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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Could a Texas district clerk demand advance payment of sheriff or constable fees for serving civil process?
No, except for the separate out-of-county situation governed by Rule 126. Rules 17 and 149 required the service fee to be taxed as a court cost and collected after judgment. That arrangement…
Do home-rule city police officers in Texas have to take the constitutional oath of office?
Two Texas legislators asked whether a home-rule city's police officers and police-department staff must take the constitutional oath of office. The Attorney General found the law unsettled on…
Who had to pay the medical costs of indigent inmates in the Parker County Jail?
The Parker County Hospital District had to provide or pay for necessary care for eligible inmates who lived in Parker County. For eligible Texas inmates from elsewhere, responsibility generally…
Do Texas Medicaid providers have to certify they're current on child support?
The Texas Department of Health asked whether the Family Code rule barring child-support delinquents from state-funded contracts applied to Medicaid providers. The original statute (former Family…
Does a 15-passenger van have to meet Texas school bus rules when carrying students?
The Commissioner of Education asked how to read the 'school bus' and 'passenger car' rules in Education Code section 34.003, added by Senate Bill 1 in 1995. That statute lets school districts use…
Does a Texas official automatically resign by announcing a run for another office, and can they keep serving?
A county attorney asked about the Texas Constitution's 'resign to run' rule (article XVI, section 65). A Hopkins County court-at-law judge, with more than a year left in his term, announced at a…
Do Texas Youth Commission workers earn longevity-pay credit during their first year in a hazardous job?
The Texas Youth Commission asked the Attorney General two pay questions. First, does an employee in a hazardous-duty position keep building 'lifetime service credit' toward longevity pay during the…
Can vendors sell phone or pager service to Texas agencies through the catalogue purchase method?
The General Services Commission asked whether vendors of local telephone, long-distance, cellular, mobile-radio, or pager service could sell those services to state agencies through the 'catalogue…
Can a Texas water district tax Permanent University Fund land that never got water service?
The University of Texas System asked whether the El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 could levy taxes 'on the benefit basis' under Water Code chapter 55, subchapter N, against three…
Can a Texas city annex land again after it was annexed and then disannexed by petition?
A state representative asked whether a Texas general-law city is barred from reannexing an area that it had annexed under Local Government Code section 43.033 and then had to disannex after the…
Besides the $10 teen court fee, can a Texas municipal court charge a juvenile other court costs?
A district attorney asked whether a municipal court of record must charge a juvenile in a 'teen court' program any court costs beyond the $10 administrative fee that the teen-court statute (Code of…
Can a Texas county clerk charge a court-security fee or records fee to file a birth, death, or fetal death record?
The Commissioner of Health asked the Attorney General to reconsider an earlier opinion (DM-283) that had said county clerks must collect the $1 courthouse-security fee on birth and death…
Do oil and gas royalties from land under a Texas highway have to go into the constitutional highway fund?
The Texas Department of Transportation asked whether oil and gas royalties from highway right-of-way land must be credited to the highway fund that the Texas Constitution creates in article VIII,…
Can a Texas hospital include facilities at separate locations under one license, or must each site be licensed separately?
The Commissioner of the Texas Department of Health asked whether the department could license a hospital for additional facilities operated apart from its main location, given that the licensing…
If a Texas county adopted the optional county road law decades ago, is that still in effect, and can the county hire a road administrator instead of a licensed engineer?
The Waller County district attorney asked whether the county's old adoption of the Optional County Road Law of 1947 was wiped out when the Legislature repealed and recodified that law in 1983, and…
Can a Texas city let charities solicit donations from drivers in the roadway while banning other roadside solicitation?
A state representative asked the Attorney General whether the Texas law that lets local authorities permit people to stand in a roadway to solicit charitable donations, while banning solicitation…
Can a recorded abstract of judgment cloud the title to a Texas homestead, and is refusing to release it slander of title?
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which holds student-loan judgments, asked whether recording an abstract of one of those judgments clouds a debtor's homestead and whether refusing to…
Can a Texas gas station question a driver's disability before giving full service at self-serve prices?
The Commissioner of Agriculture asked how gas stations should handle the Texas law that requires them to refuel disabled drivers. The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that under article 8613, a…
Can a Texas city or county ban licensed concealed handguns in its parks, or a transit agency on its buses?
Representative Ron Wilson asked, after the 1995 concealed handgun law passed, whether a rapid transit authority could bar licensed concealed handguns from its buses and whether cities and counties…
Could a Texas business post a sign barring concealed-handgun license holders, and how could the owner enforce it?
Yes. The 1995 concealed-handgun law did not prevent private business owners from excluding license holders under the criminal-trespass statute, and a posted sign was the most effective notice.…
Can a Texas school district transport students in a vehicle that isn't a certified school bus?
The Texas Education Agency asked whether a school district could buy, lease, rent, or use a vehicle that does not meet federal and state school bus safety standards to carry students. The Attorney…
Is Texas's one-year residency requirement for a liquor license constitutional?
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission asked whether the Alcoholic Beverage Code's one-year residency requirement for liquor license and permit applicants violates the U.S. Constitution, given that…
Does a Texas state agency have to pay county clerk filing, records, and courthouse-security fees?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the Texas Railroad Commission had to pay county clerk fees when it filed the well-plugging notices required by Natural Resources Code section 89.043(e).…
Which University of Texas fees are military veterans exempt from under the state tuition exemption?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that veterans who qualified under Education Code section 54.203 were exempt from most dues, fees, and charges at the University of Texas at Austin, but not…
How do you have to serve a Texas tenant when you sue for eviction and back rent together?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the streamlined service rules for evictions (forcible detainer actions), Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 739, 742, and 742a, do not apply to a suit for…
Can a Texas county make the county attorney put the hot-check fund in the county budget?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the county attorney's hot-check fee fund, the money collected under article 102.007 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for handling dishonored and forged…
If Texas wins my unpaid-wage claim, can I collect on the state's lien myself?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the Texas Employment Commission had no authority to hand off (assign or transfer) a lien or notice of assessment for unpaid wages to the worker who filed…
Can Texas appraise open-space farm and ranch land by the cash lease method?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the cash lease method of valuing open-space farm and ranch land for property tax was constitutional. Article VIII, section 1-d-1 of the Texas Constitution…
Can a Texas court appoint a paid lawyer for a poor death-row inmate's habeas appeal?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a Texas trial court did have the power to appoint a lawyer for an indigent capital murder defendant in a postconviction habeas corpus proceeding under…
Does the federal Brady Act force a state mental health agency to give gun-buyer records to police?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the federal Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act did not require or authorize the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation to disclose…
Can a Texas school take and keep a student's pager if it's only leased, not owned?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that Education Code section 21.309, which barred students from carrying pagers at school and required confiscation and forfeiture to the district, applied to…
If Texas changes just two senate districts, does the whole senate have to run for re-election?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that any legislation redrawing Texas senate districts, even a bill touching only two of the thirty-one, is an 'apportionment' under article III, section 3 of…
Does a Texas county or school district satisfy bidding rules by buying through the state catalogue?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a local government (a county, city, school district, junior college district, or other political subdivision) that takes part in the state's cooperative…
Can you get a pardon in Texas after completing deferred adjudication?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a person who successfully completes deferred adjudication community supervision and has the charges dismissed and is discharged under article 42.12,…
Can a Texas court clerk turn unclaimed court funds over to the state without a judge's order?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that section 117.002 of the Texas Local Government Code is valid and constitutional. Under it, money deposited with a county or district clerk in a court case…
Does a Texas school district have to take competitive bids before buying insurance?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a Texas school district must put a contract for the purchase of insurance out for competitive bids if the contract is worth $25,000 or more over a…
Can a Texas state agency buy liability insurance for its employees?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission could obtain Tort Claims Act liability insurance for employees at no cost. A 1993 budget rider barred using…
Do disabled parking plates let you skip campus parking permits and fees at a Texas university?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a Texas state university could require students, faculty, and staff, even those who are disabled, to register their vehicles and pay a reasonable fee, and…
Is it illegal in Texas to bet on card games played online over computers and modems?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that when two or more people use their own computers and modems to play and bet on a card game, the activity is illegal gambling under chapter 47 of the Texas…
Can a Texas city make its own rules for septic systems, or does the state control that?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that chapter 366 of the Texas Health and Safety Code set up comprehensive statewide regulation of on-site sewage disposal systems (septic systems) under the…
Do you have to pay the witness fee for someone subpoenaed to a deposition, not just to court?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the witness fee in section 22.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code (then a flat $10 per day) had to be paid to everyone subpoenaed to appear…
Does Title VI of the Civil Rights Act ban discrimination in federally funded programs, and who counts as a recipient?
The Attorney General confirmed in 1995 that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. sections 2000d to 2000d-7) was enacted to prohibit discrimination based on race, color, or national…
Can a public retirement system's board review a disability applicant's medical records in a closed meeting?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the board of trustees of a public retirement system may meet in closed session to review and deliberate the medical and psychiatric records of someone…
Can a videographer who is a notary public, but not a court reporter, record a deposition in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a 'videographer' who is also a notary public, but who is not a certified shorthand reporter, could not make a videotape that serves as the only record of…
Did an expanded Texas county civil service system cover deputy sheriffs and constables, and could its commission create subpoena power?
Under the 1995 law and the facts presented, an expanded subchapter A county civil service system covered deputy sheriffs and deputy constables when the sheriff’s department had no separate…
Can a Texas county cut or phase out health insurance for district judges and the district attorney?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that Local Government Code section 157.002 let a county provide medical coverage for district officers whose salaries the county pays, even a supplemental…
Can a Texas acupuncturist call themselves a 'doctor' or 'Oriental Medical Doctor (O.M.D.)'?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a Texas acupuncturist could use the title 'doctor' as long as they followed section 4 of the Healing Art Identification Act, which requires designating…
If a Texas school district hires a private company to run its classes, does it still have to follow state school rules?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that section 23.34 of the Education Code, which lets an independent school district contract with a public or private entity to provide educational services,…
Could a vandalism victim inspect or copy a child's confidential Texas juvenile-court records for use in a related civil damages case?
Possibly. A juvenile court could find that a vandalism victim had a legitimate interest in records needed for a related civil damages action, but that decision rested in the court's discretion.…
Can a Texas county sheriff assign reserve deputies to work as paid security guards for private companies or other agencies?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that section 85.004 of the Local Government Code, which lets a commissioners court authorize the sheriff to appoint reserve deputies and call them into service…
Does a subordinated bank loan count against a Texas pawnshop's net assets when it applies for a license?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a debt covered by a subordination agreement, in which the bank gives up its lien priority and any unsecured-creditor claim to the pawnshop's current…
Must a Texas city bid CDBG-funded contracts with nonprofits, and does that include grants?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a Texas city spending federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money had to follow municipal competitive bidding laws for contracts over the…
In Texas, can a towing company give a parking lot the required tow-away warning sign, or is that an illegal kickback?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the warning sign a parking lot must post before towing unauthorized vehicles is a 'thing of value,' even though it cost only about twenty dollars, so a…
Can a Texas university run a student debit card program without a banking or check-seller license?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a campus debit card program (where a student, faculty member, or staffer prepays into a university account and draws it down for on-campus purchases, with…
Do disability-owned businesses count as Texas HUBs (historically underutilized businesses)?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that no, the General Services Commission could not adopt a rule treating businesses owned by people with disabilities as 'historically underutilized…
Could off-duty Texas peace officers or security guards carry guns at a racetrack?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that no. Penal Code section 46.03 made it a third-degree felony to take a firearm onto certain premises, including a racetrack, and gave a defense only to a…
Can Texas force local governments into an assessment-funded insurance guaranty pool?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that no, the proposal as described would be unconstitutional. A legislative subcommittee wanted to create a guaranty association for the workers' compensation…
Can a Texas school district use local tax money to hire a lobbyist?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that no, the source of the money makes no difference. Education Code section 21.939 barred a school district from employing anyone required to register as a…
Can a Texas justice of the peace make employees pay for cash shortages?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a justice of the peace is strictly liable to the county for the funds he actually collects and cannot offload that liability onto employees by contract or…
Can Texas revoke the peace officer license of an elected sheriff or constable?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that yes. Two Government Code sections seemed to clash: section 415.060(a) let the state licensing commission set revocation procedures for any license it…
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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.