State AG Opinions
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Could a Maryland county pass its own law requiring gun owners to store firearms safely away from children, or did state law preempt that kind of local rule?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that Montgomery County could enact a proposed ordinance requiring gun owners to keep loaded firearms away from unsupervised minors, because the state's ge…
Could a Maryland school system investigate its own employee for suspected child abuse separately from the police or social services investigation?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a local school board could conduct its own personnel investigation of an employee accused of child abuse, separate from the mandatory investigation b…
Can a Texas city enforce its own accessibility building code on a school district despite a state waiver?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the City of El Paso could refuse to issue building permits or certificates of occupancy to the El Paso Independent School District for failing to meet the city…
Who controls a Texas jail commissary contract, the money it makes, and its books?
The sheriff controls the contract, the money benefits inmates, and the county auditor can audit. The Attorney General concluded that the commissioners court has no authority over the terms of a jail c…
Can a Texas hospital district build a clinic to lease to private doctors and pay for it with bond funds?
It could build and lease the clinic, but not pay for it that way. The Attorney General concluded that the Val Verde Hospital District had express authority under its enabling statute to construct buil…
Can a Maryland family get a hearing to challenge a medical examiner's ruling on how a relative died?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a family member disputing the Chief Medical Examiner's determination of a relative's cause or manner of death had no right to a formal hearing under …
Can the Texas education commissioner move a school district to a different county education district?
No, not in this situation. The Attorney General concluded that the commissioner of education had no authority to create a new county education district beyond those the statute already listed, and cou…
Can a religious group hand out literature and ask for donations on Texas state agency property?
It depends on the type of space. The Attorney General concluded that handing out literature and soliciting charitable donations are expressive activities protected by the First Amendment, so the Depar…
Did the 1991 bingo tax law raise the interest rate on jeopardy tax determinations?
No. The Attorney General concluded that House Bill 11 (1991) did not change section 32(b) of the Bingo Enabling Act, so the interest rate on a jeopardy tax determination under that section stayed at t…
Who is legally responsible if a Maryland prison inmate working on a private contractor's asbestos removal job gets hurt or injures someone else, and does that inmate have to be paid minimum wage?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that an inmate injured while working for a private contractor on a prison asbestos abatement project would have to seek recovery through the Sundry Claims…
Can Texas waive the bingo prize fee on small prizes, or can the charity pay it instead?
No, the fee could not be waived, but there was a workaround for small prizes. The Attorney General concluded that the Alcoholic Beverage Commission could not waive or exempt the three percent fee on b…
Can someone get a death certificate that lists AIDS or HIV as the cause of death in Texas?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Act, which keeps AIDS test results confidential, did not stop the state registrar from releasing a death certif…
Can a Texas talent agency follow Screen Actors Guild fee rules without breaking the Talent Agency Act?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a talent agency franchised by the Screen Actors Guild would not violate sections 2(b), 2(c), or 10(b) of the Texas Talent Agency Act by following the amended S…
Does a Texas bail bondsman have to be licensed in the same county where the case is pending?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that under article 2372p-3 a person must be licensed by a county's own bail bond board to act as a bail bondsman in any court of that county. So the Tarrant County …
Is Idaho's proposed One Percent Initiative (a 1992 ballot measure to cap property taxes at 1% of market value) workable, and if not, can it still be put on the ballot?
The AG concluded that the One Percent Initiative had multiple fatal flaws (impossible-to-implement two-thirds-of-qualified-electors threshold, undefined 'special taxes,' no apportionment mechanism, co…
Can a Texas board still act under a certification statute after it has been repealed?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Court Reporters Certification Board could not continue to consider an application for certification under Government Code section 52.021(e) after that provi…
Under Maryland's 1991 child safety seat law, does a child need to be both 4 years old AND over 40 pounds before switching to a seat belt?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that under TR §22-412.2(d), a child must be both four years of age or older and weigh more than 40 pounds before a person may use a seat belt instead of a…
Can a Maryland county pay its own money to top up the salaries of local social services employees who are technically state workers?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that county governments may supplement the state salaries of local department of social services employees out of county appropriations, and because those…
How much flexibility does a Maine state agency have to privatize services that its employees currently provide?
It depends on the agency and the service. Some agencies have direct statutory authority to contract services out. For example, the Commissioner of Corrections can contract for medical services to pris…
Can a Texas justice of the peace set bail over the phone or use a fixed bail schedule?
No to both. The Attorney General found no authority for a justice of the peace to set bail by telephone for someone who has just been arrested and has not yet appeared before a magistrate; the statute…
Did Maine's new constitutional anti-diversion amendment force the State to restore $73.5 million in MSRS funds that had already been deappropriated earlier in 1991?
No. The AG concluded that the November 1991 amendment to Article IX, § 18 is prospective only. The Legislature's earlier deappropriation in Part P of the FY 1992 General Appropriation Act (P.L. 1991, …
Can a Maryland state agency sign a contract or accept goods and services when it doesn't currently have a budget appropriation to pay for them?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that a state agency generally may enter into a contract even when no appropriation currently exists to pay for it, since the constitutional requirement that money…
Can a Texas school board ban tobacco use by staff and visitors on school property?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that an independent school district's board of trustees had the authority both to enact a policy prohibiting tobacco use by district staff and the general public on…
Can a Texas school board member also serve on a county education board, teach elsewhere, or work for a legislator?
Yes to all three. The Attorney General concluded that a school district trustee may serve on the board of the county education district his district belongs to, may teach in a different school distric…
Can the Texas Water Commission make rules to regulate groundwater, or is that an unconstitutional delegation?
It can. The Attorney General concluded that section 28.011 of the Texas Water Code, which directs the Texas Water Commission to make and enforce rules for conserving, protecting, preserving, and distr…
How many trustees does a Texas school district elect when expanding its board from seven to nine members?
Enough to reach nine, not a fixed six. The Attorney General construed Education Code section 23.023(h), which converts a large school district's board from seven members to nine. The statute literally…
How is the Texas state solid waste disposal fee calculated at a landfill?
By comparing two numbers, not three. The Attorney General read Health and Safety Code section 361.013(a) to mean a landfill charges the greater of a weight-based fee or a volume-based fee, not the gre…
Did Maryland's Health Department need to adopt formal regulations before charging the Kidney Disease Program fee the legislature had already set by statute?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene did not need to adopt a regulation before applying the Kidney Disease Program's statutory fee formula, because th…
Can a Texas county pay justices of the peace different salaries based on how many cases they handle?
Yes, on its face. The Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court may set different salaries for justices of the peace in the same county based on the number of cases filed in each court, an…
Do audiology students need a hearing-aid license to make earmold impressions in Texas?
No. The Attorney General concluded that an audiology student at an accredited college or university, who is measuring human hearing as part of the academic curriculum, may make impressions for earmold…
Can a Texas Supreme Court justice also serve on a federal board like the State Justice Institute?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Constitution's dual office holding ban (article XVI, section 12) prevents a justice of the Supreme Court of Texas from serving on the Board of Directo…
Can a Texas school district pay its employees for unused sick leave when they leave?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that Texas school districts have the authority to pay their employees for accrued (unused) sick leave, and that they kept that authority after the 72nd Legislature …
Could a Maryland county let nonlawyers represent public employees in formal grievance hearings without state legislation?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that Howard County could not, on its own, allow nonlawyers to represent public employees in formal grievance hearings before the County Personnel Board, because t…
If Maryland's public defender runs out of money for conflict cases, who pays for the defendant's lawyer?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the Public Defender's office was right to decline representation once its budget for panel attorneys ran out, that a court could then appoint private…
Can someone serve on a Texas river authority board and a county appraisal district board at the same time?
Yes, at least for this river authority. The Attorney General concluded that a director of the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority may also serve on a county appraisal district board. The Texas Constituti…
Does Maryland's rule forcing circuit court masters to retire at age 70 violate the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the mandatory retirement provision in Rule 2-541, requiring standing masters to retire at age 70, conflicted with the federal Age Discrimination in Employmen…
Does a Texas law reducing the time before parole eligibility apply to inmates convicted before it passed?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the 1987 amendment to article 42.18, section 8(b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which cut the time a prisoner has to serve before becoming eligible for pa…
Can Idaho's parole commission schedule a parole hearing before an inmate's fixed minimum term has expired so the inmate can actually be paroled the day eligibility kicks in?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Commission for Pardons and Parole can hold an initial parole hearing before an inmate's determinate sentence runs out, so that release can happen on the eligibility date…
Can a Texas public official give a merit raise to a spouse who works at the same agency?
Not a discretionary merit raise. The Attorney General concluded that a Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation school superintendent violated the state nepotism law (article 5996a) by…
Can county commissioners decide the boundaries for a local wet/dry alcohol election in Texas?
Only in one narrow situation. The Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court may set the boundaries for a local option liquor election only under section 251.80 of the Alcoholic Beverage Co…
Does a city transit agency have to use competitive bidding to build a monorail or rail transit system?
Mostly yes, but with an exception. The Attorney General concluded that a metropolitan transit authority's purchase of a new rail or monorail system was subject to the competitive bidding requirement o…
Is it constitutional for Texas to exempt real estate brokers in smaller counties from continuing education?
The Attorney General declined to decide, saying it depends on facts. A 1991 law let real estate brokers licensed 10 years or more, with their principal place of business in a county of 225,000 or fewe…
When the South Dakota Department of Transportation sells state-owned railroad property, the law gives the lessees and abutting landowners 60 days' notice and a right to purchase at appraised value, except for sales 'for railroad purposes.' What does 'railroad purposes' mean, and when does a buyer get to skip the notice-and-purchase-right requirement?
A sale is 'for railroad purposes' only when the buyer will continue to run a railroad on the right-of-way being sold. If the line has been abandoned and the buyer plans any other use (recreational tra…
Can an 18-to-21-year-old under Texas Youth Commission supervision be held with younger juveniles in detention?
Only in limited circumstances, the Attorney General concluded. The 1985 law raised TYC jurisdiction to age 21, but the Family Code still defines a 'child' as under 18 and bars housing such children in…
Can someone requesting Texas public records demand a specific file format like tape or microfiche?
No, the Attorney General concluded. The Secretary of State already offered corporation records in seven formats (microfilm, microfiche, magnetic tape, online access, telephone responses, copies of ori…
Can the EEOC require a Texas state agency to delete records from an employee's personnel file?
No, not in violation of state law, the Attorney General concluded. The EEOC resolves discrimination claims through voluntary conciliation, and its compliance manual lists expunging adverse materials f…
When does Texas have to hold a public hearing before giving an HIV-services grant?
Only before an initial grant over $25,000, the Attorney General concluded. Under the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Services Act (chapter 85 of the Health and Safety Code), the Department of Health must…
Could a Texas hospital district close its dental clinic, and would it still have to pay for indigent dental care elsewhere?
The district could close the clinic by resolution if its board found closure was in residents' best interest. The AG could not determine whether the district still had to provide or pay for the clinic…
Can a Maryland town bar its commissioners from running again right after serving two consecutive terms?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a proposed charter amendment barring a Poolesville commissioner from running again immediately after two or more consecutive terms, including partial…
Are executive management search consultants regulated by Texas even though they don't need a certificate of authority?
Yes, in part, the Attorney General concluded. Under the Personnel Employment Services Act, a management search consultant is a type of personnel service. Section 2(b) exempts these consultants only fr…
Can Maine voters use a citizen initiative to limit how many years state or federal legislators can serve?
No. Term limits on state legislators or members of Maine's congressional delegation cannot be imposed by ordinary statute, whether passed by the Legislature or by citizen initiative. The Maine and U.S…
Can a Texas county abolish the elected office of county public weigher?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. Because the commissioners court has discretion under Agriculture Code section 13.253 to create the elective office of county public weigher, it also has authority …
Can Maryland abolish a state employee's job through the budget process instead of a formal layoff?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that when the Governor, the General Assembly, or the Governor and Board of Public Works together eliminated the funding for a specifically identifiable st…
Who controls jury selection in a Texas county, the district clerk or a jury administrator?
The district clerk, the Attorney General concluded. Where a county uses electronic or mechanical equipment to select juror names under Government Code section 62.011 and interchangeable juries under s…
Could Maryland justify unequal population sizes among Baltimore City's state legislative districts because of a census undercount or a desire to keep the city's boundaries intact?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the Baltimore City census undercount alone could not justify legislative district population deviations above the usual 10% threshold, but that a leg…
Did Texas House Bill 2 deregulate Lloyd's and reciprocal auto insurers or ban experience rating?
No on both counts, the Attorney General concluded. Section 2.02 of House Bill 2, which put motor vehicle insurance under the new flexible rating program in subchapter M of the Insurance Code, applies …
Can a Maine legislator who owns land in a study district serve on a special committee planning that district's future?
Yes. Representative Lipman's land holdings in the Augusta capitol planning district did not legally disqualify him from the Special Committee on the New Capitol Area Master Plan. The committee was adv…
Does Maryland have to pay higher social security contributions when a school system reclassifies a whole category of jobs to a higher pay grade?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that Section 9 of the 1991 Budget Reconciliation Act barred the State from paying increased employer social security contributions caused by reclassifying an enti…
If a South Dakota drainage district was formed in the 1910s or 1920s under the old drainage laws and is still functioning, does it have to file its vested drainage rights with the register of deeds before the 1992 deadline, or are the pre-1985 districts exempt?
No filing required. The 1991 SD AG concluded that a drainage district that was functioning or making assessments in the three years before July 1, 1985, and is therefore preserved under SDCL 46A-10A-4…
If a campground owner in South Dakota already holds a state campground license from the Department of Health, does the operator also need a separate county temporary campground permit during events like the Black Hills Motorcycle Classic?
Yes. Under SDCL 7-18-21, enacted in 1991, a county may require its own temporary campground permit for fairs, carnivals, or similar gatherings even when the operator already holds a state campground l…
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