State AG Opinions
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Are records of police internal-affairs investigations that led to suspension of currently employed officers subject to release under the Arkansas FOIA?
Yes, as a general matter. The AG opined that internal-affairs records of police officers are employee-evaluation records and must be released when the four statutory disclosure conditions are met,…
Could a South Carolina district create two schools of choice or seek an earlier start date?
The 2015 AG read the statute to allow one school of choice per district. That school could seek an exemption from the August opening-date rule, but only after public presentation, a two-thirds…
Can the private operator of the Midtown and Downtown Elizabeth River Tunnels add extra processing and administrative fees on top of the toll just to make more money?
No. AG Herring concluded that Elizabeth River Crossings can only charge processing fees to cover the actual cost of running the video-monitoring system and printing invoices, and administrative fees…
Would Tennessee's 2015 bill requiring 90 days' notice to neighbors before opening a state group home for people with disabilities run afoul of the federal ADA?
Possibly. The AG couldn't predict exactly how the bill would play out, but warned that any notice requirement that decreased availability of community-based housing and pushed disabled people back…
When a Virginia sheriff hires a private collection attorney to chase down unpaid jail keep fees, what prisoner information can the sheriff legally hand over, and what can the attorney legally do?
AG Herring concluded that a sheriff has discretion to share prisoner information needed for collection, as long as it isn't barred by state or federal law (no medical records, criminal history,…
Could a South Carolina referendum decide the State House flag issue in 2015?
In an expedited 2015 letter, the AG said a binding statewide referendum could not enact the flag law because lawmaking belonged to the Legislature. It also cited a state supreme court case against…
Did the South Carolina AG decide whether West Columbia’s 2015 council meetings violated FOIA?
No. The AG declined to decide the disputed meeting facts, summarized the 2015 open-meetings law, and said alleged violations belonged in circuit court. It described possible equitable relief,…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the proposed 'Arkansas Industrial Hemp and Medical Cannabis Amendment' for the 2016 ballot?
No. The AG rejected the proposal for ambiguities, including the misleading 'industrial' and 'medical' modifiers, an unclear scope of legislative regulatory authority, and persistent syntax errors in…
Can a Tennessee school district share student names and addresses with a charter school in the district, and can a citizen get a student's phone number through a public records request?
The district can share names and addresses with the charter if it determines the charter has a legitimate educational interest. The disclosure is permissive, not mandatory. But the district cannot…
Could Richland County insure its road contractors through a wrap-up program?
The 2015 AG predicted an owner-controlled insurance program for county transportation work could satisfy the state Constitution if deductible claims came from appropriated funds and served a public…
Could the Virginia General Assembly let the State Corporation Commission regulate the rates of city-owned electric utilities, even though the Constitution carves municipal corporations out of the SCC's normal utility authority?
Yes. AG Herring concluded the General Assembly may enact a general law extending SCC jurisdiction over rates, charges, and services of municipal electric utilities. Article IX, § 7 limits the…
Does Arkansas's Act 137 of 2015 invalidate a pre-Act local ordinance that creates a protected classification not contained in state law?
Yes. The AG read Act 137's prohibition on enforcement of local rules that 'create a protected classification or prohibit discrimination on a basis not contained in state law' as covering…
Can a Tennessee county or city create more than one tourism development authority under the 2012 enabling statute?
Yes. Although the statute mostly refers to 'the authority' in the singular, Tennessee's default canon reads singular references to include the plural absent a contrary intent, and nothing in the act…
Could Kinder Morgan condemn South Carolina land for an oil pipeline in 2015?
The 2015 AG expressed substantial doubt that South Carolina’s pipeline statute granted an oil pipeline company condemnation power. It said courts had to construe such authority narrowly in favor of…
Is a Department of Correction custodian's decision to release certain redacted records about two former ADC employees consistent with the Arkansas FOIA?
The AG approved release of one evaluation record and specified personnel records without redaction. Three audio recordings required privacy redactions, two documents needed classification, and other…
Was the AG's 1985 opinion limiting how Oregon public universities can spend mandatory student fees on political advocacy still good law in 2015?
No. The AG concluded that the 1985 opinion's three core conclusions, that ORS 260.432 forbids using student fees for ballot-measure advocacy, that constitutional constraints prohibit using fees for…
Can a Home Rule Pilot Program city like Parkersburg start collecting a 1% sales tax on July 1 while still keeping the business and occupation tax in place until January 1 of the next year?
No. W. Va. Code § 8-1-5a(i)(14) lets a Home Rule Pilot city enact a municipal sales tax 'if it reduces or eliminates its municipal business or occupation tax.' The AG read 'if' in its ordinary…
Can a manufactured home owner get relocation assistance from Delaware's Trust Fund to move within the same community?
Yes, according to this opinion. The Delaware Manufactured Housing Relocation Authority asked whether its Trust Fund could cover moving costs for homeowners who relocate within the same manufactured…
Can a Texas county clerk or judge refuse same-sex marriage duties for religious reasons?
The AG concluded that the answer turns on the specific facts of each case. After the U.S. Supreme Court's Obergefell decision recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, the AG said…
When a New York town joins a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program to procure electricity for residents, does General Municipal Law § 360 require a town referendum?
No. AG Schneiderman's office concluded that § 360 governs municipalities establishing, owning, or operating their own utility, not towns acting as energy brokers in a CCA program. Because § 360 does…
When an Arkansas school district refinances pre-2005 bonds and saves money on debt service, can it move that savings to an unrestricted fund?
No, not once the refunding bonds have already been issued. Section 6-20-2503(c)(1)(B) requires the district to use any debt service savings only for specified capital or equipment items, and the…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the first Arkansas Term Limits Amendment of 2016 proposal in June 2015?
No. The AG rejected the proposal for an enacting clause that belonged in a 'bill' rather than a constitutional amendment, mis-pointing to Article 5, Section 2 instead of Amendment 73, a vague…
What's the correct Tennessee registration class for a private contractor's school buses operated under contract with a county to transport students?
Register them under Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-112(a) as for-hire passenger vehicles, with the fee depending on seating capacity. They are not 'private buses not for hire' under § 55-4-111, and they are…
Is it an unconstitutional taking when an Arkansas dam operator releases water during heavy rain and the release floods downstream land beyond the existing easement?
The AG declined to answer. Whether a flood-release event amounts to a Fifth Amendment or Arkansas Constitution takings claim is a fact-intensive question that has to be decided case by case. The AG…
Can an Arkansas government agency voluntarily release records that fall within a Freedom of Information Act exemption, even when no one has requested them?
No. FOIA exemptions in Arkansas are mandatory, not permissive. The AG concluded that once a record falls within an exemption, the custodian cannot release it to the public even by choice. That…
In Arkansas, can a deputy prosecuting attorney serve on a county election commission when the elected prosecutor (the deputy's supervisor) appears on that county's ballot?
Yes. The AG read 'paid employee of a candidate' in Ark. Code Ann. § 7-4-109(c)(1) as referring to someone paid by the candidate, not merely supervised by the candidate. Deputy prosecutors are paid…
Could a Louisiana sheriff exceed a hiring cap during a public-safety emergency?
The AG said the sheriff could add deputies or staff beyond the statutory hiring limit on the reported facts. The AG found a public emergency in the sheriff's account of industrial growth and safety…
After SB 1476's changes, which Arizona charter schools still get the Small School Weight bump in their state funding, and how does it apply to schools serving K-12?
A charter holder qualifies for the Small School Weight only if its aggregate average daily membership across all its schools is under 600. The number of separate charters held no longer matters. The…
Could Denham Springs' civil service board hire its own lawyer for police discipline matters?
The AG said the Denham Springs fire and police civil service board could hire independent counsel for its duties, including an appeal hearing, without city council approval. It still needed Attorney…
Is the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District in Tucson subject to Arizona's Gift Clause when it spends money to attract private development?
No. The Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District is a tax-levying public improvement district under A.R.S. § 48-4202, and Arizona's Exemption Clause (Art. 13, § 7) exempts such districts from the…
When Arkansas law requires 'at least three' of four tourism-industry seats on a city advertising and promotion commission to be lodging or restaurant owners, can a city ordinance require all four?
Yes. The AG read the phrase 'at least three' in Ark. Code Ann. § 26-75-605(a)(1)(B) as setting a floor, not a ceiling. Eureka Springs's ordinance requiring all four tourism-industry seats on its…
Under Arkansas's 1,000-foot rule for retail liquor permits, does 'schoolhouse' include private schools and day care centers, and did Act 1172 of 2015 change what counts as a schoolhouse?
The AG predicted courts would generally include public and private instructional facilities, including most day care centers, but said individual facts matter. Act 1172 of 2015 left 'schoolhouse'…
Could a former Baton Rouge Metro Council member become parish registrar of voters within two years?
The AG said the charter did not bar a former council member from becoming registrar within two years because the registrar was not a city-parish office of profit. A sitting member could not hold…
Can an incorporated nonprofit volunteer fire department contract with an Arkansas city or county to provide fire protection, and how did Act 106 of 2015 change that?
Counties could contract with a nonprofit fire department under existing law, the AG said, so long as the contract had adequate consideration and served a proper public purpose. Cities were a closer…
An Arkansas voter who moved counties and whose transferred registration arrived at the new county after the four-day deadline before an election: can the voter still vote, including by provisional ballot?
No. In this 2015 opinion, the AG concluded that if a voter's intercounty registration update was not received by the new county clerk's office by the fourth day before the election, the voter was…
Could a Louisiana road district spend its dedicated sales tax on a road section outside the district?
No. The AG said St. Landry Parish Road District No. 1 could spend its dedicated road tax only on roads physically within the district, so it could not pay for the section of a roadway outside the boundary.
Were Southern University police officers at the New Orleans campus eligible for Louisiana supplemental pay?
The AG concluded that qualified, commissioned Southern University police officers at the New Orleans campus were eligible for state supplemental pay, assuming the facts supplied about their police…
Can a Connecticut school board pay a reemployed retired teacher fringe benefits like health insurance, annuities, or a car allowance on top of the 45% salary cap in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-183v(a)?
No. The AG concluded that a retired teacher reemployed under § 10-183v(a) while drawing a Teachers' Retirement System pension may receive nothing more than 45% of the maximum salary for the assigned…
Did South Carolina administrative law judges accrue annual and sick leave in 2015?
The 2015 AG said administrative law judges were elected public officers rather than employees covered by the leave statutes. They did not accrue annual or sick leave, need leave records, or receive…
Who chose Beech Island water district directors when its bylaws called for elections?
The 2015 AG said the county legislative delegation chose nominees and the Governor appointed directors under state law. Customer elections under the district bylaws were advisory and optional; the…
Did South Carolina’s 2015 evidence law require medical examiners to keep toxicology samples?
The 2015 AG said medical examiners were evidence custodians and the Act was not limited to DNA. Physical or biological evidence collected and retained for processing in cases involving the 24…
Does a government records office have to provide bulk copies of public records in the specific electronic format I request?
No, according to this opinion. A requester (Zillow) asked the Kent County Recorder of Deeds for about a year and a half of recorded document images on external media. The Recorder instead offered…
Could a Louisiana city pay employees for on-call hours when they were never called to work?
The AG said Denham Springs could pay on-call time without a call-out only if restrictions made that time compensable work. If employees could effectively use it for themselves, the proposed payment…
Can a government agency charge me thousands of dollars in fees to discourage me from pursuing a public records request?
Not if the estimate is inflated, according to this opinion. A blogger challenged the Department of Education's $6,568.86 fee estimate for a records request about testing-vendor contracts. The AG…
Can a school board discuss and vote on renewing a superintendent's contract in a closed executive session?
No, according to this opinion. The Appoquinimink School Board violated Delaware's open meetings law by discussing the superintendent's contract renewal in executive session (personnel-matter…
Can Arkansas's Alcoholic Beverage Control Division withhold the identities of minor 'cooperating individuals' it uses in undercover alcohol compliance checks from a Freedom of Information Act request?
Yes, in the AG's reading. Assuming the records were properly classified as personnel records, the custodian's decision to redact information identifying the minors was consistent with the Arkansas…
Did the Arkansas Attorney General certify the popular name and ballot title for the Campaign Finance Act of 2016, a proposed initiated act on disclosure of independent expenditures and donors?
The AG certified the popular name 'The Campaign Finance Act of 2016' as submitted. The AG rejected the proposed ballot title as too technical and substituted a new ballot title written in plain…
Does Arkansas's special-education eligibility statute for 'children with disabilities, between three and twenty-one years of age' cover students until they turn 21, or through the year they are 21?
The AG read the statutory phrase 'between three (3) and twenty-one (21) years of age' as ambiguous, but concluded the Arkansas Department of Education was entitled to continue applying it as '3 to…
Did Tennessee's 2015 law reclassifying high-volume abortion clinics as ambulatory surgical treatment centers force them to get a Certificate of Need before they could be licensed?
No. The AG concluded that the legislature, in shifting these existing practices into the ASTC licensing regime, did not silently impose a multi-month CON pre-requirement that would have made…
Can a South Carolina solicitor decline every case involving an officer over credibility concerns?
The Attorney General concluded that a solicitor could decline cases based on concerns about an officer’s credibility without examining every case in full. The solicitor’s decision did not take away…
What problems did the Idaho Attorney General flag in June 2015 about the League of Women Voters' proposed initiative to lower Idaho's sales tax rate from 6% to 5% while broadening the base to include taxes on services and real-property contracts?
AG Wasden's 2015 review identified a long list of legal and drafting problems: a possible single-subject violation under art. III, § 16 because the initiative reached into personal property tax…
Can the Wilson County Commission stop collecting the $2-per-head domestic animal tax authorized by a 1980 private act, even though the voters approved the tax?
Yes. The 1980 private act 'authorized' the commission to impose the tax; it did not require it. The voters approved the act, not the tax itself. The commission has discretion to impose or rescind,…
Can a Texas service contract provider refund the full price without deducting claims already paid?
The AG concluded a court would likely say no. Section 1304.1581 of the Occupations Code makes the deduction mandatory: when a consumer cancels a service contract, the provider must reduce the refund…
Can the same person serve on a Texas school board and a hospital district board at the same time?
The AG concluded no, at least where the two districts overlap and both can tax. Because the La Vernia Independent School District and the Wilson County Memorial Hospital District cover overlapping…
Can a Texas public funds investment pool create a subsidiary to invest public money?
The AG concluded the Public Funds Investment Act does not prohibit it. An investment pool may create and invest in a wholly-owned subsidiary if the pool's governing body decides that is reasonably…
Who maintains county roads that pass through Tennessee state forests, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture or the county?
The county. State forest acquisition does not relieve a county of its maintenance duty for roads that were already county roads. The Department of Agriculture is responsible only for forest roads,…
Who maintains the one-mile access road to the Narrows of the Harpeth in a Tennessee state park, the state or Cheatham County?
The AG could not say. Maintenance depends on whether the road is a 'county road' (created by county dedication and acceptance), which is highly fact-specific. If the state is responsible, the…
Could Saline County withhold a record from a former Circuit Clerk employee's personnel file when the employee had not been suspended or terminated?
Yes. After reviewing the record, the AG classified it as an employee-evaluation record. Because the employee had not been suspended or terminated, the first required condition for releasing that…
Does HIPAA stop Tennessee from releasing legislators' health insurance enrollment and premium data in response to a public records request?
No. Even assuming the data was protected health information disclosed by a HIPAA-covered entity, the Privacy Rule's 'required by law' exception lets a covered entity disclose PHI when a state public…
Can a Tennessee mayor or judge perform a wedding ceremony in another state using a marriage license from a Tennessee county clerk?
No. Tennessee statute authorizes elected and former elected officials to solemnize marriages 'in any county of this state.' The AG read that as excluding any out-of-state ceremony.
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