departments (the probation departments that serve the courts) are funded two ways: locally generated fees they collect, and 'state aid' the…
Can a Texas county commissioner also work as the general manager of a water authority?
Yes, on the facts presented. The Nueces County Attorney asked whether the common-law incompatibility doctrine or conflict-of-interest laws stop a county commissioner from also serving as general…
Can a Texas school district keep a child's medical or health information from the parents under Title IX?
No. Representative Briscoe Cain asked whether a school district may withhold medical or health information about a minor from the child's parent or legal guardian, after parents and teachers…
Did a large Texas county have to share its direct CARES Act COVID relief money with smaller cities inside it?
No, the federal law didn't require it. Senator Brandon Creighton asked about Montgomery County's handling of Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) money under the CARES Act. The CRF sent direct payments…
Can a Texas judge who is 74 on election day but turns 75 before the term starts run for another term?
No. The Jackson County Criminal District Attorney asked whether a district judge who is 74 on election day, but who turns 75 between election day and the start of the new term, may serve the…
Could a Texas school district give extra COVID paid leave only to vaccinated employees?
A court would likely find Houston ISD's extra COVID leave policy violated Executive Order GA-39 because employees had to show proof of vaccination or medical exemption to obtain the benefit, the AG…
Can a Texas conviction for unlawfully carrying a weapon before September 2021 be expunged along with the arrest records?
Probably, in the right case. The Nueces County District Attorney asked whether Code of Criminal Procedure article 55.01(a)(1)(C), which lets a person expunge all records and files relating to the…
Did the Texas Attorney General say gender-transition procedures on minors are child abuse?
Yes, as a legal opinion. In February 2022, responding to a request from state Representative Matt Krause, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued Opinion KP-0401 concluding that the surgical and chemical…
Can a part-time assistant county attorney who represents the state in child-protection cases also run a private practice representing parents and children?
Partly. The Burleson County Attorney wanted to hire a part-time assistant whose only job would be representing the Department of Family and Protective Services in county child-protection cases,…
Can a Texas county sheriff put up warning signs in a state highway right-of-way without TxDOT's permission?
No. The Goliad County Attorney asked whether the county could erect signs in the U.S. Highway 59 right-of-way after the sheriff put up Spanish-language signs warning human and drug traffickers to…
Is the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association a state agency barred from using its funds to lobby the Legislature?
Probably not. The chair of the House Committee on Elections asked whether the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) is a state agency subject to Government Code section 556.006, which bars a…
Can a Texas school district sell alcohol at a banquet hall inside its football stadium when it leases the space for private events?
The AG would not give a yes-or-no. Canyon Independent School District rebuilt a locker-room building at its football stadium and added a second-floor banquet facility (no classrooms inside), which…
Does the NCAA's transgender student-athlete policy violate Title IX?
The AG's view, with caveats. A state senator asked whether the NCAA's transgender student-athlete policy violates Title IX. As of this 2021 opinion, that policy let a trans female athlete compete on…
Can a Texas medical residency offer abortion training on an opt-in basis even though ACGME accreditation rules require opt-out?
The AG's view: yes. A state senator asked how Texas medical schools should handle a conflict between a federal nondiscrimination law and a national accreditor's abortion-training rule. The federal…
Can a Texas Type A general-law city disqualify an elected official from office over unpaid utilities or county debts?
The AG's view: mostly no. A county attorney asked whether the City of Cumby, a Type A general-law municipality, could enforce an ordinance disqualifying officials who are 'in default' to the city or…
Can a Texas county judge keep renewing a local disaster declaration without the commissioners court's consent?
The AG's view: no, not past the first week. A county attorney asked five questions about a county judge's power under Government Code section 418.108 to declare a local disaster. The AG concluded…
Can a Texas judge refuse a bail bondsman's affidavit to surrender (go off) a defendant's bond?
The AG's view: no. A county attorney asked whether a court has discretion to refuse a surety's affidavit to surrender a bond principal and to make the bondsman show cause first. The practice, called…
Does a Texas county have to rebid a county facility management contract before renewing or extending it?
The AG's view: not if the contract rests on the county's chapter 319 authority. The Midland County Attorney asked whether a county must follow the competitive procedures of Local Government Code…
Can a Texas county give or sell its county school land to the local school district?
The AG's view: a county cannot give it away, can sell it at fair market value, but the district cannot buy it just as an investment. The Reagan County Attorney asked whether the county could…
How long are the terms of office for a Texas conservation district's board of directors?
Four years, by statute. The Chambers County Auditor asked whether the Trinity Bay Conservation District board could change its directors' terms from two years to four. The 1949 special law that…
Does Texas's Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act block Chinese-owned companies from connecting power generation to the state's electric grid?
Generally yes, in the scenarios described. A state senator (the bill's author) asked how the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act applies to a proposed wind-generation project in Val Verde County…
Must a Texas school district accept and spend PTA donations earmarked for extra staff positions?
Yes, when the statute's conditions are met. The chair of the Senate Education Committee asked whether House Bill 1525 requires school districts to accept and spend PTA donations earmarked for…
Did Texas Executive Order GA-38 give people the right to refuse a local mask mandate?
The AG said yes, presuming the order was valid. In 2021, during the COVID-19 disaster declaration, the Williamson County Attorney asked whether Governor Abbott's Executive Order GA-38 created a…
Does a Texas district attorney have to appear when a court modifies an emergency protective order?
No, the DA may appear but is not required to. The Nueces County District Attorney asked whether he must represent the State when a municipal judge, acting as a magistrate, hears a motion to vacate…
Can a Texas general-law city switch to staggered election terms, and can council members refuse to draw lots?
It depends on whether the city used an ordinance, and council members cannot refuse the lots. The San Augustine County Attorney, for the City of San Augustine (a Type B general-law city with a mayor…
What is the longest deferred adjudication probation term for a third-degree felony in Texas?
Ten years. The Hood County District Attorney asked whether two community-supervision statutes conflict on the maximum term of deferred adjudication for certain third-degree felonies, those under…
Can a Texas legislator be removed from office for walking out to break quorum?
Not by the Attorney General, and not automatically. Representative James White asked, during the 2021 special sessions when House members left the state to deny a quorum, whether a legislator has a…
Can a Texas officer force entry into a home to serve a parole revocation (blue) warrant?
Yes, within limits. Senator Joan Huffman asked whether a peace officer is barred from forcing entry into a residence to enforce a parole revocation warrant, the warrant often called a 'blue…
Did Texas's no-mask-mandate order override the federal mask rules for buses and trains?
The AG could not say for sure that the federal orders won. Representative Senfronia Thompson asked how Governor Abbott's executive order interacted with the federal mask mandate on public transit.…
Can a Texas city or state agency require an emergency-use COVID-19 vaccine to enter a government building?
No, the AG said. Representative James White asked whether a government jurisdiction could legally condition access to a government facility on receipt of a vaccine issued under an emergency use…
Does amending an old government contingent-fee lawyer contract trigger Texas's Chapter 2254 approval and fee-cap rules?
It can. Representative Terry Canales asked whether amendments to a contingent fee legal services contract that a political subdivision originally signed before September 1, 2019 must comply with the…
What counts as 'residency' to run for county attorney in Texas, intent or actually living there?
Both. The Goliad County Auditor asked whether residency to run for county attorney is based on intent or on actually living in the county. The AG explained that the Election Code defines 'residence'…
Does a county attorney have a nepotism or conflict-of-interest problem if a relative's law firm contracts with the county?
Not under the facts presented, the AG said. The Harris County Attorney explained that his father-in-law owns an interest in a law firm that has contracts with the county to collect delinquent…
Can a Texas constable-elect take office first and get a peace officer license within 270 days?
The AG laid out the framework but left the specific timing to the courts and the facts. The Navarro County District Attorney asked whether a person elected constable may take office immediately and…
Can a Texas constable who also works as a deputy sheriff be paid overtime, including from a federal Justice Assistance Grant?
Partly yes, and partly not the AG's call. The Dimmit County Auditor asked whether an elected constable who has worked as a sheriff's deputy for two years can receive a deputy's sick leave and…
Can a Texas city impose tougher zoning or permit rules on open-enrollment charter schools than on other public schools?
Generally no, the AG said. Senator Larry Taylor asked about a City of Dallas ordinance that let traditional public schools build in an agricultural district after a lighter residential-adjacency…
Can a Texas licensing board discipline a social worker for discrimination based on categories the Legislature did not list in the statute?
No, the AG concluded. The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council asked whether it had authority for a rule that disciplined licensed social workers for refusing service based on disability,…
Does the Texas Railroad Commission have to address oil and gas equipment noise, like compressor station noise, in its annual plan?
No, the AG concluded. The Freestone County Attorney explained that citizens consider the low-frequency noise from oil and gas compressor stations, gas treating facilities, and pipelines severely…
Can a Texas city require specific paint colors and patterns for buildings, or does the state building-materials law block that?
It depends on the facts, and the AG could not give a yes-or-no answer. The Cameron County District Attorney asked whether Government Code section 3000.002 stops a city from requiring specific paint…
Browse Texas opinions by topic
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.