State AG Opinions
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After the 2025 amendment, does the Clarendon County School District board still set its own budget and millage, or does county council have to approve them?
County Council must approve. The 2025 amendment stripped the Clarendon County School District board's prior 'total fiscal autonomy' and now requires the board to submit its budget to County Council, w…
Why did the Attorney General reject David Couch's revised initiative and referendum amendment for a second time in April 2025?
Couch's second submission fixed two issues from the first rejection (Opinion 2025-018) but introduced new ones. The revision narrowed the AG's certification standard from 'not misleading' to only 'acc…
Can an Arkansas city council member legally attend meetings and vote remotely (Zoom or phone) when the Governor hasn't declared an emergency, and can the city pass its own ordinance authorizing that?
Probably yes on both counts, but Act 505 of 2025 will rewrite the analysis once it takes effect. Without considering Act 505: a city can hold electronic public meetings outside a Governor-declared eme…
Does Delaware's FOIA six-hour agenda rule apply to the Senate Judiciary Committee when it swaps out a bill three hours before its hearing?
No. The Senate Judiciary Committee did not violate FOIA when a substitute version of Senate Bill 21 replaced the original bill three hours before the March 12, 2025 hearing. The General Assembly, incl…
Did Missouri approve the form of Bradley Ketcher's initiative petition 2026-038?
Yes. The attorney general approved petition 2026-038 as to form, but the secretary of state retained final authority to approve or reject it, and the opinion did not decide substantive sufficiency.
Did Missouri approve the form of Bradley Ketcher's initiative petition 2026-037?
Yes. The attorney general approved petition 2026-037 as to form, but the secretary of state retained final authority to approve or reject it, and the opinion did not decide substantive sufficiency.
When a Delaware public body responds to a FOIA request, what does the affidavit have to actually say to prove the search was adequate?
The Village of Arden violated FOIA twice: once by relying on a single committee chair's blanket statement that all responsive records had been produced (without specifying who searched, what was searc…
Do South Carolina magistrate's constables count as 'law enforcement officers,' and does the magistrate's office have to comply with LETC minimum standards for law enforcement agencies?
No. A magistrate's constable is not a 'law enforcement officer' under S.C. Code § 23-23-10(E)(1), so the magistrate's office is not a 'law enforcement agency' subject to LETC minimum standards under §…
Did Missouri approve the form of Jamie Howard's initiative petition 2026-036?
Yes. The attorney general approved petition 2026-036 as to form, but the secretary of state retained final authority to approve or reject it, and the opinion did not decide substantive sufficiency.
Did Missouri approve the summary for a proposal on officeholding, legislative conflicts, initiative rules, and foreign campaign funds?
Yes. The attorney general approved the proposed summary statement's legal content and form; the proposal combined officeholding restrictions, legislative conflict rules, initiative-process changes, an…
Did Missouri approve the summary statement for banning firearm possession by minors without parental consent?
Yes. The attorney general approved the proposed summary statement's legal content and form; it described barring people under 18 from possessing a firearm without parental or guardian consent.
Can a Kentucky county pay first-time homebuyer grants or forgivable loans to its own employees?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a fiscal court may set up a program that helps county employees buy a first home, through a grant or forgivable loan, as long as it is structured as part of th…
Can Washington county commissioners enact midterm increases to their own health insurance contributions, cash-in-lieu payments, or convert health benefits to cash before their next term begins?
Possibly to the first, no to the other two. The Washington AG concluded that midterm increases to the cost of a health-benefit plan that meets RCW 41.04.180 are not constitutionally barred (because RC…
If a Delaware school employee asked for a public termination hearing and then changed their mind, can a journalist still get the hearing officer's report and exhibits under FOIA?
No. Brandywine School District properly denied a News Journal reporter's request for the hearing officer's report and exhibits from a teacher's January 2025 termination hearing. Even though the hearin…
When the City of Little Rock got a FOIA request for an employee's personnel file and emails, which redactions on her job applications, salary memo, and performance reviews were correct?
The custodian's decision to release administrative personnel records was mostly correct. But the salary-adjustment memo had inconsistent redactions: names, job positions, and salary information should…
Does a Mississippi disabled veteran have to be unemployable to qualify for the full homestead exemption, or is VA documentation enough?
Section 27-33-67(2)(a) does not require the veteran to be unemployable in the civilian job market. The statute only requires documentation of service-connected total disability and an honorable discha…
Does Mississippi's 3,000-foot residency rule for sex offenders cover state parks, walking trails, or hiking areas, and how do you measure the distance?
Whether a specific park, state forest, walking track, or trail counts as a 'playground or recreational facility' for the 3,000-foot residency restriction is a factual call by local authorities. The 3,…
When the City of Hampton received a FOIA request for a former police officer's personnel file, which pieces of information could the city release and which had to be blacked out?
Most of the personnel file is releasable. The custodian properly redacted the officer's phone number, address, date of birth, social security number, and the beneficiary name and relationship on LOPFI…
If a Mississippi city had cleanup costs against a property but the property was sold by the State to a new owner, can the city still collect from the new owner?
If the city's cleanup lien was on file when the new owner bought from the State, the lien remains enforceable against the property. If the new owner had no actual or constructive notice of the lien, i…
Can a California city require that the bonus market-rate units a developer earns under the state Density Bonus Law also be sold or rented as affordable?
No. Government Code sections 65915-65918 set a state formula for how many bonus units a developer earns per affordable unit. A city or county that requires those bonus units to themselves be affordabl…
Now that the Legislature has stripped the elected State Board of Equalization of most of its tax-administration duties and given them to a new agency, can the Citizens Compensation Commission cut the Board members' salaries to match?
Yes. Under California Constitution article III, section 8, subdivision (h), the Citizens Compensation Commission must consider the duties, powers, and responsibilities of an office when setting salary…
When do laws passed in Kentucky's 2025 Regular Session take effect?
June 27, 2025. The Attorney General concluded that, under Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, most legislation from the 2025 Regular Session takes effect on Friday, June 27, 2025, which is when 9…
If someone buys an oceanfront SC property whose existing structure violates current setback rules, tears it down, and subdivides the lot into two, do the new properties keep the old nonconforming status or have to meet current rules?
Subdividing alone does not end nonconforming status. A court would likely require an express ordinance provision to find that subdividing a property terminates its nonconforming status, and Surfside B…
Under Tennessee's Age-Appropriate Materials Act, what procedures govern challenges to school library books, who decides if a book gets removed, and can a removed book still be used in classroom instruction?
The local school board adopts the procedures and makes the call. Once a parent, student, or employee challenges a book, the board has 60 days to decide whether it meets the Act's age-appropriateness s…
Does Delaware's open-meetings agenda rule apply to a Joint Legislative Committee?
No. The Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee did not violate FOIA when its February 13, 2025 agenda named only the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program but the meeting drifted into related pr…
Can a South Carolina commodity board hold its producer assessment funds in its own outside bank account against the Agriculture Commission's instructions, and what can the Commission do about it?
No. A South Carolina commodity board cannot hold assessment funds in an external account without the Agriculture Commission's approval. If a board does so against the Commission's instructions, the Co…
Why was the proposed Arkansas constitutional amendment to overhaul the initiative and referendum process rejected by the Attorney General in March 2025?
AG Tim Griffin rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title for a constitutional amendment titled 'An Amendment to Amend the Initiative and Referendum Process.' The proposal had two material am…
Can an EPIC board member who works for a coal company sit on the executive committee if the employer sells coal to utilities?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a coal-producer's employee on the EPIC board may serve on the executive committee, as long as that individual personally has no current employment, contractual…
Can a car manufacturer sell new vehicles directly to Kansas customers without going through a franchised dealer?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Kansas Vehicle Dealers and Manufacturers Licensing Act only lets a dealer sell new vehicles if it holds a franchise agreement with the manufacturer, and a m…
Can a Delaware city refuse to give me emails between its officials and a state legislator under FOIA?
Yes. The City of Milford properly withheld emails sent or received by State Representative Bryan Shupe under the legislative email exemption (29 Del. C. § 10002(o)(16)), even though the city officials…
Did Missouri approve the fiscal note summary for Damien Johnson's initiative petition 2026-029?
Yes. The attorney general approved the fiscal note summary's legal content and form; it estimated no state or local government costs or savings, and the review did not assess that estimate's fairness …
Did Missouri approve the fiscal note summary for Damien Johnson's initiative petition 2026-026?
Yes. The attorney general approved the fiscal note summary's legal content and form; it estimated no state or local government costs or savings, and the review did not assess that estimate's fairness …
Are the insurance certificates contractors submit to Louisiana's licensing board public records anyone can request?
Yes. Certificates of general liability and workers' compensation insurance that contractors submit for licensure are public records under Louisiana law, since no exemption covers them.
If a Delaware agency previously gave me a count of records as a courtesy, does FOIA force them to keep producing that count for me on request?
No. Delaware State Police did not violate FOIA when it stopped producing monthly counts of automatic expungements under the Clean Slate law (11 Del. C. § 4373A). DSP had been compiling the figures by …
Can a Mississippi drainage district assess land outside its boundaries that benefits from district improvements?
Yes. Section 51-29-29 says that if a drainage district's commissioners find lands outside the district benefit from district improvements, they 'shall' assess those lands. Property owners get notice a…
How much can a Mississippi city pay a county per day to hold a city's pretrial detainee or prisoner in the county jail?
Up to $25 per day for days one through thirty, and up to $32.71 per day for day 31 and beyond. Sections 19-25-73(3), 47-5-901, and 47-5-909 cap municipal payments to a county for housing municipal det…
Can a Mississippi city contract with a private vendor to run an ALPR camera system that mails traffic tickets to uninsured drivers and offers a paid diversion program?
Mississippi cities are not explicitly prohibited from using ALPR cameras for no-insurance enforcement under the Home Rule statute, but probable cause that the registered owner was driving cannot be pr…
Can a Mississippi county put circuit court and the district attorney's office in a new building separate from the courthouse?
Yes within limits. A Mississippi county may build a separate justice center and assign circuit court and DA functions to it. But Section 25-1-99 keeps circuit and chancery clerk offices at the courtho…
Did Missouri approve the form of Bradley Ketcher's initiative petition 2026-033?
Yes. The attorney general approved petition 2026-033 as to form, but the secretary of state retained final authority to approve or reject it, and the opinion did not decide substantive sufficiency.
Can a South Carolina city hire a law firm (rather than a single attorney) to be its city attorney on a contract basis, and if a lawyer at the firm also sits on a school board, does that violate dual-office-holding rules?
Yes to both. Under S.C. Code § 5-7-230 and Home Rule, a SC municipality can contract with a law firm to serve as outside city attorney for civil matters only. Because the retention is by contract (no …
Can South Carolina ETV claim the revenue from a National Guard cell tower lease under a budget proviso that gives it general authority to coordinate state tower operations?
No. Budget Proviso § 8.4's general directive that SC ETV 'coordinate' state tower and antenna operations does not give ETV the revenue from the Adjutant General's Fort Mill cell tower lease. The speci…
Who has the legal authority to give a raise to a county tax collector's office staff or a county circuit clerk's office staff in Arkansas?
Only the quorum court can set salaries and appropriate raises for employees of elected county officials. The county judge can veto, but the quorum court can override with a three-fifths vote. If a rai…
If I'm a contract poultry farmer in Arkansas and my contract requires me to mow around the chicken houses for biosecurity, can I buy a zero-turn mower sales-tax-free as farm equipment?
Probably yes, even though the Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration has historically said no. The AG broke with DFA, opining that a court would likely find a mower used only for contract-req…
In a Louisiana town with a special legislative charter, does the mayor have the authority to hire and fire municipal employees?
Yes, with limits. Under La. R.S. 33:481, when a special legislative charter is silent on a matter, the Lawrason Act fills the gap. La. R.S. 33:404(A)(3) gives the mayor authority to appoint and remove…
Can a Texas court order the DPS or the state vital statistics office to change the sex listed on a driver's license or birth certificate?
Not in the way described to the AG, the opinion concluded. The Department of Public Safety asked whether district courts can issue orders, in uncontested ex parte cases, that direct DPS and the Depart…
Can a Mississippi county zoning enforcement officer keep her county job if she's elected to city council?
Yes. The Hancock County solid waste/zoning enforcement officer's duties (citizen complaints, field investigations, warning notices, documentation) are administrative, not policy-making at the upper le…
Does South Carolina's Family Privacy Protection Act force a state licensing agency to hand over licensees' personal email addresses to a trade association that wants to promote continuing-education classes?
No. South Carolina's Family Privacy Protection Act does not require the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation to release licensees' personal email addresses, even when a third party says it wa…
Are Arkansas's two-year ban on former state legislators lobbying and one-year ban on former constitutional officers lobbying constitutional under the First Amendment?
The AG concluded the two-year and one-year complete lobbying bans in A.C.A. § 21-1-402(f)–(g) probably violate the First Amendment because lobbying is core protected political speech, the bans are sub…
Can a Tennessee county school system refuse to enroll students who live inside a separate municipal school district, or stop providing services to those students?
Generally yes, with important exceptions. Counties retain wide discretion over enrolling out-of-district students, but they must enroll homeless youth (McKinney-Vento), foster-care students, military …
If a city's online complaint form silently routes my records request to the wrong inbox, is that my fault or the city's?
It is the city's. Mandan took two months to answer a request submitted through its 'Report a Concern' form because the request was misrouted and apparently deleted. The AG ruled the delay was unreason…
What can a North Dakota school district legally charge for fulfilling an open records request, and what fees are off-limits?
A North Dakota school district can charge up to $25 per hour for locating records and excising confidential information, but only after the first hour of each. It cannot charge for mileage, travel tim…
If a North Dakota township posts its meeting notice in the newspaper and on its website but not at the meeting site, is the meeting still validly noticed?
Yes. Substantial compliance is enough. Posting in the newspaper and on the website covered the requirement, even though no notice was posted at the school where the meeting was held. But the same town…
What does a North Dakota public board have to do before going into closed session to talk to its lawyer?
Announce the topics and the legal authority for closing the meeting, then take a recorded roll call vote, not a chorus of 'aye'. Most discussion in a closed 'attorney consultation' must actually be at…
Why did Missouri reject Damien Johnson's initiative petition 2026-030?
The attorney general rejected petition 2026-030 because its summary sheet listed the general election date incorrectly. The opinion did not review whether other deficiencies existed.
If Delaware police were called about me but no crime was charged, can I FOIA the body camera footage of that encounter?
No. The City of Newark properly denied a request from Samuel Smith for body camera footage of his own interaction with police, even though Smith insisted no crime was committed and no investigation wa…
How long can a North Dakota township take to respond to an open records request before the delay becomes a violation?
Reasonable response is usually measured in hours or days, not weeks. A six-week delay was unreasonable, even when the township blamed the unexpected resignation of the treasurer who managed its email …
Does a North Dakota city council have to put the meeting location on its public notices, even when meetings always happen in the same place?
Yes. Location is a 'material element' of meeting notice under N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20. Habit cannot substitute. Special meetings must also be noticed to the local newspaper.
Does a federally registered political action committee that files campaign reports under one North Dakota statute get out of filing under another?
No. A PAC registered with the Federal Election Commission that files independent-expenditure reports under N.D.C.C. § 16.1-08.1-03.7 still has to file the regular campaign disclosure statements under …
What exactly must a Texas school board vote on to comply with the SB 763 school chaplain law?
The board has to vote on whether to authorize a 'school chaplain position', the substantive role created by SB 763, where the chaplain provides chaplain-related support, services, and programs to stud…
Can a Texas county commissioner also serve as the chief of the local volunteer fire department?
Yes. The Texas Constitution's ban on holding more than one office expressly excepts county commissioners, so it does not apply. And the common-law incompatibility doctrine does not bar the dual servic…
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