State AG Opinions
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What did Idaho's AG say about a 2006 ballot initiative to expand the Idaho Open Meeting Law and increase the fines for violations?
The AG urged clearer amendatory text and a more precise description of covered bodies. He found that the petition targeted the wrong fine subsection and warned its uncapped minimum fines might be…
Could a Washington special-purpose district board endorse or oppose a ballot measure by resolution?
The Attorney General concluded in 2006 that special-purpose districts lacked statutory authority to pass such advocacy resolutions, so the conduct did not fit the “normal and regular conduct”…
Could a Maryland health care agent arrange voluntary psychiatric admission for someone who could not request it personally?
Yes, but only under conditions the 2006 opinion specified. The agent needed authority under an effective advance directive and had to monitor the patient's treatment and retention; the facility…
Can a Maryland city charge property owners and businesses a 'street utility fee' based on how much traffic they generate, to pay for street maintenance, without getting the state legislature's permission first?
No, not without state authorization. The opinion concluded a municipal 'street utility fee,' based on projected traffic generated by a property's use rather than actual consumption of a service or…
Could an appointed committee approve Berkeley County school tax increases under South Carolina's constitution?
The AG predicted that proposed legislation giving an appointed tax review committee final approval over Berkeley County school millage increases would violate Article X, Section 5. It stressed that…
Can a Texas city police chief also serve on the school board of a district inside the city, or is that an incompatible dual office?
Senator Robert Duncan asked whether the Hale Center chief of police could also serve as a trustee of the Hale Center school district, whose boundaries overlap the city. The Attorney General said…
Do you have to own property to serve on a Texas water district board, or is living in the district enough?
The president of the Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District asked what it takes to serve as a director: must a candidate live in the district (and the single-member precinct) and…
Could the City of Union create a nonprofit foundation and fund it with proceeds from insurance on a city building?
The AG said Union could create a nonprofit foundation under its implied municipal powers. Insurance proceeds remained public funds, so transferring them depended on a factual finding that the…
Did South Carolina's Commission for the Blind have priority over vending machines at the Department of Corrections?
The AG read coin-operated machines as possible vending facilities under the blind-vendor statute, including on Corrections property. It identified ambiguity about whether a blind operator had to be…
Could projects already underway or council members' property receive Easley tax increment financing funds?
The AG said a project's start or occupancy date alone did not determine TIF eligibility; the adopted redevelopment plan and area did. TIF proceeds had to fund authorized project costs, and council…
Could Myrtle Beach create an affordable housing trust fund and pay for it with local taxes or fees?
The Attorney General concluded that Myrtle Beach could establish a local affordable housing trust fund under its municipal powers. Each of the three proposed ways to dedicate tax or fee revenue to…
Who reimbursed a Louisiana sheriff for transporting a patient under a physician emergency certificate?
The AG said the sheriff's department had to transport a patient under a properly executed physician emergency certificate but should be reimbursed. The opinion identified the patient or responsible…
Can a professional engineer in Texas design an entire public building without hiring a licensed architect?
Two questions came in: a House committee chair asked broadly whether a professional engineer can prepare all the plans for the public buildings listed in Occupations Code section 1051.703 without an…
If a Delaware town redacts parts of its executive session meeting minutes, who has to prove the redaction was justified?
The town does, according to this opinion. The AG upheld redactions for still-pending land purchases, litigation, and personnel matters, but ordered disclosure of portions covering routine police…
Did appointing South Carolina board members by judicial circuit violate one person, one vote?
The Attorney General said appointed board seats generally were outside the one person, one vote rule, but judicial circuit appointments raised legal questions under other cases. The opinion did not…
Could an Idaho initiative raise the sales tax to 6% and dedicate the extra revenue to public schools?
The Attorney General said the proposal needed clearer rules for school spending, charter schools, and appropriation of the new fund. Its directions to future legislatures would have no legal effect…
Could an ATV be driven on a South Carolina public highway under the rules reviewed in 2006?
The Attorney General said the highway rules for motor vehicles applied to ATVs, including driver licensing, required equipment, and vehicle registration. The opinion reported that state officials…
If a Delaware board privately discusses and decides an appeal without a valid reason for executive session, does that automatically undo its decision?
Not necessarily, according to this opinion. The AG found the board violated FOIA's open meeting law by deliberating in private without any of the law's nine authorized reasons, but declined to order…
Did Maine's constitutional 50% property-tax-loss reimbursement requirement apply to personal property tax revenues, and would it apply if the Legislature repealed the personal property tax entirely?
The Maine AG concluded that Article IV, Part 3, § 23's 50% municipal-reimbursement requirement most likely applies to both real and personal property taxes. But a complete legislative repeal of the…
Can a Texas deputy sheriff also work as a septic-system installer in his own county?
A Kimble County deputy sheriff had been cited by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for working as an on-site sewage facility (septic system) installer in the same county, where the…
Can a Texas justice of the peace hold up organ donation until deciding whether to order an autopsy?
When someone dies under circumstances requiring an inquest and the family consents to organ donation, Health and Safety Code section 693.002(a)(5) does not let the justice of the peace simply stall.…
Can a Texas county hire a bank to manage its permanent school fund?
Chambers County asked whether it could contract with a bank to invest and manage its county permanent school fund, the fund built from public school lands the Republic of Texas granted to counties…
Can Texas send part of a divorce filing fee to a child-abuse prevention fund instead of the courts?
After the Legislature doubled the family protection fee (collected when a divorce is filed) to as much as $30 and sent half of it to the state child abuse and neglect prevention trust fund account,…
How long was a trustee term for California Reclamation District No. 1600 under the AG’s 2005 opinion?
The California AG concluded in 2005 that trustees served four-year terms. The district’s older special law mentioned two years but incorporated later general reclamation-district law, which had…
Can a Texas legislator also be paid as president of a municipal management district?
The House Civil Practices Committee chair asked whether the paid president of a municipal management district (created under Local Government Code chapter 375) could also sit in the Texas…
Is a charity poker run illegal gambling in Texas?
The Galveston County Criminal District Attorney asked whether a nonprofit could legally sponsor a 'poker run,' where participants make a $10 donation to a cause, ride or drive to a series of…
Could California apply satellite TV customer service rules and local fees in 2005?
The California AG concluded in 2005 that federal law left the state’s satellite TV customer service protections in place, including penalties for violations. Federal law barred a local tax or fee on…
Who paid for emergency screening and HIV prevention during a Kentucky sexual-assault forensic exam?
The AG said an initial emergency-physician screening, STI testing including HIV, and HIV post-exposure prophylaxis when appropriate were part of the forensic exam's basic treatment. The Crime…
Did Connecticut tax nonprofit employer workers compensation mutuals as insurance companies?
The AG concluded that nonprofit employer mutual associations formed under Connecticut’s workers compensation statutes were not insurance companies for the state premium tax. He limited his answer to…
Could a railroad sell alcohol to passengers on a train in South Carolina under the law reviewed in 2005?
The Attorney General said South Carolina law permitted alcohol sales on trains consistent with the two statutes he cited. One exempted railroad dining and club cars from a public drinking offense;…
Did South Carolina have a state law specifically banning firearm discharge in subdivisions in 2005?
The Attorney General knew of no South Carolina statute specifically prohibiting weapons from being fired in a subdivision. He identified other firearm offenses that could apply and said subdivision…
Could a redevelopment agency member’s adult child buy property in the agency’s project area?
The California AG concluded in 2005 that an adult, nondependent child could buy property in the agency’s redevelopment project area if the agency member gained no direct or indirect financial…
Can Texas legalize importing prescription drugs from Canada?
In 2005 the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 410, which tried to let Texans buy lower-priced prescription drugs from Canada by having the State Board of Pharmacy inspect, designate, and promote…
Did Washington’s 2005 Hood Canal cleanup appropriation require joint approval by the local coordinating council?
No. The AG read the specific budget appropriation as funding the Puget Sound Action Team without making it subject to the separate statute’s co management and consent provisions, though cooperation…
Which South Carolina county office did the AG say should file family court records and property liens in 2005?
For the York County questions presented, the AG generally placed family court records with the clerk and property-related liens and notices with the register of deeds. He pointed to specific…
Could a city post council meeting agendas on a free outdoor touchscreen instead of a bulletin board?
The California AG concluded in 2005 that a city could post its council agenda on a free, accessible outdoor touchscreen kiosk instead of a paper bulletin board. The described kiosk was available…
Could one person serve as Allendale County social services director and on its school board in 2005?
No. The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that both the county social services director and a school board member held public offices for South Carolina's dual office rule, so one person could not…
Which misdemeanor offenses enacted by the Georgia legislature in 2004 require fingerprinting at booking and which don't?
The AG designated 12 of the 13 reviewed offenses as fingerprintable: prohibited farmers' market acts, simple assault and simple battery on public school employees, third-degree cruelty to children,…
When the Georgia legislature adds a new misdemeanor offense, how do police know whether to take fingerprints from someone arrested for it, and which offenses on the GCIC list did the AG designate?
Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 35-3-33(a)(1)(A)(v)) gives the Attorney General authority to designate any offense as fingerprintable beyond the offenses already required by statute. The AG designated 11 of…
Can a Texas commissioners court pay a vendor on a claim the county auditor rejected?
The Harris County Attorney asked whether a commissioners court could pay a vendor the reasonable value (quantum meruit) of goods or services the county received under an implied contract, when the…
Were Maryland retiree health benefits vested like pensions, and did GASB 45 change the State's legal duties?
In 2005, the Attorney General concluded that Maryland law required health benefits and subsidies for certain retirees but did not make them vested contractual rights like pensions, so the General…
Does the practical part of the Texas hearing aid fitter licensing exam have to be validated by an independent testing professional?
The chair of the Texas House Committee on Human Services asked whether section 402.104(c) of the Occupations Code, which says 'the examination must be validated by an independent testing…
Can a Texas county post signs in its jail telling inmates about personal bonds and cash bail bonds without violating the bail bond surety law?
The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney asked several questions about jailhouse signs explaining pretrial release options. The Attorney General concluded that chapter 1704 of the Occupations…
Was Union County's board and commission term-limit ordinance enforceable despite conflicting timing language?
The Attorney General considered Union County's ordinance confusing but enforceable. He read it as allowing new board, committee, and commission appointees two consecutive terms, while those serving…
Could Plaquemines Parish Council hold a special meeting away from its damaged parish seat after Katrina?
Yes. The AG said the Plaquemines Parish President could call a special council meeting at a location elsewhere within the parish after hurricane damage made the parish seat unusable. It found no…
Could off-duty Broussard police use city patrol cars for paid private security work?
The AG said Broussard’s chief could authorize off-duty officers to use city patrol cars for private security details within city limits and accept payment or reimbursement from the private…
Could Vermilion Parish pay employees for five workdays lost to Hurricane Rita?
Possibly. The AG said Vermilion Parish could pay employees for five Rita-related missed workdays if an existing ordinance, policy, or custom provided for that leave and the benefit was applied with…
Did a filing fee charged to a losing restraining-order petitioner threaten South Carolina's STOP grant eligibility?
The Attorney General thought South Carolina appeared to remain eligible for STOP grants despite a law assessing a filing fee against the losing party in a harassment or stalking restraining-order…
Did Youngsville's local census qualify it for reclassification from a Louisiana town to a city?
Yes. After reviewing Youngsville's census and resolutions, the AG concluded the submitted documents met the statutory requirements for reclassification from town to city. It found a population of…
Could South Carolina sell part of the Bull Street mental hospital property and use the proceeds elsewhere?
The Attorney General predicted a court would likely treat the Bull Street mental hospital property as held for a charitable purpose. He recommended court approval before a sale, with proceeds…
Could Denham Springs update its restaurant liquor-permit ordinance without another election?
The AG said Denham Springs could amend its restaurant-permit ordinance to match current state law without another local-option election. It cautioned that replacing the old 60% food-sales…
Could a Louisiana fire district spend voter-approved property tax revenue on dress uniforms for volunteer firefighters?
Yes, under the Coteau district's voter-approved tax proposition. The AG said the district could use part of the tax proceeds for paid or volunteer members' dress uniforms if it determined the…
Could a Louisiana town impose a broader residency ban on registered sex offenders than state law?
The AG said Ball could adopt an ordinance regulating registered sex offenders' residence, but it could not conflict with or be more restrictive than state law. The proposed half-mile rule added…
Can a Louisiana school board give land to a parish for a boat launch or to a council on aging?
The AG said Bienville Parish School Board could not donate sixteenth-section land for a public boat launch. A gift of its old school site for meals serving objectively identified needy elderly…
After a Louisiana town approved its police budget, who controlled police purchases, ticket money, and records?
The AG said an elected police chief controlled department purchases within specific approved budget appropriations, while following municipal purchase-order rules. Ticket fines generally went to the…
Could the Cajundome Commission form a nonprofit to run concessions and catering?
The AG concluded that the Cajundome Commission could form a nonprofit to support its operation of the venue. Its authority to operate and manage the Cajundome supplied implied authority for that…
Could Mount Pleasant move its municipal election date even if that changed incumbents' time in office?
The Attorney General said a municipality could change its election date by ordinance even if that incidentally lengthened or shortened incumbents' time in office. It could not set mayoral or council…
Did owning property in a South Carolina school district excuse a nonresident child from tuition in 2005?
The AG read the property-ownership enrollment rule together with the nonresident tuition statute. Under his reading, owning real estate in the district did not automatically erase the payment;…
Could a California hospital district reimburse a doctor for voluntary overseas disaster relief travel?
The California AG concluded in 2005 that reimbursement was possible only if the district board reasonably found that the physician’s Sri Lanka emergency care directly benefited the district’s…
Could Louisiana crews remove cars and boats deposited on private land by Katrina without using abandoned-vehicle procedures?
The AG said vehicles carried onto private property by Katrina or Rita without their owners’ intent to abandon them were disaster debris, so the ordinary abandoned-vehicle procedure did not apply. It…
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