State AG Opinions
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Who had to pay for Ouachita's tax-collector software and the preparation and printing of property-tax notices?
The AG said the Ouachita police jury was responsible for providing the sheriff's special new tax-collection software and tax notices, including preparation and printing costs. It classified them as…
Did Louisiana's 2005 sex-offender registration rule cover people released without supervised probation?
Yes. The AG concluded that release without supervised probation did not exempt a person covered by Louisiana's sex-offender registration law from registration and notification duties.
Are van-accessible parking spaces in Louisiana state lots reserved only for vans?
No. The AG said the van-accessible sign identifies a space with a wider access aisle, but does not reserve it for vans alone. Louisiana's Office of State Buildings should not add “only” to the sign…
Does a Texas DPS peace officer have to take the constitutional oath of office as a 'public officer'?
The director of the Texas Department of Public Safety asked whether DPS peace officers are 'public officers' who must take the constitutional oath of office (Texas Constitution article XVI, section…
Could a California city charter dictate the pension board’s amortization schedule?
The California AG concluded in 2005 that a city charter could not require its pension board to use specified amortization periods for new benefit liabilities or accumulated actuarial gains and…
Did a Washington business treating someone else’s lumber need a commercial pesticide applicator license?
In 2005, the AG said the answer depended on the land where the lumber sat and whether applying pesticide was a regular business activity. Treatment on another’s land required a commercial license;…
Could the public obtain a county assessor’s electronic parcel maps, and what could the county charge?
The California AG concluded in 2005 that electronic parcel boundary data held by a county assessor was open to public inspection and copying and had to be provided promptly. Copy fees were generally…
When UNC Health Care System (a state entity) and Rex Hospital (a private nonprofit) jointly form a 50/50 LLC to employ shared workers, are those LLC employees considered state employees for retirement-system purposes, and can current state retirees who work for the LLC keep their full state pensions?
No state-employee status for LLC employees, and yes, retirees keep full pensions. The NC AG concluded that a 50/50 LLC between UNCHCS and Rex Hospital is not a state agency, even though UNCHCS sits…
Can a Texas constable keep the fee for delivering an eviction notice to vacate, on top of salary?
The chair of the Texas House Judiciary Committee asked two things about constables and eviction-notice fees. First, which notices count as 'required by Section 24.005, Property Code'? The Attorney…
Can a Texas city adopt the over-65 and disabled property tax freeze without first giving its own homestead exemption?
A state senator asked, prompted by the City of Windcrest, whether a city that had never adopted its own residence homestead tax exemption could still adopt the 'tax freeze' for disabled and over-65…
Can a Texas home-rule city bar its municipal judge from also serving as a justice of the peace?
A state representative asked, on behalf of the City of Pleasanton, whether a home-rule city's charter rule against dual office holding could stop a municipal judge from also serving as a county…
Did a civil case transferred or remanded from federal court owe a South Carolina circuit-court filing fee?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that the state filing fee was due when a case came from federal district court to the court of common pleas. He found no general statutory waiver for…
Did relatives on a Charleston County school board violate a state nepotism rule by voting to hire a vice principal?
The Attorney General found in 2005 that the cited teacher-hiring and local policy provisions did not apply to this vice-principal hiring vote. He did not decide whether the votes violated state…
Did South Carolina drug-seizure cash have to be audited before and after a forfeiture judgment?
The Attorney General said in 2005 that the seizure-reporting statute did not specifically require an audit of cash held before forfeiture. After forfeiture, special-account expenditures had to be…
Does a Texas county election commission have to follow the Open Meetings Act?
The Titus County Attorney asked, for the county commissioners court, whether a county election commission (the small panel that hires and oversees a county elections administrator) has to follow the…
Can a Texas county auditor also work as the accountant for a county emergency services district?
The San Jacinto County criminal district attorney asked whether the county auditor could also be hired as the accountant for the county's emergency services district (ESD), given the auditor's…
Could Maryland remove a voter after a returned confirmation notice and two general elections without voting?
Yes under the procedure the AG analyzed in 2005. The AG said federal voter-registration law required Maryland to follow a confirmation-notice and two-general-election process for certain address…
Could a police officer serving in Connecticut’s legislature choose shifts despite union scheduling rules?
The AG concluded that an employee serving in Connecticut’s General Assembly had to be given a choice of work shifts reasonably timed to accommodate legislative duties, even where a collective…
Could an Idaho initiative cap primary-home property tax at one percent and require supermajority votes for tax increases?
The Attorney General said the proposed cap lacked a way to adjust levies, the two valuation methods conflicted with Idaho's constitutional property-tax rules, the state-tax voting restriction had no…
Could the Medical University of South Carolina ban smoking throughout its buildings, grounds, parking lots, and parked cars?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that MUSC could prohibit smoking throughout its grounds, including owned and leased buildings, thoroughfares, parking lots, and vehicles parked on its…
Georgia added a 5% surcharge on top of any fine for a 'traffic law' violation. Does that surcharge apply only to the 'rules of the road' violations in Title 40 Chapter 6 (speeding, running stop signs), or does it also apply to other traffic-related offenses like driving with an expired tag or an unsafe vehicle?
It applies to all traffic-law violations, not just Chapter 6 of Title 40. The phrase 'traffic laws' in O.C.G.A. § 15-21-179 has no limiting language. Georgia courts and prior AG opinions have read…
Did Colorado’s 2005 mandatory protection-order statute apply to municipal domestic-violence ordinance cases?
No. In 2005, the AG read the mandatory protection-order and pre-bail advice provisions of C.R.S. § 18-1-1001 as applying to state criminal-law charges, not municipal ordinance violations. The…
Can a Texas county repair a subdivision road or a private road, and does the road become a county road?
The San Jacinto County criminal district attorney asked whether the county could repair three kinds of roads (a public subdivision road, a public neighborhood road, and a private road) and whether…
Could a Washington public facilities district shift sales tax funding from one regional center to another?
The 2005 AG opinion said a public facilities district could shift properly collected tax revenue among regional centers within its interlocal agreements and bond covenants. Whether the tax could…
Could one person serve as Anderson County auditor and on the Hammond Water District board?
The Attorney General concluded in 2005 that simultaneous service violated South Carolina’s dual-office rule. The auditor was a public officer, and Hammond’s conversion from a private nonprofit to a…
Could access to privately owned research equipment or buildings count toward South Carolina’s infrastructure funding match?
The Attorney General said in 2005 that access to equipment and a shared building could qualify as in-kind contributions, subject to the review board’s decision and valuation. He also read a…
Could Maine's legislative program-evaluation office (OPEGA) lawfully review confidential child protective services case files held by DHHS?
The Maine AG concluded that OPEGA's program-evaluation function fit within the audit exceptions in both federal child-protection confidentiality statutes (42 U.S.C. § 671(a)(8)(D) and 42 U.S.C. §…
Could Louisiana parishes use public crews on evacuated residents’ property after Hurricane Katrina without signed entry permission?
For the catastrophic flooding and mandatory evacuation described, the AG said public equipment and labor could protect residents’ private homes without an authorized right of entry after a disaster…
Can the Texas Legislature allow county video-lottery gaming districts without amending the constitution?
Senator Jane Nelson asked whether a 2005 bill (Senate Bill 1326) could have worked without a constitutional amendment. The bill would have let counties vote, county by county, to create 'gaming…
How did Connecticut’s 2005 civil union law treat unions formed in other states?
The AG predicted that Connecticut courts in 2005 would recognize Vermont civil unions and comparable California domestic partnerships as civil unions, so those couples could not repeat the union in…
Can a municipal election winner take office while an appeal of the election contest is pending?
The Attorney General said the winner should not be qualified while the contest could still be appealed or an appeal remained unresolved. The incumbent would hold over during that period.
Does hauling sugar cane in a truck count as manual labor for a Louisiana contractor’s workers’ compensation coverage?
Assuming the cane hauler was an independent contractor, the AG said driving and the listed truck operation tasks did not count as manual labor under the statutory exception to the contractor…
What does 'district judges trying criminal cases' mean in Texas Government Code section 76.002?
The Gregg County criminal district attorney asked the Attorney General to define the phrase 'district judges trying criminal cases' in Government Code section 76.002, the statute that says those…
Were unsolicited newspapers left on South Carolina driveways litter under the 2005 state litter statute?
The Attorney General concluded that lawmakers did not mean to include unsolicited newspapers and advertising circulars placed on driveways in the statute’s definition of litter. He also said…
Did South Carolina’s 2002 Sumter school-board election maps change the school districts’ boundaries?
The Attorney General concluded that the 2002 election-district changes also changed the boundaries of Sumter School Districts 2 and 17. The acts did not say the school district lines would remain…
What was wrong with the longer 'Tax Accountability' property tax initiative filed in August 2005, the second '1%' tax cap proposal of that year?
The AG said the one-percent cap could not be implemented as written: no one was authorized to reduce and apportion levies to meet it. He also identified conflicting value rules, a likely…
Could a Hartsville council member also serve on the board of Rubicon Counseling Center?
The 2005 South Carolina AG said the two roles did not violate the dual-office rule if Rubicon was in fact a private nonprofit charitable organization. Its board seat would then not count as a public…
When New York state agencies hire Cornell University to provide training programs through Cornell's state-funded 'statutory colleges,' is that a state-to-state interagency agreement or a state-to-private-party contract requiring Comptroller approval?
Contracts, not MOUs. Cornell University's four statutory colleges (Veterinary Medicine, Agriculture and Life Sciences, Human Ecology, Industrial and Labor Relations) are hybrid entities, part of…
Was it legal for NC legislative leaders to direct how millions of dollars in 'Reserve Fund' grants got distributed by executive branch agencies, after the regular appropriations process was over?
The NC AG concluded that the Reserve Fund process described by the State Auditor did not clearly violate the state Constitution or N.C.G.S. § 143-16.3, but flagged that the practice contravened…
Can a city's term limits count service from before the term-limit rule was adopted?
The Alvin City Attorney, through the Brazoria County criminal district attorney, asked the Attorney General three questions about the term limits in Alvin's city charter, including whether council…
Do elected-but-not-sworn directors count toward a quorum under the Texas Open Meetings Act?
State Representative Robert Puente asked whether two people who won a special election to the Bexar Metropolitan Water District board, but whose elections had not been certified and who had not…
Can a private association of public officials pay its outgoing president?
The Kerr County Attorney asked whether the $5,000 the County and District Clerks Association of Texas traditionally pays its outgoing president is an illegal honorarium or gift under the Penal Code,…
Could a South Carolina city prosecutor dismiss charges in exchange for a civil release?
The 2005 AG said a city solicitor could dismiss pending municipal charges in exchange for the defendant releasing civil claims against the city and relevant officials. In the office’s view, that…
Did a 1989 parish vote still authorize off-track betting and video poker in Louisiana?
No. Because off-track wagering had never begun in Avoyelles or St. Martin Parish, the AG said the 1989 approvals were superseded: a new parish referendum, specifically authorized by the legislature,…
Could Richwood rely on its 1991 vote to open an off-track betting facility?
No. The AG concluded that Richwood's 1991 referendum could not by itself authorize an off-track wagering facility after later constitutional and statutory changes. Where the wagering had not been…
Could a Washington referring physician mark up a pathologist’s bill for a patient’s tissue test?
No. The 2005 AG opinion allowed the physician to pass through the independent pathologist’s actual charge and bill for the physician’s own work, but barred adding a markup for pathology services the…
Did an out-of-county seller have to collect Lexington County’s school sales tax on delivered goods?
The 2005 AG said South Carolina’s revenue ruling was a reasonable basis for requiring collection of Lexington County’s local use tax when goods were delivered there and the seller met the ruling’s…
Could Connecticut food sanitarians inspect without consent and hold unsafe food?
The AG concluded that local Connecticut food sanitarians could conduct reasonable warrantless inspections of food service establishments without express owner consent under the regulatory scheme he…
Were marriages on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation valid with Ledyard licenses?
The AG concluded that marriages celebrated on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation were valid under Connecticut law where the couples obtained Ledyard licenses, used authorized officiants and filed…
Could Washington cities with separate public facilities districts create a second overlapping joint district?
No, under the 2005 statute the AG read each eligible jurisdiction as able to participate in one district. Cities that already had individual districts could not create a joint overlapping one to…
Could a Washington growth management hearings board send a pending plan challenge back to a city for amendment?
Under the law examined in 2005, the board could remand after finding noncompliance, but lacked authority to remand simply so a city or county could amend its plan while a petition was pending. The…
Could a South Carolina magistrate dismiss a criminal charge before prosecution without the prosecutor?
The 2005 AG said a magistrate generally could not dismiss a criminal case before prosecution on the court’s own initiative. He identified limited statutory authority for fraudulent-check cases and…
Can a New York county open county roads to ATV use to connect with town roads already open to ATVs, or to reach private trails and parking lots?
Three answers. A municipality may open a highway to ATV use only when necessary to access an adjacent trail or area, with proper findings. Town highways previously opened to ATV use do not count as…
Can Delaware council members who are sued individually meet privately with the county attorney about their defense strategy?
Yes, according to this opinion. FOIA authorizes a public body to discuss pending litigation strategy with its attorney in executive session when an open meeting would hurt its litigation position,…
Could Maryland pay its 2006 malpractice premium subsidy if an insurer kept the same approved rate?
Yes under the 2005 law the AG analyzed. Although a literal reading of the word “initial” would have denied a 2006 subsidy where an insurer did not change its approved rate, the AG said that word was…
Did Georgetown County’s administrator control election-board staff and the veterans affairs director?
On the stated assumption that Georgetown County’s legislative delegation appointed those offices, the 2005 AG said the county administrator had no authority over the election board or veterans…
Could a Hardeeville council member also serve as Jasper County’s zoning coordinator?
The 2005 AG concluded that the two roles could not be held together under South Carolina’s dual-office rule. He treated the described zoning coordinator duties, including enforcing zoning and…
Could Aiken County charge a local fee to file a creditor claim in probate court?
The 2005 AG said a county-specific probate filing fee would violate South Carolina’s constitutional rule for a uniform judicial system. The request described a fifteen-dollar fee that appeared to be…
Did the 2005 SC AG find insurers’ auto-glass claims networks unlawful?
No. The AG said he could not investigate or determine what the insurers and glass businesses had actually done. He identified state prohibitions on certain referral payments and deductible rebates…
Could a domestic-violence case and protection-order contempt case proceed from the same incident?
The 2005 AG said a domestic-violence prosecution and a family-court contempt proceeding for violating a protection order could proceed over the same incident without violating double jeopardy. He…
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