State AG Opinions
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Could Kentucky's community college board abolish tenure for faculty hired after July 2009?
The AG concluded that Kentucky's community college board could set procedures and standards for earning tenure, but could not eliminate tenure for newly hired regular faculty. The 2009 policy…
Could Connecticut state marshals charge two service fees for one lis pendens delivery or perform marshal work through an LLC?
The 2009 opinion said a marshal could not charge separate fees for simultaneously serving a lis pendens and the underlying civil action. It also rejected state marshal work through an LLC, referral…
Did Washington’s 5,000-gallon domestic well exemption also limit water used on a half-acre lawn or noncommercial garden?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that lawn and noncommercial garden watering of up to one-half acre was a separate permit exemption, outside the 5,000-gallon daily domestic-use limit. Ecology…
Does Virginia's industrial development authority statute let a county-level IDA finance subsidized single-family housing, even though the statute's purpose paragraph only mentions 'municipalities'?
Yes. After the 2006 amendment to § 15.2-4902(xiii) substituted 'localities' for 'municipalities,' Virginia industrial development authorities created by counties (whose housing authorities have not…
Do you have to be a licensed lawyer to run for or be appointed to a judgeship in North Carolina?
Yes, with one narrow exception. Article IV, Section 22 of the North Carolina Constitution requires anyone elected or appointed to the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Superior Court, or District…
For a South Carolina city annexation, are the 75% petition thresholds measured across the whole proposed area?
Yes, under the annexation method examined in this 2009 opinion. The Attorney General said the city should count freeholders and assessed property value across the entire proposed area, including…
Can a Florida city fill appointive-board vacancies by ordinance without a charter referendum?
Yes. Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that the City of Winter Park could adopt an ordinance letting alternate board members advance to fill vacancies without a charter referendum, because…
Do Florida 'community service officers' or 'public service aides' need police certification if they do law enforcement work?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that whether 'public service aides' or 'community service officers' must be certified depends on their actual duties, not their job titles. If a person's…
When must a Florida community development district hold its board elections?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that once a community development district elects board members by its qualified electors, those elections must be held at the general election, meaning the…
Can a Florida water control district enforce parking and traffic rules on its own canal rights-of-way?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that the Melbourne-Tillman Water Control District has no independent police, traffic, or code enforcement power. Under section 316.006, it may enter a…
Could Cherokee County School District use bond sales tax revenue to cover its operating deficit?
The Attorney General said the 2009 funding-flexibility resolution did not change the earlier bond-tax law. Excess sales tax revenue could support operations only under the earlier act’s conditions,…
Could a South Carolina city impose jail time for drug paraphernalia possession when state law set only a civil fine?
The Attorney General stood by a 2004 opinion finding a local criminal penalty valid, reasoning that the state paraphernalia law imposed a civil penalty. It acknowledged ambiguous case law and…
Must a county offer the Commission for the Blind the first chance to place vending machines if it uses contracts instead of permits?
Yes, under the 2009 opinion. The Attorney General treated Anderson County’s vending contract process as a permit for this statute, so the Commission for the Blind had to receive the first option; a…
Could a South Carolina county shelter and care for animals other than dogs and cats?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that a county or municipality could establish and fund a shelter to impound, care for, house, adopt, or euthanize animals beyond dogs and cats, and could…
Do Florida's inmate-medical-fee caps apply when a private prison already has a contract with the provider?
The office declined to issue a formal opinion because the questions involved other state agencies' duties and came from a legislator on behalf of constituents. Informally, it noted that section…
Could Louisville's mayor sign a downtown development deal before council appropriated the promised funds or sought bids?
The AG said Louisville's mayor could negotiate and sign the Center City development agreement before every funding provision was approved, but its unappropriated spending terms would not take effect…
When a public board uses weighted voting, do you count members or vote weight to decide if there's a quorum?
In an informal opinion, the Attorney General's office found no statutory quorum requirement for the Southwood Shared Resource Center's board of trustees. Absent one, common parliamentary law sets a…
Does a county's employee health insurance trust lose its Texas premium tax exemption if it does more than just pay premiums?
Probably not, in the Attorney General's view. Insurance Code section 222.002(c)(5)(A) exempts premiums paid on group health, accident, and life policies by a 'single nonprofit trust' established to…
Could Connecticut's governor veto individual appropriations without signing the rest of the budget bill?
No. The AG concluded that a governor could veto individual appropriations only while signing and approving the rest of the bill. If the governor left the bill unsigned, the entire bill became law…
Can a school principal also serve on the board of trustees of another school district in Texas?
Yes, on the facts presented. The Attorney General concluded that neither article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution nor the common-law doctrine of incompatibility bars one person from serving…
Can a Texas city use the fast annexation exception when some tracts in the area have no house on them?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that Local Government Code section 43.052(h)(1), which lets a city skip the three-year annexation plan for an area containing fewer than 100 separate tracts with…
Did Georgetown police have original jurisdiction over the navigable Sampit River?
The Attorney General said the city’s ordinary authority extended to the strip between the high- and low-water marks under Section 5-7-140(B), but found no basis for general city jurisdiction over…
Could a South Carolina state constable also serve as a part-time county magistrate?
The Attorney General said the constitutional dual-office ban did not itself bar the combination because constables were exempt. Even so, the office advised against serving in both roles because…
Could children avoid out-of-district school tuition by owning property in the district they attended?
The Attorney General concluded that property ownership could satisfy an attendance qualification but did not remove the payment requirement for nonresident students. It also found that general…
When a Virginia juvenile court transfers a juvenile to circuit court for adult prosecution and no one appeals, when does the juvenile court actually lose jurisdiction, and when can the juvenile be moved from juvenile detention to the adult jail?
Immediately. Once the juvenile and domestic relations court enters a transfer order under § 16.1-269.1(A), the juvenile court is divested of jurisdiction at that moment. The juvenile may be moved…
If a Virginia county treasurer used the wrong school census numbers to split local sales tax revenue between towns, can the county recover the overpayments through the state's error-correction process, or does the county have another way to claw it back?
No to the first remedy, yes to a different one. Section 58.1-605(F)'s error-correction process applies to the Comptroller's monthly payments to counties, not to a county treasurer's downstream…
Can a Virginia locality like York County, worried about Chesapeake Bay pollution, pass an ordinance restricting or banning fertilizer use on lawns?
Yes. Under §§ 10.1-603.7(A) and 15.2-924.1(A), Virginia localities can adopt ordinances that regulate or even prohibit the use or application of fertilizers. The locality must base the ordinance on…
If a Virginia nonprofit religious corporation hires pastoral counselors and claims to be a 'community-based citizen group or organization,' does the Attorney General decide whether its staff is exempt from counselor licensure?
The Board of Counseling is the Virginia agency the General Assembly designated to interpret who qualifies as a 'community-based citizen group or organization' under § 54.1-3501(4), the licensure…
What can a Florida property appraiser do if the value adjustment board hasn't finished and last year's final taxable values aren't known yet?
In an informal opinion, the Attorney General's office concluded that Florida's statutes contemplate the property appraiser using the value adjustment board's final actions to certify the assessment…
Could a Washington sewer district pay to repair privately owned side sewers that send excess water into its system?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that a district could fund those repairs when they increased sewer capacity by reducing infiltration and inflow. The expenditure would avoid the constitutional…
Which ethics rules applied to Maryland liquor control boards and local zoning and liquor licensing boards?
In 2009, the Attorney General treated the operating liquor control boards in Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties as State entities for ethics purposes. A specific statute governed Harford's…
Did a mayor pro tempore filling a vacancy become mayor and receive the mayor’s salary?
The Attorney General maintained that the mayor pro tempore served as mayor until a successor was elected without becoming the mayor. It concluded that, while performing the mayor’s duties during the…
Could a South Carolina assessor deny the legal-residence tax ratio solely because a homeowner’s vehicle was taxed or registered elsewhere?
The Attorney General said no: a vehicle’s tax or registration location alone did not prove the homeowner’s domicile had changed. The assessor could consider it with other evidence, and the homeowner…
When a Virginia juvenile court issues a child protective order requiring someone to 'abstain from offensive conduct,' does that include harassing, stalking, threatening, or putting a person in reasonable fear of bodily injury?
Yes. Without a Virginia statutory or judicial definition, 'offensive conduct' in § 16.1-253(A)(1) has its plain and ordinary meaning. The AG concluded it includes harassing, stalking, threatening,…
If a Lake Chesdin landowner builds a boat pier on land owned by the Appomattox River Water Authority under a permit agreement, who has to pay real estate taxes on the pier?
The landowner who built and uses the pier is the owner for real-property tax purposes, not the Appomattox River Water Authority, because the permit agreement makes the pier a structure 'appurtenant'…
When a Florida special taxing unit is replaced by a new district, who gets its old public records?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that the public records of the Spring Hill Fire & Rescue District Municipal Services Benefit Unit should be delivered under section 119.021(4) to the records…
Can a Florida county keep control of building and development permits inside a city through an interlocal service boundary agreement?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that the Interlocal Service Boundary Agreement Act cannot be used by a county to retain authority over issuing development and building permits and providing…
Can a Florida city enter and fix an unsafe property without the owner's consent, and can it arrest the owner without a warrant?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that an order of a city's Unsafe Structures Board allows the city to enter premises, even an owner-occupied homestead, to make reasonable repairs and abate a…
Did being a veterinarian automatically exempt someone from South Carolina animal-cruelty prosecution?
No. The Attorney General read the statutory exception for “the practice of veterinary medicine” as referring to acceptable or ordinarily recognized veterinary practice, and said it did not exempt…
How long did a governor-appointed Beaufort County clerk of court serve after the elected clerk resigned?
The Attorney General concluded that the appointee served the rest of the unexpired clerk’s term, with a new clerk elected at the next general election for that office. For the vacancy described in…
Could the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy hold classes at local buildings instead of its Columbia campus?
Yes, for the kinds of field or continuing classes considered in the opinion. The Attorney General said a training facility could be a location designated by the Academy director or Law Enforcement…
Did a civil fine for drug paraphernalia possession count as another conviction that blocked expungement?
The Attorney General concluded that the civil fine should not prevent an expungement otherwise authorized under the statute. It distinguished a civil penalty from a criminal conviction and relied on…
Did the type of ticket determine which court heard a South Carolina accessible-parking violation?
The Attorney General said the statutory uniform parking violation ticket was needed to give a magistrate or municipal court jurisdiction over the state-law violation. If a jurisdiction used an…
Should a South Carolina jail keep sending federal immigration notices and housing invoices when DHS refused to reimburse it?
The Attorney General said the jail should continue the notification and invoicing required by the state statute. It did not decide whether federal law required DHS to pay and suggested asking the…
Could a South Carolina town send unpaid municipal court fines to a private collection agency?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that, without specific statutory authority, a town could not report outstanding municipal court fines to a credit collection agency for debt collection. The…
Can the Texas Adjutant General and assistant adjutants general earn state compensatory time off?
Split answer. The Attorney General concluded that the Adjutant General cannot accrue state compensatory time, but the Assistant Adjutants General can. Government Code subsection 659.024(c) says a…
If Fairfax County converted to an independent city, what would happen to the existing City of Fairfax and Town of Vienna, and could the converted county use the same name 'City of Fairfax'?
If Fairfax County took the steps in Chapter 39 of Title 15.2 to become an independent city, the existing City of Fairfax and Town of Vienna keep their charters and their legal powers. Section…
Can a Virginia 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation's BPOL tax exemption shield its wholly owned, for-profit subsidiary that handles administrative and marketing services?
No. The BPOL tax exemption in § 58.1-3703(C)(18)(a) is limited to entities that themselves qualify as a 'nonprofit charitable organization' described in IRC § 501(c)(3) with deductible contributions…
Did Caltrans have to pay local hazardous materials program fees?
The California Attorney General concluded in 2009 that Caltrans had to pay the fees imposed by a Certified Unified Program Agency for regulated activities. The agency counted as a regulated person,…
Could a South Carolina town council member work as an election poll manager or clerk when not on the ballot?
The Attorney General said no. It treated council membership and poll-manager or clerk service as two public offices under the state dual-office prohibition, regardless of whether the member was a…
Did South Carolina’s EMS confidentiality law cover response times and trip counts as well as patient names?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that the statute protected all data collected or prepared in connection with emergency medical services, including response times, trip numbers, helicopter…
Could South Carolina keep assessing workers’ compensation carriers after the Second Injury Fund stopped accepting new injury claims?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the 2007 reform law continued carrier assessments during the fund’s wind-down to pay accepted claims, even though injuries on or after July 1, 2008 were…
Could a South Carolina school district spend bond-sale premium proceeds on operating expenses?
The Attorney General said school bond proceeds had to serve the purposes for which the bonds were issued and fund capital expenditures, not ordinary operations. It found no express South Carolina…
Did Kentucky's 2008 three-term limit count retirement trustees' earlier board terms?
The AG concluded that Kentucky's 2008 reduction from five to three consecutive retirement-board terms applied prospectively. Earlier terms did not newly disqualify a sitting trustee, but the opinion…
Could a California city employee with limited peace-officer powers use a badge resembling a peace-officer badge?
The California Attorney General concluded in 2009 that a public employee with limited peace-officer powers could use a similar-looking badge for official identification, provided it accurately…
Can the Virginia Secretary of Technology also serve as the Commonwealth's Chief Information Officer, and can the Information Technology Investment Board negotiate or modify VITA's big technology contracts?
No, an individual may not serve simultaneously as Virginia's Secretary of Technology and Chief Information Officer. The two offices are legally incompatible: the Secretary is an ex officio voting…
Could Ehrhardt’s police chief run for mayor of Norway and keep the police job if elected?
The Attorney General found no state dual-office prohibition on merely running. If elected and serving as Norway’s mayor, the chief could not simultaneously hold the Ehrhardt police-chief office; the…
Could a South Carolina register of deeds accept electronic recordings before the implementing rules were final?
The Attorney General said no in this 2009 opinion. It advised the Greenville County register of deeds to wait until the Secretary of State’s regulation process under the electronic-recording act was…
Can you secretly record a conversation with an official in their office in Florida, or is that illegal wiretapping?
In an informal opinion, the Attorney General's office explained that Florida's section 934.03 bars secretly recording an 'oral communication,' which means a conversation where the speaker has a…
Did summary-court judges have to expunge dismissed traffic or wildlife tickets with no arrest file?
The Attorney General said the 2009 no-conviction expungement provisions applied to Title 56 traffic and Title 50 wildlife charges brought in summary court when the defendant was acquitted or the…
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