State AG Opinions
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How long does a Florida law enforcement agency have to keep evidence when no charges were filed?
There is no single statewide rule, and the AG declined to set one. For evidence that is a public record under Chapter 119, an agency may dispose of it only under the Division of Library and…
Can a Florida city pass an ordinance giving local contractors a preference in public bidding?
The AG declined to issue a formal opinion, because the request came from a legislator on behalf of private constituents rather than the local government whose powers were in question. As informal…
Could Barnwell charge every property parcel a flat public-safety fee for existing fire and police budgets?
The AG said a flat fee was not invalid merely because it ignored property value, but Barnwell’s proposed charge would likely fail the test for a service fee and be treated as a tax. Its use for…
Could someone refuse a deed by filing a notice of non-acceptance in South Carolina?
The AG said a grantee could refuse a conveyance because acceptance was necessary for a deed to take effect. A notice of non-acceptance was uncommon in South Carolina but could conceivably show…
Did a South Carolina school district need planning commission review before building a new school?
The AG said yes under the cited planning statute. Site-plan approval alone did not replace commission review and comment. Because construction had begun, the opinion discussed late submission and…
Could a California city council dismiss its appointed mosquito-control district trustee whenever it wished?
No. The 2011 opinion concluded that the trustee served a fixed statutory term, so the appointing city council could not remove the trustee at its pleasure.
Can a Maryland city use its stormwater 'system of charges' to build curbs, and can it bill tax-exempt property owners?
Yes on both, with limits. Curbs may be built and maintained with stormwater 'system of charges' revenue under Environment Article § 4-204(d), as long as the curbs function as an integral part of the…
Would Virginia's proposed Right to Farm Act amendments adding aquaculture protect aquaculture only in agricultural-district zones or in any zone allowing agricultural activity?
Both. The AG concluded that committee substitute SB 1190's aquaculture protections would apply to areas zoned as agricultural districts or classifications and to other areas where the zoning…
If a Virginia commissioner of revenue or treasurer serves as a DMV license agent, can the county take the DMV money to cover the existing local share of their budget?
No. Under Item 441(C) of the 2010 and 2011 Appropriations Acts, at least 80 percent of the DMV remittance must be appropriated to the constitutional officer's office, and the county cannot use it to…
What did the Delaware AG say about a school board's off-agenda repeat vote?
The June 14 vote technically violated FOIA because the issue was not on that meeting's agenda. The AG said no third vote was needed because the June vote repeated a properly noticed May 25 vote. The…
Was a paid closest-to-the-pin golf contest an illegal lottery in South Carolina?
The AG said the described contest was primarily a test of golf skill and therefore was not a lottery or a violation of state gambling law. Its answer depended on the proposed closest-to-the-pin…
Do Delaware meeting minutes have to summarize what was discussed, or just record who attended and how they voted?
Mostly, under the law as it stood in 2011, no violations at all: the AG found a town's general agenda items, its removal of an item without explanation, its lean meeting minutes, and its handling of…
Could an Aiken County magistrate hear a small credit-reporting, debt-collection or defamation claim?
The AG said magistrates had countywide civil jurisdiction, so a district line did not alone confine filing to one magistrate. The listed claims could fall within concurrent magistrate jurisdiction…
Could a voter without photo ID use a reasonable-impediment affidavit under South Carolina’s 2011 bill?
The AG read “reasonable impediment” to include a valid obstacle beyond the voter’s control, including the short time between preclearance and an election. Under the bill’s procedure, an…
How are penalties and interest figured on deferred property taxes for an elderly Texas homeowner?
The deferral period gets the favorable treatment, even in hindsight. The Attorney General concluded that for the entire time an elderly or disabled person's homestead taxes are deferred under Tax…
Can a school board discuss a lawsuit update or pay-period costs behind closed doors in Delaware?
Partly, the AG found. Laurel School Board mislabeled a job-applicant discussion as a personnel matter but didn't have to fix that because the public was otherwise well informed, while its…
Does Arizona's three-second minimum yellow-light duration apply to left-turn signals, or only to straight-ahead lights?
The Arizona AG concluded that A.R.S. § 28-643's requirement that yellow lights last at least three seconds applies to every traffic signal, including left-turn signals. The statute's plain language…
Can a Texas state legislator also serve as the state chairman of a political party?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the state chairman of a political party does not hold an office or position 'under this State,' so neither of the Texas Constitution's dual-officeholding…
Must Texas police give caregiver child abuse reports to the Department of Family and Protective Services?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that under Family Code sections 261.105 and 261.301, a local or state law enforcement agency is required to furnish information about alleged child abuse or…
Can a Texas school district pay an administrator's legal bills to sue someone for defamation?
No. The Attorney General concluded that an independent school district may not pay or reimburse the legal expenses of an administrator who files a private defamation lawsuit that advances the…
Who is responsible for someone held under a Texas emergency mental health detention order?
No single agency is named. The Attorney General concluded that nothing in chapter 573 of the Health and Safety Code makes one particular law enforcement agency, as opposed to another, responsible…
Can a registered lobbyist serve on the Texas State Board of Education?
It depends on what they lobby about. The Attorney General construed Education Code section 7.103(c) to bar from the State Board of Education only those registered lobbyists who were paid to…
Could Arcadia Lakes correct minutes that wrongly said a council member had resigned?
The AG said council could vote to correct minutes if the member had only said he would not seek reelection. It also said a purported resignation had no effect without a successor, so the member…
Are 'sweepstakes' terminals tied to charitable donations, political contributions, or phone card purchases legal in Virginia, or illegal gambling?
It depends on the facts. The AG could not give a categorical answer. The legality turns on whether the consideration element of gambling is present, which depends on whether the sweepstakes is…
Did Jasper County’s late-night alcohol ordinance apply inside incorporated towns?
The AG said the county likely could regulate hours under its general powers, but its ordinance was generally unenforceable inside municipalities without an agreement or municipal assent. Section…
Can Texas judicial fund money replace county cuts to a statutory probate court's budget?
Not as a substitute for county money. The Attorney General concluded that state judicial-fund dollars allocated into a county's contributions fund must be used only for court-related purposes to…
Can a Texas school district police chief be paid for serving on a city council?
Not on these facts. The Attorney General concluded that a school district chief of police whose job has no teaching responsibilities is not a 'schoolteacher,' so he does not qualify for the narrow…
Does a Texas vehicle with a diesel turbine engine still need a muffler?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded there is no blanket exception for diesel turbine engines to Texas's requirement that a motor vehicle have a muffler. Transportation Code section 547.604 requires…
Can a Texas county auditor refuse to create budget lines for a commissioners court's emergency budget amendment?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a county auditor has no independent legal authority to refuse to create budget lines once the commissioners court adopts an emergency budget amendment. Only…
Can the Texas State Board of Education invest the Permanent School Fund to help charter schools instead of for the best financial return?
No, not for non-financial reasons. The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Constitution and Education Code require the State Board of Education to make Permanent School Fund (PSF) investment…
Can Tennessee's 2011 law restricting red-light cameras be challenged for breaking cities' existing contracts with camera vendors?
Yes, 2011 Public Chapter 425, which restricted the use of unmanned traffic enforcement cameras, is defensible against a Contracts Clause challenge. Compelling arguments support the position that the…
Could a Maryland Indian recognition petition be reconsidered after the Governor denied an earlier version?
The Attorney General concluded that a group could seek reconsideration of Maryland Indian status through a new or revised petition containing current information. The Commission should review that…
Did South Carolina FOIA cover the nonprofit Jenkinsville Water Company?
The AG said yes. Although organized as a nonprofit, the company had received government grant support and therefore counted as a public body under the FOIA definition; its records and affairs were…
Did an expungement order require South Carolina probation officials to destroy an entire offender file?
The AG said no. Records of the actual arrest and criminal charge, such as arrest records, indictments and sentencing sheets, had to be destroyed under the described order; routine supervision…
Could South Carolina’s Election Commission contract to market its voter registration software to other states?
The AG said the executive director, with Commission approval, had implied authority to contract with the developer to market the state-owned system. It viewed the system as likely within the…
Could South Carolina voters sign an in-person absentee ballot application on an electronic pad?
The AG said the described electronic signature process was permitted so long as it complied with the Election Code and the state electronic-transactions statute. The same reasoning covered a…
If two members of a three-member Virginia electoral board talk on the phone about scheduling, agenda items, or draft minutes, is that a 'meeting' under FOIA? What about email?
Phone discussion is a meeting. A two-member conversation by a three-member electoral board about public business is an unlawful 'informal assemblage' meeting under VFOIA. Email, however, lacks the…
Does a Virginia locality have to commission an annual audit of its clerk of court, and can the Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) only step in under limited conditions?
The locality must provide for an annual audit of its constitutional officers, but an audit performed by the APA satisfies that requirement. And the APA's authority to audit constitutional officers…
Can a Virginia gas producer deduct transportation and other costs when calculating gross receipts for a local severance tax, and can the commissioner audit the producer?
Yes to both, with conditions. A producer of gas not in connection with coal mining may deduct value added after the gas leaves the locality. Coal-related gas production may not take these…
Can a public housing authority created in another state operate as a public housing authority in Connecticut without going through Connecticut's authorization process?
No. The AG concluded that Connecticut's housing authority statutes form a pervasive regulatory scheme requiring a municipality's governing body to formally create any housing authority operating…
Can a Maryland code home rule county hold a special election to fill newly created county commissioner seats?
Maryland's Attorney General advised Caroline County that an off-year 2012 vote to fill two newly created county commissioner seats would be a special election, not a general one, even if held on the…
Could Williamston council members join the state employee health plan without violating council pay rules?
The AG said the town could choose to participate in the state employee insurance plans and that this did not conflict with the municipal salary statute. If eligible members joined, town premium…
Can a Texas county judge order a city recall election if the city council refuses to?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Texas law does not authorize a county judge to order a municipal recall election. A recall election is a special election, and a special election may be…
Can a Texas county auditor audit a constable's law-enforcement continuing-education (LEOSE) funds?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a county auditor has general oversight of a constable's books and records, including the funds a constable receives from the state law enforcement officer…
Does the broader ADA definition of disability let more Texas homeowners qualify for the homestead property tax freeze?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, which broadened the ADA's definition of 'disability,' does not change who qualifies as…
Is the Texas Racing Act's 10-year residency requirement for racetrack owners constitutional under the Commerce Clause?
The Attorney General did not answer this question. The chair of the Texas Racing Commission asked whether section 6.06(d) of the Texas Racing Act, which requires the majority ownership of a…
Could SLED use drug forfeiture funds to maintain DUI breath-test and video sites?
The AG said yes for the described nonrecurring upgrades and maintenance. DUI enforcement included drugs as well as alcohol, and SLED had a statutory duty to supply and maintain video equipment at…
Can a Delaware public university charge employee labor costs for filling a records request?
No, the AG found. Delaware State University violated FOIA by including two senior employees' salaries in a $5,500 estimate to copy records, because a public body can only charge the actual cost of…
What evidence and which labs can the Texas Forensic Science Commission investigate?
The Attorney General drew three lines around the Texas Forensic Science Commission's investigative power. First, the 2005 law that created the Commission applies only to evidence tested or offered…
Can Connecticut's blind-vendor program place vending machines in quasi-public buildings like transit-district stations or the Metropolitan District Commission's offices?
The AG concluded that the Board of Education and Services for the Blind's vending-machine priority under § 10-303 covers state and traditional municipal buildings (cities, towns, boroughs) but not…
If a Connecticut teacher elected to the State Teachers' Retirement Board as an active teacher then retires partway through her term, can she finish her term, or does it create a vacancy?
The AG concluded that the seat became vacant. An active teacher elected to one of the active-teacher seats on the State Teachers' Retirement Board could not finish out her term after retiring; the…
Does the State Teachers' Retirement Board pick its own chair, or does Connecticut law require the Governor to appoint that person?
The Governor must appoint the chair. The AG concluded that Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4-9a, enacted in 1977, required the Governor to appoint the chair of every executive branch board and commission not…
Could Chesterfield County let its sheriff operate the county animal shelter, and must that shelter serve towns?
The AG said the county could delegate shelter operations to the sheriff but should formalize that arrangement by ordinance. The county shelter had to serve unincorporated areas; serving a town…
When does the deadline start for a Texas county officer to file a salary grievance?
The Attorney General confirmed that two earlier opinions, GA-0051 (2003) and GA-0620 (2008), correctly read sections 152.013 and 152.016 of the Local Government Code: a commissioners court must…
When does a Texas restrictive covenant or club-fee requirement run with the land and bind future owners?
The chair of the Sunset Advisory Commission asked seven questions about whether certain restrictive covenants, especially ones requiring property owners to pay fees to a private for-profit club, are…
Does the Texas Ethics Commission have to send a complainant's residency proof to the person they complained about?
Probably not. The Texas Ethics Commission asked whether the document a complainant must attach to a sworn complaint to prove Texas residency or property ownership, such as a paycheck or property tax…
Is West Virginia's matching-funds system for publicly financed Supreme Court of Appeals candidates constitutional after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Arizona's similar law?
No. The AG concluded that the matching-funds provisions in W. Va. Code §§ 3-12-11(e)-(i), which gave extra public money to certified candidates whenever a privately financed opponent or independent…
Does a 'local improvement' funded by a special assessment have to be a capital project, or can it cover services like garbage collection?
It does not have to be a capital project. The AG's informal comments concluded that a special assessment can fund a service, not just construction, as long as the service gives the assessed property…
Can an attorney in the Tennessee General Assembly's Office of Legal Services be forced to reveal which legislator asked for particular language in a bill?
No. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 3-12-106(a), the director and legal staff of the Office of Legal Services must maintain the attorney-client relationship with each member of the General Assembly with…
Could South Carolina’s Native American Indian Advisory Committee direct commission staff and projects?
The AG said the committee could advise the Commission for Minority Affairs and make nonbinding recommendations, but it had no authority to direct agency work. The executive director could appoint a…
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