State AG Opinions
Free state attorney general opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
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Can the Texas Racing Commission grant a racetrack license if the county never formally certified its local option election to the Secretary of State on time?
It depends. This 2004 opinion held that some certification to the Secretary of State is mandatory before the Commission may accept or act on a license application, but the specific form of certificati…
Can a Texas medical board deny a license to a joint MD/PhD graduate who passed the required licensing exam a few months after the statutory deadline?
This 2004 opinion concluded yes: the Occupations Code deadline for joint-degree graduates to finish the medical licensing exam is mandatory, not merely directory, so the doctrine of substantial compli…
If a newly formed Delaware county committee gathers on just 24 hours' notice but doesn't actually discuss any county business, does that violate the open meeting law?
No, according to this opinion. The AG found the county should have given the normal seven days' notice rather than treating the committee's first gathering as a 'special' meeting, but that the gatheri…
Who decides whether a Texas navigation district's board members get retirement and medical benefits, the district board or the county commissioners court?
This 2004 opinion concluded the district board itself decides, because the county commissioners court's authority under Water Code section 62.070 covers only monetary pay, while sections 60.011 and 60…
When two Texas appraisal districts overlap and disagree on a property's value, do they have to use the lowest market value, the lowest appraised value, or both?
This 2004 opinion concluded chief appraisers in overlapping districts must enter both the lowest market value and the lowest appraised value on the tax rolls, not just one or the other, whenever the d…
Can the Texas Real Estate Commission make rules requiring a real estate broker to actually negotiate for a client instead of just listing the property?
Yes, this 2004 opinion concluded the Commission could adopt three proposed rules spelling out what counts as negotiating on a client's behalf, because they clarified an existing rule and the Occupatio…
Does a Texas state agency have to get equal employment opportunity training only after the Texas Workforce Commission finds reasonable cause that discrimination happened?
No, this 2004 opinion concluded the training requirement in Labor Code section 21.556(a) is triggered once a complaint is determined to have merit, a lower threshold than a formal reasonable cause fin…
Is the Texas Border Health Institute a state agency that has to follow open meetings, public records, and state procurement rules?
This 2004 opinion concluded the Border Health Institute is neither a true state agency nor a local political subdivision, a hybrid entity, but it must still comply with the Open Meetings Act and Publi…
Can a homeowners association or developer foreclose on a Texas home for unpaid HOA fees even though homestead law protects homes from creditors?
Yes, this 2004 opinion concluded that under Inwood North Homeowners' Ass'n v. Harris and its later reaffirmation in Brooks v. Northglen Ass'n, a developer may impose a covenant lien on land before it …
Can Texas Indian tribes legally run casino-style gambling or video lottery terminals on their land?
As of this 2004 opinion, no. The two federally recognized tribes then covered by the special Restoration Act, the Alabama-Coushatta and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, were barred from operating video lott…
Can a Texas county keep its county clerk out of the commissioners court's closed executive sessions, and who controls the tape recording afterward?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion, a commissioners court has discretion whether to admit the county clerk to its executive sessions, and the court itself, not the clerk, is the proper custodian of a…
Can a Texas home-rule city extend the life of a tax increment financing reinvestment zone past the deadline in its original ordinance?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Because tax increment financing is a narrow constitutional exception to the equal-and-uniform taxation rule that exists only through legislative authorization, and …
A current NC school district employee won an election to that same school board. State law says board members can't also be employees. He won't retire until February. Can he take office in December anyway, and if not, who gets the seat?
No. § 115C-37(g) forces him to resign his employment before he can take the oath. If he doesn't resign by the December organizational meeting, his failure to qualify creates a vacancy. Under the Nash-…
Can the New York State Comptroller see confidential New York City tax returns when auditing the city's Department of Finance?
Yes. The State Comptroller is authorized under state law (and ultimately the State Constitution) to access otherwise-confidential tax information held by the New York City Department of Finance when c…
Does a paralegal or legal assistant working under a Texas attorney need a private investigator license to gather evidence or information for a case?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Because attorneys practicing law are exempt from the Private Security Act, and their employees who investigate on the attorney's behalf are working in connection wi…
If a licensed Texas engineer seals a set of plans but their employer's firm isn't registered with the state engineering board, are the plans still valid?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion. The Texas Engineering Practice Act ties the validity of a sealed engineering document to the individual engineer's license and seal, not to whether the engineer's …
Can a Texas district attorney also work as a paid part-time teacher at a community college?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion. Because a community college instructor does not hold a constitutional civil office of emolument, teaching is not the practice of law, and neither the appointment, …
Can the Texas Office of Fire Fighters' Pension Commissioner charge volunteer fire departments a fee to help administer their retirement fund?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Because the statute governing the Texas Statewide Emergency Services Retirement Act only lets the Commissioner pay administrative expenses from fund investment inco…
If a North Carolina District Court Judge-elect dies before taking office, when does the vacancy arise and who fills it?
The vacancy arises when the election is certified, not when the judge-elect dies. The AG concluded the District Bar then has 30 days to submit three names to the Governor under § 7A-142, the Governor …
Can a Maryland town charge new home developments an impact fee to pay for police and fire protection?
Generally no. The opinion agreed that the City of Taneytown could not impose an impact fee on new development to fund police and fire protection without enabling legislation from the General Assembly,…
Are Texas hospitals protected from lawsuits if a Medicare patient is hurt by a flu or pneumonia vaccine given under a standing hospital order?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Texas Health and Safety Code section 161.001(a) only shields vaccine administrators when the immunization is required by the Board of Health or by another law or ru…
Can a newspaper get a police accident report if it isn't a party to a lawsuit the county says the report relates to?
The county couldn't use the pending-litigation exemption against a non-party newspaper, according to this opinion, but the AG still found the accident report exempt for a different, independent reason…
Can the Texas governor sell part of Republic Square park in Austin to the federal government without a special act of the legislature?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion, assuming the state still owns Republic Square. Texas Government Code chapter 2204 already lets the Governor sell state land or an easement to the United States for…
Does an Oregon police officer have to file an accident report after deliberately ramming a fleeing suspect's vehicle, and what happens if the officer doesn't?
Yes, if the officer was driving the patrol vehicle when the intentional collision occurred and the collision met the ORS 811.720 thresholds (injury, death, or serious property damage). The 2004 AG opi…
Can a Texas home-rule city's charter limit how often residents can petition for an election to adopt a property tax freeze for seniors or disabled homeowners?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion. A home-rule city charter provision that caps special elections on voter-initiated ordinances at once every six months, and bars a repeat election on a defeated mea…
Can a Texas municipal management district use eminent domain to condemn private property?
It depends on which law created the district, according to this 2004 opinion. A municipal management district created under Local Government Code chapter 375 has no eminent domain power at all, chapte…
Can a Maryland state agency use money from a dedicated special fund for purposes the budget bill adds, if the fund's own statute doesn't allow them?
No. The opinion concluded that money in the Special Administrative Expense Fund, a dedicated fund for administering Maryland's Unemployment Insurance Law, can only be spent on the purposes the SAEF st…
Are the staff (not just trustees) of New York's Interest on Lawyer Account Fund entitled to state-funded defense and indemnification under Public Officers Law § 17?
Yes. Despite the IOLA enabling act mentioning only trustees as 'employees of the state' for § 17 purposes, IOLA staff are also entitled to state defense and indemnification. The Legislature's purpose,…
After the Town of Brookhaven adopted ward-based elections, are council members serving two-year or four-year terms, and does the town's local term-limits law still apply?
Two years. Once Brookhaven adopted the ward system in 2002, Town Law § 85 controls and replaces the staggered four-year terms set by the 1959 special act. The four-year reference in the 1959 act was t…
Can a Texas city pass a civil-penalty ordinance for any class C misdemeanor under Local Government Code section 54.012(5), or only for health and safety violations?
Only for health and safety matters, according to this 2004 opinion. Section 54.012(5) is not a stand-alone grant letting a municipality impose civil penalties for any conduct classified as a class C m…
Can a Georgia county adopt an ordinance that puts the county's portion of a criminal fine first in line for partial payments, ahead of the priority list in O.C.G.A. § 15-6-95?
No. The Attorney General concluded that O.C.G.A. § 15-6-95 sets a comprehensive statewide order for distributing partial payments of criminal fines, forfeitures, and costs received by superior court c…
If a Texas state agency cancels a request for proposal, can it return a bidder's confidential submission to the company that sent it?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Materials a business submits in response to a state agency's request for offer are state records under chapter 441 of the Government Code, so the agency must keep t…
Can a Texas economic development corporation spend section 4B sales tax money on a youth football field?
It depends on the exact wording voters approved, according to this 2004 opinion. For Gun Barrel City specifically, the actual ballot proposition voters approved in 1997 authorized 4B sales tax spendin…
Could the Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation pay a $300,000 grant and sales-tax refund promised to a private retailer?
No on the facts presented. The city could not bind or spend money for the separate development corporation, the proposed grant and sales-tax refund were not a project under former law, and the EDC boa…
When does a newly elected Texas sheriff take office if they are replacing someone the Commissioners Court appointed to fill a vacancy?
On January 1 of the year following the election, according to this 2004 opinion. Even though the appointed incumbent's statutory term runs only until the next general election, article XVI, section 17…
If a veteran files an honorable discharge certificate with the county clerk, can anyone (employers, businesses, genealogists) get a copy of it?
Only if the veteran has not asked to have it sealed. Civil Rights Law § 79-g lets the veteran direct the county clerk to seal a filed honorable discharge certificate. Once sealed, the record is access…
Can a Texas city or county put its crime control and prevention district's money into the city's own general revenue fund?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Local Government Code section 363.208 requires a crime control and prevention district's funds to sit in a special account in the creating city or county's deposito…
Can a Texas county use jail inmate labor to set up and tear down events at fundraisers the county co-hosts with a nonprofit organization?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Code of Criminal Procedure article 43.10(4) only authorizes county inmate labor on the county's own public works and maintenance projects, and a nonprofit's fundrai…
If county council members reach agreement over a series of one-on-one phone calls, does that count as an illegal secret meeting under Delaware's FOIA?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2004. The AG found New Castle County Council members violated FOIA when one councilman built a signed consensus of a quorum through a series of one-on-one phone calls…
Can a Delaware school board hold a retreat out of state to discuss district business without public notice?
No, under the law as it stood in 2004. The AG found the Cape Henlopen School Board violated FOIA when a quorum of members discussed district business at a retreat in Chestertown, Maryland, both becaus…
Is the Texas grandparent visitation law constitutional after the Supreme Court's Troxel v. Granville decision?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion. Family Code section 153.433 is constitutional on its face, but a court applying it must require the grandparent to overcome a presumption that a fit parent is acti…
Can a Texas district attorney's office keep forfeited property, like seized vehicles or cash, for its own use?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion. A district attorney's office qualifies as a "law enforcement agency" under Code of Criminal Procedure article 59.01(5) because it employs peace officers, so an att…
Can a Delaware school district keep its union contract negotiation drafts and strategy secret until a final deal is reached?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG found draft contract proposals and negotiating strategy tied to ongoing collective bargaining are exempt from FOIA and can be discussed in closed executive sessi…
Are NC Tax Review Board meetings subject to the Open Meetings Law, and what tax information can board members discuss publicly?
Yes for general meetings, no for deliberations. The AG concluded the Tax Review Board was a public body subject to the Open Meetings Law, but the § 143-318.18(7) exemption let it deliberate in closed …
Does a Texas licensing board have to offer online license renewal even when state law requires applicants to physically submit a paper document, like a health certificate?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion. The State Board of Barber Examiners must participate in the TexasOnline electronic licensing system because the law requiring participation and the law requiring a…
Does Texas's Public Funds Investment Act limit how a municipal utility can invest nuclear plant decommissioning trust money?
No, according to this 2004 opinion, as long as the municipal utility holds the decommissioning trust funds only as a custodian to pay decommissioning costs on behalf of the selling utility's customers…
Can a New York village set its own truck weight limits and write tickets for commercial vehicle safety violations, or do state laws preempt that?
A village may pass a local law excluding from designated village highways trucks below the state maximum weight in VTL § 385, but it may not duplicate § 385 itself; conduct that violates the state wei…
Does a city charter amendment that guarantees every speaker at least five minutes of preliminary public comment at council meetings require a public referendum to pass?
Yes. A Binghamton charter amendment requiring the City Council to give every speaker at least five minutes of preliminary public comment before the legislative agenda would substantially constrain how…
Can a Texas police officer take an off-duty job as a private security guard without breaking the law against public officials accepting honoraria?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion. A commissioned peace officer's typical off-duty security work does not violate the Penal Code's honorarium ban, because employers hire the officer for training and…
Can a hospital, doctor, or other HIPAA-covered entity legally hand over a child's protected health records to the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel or to a county-level child fatality review committee without patient or family authorization?
Yes. HIPAA's privacy rule (45 C.F.R. § 164.512(b)) lets covered entities disclose protected health information without authorization to a 'public health authority' that's authorized by law to collect …
Can someone with a sealed criminal record in Texas voluntarily let a federal background check see it anyway?
Not by waiving the order themselves, according to this 2004 opinion, since Texas law gives no one the power to waive a section 411.081(d) nondisclosure order. But the record can still legally reach an…
Can a Texas sheriff's civil service commission restrict who a sheriff is allowed to hire as a deputy?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion. Unlike a county commissioners court, which cannot tell a sheriff whom to select, a civil service commission created under Local Government Code chapter 158, subcha…
Can the Texas board that licenses real estate appraisers add its own classroom-hour requirements for appraiser trainees?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Occupations Code chapter 1103 lets the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board set qualifications for certificate and license categories, but a trainee ho…
Could Weatherford College lease campus land on favorable terms to a Methodist-affiliated nonprofit for a student center and chapel?
Potentially. The college district had implied authority to lease land to a private nonprofit, including a religiously affiliated one, but the lease could not impair college use or surrender board cont…
Can a Texas school district discipline its own police officers without giving them a copy of a signed written complaint first?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. The Education Code rules on school district peace officers don't override the Government Code's complaint procedure, so a school district police department still ha…
Can a Georgia city pledge its full faith and credit (its taxing power) to secure a loan from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority for water or sewer projects without holding a voter referendum?
Yes. Under the intergovernmental contracts clause of the Georgia Constitution (Art. IX, § III, ¶ I(a)), GEFA loans for water and sewer facilities are treated as a contractual 'service' rather than as …
Can a Texas county clerk also serve as a director of a river authority at the same time?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion. Both jobs would normally count as a paid 'civil office of emolument,' which the Texas Constitution bars one person from holding two of at once, but Government Code…
If a NC notary public is being reappointed, can they take the oath of office before the effective date of the new commission, or do they have to wait until the new term starts?
They can take the oath any time within 90 days of commissioning, before or after the effective date. Under the current Notary Public Act (Chapter 10A), there's no statutory requirement to wait for the…
By 2004 the City of Watertown was seeing more and more electric scooters: kick-style two-wheeled platforms, electric mopeds, motorized-bicycle-looking devices, some capable of 38 mph. Riders of all ages were using them on public and private property. Watertown's city attorney wanted to know whether these things could legally be driven on the public highways of South Dakota.
Mostly no. AG Lawrence Long classified all electric motor scooters with two or three wheels as 'motorcycles' under SDCL 32-20-1(3), which expressly includes scooters with platforms in addition to scoo…
Do neighborhood deed restrictions apply to land a Texas public university acquired by purchase or condemnation?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Under Texas case law, deed restrictions and restrictive covenants don't bind a governmental entity, particularly one with condemnation power, on property it acquire…
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