State AG Opinions
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Can a Virginia hunter give his deer tags to another licensed hunter to harvest game for him?
No. Virginia law does not authorize transferring hunting tags between licensed hunters, even for the benefit of a disabled hunter unable to field-dress game. No statute, regulation, or DGIF policy…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject 'The Campaign Finance and Lobbying Act of 2014' ballot title?
AG Dustin McDaniel rejected Regnat Populus's combined campaign-finance, lobbyist cooling-off, and gift-ban initiative because Section 4's call for a U.S. constitutional amendment misstated federal…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the 'Ban the Prohibition of Cannabis' ballot title?
AG Dustin McDaniel rejected the popular name 'Ban the Prohibition of Cannabis' and its ballot title because the underlying measure failed to say it was a constitutional amendment, contained…
Can Tennessee regulate pole-attachment rates for TVA-supplied electric cooperatives, or does federal law preempt that?
Probably yes, with caveats. The TVA Act does not expressly preempt state regulation, and the federal Pole Attachment Act expressly preserves state authority to regulate cooperatives' pole…
Can an Arkansas ambulance service decline Trauma System grants and avoid rules that may take it outside its local coverage area?
An ambulance service need not apply for a Trauma System grant, but the AG noted that proposed rules would require all licensed ambulance services to follow trauma triage guidelines once effective.…
Could private security officers use radar to enforce speeding rules on property they patrolled?
The Attorney General said in 2014 that authorized private security officers could use radar when entitled to enforce traffic laws on the assigned property, although they could not obtain the state…
When a Tennessee city annexes land in a Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority's service area, which statute controls who provides utility service?
Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-51-111(e) controls. There is an irreconcilable conflict between Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-6-120 (which makes a Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority the 'sole and exclusive…
What is Maine's record on prosecuting EBT card misuse, public benefits fraud, and provider fraud, and how does the AG balance high-visibility recipient cases against lower-visibility provider cases?
AG Mills described an active prosecution program. In the three years before the letter, her office had prosecuted 37 DHHS fraud cases with significant jail time and $489,954 in restitution; obtained…
After Arkansas Act 595 of 2013, what happens if an absentee voter doesn't include valid ID with the ballot?
An absentee voter subject to the identification requirement could not use the in-person provisional-ballot cure after omitting ID. The attached Opinion 2014-012 separately notes provisional absentee…
What services must an Arkansas city actually provide to land it has annexed, and what can landowners do if the city doesn't deliver?
The 'services' a city owes annexed landowners are whatever services are described in the annexation ordinance itself, not the broader laundry list defined for other purposes in A.C.A. § 14-40-2002.…
Must a Tennessee human-remains removal service register with the funeral board if it is owned by a licensed funeral director or embalmer?
It depends on the form of business. A removal service run as a sole proprietorship by a licensed funeral director or embalmer is exempt from registration under Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-5-318(a) because…
Did California Labor Code section 1051 prohibit a contractor from recording truck drivers for their employer?
The Attorney General concluded in 2014 that the described recording did not violate section 1051 when the contractor acted only as the employer’s agent and gave the file only to that employer. The…
Can a Florida county civil service board use public funds to hire a lobbyist?
The AG concluded that the Hillsborough County Civil Service Board was not authorized to spend public funds to contract with a lobbying firm, because its enabling act, the Civil Service Act of 2000,…
What counts as an 'immediate family member' for purposes of Arkansas county ethics rules on conflicts of interest?
A.C.A. § 14-14-1202(a)(3) doesn't define the term, but a court would likely borrow from A.C.A. § 21-8-304 (a parallel ethics statute). A family relationship by itself usually doesn't violate the…
Can a Tennessee state-university employee run for elected office without violating the Hatch Act or the Little Hatch Act?
Yes. The federal Hatch Act expressly exempts employees of state educational and research institutions (5 U.S.C. § 1501(4)(B)(i)), so the Hatch Act does not bar them from running for office. The…
Can Tennessee's environment department demand copies of underground storage tank records and keep them indefinitely?
Mostly yes. The Commissioner of TDEC may not contradict the UST Board's express rules but may develop policy on issues the rules don't cover. The Department may request (but not legally compel)…
What determines whether a California school board trustee actually resides inside the district?
Legal residence meant domicile, the place where the trustee was physically present and intended to make a permanent home. Conflicting addresses, observations, and sworn statements created a…
Can an Arkansas absentee voter who forgot to include ID with their ballot fix it after election day?
No, for an absentee voter subject to Act 595’s identification requirement who omitted the required document. The in-person provisional-ballot cure did not apply; the opinion separately notes…
How is a Texas county court at law judge's minimum salary set when the district judge gets pay supplements from other counties?
The AG said every county counts. A statutory county court at law judge's minimum salary is pegged by Government Code section 25.0005(a) to no less than $1,000 below the total annual salary of a…
Can a Texas county offer internet (VoIP) phone service to county jail inmates, and can it make money from it?
The AG said yes, a county may offer it, with strings attached. No Texas statute or jail rule expressly bars a county from providing voice-over-Internet (VoIP) local and long-distance phone service…
How should a Little Rock custodian handle a FOIA request for officers' personnel files and photographs if the department employs undercover officers?
The AG had not seen the records and could not decide individual disclosures. He explained the personnel-record privacy balance and redactions. For photographs, he said withholding only undercover…
Is a Washington nonprofit that sponsors a search-and-rescue or emergency-response team made up of its members shielded from lawsuits when those volunteers cause harm?
Only sometimes. The AG concluded that RCW 38.52.180(3)(d) and (f) immunity reaches an organization only if it actually employs the volunteers (a fact-specific question that usually requires payment…
Can an Arkansas misdemeanor election conviction become a felony and bar someone from elected office?
Yes, if the conviction is for an election-law crime the AG classified as infamous, including a misdemeanor whose elements require deceit. The opinion says a judge must then adjudge the person guilty…
Could Arkansas adopt a California-style top-two primary, or otherwise force political parties to nominate by convention or accept all comers?
The AG said a top-two primary would be highly suspect under Arkansas Amendment 29. For the separate open-general-election proposal, the state likely could require parties to nominate by convention,…
Can a Conway court clerk who paid into the city's non-uniformed pension switch to APERS and still draw pension benefits for the prior 20 years?
Probably yes. Joining APERS in a new court clerk position doesn't by itself disqualify the employee from the City of Conway non-uniformed pension benefits for prior deputy court clerk service. The…
Does an Arkansas firefighter who finished DROP at one city receive LOPFI service credit for continued compensated volunteer work at another city?
The AG said the firefighter was likely entitled to credit for all his service at the second department, assuming he met the other credit requirements. The AG read 'participating municipality' in the…
If a Tennessee juvenile commits a violent sex offense before turning 14 but is adjudicated after, do they go on the sex offender registry, and is that constitutional?
Yes to both. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-39-202(27), registry status is triggered by adjudication of delinquency (not by the date of the offense), so a juvenile adjudicated after age 14 for an…
Could an Allendale council member also work for the county’s economic-development contractor and sit on its commission?
The Attorney General concluded in 2014 that the council member’s paid Alliance job did not itself create dual office holding. It could not determine whether he also held a commission seat, but…
Did South Carolina nonprofit resignation and expulsion rules apply to a homeowners association?
The Attorney General concluded in 2014 that the nonprofit corporation rules on membership resignation and termination applied to a homeowners association incorporated and registered as a South…
Did a remote safety-video app need a South Carolina private-security license?
For the app described in 2014, the Attorney General concluded that remote responders who appeared by phone to speak with users were not private security officers, and the app developer was not a…
Is Tennessee's charter school waiver statute an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power?
No. Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-13-105 lets the Commissioner of Education or an LEA waive state rules or statutes that inhibit a charter school's mission. The AG concluded the waiver authority is…
What must a Texas county appraisal district do with leftover budget money, and can it pay its staff a bonus?
The AG answered five budget questions for county appraisal districts. Funds the district commits during the fiscal year to meet or secure an obligation count as 'obligated to be spent' under Tax…
Could a South Carolina probate court keep its index electronically without a paper index book?
The Attorney General predicted in 2014 that a probate court could use an electronic index if it could print a paper copy, kept a backup, and met state archive standards. The office limited the…
What ambiguities kept Arkansas's 'Ban Prohibition of Cannabis' amendment title from certification in Opinion 2014-004?
The AG rejected the title because the proposed amendment did not clearly say what could be taxed, what 'administration of this amendment' meant, how taxation fit with a ban on laws restricting…
If I had a misdemeanor conviction for theft 25 years ago and have had my civil rights restored, can I be denied an Arizona alarm-industry license today?
Yes on all three. A.R.S. § 32-122.07(A) requires the AZ Board of Technical Registration to deny alarm certifications to anyone who has ever been convicted of any of the 13 listed crimes, regardless…
Can an Arkansas school district pay to improve city-owned ballfields in exchange for school use?
The AG could not decide the proposed agreement's legality without a court's review of the facts. Spending on city-owned fields is not barred as a matter of law; a court would ask whether the school…
Could the Arkansas AG decide whether releasing a former officer's internal-affairs file would prejudice his pending criminal trial?
No. The attorney did not dispute the custodian's FOIA analysis or redactions; his sole objection was that release would prejudice a pending trial. The AG said his review was limited to specified…
Can an Arkansas school district withhold an employee's entire personnel file under FOIA?
The AG said a blanket denial of the file was inconsistent with FOIA. The custodian must classify the records and apply the relevant disclosure test: personnel records receive privacy balancing,…
Why won't the Arkansas AG approve a constitutional amendment requiring voter approval for any tax, fine, or fee increase?
Because the proposal as written was too ambiguous. It didn't define which 'taxes, fines, or fees' it covered (Verizon Arena ticket prices? Improvement district assessments?), which voters had to…
Can an Arkansas school district donate a former school building to a city or nonprofit when it may still be tied to bond debt?
Possibly. Act 318 of 2013 authorized donations of surplus school property to cities and nonprofits, but the AG said a court might require an educational benefit to district students and questioned…
Does charging an entry fee for a fishing tournament with cash prizes violate Florida gambling laws?
The AG advised that a fishing tournament is a contest of skill, not a game of chance, so it is not an illegal lottery; and where the sponsor does not compete and the entry fees do not make up the…
Did Maryland need to certify that local jails met federal prison rape standards to keep full funding?
The Attorney General concluded that Maryland's Governor could reasonably find locally operated jails generally outside the State executive branch's operational control for federal PREA…
How does an Arkansas water district amend the joint agreement that created it under the Interlocal Cooperation Act?
The Arkansas AG must review and approve the amendment for form and consistency with state law (A.C.A. § 25-20-104(f)). If the AG does not act within 60 days, the amendment is deemed approved by…
What can a Texas county spend pretrial intervention program fees on?
The AG said the money is tightly restricted. Under Code of Criminal Procedure article 102.0121, a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney may collect a fee of up to $500…
Could Connecticut's parole board or Department of Correction release an inmate before the inmate finished a court-ordered mandatory minimum sentence?
Generally yes. The AG concluded that the Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Commissioner of Correction were limited only when a sentencing statute used the phrase 'in any manner' (or similar…
Can I record an Arkansas police officer on duty, and where can I report an officer's suspected misconduct?
The AG said only a finder of fact could decide whether recording an officer was protected in a particular case; a citizen has no right to obstruct governmental functions. A complaint about a…
Can pedestrians walk in a Tennessee bike lane, and can drivers use a bike lane to pass on the right?
Pedestrians: no, not when there is an adjacent, unobstructed, wheelchair-accessible sidewalk. Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-138 forbids it, and a bicycle lane is part of the 'roadway.' Drivers: there is no…
Could Winnsboro city and city court employees share a serious-illness leave pool?
Possibly, through a cooperative endeavor agreement. The AG said the city court clerks were court employees, not city employees, and the two entities could share leave only if each reasonably…
Could Ponchatoula lease valuable city property to nonprofits for low cash rent and in-kind work?
Only if the city received equivalent value and followed the applicable legal route. The AG said in-kind work counted toward rent only to the extent it produced a real, quantifiable benefit to the…
Did Spartanburg County have to keep letting election-board members buy health insurance through its plan?
The Attorney General concluded in 2014 that state law did not compel continued county insurance benefits for election and registration board members. It said the county could decide the policy if it…
Could Spartanburg County stop paying insurance benefits for election and registration board members?
The Attorney General concluded in 2014 that state law did not require the county to continue supplemental insurance payments for those board members. The answer assumed no ordinance, contract, or…
If someone has multiple Tennessee convictions from one criminal episode, can they get any of them expunged under § 40-32-101(g)(2)?
No. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-32-101(g)(2)(A) makes expunction available only if the petitioner has 'never been convicted of any criminal offense' other than the one they are asking to expunge. The…
Could Orleans Parish Criminal District Court buy servers directly from a state contract vendor?
Yes. The AG said the court could buy the equipment directly from a state contract vendor under cooperative purchasing authority, subject to state purchasing conditions. An invitation to bid or RFP…
Could Thibodaux limit where businesses with more than three video poker machines opened?
Yes. The AG concluded that the proposed rule limited where larger video poker establishments could locate and fell within the city's zoning power. It distinguished that location rule from regulation…
Could a Louisiana 911 district buy radios or safety equipment for sheriff's deputies under a cooperative agreement?
Potentially. The AG said Concordia's communications district could buy and share equipment that improved emergency response if the spending fit its statutory purpose and the restrictions in…
Could the Louisiana Tax Commission raise a property assessment after that year's taxes were paid?
No. The AG read La. R.S. 47:1990 as allowing the Tax Commission to correct a property assessment only before the taxes levied on that assessment had actually been paid.
Could Texarkana use A&P tax revenue for a bond swap, private convention center and water park payments, or tax rebates to those facilities?
The AG could not decide whether any of the four arrangements was lawful without more facts. For the bond swap, he examined whether the A&P money effectively paid bonds, funded permitted city uses…
Is the date a Tennessee workers' compensation policy is cancelled a public record under the insurance confidentiality statute?
No. A cancellation date is not a 'policy expiration date' under Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-421(b)(3), so the cancellation date remains confidential under § 50-6-421(a). The AG distinguished cancellation…
Do Texas regional education service centers have to keep the model lesson plans they developed, and can parents see them?
The AG said the plans are public records that must be kept, and parents can see them. The lesson plans came from the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC), a nonprofit ten…
Could a homeowner keep Louisiana's homestead exemption after an LLC acquired naked ownership?
No, on the facts described. The AG said a retained usufruct and continued occupancy did not preserve the exemption when an LLC held naked ownership, because the constitutional exemption extended…
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