State AG Opinions
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Could the Texas House remove its Speaker, and was impeachment the only lawful method?
The Attorney General predicted that a court would likely treat the Texas House Speaker as a state officer subject to impeachment, but impeachment was not the only possible removal method. The…
Did reserve-police service count as certified law-enforcement experience for South Carolina sheriff candidates?
The AG concluded that a sheriff-qualification statute could use the identical definition reenacted elsewhere after its old cross-reference was repealed. He also concluded that reserve police…
Who kept Chester County deed and mortgage records when there was no register of deeds?
The AG concluded that, because Chester County had no register of deeds, its clerk of court performed that office’s statutory recordkeeping duties and kept the related deed, mortgage and other…
Could a Florida treatment provider's nonlawyer employee file an involuntary treatment petition?
The 2007 AG letter did not decide whether a corporate treatment provider's nonlawyer employee could file its petition. It said the statute was unclear on counsel, while expressly requiring the…
Could Connecticut’s Judicial Review Council discipline a per diem workers’ compensation commissioner?
Yes. The AG concluded that per diem acting workers’ compensation commissioners were subject to the Judicial Review Council, and that the council could investigate past misconduct by a former acting…
Could a South Carolina mental-health commissioner also serve on a county school board?
The AG concluded that Mental Health Commission membership and county school-board membership were both public offices, so one person could not hold both simultaneously. A commissioner could run for…
Could a bondsman surrender a defendant to an unrelated county jail or request an informal release hold?
The AG said a surety seeking immediate surrender should take a defendant to the detention facility where the bond was issued, subject to the statutory affidavit and motion. A jail in another county…
Could South Carolina emergency management enter its proposed disaster-grant applicant agreement?
The AG reviewed the proposed agreement for local applicants under two disaster-funding programs. He said the Emergency Management Division had authority to enter it, found the reviewed provisions…
Could Summerville enforce its sign rules inside town limits on state or county rights-of-way?
The AG concluded that Summerville’s sign ordinance generally applied throughout town limits, including county and state rights-of-way. State law nevertheless barred most signs within highway…
Could a Connecticut arts grant go to a religious organization?
Yes, under the 2007 grant program described to the AG. Religious organizations could receive arts grants on neutral terms, but the funds could not support religious activity, and the agency's…
Could Connecticut’s probate judge disciplinary council investigate misconduct after the judge left office?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Council on Probate Judicial Conduct retained authority to investigate and, if warranted, discipline a former probate judge for misconduct committed while in office,…
Did South Carolina’s move-over statute cover a traffic stop with only police vehicles present?
On further review, the AG concluded that the move-over statute could be read to include traffic stops attended only by law-enforcement vehicles. He cited its wording about authorized emergency…
Could a South Carolina charter-school committee use a nonprofit to manage hiring and could an advisory panel veto its charter?
The AG said a charter-school committee could use a nonprofit for administrative hiring work if the committee retained final supervision and control over hiring and firing. The Charter School…
Did Colorado dual-enrollment students earning high-school credit have to prove lawful U.S. presence for district-paid college tuition?
No. Students using college courses to earn high-school credit under the Postsecondary Enrollment Options program could receive district tuition payment or reimbursement without proving lawful presence.
Could a South Carolina town give its mayor strong-mayor powers by council ordinance without a referendum?
The AG concluded that changing an established municipal form of government required a referendum. The council could call the election by ordinance, but an ordinance alone could not make the change.
Could South Carolina inmates receive good-conduct credits for donating organs or bone marrow?
The AG said the proposed discretionary credit provision did not appear unlawful on its face, but warned that a court could treat credits given for transplant donations as prohibited valuable…
Did Colorado state employees have a right to strike, and could Executive Order D 028 07 require them not to strike?
State employees had a qualified statutory right to strike, but not while the Division of Labor Director exercised jurisdiction over the dispute. The executive order could add no-strike terms for…
Could Connecticut's comptroller offer a pooled municipal health plan without Insurance Department approval?
The AG said yes under the statute he reviewed in 2007. Reconsidering an earlier opinion at the Insurance Commissioner's request, he reaffirmed that the comptroller could offer a voluntary,…
Was a Florida veteran's homestead tax discount based on a VA disability rating or the sum of separate ratings?
The 2007 AG letter read the homestead tax discount as matching the veteran's permanent, service-connected disability percentage determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It declined to…
Can a Texas county buy a generator and lease it to a local radio station?
The Guadalupe County Attorney asked the Attorney General whether it would violate the Texas Constitution for the county to spend public money on a generator and then lease it to KWED, a local AM…
Can a Texas county judge issue one mass gathering permit for several events?
The Comal County Criminal District Attorney asked the Attorney General whether a county judge may issue a single mass gathering permit to cover a series of similar events, or whether each event…
Could South Carolina amend the Greenville Hospital Board's local enabling act after Home Rule?
The AG considered an amendment to the board's pre-Home-Rule local act constitutionally suspect as special legislation. An enacted amendment would remain presumptively valid unless a court struck it down.
Could a Mauldin planning commissioner also serve on the city's cultural center board?
The AG concluded that the planning commission seat was a public office, but the cultural center board seat likely was not. On the facts supplied, holding both seats did not violate South Carolina's…
Was farm equipment exempt from South Carolina vehicle registration if it used a road fewer than ten times a year?
The AG said the number of road trips alone did not decide the exemption. Highway movement had to be necessary and connected to the equipment's use as an implement of husbandry.
Which education taxes counted as school operating millage for South Carolina's homestead exemption reimbursement?
The AG included millage for kindergarten through grade twelve education, school districts and boards, vocational and career centers, and alternative schools. It applied the same reading to the older…
Could a licensed nonphysician call themselves 'doctor' while treating patients in South Carolina?
The AG read the medicine statute to treat use of 'doctor' in work diagnosing or treating human conditions as the practice of medicine unless the designation also identified the person's licensed…
What liability insurance must a Texas real estate inspector carry to get licensed?
The Texas Real Estate Commission asked the Attorney General to interpret new insurance requirements that Senate Bill 914 (2007) added to the Occupations Code for real estate inspector licenses. The…
Can a Texas county appoint its county judge as the county budget officer?
The Williamson County Attorney asked the Attorney General whether a county that chooses to operate under subchapter C of chapter 111 of the Local Government Code (the optional method that lets…
Could a Florida city impose a special assessment for fire protection and emergency medical services?
The AG's office explained that Florida courts permitted special assessments for fire protection when property received a special benefit and the charge was properly apportioned. It also noted that a…
If two Florida community development districts merge, who can vote for the new board?
The AG concluded that the proposed merger would create a new community development district, whose initial supervisors would be elected by landowners under the district-creation rules. The existing…
Can a Florida court clerk charge a collection agency for staff support after referring unpaid court fees?
No. The 2007 opinion found no authority for a clerk to bill the collection agent or attorney for the clerk's administrative support after referring unpaid court debts.
Did an internet search company qualify as a manufacturer for Washington’s rural sales-tax deferral?
The Attorney General concluded in 2007 that the described internet-search and data-formatting services were not “manufacturing” under the rural-county sales and use tax deferral statute. The opinion…
Are seller-paid concessions in an Oregon residential real estate transaction confidential information that a real estate licensee cannot share with appraisers?
By default they are confidential under ORS 696.800-696.870. But if the seller instructs the licensee to disclose the information to the buyer, it loses confidential status and the licensee may then…
Could a Florida prosecutor choose between two bad-check statutes carrying different penalties?
Yes. The 2007 AG letter said the state attorney could choose which statute to prosecute under when stopping payment on a check with intent to defraud fell under both the farm-products misdemeanor…
When did property transferred from a dissolved Washington school district enter the receiving district’s excess-tax levy?
The Attorney General concluded in 2007 that territory transferred after June 1 entered the receiving district’s levy the next levy year, for collection the year after that. For the August 31, 2007…
Could any South Carolina officer collect a cash bond at a traffic stop?
The AG concluded that the cited roadside cash-bond authority applied to officers of the State Highway Patrol and State Police, not to other law-enforcement officers generally. He noted separate…
Could a Florida county require a written request to remove an item from a meeting's consent agenda?
The AG's office saw no Sunshine Law violation in requiring a written request to the chair to pull a consent-agenda item for public discussion. It cautioned commissioners against discussing the…
How did Connecticut’s 2007 civil-union law affect eligibility for Medicaid and other public benefits?
The AG concluded that eligible civil-union partners had to receive state-law benefits. Connecticut could seek federal Medicaid reimbursement only for benefits payable under federal…
Can an out-of-state bank with no Maryland branch hold trust accounts for Maryland lawyers?
The Attorney General concluded that a financial institution located entirely outside Maryland and its neighboring jurisdictions, such as a federal savings association headquartered and branched only…
Could South Carolina’s Election Commission put Social Security numbers on potential-juror lists?
The AG concluded that the State Election Commission was neither required nor authorized to include Social Security numbers on potential-juror lists sent to county jury commissioners.…
Did Florida's AG approve Delray Beach's proposed noise ordinance?
No approval was given. The AG's office declined to review the proposed Delray Beach ordinance, but explained generally that municipal rules could not conflict with state law and flagged Chapter…
Did Florida law require a county to provide fire and emergency medical service everywhere in the county?
The 2007 AG letter found no general constitutional or statutory mandate for a county to provide fire suppression or emergency medical services. It did not resolve whether Columbia County could vary…
Did Maryland's Ethics Commission have to identify all financial-disclosure filers and review every filing each year?
The Attorney General said the Ethics Commission was chiefly responsible for identifying certain executive-branch officials who had to file, using agency information; it had a narrower role for…
Was Greenville County School District’s annual millage increase capped at four mills?
The AG read Act 602 of 1992 to limit Greenville County School District’s annual operating-millage increase to four mills, including increases based on inflation, unfunded mandates or reduced…
Did a LoJack tracking device count as a theft deterrent in a financed car sale?
The California Attorney General concluded in 2007 that the described LoJack tracking and early-warning systems were theft deterrent devices for conditional car-sale disclosure. The seller had to…
Does the Texas Lottery Commission have to give disabled residents meaningful access under the ADA?
State Senator Rodney Ellis asked the Attorney General whether the Texas Lottery Commission violates the federal Americans with Disabilities Act if it fails to provide 'meaningful access' to state…
Were Connecticut prison inmates doing housekeeping work covered as employees by state workplace safety law?
No. The AG concluded that inmates assigned to housekeeping within a correctional institution were prisoners performing assigned work, not Department of Correction employees covered by Connecticut’s…
When could a funeral director require a county coroner to take unclaimed remains?
The California Attorney General concluded in 2007 that the director could require the coroner to take remains after determining that burial was not provided for by the decedent or estate and that no…
Could Clearwater spend infrastructure surtax money repairing a privately owned aquarium whose land could revert to the city?
No. The AG concluded that Clearwater could not use infrastructure surtax proceeds to improve the privately owned Clearwater Marine Aquarium facility. The city's right to recover the land if its use…
Did Florida's 2007 charitable-solicitation law override a city's total ban on roadway fundraising?
No. The AG read the 2007 amendment as exempting certain charities from local permit rules, not forcing Clearwater to allow solicitation where it had no permit program and banned all roadway…
Could Sebring Airport Authority use several continuing professional-services contracts and rebid each project?
The AG concluded that Sebring Airport Authority could have multiple continuing contracts for covered professional services. It could not require firms already under those contracts to bid against…
Did selling phone cards make a Florida computer sweepstakes lawful?
No automatic exemption followed from selling phone cards or filing a game promotion. The AG said a chance-based terminal might qualify as a prohibited slot machine, but local law enforcement had to…
Was every Florida tort claim notice confidential until the related lawsuit ended?
No blanket exemption applied. The AG said a tort claim notice might be part of a confidential risk-management claims file, but the county had to decide in good faith whether a particular notice fit…
Did Maryland's 2007 State living-wage procurement law apply to Anne Arundel Community College?
The Attorney General agreed that Anne Arundel Community College's procurement contracts were outside the 2007 State Living Wage Law because the college was not a unit governed by the general State…
Could a South Carolina school district withhold a settlement agreement because it promised confidentiality?
The AG concluded that the confidentiality clause did not override South Carolina's FOIA. The district had to disclose the settlement's nonexempt information, separating any narrowly exempt material.
Could the Native American Heritage Commission delegate sacred-site investigations to its executive secretary?
The California Attorney General concluded in 2007 that the executive secretary could investigate, hold hearings, and prepare recommended findings. The commission had to retain final judgment and…
Could South Carolina's environmental agency withhold nuclear-waste monitoring records just because an operator called them proprietary?
The AG said DHEC had to assess any trade-secret claim itself, apply the exemption narrowly, and separate exempt from releasable information. It also recommended that monitoring reports use standards…
Did a firearms permit appeals board member have to recuse from cases involving issues in his own lawsuit?
Yes, for appeals involving the same issues as the board member’s pending lawsuit. The AG said he had to recuse from permit cases about required citizenship documents or delayed board hearings, but…
Did real estate transactions between the West Virginia State Armory Board and other public bodies need approval by the Board of Public Works?
Yes. The 2007 AG opinion concluded that the acquisition and disposition of real property by and between the State Armory Board and other public bodies was subject to approval by the West Virginia…
Could Connecticut require contractors to pay interest when repaying a home-construction guaranty fund by agreement?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Department of Consumer Protection could require statutory interest in voluntary installment agreements to repay the home improvement or new home construction guaranty…
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Two states are not listed and are not pending: New Hampshire publishes its opinions on a page that automated retrieval cannot read, and Rhode Island publishes no complete full-text archive at all. We will add them if that changes.