State AG Opinions
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Which Maine DOT accounts had to give up 0.9% to the General Fund under Part KKK of the 1991 budget bill?
It depended on the source. The AG concluded that DOT's purely project-driven 'dedicated revenue' accounts were not automatically exempt and likely had to pay the Part KKK 0.9% surcharge. Accounts fund…
Could a Maryland oil spill responder lose legal immunity if their attempt to prevent a spill failed, or if they acted without first getting sign-off from a federal or state official?
No. Maryland's Attorney General concluded that a responder who tried in good faith to prevent or clean up an oil spill kept immunity from liability under EN §4-419 even if the effort failed, and even …
If a Texas city or school district leases out property it owns to private businesses, does it still get a property tax exemption?
The Attorney General concluded that public property keeps its ad valorem tax exemption only if it is still held and used primarily for a public purpose. Leasing public property to a private party does…
When did Maryland's 1992 constitutional amendments changing the civil jury trial rules, six-person juries and a $5,000 threshold, take effect, and did they apply to cases already pending?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the 1992 constitutional amendments and implementing statutes changing civil jury trials, allowing six-person juries and raising the amount-in-controversy thr…
When a Texas county redraws its commissioner precincts, do the boundaries of a hospital district tied to those precincts move too?
The Attorney General concluded no. The Hamilton County Hospital District's enabling legislation described its boundaries as coextensive with Hamilton County commissioners precincts 1, 2, and 4. When t…
Can a Texas city set up an economic development program and sell bonds to pay for business incentives?
The Attorney General concluded that section 380.001 of the Local Government Code, which lets a city establish programs (including loans and grants of public money) to promote economic development, is …
Do Texas retirement systems have to follow the disadvantaged-business contracting rules when they hire investment brokers and advisers?
The Attorney General drew a line. Contracts for investment counseling or investment advice are excepted from House Bill 799 (the 1991 law amending article 601b that asks state agencies to help disadva…
Did Maryland's hate crimes law survive after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a similar cross-burning ordinance in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that Maryland's hate crimes statute, Article 27, §470A, remained constitutional after the Supreme Court's 1992 R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul decision, because the Ma…
When the State of Idaho operates land or facilities inside a county, does the state agency have to comply with the county's zoning ordinances?
Yes, by default. Idaho Code § 67-6528 says state agencies must comply with local zoning ordinances adopted under the Local Planning Act unless a constitutional provision or another statute expressly o…
Can a North Carolina city buy 100% of the stock of a private water/sewer company and then keep the company alive as a shell so the seller pays less tax?
No. The City of Charlotte wanted to buy all the shares of a private residential water/sewer corporation and keep the corporation alive (with City employees as directors and officers) instead of dissol…
Can a Texas county make its courthouse and other county buildings smoke-free?
The Attorney General concluded that yes, a county commissioners court is authorized to regulate smoking within and on county property, including creating a smoke-free environment or designating restri…
Can a Texas city require its own license to sell tobacco, on top of the state permit, to crack down on sales to minors?
The Attorney General concluded no. Sections 154.101(h) and 155.041(h) of the Tax Code say that permits to engage in business as a tobacco retailer (and as a distributor, wholesaler, or bonded agent) '…
Can the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission release or destroy minor injury reports where the worker missed no work?
The Attorney General concluded several things. The Commission did not have to collect or keep employer reports of 'no lost time' (NLT) injuries (where the worker missed a day or less) and could reject…
Could a company that tracks down owners of unclaimed property get the dollar value of what each person is owed from Maryland's abandoned property records?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the Comptroller's Unclaimed Property Section had to withhold the monetary value or description of a person's abandoned property because that information coun…
Could Maryland law enforcement withhold a crime victim's name and address from a public records request?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that a crime victim's name and address were a public record subject to disclosure under the Public Information Act, that no law gave victims an enforceable right …
Does time in a court-ordered drug treatment facility count toward your prison sentence if your probation is later revoked in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that it does not. Under the version of Penal Code section 12.422 in effect in 1992, a court could order an eligible defendant to serve two separate periods: first, six m…
Does a Texas city, county, or other local government have to carry workers' compensation insurance for its employees?
The Attorney General concluded that yes, under the workers' compensation laws as rewritten in 1989, a political subdivision must provide workers' compensation coverage for its employees. It can satisf…
Could Maryland's state lottery legally add keno or video lottery machines without new legislation?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the State Lottery Agency already had authority under existing law to offer a keno game, but that video lottery terminals resembling video poker machines were…
Can a Texas community college borrow money against its delinquent maintenance taxes to fix up an old building on campus?
The Attorney General concluded that a junior (community) college district had the same authority as an independent school district, under section 20.45 of the Education Code, to pledge its delinquent …
When Idaho's 1992 legislation moved school-community libraries into the new library-district statutes, did the four existing libraries automatically become independent library districts, or did they have to hold a new election to start over?
They automatically became school-community library districts on July 1, 1992, with their own boards and continuous taxing authority. The legislative history makes clear that the Idaho Legislature neve…
Who is liable in Idaho when a construction project destroys a recorded land survey monument, and can the Board of Professional Engineers sue to make them put it back?
Idaho Code § 54-1234 imposes a $500 penalty plus actual damages only on persons who willfully deface, injure, or remove a monument set by a registered land surveyor. Accidental destruction has no stat…
When does a Texas teacher returning from temporary disability leave have to be put back to work?
The Attorney General concluded that section 13.905(e) of the Education Code required a school district to put a teacher returning from a leave of absence for temporary disability back on active duty n…
Can a North Carolina probation officer throw a probationer into jail for up to 30 days for minor or technical violations, based on a special condition the sentencing judge wrote into the probation order?
No. The NC Department of Correction asked whether a sentencing judge could write a special probation condition that gave the probation officer up to 30 days of unilateral incarceration authority for t…
Can Texas DPS ask on a driver's license renewal whether you've had a problem with alcohol or drugs?
The Attorney General concluded that a question on the Texas Department of Public Safety's driver's license renewal form, asking whether the applicant had ever 'had a problem, been arrested or hospital…
Does a Maryland county have to fund the full budget its local liquor licensing board requests?
The Attorney General concluded that, applying the reasoning of a Talbot County circuit court decision about election board funding, Talbot County's council had to appropriate the full amount the count…
Can the Texas State Board of Education lend out permanent school fund securities to earn a return?
The Attorney General concluded that article VII, section 5(d) of the Texas Constitution, added in 1987, gives the State Board of Education broad authority to make any prudent investment in managing th…
Was Maryland's 300-foot electioneering ban around polling places in certain counties still constitutional after the Supreme Court's 1992 Burson v. Freeman decision?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the 300-foot electioneering ban applying in seven counties (Anne Arundel, Cecil, Charles, Garrett, Harford, Kent, and Queen Anne's) was so likely unconstitut…
Could Maryland's Blue Cross Blue Shield legally sell part of its for-profit HMO and managed-care subsidiaries to outside investors?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that Blue Cross could lawfully create a for-profit holding company for its managed care subsidiaries, but that the Insurance Commissioner could not approve sellin…
Can a full-time county prosecutor in Idaho also contract to serve as the prosecuting attorney for another county?
No. The Idaho AG concluded that a prosecutor required to devote full time to one county under Idaho Code § 31-3113 cannot contract privately to perform the prosecuting attorney duties of another count…
Does the Americans with Disabilities Act require a state legislature, like Maryland's General Assembly, to accommodate people with disabilities?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the Americans with Disabilities Act applied to the state's Legislative Branch, meaning the General Assembly had an obligation to provide reasonable accommoda…
Could Maryland's State Board of Education ban smoking on school grounds by regulation, without negotiating with teachers' unions first?
The Attorney General concluded that the State Board of Education had statutory authority under the Education Article's general-control provision to adopt tobacco-free school environment regulations, a…
Can a Texas county clerk charge a fee to release a judgment paid into court under section 31.008?
The Attorney General concluded that a county clerk could not charge a filing fee for executing or preparing a release of judgment under section 31.008 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, because …
Are volunteer nursing home ombudsmen in Texas protected from lawsuits for their work?
The Attorney General concluded that volunteer ombudsmen, and the citizens' organizations that take part in the state long-term care ombudsman program, are immune from civil liability and criminal pros…
Can a Texas county vote to adopt a modified version of the Optional County Road System?
The Attorney General concluded that a petition asking for a county election to adopt the Optional County Road System (V.T.C.S. article 6702-1, chapter 3, subchapter C) is invalid if it materially chan…
Can a Texas county education district offer a discount for early property tax payment?
The Attorney General concluded that a county education district could adopt the early-payment property tax discounts in section 31.05 of the Tax Code, but only if every taxing unit that collected the …
If a Texas optometrist co-owns optical shops at several locations, do the Optometry Act's anti-control rules apply to them?
The Attorney General concluded that anyone with an ownership interest in a business that sells ophthalmic goods (glasses, frames, contact lenses) is a 'retailer of ophthalmic goods' under the Texas Op…
Can a private subdivision control boating and fishing on its own canals in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that waterways built for a private subdivision are still 'public waters' under the Water Safety Act (chapter 31 of the Parks and Wildlife Code) when their only source of…
Are the names of early in-person voters public before election day in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that the names of people who vote early by personal appearance become public immediately when they vote, and their release is not held back by section 61.007 of the Elec…
Can a state agency like TxDOT join a protest against a city zoning change?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Department of Transportation, as an owner of real property in its right-of-way, may be counted among the owners of 20 percent of the immediately adjoining…
How much can a Texas district clerk charge for uncertified copies of court records?
The Attorney General concluded that section 9(d) of the Open Records Act does not set the charges for copies of judicial records held by the district clerk, because the Open Records Act does not apply…
Can a Texas school district set its own financial standards for surety bond companies?
The Attorney General concluded that under article 5160 and article 7.19-1 of the Insurance Code, as amended in 1991, a school district may not require corporate sureties to be solvent enough to issue …
Does a Texas constable have to serve civil process from a federal court?
The Attorney General concluded that a county constable is not required by section 86.021 of the Local Government Code to serve civil process issued by federal courts in his official capacity. The stat…
Can a service member who is discharged from the military, not just transferred, break a residential lease early under Maryland law?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the state law letting military personnel break a residential lease after receiving permanent change of station orders also covered personnel who were dischar…
Does the nepotism law apply to a city housing authority's executive director?
The Attorney General concluded no. The Texas nepotism statute (article 5996a) reaches only officers who have the authority to hire personnel. Under chapter 392 of the Local Government Code, the power …
Where must Texas asset-forfeiture money be deposited, the county treasury or somewhere else?
The Attorney General concluded that forfeiture funds distributed under article 59.06(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, whether to the office of the attorney representing the state (usually a distr…
Could Maryland's Legislative Auditor get access to the financial records of a University of Maryland medical school doctors' private-practice corporation?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the Legislative Auditor's Division of Audits could not compel access to the records of University Physicians, Inc., the nonprofit corporation that administer…
Can a licensed engineer who is not an architect design a public building in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that section 16 of article 249a does not bar a registered professional engineer, licensed under the Texas Engineering Practice Act (article 3271a), from preparing the pl…
Do nonvoting ex officio members count toward a state board's quorum?
The Attorney General concluded that ex officio, nonvoting members of the Texas Board of Licensure for Nursing Home Administrators are not counted in deciding whether a quorum is present. The quorum is…
Can a state require outdoor shooting ranges to be built to National Rifle Association standards?
The Attorney General concluded no, as the statute was then written. Section 756.042 of the Health and Safety Code required the owner of an outdoor shooting range to build and maintain the range to sta…
Can a Texas commissioners court overturn an ex officio road commissioner's firing of a road employee, or move that worker to another precinct?
The Attorney General reached a mixed conclusion. On whether an ex officio road commissioner can fire full-time road employees to save money without risking discrimination suits, the opinion noted the …
Are older Texas health spas still exempt from posting a security bond after the 1989 Health Spa Act changes?
The Attorney General concluded no. The 1985 Health Spa Act let an established spa owner open new spas without posting a security bond (a 'grandfather' exemption in former section 10(d)). The 1989 amen…
Could Worcester County, Maryland raise its hotel room tax rate above 3% on its own using code home rule powers, or did it need state law authority?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that Worcester County could not use its own code home rule powers to amend the local law capping its hotel room tax at 3%, but the county commissioners could rais…
Can the same person be a county deputy constable and an assistant fire chief at the City of Houston at the same time in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded yes. Neither the Texas Constitution's ban on holding two civil offices of emolument (article XVI, section 40) nor the common-law doctrine of incompatibility blocks one p…
When a Maine state employee on disability retirement dies of a terminal illness, what does the surviving spouse have to prove to get the enhanced 'Option 2' survivor benefit?
The surviving spouse must prove the member met every element of the Uniform Rights of the Terminally Ill Act's definition of 'terminal condition' at the time the disability benefit was granted, not ju…
Can a Maryland state agency hand off one of its programs to a private nonprofit without legislative approval, and does the nonprofit's money count as public funds?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that a state disability agency lawfully transferred one of its programs to a private nonprofit corporation without legislative or Board of Public Works approval b…
Did Texas county education districts have to follow the truth-in-taxation notice, hearing, and rollback rules even though their tax rate was set by formula?
The Attorney General concluded the county education districts (CEDs) had to comply with the notice and hearing requirements of the Tax Code's truth-in-taxation provisions, even though the CEDs had no …
Can Texas treat a disabled teacher who recovers after age 60 as disabled for life, blocking their return to work, when younger teachers can come back?
The Attorney General concluded no. Government Code section 824.304(c) conclusively presumed that a Teacher Retirement System disability retiree whose retirement began at or continued past age 60 was d…
Can the Texas health department share abortion-clinic records with the medical or nursing board, or confirm a place is not a licensed abortion facility?
The Attorney General concluded no to both. The Texas Abortion Facility Reporting and Licensing Act makes the records the Department of Health holds confidential and lets the department release them to…
Can Texas therapeutic optometrists prescribe antiviral or glaucoma eye drugs, and could the optometry board list allowed drugs by category instead of by name?
The Attorney General reached a split conclusion. First, neither the Optometry Act provision authorizing therapeutic optometrists to prescribe certain eye drugs nor the board's rule violated article II…
Could Maryland's health department legally require drug companies to pay rebates to keep their drugs covered under state-funded health programs?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene had statutory authority under the Health-General Article to limit drug coverage in two state-funded programs to d…
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