State AG Opinions
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Could a school board circulate an employee's old personnel-file documents without notifying the employee?
Based on the facts supplied, the AG said Caddo Parish School Board's handling of an employee's old personnel-file documents appeared to violate the School Employee Personnel Files Act. It said board…
Could an elected Acadia Parish school board member also work as the parish librarian?
Yes. The AG treated the parish librarian as a parish employee and the elected school board member as an officeholder in a separate political subdivision. Under the dual-officeholding rule it…
Could a Louisiana volunteer fire rescue unit bill accident victims' insurers for routine traffic-crash calls?
Generally no. The AG said Red River Parish's volunteer rescue unit could not charge the insurers of people involved in traffic accidents simply because it responded to a scene. Specific statutes…
Could Louisiana's Ground Water Resources Commission overturn the conservation commissioner's aquifer and groundwater orders?
Only some orders. The AG concluded that the Ground Water Resources Commission could approve or reject the conservation commissioner's orders restricting wells or proposed wells, but lacked authority…
Could Winnfield's elected marshal also serve part time as a district attorney's investigator?
Yes. The AG classified the district attorney's investigator as an appointive office and found that R.S. 42:63(D) did not bar an elected city marshal from holding that office part time in a separate…
Could a Louisiana parish treasurer obtain death certificates and emergency commitment records directly from the parish coroner?
No. The AG said the coroner could not provide the parish treasurer with death certificates, which were governed by the state registrar's vital-record rules, or emergency commitment medical records,…
Could Grambling require a local building permit for construction or renovation of a Louisiana state-owned building?
No. The AG said LSA-R.S. 40:1724 covered construction, alteration, additions, and renovations of all state-owned buildings, so Grambling could not require a local building permit for that work. The…
Would the Louisiana AG defend a Baton Rouge city court judge and indemnify a judgment?
The AG said city court judges were entitled to representation by the Attorney General's office for claims arising from official judicial acts, but were excluded from the state indemnification…
Who collects Louisiana's commercial bail bond premium fee when a defendant is booked into a city jail?
The AG said the fee applied to commercial surety criminal bail bonds even when the person was booked in a municipal jail. The parish sheriff, rather than the municipal jail, had authority to collect…
Did House Bill 383 ban corporal punishment in Texas public schools?
The Commissioner of Education asked whether House Bill 383, which added Family Code section 151.001(e) listing the persons who may use corporal punishment for the reasonable discipline of a child…
Can a Texas school district offer an early-payment tax discount if an appraisal district collects its taxes?
On behalf of the Killeen ISD, a senator asked whether a school district could give its taxpayers an early-payment discount when the district did not collect its own taxes but had contracted with the…
Could York City Council extend expiring council terms to move municipal elections to a new schedule?
The 2005 letter referred to an earlier AG opinion allowing municipalities to extend terms when the change was reasonable, served a public purpose rather than incumbents, and obtained federal…
Can a Texas county clerk charge the court reporter service fee if the court has no official court reporter?
The Rains County Attorney asked whether the county clerk could collect the $15 court reporter service fee in civil cases under Government Code section 51.601 when the county court did not have a…
Can a Texas river authority sell surplus land to a neighbor by private sale without public bidding?
The Sabine River Authority asked whether it could sell surplus real property to an adjoining landowner without holding a public sale. The Attorney General said yes. Two statutes were in play: Local…
Who appointed East Baton Rouge's alcohol-control director after the board-chair rule changed?
The parish attorney still appointed the director of East Baton Rouge's Alcoholic Beverage Control Office. The AG said a 2005 ordinance changed only the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board's…
Can a Louisiana liquor permit be revoked because a church opens nearby after the business was licensed?
The AG said a church's later arrival within the restricted distance did not automatically revoke an existing alcohol permit. Louisiana law expressly protected renewal of qualifying low-alcohol…
Can a Texas judge sue the county for back pay if it underpaid the salary the law required?
Wise County asked whether a statutory county court judge could recover back pay after the county collected court fees but, for years, failed to raise the judge's salary to the level Government Code…
If two Texas bills amend the same statute the same session, which version is the law, and did the published code get it right?
The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners asked whether the printed Occupations Code had correctly combined two 2003 bills, House Bill 3507 and Senate Bill 282, that both rewrote chapter 1301 (the…
Could Washington lawmakers repeal future pension gain sharing despite existing retirement statutes?
The 2005 AG opinion said the Legislature’s explicit reservation clauses left no contractual claim to gain sharing that had not yet been granted when a later amendment or repeal took effect. It…
Could South Carolina’s preneed funeral loss fund reimburse a qualifying claim when the death occurred before the fund began?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the reimbursement statute was remedial and could apply retroactively. A beneficiary otherwise eligible for reimbursement could receive it even if the…
Could a South Carolina corrections employee run for and serve on a county council while keeping his state job?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that this administrative coordinator’s corrections job was not a second public office, so serving on county council would not violate the state dual-office…
Could homeowners keep Louisiana's homestead exemption after putting naked ownership in a revocable trust but retaining a usufruct?
No under the 2004 constitutional language the AG analyzed. It concluded that a revocable trust's ownership of the residence barred the homestead exemption even when the former owners retained a…
Could a Louisiana riverboat gaming operator close one boat but keep its license, or use two licenses on one boat?
No to both proposals as framed. The AG concluded that an operator voluntarily ending gaming on a riverboat had to surrender that boat's license, and that one riverboat could not operate under two licenses.
Could a Louisiana housing authority hire the district attorney's office as paid counsel when that office had no duty to represent it?
Yes. The AG said the Terrebonne district attorney was not legally required to represent the Houma Terrebonne Housing Authority. Because the authority was a separate political subdivision outside the…
Could an out-of-state owner use a South Carolina corporation to hold a commercial shellfish culture permit?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that a shellfish culture or mariculture permit had to be held by a South Carolina resident or a South Carolina domestic corporation. The application statute’s…
Could South Carolina counties accept electronically executed deeds and mortgages for recording in 2005?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that electronic execution and recording of deeds and mortgages was not recognized in South Carolina until the legislature specifically authorized it. He…
Did a South Carolina town have to appoint a temporary council member during an elected member’s Iraq deployment, and who was paid?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the town had to appoint a temporary replacement during the council member’s military absence. The appointee received the office’s regular pay; a…
Can the Georgia Department of Corrections delegate to the Georgia Correctional Industries Administration (GCIA) the management of the new federally-certified inmate labor program (PIE program), or does Georgia law require the Department to run the program itself?
The Department cannot delegate program management to GCIA. The Working Against Recidivism Act (O.C.G.A. § 42-5-120) authorized the Board of Corrections to make rules providing 'for administration…
Could the Orleans Levee District president set his own salary and claim nine years of back pay?
No. The AG said the president could not unilaterally set and take a salary; the board had to determine administrator status and submit a proposed salary for statutory review before final approval…
Could Louisiana co-sign a local government’s federal disaster-recovery loan?
No. The AG said Louisiana lacked authority to co-sign a local government’s promissory note under the 2005 federal disaster loan program. It treated the guarantee as a prohibited pledge or donation…
Could Connecticut enforce refund anticipation loan limits against national banks or tax preparers?
The AG said Connecticut’s 2005 refund anticipation loan law expressly excluded national banks but still reached nonbank facilitators who handled their loans. He concluded federal banking law did not…
Could Kentucky keep a candidate off the ballot for failing to file a campaign-treasurer form?
No. The AG concluded that a candidate who timely filed the proper nomination document could not be denied ballot access solely for failing to file a campaign-treasurer designation. The candidate was…
Can a Texas city give its employees a pay raise backdated to their last evaluation date?
A Texas House committee chair asked whether the Socorro Civil Service Commission could give municipal employees a pay raise backdated to their last evaluation. The Attorney General said no. Article…
Did a recurring surplus make Florence County’s road infrastructure fee an unlawful tax?
The Attorney General said in 2005 that a surplus alone did not invalidate the fee; the county council had broad discretion to carry funds forward. Whether the charge became an unlawful tax depended…
Could a city’s business district formation consultant later work for the nonprofit managing that district?
The California AG concluded in 2005 that the former city consultant could be hired by the nonprofit owners’ association managing the new district. The association was a private entity making its own…
Could Louisiana local governments clear debris or demolish dangerous private structures after Katrina without prior owner notice?
For the Katrina and Rita emergencies, the AG said local governments could enter private land for debris removal and, as a last resort, demolish hazardous structures when immediate conditions made…
Could a California hospital district promise severance if it declined to renew an administrator two years early?
The California AG concluded in 2005 that the proposed four-year contract clause was unlawful. The hospital administrator’s contract could be renewed upon expiration, and the clause effectively…
When did a partial Colorado legislative term count as a full term under the 2005 term-limits opinion?
The 2005 opinion counted a senator’s partial term if the oath was taken on or before the first day of the third legislative session of that term. For a representative, the cutoff was the first day…
Could the Terrebonne port lease or sell a publicly owned shipyard to its private operator for a nominal price?
No. The AG said the Terrebonne Parish Port Commission could not lease or sell its planned, port-owned shipbuilding facility to the private operator for a nominal amount or below fair market value.…
Could a Connecticut legislative committee obtain confidential tax records and share them with a consultant?
The AG concluded that Connecticut’s legislative program review committee could require tax information needed for its study and could let a contracted consultant analyze it. The committee remained…
Could a Colorado county receive mineral-leasing impact funds because it hosted a mine but had no resident mine workers?
No. The 2005 opinion said the distribution formula in § 34-63-102(3)(b)(III) turned on where mine employees lived, not where mines were located. Money from a mine in a county with no resident mine…
Could Connecticut split state service contracts to avoid standard wage requirements?
The AG concluded that Connecticut’s Labor Department could enforce standard wage rules against covered service contracts split among management companies or vendors at one location when their…
Can a Texas county give a private pet-license billing company the owner info from rabies vaccination records?
The Harris County Attorney asked whether the county's animal control office had to turn over confidential pet-owner information to PetData, a private company that the City of Houston had hired to…
Can a Texas county assess a city's drainage fee on subdivisions in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction?
The Comal County District Attorney's office asked whether a county could assess a city's drainage charge on land in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, either through a 'consolidation'…
Could Connecticut release Medicaid managed care provider payment rates claimed as proprietary?
The AG concluded that Connecticut’s social services department could disclose provider reimbursement rates supplied by Medicaid managed care organizations despite their claims of proprietary…
Could a South Carolina probate court charge a separate $150 filing fee for every petition in an estate?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the initial estate petition carried the value-based estate fee, with no separate action fee merely for opening the estate. A separate fee under the…
Did South Carolina’s 25-year airport lease limit apply to every public airport facility?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the general airport statute limited leases to twenty-five years, but later, facility-specific statutes might authorize leases without that limit. The…
Can a Delaware town council privately settle on a budget before the meeting and then just rubber-stamp it during a closed executive session?
No, under the law as it stood in 2005. The AG found the Town of Cheswold violated FOIA when its town manager privately ran the final 2005-2006 budget figures by council members before a July 7, 2005…
Could a California water district arrange for later developers to reimburse the first developer for oversized water facilities?
The California AG concluded in 2005 that a water district could contract for an initial developer to build facilities sized for anticipated growth and arrange reimbursement by later developers. Its…
Did service on South Carolina’s Education and Economic Development Coordinating Council count as a second public office?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that council membership did not count as a public office for the state dual-office rule. Its duties were primarily advisory and did not amount to an exercise…
Did Georgetown County’s authority to assign and pay election-board staff let its administrator supervise or fire them?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the county governing body could allocate and pay staff for the elections board, but that language did not give the county administrator supervisory or…
Could South Carolina DOT close a state highway inside city limits without the city’s agreement?
The Attorney General said in 2005 that no single exclusive method governed road openings and closures. State, municipal, and judicial authority depended on the statutory route used; one DOT…
Could disability council contractors bill Louisiana for time at the Capitol spent giving facts or listening to hearings?
The AG said the state-funds lobbying ban did not prohibit contractors from giving strictly factual information to people with disabilities or from listening and gathering information at hearings,…
Could a Louisiana florist sell cut flowers through an unattended kiosk without a licensed florist at each machine?
Yes, for the off-site kiosk described. The AG treated its automated sale of single or bunched cut flowers as analogous to a cut flower dealer's mobile cart, requiring a dealer permit but no licensed…
Could a Louisiana environmental department employee also serve on an elected school board?
No. The AG concluded that a full-time Department of Environmental Quality assistant secretary could not also hold an elected school board seat because R.S. 42:63(D) prohibited a local elected…
Who paid a Louisiana off-duty police officer's witness fee for appearing in a mayor's court?
No one was responsible under the statute the AG reviewed. La. R.S. 15:255 authorized off-duty officer witness fees in listed district, parish, juvenile, and city courts, but had no comparable…
Did Tangipahoa's vote against video poker also ban electronic video bingo, and could a town ban only video bingo?
No. The AG said Tangipahoa Parish's 1996 video draw poker vote did not itself prohibit licensed charitable electronic video bingo. A local governing authority could still restrict or prohibit…
Could Vermilion Parish's tourist commission use a new hotel tax to fund private youth sports fees, and how should it allocate the money?
The AG said the special occupancy tax could fund parish-wide youth athletic programs established by the tourist commission, directly or through an authorized public cooperative agreement. It could…
Could Louisiana public university officials lobby legislators about pending bills under the 2005 law?
The AG said public university professors, administrators, system presidents, and Board of Regents members were state employees for this analysis, but left open whether the lobbying ban reached those…
How must a North Carolina public body enter a closed session, and what records must it keep?
A North Carolina public body must vote in open session on a motion that identifies the legal basis for closing the meeting, then limit the closed session to that purpose. It must reopen for other…
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