State AG Opinions
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Could a Baltimore City ordinance banning sexual-orientation discrimination coexist with Maryland's 1980s criminal sexual conduct laws?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General advised that a proposed Baltimore City ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation did not conflict with state criminal laws prohib…
Can DC claim the contents of unclaimed safe deposit boxes that the federal Comptroller of the Currency took over from defunct national banks?
Yes. Under the 1982 Garn-St. Germain Act, states (including DC) can claim contents of safe deposit boxes from closed national banks held by the Comptroller of the Currency. DC's Uniform Disposition of…
Can a Maryland bill be struck down just because its title describes the opposite of what the bill's text actually does?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General declined to approve House Bill 1541 for constitutionality because its title said the bill would include certain sickness and accident disability pay…
Could a state-funded historic preservation trust rent out a former church for weddings and other religious events without violating the ban on using bond money for religious purposes?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a nonprofit trust that received a state construction bond to preserve a historic former church could rent the hall for occasional wed…
Could Maryland constitutionally bar the state treasury from depositing funds in banks that lent money to apartheid-era South Africa?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a bill barring the State Treasurer from depositing state funds in financial institutions with loans to the South African government w…
Did Maryland workers' compensation cover seasonal and migrant farm laborers in the 1980s?
In this 1984 bill-review opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Senate Bill 869 would extend workers' compensation coverage to most seasonal and migratory farm workers, but would still …
Under G.S. 148-4.1(c) and the 1983 Acceleration Act, when the Secretary of Correction directs parole acceleration, does the Parole Commission have to release every Fair Sentence inmate within the eligibility window, or can it choose which inmates to release?
The Parole Commission has unfettered discretion to choose which otherwise-eligible inmates to include in the pool released under G.S. 148-4.1(a). The (c) provision does not vest any individual inmate …
Could Harris County spend county money to encourage voter registration and hire a nonprofit organization to help?
Yes. JM-157 said county funds could support voter-registration promotion, and the commissioners court and voter registrar could act together to contract with a nonprofit for services within their auth…
Could a Texas community college meet with a public-employee union about general working conditions without engaging in prohibited collective bargaining?
Yes. JM-156 said a community college could consult with a union about general employment conditions without a formal grievance, so long as the discussion did not seek a binding agreement and the trust…
Could a Texas agency ask architects and engineers what fee they considered fair without violating the Professional Services Procurement Act?
Yes. JM-155 said the Act barred selecting architects or engineers through competitive bids, but required agencies to consider fair and reasonable prices along with demonstrated competence and qualific…
Could a private Texas high school withhold a student's academic records or transcript because the family owed tuition?
JM-154 said the Texas Open Records Act did not apply to the privately funded school. Federal law required a federally funded school to let parents inspect and review records, but did not require an of…
Was a Texas county liable when a justice of the peace collected state court costs but failed to deposit them in the county treasury?
No, unless the county itself received and appropriated the money. JM-153 said the comptroller could pursue the individual who misappropriated the funds, officials could not waive mandatory costs, and …
Could the Texas comptroller cap state board members' meal and lodging reimbursement at $75 per day under the 1983 appropriations act?
No. JM-152 said the appropriations language supplied no clear objective standards for a $75 cap, so the limit was unenforceable and each board's specific reimbursement law remained controlling.
Did Bexar County Jail have to accept people arrested by city police for state-law violations before a magistrate committed them to the sheriff?
No. JM-151 said the jail's duty began after magistrate warnings and commitment to county custody. Before then, the county could charge the city only under an interlocal contract, and no prosecutor had…
Were a pipeline company's sales of natural gas to industrial customers inside Houston subject to Texas's city utility gross-receipts tax?
Yes. JM-150 treated the metered lateral-line operation as local gas distribution rather than mere transmission, so receipts from sales to more than twenty Houston industrial consumers were taxable und…
Can a school let a county social services worker interview a child suspected of being abused or neglected at school without telling the parents first or having them present?
Yes. The AG concluded school officials may cooperate with DSS protective services workers and allow them to interview a reported child abuse or neglect victim at school without parental notice or pres…
How was authority divided between the Texas Employment Commission and its agency administrator after the 1983 amendments?
JM-149 said the administrator handled routine day-to-day operations, but the commission retained final administrative authority, controlled special-fund expenditures, and had to execute the specifical…
Could the Railroad Commission investigate a pipeline-to-pipeline gas rate when that rate would affect a later city-gate sale to a distribution utility?
Yes. JM-147 said the special presumption for negotiated large-volume rates did not prevent full review when the rate directly or indirectly affected a city-gate sale for resale to a gas distribution u…
Can Maryland restrict its own legislative staff from campaigning or donating to political campaigns more strictly than other state employees?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a rule banning legislative staff from partisan and nonpartisan campaign activity and candidacy was constitutional on its face and as …
Can a North Carolina hospital require its nurses, doctors, and other staff who work around pregnant women to show that they're immune to rubella, or be tested for it, or get the vaccine?
Yes. The 1984 AG concluded that a hospital, clinic, or other medical facility may, as a reasonable condition of employment, require personnel in contact with pregnant women to document rubella immunit…
Did defendants convicted of drug trafficking under the first version of G.S. 90-95 (offenses between July 1, 1980 and June 30, 1981) qualify for good time and gained time credits, and were they eligible for parole after serving the statutory minimum?
Yes on all counts. The AG concluded that prisoners sentenced under the first version of G.S. 90-95 were eligible for good time and gained time under DOC regulations, and were eligible for parole, but …
Could a court grant deferred adjudication after January 1, 1984, for a misdemeanor DWI offense charged before that date?
Yes. JM-146 said the former law remained controlling for pre-1984 DWI offenses, so the later amendment excluding DWI defendants from deferred adjudication did not apply.
Could Texas acquire the land designated for Gateway State Park through multiple conveyances, and could it accept disconnected parcels?
JM-145 said the authorized parkland could be conveyed in separate instruments at different times, but accepted parcels had to be physically connected as the statute specified, except for roadway or ri…
Was the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission allowed to require juvenile probation officer salary scales to be at least as high as adult probation officer salary scales?
Yes. JM-144 found the salary standard authorized by statute and constitutional; juvenile boards fixed salaries under state standards, subject to commissioners-court consultation and review for clear a…
Did a Texas community college have authority in 1984 to establish an employee cafeteria plan using life, accident, health, and disability insurance benefits?
JM-143 said yes under the law it reviewed, but the official Texas AG page marks it overruled by JM-543, which said federal amendments changed cafeteria plans and JM-143 should be disregarded.
Could a water district use surplus taxes collected for a bond interest-and-sinking fund on a different water or environmental project?
No. JM-142 said the fund could be used only for statutory bond-related purposes while bonds remained. After retirement, the surplus could be refunded to taxpayers or, if impracticable, transferred to …
Under SDCL 23A-27-18.1, a court can require a probationer to serve up to 60 days in the state penitentiary as a condition of probation. Does a probationer serving that 60 days earn the good time credits that SDCL 24-5-1 gives to convicts serving a regular prison sentence?
No. SDCL 24-5-1's good time credits apply to convicts who have been 'sentenced.' Probationers under SDCL 23A-27-18.1 are serving jail or penitentiary time as a condition of probation, not as a sentenc…
If a North Carolina county sets up a public transportation authority under Article 25 of Chapter 160A, does the county still have legal responsibility when the authority signs a contract or causes an injury?
Yes. The 1984 AG advised that a public transportation authority is a quasi-municipal corporation acting as an agency of the county that created it, so the county remains liable on the authority's cont…
Could a Texas county commissioner also serve as a gubernatorial appointee on the Texas Sesquicentennial Commission?
Yes. JM-141 found no separation-of-powers bar, no prohibited second civil office of emolument, and no common-law incompatibility between the two positions.
Can the North Carolina Building Code Council adopt a rule that forces existing buildings to install energy efficient water heaters or boilers when they replace old units, even if the building was built in full compliance with the code when it went up?
No, unless the building is being altered, reconstructed, or its use is changed. The 1984 AG concluded that the Building Code Council's statutory authority covered new construction, reconstruction, and…
Was a state trooper shot while working off-duty grocery-store security injured in the course of state employment for occupational disability benefits?
Yes. JM-140 said the trooper shifted from private security work to official peace-officer duties when he tried to apprehend armed robbers, making the disabling risk peculiar to state law-enforcement e…
Can a small-town mayor still meet a town residency requirement if his spouse lives in a different town?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that, on the specific facts presented, the Mayor of Berlin remained a legal resident of the town under the town charter's residency requir…
When a North Carolina depositor on a joint bank account with right of survivorship dies, must the personal representative of the estate take the appropriate portion of the joint account into the estate even though the funds would otherwise pass to the survivor?
Yes. The 1984 AG advised that G.S. 41-2.1(b)(4) requires the appropriate portion of a joint-with-survivorship bank account to be delivered to the personal representative for use in estate administrati…
If a North Carolina will excuses a testamentary trustee from filing inventories and annual accounts, does the trustee still have to qualify before the clerk of superior court?
Yes. The 1984 AG concluded that for wills executed after January 1, 1978, a testamentary trustee must qualify before the clerk under G.S. 36A-107, even if the will waives the duty to file inventories …
Could Blinn College lease a football stadium built with student fees to the Brenham Independent School District for football, track, and UIL events?
Yes. JM-139 relied on the junior-college board's determination that the shared use served a junior college purpose under Education Code section 130.003(e)(7).
Could Texas enforce misdemeanor penalties for violating DPS vehicle-emissions inspection rules, and could special rules be limited to vehicles registered and operated in designated counties?
Yes. JM-138 found the statute itself defined the offense and validly delegated inspection details to DPS; county-specific rules could cover vehicles both registered and operated in designated counties…
Was the Richardson Hospital Authority a political subdivision whose retirement program fell under State Pension Review Board requirements?
Yes. JM-137 treated the city-created hospital authority as a political subdivision because it matched the recognized criteria and was materially similar to expressly designated county hospital authori…
Did Texas dealer-licensing law apply to boat dealers who sold trailers, and did they have to post the new $25,000 motor-vehicle dealer bond?
The licensing provision applied because they regularly sold trailers, but JM-136 said the bond did not because its conditions and legislative purpose targeted dealers selling motor vehicles.
When North Carolina's 1984 redistricting bill ended up with contradictory language placing all of Vance County in Senatorial District 11 in one part of the bill but parts of Vance County in District 2 in another part, which version actually controls?
District 11. AG Rufus L. Edmisten concluded that the legislative history of Chapter 5 of the Extra Session of 1984 (the Senate floor amendment expressly placed all of Vance County in District 11) made…
Could a taxing unit impose the Tax Code section 33.07 delinquent-tax penalty when its collections were enforced by a county or city attorney acting officially under a direct or interlocal arrangement?
No. JM-135 said official county and city attorneys lacked statutory capacity to make the required section 6.30 collection contract, so the added collection penalty could not be imposed.
Can a pregnant teenager in North Carolina give legal consent on her own for a sickle cell test as part of her prenatal care, or does she need a parent's permission first?
Yes, she can give consent on her own. The 1984 AG concluded that a minor may give effective consent for sickle cell testing as part of pregnancy-related medical care, because pregnancy is one of the c…
Did the State Board of Education's rules requiring evolution disclaimers in textbooks violate the Establishment Clause?
Yes. JM-134 concluded that singling out human evolution and directing students toward other meanings of existence revealed a nonsecular purpose under the constitutional test then applied.
After a major airline pulled out of the Rocky Mount/Wilson airport and a smaller commuter carrier replaced it, can the NC Department of Transportation use Article 7 of Chapter 63 aviation funds to support an airport authority's advertising campaign to attract more travelers?
No. The 1984 AG concluded that while Article 7 of Chapter 63 authorizes NCDOT to promote aviation generally statewide (under G.S. 63-66), the statute's list of activities eligible for loans or grants …
Can Maryland pass emergency legislation changing how absentee ballots are handled without violating the constitutional ban on emergency laws that change an officer's duties?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that an emergency bill adding new absentee-ballot safeguards for boards of canvassers did not violate the state constitution's ban on emer…
Did a county commissioner automatically resign by applying for election as a water-district director even though he was legally ineligible for that office?
JM-132 said yes when more than one year remained in the commissioner's term. JC-0249 later modified its reasoning and clarified that applying for a ballot position makes the officer a candidate, while…
Could one person simultaneously serve as Galveston County auditor and a Galveston city council member?
No. JM-133 found the offices incompatible because the auditor could control or review county financial actions involving the city, and accepting the auditor position automatically vacated the council …
Could Maryland flatly ban an out-of-state bank from buying a Maryland bank in the 1980s?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Maryland's flat statutory ban on a foreign bank becoming a bank holding company here could not constitutionally be applied to block W…
If a North Carolina durable power of attorney references Chapter 32B of the General Statutes (the session-law designation) instead of Chapter 32A (the codified designation), is it still legally effective?
Yes. The 1984 AG concluded that a North Carolina power of attorney citing either Chapter 32A or Chapter 32B of the General Statutes is legally effective as a durable power of attorney. The 1983 act wa…
Can North Carolina's Parole Commission grant a prisoner eligible for '1/3 parole' under G.S. 15A-1371(g) an unsupervised parole, and does the '1/3 parole' rule reach Fair Sentencing Act felons (those with sentences under 18 months for crimes committed on or after July 1, 1981)?
Yes to unsupervised parole; no to Fair Sentencing Act felons. The 1984 AG concluded that the Parole Commission has discretion to waive the supervision condition in G.S. 15A-1374(b)(6) when granting '1…
Can a North Carolina resort developer that owns the local country club refuse club membership to buyers whose homes were listed exclusively with a competing real estate broker?
No. The 1984 AG concluded that the Lake Toxaway Company's policy of denying country club membership to purchasers of homes listed exclusively with competing brokers was both an unfair method of compet…
Can a North Carolina probation or parole officer, including an intensive probation officer, lawfully carry a concealed weapon while on duty?
Yes. The 1984 AG concluded that because probation and parole officers possess the power to arrest under G.S. 15-205, they fit within the G.S. 14-269 exemption permitting officers of the State charged …
Who decides how many deputy court clerks to hire in Maryland, and who pays them, when judges and the state comptroller disagree?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General explained that circuit court judges alone decide how many deputy clerks a Clerk's office needs and must appoint, while the State Comptroller alone s…
Can a county voter registration official register an eligible voter when the official is physically outside the boundaries of the county where the official was appointed?
No. The AG concluded that under longstanding common-law rules, a public officer cannot exercise official authority beyond the territorial limits of the political subdivision that appointed the officer…
If a Scotland County commissioner dies during the first two years of a four-year term after the filing deadline for the upcoming primary, but before the general election, how does the county select party nominees for the November ballot to fill the seat?
The county should look to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-115, even though that statute by its terms addresses clerk-of-superior-court vacancies and state/district offices, not county commissioner vacancies. Th…
If a South Dakota conservation district leases equipment to farmers, or sends its own employees to operate that equipment on private land, should it buy liability insurance? Does the district itself have sovereign immunity? What about its employees personally?
The conservation district itself was probably immune from tort liability as a quasi-municipal corporation, similar to a school district or township. But the AG warned that the district's employees wer…
Were electrical or ultrasonic apparatuses used commercially to kill or repel termites regulated as devices used in the structural pest-control business?
Yes. JM-131 treated the apparatuses as statutory devices and mechanical devices, so commercial operators using them were engaged in structural pest control.
After the 1977 water-agency reorganization, did “Commission” in a river-authority permit mean the Texas Water Commission, the department's executive director, or both?
It meant the Texas Water Commission. JM-130 said the commission decided legal release duties through its judicial function, while the executive director studied estuary inflows and advised the commiss…
Could a Dallas County Community College trustee simultaneously serve as a Dallas County commissioner?
No. JM-129 found the offices incompatible because county and college interests could conflict over tax collection, roads, and other matters within their coterminous boundaries.
Can a firefighter count service in a former department toward the two years needed for a promotion exam in a new department?
No. JM-128 concluded that the firefighter had to complete two years of qualifying service in the department giving the examination, and that the requirement was mandatory.
Could a Maryland real estate agent legally give homebuyers merchandise discount coupons without violating the ban on offering 'prizes' to influence a sale?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a real estate marketing program giving every purchaser-client identical merchandise discount coupons did not violate the state ban on…
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