State AG Opinions
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Could First Steps require client data for services, and could teenage parents consent to release their children’s data?
The AG read First Steps’ state enabling law as allowing collection of client data needed to evaluate its programs, while pointing to state privacy requirements. He found no law barring minors from…
Could a District Seven technology center employee serve on the neighboring District Three school board?
The AG concluded that Section 59-19-300 did not bar a District Seven employee from joining District Three’s board. Based on the described employment and supervision structure, he also saw no likely…
Can a New York public authority pay for health insurance for unpaid board members when the enabling statute says board members 'serve without salary or other compensation'?
No. When a public authority's enabling act says board members serve without salary or other compensation, the authority cannot pay health insurance premiums for current or retired board members. The…
Is land leased by a Texas development corporation to private businesses tax-exempt?
Maybe not, and the exemption may be vulnerable. The Attorney General concluded that under the Development Corporation Act, land and improvements that qualify as 'projects' under section 4B(a) are…
Could a Barnwell city council member also serve on the Barnwell County Hospital Board of Trustees?
The AG concluded that a Barnwell city council member could not also serve on the Barnwell County Hospital Board of Trustees because both positions were public offices under the state constitution’s…
Can a Delaware town change how it calculates property taxes under a vague 'Property Tax Assessment' agenda item?
No, under the law as it stood in 2007. The AG found Cheswold's agenda item 'Property Tax Assessment' did not give residents adequate notice that the council would switch from market-value…
Could South Carolina extend the 2006 sales tax referendum certification deadline if only Beaufort County benefited?
The AG said the proposed statewide-worded deadline extension might operate only for Beaufort County, making it constitutionally suspect under the home-rule ban on county-specific laws. He thought an…
Can a Texas county clerk use the records management fee to buy historical documents?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the records management and preservation fee a county clerk collects under section 118.011 of the Local Government Code may not be used to purchase original…
Does a Texas city have to insure a municipal pool slide as an amusement ride?
Partly. The Attorney General concluded that a municipality is a 'person' subject to the Amusement Ride Safety Inspection and Insurance Act, and that whether a particular pool slide is an amusement…
Are Social Security numbers in Texas public records confidential?
Yes, at least as the law stood when this opinion issued. The Attorney General concluded that the Social Security number of a living person is confidential and subject to a mandatory exception from…
Did South Carolina legislators need weighted votes to appoint a DOT commissioner from a congressional district?
The AG advised following the statute as written: only legislators residing in the congressional district could vote, without population-weighted votes. He recognized an argument based on a later…
Can a New York BOCES board member work as an occasional per diem substitute teacher in one of the school districts the BOCES serves?
No. Education Law § 1950(9) makes a BOCES member's role and any school-district employment in the same supervisory district incompatible. The statute prohibits not only electing a current district…
Can a New York village impose term limits on members of its planning board and zoning board of appeals?
Yes. Under home-rule authority in the New York Constitution and Municipal Home Rule Law § 10, a village can impose term limits on appointed members of its planning board and zoning board of appeals.…
Do unpaid Texas property taxes count as 'debt' to a county?
It depends on which statute. The Attorney General concluded that under section 154.045 of the Local Government Code (the warrant-withholding rule for larger counties), delinquent taxes that have not…
If a same-sex couple married in Massachusetts or entered a civil union in Vermont, would New Jersey recognize that relationship in 2007?
AG Rabner concluded in February 2007 that New Jersey would recognize out-of-state same-sex relationships, but would translate them into New Jersey's own categories: relationships providing all the…
Could a South Carolina technical college run a gunsmithing course involving firearms and ammunition on campus?
The AG thought Piedmont Technical College could offer the described gunsmithing program with firearms on campus if the authorities in charge expressly permitted possession. He acknowledged…
Could Charleston County condition sales tax funding on a town avoiding eminent domain for a project?
The AG concluded that Charleston County had discretion to condition or decline sales tax funding based on whether Mount Pleasant would use eminent domain, so long as expenditures served…
Could Richland County use vehicle road fees to fund mass transit?
The AG said counties had authority to charge a uniform service fee, but could not decide whether this particular road fee was valid. Whether the vehicle owners specially benefited and whether…
Could three South Carolina Blind Commission members remove its chair?
The AG concluded that three votes were insufficient to remove the chair of the seven-member Commission for the Blind. He said removal required four votes, cause, notice, and an opportunity to be…
Could California State University screen design-build bidders before inviting bids, and when did subcontractor protections attach?
The California AG said CSU could use selection criteria before inviting design-build bids, but had to tell qualified prospective contractors the criteria and their weighting and evaluation. Once…
Do private companies with eminent domain power have to follow Texas open records law?
Yes, for their condemnation records. The Attorney General concluded that under section 552.0037 of the Public Information Act, a private entity that holds eminent domain power but is not a…
Could South Carolina give a prisoner sentence credit for donating bone marrow?
The Attorney General concluded that a proposed credit of up to 60 days for donating bone marrow or blood-forming cells appeared inconsistent with the federal National Organ Transplant Act. He…
Did the 1984 Swan Falls Agreement subordinate Idaho Power's hydropower rights to aquifer recharge, and do later statutes create vested rights for Idaho Power against that subordination?
Yes and no. Yes, Idaho Power's hydropower rights above the Murphy Gauge minimum flows are subordinated to all subsequent beneficial upstream uses, including aquifer recharge. No, the 1994 statutes…
How is the Texas Permanent School Fund's market value calculated for school payouts?
The Attorney General concluded that because section 43.020 of the Education Code requires the accrual accounting method, the State Board of Education may not adopt some other accounting method to…
What constitutional problems did Idaho’s AG find in the 2007 Public Employee Accountability Act initiative?
The AG said a court would likely find many provisions unconstitutional. He identified separate subjects in one measure, mandatory grand juries, impeachment deadlines, state funding without an…
Can a Texas sheriff accept a bail bond when the accused is jailed in another state?
The Attorney General concluded that a Texas sheriff has no authority to accept bail for an offense committed in the sheriff's county when the accused is jailed in another state. Chapters 17 and 23…
Could a South Carolina legislator employed by a school district sponsor a school closure bill?
In 2007, the AG knew of no law that categorically barred a legislator employed by a school district from introducing a bill about school closures. His answer assumed the measure would create no…
Does a Texas city need to show an area is blighted to create a tax-increment reinvestment zone?
The Attorney General concluded that a city may not designate an area as a reinvestment zone under Tax Code section 311.005(a)(5) unless the area is 'unproductive, underdeveloped, or blighted' within…
Could one person sit on both the Metropolitan Water District and Water Replenishment District boards?
No. The California AG concluded in 2007 that the Metropolitan Water District seat representing West Basin Municipal Water District was incompatible with a Water Replenishment District directorship…
Could a nonresident water user serve on a South Carolina rural water district board?
The AG concluded that property ownership and water use alone did not qualify someone for the Georgetown County rural water district board. Board members had to be resident electors of the district,…
Could South Carolina’s governor suspend a council member arrested for DUI and leaving an accident?
No, the AG said a mere arrest did not allow the governor to suspend the West Columbia council member. The constitutional route required an indictment or waiver of indictment for a crime of moral…
Can New Jersey legally base your property tax credit on how much money you make, or does the State Constitution require all homeowners to be treated the same regardless of income?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Homestead Credit Clause permits the Legislature to use household income when setting homestead credit rates and limits. He considered the Uniformity Clause's…
Could Connecticut require state marshals to serve capias warrants in child support cases?
A child support capias was civil process that state marshals were authorized to serve, but the AG said the State Marshal Commission's power to require every marshal to serve one was uncertain and…
Could the South Carolina Commission for the Blind remove its chair without cause?
The AG concluded that the commission chair’s fixed statutory term prevented removal at pleasure. A removal required cause, notice, and an opportunity to be heard; the opinion suggested a declaratory…
Can the Oregon State Lottery use lottery revenues to run a debt-collection program for the courts, or could another agency just reimburse the Lottery for the cost?
No on the first; yes on the second, but with a strict prepayment rule. The 2007 AG opinion concluded that Article XV, section 4 of the Oregon Constitution restricted lottery revenues to…
Does a Texas county have to maintain subdivision roads it accepted but said it wouldn't maintain?
The Attorney General concluded that when a county accepts in writing a public road dedication made in a subdivision plat, that acceptance brings the roads into the county road maintenance system,…
Can Texas prisons require incoming inmates to be tested for HIV?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Board of Criminal Justice is authorized to adopt a rule or policy requiring mandatory HIV testing of incoming offenders in both the institutional…
Does Delaware's public records law (FOIA) apply to the state courts?
No, according to this opinion. Delaware's FOIA defines a 'public body' as an executive or legislative entity, and the AG found the judiciary, exercising its independent constitutional function of…
Can a public body let some members of the public into a closed government meeting?
The Attorney General concluded that the Open Meetings Act does not let a governmental body admit selected members of the public into a closed meeting to give input about a public officer or…
Can a Texas constable own a wrecker service that's on the sheriff's rotation list?
The Attorney General concluded that the conflict-of-interest provisions in chapter 171 of the Local Government Code do not prohibit a county constable from owning and operating a wrecker service…
Can a Texas county require its own overweight truck permit on top of the state permit?
The Attorney General concluded that a county commissioners court is not authorized to require the operator of an overweight vehicle to get a county permit when the operator already holds a state…
Does Texas's evidence-based program rule apply to all DFPS child-prevention services?
The Attorney General concluded that the 'evidence-based' program requirement in section 265.004(a) of the Family Code applies only to Department of Family and Protective Services programs that are…
Can a county attorney represent the state in a chapter 593 placement case for a person with an intellectual disability?
The Attorney General concluded that, absent a request from the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS), a county attorney is not authorized to serve as DADS's legal counsel in…
Can a Texas city sell compost and mulch outside its city limits in competition with private businesses?
The Attorney General concluded that a home-rule city may sell compost products outside its city limits. The sale of compost does not generally contravene the U.S. or Texas constitutions or state…
Could a freeholder petition requirement invalidate a South Carolina sewer sale referendum law?
The AG predicted that, absent a compelling state interest, a court would find the freeholder petition requirement unconstitutional and inseverable from the referendum provision for municipal utility…
Must a South Carolina county lower every neighbor’s property assessment after one tax appeal?
The AG said a successful appeal by one owner did not authorize the assessor to reassess only neighboring parcels outside a countywide reassessment year, absent a recognized exception. Other…
Could Charleston County’s park district build fitness and senior service facilities?
The AG concluded that the park district could establish wellness, fitness, and senior service facilities if they were aimed at providing recreational opportunities to the public. He based that…
Could one person serve on South Carolina’s Forestry Commission and a town zoning appeals board?
No. The AG concluded that both the state Forestry Commission seat and the Summerville Zoning Board of Appeals seat were public offices, so holding them concurrently would violate South Carolina’s…
Could Latta’s acting mayor replace election commissioners whose terms had expired?
The AG said Latta’s mayor pro tempore had the mayor’s authority while acting as mayor, but commission appointments belonged to the town council. The council could fill two seats held past expired…
Could a South Carolina school award elective credit for off-campus religious instruction?
The AG said a school board could choose whether to award up to two elective units for released-time religious classes. He concluded the credit law could be upheld if decisions used secular criteria…
Could an interim principal fill the principal seat on a South Carolina education advisory board?
Yes. The AG concluded that an interim high school principal qualified for the high school principal seat on a regional education center advisory board, assuming the person was serving until a…
Was a paid rubber-duck river race for charity an illegal South Carolina lottery?
Yes. The AG concluded that selling numbered tickets for a cash prize awarded to the first rubber duck across a river finish line supplied all three lottery elements: a prize, payment, and chance.
Who can a Texas bingo lessor license be transferred to?
The Attorney General concluded that section 2001.160 of the Occupations Code does not let the holder of a commercial bingo lessor license transfer it to any person other than a corporation the…
Does the Texas Open Meetings Act apply to a county jail population committee?
The Attorney General concluded that an informal group of Nueces County officials and employees who called themselves the Jail Population Control Committee was not subject to the Open Meetings Act.…
Can a Texas commissioners court assign extra duties to an elected county official like the treasurer?
The Attorney General concluded that a county commissioners court can delegate duties that the constitution and statutes do not expressly assign to any particular office (such as running a county…
Can Delaware town council members avoid open meeting rules by meeting with a vendor in small groups below a quorum?
No, according to this opinion. When every council member ends up hearing the same pitch across a series of small private meetings with two competing contractors, that counts as a 'constructive…
Can a bail bondsman park a car with advertising on it in a county jail parking lot in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that section 1704.304(c) of the Occupations Code, which bars a bail bond surety or agent from soliciting bonding business in a police station, jail, or other place of…
Can a Texas doctor be charged with capital murder for an illegal third-trimester or minor abortion?
The Attorney General concluded that a physician who violates section 164.052(a)(18) of the Occupations Code (restricting third-trimester abortions on a viable unborn child) or section 164.052(a)(19)…
Did Washington scrap-metal dealers have to follow pawnbroker transaction reporting rules for recycled metal?
The Attorney General concluded in 2007 that pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers buying statutorily defined “metal junk” for recycling were exempt from the cited transaction rules. The statutory…
Could a South Carolina agency withhold employee retirement incentive names under a retirement-system rule?
The AG concluded that the Vocational Rehabilitation Department had to disclose records identifying its TERI participants and start dates, if it held those records. He found no applicable FOIA…
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