State AG Opinions
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Can Tennessee cap pay to court-appointed lawyers for indigent defendants when state funds run out, paying each lawyer a pro rata share?
Yes. A statute that limits compensation to appointed criminal-defense counsel on a pro rata basis when quarterly funds run short is constitutionally defensible. Capping compensation does not violate a…
Can a Texas mental health authority sell or lease state land it was given and spend the proceeds on services instead of using the land itself?
No. The Attorney General concluded that House Bill 1759 (2007) and House Bill 1023 (2009), which transferred state property to Spindletop Mental Health Mental Retardation Services for community-based …
Must every Florida tax collector offer the state's electronic vehicle title and registration filing system?
Yes. The AG concluded that section 320.03(10), Florida Statutes, which says the electronic filing system is approved for use in all counties and shall apply uniformly to all tax collectors of the stat…
Can a Texas commissioners court dock county clerk employees' pay for time off the clerk gave them during a weather emergency?
Probably not. The Attorney General concluded that a court would likely hold that the Grayson County Commissioners Court may not amend the county budget midyear to transfer funds out of the county cler…
Can Tennessee make convicted felons pay all court fines, restitution, and court costs before getting their right to vote restored?
Yes. The proposed amendment to Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-29-202 was constitutional. Felons do not have a fundamental right to vote, wealth is not a suspect classification, and a federal court (Johnson v. B…
Can Virginia force local school boards to start school after Labor Day, or does that intrude on local control of schools?
The AG declined to declare § 22.1-79.1 unconstitutional. The statute requires school boards to set the first student day after Labor Day, with good-cause waivers, and falls within General Assembly aut…
Can the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation extend its multi-million-dollar vendor contracts (Gtech, Scientific Games) for years without re-bidding, and without sign-off from any state agency or legislative committee?
Yes. The Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation is a quasi-public entity governed by its own procurement statute (Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-51-126), not standard state procurement law. Its board can approv…
Can a Tennessee bill about a Blount County river be amended to address a Rutherford County road?
No. House Bill 3230's caption limited it to 'the Little River in Blount County, Tennessee.' An amendment about a Rutherford County road falls outside the restrictive caption and would violate Article …
When a Tennessee government agency buys greenbelt-classified land for parks or conservation, does the seller (or anyone) have to pay 'rollback' property taxes, even if the land stays open?
Generally yes. After a 2008 amendment to the Greenbelt Law, conveying greenbelt land to a government entity triggers rollback taxes whenever the conveyance makes the land tax-exempt, even if open-spac…
Can a Tennessee school, college, or university share campus criminal incident reports with police, and can law enforcement and juvenile courts swap information about minor children?
Yes to all three. FERPA exempts law-enforcement-unit records from its protections, so schools can share campus crime data with police. HIPAA allows disclosure to law enforcement under several exceptio…
Could CollegeInvest, the state's student-loan authority, hire an outside lobbyist?
Yes. The AG concluded that § 23-3.1-206(1)(g)'s authority to engage 'private consultants', 'professional and technical assistance', 'advice', and 'other services' was broad enough to cover legislative…
How does the Texas Comptroller calculate whether the $182 million State Highway Fund trigger for the rail relocation fund is met?
The Attorney General answered the Comptroller's two questions about a budget rider (article IX, section 17.10 of the 2010-2011 General Appropriations Act) that allocated $182 million from the State Hi…
Is a Texas budget rider that moves money and staff from TxDOT to the new Department of Motor Vehicles a new appropriation?
Probably not. The Attorney General concluded that a court would likely hold that section 17.30(b), article IX of the 2010-2011 General Appropriations Act, which directed the Texas Department of Transp…
Could Tennessee constitutionally treat a non-viable fetus as a victim under its assault and homicide statutes, in light of Roe v. Wade and the right to abortion?
Yes. The 2010 bill (SB 3699) extending Tennessee's assault and homicide statutes to cover non-viable fetuses was constitutionally defensible. Federal precedent allows states to recognize unborn childr…
How did Texas school districts have to calculate and adopt property-tax rates under the 2010 rollback-election rules?
Under the 2010 statute, a school district could not raise its maintenance-and-operation rate above the rollback formula's M&O ceiling without voter approval, even if the combined rate stayed below the…
When does Virginia's reckless driving law prohibit passing two cars at once on a two-lane road?
Section 46.2-856 bars passing two vehicles traveling side by side in two different lanes moving the same direction. It does not apply on highways with three or more lanes each way, or on one-way stree…
Are companies that sell home service contracts in Virginia regulated by the SCC, and do they need a contractor's license?
If a home service contract provider qualifies for an exemption to § 38.2-2618, the SCC cannot enforce against it. Whether the provider needs a contractor's license under Chapter 11 of Title 54.1 depen…
Is a marriage valid in Virginia if the couple got a Virginia license but had their ceremony in another state, with a Virginia-authorized officiant?
No. A minister or officiant authorized under § 20-23 or § 20-25 has authority only inside Virginia. A ceremony conducted in another state using a Virginia marriage license is not validly solemnized, e…
Can Tennessee make it a crime for a sex offender stepparent to live with a minor by 'presuming' the prior victim was under 13, when the actual age cannot be proven?
No. The proposed amendment would have created an unconstitutional 'conclusive presumption' that the prior victim was under 13 whenever the State could not prove age from child pornography images. That…
Can the Tennessee legislature require the Governor to appoint members of a state board only from a list of names submitted by a private trade or professional association?
Yes. Tennessee statutes that require the Governor to appoint state board or agency members from lists submitted by private trade associations are constitutional. The Governor still holds the appointin…
Can a Texas school district run payroll deductions for its employees' political action committee (PAC) contributions?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Texas law prohibits a school district from using its resources to process payroll deductions for contributions to political committees such as the TSTA-PAC and …
Could Tennessee require people to show proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote, and would the proposed bill (SB194/HB270) violate federal voting laws or the Constitution?
The citizenship-proof requirement itself, modeled on Arizona's law, would likely have survived facial challenge under the Fourteenth Amendment, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Voting Righ…
In Tennessee, can a licensed practical nurse (LPN), not just a registered nurse (RN), supervise a certified medication aide who administers drugs in a nursing home?
Yes. The 2010 bill (SB3144/HB3368) would have clarified that either a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse can serve as the 'licensed nurse' supervising a certified medication aide. The AG c…
Are red-light and speed-camera infraction notices public records in Florida, or confidential under driver-privacy law?
Yes. The office advised that section 119.0712(2), Florida Statutes, and the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act protect personal information held by the state motor vehicle department, but once a …
Can a Florida county require its own contractor license from a road contractor already prequalified by the state DOT?
Partly. The AG concluded that Bay County may require bidders on county bridge, road, street, highway, or railroad projects over $250,000 to be qualified, and may set its own prequalification criteria …
Who pays a court interpreter for an indigent defendant in Tennessee, the county or the state's indigent defense fund?
The default rule is that the interpreter files a claim directly with the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) and the AOC pays the interpreter from the indigent defense fund. Counties are not inv…
Can a Virginia circuit court clerk sign up for Westlaw or Lexis on behalf of the county law library, and does courthouse security keep the library from being 'public'?
Yes, under three routes: (1) local bar rules with court approval, (2) governing body authorization, or (3) the clerk's own § 42.1-65(C) authority for computer research services. Metal detectors and lo…
Can Tennessee's State Comptroller serve on a state procurement commission that the Comptroller's office also audits?
Yes. The Comptroller's service on a proposed State Procurement Commission would not violate Tennessee's separation of powers (the Comptroller's role is substantially executive). And serving on a board…
When a parent dies, can Tennessee let the surviving grandparents skip part of the proof in a grandparent-visitation case?
Yes, the AG concluded SB 3036/HB 2700 would be constitutional. The bill would create a rebuttable presumption of substantial harm to the child when one parent has died and the surviving parent has ter…
Can the Tennessee legislature stop saying when a defendant's diversion statement is admissible at trial?
Yes, no separation-of-powers problem. HB 3283 would remove the existing legislative declaration that a defendant's pretrial-diversion statement is admissible only for impeachment if the defendant test…
Can a Florida regional workforce development board take votes by proxy?
Probably not. The office gave informal comments because a majority of the board had not joined the request. It noted that special districts have only the powers expressly granted or necessarily implie…
Can a Texas court clerk apply a defendant's cash bail refund to their unpaid fines instead of giving it back?
No, not before the refund. The Attorney General concluded that under article 17.02 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a district clerk may not accept an assignment of a defendant's cash bail bond refu…
Does the Texas Youth Commission's sex-offender registration rule conflict with a juvenile court's power to defer a juvenile's registration?
Probably not. The Attorney General concluded that a court would likely hold that the Texas Youth Commission rule (37 Texas Administrative Code section 87.85(g)(3)), which directs TYC to register a juv…
Do my confidential tax returns stay private if I use them to appeal my property assessment to a value adjustment board?
Not once you submit them as evidence. In informal comments, the office explained that tax returns are confidential in the hands of the property appraiser under section 193.074, but its prior opinion (…
Can a Tennessee public university make journalists agree to limits on how they use photos and video they take at football games?
Yes. UT athletic events are not 'public events' in the legal sense; entry requires a ticket or credential that comes with conditions. The University and SEC can require members of the press to accept …
Could the Shelby County School Board be converted into a Special School District in 2010, and would the proposed legislation to do so violate Tennessee's Home Rule Amendment?
Under 2010 Tennessee law, no new special school districts could be created, so Shelby County could not convert. Proposed legislation to allow conversion would not violate the Home Rule Amendment (whic…
Does a Tennessee county commission have to fund a special school district inside the county, and can the General Assembly change that rule?
No, not currently. Under City of Humboldt v. McKnight, a county commission has no duty to fund a special school district inside the county because the special district is funded by its own General-Ass…
Can Tennessee's stroke-registry annual report identify which hospitals had which stroke outcomes?
No. The Tennessee Stroke Registry Act of 2008 requires ETSU's College of Public Health to publish only 'aggregate data' on stroke care, and expressly forbids disclosing 'hospital-specific information.…
Can a Florida county spend building inspection fees on general county overhead through a cost allocation plan?
Only for code-enforcement costs. In informal comments, the office explained that building inspection fees collected under section 125.56 must be used solely for enforcing the Florida Building Code, me…
Does Virginia's smoking ban apply to e-cigarettes in 2010, before they had their own statutory category?
No. Using an e-cigarette is not 'smoke' or 'smoking' under § 15.2-2820. The device produces water vapor with traces of particulates, is battery-powered, and is not 'lighted' in the ordinary sense of t…
How much can a Virginia planning district commission spend over the term of a single architectural or engineering contract before it has to rebid?
The George Washington Regional Commission is not a 'locality,' 'authority,' or 'sanitation district' under § 2.2-4301, so the $5 million ceiling does not apply. Its multi-project architectural and eng…
Does Tennessee's law requiring courts to report mental commitments to the FBI background check system violate patient privacy?
No. Tennessee Code Annotated § 16-10-213, requiring courts to report mental commitments and 'mental defective' adjudications to the FBI NICS background check system, does not conflict with state menta…
Can a Virginia county tax clay and sand deposits as 'mineral lands,' and how should the assessor value them?
Yes. Clay and sand are 'minerals' subject to local real property taxation once they are discovered, whether or not the land is under active development. Assessors may use the income capitalization met…
Can a member of a Tennessee industrial-development authority board vote to make themselves the executive director?
No. If the executive director slot is structured as a public office with a term, Tennessee common law forbids self-appointment by an appointing body or its members. If the slot is structured as ordina…
Can an independent fire control district in Florida charge a first responder fee that counties and cities can't?
Yes. The AG concluded that the 2009 ban on first responder fees in sections 125.01045 and 166.0446 applies only to counties and municipalities, not to an independent special district created by the Le…
Do Florida's open-meeting laws apply to special magistrates who hear property tax appeals for a value adjustment board?
Yes. The Florida AG concluded that when special magistrates exercise the value adjustment board's delegated authority (taking testimony and making recommendations the board can adopt without a further…
Can a Florida charter school avoid nepotism rules by having a committee make hiring decisions, and are that committee's meetings public?
Partly. The AG concluded that creating a three-member team to make hiring, promotion, and discipline decisions would not by itself violate the charter school nepotism statute, section 1002.33(24), bec…
Can an off-duty Florida police officer volunteer to serve or sell drinks at a bar or charity event?
Only partly. Section 561.25(1) bars a municipal law enforcement officer from selling alcoholic beverages, even as an unpaid volunteer, at a licensed establishment, and from being employed by an alcoho…
Can a Florida clerk of court charge the county a fee to record a judgment for court costs as a lien?
No. The AG concluded that section 939.185 directs the clerk to cause a certified copy of a cost judgment to be recorded (creating a lien), but the statute does not make the county responsible for a fe…
When a Texas city adopts the Fire and Police Employee Relations Act, do the civil-service limits on how many deputies the department head can appoint still apply?
No, not unless the city puts them back through bargaining. The Attorney General reconsidered and affirmed Opinion GA-0662, concluding that when a municipality subject to the Fire Fighter and Police Of…
Can a water company that collects a Texas county's trash fees shut off the customer's water for not paying the solid waste bill?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that under section 364.034(d)(2) of the Health and Safety Code, a utility company that contracts with a county to collect the fees for the county's solid waste disp…
Can a Virginia public service authority charge a fee to residents who refuse to use its trash collection service?
No. Section 15.2-5137 authorizes nonuser service charges only for water and sewer service. A Virginia public service authority lacks the statutory power to assess a nonuser fee for refuse collection.
Can the Virginia DMV require an ignition interlock for license reinstatement after a second DUI even if the sentencing court didn't order one?
Yes. Section 46.2-391.01 makes it mandatory: when the convicting court fails to order an ignition interlock after a second DUI, the DMV Commissioner is both authorized and required to impose it before…
Can a Virginia school board fund a charter school at a lower per-student rate than its other schools without violating § 22.1-212.14?
The Patrick Henry startup-cost provision does not violate § 22.1-212.14(D). On per-student funding disparities, the AG declined to rule, saying a gap is not automatically a 'financial disincentive' an…
If Tennessee banned abortion coverage on the ACA exchange, would that ban also cover IUDs and the morning-after pill?
No. The AG concluded that the ban in SB 2686/HB 2681 on offering abortion coverage through a Tennessee Affordable Care Act exchange would not reach IUDs, emergency contraception, or regular birth cont…
Can a Tennessee city impose a fine over $50 for driving a large vehicle in a residential area without a jury trial?
No, not without a jury. Article VI, Section 14 of the Tennessee Constitution caps judge-imposed fines at $50 unless assessed by a jury of the defendant's peers. A fixed-amount fine for driving a large…
Can a Florida city use police contraband forfeiture trust funds to build or renovate a police station?
Generally no for the building itself. The office gave only informal comments because the spending had already happened, but it explained that law enforcement trust funds from forfeitures may be used o…
Can Tennessee issue a 'Jesus is Lord' specialty license plate even if the proceeds go to a secular charity?
No. The AG concluded a 'Jesus is Lord' specialty earmarked license plate would violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and Article I, Section 3 of the Tennessee Constitution. Because t…
Does Tennessee's dual-majority requirement for city-county consolidation violate 'one person, one vote'?
No. Under both the Charter Government Unification Act and the Metropolitan Government Act, voters inside the principal city and voters in the county outside that city each have to approve a unified go…
Does a federal HUD conflict-of-interest waiver override Florida's housing authority conflict rules?
The office did not decide that. Because the Attorney General may opine only on questions of state law (section 16.01(3)), the office declined to interpret the federal regulation (24 C.F.R. 982.161) an…
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