State AG Opinions
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Are a Florida water control district's recreational powers limited to its water-control purpose?
Yes. Asked to reconsider AGO 2009-13, the AG's office stood by it: a water control district is a special-purpose entity with no home-rule powers, so the recreational facilities it may own and maintain…
Can a Delaware school board have police remove someone who won't stop yelling and disrupting a meeting?
Yes, the AG found. FOIA lets a public body remove anyone who is willfully and seriously disruptive of a meeting, and a man who refused to sit down or stop yelling for about six minutes met that standa…
Could the Dallas ISD school board change its trustees' term lengths after the December 2007 deadline?
No, the Attorney General concluded. Education Code section 11.059(e) let a school board adopt a resolution changing its trustees' term length, but only if it did so no later than December 31, 2007. Th…
Did Maine's Informed Growth Act (which limits new big-box retail unless an economic-impact study finds no 'undue adverse impact') violate the dormant Commerce Clause or federal antitrust laws?
No, in the AG's view. AG Janet Mills concluded the Informed Growth Act could be defended on both fronts: it does not directly discriminate against out-of-state interests under dormant Commerce Clause …
Can a Texas county auditor who is also a CPA ethically audit an emergency services district?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. Health and Safety Code section 775.082 requires an emergency services district to file an audit report, which a commissioners court may direct the county auditor t…
Is a Florida city's Facebook page a public record, and does the Sunshine Law apply to it?
Mostly yes. Because a city's Facebook page must serve a municipal purpose, the AG presumed its contents are public records under Chapter 119, subject to records-retention schedules, and that constitut…
Can a Florida city pass its own ordinance regulating consumer fireworks?
Not under the law as it stood in 2009. The AG concluded that the moratorium in Chapter 2007-67, Laws of Florida, still barred a municipality from adopting any ordinance that directly prohibits or inte…
Can a Florida housing finance authority loan its surplus funds to for-profit developers to build affordable housing?
Yes. The Housing Finance Authority of Palm Beach County could loan its surplus funds to for-profit developers to finance qualifying housing (construction, purchase, reconstruction, or rehabilitation),…
Can city police enforce traffic laws and speed limits on private gated-community roads in Florida?
Yes. When a gated community signs a written traffic-control agreement with the city under section 316.006(2)(b), municipal police may enforce Chapter 316 traffic laws on those private roads, including…
Can a Florida city hold a closed Sunshine Law attorney-client session about a lawsuit where the named defendant is a city employee, not the city itself?
The AG concluded the city could, but only because it was the real party in interest. Pembroke Pines fully indemnified and paid for the defense of an employee who was the named defendant, which made th…
Can a Florida city council meet in closed session to discuss intergovernmental conflict-resolution settlement terms?
No. The AG concluded that the Sunshine Law's narrow 'shade meeting' exemption in section 286.011(8) covers only settlement negotiations or litigation-expenditure strategy in pending litigation. It doe…
Could Maine pay outstanding MaineCare hospital settlements with proceeds from a General Fund bond issue?
Likely no. AG Janet Mills concluded that hospital settlements are 'current expenditures,' which Article V, Part 3, Section 5 of the Maine Constitution prohibits funding from the proceeds of bond sales…
When must a Texas water utility paint a fire hydrant black under Health and Safety Code 341.0357?
An owner does not have to first test whether a device flows under 250 gallons per minute, the Attorney General concluded. Health and Safety Code section 341.0357 requires painting a hydrant-looking de…
Can a Texas county attorney appoint or commission reserve or unpaid peace officers?
No, the Attorney General concluded. The statutes that authorize reserve peace officers name specific appointing authorities (sheriffs, constables, municipalities, and navigation districts), and county…
Can the Edwards Aquifer Authority refuse recharge permits and contracts for water facilities built before the 1993 Act?
Yes, a court would likely uphold such rules, the Attorney General concluded. The Edwards Aquifer Authority manages groundwater withdrawals under a strict aquifer-wide cap. Its powers include adopting …
Could a 2009 Idaho ballot initiative amend the Idaho Constitution to allow elective Bible curriculum in public schools?
No, not by the route the petitioner chose. The AG concluded that under Idaho Const. art. XX, § 1, the only way to amend the Idaho Constitution is through a two-thirds vote of each house of the legisla…
Can a Florida water control district buy a golf course with a restaurant and bar?
No. The AG concluded that the Spring Lake Improvement District, a water control district that had never adopted its required water control plan, was not authorized to buy a multi-use golf course facil…
Who decides how the Texas Permanent School Fund's total return is calculated and how the constitutional payout limit applies?
The State Board of Education does, the Attorney General concluded. As the agency that manages the Permanent School Fund (PSF) and sets the distribution to the available school fund (ASF), the Board mu…
Can a Texas county lease county office space to a nonprofit for less than fair market value?
Yes, as far as the bidding statute goes, the Attorney General concluded. Local Government Code section 263.007 lets a commissioners court use competitive bids to sell or lease county property. Its fai…
Can a Texas school district hire a private company to run reverse auctions for purchases over $10,000?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded, with a caveat. The Legislature lets school districts use the reverse auction procedure for purchases of $10,000 or more, and the statute is silent on whether a thi…
Can Oregon use Measure 66 lottery funds, which the constitution dedicates to parks and recreation, for State Fair operations and State Fair debt service?
Yes. AG John Kroger advised the Audits Division that the legislature's decision to transfer the State Fair to the State Parks and Recreation Department in 2005 brought the Fair within the constitution…
Must a Texas sheriff give the county treasurer bank statements for forfeiture and commissary accounts?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. In Delta County, which has no county auditor, Local Government Code section 115.901(a) directs the treasurer to examine the sheriff's accounts, dockets, and record…
Can a Texas county remove a fence in a county road right-of-way that the commissioners court calls a safety hazard?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. A commissioners court has general control over the county's roads and a duty to keep them safe for public travel, and the Transportation Code requires public roads…
How should a Texas county clerk index a correction or amendment to a deed signed by a title company, not the original owners?
The county clerk has discretion, the Attorney General concluded. When a real-property instrument is recorded under Property Code section 12.0011(b)(2), that statute does not say how to index it, and t…
Could the Colorado state personnel director require Clinical Security Officers at the Pueblo mental health institute to either become certified peace officers or be reclassified out of the security occupation group?
Yes. The AG concluded that the state personnel director had the statutory authority to classify state positions, that his determination Clinical Security Officers were misclassified was reasonable on …
When will a Florida city pay a public official's attorney fees for defending an official-duty lawsuit?
The AG's office declined to review the city's proposed motion (a local matter), but laid out Florida's common-law rule: a public official is entitled to a legal defense at public expense only when the…
What private-sector business can Florida's PRIDE prison-industries program engage in?
The AG's office explained that PRIDE, the nonprofit that runs Florida's correctional work programs under Chapter 946, may operate or contract with the private sector for Prison Industry Enhancement (P…
Can Florida voters require referendum approval for big city capital projects by charter amendment?
Yes. The AG concluded that a city charter may be amended by citizen petition initiative under section 166.031 to require voter approval of any capital improvement project exceeding $500,000. That kind…
Can Fairfax County or another Virginia county pass an ordinance making it illegal to leave a vehicle parked unattended on a residential street, when the resident keeps registration and inspection current?
Not under § 46.2-1209 alone, which only authorizes police to remove vehicles, not localities to ban parking. But Virginia counties have other tools: § 46.2-1213 lets them adopt removal ordinances for …
Can a Texas justice of the peace hear truancy cases for students in a school district outside the JP's precinct?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. The failure-to-attend-school offense under Education Code section 25.094 may be prosecuted in a justice court of any precinct in the county where the alleged truan…
Could the Maine Public Utilities Commission refuse a municipality's or county's request to switch its Public Safety Answering Point (911 dispatch) service provider?
The Maine AG concluded that even though 25 M.R.S.A. § 2926 does not expressly say the PUC may refuse a PSAP-change request, the Emergency Services Communication Bureau's site-identification authority …
How are a Texas multi-county district court reporter's expenses reimbursed, and can the commissioners court set them?
Under Government Code section 52.055, the Attorney General concluded. When the court reporter of a multi-county district court (here the 506th, covering Waller and Grimes Counties) performs official d…
Can Texas stop local governments from adopting policies that block cooperation with federal immigration enforcement?
Likely yes, the Attorney General concluded. The power to regulate immigration is exclusively federal, and the Supremacy Clause bars state and local actions that frustrate federal immigration law. Two …
Can a county board of supervisors stop a general reassessment from being finalized just because the board doesn't like the values the assessor came back with?
No. Once a county appoints an independent professional assessor to conduct a general reassessment, the board of supervisors has no authority to block the assessor from completing the statutory process…
How do Virginia public schools handle a school-bus conflict between a student who needs a service dog and another student with a severe dog allergy?
The school board is the appropriate body to resolve the conflict, and the decision to let the two students ride separate regular buses, one with the service dog, one without, is not unreasonable or un…
Can a Florida school district delay releasing payroll records so employees can claim exemptions?
Mostly no. The AG's office explained that the Public Records Law sets no fixed deadline but allows only a limited reasonable time to retrieve records and redact exempt portions. Payroll deduction reco…
Are a Florida school employee's tax withholding records public under the public records law?
No, they are confidential. The AG concluded that a school board employee's tax information on the payroll database (Federal Withholding, FICA, and Medicare deductions) qualifies as 'payroll deduction …
Can a settled employment discrimination complaint be kept confidential under Florida public records law?
No. The AG concluded that the confidentiality exemption in section 119.071(2)(g)2. applies only when the alleged victim chooses not to file or pursue a discrimination complaint. Once someone has filed…
When a Maine state agency's records sit on computers run by the central Office of Information Technology, who is the records custodian for FOAA requests?
The originating agency. AG Janet Mills concluded that OIT's policy assigning FOAA-response responsibility to the agency that collected the records (rather than to OIT, which only hosts the data) did n…
What are a Florida city's and mayor's emergency powers under state law?
The AG's office declined to interpret Ocoee's city charter (a local matter outside its authority), but gave informal background on the state framework: cities have broad home-rule powers that cannot c…
Does a Texas legislator have to resign to run for Governor?
No. The Attorney General found no constitutional or statutory provision that requires a member of the Texas House to give up the seat after announcing a candidacy for Governor during the first year of…
What can Florida's Attorney General do about an outside audit of a county supervisor of elections?
The AG's office declined to act, explaining it has no specific authority over a county supervisor of elections. Informally, it pointed the county to the financial-reporting and audit-submission duties…
Can a Texas home rule city enforce its zoning and land development rules against a school district?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. A home rule municipality may enforce its reasonable land development regulations and zoning ordinances, including setback, height, sign, landscaping, screening, an…
Do court-appointed criminal interpreters have to translate documents for the prosecutor?
No, the Attorney General concluded. An interpreter appointed by the court under Code of Criminal Procedure article 38.30 is there to interpret in the courtroom for a witness or the person charged who …
Does a Virginia circuit court clerk have to prepare sketch orders for civil cases and personally attend every docket call, or are those tasks discretionary?
No statutory duty to do either. Circuit court clerks' duties are set by statute and the Code does not require them to prepare sketch orders in civil cases or to personally attend civil or criminal doc…
Could Texas revoke the business license of employers who hire undocumented workers?
The Attorney General advised that a Texas statute closely tracking the Legal Arizona Workers Act, suspending or revoking the business license of employers of unauthorized workers and relying only on t…
Does a Texas county have to include a district judge's longevity pay when setting a county court judge's salary?
No, the Attorney General concluded. Government Code section 25.0005(a) ties a statutory county court judge's pay to the total annual salary of 'a' district judge in the county, and 'a' means 'any.' So…
When a Virginia business buys used equipment from another business and a local tax assessor wants to apply the 'original cost' valuation method, do they use the secondhand price the new owner paid or the original price the first buyer paid?
It means the price paid by the first buyer from the manufacturer or dealer, not the price paid by any subsequent secondhand purchaser. The plain meaning of 'original cost' is acquisition cost from the…
If a Virginia defendant gets a real prison sentence and a sentence to the Detention Center or Diversion Center on the same day, how does the Department of Corrections actually carry out both?
The General Assembly intended Detention Center and Diversion Center sentences as alternatives to active prison time, not as add-ons or 'bridges' before release. A single court should not combine an ac…
If a Virginia land surveyor brings a boundary or physical survey plat to the courthouse to record (one that doesn't change property lines or create new parcels), can the clerk refuse it because the locality's planners haven't reviewed it first?
No. Virginia's subdivision enabling statutes only authorize local pre-approval for plats that subdivide land, change property lines, or create new parcels. Boundary surveys and physical surveys that d…
In a Virginia debt collection case, can the creditor's lawyer sign and file the affidavit stating the amount owed, or does the creditor have to sign it personally?
Yes. Section 8.01-28 lets the plaintiff's affidavit on the amount owed be made by the plaintiff or his agent. The plain meanings of 'agent' (one authorized to act for another) and 'attorney' (a legal …
Are the psychological reports filed in a Virginia criminal case to determine if a defendant is competent to stand trial open to the public, or are they protected as confidential health records?
Open. Once a court orders a competency evaluation and the evaluator's report is filed with the court, that report becomes part of the court's record and is open to public inspection under § 17.1-208. …
Can a Florida county charge an extra plan-review or inspection fee just because a new home has a fire sprinkler system?
The AG concluded no. Section 633.025(9) bars a local government or utility from charging any plan-review or inspection fee above what a non-sprinklered home pays, on the basis that a one- or two-famil…
Can a Florida city pass an ordinance requiring condominium associations to provide their own security guards to fight crime?
The AG concluded the city appeared to have the authority. Florida's home-rule grant and broad municipal police powers let a city require condominium associations to furnish security guards, because th…
Can a Florida city commission declare itself the governing board of its community redevelopment agency?
The AG declined to issue a formal opinion because the request did not come from a majority of the city commission. Informally, the office noted that under section 163.357(1)(a) a city or county govern…
Could a Florida minor get a marriage license, and would the Attorney General advise a private person about it?
The AG's office declined to advise her, explaining that section 16.01 limits the office to giving legal advice to public officials, not private individuals. Informally, it pointed to the marriage stat…
Does Florida give a public employee on active military leave 30 calendar days or 30 working days of full pay?
The AG declined to call the city's reading wrong. Section 115.09 grants the first 30 days of active-military-service leave 'with full pay' without saying calendar or working days, but longstanding AG …
Can a Florida code enforcement board make a code violator pay the city's attorney's fees as part of 'costs'?
The AG concluded no. Section 162.07(2) lets a city that wins a code-enforcement case recover all 'costs' of prosecuting it, but under Florida's American Rule, 'costs' do not include attorney's fees un…
Can a Florida hospital district use ad valorem tax money for Medicaid intergovernmental transfers?
The AG concluded yes to both transfers. The South Lake County Hospital District could move district funds to the state Agency for Health Care Administration to join the Medicaid Low Income Pool, and c…
Can Fairfax County regulate parking on state secondary roads inside its boundaries under its specific authority, or is it stuck with the narrower statutes that apply to large or urban-executive counties?
Yes. Section 46.2-1222 specifically names Fairfax County and gives it broad authority to regulate parking on state secondary roads inside the county, including the power to classify vehicles and presc…
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