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South Dakota sold the state cement plant in 2001. The voters that year added Article XIII §§ 20 and 21 to the state constitution to protect the proceeds: $238 million was placed in a trust fund, $12 million transfers annually to the general fund, and if the trust's market value grew enough above the original principal, additional money could be appropriated for the support of education. By 2004 the trust had grown, but no one had ever made the additional 'support of education' distribution before. The Bureau of Finance and Management wanted to know: what's the right valuation date, how does the Legislature actually appropriate the money, and what happens if the trust value drops between when we measure it and when the Legislature acts?
AG Lawrence Long approved the Bureau's proposed framework. The June 30 market valuation date was right because Section 21 limits distribution to amounts that maintain the original principal 'in that…
Is the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife legally required to run a specific coyote snaring program, or can it design its own?
No specific program required. The Maine AG concluded that 12 M.R.S.A. § 10105(3) requires the commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to maintain a coyote control program but leaves the…
Did Centreville's annexation cancel open-space easements previously granted to Queen Anne's County?
No under the 2004 opinion. Open-space easements granted to Queen Anne's County remained enforceable after Centreville annexed the land. The county commissioners, as grantee with enforcement power,…
Could an out-of-state insurer handle disputed Maryland workers' compensation claims from another state?
Under the law enacted in 2001 and analyzed in 2004, insurers and self-insured employers needed competent people in Maryland to handle disputed claims. An out-of-state lawyer did not satisfy the…
Could a Kentucky couple get a marriage license if one applicant had no Social Security number?
Yes, if the applicant truly had no Social Security number and said so; the opinion did not require a person to obtain one to marry. An applicant who had a number had to provide it, and a clerk had…
Could one person sit on Hilton Head’s tax advisory committee, Beaufort’s aviation board, and the state tourism review committee?
The AG said the three positions could be held together on the described duties. It viewed only the state tourism committee as a public office; the local tax committee and aviation board were…
Could a South Carolina probate judge issue a marriage license to someone unable to obtain either an SSN or alien ID?
The AG advised issuing the license if every other requirement was met and the judge was satisfied the applicant could not obtain either number. It treated the number rule as an aid to child-support…
Could an Oregon juvenile harassment adjudication require sex-offender registration after a move to South Carolina?
The AG said registration could be required if the facts showed an offense similar to a South Carolina registrable assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct. It did not decide this…
Could a California county record a signed memorandum of lease without recording the full lease?
Yes. The 2004 opinion said a signed and acknowledged memorandum describing the parties’ lease could be recorded even if the complete agreement remained unrecorded.
Could Horry County’s register of deeds also serve on the county social services board?
The AG said yes under the 2004 duties. The register of deeds was a public officer, but the social services board had become advisory after a statutory change and its members no longer held a second…
Did South Carolina require an associate probate judge to retire at age 72 in 2004?
The AG said no. Associate probate judges were part of the unified judiciary, but the general age limit had been repealed and the remaining judge and magistrate retirement rules did not cover them.
Could a Beaufort County election board member also serve as an officer of a political party?
The AG said no. It interpreted the 2004 ban on election board members participating in political management to include holding party office, while noting no South Carolina court had yet defined the phrase.
Could an Aiken County council member also hold one of three state agency jobs?
The AG said the two described program coordinator jobs were employment and compatible with a council seat, but the Victim Assistance Investigator II job exercised state police power and would create…
Could Sumter’s alcohol and drug abuse commission director also serve on county council?
The AG said the director job was employment rather than a second public office, so the dual-office ban did not bar council service. It flagged possible indirect supervision and personal financial…
Could one Louisiana lawyer serve part time as both a deputy sheriff and an assistant district attorney?
Yes. The AG said the dual-officeholding law barred two full-time appointive positions, but did not prohibit the two part-time appointive positions described: deputy sheriff and assistant district…
If a New York city council seat is left vacant after a tie vote at the general election, who fills the seat, the mayor and council or the governor?
A tie vote at a general election creates a vacancy 'by expiration of term.' If the city charter only handles vacancies that arise 'otherwise than by expiration of term,' the governor may proclaim a…
Could a California regional lender guarantee new small business loans using money temporarily transferred out of its guarantee fund?
No. In 2004, the Attorney General read the guarantee limits as tied to funds actually on deposit. A legislative promise to repay the transferred money with interest did not count as those funds.
Could a county inspector review a deceased foster child’s juvenile court file without an order?
No. The 2004 opinion found that the county children’s services inspector was outside the statutory list of people with automatic file access, even while investigating the child’s death for the board…
Could a Louisiana clerk of court reimburse his criminal-defense attorney fees from office funds after the charges were dismissed?
Yes. The AG said the Tangipahoa clerk's office could reimburse necessary and reasonable attorney fees for criminal charges arising from his official duties, based on the clerk's report that the…
Was an unmarried father's name on a Louisiana birth certificate enough by itself for a child-support order?
No. Under the law discussed in 2004, the AG said an unmarried father's name on a child's birth certificate, even with the father's surname, was not alone enough to require child support. It…
Was a county clerk acting as probate judge entitled to the probate judge’s pay?
The AG reaffirmed that a clerk temporarily performing a vacant probate judge’s duties was entitled to the probate judge’s salary. It rejected an earlier follow-up letter’s unsupported objection to…
Could Marksville change its civil-service board's appointment rules after a named civic club stopped operating?
Not by simply rewriting the 1975 special act locally. The AG said only the legislature could amend its civic-club nomination provision. It also described adopting a home-rule charter as an…
Could LSU's Fire and Emergency Training Institute set its own EMT standing orders without parish medical-society approval?
No. The AG concluded that the Institute's medical director's standing orders and protocols were subject to approval by the local parish medical society, in this case the East Baton Rouge Parish…
Can a Delaware planning commissioner join a public meeting by speakerphone, and can the commission limit who speaks before it votes?
Yes to both, under the law as it stood in 2004. The AG found a Town of Odessa Planning Commissioner could participate by speakerphone in two meetings because a quorum of the commission was…
Who had to provide support staff for Baltimore City's child support prosecutors?
The AG said the 1992 consolidation law contemplated that Maryland's Child Support Enforcement Administration would supply administrative support for Baltimore City State's Attorney lawyers handling…
Could Dorchester school trustees also sit on the county vocational education board?
The AG said the 1972 law did not make vocational-board service an automatic part of a school trustee’s office, so holding both seats violated the dual-office rule. It described two possible…
Did a school band booster club incorporated before 1994 have to follow South Carolina’s later nonprofit corporation law?
The AG said yes for the Goose Creek High School Band Booster Club. The 1994 Act applied to domestic nonprofit corporations governed by the prior chapter on its effective date, including the described club.
Could South Carolina’s State Election Commission buy one statewide voting system without express authority from the legislature?
The AG doubted that existing state law authorized the proposed statewide purchase. Although procurement officials had approved the solicitation, the AG urged a declaratory judgment before implementation.
When the New York Legislature enacts a salary increase for state Supreme Court Justices effective January 1, do justices start earning the new salary on January 1 or at the start of the next pay period?
At the start of the next payroll period nearest to the statute's effective date. The 1998 pay raise statute used the standard 'date of entitlement to salary increase' clause, which the Comptroller…
Could Connecticut run a second-chance drawing tied to three instant lottery tickets?
The AG concluded that Connecticut Lottery Corporation's proposed Treasure Island instant-ticket game, including a drawing entered with symbols from three ticket versions, fit the authorized lottery…
Could a Blackville town council member also serve on Barnwell County’s economic development board?
The AG concluded that the appointment would not violate South Carolina’s constitutional dual-office rule. It treated the county development-board seat as outside the definition of a public office…
Could an Olar town maintenance worker keep that job after election to the town council?
The AG found no constitutional dual-office violation because a maintenance worker was an employee rather than an officer. It nevertheless concluded that simultaneous council service and town…
Could a South Carolina capital-project sales tax pay for park land or a partly funded park?
The AG said necessary costs incidental to an authorized project could be covered, but questioned a tax proposal limited to buying land for a future park or building only a token first phase. Voters…
Could a South Carolina jail release someone who earned good-time credit but had not paid a court fine?
The AG said an eligible prisoner still appeared entitled to statutory good-time credit despite an unpaid fine. A detention center could release someone who had served the adjusted sentence unless a…
Can a New York village mayor also serve as a fire commissioner of a joint fire district established by that village?
No. The Town Law and Village Law give the village board (with the town board) substantial authority over a joint fire district, including extending it, dissolving it, approving real-property…
Who has authority over harbors and waterways that lie inside a Suffolk County village's boundaries, the town or the village?
For the activities enumerated in Navigation Law § 46-a and Town Law § 130 (vessel speed, anchoring, mooring, motor size, sewage, anchorage areas), a Suffolk County town may regulate inside a…
Could Connecticut officials issue same-sex marriage licenses under 2004 statutes?
The AG concluded that Connecticut statutes as they stood in May 2004 did not authorize local officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples or perform their marriage ceremonies. He…
Who paid for court ordered psychiatric examinations in California: the state or the county?
The 2004 opinion assigned five kinds of court-use reports or examinations to the state. It assigned defense-side evaluations and counsel in sexually violent predator proceedings, plus insanity-plea…
Can a Maryland county create a special taxing district to pay for upgrading county roads that are located inside a town's limits?
The opinion concluded that Talbot County, as a charter county with authority over its own roads under the Express Powers Act, could establish a special taxing area to finance upgrades to county…
What counted as a substantial business conflict when a South Carolina candidate withdrew?
The AG said the statutory examples did not exhaust the possible business conflicts. The county election commission had to decide whether the candidate’s particular sworn reason qualified; the AG…
Could a federal district judge conduct a marriage ceremony in South Carolina?
The AG concluded that the requesting federal district judge could perform a South Carolina marriage ceremony because he was authorized to administer oaths in the state.
Did Connecticut indemnify marshals serving capias warrants or training recruits?
The AG concluded that state marshals did not qualify for state employee indemnification when serving capias warrants or when contracted to train new marshals. They were independent contractors, and…
If a Georgia state-chartered credit union existed before April 1, 1975 (when the Financial Institutions Code of Georgia took effect) and had a broad field of membership in its bylaws, did the 1975 Code shrink that field of membership? And when two state-chartered credit unions merge, does the broad pre-1975 field of membership transfer to the surviving credit union?
Pre-1975 credit unions kept their broad fields of membership. The 1975 Code (O.C.G.A. § 7-1-636) explicitly says 'nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impair the validity of the charter of…
When the NC General Assembly later passes a general law about school board vacancies, does it override an older local act that set its own rules for one specific district?
Not unless the later general law plainly manifests legislative intent to repeal the local act. For the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Board of Education, the 1967 local act remains controlling: vacancies…
Could a seller take payment for a preneed casket, have the buyer sign for delivery, and keep it in storage?
The AG said no. A paper acknowledgment did not make a warehoused casket an immediate delivery; the payment belonged in a preneed trust until the statutory conditions were met.
Did South Carolina Medicaid have to reimburse optometrists and ophthalmologists equally for the same eye-care services?
The AG concluded that South Carolina law required equal reimbursement for services common to both professions and that the public Medicaid plan likely came within the relevant statute. It said no…
Can a New York town cut off the right of an adjoining property owner to appeal a building permit to the zoning board of appeals?
No. Town Law § 267-a(4) gives every town zoning board of appeals mandatory appellate jurisdiction. The 'unless otherwise provided by local law' clause allows towns to give the ZBA more…
Can a Delaware town refuse to release a lawsuit settlement agreement because the parties privately agreed to keep it confidential?
No, according to this opinion. The AG found a town violated FOIA by withholding a settlement agreement that ended a civil rights lawsuit against the town, because a private confidentiality agreement…
Was Richland Memorial Hospital’s board still a county government body after the hospital alliance?
The AG concluded that the board remained an agency and unit of Richland County government despite the hospital alliance. Its members were public officers, and the board retained governmental powers.
After Entergy bought Vermont Yankee in 2002, did Entergy keep the company-specific exemption that let Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. store spent fuel on site without legislative approval?
The AG concluded that Entergy's dry cask storage was not exempt from chapter 157. Section 6505 named Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corporation; on the separate assignment question, the AG predicted…
Could a manufactured-home owner retire its title without a county certificate-of-occupancy form?
The AG said the certificate-of-occupancy requirement was mandatory. It thought a court would likely accept a building official’s affidavit as substantial compliance where the locality used no…
How far back must a New York county treasurer search before certifying that a subdivision parcel has no unpaid taxes, and can the county charge for that certificate?
Two answers. The county treasurer is not required to search a fixed number of years for the tax payment certificate that Real Property Law § 334 demands before a subdivision map can be filed, but…
Could an existing county officer serve as a standby supervisor during an emergency without forfeiting office?
Yes. The 2004 opinion said neither accepting a standby appointment nor temporarily filling an unavailable supervisor’s seat during an emergency caused forfeiture under the common law rule against…
Could a Mount Pleasant council member also become a Charleston port pilotage commissioner?
The AG said the two positions were public offices and could not be held together under the state constitution. Accepting the pilotage appointment would automatically vacate the earlier council office.
Could a South Carolina optometrist obtain equal Medicaid payment and recover earlier underpayments?
The AG said state law required equal fees for shared eye-care services and understood Medicaid to have changed its schedule in 2003. It declined to order retroactive payment, which it said had to be…
Could a doctor be sued or disciplined for expert testimony in a California malpractice case?
The 2004 opinion said an adverse party could not bring a later tort suit based on the physician’s testimony because of the litigation privilege. The Medical Board could still discipline testimony…
Could Maryland recover past school aid by reducing future payments after late local expense data?
No under the former basic-current-expense aid law. The AG said Maryland could not recalculate aid already budgeted and distributed for fiscal 2002, then recoup a lower amount from future local…
Can a New York village exhibit antique switchblades and gravity knives in a local museum without breaking the Penal Law?
Not in working condition. Penal Law § 265.01(1) makes mere possession of a switchblade, gravity knife, pilum ballistic knife, or metal-knuckle knife a class A misdemeanor, with no exemption for…
Could California property owners trap rabbits that were damaging gardens or landscaping?
The 2004 opinion said cottontail and brush rabbits could be trapped or killed when it was established that they materially harmed landscaping, ornamental plants, or gardens. Mere nibbling without…
What could Franklin's city marshal do, who paid for deputies and facilities, and could the marshal act as a notary?
The AG said Franklin's marshal executed city-court orders, could appoint deputies, and had sheriff-like authority when making arrests and preserving the peace. The city controlled its jail; city and…
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