State AG Opinions
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Could Ocala lease unused city airport land for nonaviation use for more than 30 years?
Yes, on the facts presented. The AG concluded that Ocala could lease airport land for more than 30 years when the land was no longer needed for aeronautical purposes and the lease was for…
Could a Florida school board build a vehicle shop to maintain city vehicles and use the income for schools?
No. The AG concluded that Flagler County School District could not use its school-purpose powers to build a maintenance facility and service Palm Coast city vehicles just to earn money for its…
When did a Florida property owners association have to open its records and meetings to the public?
The AG concluded that the Compass Lake property owners association was subject to Florida's public records and open-meetings laws when it acted for the county's municipal services taxing unit. The…
Could a Connecticut public university punish student editors for publishing an offensive cartoon?
The 2007 AG opinion said the public university could not censor or retaliate against the student newspaper or its editors because of the cartoon's content. It could make future structural changes…
When a Texas judicial district is created, must the state fund the new judge's salary?
Governor Rick Perry asked the Attorney General two questions about the newly created 444th and 445th Judicial Districts in Cameron County: whether the courts existed so that he could appoint judges,…
Did South Carolina require a political party to use a particular account to pay presidential-primary filing fees?
The AG found no South Carolina law requiring the party to pay those fees from a specified account or type of funds. It expressly left federal campaign-finance restrictions unresolved.
Would Florida recognize a Mexican divorce if neither spouse lived in Mexico?
The AG's office said it had no power to validate a foreign divorce decree. Based on the correspondent's statement that neither spouse had residence or domicile in Mexico, it informally said the…
Could Colorado's governor appoint a judicial-discipline commissioner while the Senate was adjourned?
Yes. The AG concluded that a recess appointee could exercise all commissioner powers until Senate action or adjournment, and that a former judge could serve in an attorney position.
Could Niceville annex land separated from the city by navigable water?
The AG's office did not decide whether Niceville could annex the two parcels. It explained that a body of water alone need not defeat contiguity, but the annexation still had to satisfy practical…
Could a South Carolina county stop paying sheriff's deputies when grant funding for their positions ended?
The AG said it was extremely doubtful that a county council could eliminate funding for particular deputy positions when a grant or special revenue source ended. It appeared the county would have to…
Does Texas's impact-fee timing rule control a city's fees if the city raised the amounts after June 20, 1987?
Senator Mike Jackson, on behalf of the City of League City, asked whether Local Government Code section 395.016(b), which sets when impact fees adopted before June 20, 1987 may be assessed and…
Did South Carolina's employee grievance process limit the DNR director's power to remove enforcement officers?
The AG concluded that the specific statute letting the Department of Natural Resources director remove enforcement officers at discretion controlled over any general state employee grievance…
Were food items sold through South Carolina vending machines exempt from sales tax as unprepared food?
The AG concluded that the unprepared-food exemption did not apply to vending-machine transactions. Under the statute discussed, tax generally fell on the vendor's purchase of the goods rather than…
Could Baltimore require religious accommodation in multifamily housing without State or federal preemption?
The Attorney General agreed with the City Solicitor that a proposed Baltimore ordinance requiring reasonable accommodation of religious practices in multifamily dwellings was not preempted by State…
Could a Kentucky mayor veto a city ordinance by returning it to the city clerk instead of the council?
No. Under the mayor-council statute examined, the AG said a mayor had to return the disapproved ordinance and objections to the city council. Returning them only to the city clerk was an ineffective veto.
Could a South Carolina council adopt a comprehensive plan without a favorable planning commission vote?
The AG said the planning commission had to recommend the plan or amendment before the governing body adopted it. The recommendation required an affirmative vote of a majority of the commission's…
Who had authority to hire and fire staff of a South Carolina county election commission?
The AG reaffirmed its earlier view that a county election commission had implied authority to hire and fire its employees. It found no change in the underlying law that would shift that authority to…
Could Allendale County charge a fire-protection fee on forest and agricultural land?
The AG said the county was authorized to impose its described fire and rescue fee on county property. It found no statute categorically preventing county fire protection because of the Forestry…
Could an employee of a South Carolina soil and water conservation district also serve as its commissioner?
The AG said a court might find the simultaneous employee and commissioner roles incompatible under the common-law master-servant rule, because commissioners supervised district employees. Only a…
Could a South Carolina public college commission discuss a general anti-nepotism policy in closed session?
The AG concluded that the commission had to discuss a proposed general anti-nepotism policy in an open meeting. The employee-specific executive-session exception did not cover a policy applicable to…
Could a Dillon County councilmember also be the county's E-911 director?
The AG said the director was a county employee rather than a second public officer, so the state dual-office ban likely did not apply. But simultaneous service would likely create a prohibited…
Can a Georgia county temporarily borrow money from its SPLOST account to cover other county expenses?
No. The Attorney General concluded that SPLOST proceeds must stay in a separate account and be spent only on the voter-approved projects listed in the SPLOST resolution. Even short-term borrowing…
Can a Delaware city retroactively justify withholding FOIA records based on things said after it already refused the request?
No, the AG found. Delaware's potential litigation exemption is judged by what a city objectively knew when it made its withholding decision, so statements and news stories from weeks after the City…
Could Charleston County's school district charge a nonconverted charter school rent for an existing building?
The AG read the 2005 local act to prohibit rent for both converted and nonconverted charter schools using existing district buildings. It also believed a court would uphold the act against the…
Did a San Francisco supervisor’s disputed residency justify a court challenge?
The California Attorney General granted leave in 2007 to sue in quo warranto over whether Edmund Jew met District Four residency requirements. The opinion found a substantial question and a public…
Could a Baltimore County auditor inspect student residency records to review school enrollment policy?
The Attorney General concluded that Baltimore County's auditor could not inspect student residency files solely to evaluate the school board's proof-of-residency policy. The auditor could inspect…
Could Miami Beach use a charter referendum to set hospital-district rezoning rules?
The AG's office did not give a final answer because it lacked facts about how many parcels the proposed charter amendment would affect. It warned that a referendum effectively rezoning five or fewer…
Could Fairfield County's school board shorten current officers' two-year terms by changing its policy?
The AG said the school board could revise its officer-election policy to one-year terms, even though doing so would shorten the current chair, vice-chair, and secretary terms. The change would not…
Could Davenport amend its city charter to let voters decide taxes, budgets, salaries, and capital projects?
In a 2007 informal letter, the Attorney General's office explained that a city charter initiative could not conflict with state laws assigning tax and budget decisions to the governing body. It saw…
Could the public demand Connecticut’s master prospective-juror list under freedom of information law?
No. The AG concluded that Connecticut’s master list of prospective jurors was outside mandatory public-record disclosure. The Judicial Branch could choose to release a properly redacted version, but…
Could Belleair Beach appoint one person as both city clerk and city manager?
No, not as two separate appointments. The AG concluded that Belleair Beach's clerk and manager were distinct charter offices, so one person could not hold both. He said the city could instead amend…
Did Florida school districts have to screen noninstructional employees who could access students or school funds?
Yes. Under the law examined in 2007, noninstructional district employees with access to school grounds while students were present, direct student contact, or access to school funds had to meet…
Could an unopposed South Carolina town council cancel its election and then raise its own pay?
The AG said Moncks Corner still had to hold its municipal election to preserve write-in voting. It also concluded that council and mayor pay increases most likely could not take effect until after…
Could a South Carolina deed have a photocopy of a certified death certificate attached for a surviving joint tenant?
The AG found no general bar to recording a deed with an attached document. But it read the joint-tenancy statute to require a certified copy of the death certificate for its conclusive transfer…
Can a Texas county use road bond money on a city street that connects to a county road on only one end?
Senator Mike Jackson, on behalf of Galveston County, asked whether the county could use road bond funds issued under article III, section 52(b) and (c) of the Texas Constitution to work on city…
Did South Carolina's emergency-scene traffic rule apply to a routine police traffic stop?
The AG concluded that a simple traffic stop with only law-enforcement vehicles and no emergency scene did not fall under the emergency-scene statute discussed in the opinion.
Did a South Carolina archives-disposition law belong to the higher-education commission because of its code location?
The AG concluded that the provision's placement among higher-education statutes was a coding mistake. Its record-disposition powers belonged to the Department and Commission on Archives and History,…
Can the Long Island Power Authority pay performance bonuses to its employees, and can it give charitable contributions or sponsorship dollars to local civic and not-for-profit groups?
Performance bonuses paid as part of LIPA's compensation structure are within its statutory power to fix employee compensation. Sponsorships and contributions only work if they directly relate to a…
Could Polk County voters make county land-use rules prevail over municipal density rules through a charter amendment?
Yes. The 2007 opinion concluded Polk County could amend its charter to limit increases in residential density countywide, and a countywide referendum was enough for land regulation; separate…
Could a South Carolina school district spend waived millage-reduction funds on routine building maintenance?
The AG said a waiver did not free the funds from the statute's limits: they had to support authorized renovations, capital improvements, or repairs. Some maintenance, such as repairing a damaged…
Could South Carolina cancel a commercial driver's license based only on a federal watchlist match?
The AG found no state-law authority to revoke a commercial driver's license solely for a terrorist-watchlist match. It said the DMV could cancel a license if it determined the driver was not…
Can a Texas bail bond board grant a temporary license or extension so a surety can keep working after the license expires?
Collin County Criminal District Attorney John R. Roach asked whether a county bail bond board could adopt a local rule that temporarily extends a surety's license past the expiration dates set in…
If a Texas school district misses the deadline to file a truancy complaint, can it still file one for a later absence?
Representative Charlie F. Howard asked two questions about a school district's duty under Education Code section 25.0951(a) to file a truancy complaint after a student's tenth unexcused absence.…
Could a South Carolina town police officer also serve as municipal court clerk?
The AG warned that a police officer's clerk duties created an apparent conflict with the court's required neutrality. Actually holding both the police and clerk offices also likely violated the…
Could Connecticut's Insurance Commissioner decide a worker classification dispute that changed a workers' comp premium?
Yes, if the employer's complaint charged a violation of the insurance rating statutes and met the review conditions described in the opinion. The 2007 AG opinion said the Insurance Commissioner…
Can a Texas police association charge its members lower tuition for required continuing education courses?
Timothy Braaten, head of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE), asked whether the Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA), a continuing-education…
Could Connecticut require Social Security numbers for LIHEAP income checks despite the federal Privacy Act?
Yes. The AG concluded that federal LIHEAP law allowed Connecticut’s social services department to require Social Security numbers to verify applicants’ income, despite the Privacy Act’s general…
Did expunging an arrest record require a South Carolina police department to remove a related newspaper article from its website?
The AG said the newspaper article was not among the arrest and booking records covered by the expungement statutes it reviewed, even though it appeared on the police website. The opinion…
Could a South Carolina county charge everyone booked into jail a nonrefundable processing fee?
The AG found no legal basis for Dorchester County's fifteen-dollar booking fee, including when charges were dropped or the person was acquitted. It relied on an earlier opinion that questioned fees…
Could Mount Dora retire a development district's bonds and charge property owners new special assessments?
The 2007 informal letter said Mount Dora had to follow Chapter 190's service-transfer and termination process, including assuming related district debt. It considered a new special assessment…
Could a Bartow planning commissioner speak privately with residents before a quasi-judicial land-use hearing?
The 2007 informal letter gave no blanket yes or no. It said the prejudice presumption would appear to remain absent appropriate procedures under section 286.0115 or an alternative process. Identical…
Is a Texas public employee's net salary public, and does it go in the state spending database?
Comptroller Susan Combs asked which public-employee information had to go into the new public database of state expenditures created by House Bill 3430 in 2007. The Attorney General concluded that a…
Could eligible people in a Connecticut household receive federal heating aid when another household member was ineligible?
Under the federal rules analyzed in 2007, Connecticut could develop policies to provide heating aid to eligible people in a mixed-status household, with benefits reduced to exclude ineligible…
Could Brunswick use water and sewer connection fees for routine treatment-plant operating costs?
For Brunswick's existing financing agreements, sewer connection fee revenue was dedicated to debt service and unavailable for operating costs. The Attorney General also said connection fees under…
Did a Maryland District Court judge have to pause a jail sentence while the defendant appealed?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a District Court judge could grant release and stay imprisonment during an appeal, but did not have to. A defendant denied a stay could ask the circuit court…
Could Lauderdale Lakes move its city commission organizational meeting by ordinance after changing its election date?
Yes, for the narrow change considered in 2007. Because Lauderdale Lakes had moved its election to November, the AG concluded it could change the yearly organizational meeting date and the resulting…
Could Fort Lauderdale require city commissioners and lobbyists to follow local charitable-donation ethics rules?
Yes in principle. The 2007 opinion said Florida municipalities could adopt ethics rules that were stricter than, or different from, the state ethics code if complying with both remained possible.…
Could Deltona weigh a city's net benefit before approving voluntary annexation, and could an owner challenge a denial?
Yes to both, as the 2007 opinion framed them. Section 171.044 gave Deltona discretion whether to adopt a voluntary-annexation ordinance, and the AG said considering net benefit was consistent with…
Who decides what financial software a Texas county auditor's office uses, the auditor or the commissioners court?
Johnson County Attorney Bill Moore asked whether the county auditor, under Local Government Code sections 84.901 and 112.001, can choose the financial software for the auditor's own office, pick…
Could Connecticut state marshals use a private LLC to collect and assign legal papers for service in 2007?
No, for the proposed network the AG reviewed in 2007. A private LLC could not receive and distribute legal process to marshals or charge them membership and software fees tied to serving it.…
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