State AG Opinions
Free state attorney general opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
No opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Can Idaho's State Board of Education be split into two separate councils, one for higher education and one for public schools, the way House Bill 345 set up?
Not as fully autonomous councils. Article 9, section 2 of the Idaho Constitution requires a single State Board of Education with general supervision over all educational institutions. The AG concluded…
Can the NC State Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners adopt a rule defining rented cosmetology booths as 'cosmetic art shops' subject to licensure and inspection, even though the statute doesn't expressly say so?
Probably yes, if the Board could show on the facts that the definition was reasonably necessary for it to function properly. The AG concluded the Board had express authority to set sanitation rules an…
Can a Texas doctor waive your copay or deductible if they take an insurance assignment?
The Attorney General read section 4(c) of Insurance Code article 21.24-1 narrowly. The sentence saying a provider 'may not waive copayments or deductibles by acceptance of an assignment' was not a fla…
Can the North Carolina Medical Database Commission, by changing its own administrative rules, start releasing patient-level health data instead of only aggregate statistics, even if the patient identities are encrypted? Who legally 'owns' the data submitted by hospitals, and are hospitals exposed to liability if a patient is inadvertently identified despite encryption?
No legislative shortcut for patient-level data. The 1993 AG concluded that G.S. 131E-210 authorizes only release of aggregate data, and G.S. 150B-2(8a) limits a rule to implementing or interpreting a …
Are the development impact fees that the Ada County Highway District charges new builders actually fees, or are they really taxes? And can ACHD make the State of Idaho pay them when the state builds something in Ada County?
ACHD's Ordinance 184 has features (discretion to spend fees outside benefit zones, no clear nexus between the fee and the development's actual road impact, unclear accounting) that look more like a ta…
Can a county commissioner who owns a real estate firm sell a house to a buyer using federal HOME program assistance funds, when the commissioner serves on the local HOME consortium board, without violating NC's conflict-of-interest law?
The HOME funding agreement and 24 C.F.R. 92.356 still bar the commissioner's firm from earning the brokerage commission, even though NC's G.S. 14-234(b) carves out an exception for officers providing …
Under Maine's 1986-amended reapportionment provisions, how many days does the Legislature have to act on the Apportionment Commission's plan: 10 days (130 minus 120) or 30 days?
30 days. The AG concluded that the 1986 amendments to Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 1, § 3 (House) and Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 2, § 1 (Senate) extended the Apportionment Commission's plan-submission window …
When a radio station and newspaper ask a local school board for copies of the travel-expense records of the former superintendent, are those records public records that must be disclosed, or are they protected personnel-file documents because the records may relate to the superintendent's recent departure?
They are public records. The 1993 AG concluded that the school superintendent's travel-expense records must be disclosed under G.S. 132-6. Although G.S. 115C-319's broad definition of 'personnel file'…
Do labor-and-employment bills that apply to all Maine employers, including municipal employers, count as 'mandates' under Me. Const. art. IX, § 21, just because they affect municipal payrolls?
No. The AG concluded that two bills before the Joint Standing Committee on Labor (LD 406 expanding family medical leave coverage to employers with 25 or more employees across all worksites, and LD 309…
Can a child whose family moves to Idaho mid-year enroll in an Idaho public kindergarten or first grade if the child started school in another state but doesn't meet Idaho's August 16 cutoff?
If the child has not met Idaho's age-five-by-August-16 cutoff, the child may not enroll in kindergarten in Idaho even if the child started kindergarten in a state with a later cutoff. If the child has…
Can Idaho's Commission of Pardons and Parole commute an inmate's indeterminate sentence to a shorter fixed term so the inmate can be transferred to Mexico under the U.S.-Mexico prisoner transfer treaty?
Yes. The AG concluded the Commission has constitutional power under article 4, section 7 of the Idaho Constitution to commute an indeterminate sentence to a lesser fixed term, which is what the Prison…
Can the General Assembly require that assets of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System be used to fund non-contributory medical coverage for retirees and other Retirement System beneficiaries under the State's Comprehensive Major Medical Plan, instead of continuing to fund that coverage out of General Fund appropriations?
No. The 1993 AG concluded that Article V, Section 6(2) of the North Carolina Constitution limits the use of Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System assets to three purposes: retirement system…
If North Carolina was obligated under the Southeast Compact to be prepared to accept up to 32 million cubic feet of low-level radioactive waste, did the state's radioactive waste authority have to apply for a license to dispose of all 32 million, or could it license a smaller initial volume?
It could license a smaller volume. The AG concluded the 32-million-cubic-foot figure was a host-state maximum obligation, not a minimum licensing target. The NC Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management …
Does a Texas state agency have to fire a worker on injury leave past 12 months?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Department of Health did not have to fire an employee just because a work-related injury kept them on unpaid leave longer than 12 months. The General Appr…
Can a Texas county cut off a worker's supplemental injury pay after promising it?
The Attorney General concluded that the Lavaca County Commissioners Court could not use a 1991 order to cap the supplemental injury payments owed to two employees who were hurt before 1991 under a 198…
Can a NC consumer-finance licensee make a loan to a borrower who already has a loan from the licensee's affiliated bank or other lender that is not covered by the Consumer Finance Act?
Yes. Although G.S. 53-179's one-loan rule appears broad, the more specific provisions in G.S. 53-180 and the exemptions in G.S. 53-191 show the legislature meant to allow concurrent loans when the rel…
Can off-duty Texas police officers work school security as a side job?
The Attorney General concluded that article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution, which bars one person from holding two 'civil offices of emolument,' does not as a matter of law stop off-duty ci…
Who controls the breakage money from greyhound racing bets in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that all of the 'breakage' (the leftover odd cents from pari-mutuel payouts) that section 6.09(d) of the Texas Racing Act assigned to the greyhound side, the 50 percent …
Can someone keep a Texas peace officer license after a felony conviction is set aside or dismissed?
The Attorney General concluded that a felony conviction disqualified a person from being a Texas peace officer or county jailer, and that probation, dismissal of the indictment, release from penalties…
Can the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare investigate suspected child abuse on school grounds without parents present, and can school officials be barred from sitting in?
Yes. The AG concluded that DHW has full authority to investigate child-abuse reports inside schools, including the discretion to exclude school personnel from interviews, and parental consent is not r…
Does the Federal Fair Housing Act preempt a Mecklenburg County zoning ordinance that requires group homes for the handicapped to be located at least one-half mile from another group home, with no variance or conditional use procedure?
Probably not preempted as a per se matter, but the ordinance's survival depends on contested factors and the Fourth Circuit has not directly ruled. The Eighth Circuit in Familystyle of St. Paul upheld…
Does the 1987 local act regulating deer hunting (including hunting with dogs) in Anson County override the general state statute G.S. 113-291.5 and the Wildlife Resources Commission rules that ban running deer with dogs west of N.C. Highway 742? And can the WRC make rules on game lands that contradict that state or local law?
Local act controls; WRC cannot override it. The 1993 AG concluded that Sess. Laws 1987 ch. 231, a local act establishing a seven-week firearms deer season in Anson County and authorizing the use of do…
Can a former Texas utility regulator go to work for a company the PUC regulates?
The Attorney General concluded that the Public Utility Regulatory Act's one-year revolving-door ban (section 6(i) of article 1446c) kept a former PUC employee from being hired by a public utility he h…
Can a Texas probation department hire a relative of a district judge without breaking the nepotism law?
The Attorney General concluded that when the director of a community supervision and corrections department (the local probation agency) hires a person related within the third degree to a district ju…
Can a Texas board member attend an open meeting by video instead of in person?
The Attorney General concluded that the Open Meetings Act did not let a member of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission (or any governmental body subject to the Act) who could not attend a meeting in pers…
Are interns in Texas's nursing-home ombudsman program protected from lawsuits like the certified volunteers?
Clarifying an earlier opinion (DM-173), the Attorney General concluded that people serving the three-month internship in the Texas long-term-care ombudsman program are, like certified volunteer ombuds…
When a NC joint municipal power agency (like ElectriCities member agencies) buys or sells property, does the public-bid-law exemption in G.S. 159B-11(12) and (13) cover all of its property dealings, or only the privately negotiated ones?
Only the privately negotiated ones. The exemption clauses sit inside subsections (12) and (13), which deal with private negotiated purchase, lease, sale, and disposition. They do not exempt the joint …
Can North Carolina create a state licensing board specifically for Christian counselors, and require Christian counselors to be licensed by it, without violating the First Amendment's separation of church and state?
Probably not. A state board specifically for Christian counselors would likely fail the Lemon test (endorsement of one religion, excessive entanglement with religious doctrine) and create Free Exercis…
Does Maine's state-mandates amendment (Me. Const. art. IX, § 21) require a 2/3 vote or 90% State funding when the Legislature creates new crimes or civil infractions that municipal police will then have to enforce?
No. The AG concluded that legislation creating new crimes or civil infractions, including LD 486 (Senator Brannigan's seat-belt civil-violation bill), does not constitute a 'mandate' under Me. Const. …
Can a Minnesota city charge property owners a monthly storm sewer utility fee based on impervious surface and rainfall runoff, rather than levying a special assessment?
Yes. The AG concluded that Minn. Stat. § 444.075 authorized cities to impose reasonable storm sewer service charges keyed to the quantity and difficulty of disposal of storm water produced by each par…
Can the NC State Auditor audit the NC Department of Insurance for the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report when the Auditor's office had staff with recent management responsibility there?
No. G.S. 147-64.12(b) bars the State Auditor from auditing a program where the office had management responsibility or employment in the prior two years. CAFR test work, federal-funds schedule review,…
Can a North Carolina school district send students home early during exam week so teachers have more time to grade exams?
No. State Board of Education rules require a minimum of 5.5 hours of instructional time per student per day, and that minimum is binding under the Basic Education Program through G.S. § 115C-81. G.S. …
If a Minnesota city and township have signed an orderly annexation agreement with time frames, can the city bypass those time frames using the 1992 annexation-by-ordinance procedure?
Yes. The AG concluded that under the 1992 amendment adding § 414.033, subd. 2a, a city may annex land within an orderly annexation area by ordinance if the city owns the land or if all landowners peti…
Does a member of the NC State Banking Commission lose their seat if, during their term, they change from being a 'practical banker' to being a non-banker (or vice versa)?
Yes. A practical-banker member who stops being a bank officer or employee (other than by retirement) loses the seat. A public member who becomes a director, employee, or substantial owner of a financi…
Which businesses must follow Texas's extra licensing rules to run a home health agency?
Answering the Texas Department of Health, the Attorney General read the home-health-agency licensing statute (Health and Safety Code section 142.005) broadly. First, the extra application requirements…
How does a Texas county assess subdivision road-repair costs, and what can it charge property owners?
Answering follow-up questions about article 6702-3 (the law letting a county fix subdivision roads and bill the property owners), the Attorney General concluded: a county must propose a separate asses…
If a Texas recess appointee quits and is replaced before the Senate meets, does the old name still go to the Senate?
Answering the chair of the Senate Nominations Committee, the Attorney General concluded that when a governor appoints someone to a state office while the Senate is in recess, that first appointee resi…
After the U.S. Supreme Court's Casey decision, did Idaho's abortion statutes (the trimester scheme, the informed-consent rules, and the parental-notification clause) still pass constitutional muster?
Mostly. The AG concluded that Idaho's trimester scheme and informed-consent provisions could be reconciled with Casey, but the second-trimester hospitalization requirement remained unconstitutional. T…
Does Maine's new constitutional state-mandates amendment (Me. Const. art. IX, § 21) apply to legislation affecting county governments, or only to legislation affecting municipalities?
Yes. The AG concluded that the phrase 'local unit of government' in Me. Const. art. IX, § 21 (the 'state mandates' amendment ratified by voters November 3, 1992, effective November 23, 1992) includes …
Can a Texas city or county invest public money in mutual funds that hold only government adjustable-rate mortgages?
Answering the chair of the House Financial Institutions Committee, the Attorney General concluded that the Public Funds Investment Act (V.T.C.S. article 842a-2) lets cities, counties, school districts…
Can Texas require nursing home license applicants to disclose their past record?
Answering Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock, the Attorney General concluded that the Texas Board of Health had legal authority to adopt proposed rules requiring a nursing-facility license applicant to d…
Does a Texas child accused of truancy get a court hearing and a lawyer?
Answering the Harris County District Attorney, the Attorney General reached three conclusions about truancy cases under the Family Code. First, section 54.021 does not require a juvenile court to hold…
Where does a Texas county's vehicle registration fee go, and can the county spend it on anything it wants?
Answering a question from Cameron County, the Attorney General concluded that the whole $1.90 vehicle-registration fee a county tax assessor-collector keeps from each registration receipt, including t…
Must the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority charge fees that cover interest on state money it borrowed?
The Attorney General concluded that sections 402.272(a), 402.2721, and 402.273(b) of the Health and Safety Code require the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority to set its planning-and…
If DC has been overpaying retired judges by miscomputing their disability pensions, can DC sue to recover the overpayments years later, and can the judges raise estoppel as a defense?
Yes, DC can sue to recover overpayments and there is no statute of limitations because suits to recover public funds vindicate public rights. The retired judges cannot use equitable estoppel as a defe…
Does the federal real estate settlement law (RESPA) override Maryland's ban on real estate settlement kickbacks?
The Attorney General concluded that Maryland's flat prohibition on real estate settlement kickbacks was not preempted by the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, because RESPA only displaces…
Can a Texas state agency buy fire or property insurance for its own buildings?
The Attorney General concluded that a Texas state agency may not purchase property insurance to cover its buildings unless the legislature specifically authorizes it, and the Texas Surplus Property Ag…
Is Texas prekindergarten part of the public free schools, and which four-year-olds can enroll?
Answering questions the U.S. Department of Education needed for federal impact-aid eligibility, the Attorney General concluded that Texas's prekindergarten program under Education Code section 21.136 …
Can a city charge higher parade or rally permit fees based on how the public might react to the speech?
The opinion concluded that state and local rules letting officials size a parade or rally permit fee, or grant or deny a permit, based on how the public might react to the speech violated the First Am…
If a Texas tax-foreclosure sale brings in more than the taxes owed, how do you claim the leftover money?
The Attorney General concluded that under Tax Code section 34.04 a person claiming the surplus left over after a tax-lien foreclosure sale does not have to file a new, separate lawsuit. The claimant i…
Can an appointed Minnesota park district commissioner keep serving after the four-year term expires until a successor is appointed, and when exactly does the term expire?
Yes, the AG concluded that an appointed Suburban Hennepin Regional Park District commissioner could continue serving as a de facto officer after term expiration until a successor was appointed and qua…
A South Dakota taxpayer lives in Township B but owns property in Township A (both in the same county and school district). He did not appeal his Township A property assessment to the Township A local board of equalization when it was sitting. Can he now appeal directly to the county board of equalization, or has he lost his appeal rights?
He can appeal directly to the county board. SDCL 10-11-27 requires complaints to be made to the local board first, except that a 'nonresident of the taxing district' may be heard without a prior local…
Can a Texas home-rule city set up a nonprofit corporation to issue bonds for a community project?
The Attorney General concluded that the City of Texas City, a home rule city, could sponsor a non-profit, no-share corporation organized under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act to issue bonds and r…
Does Texas's retirement system pick specific insurance vendors for state-employee payroll deductions, or just types of coverage?
The Attorney General concluded that under V.T.C.S. article 6813g the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) must designate supplemental optional benefits programs (things like permanent life, cata…
How does a Texas bank recover franchise taxes it overpaid, and can the state offset what the bank still owes?
The Attorney General answered several questions from the Comptroller about refunding franchise taxes that banks had paid before a string of court losses showed the tax had been collected unlawfully. T…
Can a Texas government board meet privately with outside companies to hear presentations without giving public notice?
This opinion overruled Attorney General Opinion DM-17 (1991). The Attorney General concluded that after the 1987 amendments to the Open Meetings Act, a 'meeting' subject to the act includes a briefing…
Do city employees in Texas who spray for pests need a structural pest control license?
The Attorney General concluded that after the legislature deleted the old blanket exemption for government and educational employees, a city employee who engages in the business of structural pest con…
In an old Texas workers' comp claim, who pays for a medical exam the board orders, the state or the insurance company?
The Attorney General concluded that the Industrial Accident Board and its successor, the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission, had long read former article 8307, section 4(a) to make the state agenc…
Which Maine state accounts could not be touched by the 0.9% General Fund transfer under Part KKK?
The AG identified five categories that Part KKK could not lawfully reach: Baxter State Park trust accounts; Bureau of Parks and Recreation donor-restricted gift accounts; Bureau of Public Lands accoun…
Does property the state seizes and forfeits in a Texas drug or crime case still owe property taxes?
The Attorney General concluded that real property forfeited to the state under chapter 59 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is exempt from ad valorem (property) taxation, under Tax Code section 11.11,…
How these opinions are useful
- Understand state law: AG opinions are authoritative interpretations of how state law applies.
- Persuasive authority: Not binding like court decisions, but they carry significant weight.
- Government guidance: Often clarify how state agencies and officials should interpret statutes.
- Legal research: Cite AG opinions in letters, motions, and legal arguments.