State AG Opinions
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Can a Texas sheriff use the county jail commissary fund to pay for inmate job-training programs?
Possibly, and the call is the sheriff's to make first. The Attorney General would not decide as a matter of law whether paying out of commissary proceeds for an inmate water-catchment building project…
Does the Texas catalog-purchase procedure for state technology buying apply to independent school districts?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the catalog-purchase procedure in Government Code section 2157.0611 sits in a subchapter that applies only to a state agency covered by Chapter 2054. Chapter 20…
Is the name of a 911 caller that ends up in a police offense report confidential under Florida's public records law?
It depends on the source. Information taken from the 911 call that identifies the caller is confidential while the agency holds it. But identifying information gathered separately, through a criminal …
Can a Florida city use a city-owned building as collateral for a loan without a voter referendum?
No, not for a loan over 12 months. The office advised that when a city borrows money and grants a security interest in its property, with a right of foreclosure, for a term longer than 12 months, that…
Can Virginia jail inmates work outside the sheriff's county or on private nonprofit land?
Yes, conditionally. The AG concluded that inmate work crews could leave the sheriff's jurisdiction if a court ordered it, or, if authorized by the local governing body, only when the property was owne…
In Virginia, do you pay sales tax on the tire disposal fee a tire shop charges when you buy new tires?
Yes. The AG concluded that when the true object of a transaction is buying a product (tires), and the related service (disposing of the old tires) is incidental to that purchase, the disposal fee is s…
Can the Texas State Cemetery Committee ban bicycles on a state highway that runs through the cemetery?
The Attorney General did not decide that. The opinion concluded that the Texas State Cemetery Committee's authority over 'all operations of the State Cemetery' under Government Code section 2165.256(a…
Can a member of a Texas county ethics commission also serve as the review officer on its screening committee?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a member of the El Paso County Ethics Commission may not serve as the review officer on the commission's standing preliminary review committee. The governing st…
Can a Texas school psychologist use the 'Nationally Certified School Psychologist' title?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the Psychologists' Licensing Act does not prohibit a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology from truthfully using the 'Nationally Certified School Psychologi…
Does an Illinois public employee lose their pension after a felony conviction connected to the job?
The AG concluded that an Illinois State Trooper who pleaded guilty to official misconduct and possession of child pornography forfeited his state pension, because the crimes were connected to his publ…
Can emails between Texas government board members violate the Open Meetings Act?
It depends on the facts. The Attorney General concluded that electronic communications, including email, among members of a Texas governmental body can amount to a 'deliberation' and a 'meeting' that …
Who can issue 'competent orders' for the Tennessee State Guard so members can take military leave from their day jobs?
For a Tennessee State Guard member to be entitled to unpaid leave from a public or private employer under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-33-110, the member must be performing duty or training under orders issued…
If I get a red-light camera ticket in the mail, do I have to respond, and what is the difference between a 'notice of violation' and a real court-issued ticket?
Photo-enforcement traffic tickets must be served personally or by another method authorized by the Rules of Civil Procedure (or by certified mail in limited cases). If the agency mails a citation by s…
What did Idaho's AG say about the 2011 ballot initiative that would broaden the sales tax base to services and lower the rate to 5%?
The AG flagged a major unintended consequence: combining the proposed expansion of sales tax to real-property improvement contracts with existing exemptions for sales to government would completely ex…
Does a Florida regional planning council have to follow the state severance-pay cap for its employees?
Yes. Attorney General Bondi concluded the South Florida Regional Planning Council is a 'unit of government' under section 215.425, as amended in 2011, so its contracts have to follow the severance-pay…
Can a county museum board member also serve as a special magistrate for the value adjustment board in Florida?
No. Attorney General Bondi concluded that members of the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens Trust board are appointed officials of Miami-Dade County for purposes of section 194.035(1), so they are barred from…
Can a Florida city contract to provide police services to any city in the county, or only to ones next door?
Only to neighbors. Attorney General Bondi concluded that section 166.0495 lets a city enter an interlocal agreement to provide law enforcement services only to municipalities that both adjoin the city…
Can a Virginia county board open meetings with Christian prayers that name Jesus Christ?
It depended on context. The AG said no clean yes-or-no answer was possible without facts, but cautioned Virginia local boards to take seriously the Fourth Circuit's recent decision in Joyner v. Forsyt…
Can a Texas county bail bond board limit who a bail bondsman is allowed to hire?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Hunt County Bail Bond Board's Rule 9.1(g), which barred a bail bond licensee from employing anyone currently on probation or parole or facing a pending crim…
Can a Texas public university give or trade its land to a private nonprofit?
It depends, and the key calls are left to the university's board. The Attorney General concluded that Article III, sections 51 and 52 of the Texas Constitution would not bar Texas Southern University …
Did former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich lose his state pension after his federal corruption convictions?
Yes. Attorney General Lisa Madigan concluded that all 18 of Blagojevich's federal felony convictions arose out of and in connection with his service as Governor, triggering forfeiture of his pension u…
Can the Tennessee Department of Finance or another state agency override pay raises the State Board of Education approves for its own staff?
Yes. Even though the State Board of Education has authority to fix the compensation of its Executive Director and (with the Executive Director's recommendation) its other employees under Tenn. Code An…
Can Tennessee require older drivers to retake the driving test, and can doctors tip off the state when a senior's health makes them unsafe behind the wheel?
Yes to age-based retesting, modified examinations for seniors, accident-triggered retesting, and family-member-triggered retesting, as long as each rule bears a rational relation to a legitimate state…
How much do Florida counties have to pay toward community mental health and substance abuse services, and what oversight do they get?
Counties chip in a 25% local match against the state's 75% for most contracted community substance abuse and mental health services. In-kind contributions like donated space count toward the match. A …
Can a Delaware agency block a new records request just because it denied a similar one before?
No, the AG found. The Department of Labor violated FOIA by withholding routine wage-law inspection records, citations, and site-visit logs under a blanket "investigative files" exemption without expla…
What rules must a Florida public employer's bonus or incentive program follow?
The office would not bless the whole plan. It explained that under section 215.425(3), as amended in 2011, any bonus-scheme policy must base awards on work performance, describe the performance standa…
Are the directors of New York's Independent Livery Driver Benefit Fund entitled to state defense, indemnification, and qualified immunity as public officers?
The AG concluded that the Independent Livery Driver Benefit Fund was not a 'public entity' under Public Officers Law § 18 and not part of state government for purposes of § 17, so its directors were n…
Which 2011 Georgia misdemeanors did the Attorney General designate as fingerprintable?
Of 15 reviewed offenses, the AG designated 9: transporting/concealing/inducing fewer than 7 illegal aliens (§§ 16-11-200/201/202), prescription data breach (§ 16-13-64(b)), feral hog release (§ 27-2-3…
Does a creditor have to prove fraud to reach assets a Tennessee debtor put into an investment services trust?
Yes. Under Tennessee's Investment Services Act of 2007 (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 35-16-101 to 112), a creditor must work through the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act to reach assets in an investment services…
Can a Florida county forgive penalties and interest on delinquent special assessments it imposed by ordinance?
Likely, by amending the ordinance. The office gave informal comments noting that a special assessment imposed by county ordinance is an exercise of home-rule power, not taxing power. Because a body th…
Can a Delaware prison inmate use FOIA to get records from the Department of Correction?
No, the AG found. Delaware's FOIA specifically excludes from the definition of "public record" any Department of Correction records where an inmate in the Department's own custody is the one seeking d…
When a Tennessee court strikes down an administrative rule amendment, what does the Secretary of State publish as the official version of the rule?
The Secretary of State should reinstate and publish the previously existing rule. When a court invalidates a rule amendment, the amendment is treated as if it never took effect, so the older version o…
Can Florida counties still require gun background checks and a waiting period after the 2011 firearm preemption law?
Yes. Even though the 2011 amendments to section 790.33 broadened the state's preemption of firearm regulation, the AG concluded that Article VIII, section 5(b) of the Florida Constitution still lets a…
Can a Florida county commissioner take part in hiring county employees, or does the county administrator hold that power?
The administrator hires. The office gave informal comments noting that in a non-charter county that adopted Part III of Chapter 125, the county administrator selects, employs, and supervises personnel…
Do members of a Tennessee county growth-plan coordinating committee have to live in the county, and can any official reject who gets seated?
City and county mayors and members of the county legislative body serving on a coordinating committee must live in the city or county to keep their underlying public office. Other coordinating committ…
Can a Florida police officer also work as a private investigator or security guard, or own that kind of business?
The AG was aware of no statute that prohibits a sworn Florida law enforcement officer from also working as a licensed private investigator or security guard, or owning such an agency. But conflict-of-…
How long can a member of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission serve, and can someone be reappointed?
A commissioner may serve no more than one complete four-year term of office, as set by law. A commissioner may hold over in office past the term's expiration until a successor is duly appointed and qu…
Who pays for a court-ordered mental health evaluation of a misdemeanor defendant in Tennessee, the county or the city?
The county. Under 2009 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 531 (codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 33-7-304), the cost of mental health evaluation and treatment for misdemeanor defendants is a charge against county funds…
Does a Texas university system's $25 million investment threshold apply system-wide or per campus?
At the system level. The Attorney General concluded that the University of North Texas System's Board of Regents is the 'governing board' under Education Code section 51.0031(c), so the $25 million en…
Must a county court judge's pay include the extra salary the local administrative district judge gets?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Government Code sections 25.0862 and 25.0023 require Galveston County's statutory county court at law judges and statutory probate court judge to be paid at lea…
Can a group other than a chamber of commerce get Texas's 'community business organization' property tax exemption?
Potentially yes, but the appraiser decides. The Attorney General concluded that the property tax exemption in Tax Code section 11.231 for a 'nonprofit community business organization' is not limited t…
Can a Florida county lease its public airport to a private operator for more than 30 years?
Yes. The AG concluded that section 125.35(1)(b)1., Florida Statutes, lets a county negotiate a lease of its airport property to a private party for whatever term and conditions the county commission d…
Is the Texas Medicaid fraud oversight task force an 'advisory committee' under chapter 2110?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Medicaid and Public Assistance Fraud Oversight Task Force is not an 'advisory committee' within Government Code chapter 2110, so that chapter's rules do not…
Does a Texas prosecutor need a judge's approval to advance a witness's travel expenses?
No. The Attorney General concluded that article 35.27 of the Code of Criminal Procedure does not require a county or its district attorney to get the presiding judge's preapproval before advancing fun…
Must a Texas public housing authority reimburse a city or county for services to a housing project?
Not under this statute. The Attorney General concluded that Local Government Code subsection 392.005(b) authorizes, but does not require, a public housing authority to agree to reimburse a municipalit…
Who owns the bed of a Tennessee river, and how is that decided when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers calls a river navigable?
Under Tennessee law, the bed of a navigable river belongs to the State up to the low-water mark; the bed of a non-navigable river can be privately owned. Whether a particular waterway is legally navig…
Which Virginia law enforcement agency executes emergency custody and temporary detention orders for towns with their own police?
Town police, in towns served by their own department. The AG concluded that magistrates should name the town's police department as the 'primary law-enforcement agency of the jurisdiction' for emergen…
When a SD county has a weed and pest control problem and there are private commercial chemical applicators operating in the county, can the county weed and pest board still enter into a joint powers agreement (under SDCL 1-24-8) with another government agency for weed control work? Or does the existence of private applicators in the county block the county from contracting with the other government and force the county to use the private applicators?
Yes, the county can contract with another government agency. SDCL 38-22-23.11 restricts the county weed and pest board from selling and applying chemicals and poisons when those services are available…
In Tennessee, can a county medical examiner who also serves as county coroner run for or hold a seat on the county commission?
No. When the county legislative body has vested the duties of the county coroner in the county medical examiner under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-9-101, the position is treated as 'filled by vote of the count…
Can a Tennessee county commission tap a school district's leftover fund balance to set the school budget without the school board's sign-off?
No, with one exception. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-3-352(c), the local legislative body cannot use a school district's accumulated fund balance (above the 3% reserve) for the school budget unless the …
Can a Florida city council fill a council vacancy by special election if the city charter says otherwise?
The AG declined to answer directly, because interpreting a city charter is a question of local law outside the AG's authority and is usually referred to the local government's own attorney. As informa…
In Tennessee, does an employer have to pay an employee for the time spent driving to and from jury duty?
Yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 22-4-106(b) requires an employer to pay an employee his or her usual compensation for time actually spent serving on a jury and traveling to and from the courthouse. If an emplo…
After the 2010 census, did the Wyoming Constitution require all 30 state senators to stand for election in 2012 because senate district lines would change, or could 'holdover' senators (those whose four-year terms had not expired) finish their terms?
Holdover senators could finish their terms. Attorney General Gregory Phillips concluded that 46 years of federal and state cases since Reynolds v. Sims have allowed holdover senators to complete their…
Is a pre-1971 hunting and fishing club's land in Virginia exempt from real property tax under the constitutional grandfather clause?
The commissioner of revenue must decide on the facts. The club's pre-1971 status lets it use a liberal-construction grandfather clause. It can qualify if it functioned as an institution of learning or…
Can a Virginia electoral board keep party-authorized poll watchers confined to a specific area of the polling place?
No. Authorized representatives must be allowed to move around the polling place to see and hear what's happening, subject to limits in §§24.2-604(D) and 24.2-607 (no disturbing voters, no campaigning,…
Can a nonprofit created by an out-of-state government, qualifying as a public housing agency in its home state, also act as a public housing agency in Oregon just because it registered to do business as a foreign corporation here?
No. The AG concluded that only Oregon law can confer the authority to perform Oregon governmental functions. Registering as a foreign corporation gives a nonprofit only the same powers as an individua…
Can a Florida special district create its own 'hybrid' bidding process for public construction projects?
No. The AG concluded that the Southwest Florida Water Management District, as a creature of statute, may only use the competitive-award procedures the Legislature set out in section 255.20 (for public…
Does Tennessee's distribution-center nexus statute force out-of-state online retailers to collect sales tax even when a subsidiary owns the warehouse?
Yes and no, depending on who owns the in-state distribution center. If an out-of-state retailer directly maintains or owns a Tennessee warehouse, it has physical presence in Tennessee and nexus for Co…
Does a Connecticut Department of Correction administrative directive become binding the moment the Commissioner signs it, or does it have to go through formal rulemaking first?
It binds on signature. The AG concluded that DOC Administrative Directive 9.12, which set a mandatory ten-day in-custody assessment period for inmates sentenced under §§ 14-215 and 14-227a before home…
After Connecticut moved the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority into the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, can DEEP tell PURA to suspend a contested case it is deciding?
The AG concluded DEEP's request that PURA suspend the CL&P smart-meter contested case was lawful as a request, not a directive. Public Act 11-80 placed PURA inside DEEP for organizational purposes but…
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