State AG Opinions
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Who sets the date of a South Carolina town's special election when the county conducts its municipal elections?
The AG said Chapin's governing body still had to choose the special-election date because its agreement with Lexington County transferred only the conduct of elections. In that 2014 case, the…
Could a South Carolina retirement commission member recover legal fees after a criminal investigation ended without charges?
The AG said a court would likely allow reimbursement under Section 9-16-370 if the investigation concerned official duties, the member acted in good faith, no charges were filed, and the fees were…
Could a South Carolina school board trustee also work temporarily for the same school district?
The AG concluded that even temporary employment by the district created a conflict for a trustee on that district's board. The conflict arose as soon as one person held both the board's supervisory…
Can a West Virginia municipality apply its sales tax to transactions that happen outside city limits, just because the buyer's zip code overlaps the city?
No. The AG concluded that the West Virginia Constitution and W. Va. Code § 8-13C-4 limit a municipality's sales-and-use-tax authority to transactions within municipal boundaries. The Town of…
Can a homeowners or property owners association in Virginia pull over drivers on its private streets and issue traffic citations?
No, not on its own. Under the opinion, a property owners' association may not use its own safety patrol to compel a vehicle to stop or to write citations for state or local traffic violations. The…
Can a city withhold a 23-page applicant 'Integrity Interview' from a public-records request when most of its 349 questions are about deeply personal matters?
Yes. When highly personal questions predominate (about 70%) and are interspersed line-by-line throughout the document, the exempt information is 'inextricably intertwined' with the non-exempt, and…
Can a Colorado school district that teaches reading in both English and Spanish identify a 'Significant Reading Deficiency' under the READ Act using a Spanish-language assessment, instead of being forced to test the child only in English?
Yes. The AG concluded that the READ Act focuses on the skill of reading, not on reading the English language. The Act's list of approved interim assessments under § 22-7-1209(1)(b), C.R.S., includes…
Can a Florida county tax property owned by another county that sits within its borders?
No. The AG advised that property owned by a county is immune from taxation, including when one county owns land located inside a second county. County immunity rests on fundamental principles of…
Can an elected Arkansas Court of Appeals judge also serve as a part-time elected district court judge, and does the answer change if the city and county pay the salary?
No. Amendment 80 § 16(F) bars circuit, district, and appellate judges from holding any other 'office of trust or profit under this state,' and that ban runs regardless of who pays. Teaching as an…
Can the Idaho Department of Lands pay the costs of selling state endowment land out of the proceeds of the sale?
No. Sale proceeds in the land bank fund can only be used to buy replacement endowment land. The Department's costs of running the sale are administrative expenses paid from its earnings reserve fund…
Could Oregon State Treasurer Ted Wheeler run for re-election in 2016 given the eight-years-in-twelve term limit, after serving an appointment in 2010 and an elected fill-in term?
No. The opinion concluded Wheeler could not run in 2016 because the two years he served after winning the 2010 election (filling Treasurer Westlund's remaining term) counted toward Article VI,…
Does a Florida university's private support foundation get sovereign immunity under section 768.28?
The AG declined to answer. Because the FAMU Foundation is a private nonprofit corporation rather than a government agency, the office said it has no authority to issue it a formal opinion, and the…
Can a West Virginia county commission pay more than the required employer share of PEIA retiree health insurance premiums, and can a future commission later cut those extra payments back?
Yes to both. The AG concluded that the Public Employees Insurance Act sets only a minimum employer contribution and lets counties voluntarily pay a larger share of retiree premiums. Because those…
Can a sheriff's office release disciplinary records of a former deputy under Arkansas FOIA when the misconduct involved interactions with the public?
Yes, with one redaction. Disciplinary records of law enforcement misconduct that affects the public typically carry a compelling public interest sufficient to satisfy the four-part FOIA test, but a…
Can two Arkansas counties join together to build and operate a single jail located in only one of the counties?
Yes. State law authorizes regional jail facilities created by interlocal agreement, and that authority qualifies the older requirement (from 1838) that every county build a jail within its own…
If an Arkansas regional intermodal authority leases facilities to a private business, does the private lessee inherit the authority's tax exemptions?
No. A.C.A. § 14-143-121 exempts the authority and its property, not a private lessee or other contractor. Whether particular authority-owned property qualifies for a property-tax exemption also…
Can a Texas hospital district board member also hold another county office?
The AG concluded that because a Maverick County Hospital District board seat is unpaid, it is not an 'office of emolument,' so the Texas Constitution's ban on holding two paid civil offices did not…
Is the Texas Lottery's Triple Chance game with a preset prize legal?
The AG concluded that a court would probably uphold the Texas Lottery Commission's Texas Triple Chance game. The game still meets the three legal tests for a lottery (a prize, awarded by chance, in…
Can a Connecticut school district hire a retired educator as superintendent for one year, with the retiree continuing to draw teachers' retirement benefits, when the position sits in a central administrative office rather than in a school building?
Yes, in a priority school district. The AG concluded that the statutory definition of 'teacher' in § 10-183b(26) included superintendents, and a state-funded central administrative office in a…
Did South Carolina's property-crime sentencing enhancement require three convictions for the same offense?
The AG said no. Under Section 16-1-57 as it stood in 2014, three qualifying property convictions could trigger the enhancement even if they were for different offenses; the opinion treated…
Did South Carolina's school bond payment protection apply to school district tax anticipation notes?
The AG concluded that the statutory payment protection applied to tax anticipation notes backed by a school district's full faith, credit and taxing power. It acknowledged ambiguity in the statute…
If a regional airport authority sits on the line between two states under an interstate compact, which state's open-meetings law governs its meetings?
The AG concluded that West Virginia's open-meetings law applied to the Potomac Highlands Airport Authority. The 1998 federal compact creating the authority did not pick a state law, so the AG…
Did the Arkansas AG certify a 2014 constitutional amendment legalizing cannabis statewide with a 1% THC dividing line between hemp and cannabis?
Yes for the popular name (certified as submitted). The AG substituted a refined ballot title to fix language about regulation versus prohibition of plant numbers and product manufacturing, and…
Did a South Carolina trespass warning expire, and could a store ban someone from its other locations?
The AG said the criminal-trespass statute imposed no expiration date on an adequate warning. An authorized company agent could potentially bar a patron from multiple locations, but the agent's…
Could two friends on the same South Carolina council committee socialize without holding a public meeting?
The AG said a court would likely find no open-meetings violation if the two committee members socialized without discussing or acting on committee business. Their presence together could form a…
Can a Florida mayor and city commissioner sit on a municipal charter school's governing board without violating the dual office-holding ban?
The AG gave informal, general guidance because the city had not yet drafted the ordinance or defined the board's powers. As a rule, Florida's constitutional dual office-holding prohibition does not…
Can a Texas home-rule city require a vote before raising property taxes?
The AG concluded that a court would likely uphold a home-rule city charter provision requiring voter approval before the city imposes ad valorem (property) taxes. Chapter 26 of the Tax Code sets out…
Could a South Carolina public-records request obtain current or former county grand jurors' names and contact details?
The AG predicted that a court would exempt identifying information for both current and former county grand jurors from public disclosure because of grand-jury secrecy and privacy. It assumed FOIA…
How did the Arkansas AG respond to legislators asking about a split vote to close Sebastian County polling sites?
The AG enclosed Opinion 2014-068, which he said adequately addressed their legal questions. This short opinion gives no separate analysis or ruling on the vote.
Under Arkansas FOIA, must a county disclose a former employee's settlement agreement and emails but withhold the termination letter when the termination was later vacated and the employee resigned by agreement?
Yes to both. The settlement agreement and related documents are personnel records that pass the privacy balancing test. The termination letter is an employee-evaluation record, and because the…
Can an Arkansas school district still proceed with a superintendent's termination recommendation when the legally required hearing wasn't held within the five-to-ten-day window?
The AG declined to answer because the questions go to remedies the employee will likely argue at the upcoming hearing, and the AG cannot offer what amounts to private legal advice to one side of a…
If Congress lets federal highway authorization expire, does Tennessee still get its share of federal gas-tax money, and can the state intercept it directly?
Yes for projects already obligated before October 1, 2014, because the federal commitment is contractual. No to all the workarounds: there is no legal mechanism for Tennessee drivers to remit…
When the Colorado High Performance Transportation Enterprise (a TABOR-exempt entity) finishes rebuilding a stretch of highway and hands the lanes back to CDOT, does the increased book value of those lanes count toward CDOT's TABOR spending limit?
It depends on whether the asset can easily be converted to cash. The AG concluded that 'fiscal year spending' under Article X, § 20 of the Colorado Constitution captures expenditures and reserve…
Are electronic cigarettes (vape pens) taxed as tobacco products in Arizona, and can they be used in places where smoking is banned?
No on both. Electronic cigarettes (vapor products) do not contain rolls or pieces of tobacco, so they fall outside the categories of taxable tobacco products in A.R.S. title 42, chapter 3. They also…
Can a Texas city or county keep the mineral rights when it resells tax-foreclosed land?
The AG concluded that a court would likely say no. Section 34.05 of the Tax Code lets a taxing unit (a city, county, or other entity that foreclosed for unpaid taxes) resell property it took at a…
Is a hospital district's charitable affiliate a 'political subdivision' in Texas?
The AG could not give a definitive answer. A charitable organization created by a hospital district under section 281.0565 of the Health and Safety Code (here, the Parkland Center for Clinical…
Could Coastal Carolina University form a nonprofit foundation to handle research grants and contracts?
The AG predicted that a court would likely allow the university to establish a nonprofit research foundation, provided the foundation complied with nonprofit law and transfers of public funds were…
Could Beaufort County change or abandon a proposed capital projects sales tax after its commission drafted a ballot question?
The AG predicted that the county council could choose not to proceed with the tax. If it did proceed, it had to use a ballot question formulated by the capital projects sales tax commission; the…
Did Beaufort County's library trustees have to report to the county administrator?
On reconsideration, the AG said no. It amended a March 2014 opinion and concluded that the library board was not accountable to the county administrator, who lacked control over it under the…
When does Arkansas legislation passed in a special session take effect if there's no emergency clause or specified effective date?
Ninety days after sine die adjournment. For the Second Extraordinary Session of the Eighty-Ninth General Assembly (adjourned July 2, 2014), that put the effective date at October 1, 2014. The 90-day…
Can an Arkansas county board of election commissioners close polling sites and reassign voters to neighboring sites by majority vote, or does it require unanimity?
Unanimity. Any alteration of a precinct's preexisting polling site is a 'designation' under A.C.A. § 7-5-101(a)(2), which requires a unanimous vote of the commissioners present. The Sebastian County…
Does an Arkansas city have to file a municipal-election filing-deadline ordinance with the county clerk?
No. No state law requires filing of municipal ordinances with the county clerk, and the specific statute authorizing cities to set earlier filing deadlines for independent candidates does not…
When did Richland County's new voter registration and elections board have to be appointed, and when did the old board stop serving?
The AG said the Governor had six months after June 2, 2014 to appoint the initial members under the new statute. Incumbents kept serving together until at least five successor-board members were…
When a drug dealer's customer fatally overdoses in Tennessee, what mental state must the prosecution prove to convict for second-degree murder?
Intent, knowledge, or recklessness suffices, but in practice recklessness is the working standard. The 'conscious indifference' test from the 1984 Randolph decision no longer applies because malice…
Did redrawing Colleton County school board districts cut short trustees' terms or require special elections?
The AG said the new district map operated prospectively, so sitting trustees could finish their existing terms even if their homes fell in different new districts. It found no vacancy and no need…
Can a county school board reroute a Superintendent into a part-time role to qualify her for a school early-retirement plan, and can the Board of Supervisors cut off future funding?
The opinion reached two conclusions. First, the former Powhatan County Superintendent of Schools was not legally eligible to participate in the Supplemental Retirement Program (SRP) by working…
Why did the AG reject the July 2014 version of the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act before later certifying a refined version in Opinion 2014-086?
Because the underlying text had multiple ambiguities: missing punctuation, incoherent sentences, undefined terms, internal definition conflicts, and a 'test all' rule that would make all cannabis…
Can someone who owns 5% of a property (with an LLC owning the rest) claim Florida's owner-builder permit exemption?
The AG gave informal comments, since this is partly a question of fact it cannot formally decide. An LLC, like a corporation, cannot use the owner-builder exemption in section 489.103(7) because it…
Could Maryland police escort a motorcycle charity ride across county lines, and could road officials require event insurance?
The Attorney General concluded that police could use escort privileges for large motorcycle charity rides and local officers could cross jurisdictional lines for escort duty, but could not generally…
Can a state agency withhold how much money telecom companies pay into a public fund by calling that information a trade secret?
No, not here. The AG found that the amounts two telecom carriers, AT&T and Sprint, paid into Delaware's Broadband Fund were "financial" and "commercial" information but not protected trade secrets…
Can a Virginia city council expel one of its own members under its city charter, or does the state court-removal statute take over?
Yes, and the court-removal statute is a separate, additional remedy, not a replacement. The opinion concluded that § 2-5 of the Petersburg City Charter, which authorizes the City Council to expel a…
Can a Virginia town council expel one of its own members by a two-thirds vote under its town charter, and how does that count work?
Yes. The opinion concluded that the Haymarket Town Charter provision allowing the Town Council to expel a member by a two-thirds vote was a constitutional exercise of legislative power. The…
Does Tennessee's 'any willing pharmacy' law force TennCare and CoverKids to admit any licensed pharmacy to their networks?
TennCare was expressly exempt from the any-willing-pharmacy law, but CoverKids was not. The AG concluded that insurers can impose neutral contract terms but cannot use them to disqualify willing…
Could a Tennessee government record's sex designation be changed after sex-reassignment surgery, per the AG's 2014 reading?
No, according to the 2014 opinion. The AG read Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-3-203(d) (which barred changes to the sex designation on a birth certificate after sex-change surgery) to also block changes to…
If my business is inside a Virginia town, can both the town and the surrounding county each charge me business personal property tax?
Yes. The opinion concluded that a Virginia county and an incorporated town within that county may each separately assess tangible personal property taxes on business property located within both…
If my spouse works for the Arizona fire district where I serve on the board, does one of us have to resign? What about non-spouse relatives, and what training do board members need?
The AG concluded that a fire district board member married to a district employee had to resign immediately unless the employee spouse resigned. A board member with a non-spouse relative employed by…
Could someone serve as court clerk in two South Carolina towns while also serving as a municipal judge?
The AG said no. Municipal court clerk and judge positions were public offices under South Carolina's dual-office-holding rule, even when held in different towns. Taking the second covered office…
Could a South Carolina officer release a DUI arrestee after a low breath test and issue a different traffic charge?
The AG said an officer could drop the DUI charge, issue a supported alternative charge, and release the person when the evidence conclusively showed the arrestee's innocence. A breath result of…
When does the 30-day clock start for an Arkansas teacher to sign and return a teaching contract under the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act?
When the district notifies the teacher the contract is reasonably available, not when the teacher physically receives it. A district can email the teacher that the contract is in the…
If an Arkansas small-claims judge enters a default judgment for a collection agency that wasn't supposed to sue in small claims, is the judgment void for lack of jurisdiction?
The AG said the collection-agency bar is administrative, not a limit on subject-matter jurisdiction. A judge would have jurisdictional but not administrative authority to enter the described default…
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