State AG Opinions
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Could a South Carolina party replace a withdrawn House candidate after the normal certification deadline?
The AG said the candidate-withdrawal provision, not the ordinary April 9 certification deadline, governed this situation. The state party could choose to reopen filing, but had to give other…
Did South Carolina's suspended agriculture commissioner keep salary or benefits during suspension?
The AG said the suspended commissioner was not entitled to salary or benefits, including the employer health-insurance contribution, during suspension, or back pay if later acquitted or the charges…
Did a disused South Carolina railroad right of way revert to neighboring owners?
The AG did not decide whether the Port Royal Railroad right of way had been abandoned or reverted to adjacent owners; that required facts and a court ruling. It also referred allegations under the…
Could Charleston County's election board rewrite the county council's sales tax ballot question?
The AG said the election board lacked authority to change the wording of the ballot question submitted by county council. The board's ballot duties were ministerial, and the governor's order for a…
Could a South Carolina coroner keep the Book of Inquisitions only in a computer database?
The AG said electronic copies could be kept for convenience, but a separate Book of Inquisitions still had to be maintained under the statute as the office read it in 2004. A database alone did not…
When the Cherokee Boys Club (a nonprofit corporation owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, operating on the Cherokee reservation) buys surplus lines insurance, can NC charge them the 5% premium tax, or does federal Indian law preempt the tax?
NC cannot impose the tax. The NC AG concluded that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is a federally recognized tribe whose reservation is held in trust by the United States. Federal Indian law…
Could Kiawah Island change its mayor and council from two-year terms to staggered four-year terms by ordinance?
The AG said the town could make the change by ordinance. It cited the statute allowing two- or four-year municipal terms and earlier opinions saying a referendum was not required to extend mayor and…
Could Habitat for Humanity build a South Carolina home with volunteers and no licensed contractor on site?
The AG said yes for the Habitat arrangement described in the letter. It treated the cost-recovery mortgages and absence of profit as a transfer without consideration under the 2004 statutory exception.
Could a South Carolina jail keep holding someone based only on another agency’s unproduced warrant?
The AG said the jail director was reasonable to expect a warrant before continuing to hold a person. An indefinite hold without a warrant or court order could expose a jailer to a false-imprisonment…
Could a South Carolina county auditor refuse a treasurer’s list of uncollected taxes?
The AG said the auditor had no discretion to reject the treasurer’s delinquent-tax list under the statute as it read in 2004. The auditor had to accept the list and carry out the statutory steps.
Could police from nearby Maryland towns jointly run a sobriety checkpoint in one participating town?
Yes under the 2004 opinion. Municipalities could use a CP §2-105 mutual-aid agreement to pool officers at a sobriety checkpoint in a participating municipality, allowing those officers to enforce…
Could a Maryland property-tax appeals board demand reassessment of a parcel with no pending appeal?
No under the 2004 opinion. A property-tax assessment appeals board could ask the State assessment director to review a property assessment related to an appeal before that board, but could not…
Could a private security company boot a car parked without permission in a California private lot?
No. The 2004 opinion treated attaching a boot as unlawful vehicle tampering. A property owner’s contract with a security company did not supply the statutory authority reserved for public officers…
Could Connecticut require legislative recommendations for every workforce board vacancy?
The AG concluded that Connecticut could not require every vacancy on its workforce investment board to be filled from legislative leaders’ recommendations. That restriction conflicted with federal…
Could Hilton Head use liquor permit revenue to repay debt on land it bought before the funding law?
The AG said no. It read the 2004 provision as allowing revenue for future land acquisitions, not principal and interest payments on land acquired before the law was passed.
Could a Midlands Technical College program director also serve on South Carolina’s Auctioneers Commission?
The AG said yes on the described facts. Commission membership counted as a public office, but the college program director position did not, so the two roles did not violate the dual-office rule.
Could a South Carolina jail hold a person awaiting transfer to a mental health facility for safekeeping?
The AG said a jail could be used temporarily only during an extreme emergency while the person awaited transfer. The opinion described ordinary safekeeping detention in jail as prohibited and said…
Could a South Carolina magistrate hire a private firm to take payment of overdue court fines?
The AG said a private firm could help with letters or calls but could not physically collect or handle the fine money without legislative authorization. The magistrate or court staff had to retain…
When would Union’s change to a strong-mayor government take effect after voters approved it?
The AG said the change would take effect when council members elected at the next general election began their terms, rather than immediately after the referendum. It also said the municipal…
Did the 2004 Help America Vote Act require each voter to verify a printed paper record of their ballot?
The AG said the Act required a permanent paper record for manual audits and recounts, but did not require voters to see and verify that paper record or take home a receipt. Voters had to be able to…
Under the NC Mortgage Lending Act, can a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community development corporation broker mortgage loans without a state license?
Only in a limited way. A qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit can make mortgage loans for the disadvantaged without a license under G.S. § 53-243.01(8)(h), and can incidentally solicit or broker loans, but…
Was a non-tenured MUSC faculty member a classified South Carolina state employee?
The AG said the faculty member described in the request was not a classified employee. The opinion treated academic personnel as outside the ordinary classification plan and noted a separate…
Could a bank or hospital bill a Kentucky prosecutor for records produced under a criminal subpoena?
The Attorney General concluded that a nonparty producing records under a Commonwealth’s Attorney’s subpoena could not require the prosecutor to reimburse its ordinary copying and production costs. A…
Could a private company collect unpaid magistrate tickets and charge defendants a collection fee?
The AG said the cited statute did not authorize a private company to collect those ticket payments. Court staff had to handle the money absent express legislative authority, though a company could…
What happened to a Zachary civil-service employee's seniority if the city abolished their job or job class?
The AG said a Zachary classified employee whose position or entire class was abolished was laid off, retained seniority, and had to be placed on the reemployment list. If the class was abolished,…
Could St. Bernard Parish use lotteries to assign students to crowded schools, including separate pools for gifted students and students with disabilities?
The AG said the parish school board could use a lottery within its school-assignment authority. A separate lottery for gifted students and students with exceptionalities was not apparently…
Could a state university use emergency purchasing after an invalid food service deal?
The AG concluded that a Central Connecticut State University food service agreement was void because it skipped required competition and other statutory steps. The chancellor, rather than the AG,…
Could Connecticut’s development authority pay its president for accumulated comp time?
The AG concluded that the Connecticut Development Authority could not pay its departing president for accumulated compensatory time without validly adopted standards authorizing the benefit. He…
Could a California licensed business operate as an LLC when its license was occupational rather than professional?
The 2004 opinion said yes for services requiring only a nonprofessional occupational license. It distinguished those services from professional services, which the then-applicable LLC statute barred…
If a member of the Georgia Board of Regents owns a company, when (if ever) can that company sell goods or services to a University System institution without violating Georgia's conflict of interest laws?
Almost never without a specific statutory exception. Regents are 'limited powers' public officers under O.C.G.A. § 45-10-22(a)(2), so they (and any business in which they own more than 25%) are…
Could a California airport land use commission exempt a city plan from its stricter airport compatibility standards?
No. The 2004 opinion said the commission lacked authority to excuse a city or county specific plan from its stricter land-use, density, and intensity standards. The statute supplied a review and…
What did Idaho's AG say about a 2004 ballot initiative to repeal Idaho's Right to Work law?
The AG cleared the initiative as raising no significant legal issues. Initiative legislation is on equal footing with bicameral legislation and so can repeal a statute. The substantive policy…
Would a withdrawn school board candidate leave a Kentucky seat open for write-in votes or appointment?
The Attorney General approved using the August nomination deadline as the deciding point. If all filed candidates withdrew before that deadline, the education commissioner could appoint a board…
Could Broussard's volunteer fire department give gift certificates to its members for past service?
The AG said gift certificates bought with public money for compensated firefighters' past service were prohibited bonuses. Gifts to uncompensated volunteers might be appropriate because they were…
Does a business that only cashes corporate or commercial checks (not consumer paychecks) need a New York check-cashing license?
Yes. The plain language of Banking Law § 367(1) requires a license for anyone engaged in the business of cashing checks for consideration, with no carve-out for businesses that handle only…
Could a California city limit commercial vehicle idling to reduce air pollution?
The 2004 opinion said yes through three routes: delegation from an air district, a stricter measure otherwise authorized by law, or a nuisance abatement ordinance. It did not give cities unlimited…
Could Connecticut’s Ethics Commission suspend its director over public remarks?
The AG concluded that the Ethics Commission should abandon its proposed two-week unpaid suspension of its executive director for public remarks. He identified serious free-speech and prediscipline…
Did a South Carolina public hospital district need the AG’s approval to sell a hospital?
The AG said it knew of no provision requiring AG notice, approval, consent or review for a sale by the described public hospital corporation. The opinion relied on the district being formed under…
Could a corrective affidavit reopen a South Carolina mortgage mistakenly marked satisfied?
The AG said a corrective affidavit appeared insufficient to reinstate a mortgage already cancelled of record. A party seeking reinstatement should bring an equitable proceeding in circuit court.
Which court handled a South Carolina charge for selling or transferring beer to someone under 21?
The AG said the 2004 transfer-for-consumption offense belonged in magistrate court and could be charged by uniform traffic ticket, while the sale offense belonged in general sessions court and…
Could a fire district commissioner vote on pay and grievances affecting firefighter relatives?
The AG did not decide whether the commissioner could vote. It directed State Ethics Act questions to the State Ethics Commission and local manual questions to the district’s attorney; it said the…
Could a hospital district lease space to a director of a health care district that must approve the lease?
No. The health care district director would have a financial interest as the proposed tenant, and her board’s required approval would make it a participant in the lease under the conflict statute.…
Could a Mount Pleasant town administrator also serve on Charleston County’s election commission?
The AG said yes on the described facts. Election commission membership was a public office, but the town administrator role appeared to be employment rather than a second public office.
Could a former state consultant bid on the Norwich State Hospital property?
The AG concluded that the state should bar former consultant C.B. Richard Ellis from bidding to buy Norwich State Hospital or representing another buyer. Its earlier proposal promised it would…
Can the Maine commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife shut down coyote snaring, or is he locked into running the program?
Yes. The Maine AG clarified that the commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has discretion to end coyote snaring. Title 12 sections 10001, 10051, 10053(8) and 10105(3) authorize the…
Could a retired union leader keep the union seat on Waterbury’s financial oversight board?
The AG concluded that the union representative on Waterbury's financial oversight board could not continue serving after he ceased to be chief executive of a city employee bargaining unit. The seat…
Could South Carolina’s Department of Insurance review Medicaid decisions about optometrist reimbursement?
The AG said no. It kept its earlier equal-reimbursement conclusion for comparable eye-care services but clarified that the Department of Insurance had no administrative review authority over…
Could a South Carolina town make drug paraphernalia possession a crime when state law set a civil fine?
The AG said the Bowman ordinance appeared valid in 2004. It found no state-law preemption or irreconcilable conflict despite the state statute’s civil penalty, while noting only a court could…
Could someone claiming to be a child’s father take the child despite an existing custody order?
The AG said the existing custody order remained binding until changed by a court; a pending petition or claimed parentage did not authorize taking the child. It also said criminal liability depended…
Could a Georgia judge lawfully officiate a marriage ceremony in South Carolina?
The AG said it knew of no authority for a Georgia judge to perform a South Carolina marriage ceremony under the cited statute. The office expressly said it could not declare the particular marriage…
Can a New York village board sign a multi-year contract with a police chief that runs past the elected term of the board members who signed it?
Without specific statutory authority, a village board cannot bind its successor to a police chief employment contract that extends past the board's term. If otherwise valid, the contract is not void…
Does the NC Commissioner of Motor Vehicles count as a 'law-enforcement officer' eligible for State 401(k) employer contributions?
Yes, on these facts. The AG concluded that the Commissioner's statutory duties include prevention and detection of crime, and the specific Commissioner at the time (George Tatum) held an active…
Could a corporation change its tax-settlement calculation each year or choose separately for each subsidiary?
Under the 2004 settlement law, a corporation had to choose one tax-computation method for each subsidiary for the whole 1995–2003 period. It could make a different choice for another subsidiary.
What was the penalty for hitting an unattended car and leaving no notice in South Carolina?
The AG said the general traffic-chapter penalty applied because the unattended-vehicle notice rule had no separate penalty. Under the statute quoted in 2004, that meant a misdemeanor with a fine up…
Could an ATV be driven on a South Carolina public highway in 2004?
The AG said an ATV had to meet driver licensing, highway equipment, registration and insurance requirements. Because the state did not then register or license ATVs, the opinion concluded they could…
Could South Carolina police cite road users or parents for gasoline or electric scooter riding?
The AG said several motor-vehicle statutes arguably applied to powered scooters, including driver licensing, registration, insurance and rules against permitting unauthorized minors to drive. It…
Does a Delaware public body have to create new records or compile data just because someone asks for it under FOIA?
No, according to this opinion. The AG found FOIA only requires a public body to give access to records it has actually created and kept, not to generate new summaries, run special computer searches,…
Could elected KCTCS faculty and staff regents vote on the president’s salary?
The Attorney General concluded that elected faculty and staff regents should be allowed to vote on pay for the KCTCS president and administrators. A faculty regent could be excluded from voting on a…
Could Kentuckians bet on horse races from home by phone or computer through a racetrack account?
The Attorney General concluded that telephone and computer horse-race wagering was permitted under KRS 230.379 as amended in 1992 when the account already held enough funds, the account holder…
Could a South Carolina church or charity hold a fundraising raffle under the 2004 lottery amendment?
The AG said ordinary raffles remained prohibited lotteries even when a charity ran them or called the entry payment a donation. It acknowledged a statute appearing to allow some licensed…
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