State AG Opinions
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Can Maine's Legislature create a trust to lock in dedicated revenue funds and stop a future Legislature from sweeping them?
No. The Attorney General concluded the Legislature cannot establish a trust over public dedicated revenue funds that would prevent a later Legislature from reallocating them. An irrevocable public-fun…
Can members of a Delaware public body violate the open meeting law by discussing business over email instead of meeting in person?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG found, as a matter of first impression, that a quorum of a committee actively exchanging opinions and reaching consensus by email over two days counted as a 'mee…
When the Oregon State Land Board manages state forest lands dedicated to the Common School Fund, can it pay the management costs out of the Fund's principal: and what about its operating costs?
Yes on both. The 2003 AG opinion concluded that under Article VIII, section 2(2) of the Oregon Constitution, the Board could spend Common School Fund principal to pay the full range of expenses of man…
Can a school board hold a meeting with only 24 hours' notice if weather delayed its scheduling?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found Christina School District properly gave only 24 hours' notice of a meeting because a week of snow closures had prevented earlier scheduling with de…
Does Delaware's public records law let a county withhold documents while an administrative appeal about a subdivision is pending?
Yes, according to this opinion, when the appeal is filed close in time to the records request and the documents relate directly to the issue on appeal. The AG found a quasi-judicial administrative app…
Can New York county water and sewer district boards pay members a $50 flat meeting fee, and can a town supervisor double as district administrator with employees of town water districts staffing the county districts?
Flat meeting fees not allowed under County Law § 203(4): members get actual and necessary expenses only. Town supervisor and district administrator are compatible offices, but County Law § 261 bars ad…
How should Georgia clerks of court calculate and distribute the Peace Officer and Prosecutor Training Fund (POPTF) penalty and other surcharges on criminal and traffic fines, especially when the sentencing judge does not mention them, when the defendant pays only part of the fine, or when the court is a probate court?
The Attorney General set out five answers. First, when a sentencing judge is silent on the POPTF penalty, the clerk must still assess and collect it because the penalty is imposed by operation of law.…
Can a New York non-charter county pass a local law charging probationers fees for services like pre-sentence reports, drug tests, electronic monitoring, and victim impact panels?
No. The State preempted the field of probation services, and counties may not impose new fees beyond those specifically authorized by statute (Executive Law § 257-c for certain VTL convictions; Family…
Can a New York physician enter a do-not-resuscitate order on a patient over the objection of the patient's health care agent or surrogate when the doctor believes CPR would be medically futile?
No. When a patient is incapacitated and did not consent in advance, Public Health Law § 2965 requires the consent of the patient's health care agent or surrogate before a DNR order can be entered, eve…
Can a Maryland school system or other public employer deduct an employee's military pay from their civilian salary while they're on active National Guard duty?
The opinion concluded that a Maryland public employee, including a school system employee, called to active duty with the National Guard was entitled to full civilian pay with no deduction for the mil…
Can the same person serve on a New York county planning board while also holding municipal positions in towns and villages within the same county, and what recusal duties apply?
Yes, with significant caveats. The positions were compatible, but under General Municipal Law § 239-c(2)(c) the individual would have to recuse from any matter previously before any body of the town o…
What did Idaho's AG say about a 2003 ballot initiative to allow Idaho's 'resort counties' to impose a local sales tax for property tax relief?
The AG concluded the proposal's definition of 'resort county' (population over 17,000 plus deriving a major portion of economic well-being from tourism) was sufficiently inclusive to avoid the local-o…
What did Idaho's AG say about a 2003 initiative to exempt food from Idaho sales tax by referring to the federal food stamp eligibility list?
The AG flagged that defining 'food products' by reference to 7 C.F.R. § 271.2 'as it presently reads, or as it may be amended to read in the future' would unconstitutionally delegate Idaho's legislati…
What did Idaho's AG say about the 2003 ballot initiative to restructure the Idaho Fish and Game Commission, the second such proposal in two years?
This was a substantively similar refiling of the February 2002 Fish and Game Commission restructuring initiative. The AG's review focused on the same drafting concerns: how the proposed Citizen Wildli…
Could the Vermont legislature adopt instant runoff voting for governor and other statewide offices by ordinary statute, or did it need a constitutional amendment first?
AG Sorrell concluded that voter approval of a constitutional amendment was legally required before instant runoff voting could be applied to elections for governor, lieutenant governor, and treasurer,…
Which of the eighteen new misdemeanors created by Georgia's 2002 General Assembly will trigger fingerprinting at booking under Georgia Crime Information Center procedures (after the 2003 update that adds vehicle-registration offenses)?
Twelve of the eighteen are designated fingerprintable. The Attorney General's 2003 update kept all eleven designations from 2002 Op. Att'y Gen. 02-07 and added a twelfth: knowingly driving a vehicle o…
When the NC Insurance Commissioner approves a hospital/medical service corporation's conversion to a for-profit insurance company, can he attach conditions to that approval?
Yes, but the conditions have limits. The AG concluded that the express statutory power to approve a conversion plan carries with it the implied lesser power to approve with conditions. However, any co…
How does a New York village formally transfer a village road to the county for maintenance, and what is the maintenance responsibility after that transfer?
By adding the village road to the county road system map under Highway Law § 115. Once the map is approved by the county board of supervisors and filed with the county clerk and county highway superin…
Were South Dakota pardons issued by the Governor between 1995 and 2002 automatically sealed from public view, or could the Secretary of State release them under the open records law?
It depended on which kind of pardon. The AG concluded that SDCL 24-14-11 only sealed pardons that went through the chapter 24-14 Board of Pardons and Paroles process. A pardon issued under the Governo…
Are NC public university athletic coaches' employment contracts and related vendor contracts public records subject to disclosure?
Yes. The AG concluded coaches' employment contracts contained policy/standard/duties information not covered by the personnel-file exception in § 126-22. Vendor contracts involving coaches were not co…
How late can a town council wait to approve its meeting minutes before it violates Delaware's open meeting law?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found Fenwick Island violated FOIA by leaving the minutes of fifteen 2002 meetings unapproved for two to seven months, but found no violation in how the …
Can Maine's Legislature take money out of a dedicated revenue fund, like the PUC Conservation Administration Fund, and sweep it into the General Fund?
The Attorney General concluded that the Legislature could transfer $600,000 from the Public Utilities Commission's Conservation Administration Fund to the State's General Fund because the fund was a d…
May a New York village police chief who is not currently certified by the Municipal Police Training Council carry a handgun without a license and wear a uniform and badge?
No to the handgun question; yes to the uniform and badge question. Without MPTC certification, the chief was not a 'sworn officer' under New York law and did not benefit from the licensing exemption t…
What did Idaho's AG say about the original 'Idaho Judicial Accountability Act of 2004' ballot initiative filed in January 2003?
The AG concluded the proposal would violate the separation of powers doctrine. It sought to eliminate judicial immunity, create a Special Grand Jury to review any decision in any court, abolish the Ju…
When does a regular legislative bill have to be sent to Maine voters as a 'competing measure' against an initiated bill on the same topic?
When the regular bill deals broadly with the same subject as the initiated bill, particularly in a way that is inconsistent with the initiated bill so that the two cannot stand together (Farris ex rel…
Can the Town of Seven Devils, which straddles two counties, levy a 6% occupancy tax authorized only for 'cities in Avery County'?
Probably not without risk. The AG concluded the legislative grant to 'cities in Avery County' likely did not extend to the part of Seven Devils in Watauga County, and a tax levied only on the Avery si…
Is a self-service cardlock fueling site operator responsible for collecting Oregon's use fuel tax?
Yes. The 2003 opinion concluded that a cardlock fueling operator was a 'seller' under Oregon's Use Fuel Tax Law (ORS 319.510 to 319.880) and was responsible for collecting, reporting, and remitting th…
Can a town council let some residents speak at a public meeting while refusing to let a non-property-owner respond to criticism about him?
No, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found FOIA doesn't require public bodies to allow public comment at all, but once a town opens the floor for public participation, it can't pick and choos…
Can I get copies of federal grand jury subpoenas sent to a Delaware county government through a public records request?
No, according to this opinion. The Delaware AG found that federal grand jury secrecy rules count as a statute that specifically exempts records from disclosure, so county grand jury subpoenas are not …
If a Georgia community service board (CSB) hires someone after July 1, 1996, is that employee in the State Merit System's classified service (with hearing rights before dismissal) or in the unclassified service?
Unclassified. The Attorney General concluded that O.C.G.A. § 37-2-6.1(b)(7) (which says CSB employees are 'covered employees' subject to State Merit System rules) must be read together with the 1996 c…
Can I get the name and home address of the president of a homeowners' maintenance corporation from a Delaware county?
Yes for the name and mailing address, according to this opinion, but not the home or work phone number. The AG found a maintenance corporation president has only a minimal privacy interest in the name…
Can the Georgia Board of Dentistry adopt a rule allowing licensed dental hygienists to administer local anesthesia (including controlled substances and dangerous drugs like Lidocaine) under a dentist's supervision?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that O.C.G.A. § 43-11-74 expressly removed (effective July 1, 1992) the prior statutory ban on the Board delegating local-anesthesia administration to dental hygien…
Can a town council secretly decide a zoning application in private meetings labeled 'legal advice' and then vote on it in public?
No, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found the Camden Town Council violated FOIA by holding closed-door meetings labeled 'legal advice' to actually discuss and reach consensus on a developer'…
Can a town raise its FOIA copying fees and cap staff time on records requests specifically because one resident keeps asking?
Mixed, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found South Bethany's document access itself complied with FOIA and that council members' personal notes weren't public records, but the town's resolut…
Can a New York county treasurer also serve as a sole town assessor or as a school board member when those roles interact with each other?
Mixed. County treasurer and sole appointed town assessor were incompatible because the treasurer might have to sit on an acting Board of Assessment Review reviewing his own assessments. County treasur…
Can a Delaware government withhold documents as related to 'potential litigation' with someone else entirely?
No, according to this opinion. The AG found New Castle County could not use the requester's own threatened lawsuit over one matter to withhold unrelated correspondence with a newspaper about a complet…
How independent is the NC State Treasurer from the Governor's Executive Budget Act, and what is his authority over investment-program staffing, commission rebates, contracts, and derivatives?
The State Treasurer is independent of fiscal control by the Director of the Budget or Department of Administration under G.S. § 147-68(e), but not from G.S. § 143-16.3's bar on funding items the legis…
Can a New York state agency reimburse one of its employees for legal fees paid to a private attorney to respond to an Attorney Grievance Committee complaint?
No. Public Officers Law §§ 17 and 19 cover state-employee defense in civil and criminal court proceedings, not attorney disciplinary investigations conducted by the Grievance Committee of the Appellat…
Can the Attorney Grievance Committee get a copy of a New York matrimonial file from the county clerk using a subpoena signed by the Clerk of the Appellate Division, without a court order?
No. Domestic Relations Law § 235 requires a court order before non-parties may obtain matrimonial records, and an Attorney Grievance Committee subpoena signed by the Clerk of the Appellate Division do…
Once a New York village transfers its elections to the county board of elections, can the village take them back by resolution, and does that require a referendum?
Yes. The power to enact a resolution carries with it the power to repeal it. The Village of Fredonia could resume conducting its own elections by passing a resolution rescinding the earlier transfer t…
Is $10 for a 68-page copy of a county's comprehensive land use plan a reasonable public records fee?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found Sussex County's $10.00 charge for a 68-page comprehensive land use plan, under seven cents a page, was a reasonable copying fee under FOIA, and tha…
Does a government employee's personal notes for a meeting count as a public record under Delaware's FOIA?
No, according to this opinion, as long as the notes were made only to help the employee remember things, kept in personal files, never shared, and could be discarded at any time. The AG separately fou…
Can North Carolina State University finance a hotel, conference center, and golf course on its Centennial Campus through a non-profit LLC's bond issuance backed by a university usage-purchase commitment, without violating the State Constitution's public-purpose and credit-of-the-state limits?
Probably yes, given the financing structure NCSU built. The Project has a plausible public purpose under Maready (university-related uses primarily benefiting public interests). The bond structure doe…
Does a water district board member lose their seat if a relative works for the private company that runs the district's water system?
No, under the facts presented. The Attorney General concluded that the word 'person' in Water Code section 49.052(a)(1), which disqualifies a board member related to a 'person providing professional s…
Who controls a body donated to a specific Texas medical school, and can the state Anatomical Board reassign it or ship it out of state?
It depends on which law the gift is made under. The Attorney General concluded that a body donated to an institution named in chapter 691 of the Health and Safety Code is 'received under' that chapter…
Can a Texas county lease a building to a private museum for $1 and agree to pay the upkeep and utilities for decades?
Partly. The Attorney General concluded that Midland County had authority under chapter 319 of the Local Government Code to acquire property for a museum and to lease it to the private Museum of the So…
If New York voters submit a petition to establish a ward system for town council elections, must the town board put the question on the ballot even if it never voted to do so?
Yes. Once electors filed a proper petition under Town Law § 81, the Town Board of North Hempstead had a ministerial duty to submit the ward-system proposition to the voters. No prior town board resolu…
Does a Breeders' Cup-style horse race qualify for the Texas Racing Act's special tax reimbursement meant for the Breeders' Cup?
No. The Attorney General concluded that 'the Great State Challenge,' an event modeled on the Breeders' Cup and held at Sam Houston Race Park, did not qualify as the 'Breeders' Cup races' under section…
Does a nonvoting member of a Texas appraisal district board count toward a quorum and can they serve as an officer?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a county assessor-collector who serves as a nonvoting member of an appraisal district board under Tax Code sections 6.03 and 6.04 is still counted in determini…
Does a Texas grand jury have to use a licensed court interpreter for a deaf or non-English-speaking witness?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a grand jury hearing is a 'criminal proceeding' for purposes of Government Code section 57.002, so when a witness who is deaf, hearing-impaired, or does not sp…
Can a budget rider redirect Texas historic-courthouse preservation money to restore a church or other non-courthouse building?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Rider 20 of the Texas Historical Commission's 2002-03 appropriation did not, by its terms, authorize spending Historic Courthouse Preservation Program funds on …
Can a state university professor be paid for serving on a school board, city council, or water district board in Texas?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a professor or instructor at a state university is not a 'schoolteacher' under the 2001 amendment to article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution. That ame…
Does a Texas community housing nonprofit automatically get a property tax exemption on the low-income rental housing it owns?
Not automatically. The Attorney General answered only in general terms because whether a particular organization qualifies is a question of fact the AG cannot decide. To be exempt under Tax Code secti…
When the NC legislature moved the DMV Enforcement Section from DOT to the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety in 2002, did it also move the special tax-information exception that let DMV exchange tax data with the Department of Revenue?
Yes. Even though the General Assembly forgot to update G.S. 105-259(b)(7) in the laundry list of statutes it specifically rewrote, the omnibus 'successor in interest' language in Section 1 of Chapter …
When the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority lets a construction contract that uses federal Department of Transportation money, must it apply North Carolina's 10% minority business goal under § 143-128.2 and the related HUB reporting rules, or can it elect the federal DBE program under 49 C.F.R. Part 26?
The Authority can elect. N.C.G.S. § 63-54(c) gives airport authorities the discretionary right to let federally-assisted contracts under federal law, which overrides the conflicting state MBE statute.…
Which of the seventeen new misdemeanors created by Georgia's 2002 General Assembly will trigger fingerprinting of the arrestee under Georgia Crime Information Center procedures?
Eleven of the seventeen are designated fingerprintable; six are not. The Attorney General fingerprinted (1) all five false-identification-document offenses under § 16-9-4(b)(1), (b)(2), (b)(3), and (b…
If the NC General Assembly abolishes the Ports Railway Commission and transfers its rail assets and liabilities to the State Ports Authority, will the SPA become a 'common carrier' subject to the federal Railway Labor Act?
No. The legislation rewrites N.C.G.S. § 143B-454(a)(4) to prohibit the SPA from operating rail facilities even though it may own them. Continued rail service at Wilmington and Morehead City will run t…
Can a New York town spend public money to help repair a privately owned dam that controls flooding on private lake property?
Yes, but only on a narrow public-health rationale. The town could contribute to the dam project if it made credible findings that flooding caused septic-tank overflow and contaminated a public lake. T…
May members of the NC Information Resources Management Commission (and their delegates) attend closed-session committee meetings where the State Auditor reports detailed IT security audit findings about specific State agencies, without waiving the statutory confidentiality of those findings?
Yes. Members of the IRMC and the Information Protection and Privacy Committee, whether their own agency was audited or not, may be present in the closed session and the confidentiality of the audited …
In Texas, which officials have to file their signed anti-bribery statement with the Secretary of State?
Only state-level officers. The Attorney General concluded that the term 'state officer' in article XVI, section 1(c) of the Texas Constitution means officers whose jurisdiction covers the whole state …
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