State AG Opinions
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Did South Carolina’s winery shipping preferences violate the Commerce Clause?
The AG predicted that a court would likely find the in-state winery exceptions discriminatory under Granholm v. Heald. He left open whether a compelling local justification could save them and said…
Could a city-funded nonprofit director run for Bennettsville mayor or council?
The AG found no dual-office bar because the nonprofit executive director job was not a public office. He was inclined to find no master-servant conflict either, but called it close and said a court…
Could Beaufort County start all schools in July under a hybrid calendar?
The AG concluded that the proposed July 30 start with no school in June or July of the following year was not a year-round calendar. Without a waiver, the AG said the proposal appeared to conflict…
Could South Carolina DOT commissioners keep voting after the court ruled their consecutive terms unlawful?
The AG concluded that the state Supreme Court’s ruling ended the two commissioners’ authority to serve, even as de facto officers. They could not participate in commission meetings or receive…
Could an uncompensated Governor’s constable carry a handgun to a South Carolina county council meeting?
The Attorney General concluded in 2007 that a county council member appointed as an uncompensated Governor’s constable could carry a handgun to council meetings. The carry exception did not require…
Could the Maine Legislature, by joint rule rather than constitutional amendment, require a two-thirds supermajority to pass legislation that exceeded statutory spending limits?
Likely unconstitutional. The Maine AG concluded that Proposed Joint Rule 219, which would have required a two-thirds vote to pass legislation exceeding statutory spending limits, conflicted with the…
Can a Texas school district hire a company to run its cafeteria and buy the food?
The Attorney General concluded that a Texas school district participating in federal school nutrition programs may contract with a food service management company that provides food as part of its…
Can a charity pay for its bingo workers' health insurance out of bingo money in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that section 2001.458(b) of the Occupations Code prohibits a licensed authorized organization (a charity licensed to conduct bingo) from incurring or paying from its…
Can a New Jersey judge or town clerk who performs marriages refuse to perform civil unions, and can a priest, rabbi, or imam refuse based on religious beliefs?
AG Rabner concluded in January 2007 that public officials who chose to perform marriages had to perform civil unions on the same terms (refusing was discriminatory under the Law Against…
Can the Edwards Aquifer Authority cut groundwater permits below the legal minimum?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Legislature did not authorize the Edwards Aquifer Authority to reduce the groundwater withdrawal rights of two protected categories of permit holders,…
Could a religious preschool join South Carolina’s 2007 four-year-old kindergarten pilot, and who was eligible?
The AG concluded that the pilot program did not violate the federal Establishment Clause or the state ban on direct aid to private schools under the analyses used in 2007. First Steps could approve…
Did cities inside the Yakama Reservation owe assessments to the Yakima clean-air authority?
The Attorney General concluded in 2007 that component cities remained subject to the regional air authority’s statutory assessment even though EPA directly administered federal clean-air law within…
Could a South Carolina county council cut an elected official’s budget enough to eliminate staff?
The AG said a county council had broad budget authority but could not cut an elected official’s funding so deeply that the office could not function. He warned that cuts abolishing a particular…
Could an unpaid volunteer investigator appointed by a district attorney be a peace officer?
The California Attorney General concluded in 2007 that unpaid status alone did not prevent peace officer classification. The volunteer had to perform investigator duties and meet all legal…
Could a common interest development use a pellet gun to control rabbits damaging its landscaping, including at night or near a home?
The California AG concluded in 2007 that an association employee could use air powered pellets against cottontail rabbits materially damaging the association’s landscaping. State hunting…
Did a Washington geoduck farm need fish-and-wildlife hydraulic permits or shoreline development permits?
The Attorney General concluded in 2007 that Fish and Wildlife could not require a hydraulic-project permit for private geoduck culture. A shoreline substantial-development permit depended on whether…
Could a LaSalle Parish constable keep serving the districts that elected her after moving to another district?
No. The AG said the constable had to remain a resident of the ward or district from which elected, so a move to District 5 ended service for Districts 1 and 4. Because the remaining term was one…
Do old dry-ward votes still bar alcohol sales after Livingston Parish creates new election districts?
No, on the facts given. The AG said the old dry wards took on the wet sales status of the new Livingston Parish election districts, where no local-option election had prohibited alcohol sales.
Could a parish emergency office bar responders from an accident scene without a declared emergency?
No, under the facts addressed. The AG said the parish emergency office could control an emergency scene's access under the cited Act only after the parish president formally declared a local…
Was a private South Carolina water company subject to FOIA because it once received a state grant?
The AG concluded in 2006 that St. Johns Water Company was a public body under South Carolina FOIA because it had received a state grant. He distinguished its federal loans, which he said did not…
Could a South Carolina city council member also serve as a volunteer fire chief or assistant chief?
The AG concluded in 2006 that a New Ellenton council member could also serve as chief or assistant chief of its volunteer fire department. The state constitution’s dual-office restriction expressly…
Does Texas's low-income housing tax credit plan have to count neighborhood input?
The Attorney General gave a multi-part answer about the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) and its 2006 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for low-income housing tax credits.…
Can a Texas school district pay city impact fees or build off-site roads for a new school?
The Attorney General concluded that Education Code section 11.168, which bars a school board from entering an agreement authorizing the use of district employees, property, or resources to provide…
Can Texas reveal which insurers write commercial coastal property policies?
The Attorney General concluded that section 38.003(d) of the Insurance Code does not prohibit the Texas Department of Insurance from disclosing the identities of companies that write commercial…
Do Texas school district lease-purchase deals have to follow the usual procurement rules?
The Attorney General concluded that Education Code sections 44.031 and 44.033, the competitive procurement rules for school district contracts and purchases, apply to a school district's…
If I donate to an Oregon university venture development fund, is the total tax credit I can claim limited to $50,000, and do I have to use the credit within three years?
No on both. The $50,000 cap is a per-year limit, not a total cap. The total credit equals 60 percent of the donation. The taxpayer takes 20 percent of the contribution per year, capped at $50,000 or…
Can a Louisiana justice-of-the-peace constable serve a criminal summons, and where?
The AG said a constable could serve a criminal summons issued by a justice of the peace when authorized by the sheriff, generally within the constable's own ward. It rejected sending the summons to…
Could Bonneau police patrol the nearby Bonneau Beach area under contract, and where would resulting cases be heard?
The AG said Bonneau could provide police services by agreement if Bonneau Beach was within three miles of town and the required agreement existed. Arrests made there would be heard in magistrate…
Could Cheraw spend hospitality-tax revenue on high school athletic facilities?
The AG doubted that a field house and athletic-field upgrades primarily benefiting a public school qualified as tourism-related uses of Cheraw’s hospitality-tax revenue. He said only a court could…
If a Delaware public body holds a meeting without giving the required public notice, can it fix the problem just by approving the minutes later?
Not usually, according to this opinion. Merely approving the minutes of an earlier unnoticed meeting is a perfunctory, ministerial act that doesn't cure a FOIA violation; the public body has to give…
Does Delaware's open meetings law apply to the University of Delaware Board of Trustees' Executive Committee?
No, under the law as it stood in 2006. The AG found that FOIA's open meeting law only covers the full University of Delaware Board of Trustees, not its Executive Committee, so the Committee's…
Would the California AG authorize a quo warranto suit over disputed seats on the Indio Housing Development Corporation board?
No. The AG declined to authorize the suit because the nonprofit corporation’s directors were not public officials, a corporation-election remedy was available, and the dispute did not warrant…
Did South Carolina timber landowners have to plant hardwoods in rows to retain agricultural property-tax treatment?
The AG said row planting was not a statutory requirement for timber land managed for agricultural-use classification. Natural hardwood regeneration could be relevant, but whether a particular parcel…
Who pays to prepare and print Louisiana parish property-tax notices?
The AG said the sheriff's salary fund, funded through law-enforcement district millages, must cover preparation and printing of property-tax notices. It recalled an earlier opinion only insofar as…
Could Louisiana's social services department distribute private Katrina relief donations to its employees?
The AG found no general legal bar to the department accepting private donations for employees affected by Hurricane Katrina. It conditioned awards to employees on approval from the State Civil…
Could Tangipahoa’s sheriff donate a blighted building to a nonprofit that promised to renovate it?
No. The AG said the sheriff owed no legal duty to transfer the property, and the constitutional exception allowing certain parish or municipal donations of blighted housing did not extend to a…
Could Mansura's elected police chief require the town to give his department a vacant municipal building?
No. The AG said the mayor and town council could refuse the chief's request to move the police department into a vacant town-owned building. The chief controlled police operations, but the opinion…
Could a Louisiana sheriff’s sale proceed after Katrina emergency orders suspended court deadlines?
The AG said a sheriff’s sale counted as a legal proceeding covered by the post-hurricane deadline suspensions. Under the Louisiana Supreme Court’s October 3, 2005 order, a court could shorten or…
Could the Winn Parish Police Jury require Winnfield's elected city marshal to appear and explain his police budget?
No. The AG said no law required Winnfield's elected city marshal to appear before the Winn Parish Police Jury about his budget. After the mayor and city governing authority approved appropriations,…
Can someone who isn't a family member pick up a towed car from a storage lot using an affidavit?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Department of Transportation reasonably read its own rules (43 Texas Administrative Code sections 18.82(3) and 18.92(a)(3)(G)) to allow a person who is…
Can a Texas county pay performance bonuses to only some of its employees?
The Attorney General concluded that Smith County's proposed incentive bonus plan for certain county employees would not violate article III, section 53 of the Texas Constitution, which bars extra…
Could Clinton obtain a search warrant to inspect homes for violations of its student-housing occupancy rule?
The AG said South Carolina’s general criminal search-warrant statute did not authorize a home inspection for this zoning purpose. A separate provision might allow a municipal recorder to issue an…
Could South Carolina counties charge flat road-maintenance fees to interstate trucks?
The AG warned that flat county road fees might burden nonresident interstate carriers disproportionately and violate the Commerce Clause. He reviewed no specific ordinance and said only a court…
Can St. Landry Parish abolish its District Five road commission and take its taxes and assets?
The AG reaffirmed its earlier conclusion that the parish government could not simply abolish this legislatively created district and take over its tax. A consolidation and merger could occur through…
Was Jasper County bound by a South Carolina legislative resolution requesting a road name?
The AG said a General Assembly concurrent resolution requesting the John Smith Road name was not binding law. He also said Jasper County apparently had authority to name roads within its borders…
Was Kentucky's 30-mile assistant county attorney residency rule measured by road or straight line?
The AG said KRS 69.300's 30-mile alternative was measured in a straight line from the county line, not by driving distance along roads. The statute also allowed residence in a contiguous county.
Who was authorized to redesign Louisiana's state flag and seal after the 2006 pelican amendment?
The AG found that the 2006 amendments did not say which official or agency should redesign the state flag or seal. It recommended that the legislature assign responsibility and identified the…
Can a Louisiana school board sell the naming rights to a school facility?
Yes. The AG said a city, parish, or local school board could grant naming rights to a facility it owned in return for funds, subject to naming restrictions and other law. An individual school did…
Could Lafayette school administrators hire displaced teachers without board approval after Katrina?
The AG said Lafayette's administration could enroll displaced students but could not hire displaced teachers without school board approval. The opinion distinguished delegable student assignment…
When does a small ownership stake link a Maryland alcohol wholesaler to a nonresident dealer strongly enough to bar a permit?
For the two structures presented, the AG agreed that a collective 5.6% stake in the nonresident dealer held by the proposed wholesaler's owners was prohibited, while a sole 0.33% stake was too small…
If eligible tenants decline extended leases during a Maryland condominium conversion, must the developer offer leases to others?
Yes under the condominium conversion provisions examined in 2006. The AG said the developer had to notify every tenant and process eligible households seeking extended leases; the 20% limit capped…
Was a school prize drawing tied to voter-registration totals an illegal South Carolina lottery?
The AG concluded in 2006 that a drawing for school donations based on voter-registration participation was not a lottery because participants paid no consideration for a chance to win. The proposal…
When the DC quasi-public economic-development corporation (NCRC) borrowed $6.7 million from Bank of America in 2002 with a deed of trust on property it owned, was that loan properly authorized under DC law? Did the Anti-Deficiency Acts apply?
The loan was not properly authorized. The NCRC is part of the DC government, and is subject to both the federal and DC Anti-Deficiency Acts. NCRC's only authority to borrow money is through revenue…
Could a city sign subdivision improvement and reimbursement agreements with a developer who employed a city council member?
The California AG concluded in 2006 that the city could sign the specified Subdivision Map Act agreements if the council member disclosed the interest and abstained from voting on any matter…
Do Texas courts charge two separate filing fees when you file a civil lawsuit?
The Attorney General concluded that a district clerk must collect filing fees under both section 133.151 and section 133.152 of the Local Government Code, not just one of them. Section 133.151 is…
Is a golf cart a 'motor vehicle' for a lawsuit against a Texas school district?
The Attorney General concluded that a Texas court would likely treat a self-propelled golf cart as a 'motor vehicle' under section 101.051 of the Texas Tort Claims Act, the provision that narrows a…
Can a Texas county pay the court-appointed attorney's fees in a private child custody case?
The Attorney General concluded that the answer turns on when the suit was filed. For private suits affecting the parent-child relationship filed on or after September 1, 2003 (the effective date of…
Can a Texas deputy district clerk also work part-time for a private law firm?
The Attorney General concluded that neither article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution (which bars holding more than one civil office of emolument) nor the common-law incompatibility doctrine…
Where can a Texas chiropractic license applicant take their 90 college credit hours?
The Attorney General concluded that Occupations Code section 201.302(a)(3), which requires a chiropractic license applicant to complete 90 semester hours of college courses at 'a school other than a…
Could CalPERS spread the cost of retroactive pension benefits beyond the affected employees’ average remaining work years?
The California AG concluded in 2006 that CalPERS could use a longer amortization period without necessarily violating its constitutional pension duties. The opinion examined a 20-year schedule and…
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