State AG Opinions
Free state attorney general opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
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Was the Idaho law forcing the legislature to wait for an advisory popular vote before ratifying U.S. constitutional amendments enforceable?
Only partly. The AG concluded the nonbinding advisory referendum itself was constitutional, but the requirement that the legislature defer ratification until after that referendum conflicted with Arti…
Can a Texas county clerk let the public run credit accounts to pay filing fees instead of paying cash?
Generally no. JM-533 concluded that county officers cannot deliver county services on credit unless the constitution specifically allows it, because the Texas Constitution's bans on lending public cre…
Does a licensed Texas care institution have a legal duty to feed its residents a minimum diet?
Yes. JM-532 concluded that an institution licensed under article 4442c has a statutory duty, created by that statute and the rules adopted under it, to meet minimum diet standards for its residents. T…
Can a Texas school board lease district property for 50 years, and what happens if the lease is later assigned to a board member?
It depends on the facts, but the AG gave clear rules. JM-531 concluded that a school board has authority to lease district property as long as the lease does not impinge on the board's ability to run …
Can Maryland refuse to award state contracts to a company found in contempt of court for violating federal labor law?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Maryland's statute barring state contracts to companies found in contempt of court for violating the National Labor Relations Act was unconsti…
Could Idaho's Plumbing Division issue plumbing permits to people who were not licensed plumbers?
Yes, in limited circumstances. The AG concluded the Plumbing Division had authority under chapter 26 of title 54 to issue permits to non-licensed individuals or firms when needed to protect public hea…
Can a Texas county spend leftover road-bond money or an unused workers' compensation reserve to build a jail?
It depends on the source of the money. JM-530 concluded that Anderson County could not spend surplus left over from a road bond issue on a new jail, because road bonds under article 752a are tied to a…
Can a Maryland town charge a utility company a franchise fee or pole-rental fee if the utility already has a statewide franchise from the State?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Potomac Edison held a statewide franchise under Article 23, section 340 to use public streets for its electric lines, that only the State (not…
Did the Coeur d'Alene police have to disclose all of their investigation records to the public or news media on request?
No, not all of them. The AG concluded that Idaho Code § 9-335 (Supp. 1986) exempted certain investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes if disclosure would interfere with proceedings, …
Does the Texas Proprietary School Act cover a business that teaches classes, like a computer store or a hobby school?
It depends on whether the business primarily offers vocational training. JM-529 concluded that a school teaching mainly vocational courses is a regulated 'proprietary school' even if some of its cours…
Can a North Carolina licensed optometrist provide post-operative care to a cataract surgery patient without being charged with the unauthorized practice of medicine?
Yes, for routine post-op care with no complications. The procedures involved in post-operative cataract care (checking unaided visual acuity, slit-lamp exam of the external eye, ophthalmoscopic exam o…
Could Maryland's new commercial-insurance backstop pool cover nurse-midwives for malpractice even though the law setting it up said it didn't apply to medical malpractice insurance?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Maryland's newly created Commercial Casualty Underwriting Association could issue malpractice insurance specifically to nurse-midwives despite…
Could Maryland chiropractors legally order blood tests and urinalysis, or was that considered practicing medicine without a license?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Maryland's chiropractic scope-of-practice statute permitted chiropractors to use blood tests and urinalysis to help diagnose whether a patient…
When a private postsecondary school in North Carolina qualifies for the six-year mandatory-review exception under G.S. § 116-15, can the Board of Governors still subject the school to review more frequently than every six years?
Yes. The two-year and six-year periods in G.S. § 116-15(g) are statutory maximums (outside time limits for when review must happen), not rights to be free from review until those limits arrive. The Bo…
If voters roll back a Texas county's property tax rate, does that also cut the part of the increase that pays for indigent health care?
No. JM-528 concluded that when a taxing unit raises its tax rate to cover the indigent health care it is required to provide under the Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act, and voters then pass a ro…
Can the public find out how a Maryland social services agency handled a specific child abuse case, especially after a child has died?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that records and reports concerning a specific child abuse case are generally confidential under Article 88A, section 6(b) and federal law, but tha…
Can the mayor of a small Texas village veto an ordinance passed by the board of aldermen?
Not in a chapter 11 village that has not adopted the broader general-law provisions. JM-527 concluded that the mayor of a village organized under chapter 11 of Title 28 cannot use article 997, the sta…
Which Texas judges can defer a Class C misdemeanor fine, and does that deferral apply to speeding tickets?
JM-526 construed article 45.54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which lets a 'justice' suspend a fine-only misdemeanor and dismiss the complaint if the defendant complies with conditions. The AG con…
Is a conservator or liquidating agent the state appoints over a failed savings and loan a state employee?
Yes. JM-525 concluded that conservators, supervisors, and liquidating agents the Savings and Loan Commissioner appoints under chapter 8 of article 852a are state employees for purposes of sections 104…
Does a joint city-county health district have to buy its supplies through the county purchasing agent?
No. JM-524 concluded that the Galveston County Health District, created by a county and city under article 4436b (the Local Public Health Reorganization Act), is an independent political subdivision w…
Can a Texas home-rule city charge the state a capital recovery or impact fee on a state construction project?
Partly. JM-523 concluded that without express constitutional or legislative authorization, a home-rule city like Austin cannot levy a special assessment against state property used solely for public p…
Can a Texas county bar its employees from running for partisan political office?
Partly. JM-521 concluded that a commissioners court has implied authority, as part of its power to hire employees and set reasonable working conditions, to prohibit the county employees it hires from …
Did making paint and glue sniffing a jailable misdemeanor also turn it into delinquent conduct in Texas juvenile court?
No. JM-520 concluded that paint or glue sniffing remained 'conduct indicating a need for supervision' under the Texas Family Code, even after the criminal penalty rose to a Class B misdemeanor. The sp…
Could one person serve at the same time as a Texas constable and a school board trustee?
JM-519 said yes in 1986: neither the two-office compensation ban, separation of powers, nor common-law incompatibility barred the combination. The official Texas AG page now marks JM-519 overruled to …
Could a Texas city, county, or hospital district give discounted hospital rates to seniors, insurers, or other selected groups?
Sometimes, but JM-518 gave no universal yes-or-no answer. It concluded that a public hospital's power to offer a group discount depended first on the statute governing that hospital and then on other …
If a Texas justice of the peace has a cash shortage in his account, can the county forgive it, and can he run out the clock on the county's claim?
No on both. JM-517 concluded a justice of the peace is strictly liable for public money he actually collects, so the commissioners court and county auditor cannot release him from a shortage, and no s…
Can a Texas county pay a private economic development group, like one tied to a chamber of commerce, to bring in business, even though the county cannot pay chamber dues?
Yes, within limits. JM-516 concluded a county may contract with a private corporation, including one connected to a chamber of commerce, for specific business and industrial development services, as l…
Does a Texas city have to make every job in its fire department a civil service position, or can it hire regular non-civil-service staff for work supervised by the fire chief?
It can hire non-civil-service staff for some roles. JM-515 concluded the Firemen's and Policemen's Civil Service Act (article 1269m) does not require a city to create civil service positions for all t…
Can a Texas city make a school district apply for a use permit and follow zoning rules to turn a school building into administrative offices?
Yes, within reason. JM-514 concluded a city may require a school district to comply with reasonable zoning ordinances and a specific-use permit process to convert a school facility into an administrat…
If a Texas nonprofit gives away raffle tickets for free but asks for a donation, is it running an illegal lottery?
Usually yes. JM-513 concluded that a drawing where tickets are technically free but people who request them are asked to donate is an illegal lottery once any person actually makes a donation for a ch…
Can the Texas Medical Board refuse to license a doctor from another state just because that state let him take the FLEX exam before he finished medical school?
No, not on that ground alone. JM-512 concluded the Medical Practice Act does not bar reciprocal licensing of a physician solely because the physician took the Federation Licensing Examination (FLEX) b…
When the Texas legislature appropriates the proceeds of a state land sale to an agency, does the agency also get to spend the interest that money earns?
No, not automatically. JM-511 concluded that when the legislature appropriated the proceeds of a land sale or lease to the Texas School for the Blind, it appropriated only the sale money itself, not t…
Can an Idaho legislator take office as a county prosecuting attorney without resigning the legislative seat first, and can a sitting prosecutor still run for the legislature?
No to the first; yes to the second. The AG read Idaho Code § 31-2601 to bar a prosecuting attorney from holding any other county or state office during the prosecutor's term, so a legislator must resi…
Did Idaho's 1978 right-to-bear-arms amendment make the law banning uncased-firearm possession by unlicensed people in fields and forests unconstitutional?
No. The AG concluded that Idaho Code § 36-401 punishes hunting (or attempted hunting) without a license, not mere possession of a firearm. Read with criminal-act and criminal-intent requirements, it d…
Did Maryland political campaign treasurers in the 1980s have to record every small contribution raised through a fundraiser raffle or gaming wheel, not just the big checks?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Maryland's Fair Election Practices Act required campaign treasurers to record every contribution regardless of size, including money raised th…
Can the Governor of North Carolina force counties and municipalities near a nuclear power plant to participate in the emergency response planning and training exercises the NRC requires before licensing the plant?
Yes. G.S. § 166A-5(1)a.6 expressly authorizes the Governor to use local government equipment, supplies, facilities, and personnel for emergency management planning and training, not just during a decl…
Can a Texas hotel or motel seize a guest's belongings for an unpaid bill without giving the guest a hearing first?
The Attorney General said the law allowing it was unconstitutional. JM-510 concluded that articles 4594 and 4595, the Texas hotel/motel operators' lien law, are facially unconstitutional under the Fou…
Can a Texas sheriff or constable sign a contract to provide patrol and law enforcement services to a private homeowners association?
The Attorney General said the law authorizing it was invalid. JM-509 concluded that article 1581b-2, which tried to let a county sheriff or constable contract with a private homeowners association for…
Must a Texas county clerk record a deed that subdivides land when the developer has not filed an approved subdivision plat?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a county clerk had to record a properly acknowledged deed or dedicatory certificate even when the developer had not complied with subdivision platting laws, wh…
After H 708 extended Idaho liquor-by-the-drink hours to 2 a.m., could counties also extend beer and wine sales to 2 a.m. by ordinance?
No. The AG concluded that H 708 extended only liquor-by-the-drink sales (and added a 30-minute consumption grace period for that category). Beer and wine sales still had to end at 1 a.m., and the grac…
Could the Texas Highway Commission temporarily close an Interstate 35E frontage road in Dallas for a grand prix race?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the Highway Commission could temporarily close the controlled-access frontage road and that, while closed to public travel, the road was not a 'highway' covere…
Did a retired Texas statutory county court judge have to elect within 90 days of retirement to serve on judicial assignment?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Court Administration Act imposed no 90-day deadline on a retired statutory county court judge's certification to serve, but required the judge to accept for…
Could a Texas county require performance, payment, and bid bonds on every public works contract under the law in 1986?
Not under JM-505's 1986 analysis. It concluded that a county could not require performance or payment bonds on public works contracts of $25,000 or less, although it could usually require bid security…
Did Texas Education Code section 16.102(e)'s maximum price differential index continue after the 1984-85 school year?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the special maximum price differential index in section 16.102(e) was a temporary part of the 1984-85 school-funding calculation and ended when the State Board …
Did the 1985 Texas Court Administration Act reduce the 71st District Court's six annual terms to two?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the act's general January and July terms applied only when another law did not provide different terms, so Government Code section 24.173's six terms for the 71…
Did Texas abortion-reporting requirements apply to hospitals and physicians' offices that were exempt from a separate abortion-facility license in 1986?
Yes. JM-502 concluded that every place where abortions were performed had to file the statutory reports, including hospitals and qualifying physicians' offices that were exempt from the act's separate…
Could a Texas voter use a nickname, omit a middle initial, or otherwise vary from the registration-list name when signing a local-option alcohol petition in 1986?
No. JM-501 read the statute as mandatory and concluded that the registrar had to reject a local-option petition signature that did not match the voter's name exactly as it appeared on the official reg…
Could the Texas Board of Pharmacy deny a Class D clinic-pharmacy license when the clinic's only formulary limit was that it dispensed dangerous drugs?
Yes. JM-500 concluded that a Class D pharmacy had to serve a clinic providing genuinely limited medical services, and the Board of Pharmacy could decide which clinics were limited enough to qualify.
When a Council of State member serves ex officio on a North Carolina board or commission, can the official send a deputy or assistant to attend meetings, count toward quorum, and cast votes on the official's behalf?
Yes, in most circumstances. The Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Attorney General, and Commissioner of Insurance have explicit statutory delegation authority. The Lieutena…
Could one person serve as chief appraiser for three Texas appraisal districts and also collect taxes for three school districts and a water district?
Yes, under JM-499's 1986 analysis. The opinion concluded that both positions were public employments rather than civil offices of emolument, so article XVI, section 40 did not prohibit holding all sev…
Could a Texas bank treat another secured-lobby building up to 20,000 feet away as a drive-in facility instead of an unconstitutional branch?
No. JM-498 concluded that the former statute allowing a secured-teller-lobby building as far as 20,000 feet from the central bank violated the Texas Constitution's ban on doing banking business at mor…
Could Maryland send unpaid bills owed to a county health department to the state's central debt collection agency, or were those local debts off limits to a state collector?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that local health departments were units of the State for debt collection purposes because the State set their health policy, controlled their fina…
Could a Texas appropriations rider require non-general-revenue funds to reimburse workers' compensation costs, and could a state agency buy separate coverage?
JM-497 said the reimbursement rider was valid, but it did not apply to the Texas Surplus Property Agency because that agency received no appropriation under the act. The opinion also said state agenci…
What happened if Texas DPS missed the 10-day deadline to request a driver's-license hearing, and could a court shorten or lengthen the 90-day suspension?
JM-496 said DPS still had to obey the 10-day duty, but a court would probably treat the deadline as directory when deciding the effect of a past violation, unless the driver proved harm. The court had…
What counted as prohibited representation when a former Texas Public Utility Commission employee worked on the same matter for a new employer?
JM-495 read representation broadly. It included any interaction with the commission on behalf of the new employer in a matter the former employee had handled or officially supervised, not just a subst…
Could the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles use a staff hearing officer for a final parole-revocation hearing without violating due process?
Yes. JM-494 concluded that the Board could delegate the hearing to a neutral and detached staff officer who made recommendations, while the Board retained the final revocation decision.
Who could approve a specific-use zoning permit in a Texas home-rule city: the city council, planning commission, or board of adjustment?
It depended on the permit's legal effect. JM-493 said only the city council could approve a specific-use permit that amended the zoning ordinance; the board of adjustment could grant a true special ex…
Could a Texas county commissioner vote to award a county construction contract to a company owned by the commissioner's sons?
JM-492 said the commissioner would violate article 988b if the required facts and criminal elements were proved, while unrelated commissioners would not violate that statute merely by voting for the a…
Could a Texas state agency require employees to take compensatory time instead of overtime pay under the FLSA rules discussed in 1986?
Yes, in the circumstances JM-491 addressed. The opinion concluded that allowing or requiring compensatory time at one and one-half hours for each overtime hour was consistent with the FLSA both before…
Could a Maryland state agency ask every job applicant whether they had ever been fined, placed on probation, or sent to jail, even for jobs where that history wouldn't matter?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Maryland state agencies could ask job applicants about criminal convictions and factor them into hiring decisions, but a blanket question aski…
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