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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Does a Texas official's child's income count as the official's income for conflict-of-interest rules?
The Attorney General concluded that a minor child's or dependent child's earnings are the child's own gross income, not the parent official's. Family Code provisions giving parents control over a…
Where does the interest earned on a Texas prosecutor's hot-check fund go?
The Attorney General concluded the interest does not stay in the hot-check fund. Although the common law says interest follows the principal, section 113.021(c) of the Local Government Code…
Can a Texas county commissioner be paid to drive an ambulance for the county EMS department?
The Attorney General concluded no. Section 81.002 of the Local Government Code, the oath every county commissioner takes, forbids a commissioner from having any interest, direct or indirect, in a…
Does the Texas Open Meetings Act apply to a committee that helps a county choose an architect?
The Attorney General concluded yes, on the facts presented. A Smith County 'Evaluation Committee' that ranked architectural firms for the commissioners court and then negotiated the contract with…
Does a Texas funeral home need its own embalming room, and can it hire an embalmer as a contractor?
The Attorney General read article 4582b to require every licensed funeral establishment to have its own on-site embalming room; it cannot satisfy that licensing requirement by designating another…
When two Texas bills amend the same tax statute in the same session, which one controls?
The Attorney General concluded that the later-enacted bill controls. In 1997 the Legislature passed two bills, Senate Bill 141 and House Bill 3306, both rewriting section 34.06(b) of the Tax Code on…
Does a Texas city council have to post notice before going into closed session to talk to its attorney?
The Attorney General concluded that a private consultation with the body's attorney is a 'meeting' under the Open Meetings Act, so the body must give notice of the subject, even when the talk…
Can a Texas constable serve legal process in a school truancy case, or only the attendance officer?
The Attorney General concluded that a constable may serve process on a person who fails to appear at a truancy hearing, and must do so when a justice of the peace directs it. Section 25.091 of the…
Must a Texas county auditor audit the county department of education, and can the county charge for it?
The Attorney General concluded that the Harris County Auditor must audit the Harris County Department of Education every year under article 2919g-1 of the Revised Civil Statutes, even though an…
Can a Texas county attorney also work as a city attorney for a city in the county?
The Attorney General concluded that the Brewster County Attorney could simultaneously serve as an attorney for the City of Alpine. Because he was appointed by and served at the will of the city…
Is a state bond pricing committee covered by the Texas Open Meetings Act, and can it meet out of state?
The Attorney General concluded that a pricing committee appointed by the Texas Public Finance Authority Board to negotiate the final terms of a bond sale and sign the bond purchase contract is…
Can Texas store low-level radioactive waste in an assured-isolation facility, and can it ban private companies from disposing of federal nuclear waste?
The Attorney General concluded that an above-ground assured-isolation facility would satisfy Texas's current duty under the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact to manage and provide…
Can Texas license Canadian or Mexican engineers under NAFTA, or does federal welfare-reform law require them to be U.S. citizens or residents?
The Attorney General concluded that the federal Welfare Reform Act of 1996 restricts professional licenses for aliens based on their immigration status, but it does not limit licenses to U.S.…
If a Texas social worker was first licensed without an exam and let the license lapse for years, do they have to take an exam to get licensed again?
The Attorney General concluded that under the plain language of section 50.023(e) of the Human Resources Code, a person originally licensed as a social worker without an examination, whose license…
Can a Texas home-rule city ban killing feral pigeons or outlaw organized pigeon shoots?
The Attorney General concluded that the City of Carrollton could not forbid the killing of feral pigeons, because section 64.002(b) of the Parks and Wildlife Code expressly allowed feral rock doves…
Does the state or the county have to pay a Texas district judge's legal bills when the judge is sued?
The Attorney General concluded that neither the state nor a county was required to reimburse a state district judge for the cost of defending a mandamus action. Section 74.141 of the Government Code…
Can a Texas charity raffle off a house or other prize worth more than $50,000?
The Attorney General concluded that under the Charitable Raffle Enabling Act a qualified organization may raffle a prize worth more than $50,000 only if the prize was donated and the organization…
Does federal law override Texas's notice rules for canceling private mortgage insurance?
The Attorney General concluded that the federal Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 did not supersede the Texas notice law. Because the two notice requirements were consistent, a lender that gave…
Can a Texas prosecutor waive certified-mail service of a habeas corpus application?
The Attorney General concluded that Code of Criminal Procedure article 11.07, section 3(b) requires the court clerk to serve the prosecutor with a habeas corpus application by certified mail, return…
What investments counted as securities for the Texas Teacher Retirement System, and could outside managers choose them?
The Attorney General concluded that the investment meaning of securities in article XVI, section 67 came from chapter 8 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, not the broader federal and state…
Can a Texas prosecutor drop charges if the defendant donates money to charity?
The Attorney General concluded that although a prosecutor has broad discretion not to prosecute, a Texas prosecutor may not condition that decision on the offender contributing money to a government…
Can a Texas peace officer also work as a juvenile probation officer?
The Attorney General concluded that Human Resources Code section 141.065 bars any peace officer from simultaneously serving as a juvenile probation officer. The bar turns on being an appointed peace…
Can a Texas state agency stop employees from using vacation while on workers' comp?
The Attorney General concluded that the Department of Human Services could not deny annual leave to, or cap leave for, employees receiving workers' compensation benefits, including those on FMLA…
Does Texas need a constitutional amendment to issue GARVEE highway bonds?
The Attorney General advised that, given the unsettled question under article VIII, section 7-b (which dedicates federal highway reimbursements to highway purposes), the more prudent course was to…
Can Texas counties use state voter-registration funds for everyday registrar office costs?
The Attorney General concluded that the Secretary of State, as chief election officer overseeing chapter 19 funds, has implied authority to adopt rules on how those funds are spent, and properly…
How do Texas school districts choose a purchasing method, and when must they competitively bid?
The Attorney General concluded that under Education Code section 44.031 a school district adopts its own rules to pick which of eight purchasing methods gives the 'best value,' and competitive…
Can a Texas county pay to pave or fix city streets that aren't connected to a county road?
The Attorney General concluded that under Transportation Code section 251.012 a county may build, maintain, or improve a city street even if it is not an integral part of or connecting link with a…
Can a Texas city require homebuilders to use the city's garbage franchise to haul off construction debris?
The Attorney General concluded that a home-rule municipality may adopt an ordinance requiring residential construction contractors to use the franchisee the city selected for weekly residential and…
Can a Texas county attorney be paid for extra legal work or sign a contract with a city's municipal court?
The Attorney General concluded that a county attorney covered by the Professional Prosecutors Act cannot be paid by the county for ancillary legal services outside his statutory duties, because the…
Can a Texas county judge who is also a lawyer practice law in his own county's courts?
The Attorney General concluded that Government Code section 82.064 bars a county judge who is licensed to practice law from appearing as an attorney in any county or justice court over which his…
Does Texas prevailing-wage law apply to a project built by an economic development corporation?
The Attorney General concluded that Government Code chapter 2258, the prevailing-wage law, applies only to workers employed on a public work by or on behalf of the state or a political subdivision.…
How quickly must a Texas district clerk deposit court fees with the county treasurer?
The Attorney General concluded that Local Government Code section 113.022, which requires a county officer to deposit funds with the county treasurer within set deadlines, applies to court fees a…
Must a Texas state council report all the money it received even without a legislative appropriation?
The Attorney General concluded that Human Resources Code section 122.022 requires the Texas Council on Purchasing from People with Disabilities to account each year for all funds it received and…
Can a Texas deputy county clerk keep her job after moving to another county?
The Attorney General concluded that a deputy county clerk is an employee, not a public officer, so the Texas Constitution's requirement (article XVI, section 14) that district and county officers…
Can a Texas general-law city council cancel its meetings for several months in a row?
The Attorney General concluded that no statute requires the city council of a Type A general-law city to meet every month or sets any meeting schedule (chapter 22 of the Local Government Code), and…
How does the Texas ERS privatization retirement option add years to a worker's age and service credit?
The Attorney General concluded the Employees Retirement System was right that Government Code section 814.1041(b)'s privatization retirement option applies only to employees who are not already…
Can a Texas county raise the sheriff's longevity pay and give him back pay for past years?
The Attorney General concluded that the commissioners court may, at its discretion, raise the sheriff's longevity pay going forward, because setting county officers' compensation is the court's call…
Can a Texas municipal court hear a case for a city nuisance ordinance violation that happened outside the city limits?
The Attorney General concluded yes. When a home-rule city is authorized to adopt a nuisance ordinance reaching up to 5,000 feet beyond its limits (Local Government Code section 217.042) and has…
If I post a cash bail bond for someone else in Texas, do I get the money back?
The Attorney General concluded that a third party may post a cash bail bond to get a defendant released, but for the court's purposes the cash is treated as the defendant's. The receipt is issued in…
Can a Texas county auditor stop the commissioners court from ordering an independent audit?
The Attorney General concluded no. Under Local Government Code section 115.031(i), a commissioners court may order an independent audit of county accounts and officials, including the auditor's own…
Can Texas stop lawyers from mailing solicitations to people within 30 days of their arrest?
The Attorney General concluded that a court would probably hold this part of the barratry statute unconstitutional. Penal Code section 38.12(d)(2)(C) makes it a crime for an attorney to send a…
Are Texas's warrantless search rules for chemical precursor permits constitutional?
The Attorney General concluded that neither Health and Safety Code section 481.078(e) nor section 481.081(e) is unconstitutional on its face. Those provisions require anyone seeking a permit to…
Can the TNRCC require septic-system site evaluators to be certified?
The Attorney General concluded no. Chapter 366 of the Health and Safety Code, which governs on-site sewage disposal systems, expressly authorizes the Commission to regulate two occupations,…
Can a Texas sheriff refuse a bail bondsman's bond because he defaulted in another county?
The Attorney General concluded no, not unilaterally. In a county with a bail bond board governed by article 2372p-3, a sheriff must accept a bond from a bondsman who is licensed and meets the…
Can a housing authority employee buy a home through the authority's affordable housing program?
The Attorney General concluded no. Section 392.043 of the Local Government Code's Housing Authorities Law bars a housing authority employee from owning or acquiring an interest in a housing project.…
Can Texas ban hazardous waste generated in another country from coming into the state?
The Attorney General concluded no. Section 361.0235 of the Health and Safety Code banned importing hazardous waste generated in a foreign country for treatment, storage, or disposal in Texas. The…
Can police enforce traffic laws on private streets inside a Texas city?
The Attorney General concluded no. State and municipal traffic laws in Transportation Code title 7, subtitle C apply only on publicly maintained highways and streets, not on privately owned ways.…
Can a Texas for-profit corporation convert into a nonprofit corporation?
The Attorney General concluded yes. Under article 5.17 of the Business Corporation Act, a for-profit domestic corporation may convert to any 'other entity,' a term the Act defines to include a…
Can a Texas county use its courthouse security fund to buy clip-on microphones for deputies' radios?
The Attorney General concluded that article 102.017(d)(9) does not authorize buying clip-on microphones for deputies' radios from the courthouse security fund. They are not 'locks, chains, or other…
Can private school students in Texas take dual-credit junior college courses for high school credit?
The Attorney General concluded that, as written, no. Education Code section 130.008 lets a public junior college offer joint high school/junior college credit courses only to a student 'attending a…
Can the Texas plumbing board set statewide plumbing codes, and can cities adopt their own?
The Attorney General concluded that section 5B(a) of the Texas Plumbing License Law gives the State Board of Plumbing Examiners express authority to adopt statewide plumbing codes, superseding a…
Can a Texas school district require its contractors to pay workers a living wage?
The Attorney General concluded no, at least for contracts covered by the state prevailing-wage law. The McAllen school district wanted to require its outside contractors to pay a 'poverty level…
Does a parole condition to register as a sex offender force local police to register the parolee?
The Attorney General concluded no. A parole contract requiring a parolee to 'comply with Sex Offender Registration Program' is an agreement between the parolee and the Pardons and Paroles Division,…
Must Texas local governments hold a hearing before any property tax increase, even from new construction?
The Attorney General concluded yes. Tax Code section 26.05(d) requires a political subdivision to hold a public hearing before adopting a tax rate that would collect more total taxes than the…
Can a lawyer advertise in the bail bond yellow pages without a bondsman license?
The Attorney General concluded yes, at least as a matter of law. Section 15(g) of the Bail Bond Act bars a person from advertising 'as a bondsman' without a license, but a 'bondsman' is defined as…
Does federal food labeling law override Texas' standard weights for loaves of bread?
The Attorney General concluded no, at least as a matter of law. Texas Health and Safety Code section 434.007 requires wholesale and retail bread loaves to weigh a pound, a pound and a half, or…
Does a water district's resign-to-run rule apply to Edwards Aquifer Authority board members?
The Attorney General concluded yes. Water Code section 49.072 says a director of a district who becomes a candidate for another office is no longer qualified to serve, and chapter 49 applies to the…
Can a city council force its police to buy vehicles with asset forfeiture money?
The Attorney General reached a two-part answer. No, a city council cannot compel its police department to buy vehicles with asset-forfeiture funds: under chapter 59 of the Code of Criminal…
Can a county invest its permanent school fund at below-market rates to support low-income housing?
The Attorney General concluded no. Under article VII, section 6 of the Texas Constitution, a county holds its permanent school fund as a trustee for local public schools and owes the fund a…
Is a state agency or university exempt from another state agency's rules just because it's a state entity?
The Attorney General concluded no. A properly adopted rule from a state agency that has the legislature's rule-making authority carries the force of law, and a participant in the regulated activity…
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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.