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 the Texas Legislature use a budget rider to move a state agency's duties to another agency, and can that agency's staff work without pay?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a rider in the General Appropriations Act cannot transfer the functions of the State Rural Medical Education Board (a board created by the Texa…
Can Texas require a chiropractor to have practiced for a minimum amount of time in another state before granting a reciprocity license?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners has no authority to adopt a rule requiring a minimum amount of prior practice in another state as a c…
Does Texas sales tax apply to independent insurance claims investigation and adjustment services, and does it matter who hires the firm?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that independent insurance claims investigation and adjustment services are taxable 'insurance services' under section 151.0039 of the Tax Code. The…
Can Texas have the county or district attorney, or an outside lawyer, instead of the tax assessor-collector, handle lawsuits to collect delinquent property taxes?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that section 6.30 of the Tax Code does not violate article VIII, section 14 of the Texas Constitution. That section lets the county or district atto…
Who can sign a protest against a proposed zoning change in Texas, and does their property have to touch the rezoned area?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that under section 211.006(d) of the Local Government Code, any owner of property within 200 feet of the area covered by a proposed zoning change ca…
Are a Texas governor's office records public records, and can a governor take them when leaving office?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that records the governor's office creates or receives in carrying out its statutory duties are 'public records' under the Government Code and the O…
Can a Texas county bail bond board stop bail bond companies from hiring people with felony convictions?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county bail bond board cannot prohibit a licensed bail bondsman from employing people (who are not authorized to execute bonds) just because …
When a Texas city withdrew from a metropolitan transit authority, did its share of the authority's unencumbered liquid assets reduce what it still owed?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that Westlake Hills was entitled to a proportional credit for specified unencumbered liquid assets against taxes later collected for Capital Metro. The city neverth…
Can a Texas commissioners court put a lower tax cap than the state maximum on the ballot for an emergency services district?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court cannot ask voters to approve an emergency services district with a maximum tax rate lower than the statutory 10 cents per…
In Texas, who pays to house someone in the county jail for a city traffic ticket, the city or the county?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the earlier rule making a city pay to maintain prisoners jailed for violating city ordinances (Opinion MW-52) does not apply when the traffic o…
Does a Texas state agency's property appraiser have to register with the same board that licenses local appraisal-district appraisers?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that field appraisers employed by the State Property Tax Board, who conducted the annual property-value and ratio studies used to check appraisal di…
Can a Texas county salary grievance committee meet without the county judge, and can it vote behind closed doors?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county salary grievance committee's action is not invalid just because a county commissioner, rather than the absent county judge, presided a…
Can a Texas county judge sit on the board of directors of a company that does business with the county?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that public policy prohibits a county judge from simultaneously serving on the board of directors of a corporation that does business with the count…
If a Texas river authority official gets sued, does the state Attorney General provide the defense?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a river authority (here the Angelina & Neches River Authority) is not a 'state agency, institution, or department' under section 104.001 of the…
Can a school board keep a board member who is suing the board out of a closed-door meeting about that lawsuit?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that when one school board trustee sues the other members, the board may exclude the suing trustee from an executive (closed) session held to consul…
Could Texas deny its gasohol fuel tax credit to fuel blended with alcohol produced in other states?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a court would hold Texas Tax Code section 153.123(b)(4) unconstitutional. That provision granted the tax credit for gasoline/alcohol (gasohol) …
In Texas, does a for-profit trade school need state higher-education approval to award associate degrees?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) does not have exclusive jurisdiction over proprietary (for-profit) schools that award only so-called non-acade…
When a Texas college refunds old bonds under the constitution, does 'prior law' mean just the repealed 1982 provision or any older statute?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the phrase 'prior law' in subsection (e) of article VII, section 17 of the Texas Constitution (the 1984 higher-education funding amendment) ref…
Can a Texas school district rent classrooms from a nonprofit foundation and help it issue bonds to build them?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a school district's trustees may rent classroom space for fair value from a private nonprofit foundation and may accept a donation of portable …
Can a Texas university use its Higher Education Assistance Fund money to fix up a building that is partly dorm or auxiliary space?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a university may use Higher Education Assistance Fund (HEAF) money to renovate a physically separate part of a building (a wing or addition) us…
If a Texas voter marks a straight-ticket for two different parties, whose vote counts, and who decides?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Texas secretary of state has no authority to issue rules for counting ballots that are not marked in strict conformity with the law, such a…
Can a Texas home-rule city sell land to the state for a park at less than its market value?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that El Paso could sell land inside Franklin Mountains State Park to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at a price well below market value. A s…
When a Texas county collects property taxes for a school district or other taxing unit, how much can it charge, and who decides the amount?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the 'actual costs' a county may charge under section 6.27 of the Tax Code for assessing or collecting taxes for another taxing unit means only …
Can a Texas government board hand over the tape of its closed meeting when someone requests it under open records?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the tape (or certified agenda) of a meeting closed to the public may be released to the public only through the specific court procedure in sec…
Can a Texas city still regulate how stores sell abusable glue and spray paint after the state started permitting sellers?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that article 4476-15d, the state law that has the Department of Health issue permits to sellers of abusable glues and aerosol paints, does not autom…
Can Texas put officials who answer only to the legislature on a state commission that carries out executive functions?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Productivity Bonus Commission exercises functions of the executive branch, because it executes a detailed statutory program, decides which …
Can Texas require out-of-state dental labs that do business in the state to register with the Board of Dental Examiners?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a 1987 amendment requiring every dental laboratory doing business in Texas, including out-of-state labs, to register annually with the Texas St…
Does the over-65 school-tax freeze pass to a surviving spouse if the homeowner died before the 1987 constitutional amendment?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the 1987 amendment to article VIII, section 1-b(d) of the Texas Constitution, which lets the school-tax freeze on an over-65 homeowner's homest…
Can a licensed cosmetologist in Texas trim beards and mustaches, or is that reserved to barbers?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a licensed cosmetologist has no statutory authority to shave and trim beards. The barbering statute (article 8407a) expressly includes shaving,…
Can Texas pay a visiting judge who was assigned to a case without all the proper legal formalities?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Comptroller of Public Accounts may lawfully pay the salary of a visiting judge (active, or retired under section 75.001 of the Government C…
Can a pipeline limited partnership use eminent domain to condemn land in Texas?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a limited partnership that owns and operates a refined petroleum products pipeline can hold the power of eminent domain under the Texas Busines…
Does a Texas city, county, or school district have to collect sales tax when it sells things to the public?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that when a state agency, city, county, school district, or public university acts as a retail seller of taxable goods or services, the limited sale…
In a small Texas county, who is responsible for preparing the payroll, the auditor or the treasurer?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that in a Texas county with a population under 500,000, the county treasurer, not the county auditor, is the officer who prepares the county payroll…
Can a Texas school board or city council make a decision in an emergency meeting called on short notice?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General explained that the Texas Open Meetings Act lets a governmental body meet on just two hours' notice only for a genuine emergency, meaning an unforeseen situati…
How do you perfect a lien on manufactured homes held as dealer inventory in Texas?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a lender does not need to file with the Secretary of State under the Uniform Commercial Code to perfect a security interest in manufactured hou…
Can a Texas county track the phone numbers its employees dial from county phones?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a device attached to a telephone line that records the outgoing numbers dialed, such as the county's Station Message Detail Recording system, i…
Can a Texas state agency accept a supplier rebate on the price of goods it buys?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Texas Department of Health did not violate the Texas Constitution by accepting bids that offered rebates on the purchase price of infant fo…
Can a Texas appraisal district subpoena my business records if I didn't file a property rendition?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county appraisal district has no authority to issue a subpoena for a taxpayer's books and records, and that an appraisal review board cannot …
Can a Texas judge give the required guilty-plea warnings by playing a video instead of speaking to the defendant?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a court cannot satisfy the mandatory admonishments required by article 26.13 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the warnings a judge must give …
Can a Texas city use its mass transit sales tax money to repair its regular streets?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that sales and use taxes a city collects to fund a mass transit department under article 11182 may be used only for mass transit purposes, and not f…
Does Texas have to follow the general state purchasing law when it contracts out its Medicaid insurance program?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Texas Department of Human Services' contract for Medicaid purchased health services insurance is not governed by article 601b, the general …
Does a Texas justice court have to appoint a free lawyer for a poor defendant charged with a fine-only Class C misdemeanor?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a justice of the peace does not have to appoint a lawyer for an indigent defendant charged with a Class C misdemeanor, because the only punishm…
How does the federal Employee Polygraph Protection Act affect a Texas polygraph examiner's license?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General explained that the new federal Employee Polygraph Protection Act, which generally bars private employers from making employees take lie detector tests, did no…
Can a Texas city, county, or school district invest its public money in a bank-run money market mutual fund?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. Even though the Legislature's 1987 Public Funds Investment Act appeared to authorize public bodies to put bond proceeds into 'bank-oriented' mon…
In a Texas county that has a county purchasing agent, who is allowed to buy the county's supplies, and does the $5,000 competitive-bid rule apply to the agent?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded that in a county with a county purchasing agent, that agent must make all purchases that are not required to go out for competitive bid; individual …
Does a Texas nonprofit that sells a few taxable items, like a museum selling a cookbook, have to pay the $25 annual sales tax permit fee?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded yes. A nonprofit that sells taxable items and therefore has to hold a Texas sales tax permit must pay the same $25 annual renewal fee that any other…
When a Texas state employee travels for work on the state's dime, do they still owe the hotel occupancy tax on their room?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded yes. A Texas state official or employee traveling at state expense on official business is not exempt from the state hotel occupancy tax under chapt…
Can Texas pay off bonds for renovating the State Capitol with direct legislative appropriations instead of lease payments?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. The Texas Public Finance Authority could issue revenue bonds to renovate the State Capitol, but it could not skip the lease with the State Prese…
Can the Texas Racing Commission limit how many horse racing track licenses it hands out, or issue a track license without wagering rights?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General told the Racing Commission no on all three counts. The Commission cannot set a numerical cap on how many class 2 or class 3 horse racing track licenses it wil…
Does a Texas state agency have to have every construction bond issued and in the bank before it can sign the building contracts?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General found no law that forces the Texas Public Finance Authority to issue all of a project's bonds before construction contracts can be signed. There is one real t…
Can a Texas school district use public money to pay a trustee's lawyer when the trustee is personally sued for an intentional tort?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General said it depends, and the call belongs to the school board. A school district may spend public funds to defend a trustee in a private lawsuit, even one allegin…
Does a Texas prosecutor have to use county competitive bidding when spending money from the hot check fund?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. The 'hot check fund,' built from fees a county, district, or criminal district attorney collects for processing bad checks, is spent at the sole…
Can Texas open confidential workers' compensation claim files to another state agency so it can offer injured workers rehab services?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. A workers' compensation claim file is confidential under article 8307, section 9a of the civil statutes, and that law lists the specific people …
Can a Texas city use its hotel occupancy tax to help pay the operating budget for a public beach and its recreation facilities?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. Section 351.101 of the Tax Code sets out the only purposes a city may spend municipal hotel occupancy tax on, and running general recreational f…
Can a Texas county pay a month's mortgage for a low-income resident who is about to lose their home to foreclosure?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded yes. Under chapter 34 of the Human Resources Code, a county running a state-approved emergency relief program for needy residents may make a one-mon…
Is a per-gallon fee on petroleum that pays for underground tank leak cleanup a highway tax Texas must spend on roads?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. A proposed 'delivery fee' on petroleum, charged to fund cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks, would be a regulatory license fee rather t…
Can a Texas state agency deny services to a blind child or adult just because they are an undocumented immigrant?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. The Texas Commission for the Blind had to provide services to blind children who qualify, regardless of whether they were legal or undocumented …
Can a Texas river authority or water district force property owners on septic tanks to hook up to its sewer system?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. The Upper Guadalupe River Authority, which holds the combined powers of a water control and improvement district and a municipal utility distric…
Can a Texas county lease a closed, empty county jail to a private company to run as a prison?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded yes, at least for the former Bexar County Jail. A state law barred a commissioners court from 'converting' a facility into a privately operated corr…
If I refuse a breath test after a DWI arrest in Texas, can the justice of the peace give me probation instead of losing my license for 90 days?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded yes. When a driver refuses a breath test and the case goes to an administrative hearing before a justice of the peace, the JP has authority to recom…
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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.