State AG Opinions
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Who decides whether a foreign country like South Korea is a reciprocating state for enforcing Florida child support orders?
A circuit judge asked the Attorney General to determine whether South Korea is a reciprocating 'state' under section 88.1011(19) for enforcing child support orders. Assistant Attorney General Joslyn…
Could Connecticut use state employee retirement fund assets to pay audit staff overtime and clear a pension backlog?
Yes. The AG concluded that, in the circumstances described, using retirement fund assets to pay audit staff overtime was a permissible plan-administration expense that served members and beneficiaries.
Can a Florida board member share a written report with other members before a public meeting without violating the Sunshine Law?
In an informal letter, Assistant Attorney General Joslyn Wilson noted that this office could only issue a formal opinion if a majority of the board requested it. As general guidance, the letter…
Could Campobello police enforce the law on Interstate 26 between mile markers 2 and 5?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that Campobello police appeared to have jurisdiction on I-26 between mile markers 2 and 5. Miles 3 to 5 had been annexed into town; a contract with the Spartanburg…
When is a golf course in a Florida subdivision a common element so its taxes get spread across the lot owners?
Attorney General Bill McCollum answered two questions for the Seminole County Property Appraiser. First, a golf course in a platted residential subdivision that is designated on the plat or site…
Can a Florida county use its own fee ordinance to get confidential crash reports during the 60-day exemption period?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that Escambia County could not use its Motor Vehicle Accident Cost Recovery Fee Ordinance to obtain crash reports that are confidential and exempt for 60…
Could one person sit on Charleston County's assessment appeals board and Mount Pleasant's workforce-housing committee?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that the same person could serve on the Charleston County Board of Assessment Appeals and Mount Pleasant's workforce-housing committee. The appeals board seat…
Would a proposed military-children school compact change South Carolina enrollment and guardianship rules?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that proposed Senate Bill 319 partly matched existing enrollment law but would add new rules. A child could attend a noncustodial parent's district under…
Did Connecticut animal sellers need a pet shop license for a one-day exposition in 2009?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that a person selling animals to the public at even a short event met the statutory definition of a pet shop and had to obtain a pet shop license.
Can a Texas county give juvenile board members health insurance, and can the commissioners court later cut it off?
Yes on both counts, the Attorney General concluded. A district judge who sits on a county juvenile board and is paid a supplemental salary by the county may be provided county medical insurance…
Can a Texas county hire a private firm to collect delinquent court fines without infringing the district attorney's prosecutorial power?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. Article 103.0031 of the Code of Criminal Procedure lets a county's commissioners court contract with a private attorney or vendor to collect unpaid fines, fees,…
Could South Carolina county election offices accept voter-registration forms by fax or email and keep the electronic copy?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that county election offices could choose to accept voter-registration applications by fax or email. An accurate electronic copy kept accessible for later…
Can a union get a list of Florida retirees' names and addresses from the state retirement system?
After AFSCME requested a list of all retired Career Service employees, the Department of Management Services asked about its duties under section 121.031. Senior Assistant Attorney General Gerry…
How can a Maryland State's Attorney get someone's medical records for a criminal case under HIPAA and state law?
Maryland's Attorney General laid out how a State's Attorney can obtain confidential medical records for a criminal investigation or trial while complying with the Maryland Confidentiality of Medical…
Could a South Carolina county hire a private security company to provide security for a general-sessions courtroom?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that the sheriff or a deputy had to provide security for the court of general sessions and follow the presiding judge's rules or orders. Because the courthouse…
Could Florence choose a council member other than the mayor to preside at meetings, and could the mayor seek project funding alone?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that Florence's council-manager government could assign meeting chair duties to a council member other than the mayor. The mayor could write a personal support…
Can a Texas justice of the peace order a truant student to wear an ankle monitor as a condition of probation?
Yes, if the court finds it reasonable, the Attorney General concluded. In a failure-to-attend-school case under Education Code section 25.094, a justice court may defer the case, place the person on…
Can a Florida city spend its traffic-fine automation money on mobile data terminals and the monthly fees to run them?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that a city may use the traffic-fine money it receives under section 318.21(9) to pay not just for devices like mobile data terminals and portable units (a…
Can a Florida city charge a code violator with a repeat violation when they never fixed the original one?
Attorney General Bill McCollum concluded that a city may not cite and prosecute someone for a repeat code violation under section 162.06(3) based on a prior adjudication of the same violation that…
Did a South Carolina Class 3 officer have full custodial arrest powers in 2009?
No. The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that a Class 3 officer did not have full police custodial arrest powers. Such officers' authority was limited by their certification, regulations, and…
Could a new Kershaw County sheriff take back control of the detention center without county council consent?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that the prior sheriff's approved transfer of jail duties to Kershaw County ordinarily bound a successor sheriff. Because the statutes did not specify how to return…
Are a Florida water control district's recreational powers limited to its water-control purpose?
Yes. Asked to reconsider AGO 2009-13, the AG's office stood by it: a water control district is a special-purpose entity with no home-rule powers, so the recreational facilities it may own and…
Can a Delaware school board have police remove someone who won't stop yelling and disrupting a meeting?
Yes, the AG found. FOIA lets a public body remove anyone who is willfully and seriously disruptive of a meeting, and a man who refused to sit down or stop yelling for about six minutes met that…
Could Lexington County require profits from a blind-operated detention-center commissary for its inmate welfare fund?
The Attorney General did not resolve whether Lexington County could require a share of the blind-operated commissary's profits for inmate welfare. The 2009 letter found competing statutory and…
Could the Dallas ISD school board change its trustees' term lengths after the December 2007 deadline?
No, the Attorney General concluded. Education Code section 11.059(e) let a school board adopt a resolution changing its trustees' term length, but only if it did so no later than December 31, 2007.…
Did manipulation or adjustment by a South Carolina physical therapist count as practicing medicine?
The Attorney General did not decide whether a licensed physical therapist's adjustment or manipulation was the practice of medicine. The 2009 letter set out the statutory definitions but said the…
Could a Horry County senator who lived outside the county vote on Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority appointments?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that the statute's resident-member voting rule was constitutionally suspect under a federal appeals decision. Pending a new court ruling, the office urged following…
Did Maine's Informed Growth Act (which limits new big-box retail unless an economic-impact study finds no 'undue adverse impact') violate the dormant Commerce Clause or federal antitrust laws?
No, in the AG's view. AG Janet Mills concluded the Informed Growth Act could be defended on both fronts: it does not directly discriminate against out-of-state interests under dormant Commerce…
Were Charleston harbor pilots' vessels considered South Carolina law-enforcement vessels?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that Charleston Branch Pilots' vessels should be considered South Carolina law-enforcement vessels. He characterized their role as quasi-law-enforcement…
Can a Texas county auditor who is also a CPA ethically audit an emergency services district?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. Health and Safety Code section 775.082 requires an emergency services district to file an audit report, which a commissioners court may direct the county auditor…
Did Washington public housing authorities have to follow alternative public works contracting rules?
Yes. In 2009, the attorney general concluded that housing authorities were public bodies under RCW 39.10 and had to comply with that chapter for covered alternative public works contracting. The…
Is a Florida city's Facebook page a public record, and does the Sunshine Law apply to it?
Mostly yes. Because a city's Facebook page must serve a municipal purpose, the AG presumed its contents are public records under Chapter 119, subject to records-retention schedules, and that…
Can a Florida city pass its own ordinance regulating consumer fireworks?
Not under the law as it stood in 2009. The AG concluded that the moratorium in Chapter 2007-67, Laws of Florida, still barred a municipality from adopting any ordinance that directly prohibits or…
Can a Florida housing finance authority loan its surplus funds to for-profit developers to build affordable housing?
Yes. The Housing Finance Authority of Palm Beach County could loan its surplus funds to for-profit developers to finance qualifying housing (construction, purchase, reconstruction, or…
Can city police enforce traffic laws and speed limits on private gated-community roads in Florida?
Yes. When a gated community signs a written traffic-control agreement with the city under section 316.006(2)(b), municipal police may enforce Chapter 316 traffic laws on those private roads,…
Can a Florida city hold a closed Sunshine Law attorney-client session about a lawsuit where the named defendant is a city employee, not the city itself?
The city may hold a closed attorney-client session under section 286.011(8) when it is a real party in interest in the pending lawsuit, even if it is not a named party. The AG described the city's…
Can a Florida city council meet in closed session to discuss intergovernmental conflict-resolution settlement terms?
No. The AG concluded that the Sunshine Law's narrow 'shade meeting' exemption in section 286.011(8) covers only settlement negotiations or litigation-expenditure strategy in pending litigation. It…
Did Dorchester County legislators need weighted votes when recommending Water Authority board members?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that Dorchester County's legislative delegation should use weighted voting when recommending Water Authority board members. Under the federal court's interim…
Could a South Carolina magistrate continue hearing cases while on bond for a misconduct charge?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that he knew of no automatic rule barring a magistrate from holding court merely because the judge was out on bond for misconduct. Suspension or removal belonged to…
Could Maine pay outstanding MaineCare hospital settlements with proceeds from a General Fund bond issue?
Likely no. AG Janet Mills concluded that hospital settlements are 'current expenditures,' which Article V, Part 3, Section 5 of the Maine Constitution prohibits funding from the proceeds of bond…
When a South Carolina mayor's office became vacant, did the mayor pro tempore become mayor and need a new oath?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that a mayor pro tempore serving during a mayoral vacancy remained mayor pro tempore rather than becoming mayor or being sworn in as mayor. The official…
When must a Texas water utility paint a fire hydrant black under Health and Safety Code 341.0357?
An owner does not have to first test whether a device flows under 250 gallons per minute, the Attorney General concluded. Health and Safety Code section 341.0357 requires painting a hydrant-looking…
Can a Texas county attorney appoint or commission reserve or unpaid peace officers?
No, the Attorney General concluded. The statutes that authorize reserve peace officers name specific appointing authorities (sheriffs, constables, municipalities, and navigation districts), and…
Can the Edwards Aquifer Authority refuse recharge permits and contracts for water facilities built before the 1993 Act?
Yes, a court would likely uphold such rules, the Attorney General concluded. The Edwards Aquifer Authority manages groundwater withdrawals under a strict aquifer-wide cap. Its powers include…
Could a 2009 Idaho ballot initiative amend the Idaho Constitution to allow elective Bible curriculum in public schools?
Citizens could propose a statute by initiative, but could not initiate the constitutional amendment this petition sought. The AG also warned that a Bible curriculum law could face litigation under…
Can a Florida water control district buy a golf course with a restaurant and bar?
No. The AG concluded that the Spring Lake Improvement District, a water control district that had never adopted its required water control plan, was not authorized to buy a multi-use golf course…
Who decides how the Texas Permanent School Fund's total return is calculated and how the constitutional payout limit applies?
The State Board of Education does, the Attorney General concluded. As the agency that manages the Permanent School Fund (PSF) and sets the distribution to the available school fund (ASF), the Board…
Could a South Carolina city or county levy a local sales tax under the laws reviewed in 2009?
The Attorney General found no general law then allowing a South Carolina municipality to levy a sales tax. Several statutes did allow counties to impose particular sales and use taxes, usually after…
Can a Texas county lease county office space to a nonprofit for less than fair market value?
Yes, as far as the bidding statute goes, the Attorney General concluded. Local Government Code section 263.007 lets a commissioners court use competitive bids to sell or lease county property. Its…
Can a Texas school district hire a private company to run reverse auctions for purchases over $10,000?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded, with a caveat. The Legislature lets school districts use the reverse auction procedure for purchases of $10,000 or more, and the statute is silent on whether a…
Can Oregon use Measure 66 lottery funds, which the constitution dedicates to parks and recreation, for State Fair operations and State Fair debt service?
Yes. The AG concluded that Measure 66 funds could pay current State Fair operations and debt service on its 1999 improvement bonds. The Fair's recreational character and its connection to the Parks…
Must a Texas sheriff give the county treasurer bank statements for forfeiture and commissary accounts?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. In Delta County, which has no county auditor, Local Government Code section 115.901(a) directs the treasurer to examine the sheriff's accounts, dockets, and…
Can a Texas county remove a fence in a county road right-of-way that the commissioners court calls a safety hazard?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. A commissioners court has general control over the county's roads and a duty to keep them safe for public travel, and the Transportation Code requires public…
How should a Texas county clerk index a correction or amendment to a deed signed by a title company, not the original owners?
The county clerk has discretion, the Attorney General concluded. When a real-property instrument is recorded under Property Code section 12.0011(b)(2), that statute does not say how to index it, and…
Could the Colorado state personnel director require Clinical Security Officers at the Pueblo mental health institute to either become certified peace officers or be reclassified out of the security occupation group?
Yes. The AG concluded that the state personnel director had the statutory authority to classify state positions, that his determination Clinical Security Officers were misclassified was reasonable…
When will a Florida city pay a public official's attorney fees for defending an official-duty lawsuit?
The AG's office declined to review the city's proposed motion (a local matter), but laid out Florida's common-law rule: a public official is entitled to a legal defense at public expense only when…
What private-sector business can Florida's PRIDE prison-industries program engage in?
The AG's office explained that PRIDE, the nonprofit that runs Florida's correctional work programs under Chapter 946, may operate or contract with the private sector for Prison Industry Enhancement…
Can Florida voters require referendum approval for big city capital projects by charter amendment?
Yes. The AG concluded that a city charter may be amended by citizen petition initiative under section 166.031 to require voter approval of any capital improvement project exceeding $500,000. That…
Could a state senior psychologist also serve on South Carolina's psychology licensing board?
The Attorney General concluded in 2009 that a senior psychologist at the Vocational Rehabilitation Department could also serve on the state Board of Examiners in Psychology. The board seat was a…
Could Columbia spread a fire-sprinkler property-tax credit over four years or pay it as a rebate?
The Attorney General said in 2009 that Columbia had authority to offer the fire-sprinkler property-tax credit, but its delayed-claim, four-year installment, and rebate features appeared contrary to…
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