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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Did a Texas community college have authority in 1984 to establish an employee cafeteria plan using life, accident, health, and disability insurance benefits?
JM-143 said yes under the law it reviewed, but the official Texas AG page marks it overruled by JM-543, which said federal amendments changed cafeteria plans and JM-143 should be disregarded.
Could a water district use surplus taxes collected for a bond interest-and-sinking fund on a different water or environmental project?
No. JM-142 said the fund could be used only for statutory bond-related purposes while bonds remained. After retirement, the surplus could be refunded to taxpayers or, if impracticable, transferred to …
Could a Texas county commissioner also serve as a gubernatorial appointee on the Texas Sesquicentennial Commission?
Yes. JM-141 found no separation-of-powers bar, no prohibited second civil office of emolument, and no common-law incompatibility between the two positions.
Was a state trooper shot while working off-duty grocery-store security injured in the course of state employment for occupational disability benefits?
Yes. JM-140 said the trooper shifted from private security work to official peace-officer duties when he tried to apprehend armed robbers, making the disabling risk peculiar to state law-enforcement e…
Could Blinn College lease a football stadium built with student fees to the Brenham Independent School District for football, track, and UIL events?
Yes. JM-139 relied on the junior-college board's determination that the shared use served a junior college purpose under Education Code section 130.003(e)(7).
Could Texas enforce misdemeanor penalties for violating DPS vehicle-emissions inspection rules, and could special rules be limited to vehicles registered and operated in designated counties?
Yes. JM-138 found the statute itself defined the offense and validly delegated inspection details to DPS; county-specific rules could cover vehicles both registered and operated in designated counties…
Was the Richardson Hospital Authority a political subdivision whose retirement program fell under State Pension Review Board requirements?
Yes. JM-137 treated the city-created hospital authority as a political subdivision because it matched the recognized criteria and was materially similar to expressly designated county hospital authori…
Did Texas dealer-licensing law apply to boat dealers who sold trailers, and did they have to post the new $25,000 motor-vehicle dealer bond?
The licensing provision applied because they regularly sold trailers, but JM-136 said the bond did not because its conditions and legislative purpose targeted dealers selling motor vehicles.
Could a taxing unit impose the Tax Code section 33.07 delinquent-tax penalty when its collections were enforced by a county or city attorney acting officially under a direct or interlocal arrangement?
No. JM-135 said official county and city attorneys lacked statutory capacity to make the required section 6.30 collection contract, so the added collection penalty could not be imposed.
Did the State Board of Education's rules requiring evolution disclaimers in textbooks violate the Establishment Clause?
Yes. JM-134 concluded that singling out human evolution and directing students toward other meanings of existence revealed a nonsecular purpose under the constitutional test then applied.
Did a county commissioner automatically resign by applying for election as a water-district director even though he was legally ineligible for that office?
JM-132 said yes when more than one year remained in the commissioner's term. JC-0249 later modified its reasoning and clarified that applying for a ballot position makes the officer a candidate, while…
Could one person simultaneously serve as Galveston County auditor and a Galveston city council member?
No. JM-133 found the offices incompatible because the auditor could control or review county financial actions involving the city, and accepting the auditor position automatically vacated the council …
Were electrical or ultrasonic apparatuses used commercially to kill or repel termites regulated as devices used in the structural pest-control business?
Yes. JM-131 treated the apparatuses as statutory devices and mechanical devices, so commercial operators using them were engaged in structural pest control.
After the 1977 water-agency reorganization, did “Commission” in a river-authority permit mean the Texas Water Commission, the department's executive director, or both?
It meant the Texas Water Commission. JM-130 said the commission decided legal release duties through its judicial function, while the executive director studied estuary inflows and advised the commiss…
Could a Dallas County Community College trustee simultaneously serve as a Dallas County commissioner?
No. JM-129 found the offices incompatible because county and college interests could conflict over tax collection, roads, and other matters within their coterminous boundaries.
Can a firefighter count service in a former department toward the two years needed for a promotion exam in a new department?
No. JM-128 concluded that the firefighter had to complete two years of qualifying service in the department giving the examination, and that the requirement was mandatory.
Which waiting period governed Southwestern Bell's request to put higher rates into effect under bond when its initial filing was incomplete?
JM-127 applied the amended 150-day waiting period. Bell did not make a valid, substantially complete statement-of-intent filing until after the amendment took effect.
Did a commission member's community-property share of her husband's fixed salary disqualify her from the Texas Health Facilities Commission?
No. JM-126 treated her interest as limited, nonmanagerial, and abstract, so it was not a substantial pecuniary interest that barred appointment or service on the commission.
Were Texas Medical Board rules limiting where and how acupuncturists could practice constitutional?
JM-125 concluded that four rules were facially invalid because their office-location, one-supervisor, billing, and name-tag restrictions lacked a rational relationship to protecting public health.
Did the Texas Rehabilitation Commission supervise every resident of a facility where it bought services for some clients?
No. JM-124 limited the commission's supervision to its own clients; the licensing agency or another government agency remained responsible for other residents.
Could Cameron County force utilities to deny service to buildings that violated county floodplain rules?
No. JM-123 concluded that utility law and PUC rules prevented the county from requiring denial of service, although a utility could refuse voluntarily for reasons allowed by its approved rules.
Could one chamber of the Texas Legislature make committee records confidential by adopting its own rules?
Not when the chamber rule conflicted with the Texas Open Records Act. JM-122 said the House could change the disclosure rule only through legislation, although particular records might fit an existing…
Could a Texas city apply different subdivision-plat standards inside its extraterritorial jurisdiction than inside the city limits?
No. JM-121 said a city could exercise plat-approval authority within its extraterritorial jurisdiction, but not outside it, and could not adopt a lesser set of approval standards for subdivisions in t…
Did Texas industrial development corporations have to hold open meetings, post public notice, and release records?
Yes. JM-120 treated corporations created under article 5190.6 as governmental bodies for the Open Meetings and Open Records Acts, required them to post notice like their sponsoring political subdivisi…
Could a Texas community-college records custodian use Open Records Act exceptions to deny a trustee access to district records?
No. JM-119 said a trustee acting officially had an inherent right to district records and was not merely a member of the public, although a reporter's separate request could be denied under the litiga…
Could a Texas public-school teacher paid through a federal program also receive a salary as a city council member?
No. JM-118 concluded that the teachers received part of their compensation indirectly from state funds, so article XVI, section 40 allowed city-council service only without a council salary.
Did a 1983 Texas zoning amendment exempt all state and federal agency property from city zoning, or only historically significant sites?
It exempted all buildings, structures, and land under federal or state agency control. JM-117 rejected a reading limited to places of historical, cultural, or architectural significance.
Did a multi-state athletic conference funded by public universities have to follow Texas open-meetings and open-records laws?
Only in part. JM-116 concluded that the proposed Gulf Star Conference was not covered by the Open Meetings Act, but was covered by the Open Records Act because university payments supplied its general…
Was the Texas Legislature legally required to appropriate enough money to cover university employees' minimum insurance premiums?
No. JM-115 said the insurance statute did not obligate later legislatures to fully fund premiums. It declined to decide whether employees at an underfunded university had a cause of action because tha…
Could a Texas agency charge an open-records requester for employee time spent finding, copying, or redacting records?
JM-114 generally said no under the 1983 statute, and identified mandamus as the remedy for disputed charges. The official landing page says ORD-488 partly overruled it after later cost amendments.
When a Texas criminal court is told that a defendant or witness is deaf, must it appoint an interpreter?
Yes. JM-113 said appointment was mandatory once a party notified the court, although the judge could choose the communication method best suited to the person. The county general fund paid reasonable …
Could a Texas city or county adopt its own ban on open containers of alcohol in motor vehicles?
No under the law analyzed in JM-112. The opinion concluded that the Alcoholic Beverage Code exclusively governed possession of alcoholic beverages and preempted a local open-container ban.
Could a Texas county transfer an arrested parolee to state prison before the local parole-revocation hearing?
No. JM-111 said local authorities had to hold the parolee until the hearing was completed or waived, and the Texas Department of Corrections had to refuse a premature transfer.
Could a Texas notary public take a deposition by written questions without acting as a certified shorthand reporter?
Yes. JM-110 concluded that notaries could take non-stenographic written depositions. The certification restriction applied to shorthand reporting of oral proceedings, not every deposition.
Did a Texas county treasurer still have to report directly to the commissioners court when the county also had an auditor?
Yes. JM-109 concluded that the treasurer had to report both to the commissioners court and to the county auditor; the auditor statutes did not impliedly repeal the court-reporting duties.
Did a Texas firefighter pension rule barring new membership after age 35 violate the federal age-discrimination law?
No. JM-108 said the rule limited pension eligibility rather than firefighter hiring, and the federal law allowed bona fide benefit-plan terms that were not a device to evade the act.
If a Texas defendant received a misdemeanor jail term and a separate fine-and-cost sentence on the same day, did the time run together?
No. JM-107 said the jail term and confinement used to discharge the separate fine and costs ran consecutively. It also said a 72-hour sentence meant 72 hours, not three calendar days.
Did Texas Insurance Code article 21.14 make every insurance-agent record confidential, or only records about specified terminations for cause?
Only the specified records. JM-106 concluded that sections 12(c) and 14(c) protected information furnished under those respective sections, not every record submitted under article 21.14.
Could a Texas cable television provider be reimbursed for moving facilities displaced by interstate highway construction even without a property interest in the old location?
Yes. JM-105 concluded that a community antenna or cable television provider furnished communications service and could receive article 6674w-4 reimbursement for an eligible interstate-highway relocati…
Did designating school-district or other local-government land as a Texas state archaeological landmark require the owner to deed the property to the state?
No. JM-104 concluded that landmark designation did not require a deed transfer or remove local management, use, and control, although the Antiquities Committee's preservation authority prevailed when …
Could Somervell County pay a nonprofit committee to operate a senior service center?
Only for authorized county purposes. JM-103 said the county could contract for a center providing public recreation, health care, or support for indigent residents if controls ensured a public purpose…
Could a Texas sheriff or constable appoint a full-time deputy who received no compensation?
Yes. JM-102 concluded that sheriffs and constables could appoint uncompensated deputies to positions approved by the commissioners court, but the deputies had to perform legitimate law-enforcement dut…
Could Jim Wells County hire its county treasurer's private company to acquire highway right-of-way?
Yes, as a matter of law, if the private work was separate from the treasurer's official duties and involved no conflict, self-dealing, misuse of nonpublic information, or dereliction of duty. JM-99 sa…
Did a Texas public school need a child-care license to provide custodial care after the regular school day?
No. JM-98 concluded that section 42.041(b)(7) exempted accredited public schools from Department of Human Resources child-care licensing when they operated part-day custodial programs after school, al…
Did Texas bank-record notice and challenge rules restrict Securities Commissioner subpoenas in criminal securities investigations?
No. JM-101 concluded that article 342-705 did not restrict the Securities Commissioner's bank subpoenas or require advance customer notice and a challenge opportunity when the subpoena was issued in a…
When could a Texas governmental body meet privately with its attorney under the Open Meetings Act?
JM-100 said a governmental body could meet privately with counsel about pending or contemplated litigation, settlement offers, or legal advice. It could not close a meeting for general policy discussi…
Could one person serve at the same time on the Texas higher-education Coordinating Board and a junior college board?
No. JM-97 concluded that the offices were incompatible because the statewide Coordinating Board supervised critical parts of junior-college administration. Accepting one office relinquished the other.
Could Texas impose its distilled-spirits gallonage tax on wholesalers' sales to military installations in the state?
No. JM-96 concluded that federal law and United States v. State of Texas preempted the $2 gallonage tax on distilled spirits sold by Texas wholesalers to United States military installations in Texas.
Did the Texas Open Records Act require a county clerk to provide duplicate microfilm copies of real-property records?
JM-95 said yes and barred limits on who received the copies or how they were used, while prescribing certified and noncertified copy fees. The official Texas AG page says this opinion was overruled to…
What salary could Texas pay an employee temporarily serving in an acting state position?
JM-94 said a classified employee temporarily promoted to another classified position received the increase specified in the appropriations act. For exempt positions, the agency head could pay less tha…
Could a Texas state agency ban outside employment or require its director's approval before an employee took a second job?
Possibly. JM-93 said those policies were not unreasonable or unconstitutional as a matter of law, but their validity depended on careful drafting, demonstrated need, a legitimate government interest, …
Could Texas health officials regulate unsanitary toilets, drinking water, and wash basins on railroad trains?
Partly. JM-92 said state health officials could regulate drinking water and chemical toilets on trains, while home-rule cities and local health officers could regulate or abate qualifying sanitation n…
Was the superintendent of a Texas mental-health facility a public officer subject to state nepotism restrictions?
Yes. JM-91 said a facility superintendent was a public officer because statutes made the superintendent the institution's administrative head and gave that person independent authority to govern the f…
Could the Texas Legislature create a county court at law that sat somewhere other than the county seat?
Yes. JM-90 concluded that no constitutional provision required a legislatively created county court at law to conduct proceedings at the county seat, so the legislature could authorize another locatio…
When did the terms of Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners members expire: the statute's effective date, the first appointments, or the sunset extension date?
JM-89 said the terms expired on April 26 because the original law creating the board took effect on April 27. The first appointments four months later did not move the term cycle, and the 1981 sunset …
Did Texas Insurance Code article 3.68 bar a life insurer from paying premium-based fees to an affiliated service company with the same officers?
JM-88 originally said yes and also applied article 3.68 to commissions based on out-of-state business. JM-187 later withdrew the per se rule for affiliate service fees, while expressly reaffirming JM-…
Could Texas fish farming, shellfish culture, and other aquaculture qualify for agricultural property-tax treatment?
Yes, when the activity involved cultivating or producing aquatic life. JM-87 said fish farming, shellfish culture, and similar mariculture could receive agricultural tax treatment, but merely catching…
Could the Fort Worth Transportation Authority condemn land, including a station or terminal site, without Fort Worth City Council approval?
No. JM-86 concluded that the transit authority needed Fort Worth City Council approval to exercise eminent domain generally and to acquire land for a station or terminal complex.
Could Corpus Christi require pawnshops to keep more detailed customer records and delay redemption for 72 hours?
Corpus Christi could require detailed pawnshop records because that rule complemented state law. It could not impose a 72-hour redemption delay because state law required pledged goods to be returned …
Could a Texas county use combination tax and revenue bonds to build toll roads without violating the constitutional ban on lending public credit?
Yes, assuming the bonds complied with all constitutional and statutory debt requirements. JM-84 said charging tolls did not itself create a constitutional problem and county toll roads could serve a l…
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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.