State AG Opinions
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What counted as an invasive surgical procedure for South Carolina’s 2013 coroner death-notification law?
The AG read “invasive surgical procedure” in its ordinary, contemporary medical sense, drawing on definitions involving entry into the body by puncture, incision, or an instrument. It declined to…
How should Virginia classify the three-wheeled ScootCoupe vehicles for driver licensing, titling, insurance, and traffic enforcement?
The smaller PS50 (49.2cc, 30 mph) is a 'motor vehicle.' The larger PS150 (147.5cc, 55 mph) is a 'motorcycle.' Neither qualifies as a moped, motorized scooter, or motor-driven cycle under § 46.2-100,…
Does a Virginia parcel with woodland, swamp, and a home site qualify for the use-value land tax program if it falls short of the minimum acreage?
No. To qualify, land must both fit a § 58.1-3230 classification (agricultural, horticultural, forest, or open-space) AND meet the § 58.1-3233(2) minimum acreage for that classification (5 acres…
Could a South Carolina city council member also serve on the Small Business Regulatory Review Committee?
Yes, in the AG’s view. A city council seat was a public office, but membership on the advisory Review Committee was not an office for the constitutional dual-office prohibition.
Does Arkansas Amendment 33 protect a college board if the school began as a local or private institution?
A board of a current Arkansas state college can receive Amendment 33 protection even if the college was not a state institution in 1943. Powers exercised by a local or private predecessor do not…
Can a Tennessee state legislator or a county official also serve on a county soil conservation district board?
A state legislator cannot. The Tennessee Constitution's prohibition on holding more than one lucrative state office (Art. II, § 26) bars it, because a Soil Conservation District seat is a state…
Can a New York town council member also serve as the town's financial operations manager when the town is in fiscal crisis and needs experienced help?
No. The town board (which includes council members) supervises the financial operations manager and audits the town's finances. Having a council member also serve as financial operations manager…
If a Tennessee subdivision plat was improperly approved by the planning commission and recorded with the register of deeds, can the county pull it back?
Generally no, without a court order. The AG concluded that a recorded plat is presumed valid until a court rules otherwise. No Tennessee statute lets a county unilaterally remove a recorded plat…
Could a South Carolina police department spend drug forfeiture money on general police equipment?
The AG said the listed equipment could be bought with drug forfeiture funds if used primarily for the department’s drug enforcement activities, subject to the law and earlier opinions. It declined…
Can an Arkansas school release an employee's attendance and leave records under FOIA when the employee objects?
The AG could not decide whether the particular records should be released because he had not seen them. He said attendance and leave records generally should be disclosed under Arkansas FOIA and…
Can a Tennessee clinical laboratory pay 85% of a doctor's electronic health records software cost if that doctor sends specimens to the lab for analysis?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-29-129(7) bars the proposed monetary EHR-software donation when the physician continues or begins referring specimens to the donor…
Could Bogalusa lease a vacant industrial-park building for a charter school or skating rink?
The AG said Bogalusa could lease property no longer needed for public purposes, subject to required procedure and fair-market value. Its headnote said the industrial-park restrictions had to be…
Must a South Carolina city disclose finalist job applications when one employee, rather than the council, makes the hire?
Yes. The AG concluded that materials for a final pool of at least three applicants had to be disclosed even if an individual public employee made the hiring decision. The opinion also said the…
When a county commission must appoint someone to fill a sheriff vacancy with someone from the same political party as the previous sheriff, does it matter how long the appointee has been a member of that party?
No. The AG concluded that W. Va. Code § 3-10-8 requires the appointee to be 'of the same political party as the officeholder vacating the office,' but the statute does not impose any minimum…
Could a Maryland funeral home raise the price of goods and services prepaid in a pre-need contract?
The Attorney General concluded that goods and services included and prepaid in a money-trusted pre-need funeral contract had to have guaranteed prices. A contract could estimate costs for expected…
Could a South Carolina magistrate use contempt authority when a defendant violated a no-contact bond condition outside court?
The AG concluded that magistrates possessed contempt authority to enforce court orders, including bond-release conditions, despite the narrower wording of the magistrate contempt statute. Whether…
Can VDOT charge businesses a fee to distribute travel guides at Virginia highway rest areas, or does the First Amendment block it?
No, the First Amendment does not block the fees. Interstate rest areas are non-public forums, and when VDOT acts in a proprietary capacity (running them like a private landlord), it may negotiate…
Why did the petition to recall Robeline's police chief fail despite using a valid form?
The AG found that the recall petition used a compliant form but lacked valid signatures: the registrar reported zero genuine signatures from qualified electors. It therefore did not meet the…
Did a South Carolina police department have to repay fire academy costs when it hired another city’s public safety officer?
The AG said the hiring department did not owe reimbursement under the cited statute for costs unrelated to mandatory law enforcement training and certification. Necessary travel expenses for…
Would Tennessee's proposed 'guns in parking lots' bill (SB142) replace or just add to the existing exceptions for firearms on school property?
It would just add to the existing exceptions. The AG concluded that SB142 did not explicitly or implicitly repeal the existing exceptions in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1309(c)(1) (nonstudent adult…
Could the Tennessee legislature pass a law declaring federal firearms regulations unenforceable inside the state?
No. The AG concluded that both HB42 and SB250 would violate the Supremacy Clause if enacted. Tennessee cannot nullify validly enacted federal law, cannot criminalize federal officers performing…
Could a South Carolina county create a voluntary agricultural district program by ordinance without a specific enabling act?
The AG concluded that home-rule powers supported a local ordinance establishing a voluntary agricultural district program without a separate enabling statute. It cautioned that a local ordinance…
Can the Virginia General Assembly delegate final say over a budget item, like Medicaid expansion, to a small subset of legislators?
No. Article IV, § 11 of the Virginia Constitution requires that a bill be passed by a majority of those voting in each house, and budget bills require an affirmative vote of a majority of all the…
Could a Louisiana state representative serve on the Southern University Foundation board?
The AG concluded that Louisiana's dual-officeholding law did not prohibit a state representative from serving on the private Southern University Foundation board. The board role could not conflict…
Could a Kenner firefighter also work full time for another Louisiana fire department?
The AG concluded that Louisiana's dual-officeholding law barred the firefighter from holding two full-time positions with separate public fire departments. The opinion noted that a second part-time…
Can Florida's Conference of Circuit Judges use private donations to hire a lobbyist?
Yes. The AG concluded that neither section 11.062(1) nor section 216.345(1) restricts the Conference of Circuit Judges, a nonprofit corporation, from using privately donated funds to retain a…
May an Arkansas county buy coffee, bottled water, food for employees or visitors, and meals for jurors?
The AG gave no blanket yes or no for refreshments for county employees, officials, or visitors; the answer depended on authority, public purpose, and the circumstances. State law expressly required…
Does a Tennessee nonprofit have to count unpaid volunteer board members or officers toward the four-employee threshold that triggers unemployment insurance premiums?
No, in the AG's view. The Tennessee unemployment statute should be read in pari materia with federal unemployment and Social Security tax law, which excludes corporate officers who perform no…
Would the proposed Tennessee Constitution amendment changing how appellate judges are selected conflict with any other part of the state constitution?
No. The AG concluded that SJR2 (which would change Article VI, § 3 so appellate judges are gubernatorial appointees confirmed by the General Assembly, then subject to retention elections) did not…
What did Idaho's AG say about the February 2013 medical marijuana ballot initiative?
The AG said Idaho could create its own marijuana exceptions, but those would not stop federal prosecutions or affect federal civil laws. The certificate also identified specific drafting problems…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the ballot title for a proposed medical marijuana initiative in 2013?
The AG found ambiguities in the proposed initiative itself, including a broken cross-reference and unclear defined terms, that prevented him from writing a fair and complete ballot title. He…
Can a Texas judge order a probation department director to personally prepare a presentence investigation report?
The Hunt County District Attorney and County Attorney asked whether a district judge could compel the local community supervision (probation) department's director to personally prepare and present…
Can a Texas economic development corporation get its employees health benefits through a government risk pool?
State Senator John Carona asked whether an economic development corporation could cover its employees through a risk pool set up under chapter 172 of the Local Government Code, since those pools are…
Can a city council member step aside during a public meeting to talk privately with a city employee?
A district attorney asked whether a member of a governmental body, such as a city council member, may leave an open public meeting to confer privately with an employee of that body while a quorum…
Could the Richland-Lexington Airport Commission use unused 1985 bond authority to refinance its 2001 revenue bonds?
Probably, according to the AG. The office considered the 1985 act ambiguous but thought a court would more likely allow the airport district to use remaining general obligation bond authority to…
Could a South Carolina probate court record a marriage without an issued license or certificate?
No, under the facts presented. The AG read the missing-certificate recording provision as applying where a marriage license and certificate had previously been issued, or to marriages before…
Must an Arkansas school district release background-check reports for its security guards under FOIA?
The AG said a hired public employee’s background-check report was generally a personnel record for release after required redactions. It could not decide whether any particular report should be…
Does time working for an Arkansas city count toward its nonuniformed pension after an employee stops contributing?
The AG said service counted toward the fund’s retirement thresholds only when the employee made required contributions throughout that service. It declined to decide this former clerk’s personal…
May an Arkansas mayor attend civil service commission interviews for a police or fire chief?
The mayor could attend a public commission meeting but could ask applicants questions only with the board’s consent. The mayor could not attend a closed executive session.
Can Tennessee phase in the property tax increase that follows when a business owner makes capital improvements?
No. The AG concluded that a four-year phase-in of the increased assessment value resulting from business capital improvements would be a partial property tax exemption, and Article II, Section 28,…
Can a Tennessee juvenile court judge or clerk announce, without anyone asking, that a teenager was charged with a serious violent crime?
Yes. The AG concluded that for the specific serious offenses listed in Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-153(b)(2) (murder, rape, aggravated robbery, kidnapping, and the like) committed by a juvenile 14 or…
Can Virginia police passively collect license plate reader data and store it for future use, or does the Data Act limit them to active, case-specific collection?
Active LPR use (running plates against existing alerts, real-time investigations) is fine under the Data Act's law enforcement exemption. But passive, continuous LPR collection of every plate seen,…
Did South Carolina’s archaeological-resource law protect artifacts on private land without a state historic-site designation?
The AG believed the statute could apply to protected archaeological resources on another person’s land without a separate historic-site designation. It declined to decide whether a particular…
Could Arkansas police records about an officer’s outside classes be released under FOIA despite his harassment complaint?
The AG said records about the officer’s classes appeared to be personnel records requiring the ordinary privacy review. The requester’s alleged motive did not control FOIA disclosure. Because the AG…
Can an Arkansas city release thousands of requested emails without reviewing them for FOIA exemptions?
No. The city had to examine the emails, withhold or redact exempt information, and release nonexempt public records. The volume did not excuse withholding nonexempt records, and the city could not…
Can a service member's child get Virginia in-state tuition when the parent is deployed and Virginia is not listed on the military orders?
No. Under the facts presented, dependents of two service members on unaccompanied deployments could not qualify for in-state tuition through the parents' military status. The one-year domicile…
Can two or more Virginia counties or cities pool their cash into a single investment fund, and can that pool be organized as a trust fund?
Yes to both. Two or more Virginia political subdivisions may exercise their statutory investment powers jointly through a pooled investment program, and they may organize the pool as a trust fund.…
Did the Arkansas AG approve release of a former employee’s entire personnel file with only family and Social Security details redacted?
No such approval was given. The AG had not seen the records or been told the grounds for the former employee’s objection, so it could not decide whether any specific document should be released. It…
Can an Arkansas initiative sponsor get a ballot title certified without submitting the proposed amendment text?
No. The Attorney General returned three proposed popular names and ballot titles without certification because the sponsor had not submitted the text of the proposed constitutional amendments.
Could Acadia Parish donate land or lease it cheaply to a nonprofit pet adoption center?
The AG said Acadia Parish could not simply donate public land to Second Chance Paws. It could lease land no longer needed for a public purpose, but the rent had to be commensurate with fair market…
Can a Florida county spend tourist development tax money on beach erosion control and inlet dredging?
The AG's office declined to rule on Collier County's specific ordinance, since it does not interpret local codes. As a general matter, it explained that section 125.0104(5)(a)4. authorizes tourist…
Could the South Carolina housing authority sign a Fannie Mae agreement making it financially responsible for Fannie Mae’s losses?
The AG concluded that the proposed agreement was unenforceable against the housing authority because it assumed liabilities beyond those allowed by sovereign immunity and the Tort Claims Act.…
If a doctor or veterinarian is allowed to dispense drugs to their patients without a pharmacy license, does the office or clinic where they dispense still need to register as a 'drug outlet' with the Oregon Board of Pharmacy?
Yes. The AG concluded the personal-licensing exemption in ORS 689.225(1) only spares the practitioner from getting a pharmacy license; it does not exempt the practice site from the separate drug…
Can Florida's Commission on Human Relations dismiss a discrimination complaint when the employer has fewer than 15 employees?
Yes. The AG's office advised that because Florida's Civil Rights Act defines 'employer' as a person with 15 or more employees, the Commission on Human Relations may dismiss a complaint when it is…
Did a South Carolina process server trespass by serving court papers at a property marked “No Trespassing”?
The AG predicted that a court would likely find no trespass while a process server acted within the scope of serving court papers, even in the posted-property or leave-demand scenarios. It cautioned…
Can a Texas county require trash service in a city's extraterritorial area without the city's agreement?
A state representative asked whether a county could provide mandatory solid waste (trash) disposal service, by contract or otherwise, in part of the county that lies within a city's extraterritorial…
Does a Texas city need a voter election before collecting crime and fire district sales tax in limited-purpose annexed areas?
A state representative asked, on behalf of a former colleague, whether the Comptroller could adopt rules that effectively stop a city from imposing a sales and use tax under an existing strategic…
Can a Texas prosecutor make you plead guilty to get into a pretrial diversion program?
The Office of Court Administration asked whether a prosecutor may require a defendant to plead guilty as a condition of entering a pretrial intervention (pretrial diversion) program under section…
What kinds of fees can a Tennessee county or city charge a private ambulance service operating in its area?
A county could set a franchise fee reasonably related to regulating an authorized ambulance provider, regardless of where the provider was based. A city or county service needed the other…
Could the Tennessee legislature move a piece of property from Davidson County into Wilson County?
Yes, under the conditions described. The opinion found that the proposed transfer met the Tennessee Constitution's 11-mile and 500-square-mile limits; the two-thirds voter rule applies to creating…
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