State AG Opinions
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Could a Maryland regional development agency dissolve without the Legislature acting, and where would its assets go?
No under the 2004 opinion. A regional development agency could not dissolve without General Assembly action. The Legislature could set a termination date that activated existing asset-distribution…
Is the Texas Border Health Institute a state agency that has to follow open meetings, public records, and state procurement rules?
This 2004 opinion concluded the Border Health Institute is neither a true state agency nor a local political subdivision, a hybrid entity, but it must still comply with the Open Meetings Act and…
Can a homeowners association or developer foreclose on a Texas home for unpaid HOA fees even though homestead law protects homes from creditors?
Yes, this 2004 opinion concluded that under Inwood North Homeowners' Ass'n v. Harris and its later reaffirmation in Brooks v. Northglen Ass'n, a developer may impose a covenant lien on land before…
What did the 2004 Texas AG opinion say about VLTs and casino gaming for the state's recognized tribes?
The opinion found that the Restoration Act did not authorize the Alabama-Coushatta or Ysleta del Sur Pueblo to operate VLTs. It said they appeared unable to possess or use VLTs under the Johnson…
Could Kentucky hire a private company to operate its state-built Elliott County prison?
No. The AG concluded that a private provider could not operate the proposed Elliott County facility because the county lacked the law-enforcement presence required by KRS 197.505(3) and the provider…
Can a Texas county keep its county clerk out of the commissioners court's closed executive sessions, and who controls the tape recording afterward?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion, a commissioners court has discretion whether to admit the county clerk to its executive sessions, and the court itself, not the clerk, is the proper custodian of…
Did Kentucky's Prompt Pay Law apply to clean claims from health providers without an insurer contract?
Yes. The AG said Kentucky's Prompt Pay Law covered clean claims from qualifying providers whether or not they contracted with the insurer. The insurer could still pay, deny, or contest a clean claim…
Can Colorado's Deputy Treasurer carry out all of the State Treasurer's duties when the Treasurer authorizes it?
Yes. The AG concluded that, absent a statutory or other legal limit, the Deputy Treasurer could act for the Treasurer in any matter the Treasurer designated. The opinion did not give the deputy…
Can a Texas home-rule city extend the life of a tax increment financing reinvestment zone past the deadline in its original ordinance?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Because tax increment financing is a narrow constitutional exception to the equal-and-uniform taxation rule that exists only through legislative authorization,…
Was the Kentucky cabinet division director in OAG 04-010 a state officer or a state employee?
On the later facts presented, the AG classified this particular Division Director II position as state employment, rather than a state office. It modified OAG 04-010 only on that classification.
A current NC school district employee won an election to that same school board. State law says board members can't also be employees. He won't retire until February. Can he take office in December anyway, and if not, who gets the seat?
No. § 115C-37(g) forces him to resign his employment before he can take the oath. If he doesn't resign by the December organizational meeting, his failure to qualify creates a vacancy. Under the…
Could Washington financial managers apply allotment controls to the Gambling Commission’s revolving fund?
The Attorney General concluded in 2004 that the fund was subject to RCW 43.88 allotment controls to prevent cash deficits and unlawful spending, even though expenditures required no appropriation.…
Could a California school require parental consent or notify parents when a student left for confidential medical care?
The 2004 opinion said no to both policies. For medical services a minor could obtain confidentially under the statutes then reviewed, the district could not require written parental consent for…
Can the New York State Comptroller see confidential New York City tax returns when auditing the city's Department of Finance?
Yes. The State Comptroller is authorized under state law (and ultimately the State Constitution) to access otherwise-confidential tax information held by the New York City Department of Finance when…
Does a paralegal or legal assistant working under a Texas attorney need a private investigator license to gather evidence or information for a case?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Because attorneys practicing law are exempt from the Private Security Act, and their employees who investigate on the attorney's behalf are working in connection…
Did Connecticut have to bid out its SAGA medical services contract?
The AG concluded that Connecticut's human service contracts generally fell under personal service agreement bidding rules. The particular SAGA medical services contract did not need a bid or request…
If a licensed Texas engineer seals a set of plans but their employer's firm isn't registered with the state engineering board, are the plans still valid?
Yes, under the Texas Engineering Practice Act, according to this 2004 opinion. A properly sealed document was not invalid under that Act because the engineer's employing firm lacked Board…
Can a Texas district attorney also work as a paid part-time teacher at a community college?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion. Because a community college instructor does not hold a constitutional civil office of emolument, teaching is not the practice of law, and neither the…
Can the Texas Office of Fire Fighters' Pension Commissioner charge volunteer fire departments a fee to help administer their retirement fund?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Because the statute governing the Texas Statewide Emergency Services Retirement Act only lets the Commissioner pay administrative expenses from fund investment…
What happened when Connecticut supermarkets wrongly charged sales tax on food?
The AG concluded that Connecticut tax officials had to tell supermarkets when audits found unlawful sales tax collection and direct them to collect only what the law allowed. The state could refund…
Could a California city reimburse a council member for attending the governor’s inauguration?
The Attorney General said reimbursement was possible for actual and necessary expenses if the member performed official city duties at the inauguration. Attendance alone did not establish that…
Could Colorado reduce future PERA pension benefits or raise employee contributions for current workers?
Future benefit accruals might be partially vested; an adverse change to such a right required a corresponding benefit, actuarial necessity, or an improvement to the plan. A pension already fully…
If a North Carolina District Court Judge-elect dies before taking office, when does the vacancy arise and who fills it?
The vacancy arises when the election is certified, not when the judge-elect dies. The AG concluded the District Bar then has 30 days to submit three names to the Governor under § 7A-142, the…
Can a Maryland town charge new home developments an impact fee to pay for police and fire protection?
The opinion advised Taneytown to seek state enabling legislation for police and fire impact fees. A fee might instead qualify as a regulatory charge if it reflected the cost of services to the new…
Could Maryland ask several architecture firms for prices at once when negotiating a State contract?
Generally no under the 2004 procurement law. For a specific project, the selection board had to rank architecture and engineering firms by qualifications, then request a price and negotiate with…
Are Texas hospitals protected from lawsuits if a Medicare patient is hurt by a flu or pneumonia vaccine given under a standing hospital order?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Texas Health and Safety Code section 161.001(a) only shields vaccine administrators when the immunization is required by the Board of Health or by another law or…
Can a newspaper get a police accident report if it isn't a party to a lawsuit the county says the report relates to?
The county couldn't use the pending-litigation exemption against a non-party newspaper, according to this opinion, but the AG still found the accident report exempt for a different, independent…
Can the Texas governor sell part of Republic Square park in Austin to the federal government without a special act of the legislature?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion, assuming the state still owns Republic Square. Texas Government Code chapter 2204 already lets the Governor sell state land or an easement to the United States…
Could California school bond money pay district employees who supervised the bond’s construction projects?
The Attorney General said yes to the extent their work was administrative oversight of voter-approved construction projects. Those project-specific costs differed from routine teacher and…
Could Howard County restrict animal traps more than Maryland law allowed?
Only where the county rule was consistent with State law. In 2004 the AG agreed that Howard County's proposed trapping ordinance was preempted in part, including its leg-hold trap ban, trap-check…
Could Maryland police use a DNA database match as probable cause to arrest a suspect?
Yes under the 2004 opinion: a DNA database match could be used in assessing probable cause to charge and arrest a suspect and to obtain another sample. The initial match could not be admitted at…
Could one person serve on both a water district board and a school board in California?
The Attorney General granted leave to bring a quo warranto suit over the two offices. It found substantial questions about conflicting duties because the school district bought water from the water…
Does an Oregon police officer have to file an accident report after deliberately ramming a fleeing suspect's vehicle, and what happens if the officer doesn't?
Yes, if the officer was driving the patrol vehicle when the intentional collision occurred and the collision met the ORS 811.720 thresholds (injury, death, or serious property damage). The 2004 AG…
Can a Texas home-rule city's charter limit how often residents can petition for an election to adopt a property tax freeze for seniors or disabled homeowners?
Yes, according to this 2004 opinion. A home-rule city charter provision that caps special elections on voter-initiated ordinances at once every six months, and bars a repeat election on a defeated…
Can a Texas municipal management district use eminent domain to condemn private property?
It depends on which law created the district, according to this 2004 opinion. A municipal management district created under Local Government Code chapter 375 has no eminent domain power at all,…
Can a Maryland state agency use money from a dedicated special fund for purposes the budget bill adds, if the fund's own statute doesn't allow them?
No. The opinion concluded that money in the Special Administrative Expense Fund, a dedicated fund for administering Maryland's Unemployment Insurance Law, can only be spent on the purposes the SAEF…
Are the staff (not just trustees) of New York's Interest on Lawyer Account Fund entitled to state-funded defense and indemnification under Public Officers Law § 17?
Yes. Although the IOLA statute expressly names only trustees, the AG concluded that staff also qualify for state defense and indemnification under Public Officers Law § 17. General state…
After the Town of Brookhaven adopted ward-based elections, are council members serving two-year or four-year terms, and does the town's local term-limits law still apply?
Two years. Once Brookhaven adopted the ward system in 2002, Town Law § 85 controls and replaces the staggered four-year terms set by the 1959 special act. The four-year reference in the 1959 act was…
Can a Texas city pass a civil-penalty ordinance for any class C misdemeanor under Local Government Code section 54.012(5), or only for health and safety violations?
Only for health and safety matters, according to this 2004 opinion. Section 54.012(5) is not a stand-alone grant letting a municipality impose civil penalties for any conduct classified as a class C…
Can a Georgia county adopt an ordinance that puts the county's portion of a criminal fine first in line for partial payments, ahead of the priority list in O.C.G.A. § 15-6-95?
No. The Attorney General concluded that O.C.G.A. § 15-6-95 sets a comprehensive statewide order for distributing partial payments of criminal fines, forfeitures, and costs received by superior court…
Could a South Carolina solicitor operate a worthless-check unit and collect restitution under a 2004 budget proviso?
The AG concluded in 2004 that the appropriations proviso authorized solicitors to establish worthless-check units with county agreement and collect the prescribed fees and restitution. He rejected…
If a Texas state agency cancels a request for proposal, can it return a bidder's confidential submission to the company that sent it?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Materials a business submits in response to a state agency's request for offer are state records under chapter 441 of the Government Code, so the agency must keep…
Can a Texas economic development corporation spend section 4B sales tax money on a youth football field?
It depends on the exact wording voters approved, according to this 2004 opinion. For Gun Barrel City specifically, the actual ballot proposition voters approved in 1997 authorized 4B sales tax…
Could a buyer get a South Carolina title for a vehicle the insurer had labeled nonrebuildable?
The AG said in 2004 that DMV’s refusal to retitle the described vehicle complied with its policy and the statutes he reviewed because the insurer had classified it as nonrebuildable and had not…
Could a Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council member also serve as a Kentucky state cabinet division director?
OAG 04-010 said no, treating the named division director position as a state office and an urban county council seat as a county office. OAG 04-012 later modified that classification after receiving…
Could the Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation pay a $300,000 grant and sales-tax refund promised to a private retailer?
No on the facts presented. The city could not bind or spend money for the separate development corporation, the proposed grant and sales-tax refund were not a project under former law, and the EDC…
What did 'greenbelt' mean in a South Carolina half-cent sales tax referendum?
The AG pointed to a South Carolina Supreme Court decision saying the statute did not define 'greenbelt'; the court gave its common meaning as a belt of parkways or farmland encircling a community.…
Did South Carolina’s charter-school association have to follow FOIA if it received public money?
The AG said in 2004 that the association would be a public body subject to FOIA if the reported public funding was accurate. He did not independently determine whether it actually received those funds.
When does a newly elected Texas sheriff take office if they are replacing someone the Commissioners Court appointed to fill a vacancy?
On January 1 of the year following the election, according to this 2004 opinion. Even though the appointed incumbent's statutory term runs only until the next general election, article XVI, section…
If a veteran files an honorable discharge certificate with the county clerk, can anyone (employers, businesses, genealogists) get a copy of it?
Only if the veteran has not asked to have it sealed. Civil Rights Law § 79-g lets the veteran direct the county clerk to seal a filed honorable discharge certificate. Once sealed, the record is…
Could the Hunley Commission create Friends of the Hunley and let it keep exhibition revenue for the project?
The AG predicted a court would uphold the Hunley Commission’s creation of Friends of the Hunley to raise project funds. It concluded that exhibition revenue could remain with that nonprofit for…
Did South Carolina FOIA cover Friends of the Hunley, and would the AG investigate its activities?
The AG said Friends of the Hunley was subject to the Freedom of Information Act because it had received taxpayer funds. The office declined to issue a private-party legal opinion or seek an…
Can a Texas city or county put its crime control and prevention district's money into the city's own general revenue fund?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Local Government Code section 363.208 requires a crime control and prevention district's funds to sit in a special account in the creating city or county's…
Can a Texas county use jail inmate labor to set up and tear down events at fundraisers the county co-hosts with a nonprofit organization?
No, according to this 2004 opinion. Code of Criminal Procedure article 43.10(4) only authorizes county inmate labor on the county's own public works and maintenance projects, and a nonprofit's…
Could a California city zone a mobilehome park for senior residents only?
The Attorney General concluded in 2004 that a city could designate a parcel for a senior mobilehome park by zoning ordinance or conditional use permit. It read the Mobilehome Parks Act’s specific…
Was unlawful use of the telephone a felony or misdemeanor in South Carolina in 1988?
It was a misdemeanor. The AG traced the offense to the 1967 law in force at the time of the 1988 conviction and found that the law classified each listed violation as a misdemeanor.
Can a Delaware school board hold a retreat out of state to discuss district business without public notice?
No, under the law as it stood in 2004. The AG found the Cape Henlopen School Board violated FOIA when a quorum of members discussed district business at a retreat in Chestertown, Maryland, both…
If county council members reach agreement over a series of one-on-one phone calls, does that count as an illegal secret meeting under Delaware's FOIA?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2004. The AG found New Castle County Council members violated FOIA when one councilman built a signed consensus of a quorum through a series of one-on-one phone…
Who had authority to operate the Anderson County Alternative School in 2004?
The AG concluded that the Anderson County Board of Education had authority to operate the Anderson County Alternative School under the 1995 act.
Could police and security guards issue traffic tickets on private South Carolina roads and parking lots?
The AG distinguished posted parking lots open to the public from private community roads. Traffic laws could reach qualifying private roads after the owner’s statutory consent; a licensed security…
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