State AG Opinions
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Who counted as a resident freeholder for a South Carolina petition to reduce city limits?
The Attorney General could not conclusively decide whether a property owner without lawful immigration status qualified as a resident freeholder. He predicted a court would likely exclude that…
What happened to a South Carolina county election when an unopposed party nominee died before the general election?
The Attorney General concluded that the unopposed candidate had already become his party’s nominee without appearing on a primary ballot. After his death, each party registered with the State…
Would a South Carolina bill barring regional councils from choosing water providers conflict with federal wastewater planning law?
The Attorney General concluded that the proposed state provision did not conflict with the Clean Water Act’s area-wide wastewater planning requirements. Regional councils could still develop plans…
Could a Kentucky manufacturer build and store gambling devices only for sale where their use was lawful?
The AG concluded that making and holding gambling devices in Kentucky solely for shipment to jurisdictions where their use was lawful did not violate KRS 528.080 on the facts presented. The statute…
When could Kentucky public schools claim Medicaid reimbursement for speech services by teachers certified through the EPSB?
The AG concluded that an EPSB certificate alone did not establish Medicaid reimbursement eligibility. The services had to be provided by, or under the direction of, a speech pathologist meeting the…
Can a Texas school district use a 403(b) plan administrator owned by a company that sells investments to its employees?
It depends on the facts. Representative Vicki Truitt asked whether a Texas educational institution (a school district or open-enrollment charter school) violates article 6228a-5, section 9(a)(4)-(7)…
Can Texas stop a parent convicted of a crime against a child from inheriting from that child?
Probably not, in most cases. Governor Rick Perry asked whether Probate Code section 41(e)(3), which lets a probate court bar a parent from inheriting from a child if the parent was convicted or…
Could a Florida physician assistant start a Baker Act involuntary evaluation in 2008?
The Attorney General said a licensed physician assistant could refer a patient for involuntary evaluation if the assistant had experience diagnosing and treating mental and nervous disorders and the…
Which South Carolina convictions did the AG identify as comparable to federal Tier III sex offender offenses?
The Attorney General supplied SLED a best-effort list of South Carolina offenses he considered comparable to federal Tier III categories, including specified criminal sexual conduct offenses and…
Did a South Carolina coroner regain office after acquittals and a prescription-drug possession conviction?
The Attorney General concluded that York County’s suspended coroner regained office after acquittal on the other charges because his remaining conviction for unlawful prescription-drug possession…
Could stores sell beer and wine on Sunday in Columbia’s portion of Lexington County despite the state blue law?
Yes, under the law the Attorney General analyzed in 2008. He concluded that the later, more specific off-premises beer-and-wine permit provision controlled over the earlier general Sunday business…
Could Greenwood’s public works commission give unused water-plant land to the city, county or a private buyer?
The Attorney General predicted the commission could likely re-title the land to Greenwood without compensation because it functioned as a city agency. He said transfers to the county or another…
If a Florida driver repaired a cited vehicle defect, did court costs still apply in 2008?
Yes. For the specified equipment violations, timely repair and the required affidavit reduced the fine to $7.50 under the 2008 statute, but the Attorney General said applicable court costs,…
Could a reporter obtain the names of Florida employees who requested home-address protection?
Yes, if the property appraiser maintained the requested list. In this 2008 opinion, the Attorney General said the exemption protected specified personal information, including home addresses, but…
Could a Florida sheriff voluntarily take less than the salary set by law?
No. The Attorney General said a sheriff could not lower the salary that Chapter 145 prescribed. The sheriff could receive the statutory amount and then donate some or all of it to the county.
Could South Florida's transit authority decide how to spend county contributions?
Yes, within the authority's legal purposes. The Attorney General said section 343.58(1) required counties to transfer funding but did not direct the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority…
Should clerks of court withhold the Peace Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund contribution from $15 seat-belt fines?
No. Because O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76.1(e)(1) declares that a seat-belt violation is not a criminal or quasi-criminal act, the trigger for the POPTF withholding statute (O.C.G.A. § 47-17-60(a), which only…
Could a Maywood council member also serve on the local water replenishment district board?
The California Attorney General granted permission in 2008 to bring a quo warranto suit over the dual offices. The opinion found substantial questions about conflicting duties and public interest in…
After Texas consolidated appraisal districts, who handles property tax protests from before 2008?
The old appraisal district keeps that authority. Representative Fred Hill asked how House Bill 1010, which realigned appraisal district boundaries to county lines and ended the practice of a…
Who is allowed to sign a protest against a zoning change in Texas?
Only owners whose land is both within 200 feet and listed on the city's tax roll. Representative Kevin Bailey asked, after an Austin zoning change, whether everyone owning land within 200 feet of a…
Does a planning commission's meeting notice have to specifically mention that it might waive a code requirement?
No, under the law as it stood in 2008. The AG found that an agenda listing a 'Request for Reconsideration' of a denied subdivision application gave adequate notice that the Rehoboth Beach Planning…
Could a South Carolina regional career and technology center borrow or issue bonds for building improvements?
The Attorney General concluded that the R.D. Anderson center board lacked express or implied authority to borrow or issue general obligation debt for capital improvements. A lease-purchase contract…
Can a city fix a vague meeting agenda by fully re-debating the issue in public at the next meeting?
Under the law as it stood in 2008, yes, according to the AG. Rehoboth Beach's 'committee structure' and term-limits agenda items were both technical FOIA violations, but a later full public debate…
Can Kentucky regulate alcohol sales and drinking inside Mammoth Cave National Park?
No. The AG concluded that Kentucky had ceded jurisdiction over Mammoth Cave National Park to the United States, and its reserved powers did not include regulating alcohol sales or consumption there.
Could Broward County use tourist development taxes to build a hotel beside its convention center?
No. The Attorney General said Broward County could not use the tourist development tax under the cited provision to build, furnish, or equip a hotel adjacent to its county-owned convention center.…
Could a Florida mosquito district reimburse commissioners for supplies or buy their computers?
The Attorney General said the Anastasia district could reimburse commissioners for district-business supplies within its charter's $100 monthly and $1,200 annual limits. The district could also buy…
Can a Georgia teacher who already gets a military pension for reserve service buy back the same active-duty time as TRS service credit?
Yes, but only for active duty performed while serving in a reserve component. Federal law (10 U.S.C. § 12736) overrides Georgia's anti-double-credit statute (O.C.G.A. § 47-3-83(c)) for that narrow…
Can a New York regional Off-Track Betting Corporation give its board of directors health insurance, either through the OTB itself, through the county, or by letting directors buy into NYSHIP at their own expense?
No to all three options. The Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law § 502(10) prescribes exactly what OTB directors may receive: per diem fees capped at $2,500 plus $1,500 a year, a $1,000…
Did a Florida school board have to give a union protected addresses of police officers' spouses?
No. The Attorney General said the school board was not required to give the certified bargaining representative home addresses and other protected personal information of employees who were spouses…
Could Richland County add a special-purpose sales tax on top of its existing local option tax?
The Attorney General concluded that Richland County’s existing one-percent local option tax did not itself prevent an additional transportation tax or a capital-project tax under the provisions he…
Could a county share property records on a limited network without officials’ permission?
The California Attorney General concluded in 2008 that the county did not need each official’s permission when officials’ addresses appeared incidentally in a property database and the data did not…
Could police withhold the names of officers involved in a lethal-force incident?
The California Attorney General concluded in 2008 that an agency generally had to disclose the officers’ names in response to a public-records request. It could withhold a name where case-specific…
Can a Texas charter school's employees get Social Security coverage through the state?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that an open-enrollment charter school is a 'political subdivision' under Chapter 606 of the Government Code and section 218 of the Social Security Act, which…
Could a relative enroll a South Carolina child in school using only a parent-signed temporary guardianship document?
The Attorney General concluded that the parent-signed temporary guardianship document in the request did not make the relatives legal guardians for the enrollment rules he analyzed. He said the…
Can a Texas county sell road equipment to a private company without competitive bidding?
Generally no. Medina County wanted to end a Caterpillar motor-grader lease by taking title to the grader and passing it to a dealer that paid the county $15,000, treating the move as just a way to…
Can a Texas appraisal district hire a firm that employs the chief appraiser's son?
Yes, the contract itself is allowed, but a separate rule can cost the chief appraiser his job. The Liberty County Central Appraisal District wanted to contract with an appraisal company that employs…
Could the public reach a South Carolina navigable stream from a highway right-of-way and stand on its bed?
The Attorney General said a court could find access from a public road right-of-way to a navigable stream, but the scope of a particular right-of-way depended on facts for a court. He also concluded…
When someone reports a candidate or campaign for making a false statement under Oregon election laws, does the Secretary of State have to investigate?
It depends on which statute is alleged. AG Hardy Myers concluded that ORS 246.046 and 260.345 require the Secretary to conduct a reasonable investigation of complaints alleging false statements that…
Can a Texas multi-jurisdictional library district levy a property tax without a constitutional amendment?
Probably not. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission asked whether a multi-jurisdictional library district created under Local Government Code chapter 336 can assess and collect ad valorem…
Could a Florida police department withhold past patrol trip sheets as tactical plans?
Generally no. The Attorney General said patrol trip sheets recording an officer's past movements were not themselves comprehensive emergency deployment or tactical plans and were generally open.…
Could a Florida city grant a business tax exemption that outlasted its voter-approved grant authority?
Yes. The Attorney General said a city acting while its voter-approved authority remained in force could grant a qualifying economic development property-tax exemption for up to 10 years. The…
Could a South Carolina regional council ban private sewer providers or deny their permits?
The Attorney General concluded that the Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Council of Governments could study water and sewer issues and recommend plans, but had no state-law authority to choose…
Could a South Carolina school district require a returning teacher to accept a contract before April 25?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a school district could not require a teacher offered reemployment to accept before the April 25 date in the statute he analyzed. District boards had to allow…
Could a council member be paid to perform urgent drug testing for a city employee?
The California Attorney General concluded in 2008 that the council member could receive the ordinary testing fee when no other nearby certified tester was available and time was critical after an…
Can a small Texas general-law city payroll-deduct police union dues under a collective bargaining contract?
Yes. The City of Balcones Heights, a Type A general-law city of about 3,000 people, had a collective bargaining agreement with its police officers' association calling for payroll deduction of dues,…
Must a Texas county approve LIRAP vehicle-program payments before paying, despite a five-day deadline?
Yes on the approvals, and the five-day deadline does not override them. Williamson County asked about the Low-Income Vehicle Repair Assistance, Retrofit, and Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Program…
Could police obtain treatment-facility patient information, and did an out-of-state juvenile have to register locally?
The Attorney General did not approve a blanket release of patient information to police; he said any disclosure had to fit a HIPAA law-enforcement exception and its information limits. For the…
Can Texas ban a foreign company from hauling horsemeat through the state for export abroad?
Probably yes. Chapter 149 of the Agriculture Code makes it a crime to sell, possess for sale, or transfer horsemeat as food for human consumption. Representative Warren Chisum asked whether that ban…
Can people in a needle-exchange program be prosecuted for drug paraphernalia in Texas?
Yes, potentially. In 2007 the Legislature let Bexar County set up a disease-prevention pilot program that could include anonymous exchange of used needles and syringes. But it never wrote any…
Did Fort Myers have to advertise leasing submerged land it owned before creating a redevelopment area?
No under the facts described. The Attorney General said section 163.380's redevelopment-disposition notice rule did not apply to Fort Myers submerged land acquired for another purpose before its…
Could Florida EMS give patient call records to local police even if police did not regulate EMS?
Under the Florida statute reviewed in 2008, yes. The Attorney General said an EMS transportation licensee could release emergency-call records including a patient's identifying and medical…
Did a Florida business get a separate tangible property tax exemption at each business site?
Yes, under section 196.183 as enacted in 2007B and applied to the 2008 tax roll: each site where the owner transacted business required a separate return and qualified for an exemption of up to…
Did two Florida city council members make a citizens police academy class a public meeting?
No. The Attorney General said the attendance and course participation of two or more city council members did not turn West Melbourne's citizens police academy into a Sunshine Law meeting. He…
Could two convictions from one South Carolina court appearance both be expunged?
Yes, potentially. After a South Carolina Court of Appeals decision, the AG said separate offenses resolved at one court appearance could each be expunged under the statute discussed, provided its…
Does a Delaware town's advisory commission have to hold open meetings before its bylaws are formally adopted?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2008. The AG found the Middletown Action Network became a FOIA public body the day the ordinance creating it took effect, not months later when it formally adopted…
Can a Texas airport authority that voters created but never activated still appoint its board years later?
Yes. Kerr County voters approved creation of the Kerr County Airport Authority in 1970, but the city and county never appointed the board, and the airport kept being run by a joint board instead.…
Must a Texas county give commissioners written notice before cutting their salary in the budget?
Yes. At a Grimes County budget hearing a commissioner proposed cutting each commissioner's salary by about $7,000 with no prior notice, and the cut was adopted. The county auditor asked whether that…
Could an employee of a Hartford Regional Market tenant fill a public seat on its governing board?
No, under the board statutes analyzed in 2008. An officer or employee of a Hartford Regional Market tenant could not serve as a public member of the Connecticut Marketing Authority board, but could…
Did a court-appointed Maryland settlement officer keep official immunity after the title changed from settlement master?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a court-appointed settlement officer performing tasks integral to the judicial process had at least qualified immunity, and likely absolute immunity, for…
When could Hardeeville vote again to change its city government, and when would the new mayor take office?
The AG said Hardeeville could not hold another form-of-government election until 2010, four years after its 2006 change. For a later vote, the city had to give at least three weeks' notice; the…
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