State AG Opinions
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Can a Tennessee county appropriate funds to a high school marching band, civic club, or community athletic team?
Yes, if the group qualifies as a nonprofit charitable or civic organization under Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-9-109(a)(2). Charitable orgs need only show no private benefit and a county-wide public benefit. C…
South Dakota's 2009 SB 119 lets townships, counties, and the state transfer highway rights-of-way to Indian tribes or the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In Flandreau Township, a section-line road runs through tribal lands of the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe. Can the township use SB 119 to give the right-of-way to the tribe or BIA so they'll pave it? What does the transfer agreement need to say? What happens to speed-limit enforcement, criminal jurisdiction, and the township's liability after the transfer? Is there a smarter alternative?
Yes, SB 119 authorizes the transfer, including section-line rights-of-way, to either a federally recognized tribe or the BIA. But the AG flagged so many open jurisdictional, regulatory, and liability …
Can a Tennessee general sessions judge expunge old dismissed or retired charges, and is there a deadline?
Yes for dismissed charges, with no time limit. A Tennessee general sessions or municipal court can expunge a defendant's records on a dismissed charge years after disposition. But charges that were on…
Are Tennessee city red-light camera tickets enforceable, and do they violate the right to confrontation or the privilege against self-incrimination?
The AG concluded that Tennessee municipal red-light camera ordinances were not preempted because Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-198 expressly authorized owner liability for camera-detected violations. Camera …
Who appoints the members of a Tennessee county's adult-oriented establishment board, and what happens if the wrong people were appointed?
Only the county mayor (not the county commission) can appoint members to a county adult-oriented establishment board, and the term is four years. If the commission appointed members, the district atto…
Can two adult-oriented businesses operate in the same Tennessee building if they have separate entrances, addresses, meters, and licenses?
No. Tenn. Code Ann. § 7-51-1104(b) prohibits more than one adult-oriented establishment in the same building, premises, structure, or facility, regardless of whether the businesses have separate entra…
Can a Texas sheriff accept an administrative fee from the private company that runs the county jail?
No. The Attorney General concluded that neither the Texas Constitution nor Texas statutes authorize the person holding the office of county sheriff to accept an administrative fee paid by a private or…
Could Idaho voters pass a 2010 initiative banning state and federal greenhouse gas regulation inside Idaho?
The AG flagged three legal defects: the initiative conflicted with Governor Otter's Executive Order 2007-05 directing GHG reduction, conflicted with Idaho's Title V Clean Air Act permitting authority …
Could a 2010 Idaho ballot initiative withhold federal income tax revenue from the federal government?
The AG concluded the initiative would likely be struck down. The 16th Amendment gives Congress the power to lay and collect income taxes without apportionment among the states. No state law can withho…
Could Idaho voters pass a 2010 ballot initiative letting county sheriffs block IRS enforcement of federal income tax laws?
The AG concluded the initiative would violate the Supremacy Clause and was likely void for vagueness. Idaho cannot block federal income tax enforcement, and sheriffs cannot decide which federal laws t…
Could Idaho voters pass a 2010 ballot initiative letting jurors ignore judicial precedent and decide both the law and the facts in every case?
The AG flagged the Informed Jury Act initiative for separation-of-powers concerns under Idaho Const. art. V, sec. 13, Supremacy Clause concerns where the rule extended to federal law and federal court…
Could Idaho voters pass a 2010 initiative to nullify federal health insurance laws within the state?
The AG concluded the proposed Idaho Health Insurer Protection Act was likely unconstitutional. A state cannot declare federal laws null and void inside its borders. That power belongs to the federal c…
When does a tenant-commissioner on a Florida housing authority lose their seat for falling behind on rent?
The AG concluded that under section 421.05(1), Florida Statutes, a tenant-commissioner who is no longer 'current in rent' creates a vacancy in office, and a qualified replacement must be appointed for…
Can Tennessee require traffic-camera vendors contracting with the state to agree in advance to incorporate any future statutory changes?
Yes, in principle. The General Assembly can require a vendor of traffic-camera goods or services contracting with the state or a local government to agree that any future amendments to Tenn. Code Ann.…
Can a Texas licensing agency require full information and investigate before issuing a criminal history evaluation letter?
Yes to both questions. A 2009 law (subchapter D of chapter 53 of the Occupations Code) lets a would-be applicant ask a licensing authority, before spending time and money on training, whether a past c…
Could a 2010 Idaho ballot initiative bar all forced vaccination, criminalize coercion, and authorize lethal self-defense against vaccinators?
The AG flagged numerous conflicts: with Idaho minor consent statutes (§§ 39-3801, 39-4302), with the federal vaccine definition in 42 U.S.C. § 1396s, with Idaho's existing self-defense doctrine (the i…
Could a 2010 Idaho initiative require presidential candidates to file birth certificates with the Idaho Secretary of State to qualify for the ballot?
The AG concluded the initiative would be unconstitutional. States cannot add qualifications for federal officers beyond what the U.S. Constitution specifies. Powell v. McCormack and the Supremacy Clau…
Could a 2010 Idaho ballot initiative bar federal deployment of the Idaho National Guard outside U.S. borders?
The AG concluded the initiative was unconstitutional. The U.S. Constitution's Militia Clauses and federal statute give Congress authority to call National Guard units to active federal duty. The Idaho…
Could a 2010 Idaho ballot initiative bar federal enforcement of health insurance mandates within Idaho?
The AG flagged the initiative's drafting ambiguities, the 'indirect effect' nullification clauses that left scope indefinable, signature-collection violations under § 34-1804, and noted that potential…
Could a 2010 Idaho ballot initiative require local governments to pay landowners 120% of value plus costs whenever zoning rules change land use?
The AG raised concerns about drafting (better placed as separate statutory sections rather than a single new section), the conflict with constitutional police powers, federal preemption of provisions …
Could a 2010 Idaho initiative bar Idaho from participating in the federal National Animal Identification System?
The AG flagged that the initiative was drafted with 'Missouri' substituted for 'Idaho' at three points (a copy-paste from another state's measure), would impair pre-existing federal-state cooperative …
Could a 2010 Idaho ballot initiative bar local governments from joining ICLEI or U.N. bodies?
The AG noted the proposed prohibition on local government membership in ICLEI or U.N. bodies was permissible as a public-funds limitation, but flagged that removing AG prosecutorial discretion imprope…
Could a 2010 Idaho initiative make midwifery licensure voluntary by removing the criminal penalty for unlicensed practice?
The AG noted a citation error (the petitioners cited § 54-5406 instead of the correct § 54-5506) and explained that eliminating the penalty for unlicensed practice would change Idaho's midwifery regul…
When must a Florida agency release social security numbers to a commercial company that asks for them?
The AG concluded the two statutory subsections on releasing agency-held social security numbers do not conflict and must be read together: an agency may not deny a qualifying commercial entity that su…
Does a Florida county need a supermajority vote to buy waterfront land over $500,000 through a state grant program?
Yes, to the extent the county must vote to approve the purchase. Under section 125.355, Florida Statutes, when a county buys real property for more than $500,000 and the agreed price exceeds the avera…
Can a Florida school board close a meeting to the public when it will discuss confidential student records?
No. The AG concluded that section 1002.22(2)(d), Florida Statutes, does not create an exemption to the Government in the Sunshine Law. A school board meeting to consider a discrimination complaint sta…
Can a Virginia Commonwealth's attorney represent a toll road operator chasing drivers for unpaid tolls?
No. A Virginia Commonwealth's attorney had no authority to represent a toll facility operator in unpaid-toll actions under § 46.2-819.1 or § 46.2-819.3. The General Assembly knows how to grant prosecu…
Could Idaho voters create a state-run electronic currency and 'private market exchange' through a 2010 ballot initiative?
The AG concluded the proposed Idaho-controlled currency system would likely violate the U.S. Constitution. The Coinage Clause and the prohibition on state-issued bills of credit reserve money creation…
Does Maine's Freedom of Access Act require legislative party caucuses to meet in public?
The AG's office had not issued a formal opinion on the question. Chief Deputy AG Linda Pistner clarified to the Judiciary Committee that the FOAA's public-proceedings provisions cover 'the Legislature…
Can the Idaho Legislature require an elected sheriff to be POST certified before or shortly after taking office?
Yes. The AG concluded the Idaho Constitution does not bar the Legislature from imposing additional qualifications on sheriffs, including a requirement that they hold Police Officer Standards and Train…
What did the Idaho AG say about the 2010 'Idaho Right to Protection Act' ballot initiative on self-defense, gun tracking, and home privacy?
The AG concluded the proposed initiative had no clear legal goal: it would be placed in the criminal code but defined no crime and set no punishment, its self-defense language redundantly tracked exis…
Could an Idaho ballot initiative declare federal statutes unenforceable in Idaho if they don't cite a specific enumerated power of Congress?
No. The AG concluded the proposed nullification initiative was clearly unconstitutional. The Supremacy Clause makes federal law binding on state judges, and the authority to declare federal laws uncon…
Could an Idaho ballot initiative exempt Idaho-made firearms, accessories, and ammunition from federal regulation?
No. The AG concluded the proposed Idaho Firearms Freedom Act was clearly unconstitutional. Federal regulation of firearms reaches intrastate manufacture under the Commerce Clause, the Supremacy Clause…
Can a Texas water authority use the Tax Code's effective-rate and rollback procedures to set its tax rate?
No. The Attorney General concluded that under section 49.107(g) of the Water Code, the South Texas Water Authority (STWA) is prohibited from using the procedures in sections 26.04, 26.05, and 26.07 of…
Could an Idaho ballot initiative require federal officers to obtain the county sheriff's written permission before making any arrest, search, or seizure in Idaho?
No. The AG concluded the initiative was clearly unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause: a state cannot condition federal law-enforcement activity on a county sheriff's permission, criminalize fed…
When a Washington county is in a budget pinch and a superior court judge resigns, can the county council just delete the position to save money?
No. The Washington Constitution gives the legislature, not the county, the power to set the number of superior court judges. A county that wants to reduce judgeships has to convince the legislature to…
Is a county hospital district's behavioral health unit a 'private facility' for mental health filing fees?
No, most likely. The Attorney General concluded that a court would probably hold that the Behavioral Health Unit of the Titus Regional Medical Center, which is operated by the Titus County Hospital Di…
Could Idaho exempt in-state nutritional and therapeutic products from federal regulation through the Health Supplements and Therapeutics Protection Act ballot initiative?
No. The AG concluded the proposed initiative would conflict with the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other federal drug statutes, would be preempted under the Supremacy Clause, and that limit…
Was Tennessee AG Opinion 10-013 withdrawn, and what does that mean for anyone relying on it?
Tennessee AG Opinion 10-013 was withdrawn on February 2, 2010, on the same date that would have been its issue date. The Office published a one-page record stating only 'This opinion has been withdraw…
Can a Virginia school board hire its own lawyer instead of relying on the city attorney?
Yes. Section 22.1-82(A) of the Virginia Code, which uses 'notwithstanding any other provision of law' language, lets a Virginia school board hire its own counsel even where a city charter (like Newpor…
Can Virginia enforce its ban on hiring unauthorized aliens by getting a court injunction against the employer?
Federal IRCA expressly preempts state civil or criminal sanctions for employing unauthorized aliens, except for licensing-and-similar laws. A Virginia injunction against an employer is a civil sanctio…
How far did Colorado's 2008 insurance bad-faith law (HB 08-1407) reach: did it apply to ERISA-preempted self-funded plans, to out-of-state master policies covering Coloradans, to pre-effective-date policies, and did it strip insurers of authority to make ordinary coverage decisions?
Mostly narrow. The AG concluded that HB 08-1407's penalty provisions did not reach self-funded ERISA plans, did not reach out-of-state master policies (except for the limited mammography requirement),…
Can a group of Washington state employees run a charity raffle and send the proceeds directly to a needy coworker, family, or friend, or must the money flow through a charitable organization?
It must flow through a charitable or benevolent entity. RCW 9.46.0209 lets state employees run charity raffles, but the proceeds cannot go directly to a 'person or family in need' the employees pick. …
Can Tennessee cities charge for building permits when the construction is on land used for agriculture?
Yes. The statute that limits city authority over agricultural land (Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-54-126) only prevents cities from interfering with the use of that land for agricultural purposes. It does not b…
Can Tennessee constitutionally ban session-time fundraising by sitting legislators while leaving non-incumbent challengers free to raise money?
Yes. Tennessee's prohibition on legislative-session fundraising applies only to incumbents because federal courts struck the broader version, and the AG considers the incumbent-only version narrowly t…
Is Tennessee's law banning fireworks sales in big counties constitutional, and would a local-option fireworks bill survive challenge?
Yes on both counts. The current ban on fireworks sales in counties with more than 200,000 people survives rational-basis review, just as the Tennessee Supreme Court held in 1984 for a Knox County fire…
Can a Tennessee state agency suddenly cancel its previously approved licensure courses and shorten the approval period retroactively?
Not without changing the rules first. The Real Estate Commission must follow its own four-year course-approval rule and cannot summarily withdraw approvals or shorten the period for already-approved c…
Does a Tennessee deputy sheriff have to resign before running for the county commission, or can the deputy keep the badge while campaigning?
The AG concluded there was no blanket Tennessee rule requiring a deputy sheriff to resign before running for the county commission. Two conditional rules applied: the federal Hatch Act forced resignat…
What qualifies someone to serve on a Texas water improvement district board, and what election and open-records rules apply?
The Attorney General answered several governance questions about the Logan Slough Creek Improvement District, a water district created by special legislation in 1961. To be qualified to serve on the D…
Can a Delaware town council use a closed executive session to actually decide a contested land-use application?
No, the AG found. The council could properly go into executive session just long enough to get legal advice on the litigation risks of approving or denying two subdivision applications, but once it ke…
Can a Virginia state legislator raise money for a federal campaign while the General Assembly is in session?
Section 24.2-954 bars fundraising only for state-office campaigns during the regular session, not for federal campaigns. Even if it tried to reach federal campaigns, the Federal Election Campaign Act …
Can Tennessee's Board of Probation and Parole supervise people on pretrial diversion before any conviction?
No. The Board's statutory authority covers parolees and probationers, both of whom are people who have already been convicted of a crime. Pretrial diversion participants have not been convicted, so th…
Under Oregon's social-games exception, when does a private poker game cross the line into unlawful gambling because someone is acting as the house?
AG John Kroger interpreted the four undefined limits in the social-games statute. A social game must be "between players"; have no "house player," "house bank," "house odds," or "house income." "House…
Can a city refuse to hand over water-dispute records just because its lawyer believes the requester will eventually sue?
No, the AG found. A city attorney's subjective impression from a phone conversation, that a condo association's lawyer was hinting at a future lawsuit, wasn't objective enough evidence of a 'realistic…
Who pays for a Texas district attorney's legal defense when she is sued for civil rights violations on the job?
The Attorney General answered three of the district attorney's questions, all negatively. First, a county commissioners court has no duty under Local Government Code section 157.901 to pay a district …
Can a Tennessee judge issuing an emergency order of protection order an abuser out of the home, and can violations be punished with contempt?
Yes to both questions for judges. A Tennessee judge or magistrate issuing an ex parte order of protection has the authority to order the respondent to immediately vacate the shared residence pending a…
Can a Tennessee city spend hotel-motel tax revenue from a 1989 private act on any city department, and can it route the money to the parks and cemetery department as 'recreation' spending?
The AG concluded that Union City may distribute hotel-motel tax proceeds to any department as long as that department spends the money on Section 3 purposes (inducing manufacturing, industrial, financ…
When must a Tennessee tow truck driver get the written tow authorization, before hooking up or before pulling away?
A Tennessee tow truck driver does not violate Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-16-112(a) by hooking a vehicle to the truck before the written authorization is complete, as long as the driver does not pull or draw…
Are Tennessee cities and counties legally required to provide police, fire, or medical services?
No general Tennessee statute requires a city or county to run a police force, a fire department, or hospital and ambulance services. Each county must establish a health department to enforce state hea…
Did Colorado's 1% Art in Public Places set-aside apply to higher education construction projects financed by certificates of participation paid from federal mineral lease revenues?
No. The AG concluded that the certificates-of-participation financing scheme did not generate a 'capital construction appropriation' triggering the 1% Art in Public Places allocation under § 24-80.5-1…
How these opinions are useful
- Understand state law: AG opinions are authoritative interpretations of how state law applies.
- Persuasive authority: Not binding like court decisions, but they carry significant weight.
- Government guidance: Often clarify how state agencies and officials should interpret statutes.
- Legal research: Cite AG opinions in letters, motions, and legal arguments.