State AG Opinions
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Can a Tennessee local government enforce zoning against a sport shooting range that's no longer meeting the state's setback requirements?
Yes. A Tennessee sport shooting range that fails the specific setback distances and vegetation maintenance requirements in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-316(c) becomes subject to local zoning. But § 39-17-3…
Does a Tennessee governmental hospital have to notify the AG before merging two of its subsidiary corporations?
Yes. Even when a governmental hospital is merging two of its own subsidiaries and the assets stay under its control, the merger triggers the Tennessee Public Benefit Hospital Sales and Conveyance Act'…
Is a letter sent to a Florida agency by mistake a public record that anyone can request?
Maybe, and the agency decides. The office gave informal comments explaining that whether a document is a public record is controlled by the statutory definition in section 119.011(12), not by the send…
Does a school board's informal 'agenda prep' meeting before its regular meeting count as a meeting under Delaware's open-meetings law?
Yes, the AG found. A school board's admission that it skipped posting an agenda for one meeting and never kept minutes of its informal pre-meeting agenda sessions were both FOIA violations, even thoug…
Can Virginia's budget bill raise taxes or fees in the same act that appropriates money, or does that violate the constitutional single-object rule?
Yes. An appropriation act that both spends money and raises taxes or fees can survive the single-object rule in Article IV, § 12 because the Virginia Supreme Court reads the rule broadly to allow cong…
Does a Texas county commissioner automatically resign just by showing interest in running for another office?
Not on these facts, and partly the Attorney General would not say. Under the Texas Constitution's resign-to-run provision (article XVI, section 65), certain officeholders, including county commissione…
Can a Florida value adjustment board hear a property tax appeal filed after the deadline?
Yes, for good cause. The AG concluded that section 194.011 is not a statute of non-claim, so the filing deadline for petitioning a value adjustment board is not an absolute bar. A board may not extend…
Is a driver's license number in a Florida police report public, and what motor vehicle records are confidential?
A driver's license number that appears in a law enforcement officer's report is not confidential and is subject to public disclosure, no matter how the officer obtained it. Separately, 'personal infor…
Can Tennessee municipal police execute arrest warrants in another city in the same county, can they use deadly force there, and do they have to give the host city notice first?
The AG concluded that Tennessee municipal police could execute arrest warrants anywhere in their county, including inside another city, under Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 6-54-302 and 40-6-210. They could use d…
Is Tennessee's narrower Health Care Freedom Act bill (HB 2622/SB 2560) constitutional?
Yes, with one fix. The AG concluded HB 2622/SB 2560 (a narrower companion to the Health Freedom Act analyzed in Opinion 10-43) is constitutionally valid because it only restricts State action and is n…
Can a Tennessee school board member also work for the school board, contract with it, or work for a vendor of the board?
A Tennessee school board member cannot continue as a school board employee, cannot supervise a contract in which they are directly interested (personal contracts or contracts with companies they contr…
Once a Tennessee school board approves a charter school application, can district staff demand more negotiation before signing the charter agreement, or does approval automatically lock in the agreement?
The AG concluded that approval and signing of a Tennessee charter school agreement could not be separated. Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-13-110(a) says the school board's approval of a charter application 'sha…
Would raising Tennessee's $50 civil penalty for violating an order of protection to $500 violate the state constitution's Fifty-Dollar Fines Clause?
The AG concluded yes. The civil penalty under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-610(b) is punitive in purpose because it serves general and specific deterrence rather than compensating for loss. Under City of Ch…
Can Tennessee pass a law saying residents don't have to comply with the federal health insurance mandate?
No. The AG concluded that the Tennessee Health Freedom Act (SB 3498/HB 3433) and the proposed constitutional amendment in HJR 745, both of which would have barred enforcement of the federal individual…
Can Tennessee add a 'free enterprise' clause to its constitution without violating state or federal law?
Yes, the amendment is facially valid. House Joint Resolution 722 would add a 'free enterprise' policy clause to Article I of the Tennessee Constitution. The AG concluded it would not violate any provi…
Must a Texas public university invest its endowment funds only in the limited investments allowed by the Public Funds Investment Act?
No. The Attorney General concluded that when the governing board of a public institution of higher education exercises its authority to establish and manage an endowment fund under Education Code sect…
What can the board of directors of the Texas School Safety Center do with the Center's budget and programs?
The Attorney General answered three of the four questions. First, the Board must approve a budget for the Center each year, and because that approval requirement would be meaningless if it had to rubb…
Can a Texas general-law city manager also serve on the local school district's board of trustees?
Yes, at least under the conflicting-loyalties rule the question asked about. The common-law doctrine of incompatibility blocks one person from holding two positions only when both are public 'offices.…
Can Tennessee borrow from the federal unemployment trust fund (or issue bonds) without running afoul of its constitutional balanced-budget rule?
Maybe for the federal advances, definitely for state bonds. The Tennessee Constitution's Borrowing Limit (Article II, Section 24) bars long-term debt for current state operations. Federal advances und…
Does a Florida clerk of court have to record a document someone claims is an 'agreement'?
It depends, and the clerk decides. The office gave informal comments noting that a clerk may not record a document the law does not authorize or require to be recorded, and that section 28.222(3)(a) l…
Can the Virginia General Assembly pass a law requiring a supermajority vote to lift the state's uranium mining moratorium?
No. Article IV, § 11(d) of the Virginia Constitution sets the majority-vote rule for ordinary legislation. A statute requiring a supermajority to lift the uranium-mining moratorium would be unenforcea…
Can a Tennessee bill captioned about 'carrying weapons on school property' be amended to ban colleges from disciplining students for off-campus gun ownership?
No. The AG concluded that a proposed amendment to House Bill 2726 violates Article II, Section 17 of the Tennessee Constitution. The bill's caption was restricted to 'carrying weapons on school proper…
After Citizens United, do Tennessee corporations have to file campaign finance disclosure reports for political ads they pay for on their own?
Partly. The AG concluded that under Tennessee's existing campaign finance laws, a corporation that spends money to support or oppose a ballot measure already qualifies as a political campaign committe…
Can a Texas district attorney decline to file charges because the suspect probably has a defense?
Yes, that call is the prosecutor's to make. The Attorney General did not decide whether the parental-consent defense in Penal Code section 43.24(c)(2) actually applied to the facts described. Instead,…
Is it constitutional for Tennessee to give court reporters from a particular trade association easier licensure than non-members?
No, it's not unconstitutional. Tennessee Code Ann. § 20-9-613 (the grandfather clause in the 2009 Tennessee Court Reporter Act) provides a non-discriminatory route for any practicing court reporter, m…
If Tennessee requires school districts to start paying support-staff health insurance premiums, does that violate the state's no-unfunded-mandates rule?
No. The bill (HB 3193/SB 3125) would have required local education agencies to pay a minimum percentage of support staff health insurance premiums. The AG concluded that the bill satisfies the Tenness…
Which 2009 Georgia misdemeanors did the Attorney General designate as fingerprintable?
The AG designated only two of seven offenses: making or accepting false statements to wrongfully obtain Move on When Ready Act payments (§ 20-2-161.3(i)) and unlawful conduct during 911 calls (§ 16-11…
Does the Texas Governor have to appoint a judge to a newly created district court, and what happens if he doesn't?
The Texas Constitution says the Governor 'shall' fill a vacancy in a district court, but the opinion concluded he cannot be forced to: the Governor is immune from mandamus, and no statute or constitut…
Does a Texas city need a voter petition before it can hold an election to leave a regional transit authority?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a municipality does not have to receive a petition signed by 20 percent of its qualified voters before calling an election to withdraw from a regional transport…
Can a Tennessee metro government performance-audit the state trial courts that sit in its county?
Partly. Nashville's Metro government can audit the physical space, the programs, and the personnel that Metro funds for the 20th Judicial District trial courts. It cannot audit purely state-funded tri…
Must a Florida school district remove portable classrooms over 20 years old even if they meet state standards?
Not necessarily. The office gave general comments noting it cannot direct an agency to ignore the Legislature, but explained that section 1013.21(1)(a) frames reducing old relocatables as a legislativ…
Can a Virginia school district charge parents a bus fee when their child attends a specialty program outside their home school's zone?
No. Specialty programs that interweave the standard curriculum are not 'extracurricular' under § 22.1-176(B). Without that label, Virginia law gives school boards no authority to charge a transportati…
Are government text messages and BlackBerry PIN messages public records that must be kept in Florida?
This was a policy letter, not a legal opinion answering a question. Attorney General Bill McCollum wrote to the Secretary of State after a Public Service Commission controversy over BlackBerry PIN mes…
Does Virginia commit age discrimination when SPORS retirees keep getting a retirement supplement longer than VaLORS retirees?
No. The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act expressly exempts pension-plan minimum-age conditions. The different SPORS and VaLORS cutoffs for the retirement supplement fit that exemption, so …
Can a Virginia city reassess a homeowner's property mid-cycle and raise the tax bill before the next annual reassessment?
No general reassessment more than once a year. Virginia law (§ 58.1-3254) allows 'a' single general reassessment per year, no more. But individual taxpayers can still see higher assessments through bo…
Can Tennessee issue a 'Catholic Charities' specialty license plate and send the proceeds to Catholic Charities of East Tennessee?
No. The AG concluded that creating a Catholic Charities specialty earmarked license plate, with proceeds going exclusively to Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, would likely violate both the federa…
Can a private group hosting a festival on land it leases from a Virginia city ban people from carrying firearms at the event?
Yes. A private entity that leases public property to host an event may generally prohibit firearms at that event. The lease alone does not turn the private group into a state actor bound by the Second…
Can Tennessee pass a private act letting one county run a home health agency in three other counties?
Likely yes. The proposed private act authorizing Hancock County to run a home care organization in Hancock, Claiborne, Grainger, and Hawkins counties does not contravene any general statewide statute,…
Can a small Texas general-law city enforce a stormwater pollution ordinance outside its city limits?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that Water Code section 26.177 applies to a Type A general-law municipality (the statute refers to 'a city' or 'a municipality' without distinction, and the environ…
Can a Texas justice of the peace or municipal court award ownership of a car, and will the DMV issue a new title from that order?
It depends on the source of authority. On Code of Criminal Procedure articles 47.01a(a) and 47.02(b), which deal with disposition of allegedly stolen property, the Attorney General could not say with …
Does the new federal hospice guidance let Tennessee residential hospices skip the registered-nurse-on-every-shift staffing rule?
No. The federal interpretive guideline that loosens RN staffing for some hospice care levels does not preempt or modify Tennessee's licensing rule, which still requires nursing care by or under the su…
When can a Tennessee officer custodially arrest someone for a misdemeanor instead of issuing a citation?
An officer must cite and release for an in-presence misdemeanor unless one of eight statutory exceptions applies, and the officer's belief that an exception applies must be objectively reasonable. A p…
After Citizens United, can Tennessee still ban corporations from spending money to support or oppose state candidates?
Probably not, at least for independent expenditures. The Tennessee AG concluded that Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-132 is likely unconstitutional to the extent it bars corporations from independently spendin…
Can a Tennessee deputy sheriff run for sheriff while still employed, and what restrictions apply?
A Hatch Act-covered deputy sheriff cannot escape the Hatch Act's ban on partisan candidacy by going on unpaid leave; the Hatch Act applies regardless of leave status. Even for nonpartisan elections, i…
How specific does a Delaware public body's notice for an executive session have to be about personnel matters?
Less specific than a regular meeting agenda, the AG found. A town's notice reading 'Executive Session to Discuss Contract and Personnel Issues' was good enough even though it didn't name the police ch…
Who keeps the records when a county supervisor of elections runs a city's election under contract?
The city, in the office's general view, but the contract and charter control. The office could not resolve the custodian question because it turns on a mixed question of fact and law (the terms of the…
When Georgia extended the sunset on the State Revenue Commissioner's authority to distribute unidentifiable local sales tax proceeds, did the extension cover the gap period when authority had ceased?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the 2009 amendment extending the sunset on O.C.G.A. § 48-8-67 reaches back to cover the gap period from December 31, 2007 (when authority ceased) through May 4…
Where does a Tennessee judicial district drug task force agent get police authority if hired directly by the task force?
From Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-7-110(a). The director of the task force, with the consent of the supervising district attorney general, can commission personnel hired directly by the task force, giving them…
Can a Tennessee city require a special school district to get permits and follow zoning rules when building a school inside city limits?
It depends on the specific private act creating the special school district and the local zoning regulations. Tennessee has not directly legislated whether special school districts must comply with ci…
Who fills a vacant seat on a Tennessee local school board, and how long does the appointee serve?
The county legislative body fills the vacancy by appointment. The appointee serves until the next general election for which candidates have enough time to qualify, then the seat goes back on the ball…
When a Tennessee appraiser does an 'evaluation' for a federally regulated bank, is that evaluation also an 'appraisal' subject to USPAP standards?
No, as long as the evaluation stays within the strict confines of Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-39-104(d): the federal regulator does not require a state-licensed appraisal, the evaluation is used solely by th…
Can a Virginia school board require a public charter school to pay all costs of making its building ADA-compliant as a startup condition?
Yes. Section 22.1-212.14(D) bars financial disincentives only inside the 'funding and service agreements' that govern ongoing operations. A startup ADA-compliance requirement is a separate condition a…
Does the U.S. Navy have to pay Chesapeake's stormwater management fee, or is it really a tax that the federal government cannot be charged?
Yes, the Navy had to pay. The Chesapeake stormwater fee under City Code § 26-401 and Va. Code § 15.2-2114 was a service fee, not a tax. The Massachusetts v. United States three-part test was met: nond…
Can a Florida county use tourist development tax money to stock public lakes with game fish?
Probably not. The AG concluded that any tourist development tax spending under section 125.0104 requires the county commission to find the activity directly and primarily promotes tourism, but the rel…
Can the Tennessee legislature force the Supreme Court to discipline lawyers, or make breaking the lawyer ethics rules a crime?
Forcing the Supreme Court to discipline lawyers in particular ways violates the separation of powers, because the Tennessee Supreme Court has the constitutional authority to regulate the practice of l…
Can a Tennessee corporation be criminally prosecuted for telling a sheriff or process server to stay off its property, and does 'person' in the obstructing-service statute include businesses?
The AG concluded that 'person' in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-602(c) (intentionally preventing or obstructing service of process) includes corporations and other legal entities under the Title 39 definiti…
Can Tennessee nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and clinical nurse specialists get a certificate of fitness to prescribe medications, or only nurse practitioners?
Yes. Since 1980, Tennessee statutes have given the Board of Nursing authority to define which nurses qualify as 'nurse practitioners' for prescribing purposes, and the Board's rules have always treate…
Can a Florida public hospital district lease its property to a partnership it forms with a private for-profit company?
No. The AG concluded that a 51/49 partnership between the North Broward Hospital District's nonprofit subsidiary and a private oncology provider amounted to a 'joint ownership' barred by Article VII, …
Was Tennessee AG Opinion 10-021 withdrawn, and what does that mean for anyone relying on it?
Tennessee AG Opinion 10-021 was withdrawn on February 24, 2010, the same date that would have been its issue date. The Office published a one-page record stating only 'This opinion has been withdrawn.…
Can a Tennessee juvenile court judge release a delinquent child the court committed to the Department of Children's Services and placed in a youth development center?
The AG concluded yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-139(b), as amended effective July 1, 2007, allowed a juvenile court to change, modify, or vacate an order committing a delinquent child to the Department o…
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