State AG Opinions
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Could a disabled driver with a placard park in a designated space at the University of South Carolina?
The AG said a vehicle displaying the required disability plate or placard could use a designated accessible space if the driver was disabled or transporting a disabled person. The placard alone did…
Can a Delaware town raise its public-records copying fee without adopting a written fee policy first?
No, under the law as it stood in 2004. The AG found the Town of Odessa could not enforce its increase from 15 cents to $1 per page for copying public records because it never adopted a written rule…
Can a Delaware county black out its legal bills for defending an employee under federal investigation, or does the public get to see the total cost?
The public gets to see the total cost, according to this opinion, even though the names of other employees who might be grand jury witnesses can stay hidden. The AG found the county could redact…
Could a Beaufort County deputy sheriff also serve on the Sheldon Township Fire District Commission?
The AG concluded the two posts would likely violate South Carolina’s dual office holding rule. Assuming both were covered offices, taking the second would automatically vacate the first, though the…
Does New York's Domestic Relations Law authorize same-sex marriages, and must New York recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions performed elsewhere?
The 2004 AG concluded the New York Domestic Relations Law was not intended to authorize same-sex marriage; clerks should not issue licenses or solemnize same-sex marriages pending judicial…
Could Colorado use Conservation Trust Fund lottery money to audit local spending of that fund?
Yes. The Colorado Attorney General concluded that the Legislature could appropriate Conservation Trust Fund money for audits and reviews specifically aimed at ensuring local recipients used the fund…
Could the same person serve on Houma's zoning commission and board of adjustment?
No. The AG said Houma's zoning commission rules barred a member from holding another public office. It treated membership on the board of adjustment as a public office under state law, so the same…
Could a Louisiana sheriff sell forfeited vehicles through the state surplus auction and pay its commission?
Yes. The AG said the Division of Administration could sell vehicles seized under the drug-property forfeiture law for local law enforcement and judicial agencies. It reasoned that the statute…
Could a California teacher gain permanent status while her spouse served on the school board?
The California AG concluded in 2004 that the school board could employ the teacher as a permanent employee because she had been a probationary teacher for more than a year before her spouse joined…
When a public agency loses a contract dispute and has to pay a contractor with interest, is the interest rate set as of the date payment was first due, or as of the date of the settlement or judgment?
As of the date payment was first due. The Oregon AG concluded that ORS 279.435(9), as rewritten by the Legislature in 1999, calculates interest at twice the discount rate on 90-day commercial paper…
Did an off-duty South Carolina police officer need a uniform or marked car to answer a neighboring jurisdiction’s distress call?
For a regular law enforcement officer responding under the statute discussed, the AG found no statewide rule requiring a uniform or marked vehicle. It distinguished other categories of officers for…
Could the Orleans civil district court clerk contract to provide part-time legal services to a state board?
Yes. The AG said a professional-services contract was not state employment under the dual-officeholding statute. It therefore allowed the Orleans Parish Civil District Court clerk to keep her…
Could Calvert County require humane outdoor shelters for dogs without new State authorization?
No under the 2004 enabling law. The AG said Calvert County could regulate animals to protect the public, but as a non-home-rule county it needed additional General Assembly authority to impose…
Did a city-union safety trust board have to hold public meetings under California’s Brown Act?
No. In 2004, the AG concluded that the jointly appointed board performing collaborative labor-management functions was not a local-agency legislative body covered by the Brown Act.
Whom did a South Carolina animal shelter have to notify when a dog’s microchip named both the shelter and an adopter?
The AG said both the shelter identified on the chip and the adopted owner identified by available information should be notified. It also pointed to a misdemeanor provision for killing an…
Could a South Carolina high school soccer coach force players to quit club soccer during the school season?
The AG said no under the 2004 dual-participation statute, if club play did not interfere with scheduled school games or practices and the statutory permission statement was on file. The statute…
Could the South Carolina Conservation Bank begin receiving deed-fee transfers before a later budget-cut trigger stopped them?
The AG agreed that transfers were to begin July 1, 2004. It read the law’s ban on “further” transfers during specified budget cuts as applying only after transfers had first begun, so the trigger…
Could a Beaufort County recycling board member also become a Lady’s Island-St. Helena fire commissioner?
The AG said the fire commission was a public office, but the county recycling board was advisory and not an office for the constitutional dual-office rule, so concurrent service was allowed under…
Could a South Carolina county council control or audit a circuit solicitor’s pretrial intervention program and its fees?
The AG said county council had no authority over the circuit solicitor’s state-law pretrial intervention program. It understood program fees to be held for the solicitor’s program, with no county…
If a school board's amended agenda skips a required explanation, does re-voting on the same item at a later meeting fix the FOIA violation?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2004. The AG found Woodbridge School District violated FOIA by not explaining, in an amended agenda, why it added a school board election date item without seven…
Did the Orleans Criminal District Court clerk have to join the Clerks of Court Retirement and Relief Fund?
Yes. The AG concluded that the newly elected Clerk of the Criminal District Court in Orleans Parish had to join the Clerks of Court Retirement and Relief Fund while serving as clerk.
Would changing Charleston County’s constituent school boards reopen desegregation litigation after the district was declared unitary?
The AG said the legislature could change the governance law and future challengers would still need to prove discriminatory intent. It warned that a substantial change could remove the district’s…
Could Morgan Stanley sell public bonds if one of its advisers became a South Carolina House member?
The AG found no absolute state-ethics ban on the firm continuing its public-bond and advisory business if the adviser was elected. The adviser would have to follow conflict, recusal,…
Could a California school district charge retirement-plan providers for administering employee payroll deductions?
No. In 2004, the AG read the payroll-deduction statute’s “without charge” direction as barring an administrative fee on deferred compensation providers, despite school districts’ broader authority…
Were Newberry County’s 2002 tax sales void because levy notices set an early payment deadline?
The AG predicted that a court would apply Hawkins retroactively and treat the deficient notices as making those sales void from the start. It advised voiding the sales before titles passed,…
What could Maryland's juvenile justice monitor disclose about child abuse investigations in State facilities?
In 2004 the AG said the monitor could report findings and recommendations about agency responses to alleged abuse, but could not identify or invade the privacy of the child, family, alleged abuser,…
Did St. Mary's County have to give advance public notice of a developer's zoning pre-application meeting?
No under the county open-meetings law examined in 2004. The AG said a zoning pre-application meeting did not take official action and was not a public-agency meeting requiring advance written…
Are the local bar associations, administrators, and volunteer arbitrators in New York's fee-dispute program covered by state defense and indemnification?
Three answers. The bar associations through which the program operates are not 'employees' eligible for Public Officers Law § 17 defense and indemnification, because the State did not appoint them.…
Could the Orleans Parish district attorney accept a private crime-bureau grant to prosecute auto theft and insurance fraud?
The AG found no state statutory or constitutional bar to the Orleans Parish district attorney receiving the described National Insurance Crime Bureau grant to hire a prosecutor and investigator for…
Could Ouachita Parish create a Cheniere Lake Commission by local ordinance?
The AG said the police jury lacked legal authority to create the Cheniere Lake Commission by ordinance, so the commission had never been lawfully established and its acts were beyond its powers. It…
Did Love v. Foster change the 2004 Baton Rouge mayor-president and council election dates?
No. The AG said its 1999 interpretation remained in force: the East Baton Rouge mayor-president and Metropolitan Council elections followed the state Election Code's October primary and November…
Could Franklin delay its proposed home-rule charter vote to November and change the charter's effective date?
No. The AG said Franklin had to call a vote on its completed proposed charter for the next date allowed by election law, at least sixty days after publication. It said the council could not move the…
Under what circumstances can the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, or Speaker of the House use state-owned aircraft for personal or political travel, and what role does reimbursement play?
Almost never. The Attorney General concluded that Georgia's gratuities clause (Art. III, Sec. VI, Para. VI) and the statutes authorizing state aircraft (O.C.G.A. § 50-19-22, § 32-2-2(a)(16)) permit…
Could a California school board delegate contracts to its superintendent to avoid a spouse conflict?
No. The 2004 opinion said the board remained ultimately responsible for contracts made under its delegated authority. The superintendent could not use that delegation to approve a board member…
How did two Louisiana tax acts govern protested property-tax money and a later refund?
The AG read the two 2003 acts together. Disputed property-tax payments were to be segregated and held until the suit ended; if the taxpayer then requested a refund, the tax collector had to pay it…
Could SUNY make the retirement system option for medical residents and interns effective only from July 1, 2003, ignoring their earlier years of state service?
The opinion says residents and interns had a statutory right to retirement participation from the date they commenced state service. It concludes that SUNY should not have offered participation only…
Can the consumer member and the dental hygienist member of the Georgia Board of Dentistry vote on all matters before the board, or are they restricted from voting on dentist-licensure examinations under O.C.G.A. § 43-11-2(d)?
The consumer member can now vote on everything without restriction. The hygienist member is still barred from voting on matters that 'directly relate to the practical or scientific examination of…
When did South Carolina law require police to transport a hospital patient for emergency mental-health commitment?
The AG said a facially valid emergency certificate generally required law-enforcement transport, subject to statutory alternatives. The three-day custody limit could not be ignored because a bed was…
Did South Carolina’s clergy-penitent privilege cover ministers and rabbis as well as priests in child-abuse reports?
The AG said the privilege generally extended beyond Catholic priests to qualifying clergy, including ministers and rabbis. Under the 2004 reporting law, clergy still had to report child abuse except…
Could a South Carolina reserve police officer also work full time as a licensed hospital security guard?
The AG said simultaneous service as a reserve police officer and a licensed private security guard violated the state constitutional dual-office prohibition as it understood the two roles in 2004.…
Could a St. Bernard Parish councilman continue consulting for the parish adult drug court?
Yes. The AG said a licensed counselor's professional-services contract with the St. Bernard Parish Adult Drug Court was not employment under Louisiana's dual-officeholding law. His election to the…
Could St. Charles Parish put new council business on a supplemental agenda the morning of a meeting?
No. The AG said a supplemental agenda issued at 10 a.m. on meeting day did not itself become part of the published regular agenda. The council could take up a new matter only after two-thirds of…
Could Louisiana clerks reject notarized documents missing a notary ID after the 2003 law took effect?
In February 2004, the AG found no current conflict because the new notary-identification requirement would not take effect until January 1, 2005. It warned that the later rejection rule appeared to…
Could the Spartanburg Humane Society require owners to pay for microchipping when redeeming their dogs?
The AG said the statute reviewed in 2004 allowed the Humane Society to require a microchip for a redeemed dog at the owner’s expense. It reconciled an apparent conflict between provisions by giving…
Could a California county renew its transportation sales tax using the spending plan from the expiring tax?
No. The California AG concluded in 2004 that a county transportation authority had to adopt a new expenditure plan before reimposing its retail transactions and use tax for another period. The old…
Could Harahan's police and fire civil service board award a successful employee appeal attorney fees?
No. The AG said the small-municipality statute allowed remedies such as reinstatement and back pay, but gave Harahan's board no authority to award the employee's attorney fees, even when discipline…
Could Plaquemines Parish extend its existing public-land leases after the tenant built permanent improvements?
In this 2004 opinion, the Attorney General said the parish could grant additional time under the public-lease statute when qualifying improvements supported it. For the first lease, he calculated…
Could Terrebonne Parish let each council member decide how to spend money in a district fund?
No, under the 2004 Louisiana AG opinion. The Budget Act gave the parish president, not council members, authority to incur liabilities and authorize spending from budgeted funds. The AG lacked…
Did South Carolina homeowners need historic-preservation certification before starting renovation work to claim the state tax credit?
The AG said certification by the State Historic Preservation Officer had to precede the work eligible for the 2004 residential rehabilitation credit. Work already begun had to stop while review and…
Could the Colleton County coroner also serve as the county EMS director?
The AG saw no absolute dual-office bar because prior opinions treated the EMS director as an employee rather than a covered office, assuming similar duties here. It warned that investigating a death…
Can a Delaware charter school reject a records request by saying the state holds the official copies of the reports it also keeps?
The AG said Providence Creek Academy was a custodian of the requested records it kept, even if state offices also held copies. A request handled by its attorney counted as received. The records in…
Could a full-time Louisiana fire chief also direct another parish's homeland-security office?
If both posts were full time, no. The AG said Louisiana's dual-officeholding law barred a full-time fire chief from also holding a full-time appointive post as another parish's homeland-security…
Could a Haynesville council member work for the Louisiana Municipal Association and a town contractor?
The AG said dual-officeholding law did not bar a Louisiana Municipal Association employee from serving as a Haynesville councilman. It did not decide whether the person's job with a town garbage…
Could Louisiana State Plumbing Board members be reimbursed for official air travel?
Yes. The AG said board members had to be reimbursed for air travel connected with authorized board business, using the state employee travel methods and rates set by the Division of Administration.
Could the press obtain police disciplinary records and the disciplined officers’ names under South Carolina FOIA?
The AG said a court would generally find police disciplinary records, including the officers’ names, open to disclosure rather than covered by a blanket privacy exemption. Particular details still…
Could an off-duty Barnwell police officer answer a distress call in the county or from central dispatch?
The AG said the city officer could respond to a qualifying distress call in adjacent Barnwell County, including a call routed through central dispatch, and an off-duty officer was not excluded. It…
Could Louisiana's labor department use federal grant money to join local chambers of commerce?
The AG concluded that the Louisiana Department of Labor's use of federal Wagner-Peyser funds for chamber memberships did not violate the state constitutional ban on donating public funds, provided…
What licenses can the New York Liquor Authority issue after a town referendum on local option for alcohol sales ends in a tie?
The proposal passes on a tie. ABC Law § 141(3) defeats a referendum question only on a majority of negative votes; a tie does not defeat. So when Spencer's tavern question (§ 64-a sales) split…
Could an independent California fire protection district receive Proposition 172 public safety funds?
Yes. The 2004 opinion said fire protection districts were eligible local agencies providing public safety services, so a county could allocate Proposition 172 revenue to one. Eligibility did not…
Could Homer deposit dedicated sales taxes with general town funds and use them to cover other deficits?
The AG advised Homer to follow its ordinance requiring sales-tax revenues in a separate account and state law restricting those revenues to voter-approved purposes. It cautioned that officials who…
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