State AG Opinions
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Could a South Carolina transportation commissioner serve another consecutive term after the agency was reorganized?
The AG said the 2007 reorganization did not alter the statutory bar on consecutive commission terms. Because the person in the request had already completed one term, the AG considered him…
Who could legally pronounce and certify a death in South Carolina under the rules the AG reviewed?
The AG treated pronouncement as the medical certification of death and reiterated its earlier view that only a physician, coroner, or medical examiner could certify it under the regulation discussed.
Was a free random-prize promotion for South Carolina state employees an illegal lottery?
The AG concluded that the described WeSave promotion lacked the payment or other sufficient consideration needed for a lottery. It offered prizes by chance, but membership was free and a winner…
Can a Texas county court at law judge decide felony cases when assigned to a district court?
Kerr County Attorney Rex Emerson asked whether a county court at law judge, assigned by the presiding judge of the administrative judicial region to sit in district court, could render judgment in…
Can a Texas justice of the peace also hold a county EMS or other county job at the same time?
Terrell County Attorney Marsha Monroe asked three questions about county officers holding more than one county position. First, the Attorney General concluded that a justice of the peace may also…
Could Connecticut's pardons board commute a parole-ineligible murder sentence to make the person eligible for parole?
No, under the statutes analyzed in 2007. The Attorney General said the board's broad pardon and commutation powers did not let it turn a sentence that the legislature made ineligible for parole into…
Could Colleton County take volunteer fire departments' stations and equipment by creating a county fire district?
The AG said the county's fire-district ordinance did not itself authorize taking property belonging to private volunteer departments. The county could pursue a purchase or lease, or use eminent…
Could South Carolina treat a juvenile delinquency adjudication as a felony conviction when reviewing guns and security licenses?
The AG said a juvenile adjudication was not a conviction and did not itself impose the ordinary civil disabilities of one, including the stated firearms and licensing restrictions. SLED could still…
Could Blacksburg businesses put name-and-address flags on sidewalk lamp posts in a highway right-of-way?
The AG said those flags were prohibited signs if the lamp posts stood in the highway right-of-way and the flags were visible from the main-traveled road. The business names and addresses made them…
Could a South Carolina transit agency put advertising on bus stop benches in a state road right of way?
The AG concluded that advertisements could not be placed on bus stop benches at marked stops within a state road right of way. The statutory advertising exception and DOT rules covered bus shelters,…
How could Florida county voters petition for single-member county commission districts in 2007?
The 2007 informal letter summarized section 124.011's petition route: signatures from at least ten percent of qualified county electors, a registered political committee with a named chair, the…
Could Layton change Florida's Chapter 162 code-enforcement procedure in a city ordinance?
The 2007 AG letter declined to judge Layton's proposed ordinance. It explained that a municipality choosing Chapter 162 code enforcement had to use its prescribed procedures without local…
Could Edisto Beach ban height variances, and how was county debt divided when land changed counties?
The AG concluded Edisto Beach could not use the cited zoning provision to bar height variances; it covered use variances. For county boundary changes, debt apportionment had to be just and…
Could a Moncks Corner town administrator also serve on the Summerville Planning Commission?
The AG concluded that the described town administrator likely held a municipal job rather than a public office. Because planning commission membership was an office but the administrator job was…
Could one Williamston council member order town staff to exhume a time capsule without a council vote?
The AG concluded that a single council member lacked authority to act for the town or direct employees to exhume the capsule, assuming no law or ordinance gave that member such power. The council…
Did an existing privately held Florida tax certificate survive when a county bought the property?
Yes, on the assumed facts. The 2007 AG opinion held that a private tax certificate issued while the land was taxable remained valid after the county acquired it. Chapter 197 governed redemption and…
Does the Texas section 133.154 special court filing fee apply to cases filed in a statutory probate court?
Two district attorneys, Susan Reed of Bexar County and John Roach of Collin County, asked whether the special civil filing fee in Local Government Code section 133.154 (added by the 2005 House Bill…
Can a Texas legislator sell insurance to a state university under article III, section 18?
Texas Southern University asked whether a member of the Texas Legislature could provide insurance services to a state university, where the legislator had signed competitively bid insurance…
Could a South Carolina town claim Eleventh Amendment immunity from a student loan wage withholding suit?
The AG concluded that a town did not share the Eleventh Amendment protection applied to a state agency in an earlier student loan garnishment case. That state agency ruling therefore did not protect…
Could a Kentucky agency sign a personal service contract extending beyond the current budget biennium?
Yes. The AG said a state agency could enter a personal service contract extending past the current fiscal biennium, and the Government Contract Review Committee could approve it. Actual financial…
Did a South Carolina expungement order require the Criminal Justice Academy to destroy an officer’s certification investigation file?
The AG concluded that an investigatory file held in the Academy’s certification record did not have to be destroyed under the cited expungement statute and the 2004 order. It distinguished arrest…
Does a Delaware town have to name a specific person in the meeting agenda before voting to remove them from a volunteer board?
No, under the law as it stood in 2007. The AG found that listing 'Executive Session if needed to discuss personnel matters' on the agenda gave adequate notice before the Cheswold Town Council…
Could Florida enforce its employer sanctions law despite federal immigration-law preemption in 2007?
The 2007 informal letter said federal law expressly preempted state or local civil and criminal sanctions on employers of unauthorized workers, apart from licensing and similar laws. The office said…
Could Sumter County restrict dogs with pit bull ancestry and limit how many dangerous dogs a person owns?
The AG found legal support for breed and number restrictions under equal protection decisions from other states, but said only a court could decide the proposed Sumter ordinance’s validity. It also…
Could Calhoun County pay to settle a lien on purchased land after a court discharged it?
The 2007 informal letter found no basis for Calhoun County to pay the proposed lien settlement after the circuit court discharged the lien and the appeal was dismissed. On those facts, the AG's…
Did federal law require Florida to negotiate prohibited casino games to obtain tribal gaming revenue sharing?
No, according to the 2007 opinion. The AG read the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act as requiring negotiations over Class III games the state permitted, not games it specifically prohibited. A tribe…
Could a nonprofit created by Washington cities and fire districts serve as the retirement-system employer?
The Attorney General concluded in 2007 that the nonprofit could serve as employer for the named LEOFF, PERS, and volunteer-firefighter plans if the interlocal agreement delegated the obligations and…
Did Connecticut's Siting Council have authority over cell towers owned by towns?
The 2007 opinion did not give a definite yes or no. It found that the statute's text could include municipal towers used for cellular service, but other provisions and the Council's longstanding…
Could New Haven's Elm City Resident Card be used as voter ID without proving eligibility to vote?
The Attorney General found it reasonable in 2007 for the Secretary of the State to allow the Elm City Resident Card as proof of identity during registration and at the polls. The card could not, by…
Did weighted voting under South Carolina Senate Rule 51 invalidate House Bill 3782?
The AG declined to judge Rule 51’s constitutionality. It concluded weighted voting was not used in the bill’s ultimate passage, which occurred by unanimous consent, and expected a court to presume…
Did contract attorneys serving as guardians ad litem in Connecticut juvenile cases receive state employee immunity?
No. The AG concluded that these contract attorneys were independent contractors, so they did not receive the statutory immunity, indemnification or state legal defense reserved for state officers…
Could Maryland raise compulsory school attendance to age 18 only in Prince George's County?
Yes. The Attorney General agreed that the General Assembly could raise compulsory school attendance from age 16 to 18 and limit the change to Prince George's County, provided the county-specific…
Did federal cable law bar Connecticut’s additional gross-earnings tax on video providers in 2007?
No. The AG concluded that the additional tax in Public Act 07-253 applied equally to cable, satellite and certified video providers, making it a generally applicable tax rather than a franchise fee…
Could a federally designated nonprofit housing agency operate inside a Colorado housing authority's territory?
Yes. The AG concluded that a federally designated nonprofit housing agency could work within a state housing authority's territory and contract with another authority to provide housing services there.
Did heirs need a new Florida homestead exemption application after inheriting an already exempt home?
Yes, the 2007 letter said the new owners needed an initial homestead exemption application despite the prior owner's exemption and Clay County's waiver of annual refiling. The office could not…
Could a Florida sheriff arrest a seller for price gouging during a declared emergency?
The 2007 letter treated price gouging itself as a civil enforcement matter for specified state offices. It said a sheriff could arrest an emergency seller who lacked the required business tax…
Could Florida city commissioners share documents about upcoming business outside a public meeting?
Yes. The 2007 opinion said a city commissioner could send documents for upcoming commission business outside a public meeting if the other commissioners did not respond or interact about them before…
Was Lexington County’s chief deputy clerk a public officer despite lacking the statutory deputy appointment formalities?
The AG concluded that the chief deputy clerk held a public office for dual office holding purposes because the position exercised clerk of court powers. Lack of court approval and an oath under the…
Can the City of Elmira use its charter-amendment power to abolish the state-created Elmira Water Board or change how its commissioners are selected and overseen?
No. Although a city normally can amend even state-enacted charter provisions through home rule, the Elmira Water Board was created as an independent body corporate by special state act and is not…
Can a New York county require a super-majority vote of its legislature to pass certain resolutions, like spending under an austerity plan or hiring under a hiring freeze?
Yes, but only by local law and subject to mandatory referendum. A county cannot impose a super-majority requirement for resolutions through its own internal rules of procedure, because that…
Can a Texas county clerk put court records online for the public to search?
A Texas House committee chair asked whether the El Paso County district and county clerks could store court documents in an electronic database and make them searchable online. The Attorney General…
Could a false name on a South Carolina marriage license invalidate the marriage or trigger a penalty?
The AG said a false affidavit accompanying a marriage license application could trigger the cited misdemeanor penalty, depending on the facts. An incorrect name alone did not appear to invalidate a…
How is the 10% fee cap for a Texas state-employee charitable campaign manager calculated?
A Texas House committee chair asked whether the 10 percent fee a campaign manager may charge charities in the state employee charitable campaign is measured against the contributions collected in…
Could graffiti inside a South Carolina prison or juvenile detention hall count as publicly viewable vandalism?
The AG said the graffiti statute could apply inside those facilities because some areas could be publicly viewable despite restricted access. Applicability depended on the specific location; a…
When could Kentucky authorize early voting without amending its Constitution?
The AG said legislation providing early voting to comply with federal law, a binding final court decision, or Kentucky Bill of Rights protections would not require a state constitutional amendment.…
Could Charleston County create a lesser resisting arrest offense so a magistrate could hear the case?
The AG stood by an earlier opinion that a county could not create a resisting arrest ordinance with a lower penalty or lesser form of resistance than state law. Such an ordinance would conflict with…
Could an SCDOT commissioner elected to finish a vacancy serve a later full term?
The AG concluded that service for the remainder of another commissioner’s term did not count as the one full term allowed by the statute. A commissioner serving a partial term was therefore eligible…
Could a South Carolina town incorporate near an existing city, and did an existing city’s claimed interest block it?
The AG identified a five mile incorporation limit, not the seven mile rule in the request, subject to statutory exceptions. A city’s mere claim of interest did not block a proposed town unless the…
Did a student trustee have to quit a part-time job at the community college district?
The California Attorney General concluded in 2007 that the district did not have to terminate the student’s employment on appointment to its governing board. The employment-termination rule for…
Does federal law override Texas's concealed-carry proficiency certificate rules for retired police?
The Kerr County Attorney asked whether 18 U.S.C. section 926C, the federal law letting qualified retired law enforcement officers carry a concealed firearm, preempts the Texas Occupations Code…
Could Spartanburg County exempt older vehicle owners from its road maintenance fee?
The AG concluded that the proposed age class did not create a uniformity problem because all members of that class would receive the same exemption. It declined to decide whether the exemption…
Did granting a conservation easement for mitigation credits require a subdivision map?
The California Attorney General concluded in 2007 that the described grant did not trigger the Subdivision Map Act. The company kept ownership and possession of the land, and neither the easement…
Could a U.S.-citizen student qualify for Colorado in-state tuition if the student's parents were undocumented?
Yes. The AG concluded that a U.S.-citizen, unemancipated student could qualify if the parents established Colorado domicile and the student met the other tuition requirements.
Does owning part of a holding company make you ineligible for a Texas bingo license?
The Texas Lottery Commission asked whether an applicant for a bingo manufacturer's or distributor's license is ineligible if an individual it must name in the application holds 10 percent or more of…
Can a Texas district attorney accept private donations to pay office staff?
A district attorney asked whether she could set up a nonprofit to take in donations and use them to supplement her employees' pay. The Attorney General said a prosecuting attorney has no general…
Can a BYOB pool hall operate without a liquor license in Texas?
A district attorney asked whether a downtown Corsicana pool hall could let customers bring and drink their own alcohol (BYOB) without a license from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and…
Were Charleston County’s parks appointments and merged election board acts unconstitutional special laws?
The AG considered both county specific acts constitutionally suspect and expected a court would likely find them invalid under home rule precedent. Only a court could decide; the acts remained…
Could a Colorado State Board of Education member also direct the Charter School Institute?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Charter School Institute, not the Department of Education, employed its executive director, so the new employment restriction did not bar dual service.
Could Washington’s Insurance Commissioner release examination working papers under a public-records request?
The Attorney General concluded in 2007 that RCW 48.02.065 made covered financial and market-conduct examination materials confidential and privileged, leaving no general discretion to release them.…
Did South Carolina’s Education Oversight Committee have to approve standards for Old and New Testament electives?
The AG concluded that the State Board of Education alone was responsible for the standards for those elective courses. Because the courses were not core courses, the opinion found no required…
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