State AG Opinions
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Could a county public defender also serve on the same county’s council in 2015?
The 2015 AG concluded that the dual roles did not violate the constitutional office rule or create the described master-servant conflict. It declined to decide the separate ethics question and…
What can a West Virginia county commission do when it is unhappy with the ambulance authority it created: dissolve the whole authority, fire all the board members, or appoint itself to the board?
The AG concluded the county commission can dissolve the entire ambulance authority by ordinance or order (the power to create implies the power to abolish under Hatfield v. Mingo County Court). It…
Could South Carolina pay 911 equipment vendors directly from the wireless program fund?
The 2015 AG said the wireless 911 funding provision authorized reimbursement to approved public answering points and providers, but did not authorize the fiscal office to direct payment to vendors.
After a Tennessee felony or domestic violence conviction, what firearms can the person legally own, and what does it take to get full gun rights back?
A felon or domestic-violence offender generally could not possess any firearm, including antique or black powder, except in narrow exceptions (black powder long guns for nonviolent felons; black…
Could South Carolina’s higher education commission join SARA and charge administration fees in 2015?
The 2015 AG said the commission lacked statutory authority to join the interstate distance education agreement or collect fees to administer it. The opinion called for legislation expressly granting…
Did Tennessee's Health Club Bond Act apply to a CrossFit, yoga, or barre studio that sold prepaid packages of group classes?
Yes. The AG concluded that a business primarily offering regular, scheduled group exercise classes for prepaid payments fit the Act's broad 'health club' definition. The 'personal training'…
Did Tennessee's sex offender residency law force someone to move out of a home they had lived in for years, just because the home turned out to be within 1,000 feet of their victim?
Yes. The AG concluded the prohibition on a sexual offender 'residing' within 1,000 feet of a victim was absolute. It made no exception for residences established before the offense. The offender had…
Can an Arkansas non-management state employee run as an independent candidate for a county or city office?
Generally yes. Arkansas law expressly protects the right of state, county, municipal, and school-district employees to run for elective office. The only meaningful federal restriction is the Hatch…
Can a Texas police department put 'In God We Trust' on its patrol cars?
The AG concluded that a Texas police department or sheriff's office may display the national motto 'In God We Trust' on its patrol vehicles, and that a court would likely find the display does not…
Can a Washington home-rule county make its prosecuting attorney a nonpartisan office?
The AG concluded that article XI, section 4 of the Washington Constitution does not prohibit a home-rule county from providing in its charter that the prosecuting attorney is elected as a…
Can a landlord get paid to remove an abandoned manufactured home if the tenant abandoned it before the landlord ever filed a change-in-use plan?
No, according to this opinion. The Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Authority (DEMHRA) asked whether it must pay a landlord to remove a manufactured home a tenant abandoned before the landlord…
What makes someone a 'duly qualified elector' for serving on a Tennessee industrial development corporation board, and what happens if an ineligible member voted?
A 'qualified elector' meant someone legally qualified to vote in the municipality, whether or not registered. An ineligible member's votes were generally valid under the de facto officer doctrine.…
Could Cameron Parish schools use settlement money for bond debt and stop collecting the bond tax?
The AG said the school board could use excess, unrestricted settlement proceeds to help pay or defease its general obligation bonds, subject to the settlement’s terms. That use did not excuse the…
Is a shared data-processing agency owned by two school districts subject to Delaware's public records law?
Yes, according to this opinion. The New Castle Data Service Center (DSC), a shared administrative agency owned and operated by the Colonial and Red Clay Consolidated School Districts to handle…
How did the Arkansas AG rule on the popular name and ballot title for a proposal to limit legislatively referred amendments?
The AG rejected the sponsor's popular name because it suggested that the General Assembly could amend the constitution on its own. She substituted a name saying the legislature may propose…
Could one Columbia police officer swear to warrant facts learned from another officer?
The 2015 AG said the proposed process could support a valid warrant oath if the signing officer learned the probable cause facts from the investigator and disclosed that source. It said the informed…
Can a school district refuse to release a successful applicant's job application and resume under Arkansas FOIA as a personnel-records privacy invasion?
Likely not. The AG concluded that the Pine Bluff School District's decision to withhold the successful applicant's job application and resume for the Executive Director of Operations position was…
Could the Fort Smith Police Department release records of a sexual harassment internal investigation after redacting the complaining officer's identity?
Yes, with additional redactions. The AG concluded the records were employee-evaluation records of the supervisor accused of harassment, and they had to be released because the four-part test was…
What did the Idaho Attorney General's October 2015 Certificate of Review identify as remaining problems with a revised proposed initiative to broaden Idaho's sales tax base by taxing services?
AG Wasden's October 30, 2015 review reaffirmed and incorporated by reference the office's earlier June 10, 2015 review of an essentially identical initiative by the same petitioners. The revised…
Who had primary responsibility for serving Bunkie city court bench warrants: the marshal or police chief?
The AG said the marshal, as executive officer of the city court, had primary responsibility for serving its bench warrants within the marshal’s territory. The police chief still had a concurrent…
Could Palmetto’s volunteer fire chief also work part time as a village police deputy and gas and water operator?
The AG concluded that Louisiana’s dual officeholding law did not bar the volunteer fire chief from holding the two described part-time village jobs. It treated the volunteer chief role as outside…
Must a Louisiana employee repay crisis leave awarded beyond the pool balance because of an agency error?
The AG said an employee who received too many crisis-leave hours because of an agency administrative error did not have to replace the deficit. The agency should restore the pool through future…
Could a Louisiana drainage district reimburse private landowners for erosion control on their property?
The AG said the drainage district could financially assist erosion work on private land if it had authority for the drainage purpose and received at least equivalent public value. It had to value…
Was South Carolina’s 2015 motorcycle safety study committee improperly structured?
The 2015 AG concluded that the committee’s specified mix of government appointees and motorcycle group members was lawful. It stressed that the committee only studied and recommended; implementing…
Did South Carolina home rule invalidate the Reidville Area Fire District’s 1973 enabling act?
The 2015 AG predicted a court would uphold the Reidville fire district act, ratified just before the home rule amendment on the same day. It read the two enactments together and did not treat home…
Could a California city council member be barred from office after an obstruction conviction tied to prior council conduct?
The Attorney General did not decide that the council member was disqualified. The office granted leave to sue because the obstruction conviction raised substantial questions about malfeasance in…
Could Greenville’s legislative delegation hire counsel and direct the health system board?
The 2015 AG said Greenville’s legislative delegation could employ counsel to act concerning the health system, without AG approval. It also said the delegation’s power to appoint board members did…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Mary Berry's second cannabis legalization ballot title in 2015?
On the second submission, the AG again rejected the proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment. The proposal still had ambiguities about whether the amendment would override Arkansas DWI law for…
What are the constitutional limits on how the Maine legislature can spend the income generated by the state's Public Reserved Lands?
AG Mills said Public Reserved Lands revenue is held subject to public trust limits. She could not reach firm constitutional conclusions on three conceptual proposals: heating equipment for…
Could a Dorchester County chief magistrate temporarily act as coroner after the coroner’s suspension?
The 2015 AG said the chief magistrate’s temporary coroner duty arose by statute and fit the ex officio exception to the dual office rule. It declined to decide whether particular cases would require…
Could Alexandria's economic development authority create a nonprofit to restore blighted property?
The AG said the Greater Alexandria Economic Development Authority could establish a nonprofit cooperative economic development corporation to help restore and develop distressed city property,…
Can the Arkansas DHS release personnel records about a current employee under FOIA when the documents contain information that formed the basis for an adverse employment action?
The AG split the question. Most of the attorney's specific questions were outside the scope of FOIA review under § 25-19-105(c)(3); the AG can only opine on whether the custodian's release decision…
May a medical assistant lawfully perform spirometric pulmonary function testing?
Yes, if spirometry was a usual and customary part of the medical practice and the assistant met the required training, competency, authorization, recordkeeping, and supervision conditions.
What constitutional and drafting concerns did the Idaho Attorney General flag in 2015 about the proposed 'College, Not Cancer Act' that would have raised cigarette and tobacco taxes to fund lower public-university tuition and tobacco-cessation programs?
AG Wasden's 2015 review said the initiative might violate art. III, § 18 because it described changes to existing cigarette and tobacco tax rates without setting out the amended sections in full.…
Did Tennessee's four-year property tax exemption for newly built rural electric cooperative facilities pass constitutional muster?
No. The AG concluded the exemption in Tenn. Code Ann. § 65-25-122(a) was unconstitutional. Article II, § 28 limits property tax exemptions to specific categories (government, charitable, etc.), and…
Could Fortuna require dog licenses and fees if state law lets owners choose a name-and-address tag?
Yes. The California AG concluded that state law authorized and required Fortuna's dog-licensing program and that Food and Agriculture Code section 30951 did not excuse owners from licensing or fees.
Could a website-only newspaper publish legal notices requiring general circulation in South Carolina?
The 2015 AG predicted that an online-only paper did not meet statutory newspaper of general circulation requirements. It said changing that result would require the Legislature to amend the notice laws.
Could a Maryland locality require more forest protection than the State Forest Conservation Act?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a local forest conservation program could require no net loss of forest and stricter reforestation or afforestation than State law. The locality did not have…
Can Idaho restrict contributions to a candidate's campaign so that only people who live in the candidate's district (or in Idaho for statewide office) can give money, and prohibit corporate contributions to candidates?
AG Wasden's 2015 Certificate of Review concluded the proposed initiative was unconstitutional under the First Amendment. After Citizens United and McCutcheon, restricting contributions based on the…
Could the South Carolina House ethics committee investigate a member who had resigned?
The 2015 AG said the House ethics committee had legal authority to consider alleged misconduct committed while a person was a member even after resignation. It left the decision whether to proceed…
Does a Texas prosecutor have to review all recorded jail phone calls for evidence that helps the defendant?
The AG concluded that Brady v. Maryland does not force a prosecutor to listen to every recorded inmate phone call hunting for exculpatory evidence the office would not otherwise review. But if the…
Can a Texas community college pay a board member's legal bills for fighting a challenge to his eligibility?
The AG concluded that a community college may reimburse a trustee's personal attorney's fees for defending a quo warranto challenge to his right to hold office only if the college finds, in good…
Can Pima County conduct a hand count audit of a county bond election, a Tucson city election, and an Oro Valley recall election without running afoul of A.R.S. § 16-602(B)(2)(f)?
No conflict. A.R.S. § 16-602's mandatory hand count audit applies only to countywide primary, special, general, and presidential preference elections that include statewide ballot measures,…
Can South Carolina accept a late angel investor tax credit application?
The 2015 AG concluded that the Department of Revenue had discretion to accept an untimely angel investor credit application. Acceptance did not waive the Act’s other requirements or guarantee a…
Could a Cajundome Commission employee also serve on the Lafayette City-Parish Council?
No, if the positions were held at the same time. The AG concluded that the council’s review of the Cajundome Commission’s budget and audits, along with city-parish funding of the commission,…
Can a Beaufort hospital trustee also serve as Jasper County attorney?
The 2015 AG said yes. A Beaufort Memorial Hospital trustee held a public office, but the Jasper County attorney position was employment under the ordinance rather than a second public office.
Could Sabine Parish’s tourism director also serve as a police juror?
The AG said Sabine Parish’s full-time tourism commission executive director could not also serve as a police juror. If the director position became part-time, the state dual-officeholding provisions…
Can a South Carolina coroner subpoena a living person’s blood in a death investigation?
The 2015 AG said no. A coroner or deputy coroner could not use the statutory subpoena duces tecum power to compel a blood draw from an individual; doing so would evade limits on the coroner’s…
Could a California prosecutor inspect an officer's personnel file for Brady material, or receive a CHP list identifying officers with sustained misconduct findings?
A prosecutor could not directly inspect confidential officer personnel files and instead had to use the Pitchess court process. CHP could provide prosecutors the names of officers with sustained…
Could West Feliciana Parish’s council or president control its tourist commission?
The AG said the West Feliciana Parish Tourist Commission was a separate political subdivision. The parish council appointed its directors but had no general power to remove or control them under the…
Could a Louisiana hospital service district add a nonvoting ex officio member to its board?
The AG said no. State law fixed the district board at five commissioners appointed by the parish governing authority, and the board could not enlarge it by calling an additional person a nonvoting…
Could Bamberg’s board of public works purchase and operate a golf course?
The 2015 AG said a golf course purchase usually fell outside a public works board’s traditional role. A court might uphold it if the property furthered utility work, such as water supply or…
Could an active-duty service member be appointed county veterans affairs officer in South Carolina?
The 2015 AG classified an active-duty applicant who had not been discharged as a nonveteran under the appointment statute. If the county legislative delegation found that applicant more qualified…
Would a Tennessee bill exempting insured adult motorcyclists from the helmet law (but keeping uninsured and TennCare-covered riders required to wear one) violate equal protection?
No. The AG concluded the proposed bill would survive rational basis review. The state's interest in protecting publicly funded healthcare programs from accident costs was a legitimate basis for…
Could police stop someone based on an anonymous text-a-tip message?
The Kentucky AG concluded in 2015 that an anonymous text tip could support a temporary investigatory stop only if sufficiently reliable information gave officers reasonable and articulable suspicion…
Could a Louisiana mayor give an appointed town clerk a raise without the board of aldermen?
No. The AG said Grand Coteau’s mayor could not unilaterally raise its appointed town clerk’s pay. Under the Lawrason Act provision it applied, the board of aldermen was the authority to increase…
Can owners block parking on a South Carolina state highway right of way?
The 2015 AG said neighboring owners could not place blocks, flags, or signs on the state highway right of way to stop fairgoers from parking there. They could ask transportation or local officials…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Mary Berry's first cannabis legalization ballot title in 2015?
The AG rejected the proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment popular name and ballot title because the underlying proposal had several internal ambiguities, including unclear zoning and licensing…
Could Opelousas pay for its high school band to travel to a Washington, D.C. parade?
No. The AG said Opelousas could not donate $10,000 in city funds for the high school band’s trip to perform in Washington, D.C. The proposed payment served no city-authorized purpose identified in…
Can a parent in Arizona pull their child out of the AzMERIT or other state-mandated standardized tests, the way they can opt out of certain learning materials?
No. A statewide assessment such as AzMERIT is not a 'learning material' or 'learning activity' under A.R.S. § 15-102, so the opt-out provisions don't apply. The Parents' Bill of Rights at A.R.S. §§…
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