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 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…
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…
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…
When a Texas college refunds old bonds under the constitution, does 'prior law' mean just the repealed 1982 provision or any older statute?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)…
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…
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)…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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'…
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;…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Can Texas make a public school building a protected historic landmark and stop the district from demolishing it?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General gave a fact-dependent answer. The State Antiquities Committee can designate a school building as a state archeological landmark, but doing so, or denying a…
Can a state employee whose agency gets federal funds run for a political party office like precinct chairman?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded yes. A Texas Department of Human Services employee covered by the federal Hatch Act may run for the political party office of county or precinct…
If I am laid off but stay on the state payroll to use up my vacation, can I still take paid sick leave?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General said yes. A state employee who has finished their last day of duty but remains on the agency payroll to exhaust accrued vacation may still take previously…
Does a state agency's anti-conflict rule cover every organization it pays, or only ones set up primarily to do that kind of work?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General read the Texas Rehabilitation Commission's conflict-of-interest statute broadly. It reaches everyone associated with any organization that receives…
How much can members of a state board or advisory committee be paid back for their costs, and does everyone get the daily per diem?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General worked through seven different Texas Rehabilitation Commission boards and committees. The main board and the Consumer Advisory Committee could be reimbursed…
If a needy patient is treated at a state cancer hospital, does the county or hospital district have to pay the bill?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no, not on the theory the University of Texas raised. M.D. Anderson can bill a patient's estate or the people legally responsible for the…
Can a transit authority use its special economic-development power to pay for streets, drainage, or a library?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General said only if those projects sit inside a transit station or terminal complex. Article 1118x lets certain transit authorities include 'regional economic…
Are the volunteer board members of a public TV station protected from lawsuits if the station broadcasts something defamatory?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded a public television station can qualify as a charitable organization under the Charitable Immunity and Liability Act of 1987, which would give its…
Can the state parole board hire county probation offices to supervise parolees, or does that hand judicial-branch officers power over parole?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded the arrangement is constitutional. A statute lets the Board of Pardons and Paroles request proposals and award contracts to district (county)…
If my farmland is condemned for a public project, do I have to pay back the tax savings from its agricultural-use valuation?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. Texas taxes qualifying farm and ranch land on its productive value rather than market value, and normally a rollback of the tax savings is…
Does a private club's liquor permit fee depend on its peak membership, or can it be prorated for members who joined partway through the year?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is not authorized to prorate a private club's membership when calculating the permit fee. The statute sets…
Can county commissioners require performance reviews to decide the salaries of the district attorney's staff?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General drew a line down the middle. When the county sets its budget, the commissioners court has the final say over the salary figures for the district attorney's…
Can the Texas legislature move money out of a special produce-claims fund into general revenue?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded the transfer was lawful, with a caveat. The Produce Recovery Fund is a statutory trust fund, not a constitutionally protected fund, so the…
Do Texas construction trust fund rules require a contractor to collect payment affidavits from subcontractors?
The Attorney General read the 1987 amendments to the Property Code's construction trust fund law. A contractor may request an all-bills-paid affidavit as a condition of final payment, but is not…
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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.