State AG Opinions
Free state attorney general opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
No opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Were vacant lots held by a Florida Habitat for Humanity affiliate exempt from property tax before homes were built?
Not automatically. The affordable-housing exemption in section 196.1978 did not cover vacant lots that were not yet providing housing, while any broader charitable-use exemption depended on facts the …
Could St. Augustine impose a fire-services special assessment on the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind?
No. The AG concluded that the city could not impose the fire-services special assessment because the school’s real property was titled to the State of Florida and no statute authorized the local asses…
Is the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts subject to the open records law?
It depends on the facts, the Attorney General explained, and the opinion declined to decide it. Under the Public Information Act, a private organization is a 'governmental body' to the extent it spend…
In a Virginia DWI prosecution, can the breath-test number written on the arrest warrant prove the defendant's blood alcohol level?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the certificate of analysis was the proper evidence of a defendant's blood alcohol level; the number written on an arrest warrant was not a substitute.
Can a Delaware water authority keep its auditor's management letter secret by claiming it belongs to the accounting firm, not the authority?
No, under the law as it stood in 2008. The AG found the Camden-Wyoming Sewer and Water Authority violated FOIA by withholding its outside auditor's management comment letter, ruling the letter was a p…
Can a New York village require every tow truck on its rotational call list, including out-of-village towers, to drop towed cars at a yard inside the village, so residents can pick them up locally?
Yes. The AG concluded that a village local law requiring all rotational tow operators, regardless of where they are based, to tow to a yard inside the village does not facially violate General Municip…
Could a business leasing Texas land seek a school property-tax value limit for buildings or equipment it owned?
Yes, under the law examined in 2008. A person that owned a qualifying building, improvement, or item of tangible personal property could apply for the chapter 313 appraised-value limitation even if th…
Could a Virginia health regulatory board require a licensee on probation to tell out-of-state employers about restrictions on the Virginia license?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a Virginia health regulatory board's power to restrict a license included placing the licensee on probation and requiring disclosure of the Virginia restrictio…
Can a Texas county give a grant or financial aid to a school district or charter school?
Not as a gift, the Attorney General concluded. Article III, section 52(a) of the Texas Constitution bars a county from gratuitously granting its public money or anything of value to an independent sch…
Can a Texas county bail bond board vote to dissolve itself?
No, the Attorney General concluded. In a county with fewer than 110,000 people, Occupations Code chapter 1704 lets the relevant officials choose whether to create a bail bond board, but the statute sa…
Does adopting collective bargaining (FPERA) change how many assistant fire chiefs a Texas city's fire chief can appoint?
Adopting the Fire and Police Employees Relations Act did not strip the fire chief of the authority to appoint top assistants; it removed the numerical cap on how many he could appoint. Under Local Gov…
Can a Delaware citizen force a county to reveal who anonymously forwarded a public official's email to a staffer?
No, under the law as it stood in 2008. The AG found New Castle County could withhold records identifying whoever forwarded a councilman's public email to the Chief of Staff, because the requesting cou…
Can a Texas county pay its elected officials a performance bonus for hitting goals set by the commissioners court?
Probably not, the Attorney General concluded. A commissioners court controls the county budget and can set compensation for county officers and employees, and a properly pre-approved bonus plan for co…
Can a Texas city's municipal court hear an appeal of a dangerous-dog determination, and can it refuse or transfer the case?
Yes, it can hear these cases, the Attorney General concluded. A municipal court created under Government Code chapter 29, even one that is not a court of record, has jurisdiction under Health and Safe…
If a county boundary resurvey moves part of an existing road into a different county, does that county automatically have to maintain it?
No, not on its own, the Attorney General concluded. Slama Road was established in 1902 as an Ellis County road running to the Navarro County line. A 1931 resurvey of the boundary showed the last 0.432…
How far can a Texas county require a sexually oriented business to be located from schools, homes, and churches?
There is no single statutory maximum, the Attorney General concluded. Local Government Code section 243.006(a) lets a county prohibit a sexually oriented business within a certain distance of a school…
Do Texas public schools and charter schools have to offer the elective Bible course?
No, the Attorney General concluded. House Bill 1287 added Education Code section 28.011, which says a school district 'may offer' elective courses on the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament and th…
Can a county's one-year no-rehire policy block a constable from hiring a deputy who recently left another county job?
No, the Attorney General concluded. San Jacinto County's commissioners court adopted a policy making a former county employee ineligible for rehire for one year after leaving. The opinion held that po…
Are unlicensed drivers and drivers with suspended licenses fingerprintable in Georgia after the 2008 amendments?
Yes for both. Senate Bill 350 (2008) made fourth-offense violations of O.C.G.A. § 40-5-20 (driving without a valid license) and § 40-5-121 (driving while suspended/revoked) felonies. The AG designated…
Could the City of Rexburg deputize BYU-Idaho's private campus security officers as Idaho peace officers, and could POST certify them?
No on both counts. The AG concluded that Idaho municipal corporations can enter joint-powers agreements only with other public agencies, so Rexburg could not delegate its police power to private BYU-I…
Do Texas school districts have to use the state's standard GPA formula for college admissions?
Yes, for admissions, the Attorney General concluded. Education Code section 51.807 directs the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to adopt a standard method for computing a student's high schoo…
Who had to receive and hold state and federal asset-forfeiture money for a Virginia sheriff, the sheriff or the county treasurer?
The county treasurer. The Attorney General concluded that state and federal asset-forfeiture proceeds had to be received, distributed, and accounted for through the county treasury. The sheriff could …
Must a Virginia preliminary subdivision plat show every phase when it is approved to receive the extended five-year validity period?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that all sections or phases had to appear on the preliminary plat when the planning commission approved it. A later construction plan showing phases did not convert…
Does a Texas wildlife rehabilitation permit let the holder keep any dangerous wild animal without registering it?
No, the Attorney General concluded. Subchapter E of Health and Safety Code chapter 822 bars anyone from keeping a dangerous wild animal (the list includes tigers, lions, bears, gorillas, and similar a…
Can a Texas regional transportation authority charge different sales tax rates in different subregions?
Yes, potentially, the Attorney General concluded. The Texas Constitution requires taxation to be equal and uniform, but courts have long held that does not demand absolute equality; it allows reasonab…
When an excavator calls One Call in SD before digging near a house and the dig will affect the water service line or sewer service line running from the public right-of-way to the building, whose responsibility is it under SDCL chapter 49-7A to come out and mark the line: the water/sewer utility (operator) or the homeowner (property owner who arguably owns the service line)? And does the One Call locate obligation extend all the way from the right-of-way to the meter (water) or to the building (sewer), or does the homeowner take over at some point?
The utility operator. The operator (not the property owner) must mark both the lines in the public right-of-way and any service laterals extending onto private property within the proposed excavation …
How should an Idaho governing body interpret the Open Meetings Act's hiring exception, and what should it do if an executive session 'drifts' from its stated purpose?
Narrowly, and immediately. The AG concluded that all of the Open Meetings Act's executive-session exceptions, including the Idaho Code § 67-2345(1)(a) hiring exception, must be read narrowly so that t…
Could a Virginia board of supervisors give its members the same family health insurance benefit provided to the county administrator and attorney?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that § 15.2-1414.3(4) allowed a board of supervisors, by resolution, to give its members the same family health insurance benefit provided to the county administrat…
What happened to Virginia land-use tax status when an owner requested more intensive zoning, and could intensively zoned farmland qualify later?
Owner-requested rezoning to a more intensive use required removal from the land-use program and assessment of roll-back taxes, even if the owner failed to report the change. Property removed on that b…
Do Idaho's state CAFO laws preempt county regulation of confined animal feeding operations like dairies and feedlots?
Partly. The AG concluded that Idaho law expressly authorizes counties to regulate the siting of dairy and beef-cattle CAFOs (where to locate them, setbacks, livestock-density limits), but county ordin…
Are county indigent-health-care bills over budget an unconstitutional debt the county can't pay?
It depends on a fact question, but if the answer is the one suggested, yes, the Attorney General concluded. Texas Constitution article XI, section 7 bars a county from incurring a debt without levying…
For a New York state board with both voting and non-voting (ex officio) members, do you count the non-voting members when figuring out quorum, and can a bare majority of those present pass a motion under Robert's Rules?
Two answers. First: non-voting ex officio members do not count when determining quorum under General Construction Law § 41. For the 24-voting-member New York State Independent Living Council, quorum i…
Can members of the Vermont State Teachers' Retirement Board be personally sued and held financially liable for ordinary mistakes in their investment or benefit decisions?
No, not for ordinary negligence. Vermont treats retirement board members as state employees under 3 V.S.A. § 1101 and 12 V.S.A. § 5602: the state defends them at state expense, and lawsuits for ordina…
Can a New York town that is in an elected-legislature county switch the town supervisor from a 2-year term to a 4-year term by local law instead of by the slower Town Law § 24-a resolution route?
Yes. Where the county is governed by an elected county legislature (County Law § 150-a) rather than by a board of supervisors made up of town supervisors (§ 150), the town's supervisor is not a county…
Can a Texas justice of the peace who is a lawyer be appointed to represent criminal defendants on appeal?
No statute forbids it, the Attorney General concluded, but ethics rules may. A justice of the peace in Upshur County, who is a licensed attorney, asked to be put on the criminal appellate appointment …
Can the board directors of a Texas water authority enroll in the district's employee health care plan?
No, the Attorney General concluded. The Lower Neches Valley Authority is a conservation and reclamation district subject to chapter 49 of the Water Code. Section 49.069(c) lets the board provide hospi…
Can a Texas state agency rule exempt a child-care program from licensing if the statute doesn't list that exemption?
Not to the extent the rule goes beyond the statute. The Attorney General concluded that Chapter 42 of the Human Resources Code bars anyone from operating a child-care facility without a license from t…
Could the Virginia Department of Health require a surveyed plat with an application for a private well construction permit?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the Department of Health could require a survey plat with a private-well permit application. The required site plan had to show property boundaries, sewage sys…
Could a Virginia town with a police department provide police services to a town with no police force and receive that town's fines to pay the officer?
No. The Attorney General concluded that § 15.2-1726 did not authorize the proposed agreement because the second municipality had no police force or authority to establish one. Without a valid reciproc…
Can a Texas city or county limit housing density or lot size through subdivision platting in a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction?
It depends, and the Attorney General would not resolve it. Chapters 212 and 232 of the Local Government Code let cities and counties regulate plats and subdivisions, including in a city's extraterrito…
Can a Texas Lottery Commission member host or sponsor a political fundraiser or solicit campaign contributions?
Possibly not, depending on the facts. Government Code section 467.025(a)(5) bars a Lottery Commission member from directly or indirectly coercing, commanding, or advising anyone to contribute anything…
Can the Governor of West Virginia (or his chief of staff) freeze discretionary salary increases at an independent Chapter 30 licensing board, like the Board of Dental Examiners, that is funded entirely from licensure fees and does not report to a cabinet secretary?
No. The AG concluded that the West Virginia Board of Dental Examiners, a Chapter 30 licensing board, is statutorily independent of the Governor's executive control. The Legislature gave the Board sole…
Can a Delaware city committee meet privately to interview vendors competing for a public contract?
Yes, on the substance, the AG found: interviewing and ranking competing engineering firms' confidential proposals qualified for FOIA's trade-secrets exemption. But the city still violated FOIA because…
When is a wild animal 'previously captured' so that beating or killing it counts as criminal animal cruelty in Texas?
A wild animal counts as 'previously captured' if it was confined against its will at some point before the cruel act. The Attorney General was asked to define 'previously captured' in Penal Code secti…
Can a Texas county commissioner also be paid as an employee of the county sheriff's department?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Local Government Code section 81.002(a), which requires a county commissioner to swear not to be interested, directly or indirectly, in a contract with or claim…
Can a Texas auto shop put a mechanic's lien on a car it never actually repaired?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Property Code section 70.001(a) gives a possessory lien only to a worker 'who by labor repairs' an article, including a vehicle. If a shop performs no repairs, …
Does filing a campaign treasurer appointment or hinting at a run force a Texas constable to automatically resign under resign-to-run?
Not on these facts, and the law shielding the treasurer filing is likely valid. Article XVI, section 65 of the Texas Constitution automatically removes certain officeholders, including constables, who…
Does a Texas county judge lose magistrate powers when the county court loses its criminal and civil jurisdiction?
No. The Aransas County Attorney asked whether the 2001 creation of a county court at law, which stripped the constitutional county court of its probate, juvenile, civil, and criminal jurisdiction, als…
Does a Texas school district's TRS contribution use the teacher minimum salary including the temporary 2006 $250 raise?
No. The Commissioner of Education asked how to read Education Code section 21.402 when calculating a school district's share of the state's Teacher Retirement System (TRS) contribution. Government Cod…
Does paying for individual health insurance through a pre-tax cafeteria plan make it an employer plan and block Texas Risk Pool eligibility?
It can, but the key questions are facts the Attorney General could not resolve. The senator asked whether paying individual health-plan premiums through a cafeteria plan funded entirely by pre-tax sal…
Can a Texas county tax assessor-collector pay deputies extra from certificate-of-title fees without commissioners court approval?
No. The Frio County Attorney asked whether the county tax assessor-collector (TAC) could give her salaried deputies extra pay out of the $5 portion of certificate-of-title fees the office collects und…
Can a Texas county clerk pay her deputies extra from the records management and preservation fund without commissioners court approval?
Mostly no. The Frio County Attorney asked whether the county clerk could supplement her deputies' pay out of the clerk's records management and preservation fund without going through the commissioner…
Did Vermont's industrial hemp bill, H. 267, become law when the Governor took no action on it after the legislature had already adjourned?
Yes, it more likely than not became law. Under Vt. Const. ch. II § 11, a bill becomes law if the Governor neither signs nor returns it within five days after presentation. The narrow adjournment excep…
Does a Texas school district have to pay municipal impact fees for new school construction?
No, not unless it agrees to. The Commissioner of Education asked, for the Spring Independent School District, whether impact fees can be imposed on school district property under chapter 395 of the Lo…
Can a Texas county officer keep collected fees in a personal bank account instead of the county treasury?
No. The Montague County Attorney asked whether county officials who collect fees (the sheriff, county clerk, district clerk, and two justices of the peace) could put those funds in individual bank acc…
Does keeping a boat at a seasonal Fire Island marina on a 17-day transient permit count as a 'residence' that lets a mainland volunteer firefighter offer ongoing help to the Davis Park Fire Department?
No. General Municipal Law § 209-i(1-a) lets a non-member volunteer firefighter give ongoing assistance to another company if the firefighter is regularly in the area because of 'residence or usual occ…
Can a countywide wet/dry vote in Texas change the alcohol rules in a city or precinct that already voted dry?
No. The Brazoria County Criminal District Attorney asked what could be sold, and what county clerks could certify, in three areas (former Justice Precinct 5, the City of Sweeny inside it, and the City…
Can a Georgia juvenile-justice probation officer draft delinquency petitions and assist with prosecution paperwork without practicing law without a license?
Yes for paperwork, no for prosecution. Probation staff may help district attorneys gather files and draft delinquency petitions, but they cannot conduct accusatory proceedings or sign off as the respo…
Can a New York elected county sheriff appear in a public service announcement about handicapped parking, paid for with mandatory surcharge dollars collected from people who violated those parking laws?
No. Public Officers Law § 73-b prohibits any elected official from appearing in an advertisement (including a public service announcement) paid for with funds of the state, a political subdivision, or…
Can someone serve on a New York city's board of ethics and on the local school board at the same time, or are those positions incompatible?
Incompatible. City board of ethics members are public officers holding a 'city office' because the board exercises sovereign authority, sets its own procedures, and renders the city's final determinat…
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.