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Did South Carolina’s 2009 expungement law cover dismissed traffic and wildlife charges?
The Attorney General said summary courts had to expunge records of Title 56 traffic and Title 50 wildlife charges when the accused was acquitted or the charges were dismissed or nolle prossed,…
Could a licensed South Carolina security guard arrest someone and sign a warrant for an offense on assigned property?
The Attorney General said a registered or licensed guard had sheriff-deputy arrest powers on the property the guard was employed to protect, and could swear out an arrest warrant before a magistrate…
Could a South Carolina assistant solicitor also work as a part-time city prosecutor?
The Attorney General concluded that simultaneous service would most probably constitute holding two offices in conflict with the state Constitution. It relied on prior opinions treating both…
Could an Anderson County sheriff return a found handgun to the person who turned it in?
Yes, if the conditions in the 2009 statute were met. The Attorney General pointed to the required holding period, owner and crime checks, newspaper notices, the finder’s completed application and…
Can a Texas county bail bond board charge bonding companies a fee to pay for a bail bond administrator?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a county bail bond board may not impose a fee on bonding companies to pay for the cost of employing a bail bond administrator. No provision of chapter 1704 of…
When does the 10-year clock on a Texas property tax abatement start, the date the agreement is signed or a later date?
It can start later. The Attorney General concluded that the maximum 10-year tax abatement period under Tax Code section 312.204(a) may begin in a year after the year the agreement is signed. A 2009…
Can Idaho exempt cottage-site leases on state endowment land from the public auction requirement of Article IX, § 8?
No. The AG concluded that a reviewing court would likely find Idaho Code § 58-310A unconstitutional because Article IX, § 8 requires public auction of all endowment land dispositions, including…
Could Tega Cay swear in newly elected council members after election certification instead of waiting until January?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that a city had authority to move the date its council members took office, including the proposed shift from January to the first council meeting after…
Did South Carolina’s millage cap apply to the Anderson 1 & 2 Career and Technology Center, and could the county delegation approve a tax increase?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that the Center had no authority to levy taxes, so the statutory millage cap could not apply to it. The Anderson County legislative delegation also could not…
Can a Florida adoption agency make you list and lock up your guns separately, and is keeping that list legal?
In an informal opinion, the Attorney General's office noted that requiring separate storage of a firearm and ammunition is more restrictive than section 790.174, and that Florida's…
If a Virginia church puts its property into a separate nonprofit holding company and then leases the property back from that holding company for its religious use, can the property still get a church property tax exemption?
Yes. Real property owned by a religious nonprofit property holding company keeps the local property tax exemption under § 58.1-3606(A)(5) when the property is exclusively occupied and used for…
Can a Florida independent fire district charge impact fees on new construction if its charter doesn't authorize them?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that the North Okaloosa Fire District board had no authority to levy impact fees. Under section 191.009(4), an independent special fire control district may…
When did Connecticut's 2009 revenue estimate require lawmakers and the governor to revise their budget plans?
Under the 2009 act, a revised plan or gubernatorial budget document was required only when the new consensus revenue estimate fell below the appropriations in the original plan or document. A higher…
Did Washington irrigation water distribution districts survive repeal of the law that created them?
No. The Washington Attorney General concluded that repealing the law that created water distribution districts for irrigation dissolved the existing districts, and no statute converted them into…
When a Virginia medical malpractice claim is reviewed by a panel or tried to a jury, what standard of care does the law apply, and is there a national or specialty-board standard the Commonwealth has officially adopted?
Virginia uses a statewide standard of care set by § 8.01-581.20(A): the degree of skill and diligence practiced by reasonably prudent providers in the same specialty across the Commonwealth, proven…
In Virginia, can a local school board pick a math textbook that the State Board of Education hasn't fully approved for a given grade, and what process does the local board have to follow when doing so?
Yes, a local school board may select textbooks not approved by the State Board of Education for the particular grade level, provided it complies with the State Board's regulations. Those regulations…
Could a South Carolina House member also sit on the USDA Farm Service Agency state committee?
The Attorney General said a federal Farm Service Agency state committee seat was outside South Carolina’s constitutional ban on holding two state offices. It did not decide federal eligibility; it…
Could Greenwood County cut a part-time magistrate’s hours or pay when another magistrate returned or was appointed?
The Attorney General did not decide how hours should be reassigned after a suspended magistrate returned; any Supreme Court order controlled, and the Chief Magistrate was directed to State Court…
Can someone with a felony or a crime of moral turpitude on their record become a Texas notary public?
No, not for new applicants. The Attorney General concluded that Government Code section 406.004 bars the Secretary of State from commissioning as a notary public anyone who has been convicted of a…
Does Texas break federal law or the Equal Protection Clause by giving in-state tuition to undocumented students but not to out-of-state U.S. citizens?
The Attorney General would not say for certain. The opinion concluded that Education Code sections 54.052(a)(3) and 54.053(3) could be preempted by 8 U.S.C. 1623 if they grant a postsecondary…
Does a Texas county sheriff have to keep a room set aside for videotaping DWI suspects?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a 1983 law (section 24 of a DWI bill) requires counties of 25,000 or more to buy and maintain electronic devices that can visually record people arrested for…
Is it a conflict of interest for a district attorney to work in an office the county rents from the DA's own spouse?
Not under the facts presented. The Attorney General concluded that a district attorney's continued occupancy of county-leased office space in a building owned by the DA's spouse did not violate…
Can Texas health regulators fine a city for issuing a demolition permit without requiring an asbestos survey?
It is complicated. The Attorney General concluded that the word 'person' in the Texas Asbestos Health Protection Act (chapter 1954 of the Occupations Code) includes a municipality, so on the…
Would federal labor law have preempted Washington’s proposed ban on mandatory union meetings?
The 2009 attorney general opinion said yes for private employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act. It concluded that proposed SSB 5446 would regulate conduct arguably within the NLRB’s…
Could Anderson County require every service contractor to use E-Verify as the only way to satisfy South Carolina’s work-authorization law?
No. The Attorney General read the statute enacted in 2008 as giving covered service contractors alternatives to E-Verify, including specified driver’s-license or identification-card routes. Anderson…
Could a city without its own municipal court bring cases before a county magistrate whose office was outside city limits?
Yes, under the 2009 opinion, a municipality could prosecute its cases in any magistrate court in its county, even if that court sat outside municipal limits. The county governing body’s approval was…
Could Tega Cay require a sitting city council member to resign as soon as the member filed to run for mayor?
The Attorney General concluded that South Carolina’s Legislature had set mayoral qualifications and had not authorized cities to add a resign-to-run rule. The proposed Tega Cay ordinance would…
Could one person serve on both Charleston’s regional transit authority board and the state transportation review committee?
The Attorney General concluded that a seat on Charleston’s regional transit authority board counted as a public office, while service on the Joint Transportation Review Committee likely did not. It…
Can members of a Florida public board hash out business by passing letters around instead of meeting in public?
In an informal opinion, the Attorney General's office concluded that the Florida State Fair Authority, as a legislatively created state board, is subject to the Government in the Sunshine Law.…
What can a Florida commissioner of deeds actually do, and do they have to live in the foreign country?
In an informal opinion, the Attorney General's office explained that a commissioner of deeds is a gubernatorial appointee with only the limited powers the statutes grant: taking acknowledgments,…
Could the Colorado governor order mandatory unpaid furloughs of state executive-branch employees, and could the order pick and choose which departments, divisions, or positions were exempt?
Yes to both. The AG concluded that the governor had inherent supreme executive authority under Colo. Const. art. IV, § 2 to allocate staff and resources, including by ordering mandatory unpaid…
Does a county court at law judge who only handles misdemeanors share the duty to set up and fund a county probation department?
Likely yes. The Attorney General concluded that a statutory county court judge who tries criminal cases and has jurisdiction over only misdemeanors is probably among the judges described in…
Could Texas force a state agency to keep written minutes of its open meetings instead of just a tape recording?
Probably not, as the law stood. The Attorney General concluded that a court would likely find invalid a Texas State Library and Archives Commission rule that required state agencies to create and…
When New York's Judiciary Law ties a county district attorney's minimum salary to the county court judge's salary, does the DA get the higher supreme-court-justice salary if the local county court judge is temporarily sitting as an acting supreme court justice?
No. Judiciary Law § 183-a ties the DA's minimum salary to the statutory salary for the county's county court judge under Judiciary Law § 221-d ($122,700 at the time), not to whatever salary that…
Can a Port Jervis Common Council member be appointed acting city court judge when General City Law § 3 forbids the council from appointing its own members to paid city offices and the city charter says the council 'appoints'?
Yes. Filling an acting city court judge vacancy is governed by Uniform City Court Act § 2104(e), which makes it a mayoral appointment with the council's advice and consent. State law on court…
What did the Idaho AG say about a 2009 permanent absentee voter initiative?
The AG said the initiative did not appear to raise significant legal issues. He recommended showing where the new language would go in Idaho Code § 34-1002 and underlining it to help petition…
Are teacher-made practice tests for AP exams public records you can request from a Florida school district?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that student assessment tests developed by teachers to measure preparedness for college board advanced placement exams are confidential and exempt from the…
Can a Florida hospital district legally enter a joint venture with a private company to run a medical center?
In an informal opinion, the Attorney General's office explained that a hospital district like North Broward has broad statutory authority to participate in joint ventures, but only within the limits…
Did a South Carolina register of deeds have statutory authority in 2009 to accept credit cards for recording fees and taxes?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that he knew of no statute expressly authorizing a register of deeds to accept credit cards for recording fees or taxes. The credit-card provision he found applied…
Under Virginia law, can a Commonwealth's attorney or assistant Commonwealth's attorney carry a concealed handgun into a restaurant that serves alcohol, drink while doing so, or carry on school grounds?
Yes on schools and restaurants, no on intoxication. The 2008 amendments to § 18.2-308(B)(9) gave Commonwealth's attorneys a broad statutory exemption from the concealed weapons prohibition, subject…
Could a South Carolina Class III officer issue a summons when assigned limited arrest or special duties by a police chief or sheriff?
The Attorney General said a Class III officer could issue a summons when directed by the sheriff or police chief while performing limited arrest powers or special duties. The opinion excluded…
After a county shelter released a dog or cat under a written sterilization agreement, did the county have to police the adopter’s compliance?
The Attorney General concluded that a county shelter was relieved of responsibility and liability after releasing an animal under the written sterilization agreement described in the 2009 statute.…
What could a South Carolina county do with an indigent or unclaimed person’s remains, and who could authorize cremation?
The Attorney General said counties could spend public funds disposing of indigent remains and that a coroner or public administrator could authorize cremation when no higher-priority agent served…
Does an out-of-state company with a Texas headquarters or Texas-based officers have to register with the Texas Secretary of State?
It depends on the facts, and the Attorney General would not decide it in the abstract. The opinion concluded that whether a foreign entity is 'transacting business in this state,' and so must…
If a city council member deeds away land but keeps the right to its future sale proceeds, does that pull the land out of tax increment financing?
Probably not, on the ownership point. Tax Code section 312.204(d) excludes real property owned or leased by a member of a city's governing body from both tax abatement and tax increment financing.…
Can a Georgia local government or water authority enforce its stormwater rules against a state Department of Transportation construction project?
No. Local governments and local or regional authorities cannot regulate state agencies and their projects unless the legislature expressly delegates that authority. The model stormwater ordinance…
Could children who jointly owned district property qualify for tuition-free enrollment under South Carolina’s property rule?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that joint ownership did not meet the statutory property exception, even if each child’s share had an assessed value of three hundred dollars. Each child had to own…
Does a Virginia general contractor's mechanic's lien get invalidated because the lien claimant didn't separately file the required certification of mailing, even when the property owner actually received the notice?
Yes, the lien is invalid. After Britt Constr. v. Magazzine Clean, LLC (2006), the Supreme Court of Virginia treats § 43-4's certification-of-mailing requirement as a strict statutory prerequisite…
Could a retired Kentucky state forensic employee bill prosecutors an hourly rate for subpoenaed testimony about an old case?
The AG concluded that former Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet employees subpoenaed to testify for the Commonwealth about cases assigned during their state service were not entitled to…
Was the Housing Authority of the City of Spartanburg a public body under South Carolina law?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that the Housing Authority of the City of Spartanburg was a public corporate body and a South Carolina political subdivision. The letter relied on its…
Were the Town of Lane’s limits a square under its charter or a circle as residents had long assumed?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that Lane’s charter boundaries likely controlled and described a square. Long public acceptance of a circular boundary did not override a definite charter…
Could a local South Carolina bill authorize one school district to charge residential developers a school impact fee?
The Attorney General thought a court would likely treat Dorchester District 2’s charge as a fee rather than a tax, subject to factual review. It saw a possible special-legislation problem if a…
How are condo garage or dock spaces (limited common elements) taxed in Florida, to everyone or just the unit using them?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that limited common elements in a condominium should be assessed for taxation to the individual units that receive their benefit, not prorated among all…
Could Maryland use total census population, including noncitizens, to draw legislative districts even though only citizens could vote?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that Maryland could use total population for State legislative redistricting without violating the Fourteenth Amendment's one-person-one-vote requirement. State…
Could Red Line Advisory Council appointers name alternates, or could members send substitutes to vote?
No. The 2006 legislation establishing the Red Line Citizens' Advisory Council did not let appointing officials name alternates or appointed members delegate their seats. A visitor attending for an…
Can you get an outside auditor's working papers for a city audit through a Florida public records request?
In an informal opinion, the Attorney General's office explained that under section 473.318, a CPA's working papers remain the private property of the firm, except for reports given to the client or…
Did a Connecticut church have to register as a lobbyist for opposing bills affecting its own affairs in 2009?
For the church's specific 2009 conduct opposing bills that affected its affairs, the Attorney General said lobbying registration should not be enforced. He did not claim that every religious…
Who paid overtime and fringe benefits for Connecticut resident state troopers under the 2009 cost-sharing law?
In 2009, the Attorney General concluded that the cost-sharing statute covered both overtime pay and related fringe benefits. Towns owed 70 percent of those costs, and the state owed the other 30 percent.
Could someone run for a California city council and district board on the same ballot?
The California Attorney General concluded in 2009 that a candidate could seek both seats where the proposed city would replace and dissolve the entire existing community services district. Only one…
Can a Texas city hire the county or the appraisal district to collect the special assessments it charges in a public improvement district?
Partly. The Attorney General concluded that Tax Code section 6.24, which authorizes contracts to assess or collect ad valorem property taxes, does not cover special assessments in a public…
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