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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Was Texas Attorney General Opinion JM-1249 withdrawn?
Yes. In this brief December 17, 1990 notice, the Texas Attorney General stated that Opinion JM-1249 was withdrawn in its entirety and that the office would advise later how it would proceed. No substi…
Do Texas jail standards apply to a city jail that a private company runs under contract?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the minimum jail standards adopted by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards apply to a jail that a private vendor operates for a municipa…
Can a Texas municipal utility district pay for park land with revenue notes instead of bonds?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a municipal utility district created under article XVI, section 59 of the Texas Constitution and operating under chapter 54 of the Water C…
Can Texas charge a petroleum storage-tank cleanup fee on barges bringing fuel in from other states but not on in-state barges?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that section 26.3574 of the Water Code, which funds the petroleum storage tank remediation (cleanup) fund, is unconstitutional as applied to bar…
Does the Texas Charitable Immunity Act protect a chamber of commerce and its volunteers from lawsuits?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a chamber of commerce is not a 'charitable organization' under the Charitable Immunity and Liability Act of 1987 (chapter 84 of the Civil P…
Do all Texas gasoline distributors pay the fees under House Bill 504, or only those selling ethanol or methanol blends?
It depends on which fee. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General read House Bill 504 (article 8614, V.T.C.S.) to authorize two fees. The general fee in section 9(b), for testing, inspection, forms, …
Can a Texas city issue revenue bonds to build a school building and lease it to the local school district?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a city cannot use its revenue-bond powers to finance a school building and lease it to an independent school district, even for purely educ…
If a Texas county's contracted supplier can't deliver, can the county buy the shortfall from another vendor without new bids?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the County Purchasing Act (chapter 262 of the Local Government Code) does not stop a county from making an isolated spot purchase of suppl…
Can a Texas prosecutor use drug-seizure money to pay employee bonuses or raises without commissioners court approval?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a prosecutor may not use drug forfeiture funds to pay bonuses or increase salaries for office employees whose pay is budgeted by the commis…
Can the Texas mental health department buy or lease property for community services without using the state purchasing agency?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that when the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation buys or leases personal property, or leases real property, for community-…
Do volunteer firefighters in Texas have to meet the state's firefighter training standards?
It depends on whether the fire department is a department of a local government. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that members of a volunteer fire department that is not a departmen…
Could a Texas local government let an auditor temporarily take public records to the auditor's private office?
Section 202.004 neither prohibited nor authorized the temporary move. A local governing body could establish procedures for it through its records-management program if the service contract preserved …
Can a Texas district judge appoint a special auditor or take a commissioners court's executive-session tapes?
This 1990 opinion was withdrawn in its entirety a few weeks after it issued, so it does not represent the Texas Attorney General's position and should not be relied on. In it, the Attorney General had…
If a Texas psychologist is exempt from licensing but chooses to get licensed anyway, does the state board have authority over them?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a person who voluntarily obtains certification or licensure under the Psychologists' Certification and Licensing Act becomes subject to al…
Can a Texas judge appoint a temporary district attorney if the office already has an assistant district attorney?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a district judge may appoint a district attorney pro tem under article 2.07 of the Code of Criminal Procedure when the elected district at…
Could an individual Texas bail bondsman use a letter of credit as the required cash equivalent for a bail-bond license?
Yes. JM-1245 concluded that individual and corporate applicants could use a qualifying letter of credit as a cash equivalent, but the credit had to be irrevocable, independent of the underlying disput…
Does the 356th District Court in Hardin County, Texas handle probate matters like wills and estates?
In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the 356th District Court of Hardin County has no original probate jurisdiction. The statute creating the court gave it concurrent jurisdiction …
Does a county need payment and performance bonds on a unit-price road-materials contract when the final total price is not known in advance?
In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the unknown final price of a county unit-price requirements contract does not exempt it from bidding or bonding rules. A county estimates the c…
Could Texas revive expired school-land patent claims by letting the Land Office swap in replacement state land?
In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that article 5414a-2, V.T.C.S., which tried to give a second chance to people whose claims to patents on permanent school fund land had lapsed, was …
Could Harris County remove and sell trees from county road rights-of-way without paying the underlying landowner?
Generally yes, subject to the document or judgment that created the right-of-way. JM-1241 concluded that Harris County could remove or prevent trees that interfered with road purposes without compensa…
Can a county use its own employees and equipment to deliver USDA surplus food for a nonprofit charity?
In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the state's decision to route USDA surplus commodities through a nonprofit did not strip Nolan County of its authority to spend on public healt…
Can a city council remove the person it appointed to a regional water district's board of directors?
In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Garland city council could not remove its appointed representative on the board of directors of the North Texas Municipal Water District un…
How far does the arrest authority of Houston-area MTA transit police reach, just the buses and stations, or the whole service area?
In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a 1989 amendment to article 1118x expanded the jurisdiction of peace officers employed by the Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority to t…
Can a nursing home be forced to reject or fire a worker for an old conviction even though the law says it shouldn't count against them?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that chapter 106 of the Human Resources Code, which bars certain facilities that serve the elderly or disabled from employing people convicted …
Can the Texas Real Estate Commission secretly send auditors into continuing-education classes without breaking the ban on undercover investigations?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Real Estate License Act's restriction on undercover or covert investigations applies only to investigations of licensees, not to audit…
Does a Texas county clerk charge a filing fee when you apply to have someone committed for mental illness or drug or alcohol dependency?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county clerk cannot collect a fee from the person who files an application for emergency detention or court-ordered treatment, whether th…
Do term limits for a state board count the service a member did before the term-limit law existed?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a Texas State Board of Pharmacy member who was appointed in 1973 and reappointed in 1979 and 1985 had already served two full terms and co…
Can a Texas county sell tax-foreclosed property by private sale instead of a public auction?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that when a county buys real property at a delinquent-tax sale, Tax Code section 34.05 impliedly lets the county resell that property by privat…
Can the Texas Employees Retirement System operate its own securities lending program?
In this 1990 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that the Employees Retirement System of Texas had no statutory authority to run an in-house securities lending program with its own staff. Governme…
Does the State Funds Reform Act apply to fees collected by the Texas Board of Medical Examiners?
In this 1990 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that the State Funds Reform Act did not apply to fees collected by the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners. An exemption for agencies that were …
Can a Texas county or state agency provide goods or copies before receiving payment without unconstitutionally lending credit?
Yes, under the constitutional analysis adopted in JM-1229. A Texas public body could extend credit when the arrangement served a public purpose and included controls ensuring that public credit remain…
How much can a company charge to help me recover unclaimed property in Texas?
In this 1990 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that anyone who helps a claimant recover unclaimed property held by the State Treasurer (an heirfinder or private investigator) could not charge mo…
In 1990, did Mexican commercial truck drivers need Texas driver's licenses to operate in Texas?
Yes, under the law and federal determinations addressed in 1990. JM-1226 concluded that Mexican commercial drivers lacked the reciprocal-license exemption and needed a Texas license or another state's…
Can a Texas student keep a car phone in their car parked at school?
Yes, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded that the Education Code's ban on students possessing 'paging devices' at school does not prohibit a car telephone sitting in a car p…
Who controlled records that elected Harris County officers stored in the county computer, and could the county allow private dial-up access?
The elected county, district, or precinct officer whose office created or received the information retained statutory control over it, even when it was stored in the county computer. The commissioners…
Does being a 'resident' for Texas insurance guaranty coverage require U.S. citizenship?
No, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded that a person does not have to be a U.S. citizen or a legally present immigrant to count as a Texas 'resident' for the state's life a…
Can a Texas city's municipal court warrant officers serve warrants and act as bailiffs?
Yes, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded that warrant officers of the Longview municipal court of record, who are certified peace officers, have authority to serve warrants,…
Which groundwater district could tax severed mineral interests when surface owners annexed their land into a neighboring district?
The Santa Rita district retained taxing authority over separately owned severed mineral interests when only the surface owners petitioned to annex their land into the Glasscock County district. A mine…
Which competitive-bidding law governed a Texas county contract to build a vehicle maintenance facility?
The County Purchasing Act governed. The Attorney General concluded that Local Government Code section 271.024 did not independently require bidding and that subchapter B of chapter 271 did not govern …
Can I get a replacement Texas boat title with an affidavit if the original is missing?
It depends on the facts, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded that whether the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department can issue a replacement certificate of title for a motorboa…
Do new government purchasing rules apply to a contract that was signed before the law took effect?
No, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded that section 140.003 of the Local Government Code, which made district attorney purchases subject to the county competitive-bidding r…
Can Texas police accept a bail bond somewhere other than the county jail?
Yes, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded that peace officers may accept bail bonds for non-municipal offenses at places other than the county jail under articles 17.20, 17.2…
Can a Texas mental health agency legally pay a parent to provide care to their own mentally disabled child?
Yes, but only in part, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded such a contract is legally valid only if it pays the parent for services beyond what the parent is already legally…
Can a Texas county commissioners court require prevailing wages, health benefits, or English-speaking staff on contracts that aren't public works projects?
Generally no, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded a county must determine and pay prevailing wages, including fringe benefits, on public works contracts, but has no authorit…
If a boarding home is registered with a local mental health authority in Texas, does that automatically exempt it from Texas Department of Health licensing as a personal care home?
No, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded that merely being registered under the mental health boarding home statute does not, by itself, bring a facility within the Health an…
Can a Texas city require its outside security guard contractors to provide health insurance to their employees as a condition of winning the contract?
No, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded that requiring contractors to provide employee health insurance benefits has no direct relation to the quality of security guard serv…
Can the trustees of a Texas municipal firefighters' pension fund enter into securities lending agreements with a corporate borrower?
No, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded that securities lending agreements are not among the investments the fund's governing statute authorizes, since they are contractual …
Can a Texas county pay a rural fire prevention district or a volunteer fire department to provide fire protection, and does creating a fire district take away the county's own fire protection power?
Yes, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded a county keeps its authority to provide fire protection even after a rural fire prevention district is created covering the same are…
Can a Texas transit authority charge the state more per bus ticket for Medicaid riders than it charges the general public?
The Attorney General did not decide this question in 1990. The opinion concluded that whether such pricing violated state nondiscrimination statutes, the federal Rehabilitation Act, or the Urban Mass …
When a Texas court orders a property tax refund, does the taxing unit have to pay interest, and how is that interest calculated for multi-year cases?
Yes, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded a taxing unit must pay interest on any refund paid on or after June 15, 1989, regardless of when the underlying lawsuit was filed, a…
Can a member of a Texas county housing authority board keep the frequent flier miles earned on trips the authority paid for?
No, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded that because housing authority commissioners serve without compensation, a commissioner may not personally keep or use airline mileag…
Could a Texas state employee use sick leave when adopting a child under the 1989-1990 appropriations act?
Yes, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded a state employee adopting a child under three years old could use sick leave, in an amount comparable to what a natural mother would…
Can the Texas Veterans Land Board invest veterans' fund money in repurchase agreements or mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by GNMA?
No, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded the Texas Constitution limits idle Veterans Land Fund and Housing Assistance Fund money to 'bonds or obligations of the United States…
Is it unconstitutional for a Texas law to let larger cities keep a bigger share of interstate highway traffic fines than smaller cities?
No, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded the population-based classification had a reasonable basis tied to the risk of small cities using radar enforcement on interstate hig…
Can a Texas county donate money or services to a chamber of commerce that runs a local festival?
No, not as an unconditional gift. The Attorney General concluded the Texas Constitution bars a county from donating money, property, or services to a chamber of commerce or similar private corporation…
Can a Texas state housing agency hold title to foreclosed mortgage properties through a bank trustee, and does it have to pay property taxes on them?
Yes to both, according to this 1990 opinion. The Attorney General concluded the Texas Housing Agency could hold foreclosed properties either in its own name or through a bank acting as its trustee-age…
Does an appraisal district need approval from three-fourths of local taxing units just to lease office space, or only to buy a building?
Only to buy or build. The Attorney General concluded that the Tax Code's three-fourths taxing-unit approval requirement applies to an appraisal district's purchase, sale, construction, or renovation o…
Can a Texas state agency use interest earned on money in a special fund to pay administrative costs if a budget rider only mentions fees as the funding source?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the legislature had not actually appropriated the interest earned on deposits in the Texas Exporters Loan Fund for administrative costs, because a budget rider …
Can a Texas city require its own license, tax, or bond from an air conditioning contractor who already has a state license?
No, for license taxes, occupation taxes, and bond requirements. The Attorney General concluded that state law (V.T.C.S. art. 8861) makes a state license valid statewide and preempts municipalities fro…
Can a Texas city give an employee a cash advance on salary not yet earned?
Generally no. The Attorney General concluded that a salary advance is a loan of public funds, and without a clear public purpose behind it, a court would likely find it violates the Texas Constitution…
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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.