State AG Opinions
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Can the Virginia General Assembly pass a law requiring a supermajority vote to lift the state's uranium mining moratorium?
No. Article IV, § 11(d) of the Virginia Constitution sets the majority-vote rule for ordinary legislation. A statute requiring a supermajority to lift the uranium-mining moratorium would be…
Can a Tennessee bill captioned about 'carrying weapons on school property' be amended to ban colleges from disciplining students for off-campus gun ownership?
No. The AG concluded that a proposed amendment to House Bill 2726 violates Article II, Section 17 of the Tennessee Constitution. The bill's caption was restricted to 'carrying weapons on school…
After Citizens United, do Tennessee corporations have to file campaign finance disclosure reports for political ads they pay for on their own?
Partly. The AG concluded that under Tennessee's existing campaign finance laws, a corporation that spends money to support or oppose a ballot measure already qualifies as a political campaign…
Could Georgetown council veto the mayor’s department-head choices or reinstate an employee on its own?
The Attorney General predicted that Georgetown’s council-approval ordinance conflicted with the mayor-council form of government because the mayor held appointment and dismissal authority for…
Can a Texas district attorney decline to file charges because the suspect probably has a defense?
Yes, that call is the prosecutor's to make. The Attorney General did not decide whether the parental-consent defense in Penal Code section 43.24(c)(2) actually applied to the facts described.…
Could a South Carolina town impose council term limits by ordinance or local referendum?
The Attorney General concluded that municipal councils lacked authority to set their own members’ term limits by either ordinance or referendum. It also said the legislature could not give Edisto…
Is it constitutional for Tennessee to give court reporters from a particular trade association easier licensure than non-members?
No, it's not unconstitutional. Tennessee Code Ann. § 20-9-613 (the grandfather clause in the 2009 Tennessee Court Reporter Act) provides a non-discriminatory route for any practicing court reporter,…
Could someone run for a South Carolina House seat and a constitutional office in the same election?
The Attorney General said a person could file and run for both offices at once. The state constitutional restriction applied to holding two offices, so winning and taking both would create a conflict.
If Tennessee requires school districts to start paying support-staff health insurance premiums, does that violate the state's no-unfunded-mandates rule?
No. The bill (HB 3193/SB 3125) would have required local education agencies to pay a minimum percentage of support staff health insurance premiums. The AG concluded that the bill satisfies the…
Would Connecticut's proposed tax on large TARP bonuses have been an unconstitutional bill of attainder or ex post facto law?
Probably not. The AG concluded that a court would likely treat the proposed 8.97 percent levy as a civil revenue measure rather than punishment, provided the legislative purpose and record showed a…
How did Maryland's endangered species law affect approval of wind energy projects in 2010?
The Attorney General explained that Maryland's endangered species law protected State-listed species and required State agencies to consult the Department of Natural Resources to avoid jeopardizing…
Which 2009 Georgia misdemeanors did the Attorney General designate as fingerprintable?
The AG designated only two of seven offenses: making or accepting false statements to wrongfully obtain Move on When Ready Act payments (§ 20-2-161.3(i)) and unlawful conduct during 911 calls (§…
Does the Texas Governor have to appoint a judge to a newly created district court, and what happens if he doesn't?
The Texas Constitution says the Governor 'shall' fill a vacancy in a district court, but the opinion concluded he cannot be forced to: the Governor is immune from mandamus, and no statute or…
Does a Texas city need a voter petition before it can hold an election to leave a regional transit authority?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a municipality does not have to receive a petition signed by 20 percent of its qualified voters before calling an election to withdraw from a regional…
Would a South Carolina family court judge lose authority because the oath of office was not filed?
The Attorney General said no. It treated the oath filing requirement as directory and said an omitted filing did not invalidate the judge’s official acts toward third parties.
Can a Tennessee metro government performance-audit the state trial courts that sit in its county?
Partly. Nashville's Metro government can audit the physical space, the programs, and the personnel that Metro funds for the 20th Judicial District trial courts. It cannot audit purely state-funded…
Must a Florida school district remove portable classrooms over 20 years old even if they meet state standards?
Not necessarily. The office gave general comments noting it cannot direct an agency to ignore the Legislature, but explained that section 1013.21(1)(a) frames reducing old relocatables as a…
Did service on South Carolina’s Commission on Women count as a second public office?
The Attorney General concluded that a Commission on Women seat was advisory and did not count as a public office for South Carolina’s dual office holding rule. A member could therefore also hold…
Can a Virginia school district charge parents a bus fee when their child attends a specialty program outside their home school's zone?
No. Specialty programs that interweave the standard curriculum are not 'extracurricular' under § 22.1-176(B). Without that label, Virginia law gives school boards no authority to charge a…
Are government text messages and BlackBerry PIN messages public records that must be kept in Florida?
This was a policy letter, not a legal opinion answering a question. Attorney General Bill McCollum wrote to the Secretary of State after a Public Service Commission controversy over BlackBerry PIN…
When would Columbia’s change of municipal government have taken effect after a 2010 referendum?
For a referendum passing on or after July 1, 2010, the Attorney General said Columbia’s change would take effect July 1, 2014, after the staggered terms of the existing governing body expired.
Could South Carolina forest renewal funds support marketing forest products and recruiting forest businesses?
The Attorney General concluded that the State Forester could use Forest Renewal Law funds for the described marketing and business recruitment initiative. It read the law’s economic-benefit purpose…
How were remaining South Carolina school construction bond allocations to be divided among districts?
The Attorney General read the 2010 school bond statute to call for a pro rata allocation based on each eligible district’s original request, including amounts above the initial cap. Because the…
Could owner-occupied homes be included in a South Carolina multicounty business park?
The Attorney General said residential property did not appear to fit a multicounty industrial or business park, but recommended a declaratory judgment for a final answer. It declined to decide the…
Does Virginia commit age discrimination when SPORS retirees keep getting a retirement supplement longer than VaLORS retirees?
No. The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act expressly exempts pension-plan minimum-age conditions. The different SPORS and VaLORS cutoffs for the retirement supplement fit that exemption,…
Can a Virginia city reassess a homeowner's property mid-cycle and raise the tax bill before the next annual reassessment?
No general reassessment more than once a year. Virginia law (§ 58.1-3254) allows 'a' single general reassessment per year, no more. But individual taxpayers can still see higher assessments through…
Can Tennessee issue a 'Catholic Charities' specialty license plate and send the proceeds to Catholic Charities of East Tennessee?
No. The AG concluded that creating a Catholic Charities specialty earmarked license plate, with proceeds going exclusively to Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, would likely violate both the…
Could Santee Cooper guarantee a private biomass company’s federal loan in 2010?
The Attorney General concluded that Santee Cooper lacked statutory authority to guarantee Orangeburg County Biomass’s federal loan. It also predicted that Santee Cooper was a political subdivision,…
Could a child attend a South Carolina school district where the noncustodial parent lived?
The Attorney General said the 2006 residency opinion allowed attendance in a district where either parent lived, assuming the child lived with that parent. It expressly did not decide whether a…
Could Columbia fill a city council vacancy at its April 2010 election despite short notice?
The Attorney General said the vacancy statute permitted the April 6 election on its face, even though another election statute required notice. It warned that the short time after the March 9…
Can a private group hosting a festival on land it leases from a Virginia city ban people from carrying firearms at the event?
Yes. A private entity that leases public property to host an event may generally prohibit firearms at that event. The lease alone does not turn the private group into a state actor bound by the…
Can Tennessee pass a private act letting one county run a home health agency in three other counties?
The AG found no mandatory statewide law that the proposed Hancock County home care act would contradict. If such a conflict were found, the act would be upheld only if there were a rational basis…
Can a small Texas general-law city enforce a stormwater pollution ordinance outside its city limits?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that Water Code section 26.177 applies to a Type A general-law municipality (the statute refers to 'a city' or 'a municipality' without distinction, and the…
Can a Texas justice of the peace or municipal court award ownership of a car, and will the DMV issue a new title from that order?
It depends on the source of authority. On Code of Criminal Procedure articles 47.01a(a) and 47.02(b), which deal with disposition of allegedly stolen property, the Attorney General could not say…
Does the new federal hospice guidance let Tennessee residential hospices skip the registered-nurse-on-every-shift staffing rule?
No. The federal interpretive guideline that loosens RN staffing for some hospice care levels does not preempt or modify Tennessee's licensing rule, which still requires nursing care by or under the…
When can a Tennessee officer custodially arrest someone for a misdemeanor instead of issuing a citation?
An officer must cite and release for an in-presence misdemeanor unless one of eight statutory exceptions applies, and the officer's belief that an exception applies must be objectively reasonable. A…
After Citizens United, can Tennessee still ban corporations from spending money to support or oppose state candidates?
The Tennessee AG concluded that a court would likely hold Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-132 unconstitutional to the extent it barred corporations from making independent expenditures to elect or defeat…
Can a Tennessee deputy sheriff run for sheriff while still employed, and what restrictions apply?
A Hatch Act-covered deputy sheriff could not avoid the 2010 ban on partisan candidacy by going on unpaid leave. If the deputy was also subject to Tennessee's County Sheriff's Civil Service Law of…
How specific does a Delaware public body's notice for an executive session have to be about personnel matters?
Less specific than a regular meeting agenda, the AG found. A town's notice reading 'Executive Session to Discuss Contract and Personnel Issues' was good enough even though it didn't name the police…
Who keeps the records when a county supervisor of elections runs a city's election under contract?
The city, in the office's general view, but the contract and charter control. The office could not resolve the custodian question because it turns on a mixed question of fact and law (the terms of…
When Georgia extended the sunset on the State Revenue Commissioner's authority to distribute unidentifiable local sales tax proceeds, did the extension cover the gap period when authority had ceased?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the 2009 amendment extending the sunset on O.C.G.A. § 48-8-67 reaches back to cover the gap period from December 31, 2007 (when authority ceased) through May…
Where does a Tennessee judicial district drug task force agent get police authority if hired directly by the task force?
From Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-7-110(a). The director of the task force, with the consent of the supervising district attorney general, can commission personnel hired directly by the task force, giving…
Can a Tennessee city require a special school district to get permits and follow zoning rules when building a school inside city limits?
The AG gave no universal answer. Whether a Tennessee city may charge building permit and plan review fees or apply planning and zoning rules to a special school district depends on the district's…
Who fills a vacant seat on a Tennessee local school board, and how long does the appointee serve?
The county legislative body fills the vacancy by appointment. The appointee serves until the next general election for which candidates have enough time to qualify, then the seat goes back on the…
Could California highway contracts on tribal land include tribal hiring preferences and fees?
The California Attorney General concluded in 2010 that Caltrans could include federally permitted tribal hiring preferences in contracts. Tribes could not compel Caltrans or its contractors to pay…
Could excessive executive pay be corporate waste, and who could challenge it in Maryland?
The Attorney General said excessive executive compensation could constitute waste of corporate assets, though courts usually deferred to good-faith board decisions under the business judgment rule.…
When a Tennessee appraiser does an 'evaluation' for a federally regulated bank, is that evaluation also an 'appraisal' subject to USPAP standards?
No, as long as the evaluation stays within the strict confines of Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-39-104(d): the federal regulator does not require a state-licensed appraisal, the evaluation is used solely by…
Did Connecticut education officials lawfully suspend J.M. Wright Technical High School, and how could its land be used?
Yes, the State Board and Education Commissioner followed the minimal statutory process then in force. The AG also concluded that the former park property was likely limited to educational or park…
Can a Virginia school board require a public charter school to pay all costs of making its building ADA-compliant as a startup condition?
Yes. Section 22.1-212.14(D) bars financial disincentives only inside the 'funding and service agreements' that govern ongoing operations. A startup ADA-compliance requirement is a separate condition…
Does the U.S. Navy have to pay Chesapeake's stormwater management fee, or is it really a tax that the federal government cannot be charged?
Yes, the Navy had to pay. The Chesapeake stormwater fee under City Code § 26-401 and Va. Code § 15.2-2114 was a service fee, not a tax. The Massachusetts v. United States three-part test was met:…
Can a Florida county use tourist development tax money to stock public lakes with game fish?
Probably not. The AG concluded that any tourist development tax spending under section 125.0104 requires the county commission to find the activity directly and primarily promotes tourism, but the…
Can the Tennessee legislature force the Supreme Court to discipline lawyers, or make breaking the lawyer ethics rules a crime?
Forcing the Supreme Court to discipline lawyers in particular ways violates the separation of powers, because the Tennessee Supreme Court has the constitutional authority to regulate the practice of…
Can a Tennessee corporation be criminally prosecuted for telling a sheriff or process server to stay off its property, and does 'person' in the obstructing-service statute include businesses?
The AG concluded that 'person' in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-602(c) includes corporations and other legal entities. A corporation may be subject to criminal prosecution if, under the proper…
Can Tennessee nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and clinical nurse specialists get a certificate of fitness to prescribe medications, or only nurse practitioners?
Yes. Since 1980, Tennessee statutes have given the Board of Nursing authority to define which nurses qualify as 'nurse practitioners' for prescribing purposes, and the Board's rules have always…
Could South Carolina counties place planned homes inside a joint industrial and business park?
The Attorney General found arguments on both sides because the multicounty park statute did not specify eligible property types. It said the ordinary meaning of industrial or business suggested…
Can a Florida public hospital district lease its property to a partnership it forms with a private for-profit company?
No. The AG concluded that a 51/49 partnership between the North Broward Hospital District's nonprofit subsidiary and a private oncology provider amounted to a 'joint ownership' barred by Article…
Was Tennessee AG Opinion 10-021 withdrawn, and what does that mean for anyone relying on it?
Tennessee AG Opinion 10-021 was withdrawn on February 24, 2010, the same date that would have been its issue date. The Office published a one-page record stating only 'This opinion has been…
Could Richland County require a school district to undergo development site review and pay its review fee?
The Attorney General said Richland County could require School District Two to submit to development site review because the county’s land development rules were zoning ordinances that applied to…
Were South Carolina boating accident reports open to public records requests in 2010?
The Attorney General concluded that boating accident reports filed with the Department of Natural Resources were disclosable under South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act after the legislature…
Could cashing an insurance reimbursement check bind the recipient to the statement printed above its endorsement line?
The Attorney General found no general South Carolina statutory or case-law prohibition on the endorsement statement it was shown. It said whether the particular parties’ contract authorized the…
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