State AG Opinions
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Can someone employed outside a local workforce board's area serve as its private-sector member?
The Attorney General concluded that a person is not ineligible to serve as a private-sector representative on a local workforce development board just because the person is employed outside the board'…
Can a Texas county pay part of its retirees' health insurance premiums indefinitely?
The Attorney General concluded that COBRA does not require or authorize a county to pay any part of a retiree's health insurance premiums or to keep coverage going indefinitely. And a county may not a…
Can a bingo equipment maker and distributor agree on the price charged to charities in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that a manufacturer and a distributor of bingo equipment may not agree, expressly or by implication, on the price at which the distributor will sell or lease that equipm…
Can a Texas road district borrow against future road fees to repay a loan over several years?
The Attorney General concluded that Bastrop County Water Control and Improvement District No. 2, which holds the powers of a road district under article III, section 52 of the Texas Constitution, had …
Can a Texas city pay legal fees for council members prosecuted for Open Meetings Act violations?
The Attorney General concluded that a city council member is disqualified from voting on a resolution to pay his or her own legal fees, or the fees of another member indicted on the same facts for the…
Does a Texas city incumbent keep the seat after winning only a plurality pending a runoff?
The Attorney General concluded that when a home-rule city requires a majority vote and an incumbent wins only a plurality, the incumbent does not automatically lose the seat. Article XI, section 11 re…
Can a Texas county clerk charge extra to find records on top of the $1 per copy fee?
The Attorney General concluded that for a request for 50 or fewer noncertified pages located in one (non-remote) building, a county clerk may charge only the statutory $1 per page or part of a page. T…
Can a Texas county development district levy property taxes or build subdivision infrastructure?
The Attorney General concluded that a county development district created under chapter 383 of the Local Government Code cannot levy ad valorem (property) taxes. Chapter 383 grants only a voter-approv…
Can a Texas city or county hire a company on commission to find untaxed property?
The Attorney General concluded that a business may legally be organized to locate property omitted from the appraisal rolls, but no taxing unit, including a home-rule city, may contract with such a bu…
When two Minnesota cities are voting whether to consolidate, and the vote is happening at the same time as a general election, does approval require a majority of everyone who showed up to vote that day, or just a majority of those who marked an answer on the consolidation question?
Approval requires only a majority of those who actually voted on the consolidation question, not a majority of every voter at the general election. The AG read Minn. Stat. § 414.041, subd. 6(d) consis…
Can a Texas judge order police to escort a domestic violence offender back home to get belongings?
The Attorney General concluded that the Family Code and Code of Criminal Procedure neither expressly allow nor forbid a judge to put such an escort in a protective order, so it falls within the judge'…
Can a Texas county repair private gated-community roads if the city asks and the county is reimbursed?
The Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court could not enter an interlocal agreement with a city to repair roads that are private and closed to the public, even with full reimbursement. P…
Which Texas county pays for mental health commitment hearings when another county's hospital holds them?
The Attorney General concluded that the county that initiates emergency detention, or, if none was initiated, the county that accepts the court-ordered mental health application or issues a protective…
If six Chapel Hill police officers should have been enrolled in their retirement system in mid-1984 but weren't enrolled until November 1984 by mistake, can they now buy that omitted service and retroactively qualify for the Bailey tax exemption on their retirement benefits?
No. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that the Bailey tax exemption depends on whether the employee was vested in the retirement system on August 12, 1989, when the General Assembly first taxed those …
Can a Texas heavy equipment dealer get back inventory taxes prepaid in a year they didn't owe?
The Attorney General concluded that the tax assessor-collector had no authority to take or escrow the dealer's payments, since a dealer not in business on January 1 owes no inventory tax and may not r…
Under Maryland's firearms law, does a common law assault or battery conviction count as a 'crime of violence' that bars someone from possessing a regulated firearm, and does that same 'crime of violence' definition sweep in every crime punishable by more than a year in prison?
Common law assault or battery does count, but the broader category is narrower than it might sound. The opinion concluded a conviction for common law assault or battery falls within the firearms law's…
After the trucking case forced the state to refund a use fee on Commerce Clause grounds, were Idaho's tiered premium-tax statutes for insurance companies constitutionally vulnerable too?
The Commerce Clause was not a worry because the McCarran-Ferguson Act lets states tax insurance freely. The base rate (Idaho Code 41-402) and the retaliatory tax (41-340) were each likely constitution…
Can Watauga County use its zoning ordinance to regulate the height and fall zone of a UNC-TV transmission tower located in the county, or is a state-owned television tower outside the county's authority?
Outside the county's authority. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that statutes are not presumed to bind the State unless the State is expressly mentioned, that G.S. § 153A-121's general police power …
Can a Texas board continue a closed executive session to the next day under the Open Meetings Act?
The Attorney General concluded that a governmental body may continue a closed executive session only until the following day, not to a later date. To resume it, the body must first reconvene in open s…
Who collects old unpaid Texas 911 emergency service fees, the Comptroller or the 911 Commission?
The Attorney General concluded that, under House Bill 1983's savings clause, the Comptroller (not the Commission on State Emergency Communications) has authority to collect a telecommunications provid…
Can Oregon pay a state employee's legal bills when the employee is criminally charged for something they did on the job and beats the charges?
The AG concluded that DAS had authority to create a program under its risk-management statute or as additional compensation through the Personnel Division, and could agree to such a program through co…
Can an Oregon public charter school hire a private for-profit company to run the school, and must it already have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status when it applies?
The AG concluded that ORS 338.115(8) allows a public charter school to contract with a for-profit entity to operate the school, provided the charter school retains a right of control and procedural sa…
When a child reports being abused while held in a county-operated juvenile detention facility, does the local Department of Social Services have the authority to investigate the abuse claim, or is the case outside DSS's jurisdiction because secure detention facilities are licensed by the Office of Juvenile Justice rather than DSS?
Yes, DSS has the authority to investigate. The 2000 NC AG opinion concluded that a county-operated secure juvenile detention facility is a 'residential child care facility' as that term is used in N.C…
Can a Texas city manager or city attorney see confidential police personnel files?
The Attorney General concluded that information made confidential by section 143.089(g) of the Local Government Code, the police or firefighter department personnel file, may be released to the city m…
Is a travel trailer on rented land taxed as real property or personal property in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that section 1.04(3)(B) of the Tax Code does not rule out, as a matter of law, treating a travel trailer on someone else's land as an 'improvement' taxable as real prope…
Does a Texas city have to bid out a contract for temporary garbage collection workers?
The Attorney General concluded that a city's contract with a temporary day labor agency for garbage collection workers can be exempt from competitive bidding under Local Government Code section 252.02…
Are members of the North Carolina Emergency Response Commission, and members of Local Emergency Planning Committees the commission appoints under Executive Order 125, protected by the state's tort claims coverage, defense by the Attorney General, and statutory immunities when they act in their commission roles?
Yes, all of them. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that state employees on the commission have full state coverage; non-state-employee commissioners appointed by the Governor are 'agents of the state…
Can a state licensing board withhold confidential records from a federal EEOC discrimination investigation?
The Attorney General concluded that it could not. Section 164.007 of the Occupations Code makes the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners' investigative files on license applicants confidential, but …
If Oregon voters approved Measure 93 in 2000 to require voter approval of new taxes, would the state lose the ability to repay its bonds, raise loan interest rates, or use lottery money for debt service?
The AG concluded that Measure 93 would not impair the state's authority to issue bonds or COPs, levy taxes on existing GO bond programs, adjust state-program loan interest rates and fees, or repay bon…
Can the funeral arrangements in a prepaid funeral contract be changed after the person dies?
The Attorney General concluded that section 711.002(g) of the Health and Safety Code lets a person give written directions for the disposition of their remains in a signed prepaid funeral contract, an…
Can a Texas water district charge you a sewer fee if you refuse to connect to its system?
The Attorney General concluded that the Lower Valley Water District could assess a necessary fee on property owners who were able to connect to its sewer system but chose not to. Under Water Code sect…
Can a defense attorney post a client's bail bond in municipal court on their bar card alone?
The Attorney General concluded no. A bar card only shows State Bar membership, so a municipal court must require an attorney who acts as a surety on a client's bail bond to show evidence of the suffic…
Can a Texas county treasurer appoint a deputy who can do everything the treasurer can?
The Attorney General concluded yes. A county treasurer may appoint a deputy treasurer under chapter 151 of the Local Government Code, provided the appointment follows that chapter's process, which run…
Can a New York county use its home rule authority to require prior written notice of road defects only to the clerk of the legislative body, rather than to the clerk or the highway superintendent as Highway Law § 139 contemplates?
Yes. The AG concluded that Highway Law § 139(2) was not a 'general law' for home rule purposes because it applied only to counties that elected to adopt it. The Municipal Home Rule Law lets counties e…
Can a Texas emergency services district adopt its own fire code, and what happens if a city or county code conflicts?
The Attorney General concluded that an emergency services district may adopt a fire code under Health and Safety Code section 775.036(b), but it must not conflict with the fire code of any overlapping…
Can a state licensing board inspect a podiatrist's office without a warrant?
The Attorney General concluded no. The Texas State Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners had adopted a rule letting it inspect podiatric practices on an unannounced basis, but the opinion found that ru…
Does a Texas county tax assessor-collector who collects the motor vehicle inventory tax still have to register with the state tax board?
The Attorney General concluded that taking the monthly reports and prepayments for the motor vehicle inventory tax is collecting taxes. An interlocal contract under Tax Code section 6.24(b) must requi…
Did the manufactured housing law give the state housing department power over unlicensed real estate brokers?
The Attorney General concluded that it did not. Section 6A of the Manufactured Housing Standards Act, added by House Bill 1193, does not give the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs new …
Can a New York town contract with a private individual to be its dog control officer?
No. The AG concluded that Agriculture and Markets Law § 114(1) gave municipalities only two options: appoint an officer-employee directly, or contract with another municipality, an incorporated humane…
Can a New York county charge snowmobile users a fee to access county roads or public lands?
No. The AG concluded that the Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law expressly bars municipalities from imposing fees for snowmobile use of public lands or waters, except the usual admission,…
Can a Texas real estate appraiser fill out the FHA Valuation Conditions form without an inspector license?
The Attorney General concluded yes. A state licensed or certified real estate appraiser who has voluntarily qualified with HUD to perform FHA mortgage insurance appraisals is authorized to complete th…
Can someone serve as an elected constable and a city firefighter at the same time in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that the common-law doctrine of incompatibility does not bar one person from simultaneously serving as an elected constable and a municipal firefighter. The constitution…
Can a Texas sheriff keep drug-seizure reimbursement fees in a separate account and spend them at his own discretion?
The Attorney General concluded no. Money a sheriff collects when a judge orders a defendant to reimburse a law enforcement agency for analyzing, storing, or disposing of seized drug materials (Code of…
Can a dissolving Texas hospital district donate its tobacco settlement money to a city, and does dissolution require an election?
The Attorney General concluded two things. First, the Ranger Hospital District could not, as part of dissolving, transfer its tobacco settlement funds to the City of Ranger to buy an ambulance unless …
Can Nassau County, by local law, take zoning power away from the Town of Hempstead and give it to the Village of Atlantic Beach?
Yes. Nassau County may amend its County Charter by local law under N.Y. Const. Art. IX, § 1(h)(1) and Municipal Home Rule Law Article 4 to transfer the zoning function from the Town of Hempstead to th…
If a Maryland police car's dashboard camera accidentally picks up someone's conversation without their consent, has the officer broken the state wiretapping law?
No. The opinion concluded that an officer using Montgomery County police car audio/video equipment according to department policy, whether during a consensual recording or a traffic stop, satisfied th…
Can three members of a nine-member Texas state board pass or block a resolution, or does it take a majority of the whole board?
The Attorney General concluded that the 'affirmative vote of at least three directors' language in Agriculture Code section 58.014(b) does not let a three-member minority overrule a majority of the Te…
Who enforces Texas's rule against awarding architect and other professional-services contracts by competitive bid?
The Attorney General concluded that enforcement of the Professional Services Procurement Act is split among several officials. At the state level the Comptroller (and, as a backstop, the State Auditor…
Can a Texas Air National Guard officer be discharged for lacking professional qualifications based on a unit commander's policy letter?
The Attorney General concluded it was not illegal to discharge a member of the Texas Air National Guard under TANG Regulation 36-05 for 'lacking in professional qualifications or status,' even where t…
Can a Texas county commissioners court handle purchasing, or hire staff for it, when no county purchasing agent has been appointed?
The Attorney General reached several conclusions for Parker County. A commissioners court may employ people to conduct county business even without specific statutory authority, as long as those emplo…
Can a Texas sheriff join a multi-county tactical response team and send deputies to help other counties without the commissioners court's approval?
The Attorney General concluded that, as described, the Midland County Sheriff had no authority to organize or join the STAR mutual-aid tactical team. The general power to make contracts binding a coun…
When the Minnesota Commissioner of Labor and Industry issues an order under § 176.181 finding that an employer failed to carry workers compensation insurance, are that order and the employer's written objection public data, or are they investigative data that has to be kept confidential?
Public data. The AG concluded that DOLI's Orders to Comply and Penalty Assessments under § 176.181, and the written objections employers file in response, are not investigative data under § 13.39 beca…
Can a police officer also serve as a member of the town council that oversees the police department?
The Attorney General concluded that while an Ocean City police officer could legally run for and be elected to the City Council, the common-law doctrine of incompatible positions barred the officer fr…
Can an area break away from a Texas community college district to form its own district, and how?
The Attorney General concluded that disannexing part of a junior (community) college district is possible only when a statute specifically authorizes it and only by the method the Legislature set. Non…
Does Texas's salary cap on rehired state retirees apply if they did the same work for only part of their last year before retiring?
The Attorney General concluded the section 659.0115 salary cap does apply to a retiree rehired to do work substantially similar to what he did during any part of his last twelve months of state servic…
Can a Texas county exempt certain land divisions from the subdivision plat requirement, and who must be notified before a plat is revised?
The Attorney General reached three conclusions for Parker County. First, Local Government Code section 232.0015(a) does let a county 'define and classify' land divisions so as to except a specific div…
Can a Texas court clerk prepare a criminal judgment, and does the 1999 law require an attorney to supervise?
The Attorney General concluded that the 1999 amendment to article 42.01, section 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure did not stop a court clerk from preparing a criminal judgment, but a clerk could no…
When North Carolina's State Highway Patrol or other state law enforcement agencies collect statistics on traffic stops, is the identity of the officer who made each stop a public record, or can the state keep officer names confidential?
The 2000 NC AG opinion concluded that, under the freshly enacted HB 1840 (Session Law 2000-67), the identity of the law enforcement officer making a traffic stop is NOT a public record. The General As…
Can Texas police pull over a motorcyclist who isn't wearing a helmet and has no exemption sticker?
The Attorney General concluded that a peace officer may stop a motorcyclist (or a rider carrying a passenger) who is not wearing a helmet when the motorcycle does not display the Department of Public …
Can a Texas police officer or firefighter appeal a written reprimand to the civil service commission?
The Attorney General concluded that in most Texas cities a civil-service commission has no power to hear an appeal of a written reprimand, because chapter 143 of the Local Government Code provides app…
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