State AG Opinions
Free state attorney general opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
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Which waiting period governed Southwestern Bell's request to put higher rates into effect under bond when its initial filing was incomplete?
JM-127 applied the amended 150-day waiting period. Bell did not make a valid, substantially complete statement-of-intent filing until after the amendment took effect.
Did a commission member's community-property share of her husband's fixed salary disqualify her from the Texas Health Facilities Commission?
No. JM-126 treated her interest as limited, nonmanagerial, and abstract, so it was not a substantial pecuniary interest that barred appointment or service on the commission.
Could a Maryland town be sued for antitrust violations for switching cable TV franchise operators?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that the Town of La Plata's decision to end one cable TV company's franchise and grant an exclusive franchise to another was protected by …
Were Texas Medical Board rules limiting where and how acupuncturists could practice constitutional?
JM-125 concluded that four rules were facially invalid because their office-location, one-supervisor, billing, and name-tag restrictions lacked a rational relationship to protecting public health.
Could Maryland force State Police officers and correctional officers to retire at a fixed age under 1980s federal age discrimination law?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that state laws mandating retirement of State Police at age 60 and certain correctional officers and maximum security attendants at age 62…
When a North Carolina county has already built a Rural Land Schedule that shows present-use value is lower than market value, does a farmer still have to prove anything else to get the present-use appraisal on his farm?
No. The 1984 AG concluded that if the county has already adopted a valid Rural Land Schedule showing the differential between present use value and highest-and-best-use value, the taxpayer only has to…
Can a person convicted of a felony in North Carolina ever obtain a handgun permit from the sheriff or clerk of court?
Generally no. The 1984 AG concluded that a convicted felon could not get a handgun permit under G.S. 14-404 or G.S. 14-409.3 until the federal firearms disability was lifted by the U.S. Treasury, and …
Are architectural and engineering drawings submitted for a Maryland building permit public records that anyone can inspect?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that construction drawings submitted to a county for a building permit were generally public records open to inspection, but that a submit…
Can a Maryland county enforce its own zoning rules against a business that already has a state permit to spread sewage sludge?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Baltimore County could generally enforce its zoning regulations on sewage sludge use, including against people who held a state sludg…
Did Maryland's Lotto game revenue go only to counties, or also to the cities and towns within those counties?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Lotto lottery revenue had to be distributed only to Maryland's 23 counties and Baltimore City, not to the state's roughly 166 incorpo…
Did the Texas Rehabilitation Commission supervise every resident of a facility where it bought services for some clients?
No. JM-124 limited the commission's supervision to its own clients; the licensing agency or another government agency remained responsible for other residents.
Did a new political party's presidential nominee have to file nominating petitions to get on Maryland's general election ballot in the 1980s?
In this 1984 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a new political party's presidential and vice-presidential nominees could appear on Maryland's general election ballot after being pr…
Could Cameron County force utilities to deny service to buildings that violated county floodplain rules?
No. JM-123 concluded that utility law and PUC rules prevented the county from requiring denial of service, although a utility could refuse voluntarily for reasons allowed by its approved rules.
Could one chamber of the Texas Legislature make committee records confidential by adopting its own rules?
Not when the chamber rule conflicted with the Texas Open Records Act. JM-122 said the House could change the disclosure rule only through legislation, although particular records might fit an existing…
Could a Texas city apply different subdivision-plat standards inside its extraterritorial jurisdiction than inside the city limits?
No. JM-121 said a city could exercise plat-approval authority within its extraterritorial jurisdiction, but not outside it, and could not adopt a lesser set of approval standards for subdivisions in t…
Did Texas industrial development corporations have to hold open meetings, post public notice, and release records?
Yes. JM-120 treated corporations created under article 5190.6 as governmental bodies for the Open Meetings and Open Records Acts, required them to post notice like their sponsoring political subdivisi…
Could a Texas community-college records custodian use Open Records Act exceptions to deny a trustee access to district records?
No. JM-119 said a trustee acting officially had an inherent right to district records and was not merely a member of the public, although a reporter's separate request could be denied under the litiga…
Could a Texas public-school teacher paid through a federal program also receive a salary as a city council member?
No. JM-118 concluded that the teachers received part of their compensation indirectly from state funds, so article XVI, section 40 allowed city-council service only without a council salary.
Did a 1983 Texas zoning amendment exempt all state and federal agency property from city zoning, or only historically significant sites?
It exempted all buildings, structures, and land under federal or state agency control. JM-117 rejected a reading limited to places of historical, cultural, or architectural significance.
Did a multi-state athletic conference funded by public universities have to follow Texas open-meetings and open-records laws?
Only in part. JM-116 concluded that the proposed Gulf Star Conference was not covered by the Open Meetings Act, but was covered by the Open Records Act because university payments supplied its general…
Was the Texas Legislature legally required to appropriate enough money to cover university employees' minimum insurance premiums?
No. JM-115 said the insurance statute did not obligate later legislatures to fully fund premiums. It declined to decide whether employees at an underfunded university had a cause of action because tha…
Could a Texas agency charge an open-records requester for employee time spent finding, copying, or redacting records?
JM-114 generally said no under the 1983 statute, and identified mandamus as the remedy for disputed charges. The official landing page says ORD-488 partly overruled it after later cost amendments.
When a Texas criminal court is told that a defendant or witness is deaf, must it appoint an interpreter?
Yes. JM-113 said appointment was mandatory once a party notified the court, although the judge could choose the communication method best suited to the person. The county general fund paid reasonable …
Could a Texas city or county adopt its own ban on open containers of alcohol in motor vehicles?
No under the law analyzed in JM-112. The opinion concluded that the Alcoholic Beverage Code exclusively governed possession of alcoholic beverages and preempted a local open-container ban.
Could a Texas county transfer an arrested parolee to state prison before the local parole-revocation hearing?
No. JM-111 said local authorities had to hold the parolee until the hearing was completed or waived, and the Texas Department of Corrections had to refuse a premature transfer.
Could a Texas notary public take a deposition by written questions without acting as a certified shorthand reporter?
Yes. JM-110 concluded that notaries could take non-stenographic written depositions. The certification restriction applied to shorthand reporting of oral proceedings, not every deposition.
Did a Texas county treasurer still have to report directly to the commissioners court when the county also had an auditor?
Yes. JM-109 concluded that the treasurer had to report both to the commissioners court and to the county auditor; the auditor statutes did not impliedly repeal the court-reporting duties.
Did a Texas firefighter pension rule barring new membership after age 35 violate the federal age-discrimination law?
No. JM-108 said the rule limited pension eligibility rather than firefighter hiring, and the federal law allowed bona fide benefit-plan terms that were not a device to evade the act.
If a Texas defendant received a misdemeanor jail term and a separate fine-and-cost sentence on the same day, did the time run together?
No. JM-107 said the jail term and confinement used to discharge the separate fine and costs ran consecutively. It also said a 72-hour sentence meant 72 hours, not three calendar days.
Did Texas Insurance Code article 21.14 make every insurance-agent record confidential, or only records about specified terminations for cause?
Only the specified records. JM-106 concluded that sections 12(c) and 14(c) protected information furnished under those respective sections, not every record submitted under article 21.14.
Could a Texas cable television provider be reimbursed for moving facilities displaced by interstate highway construction even without a property interest in the old location?
Yes. JM-105 concluded that a community antenna or cable television provider furnished communications service and could receive article 6674w-4 reimbursement for an eligible interstate-highway relocati…
Did designating school-district or other local-government land as a Texas state archaeological landmark require the owner to deed the property to the state?
No. JM-104 concluded that landmark designation did not require a deed transfer or remove local management, use, and control, although the Antiquities Committee's preservation authority prevailed when …
Could Somervell County pay a nonprofit committee to operate a senior service center?
Only for authorized county purposes. JM-103 said the county could contract for a center providing public recreation, health care, or support for indigent residents if controls ensured a public purpose…
Could a Texas sheriff or constable appoint a full-time deputy who received no compensation?
Yes. JM-102 concluded that sheriffs and constables could appoint uncompensated deputies to positions approved by the commissioners court, but the deputies had to perform legitimate law-enforcement dut…
Can a Maryland state legislator solicit donations to pay for a newsletter to constituents, and do campaign finance limits apply to that money?
In this 1983 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that the Fair Election Practices Act did not regulate contributions solicited for a purely informational 'constituent' newsletter, only fo…
Does the DC Auditor have power to audit the DC Retirement Board, or does the federal Retirement Reform Act block that?
Yes, the DC Auditor can audit the Retirement Board's accounts and operations. The 1973 Home Rule Act gave the DC Auditor broad authority to audit every agency of the DC government, and the 1979 federa…
Did Maryland tax mutual fund dividends even when the fund's income came from tax-exempt federal government bonds?
In this 1983 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a mutual fund shareholder's distributions were subject to Maryland income tax even when the fund earned that money as interest on tax…
Can a Maryland county like Montgomery County pass its own condominium laws, or does the state Condominium Act override them?
In this 1983 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that the state Condominium Act preempted local condominium legislation unless it fell within one of four specific statutory exceptions, ma…
Could Jim Wells County hire its county treasurer's private company to acquire highway right-of-way?
Yes, as a matter of law, if the private work was separate from the treasurer's official duties and involved no conflict, self-dealing, misuse of nonpublic information, or dereliction of duty. JM-99 sa…
Did a Texas public school need a child-care license to provide custodial care after the regular school day?
No. JM-98 concluded that section 42.041(b)(7) exempted accredited public schools from Department of Human Resources child-care licensing when they operated part-day custodial programs after school, al…
Did Texas bank-record notice and challenge rules restrict Securities Commissioner subpoenas in criminal securities investigations?
No. JM-101 concluded that article 342-705 did not restrict the Securities Commissioner's bank subpoenas or require advance customer notice and a challenge opportunity when the subpoena was issued in a…
When could a Texas governmental body meet privately with its attorney under the Open Meetings Act?
JM-100 said a governmental body could meet privately with counsel about pending or contemplated litigation, settlement offers, or legal advice. It could not close a meeting for general policy discussi…
Did serving as a law school dean, rather than working at a traditional law firm, count as 'practicing law' for someone running for Maryland Attorney General?
In this 1983 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a law school dean's combination of teaching, legal counseling, bar committee work, and legally-informed administrative decision-makin…
Could a Maryland county set its own mileage reimbursement rate for county commissioners, or were they stuck with the state's 10-cent-a-mile rate?
In this 1983 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Cecil County's public local law did not clearly override the state's general mileage statute, so the county commissioners were limite…
Can a Maryland county turn its regular jail into a 'regional detention center' just by renaming it, to get the shorter 18-month sentencing cap?
In this 1983 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a county could establish a regional detention center, or redesignate an existing jail as one, using its ordinary local procedures, bu…
Could one person serve at the same time on the Texas higher-education Coordinating Board and a junior college board?
No. JM-97 concluded that the offices were incompatible because the statewide Coordinating Board supervised critical parts of junior-college administration. Accepting one office relinquished the other.
Is it legal in North Carolina to sell or to carry a combination weapon (the 'Assassin') that consists of metallic knuckles with an attached 3 1/2 inch blade?
Yes to selling; yes to carrying it openly. The 1983 AG concluded that the sale of the combination knuckle-blade weapon is legal, and that carrying it is legal provided it is not concealed. Carrying th…
Could Texas impose its distilled-spirits gallonage tax on wholesalers' sales to military installations in the state?
No. JM-96 concluded that federal law and United States v. State of Texas preempted the $2 gallonage tax on distilled spirits sold by Texas wholesalers to United States military installations in Texas.
Can a North Carolina county social services board adopt its own grievance procedure and appoint itself as the appeal body for personnel decisions made by the county social services director?
No. The 1983 AG concluded that a county social services board cannot constitute itself as a grievance-appeal panel for personnel decisions of the county social services director. Personnel authority o…
Did the Texas Open Records Act require a county clerk to provide duplicate microfilm copies of real-property records?
JM-95 said yes and barred limits on who received the copies or how they were used, while prescribing certified and noncertified copy fees. The official Texas AG page says this opinion was overruled to…
What salary could Texas pay an employee temporarily serving in an acting state position?
JM-94 said a classified employee temporarily promoted to another classified position received the increase specified in the appropriations act. For exempt positions, the agency head could pay less tha…
Could a Texas state agency ban outside employment or require its director's approval before an employee took a second job?
Possibly. JM-93 said those policies were not unreasonable or unconstitutional as a matter of law, but their validity depended on careful drafting, demonstrated need, a legitimate government interest, …
Could Texas health officials regulate unsanitary toilets, drinking water, and wash basins on railroad trains?
Partly. JM-92 said state health officials could regulate drinking water and chemical toilets on trains, while home-rule cities and local health officers could regulate or abate qualifying sanitation n…
Was the superintendent of a Texas mental-health facility a public officer subject to state nepotism restrictions?
Yes. JM-91 said a facility superintendent was a public officer because statutes made the superintendent the institution's administrative head and gave that person independent authority to govern the f…
Could the Texas Legislature create a county court at law that sat somewhere other than the county seat?
Yes. JM-90 concluded that no constitutional provision required a legislatively created county court at law to conduct proceedings at the county seat, so the legislature could authorize another locatio…
When did the terms of Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners members expire: the statute's effective date, the first appointments, or the sunset extension date?
JM-89 said the terms expired on April 26 because the original law creating the board took effect on April 27. The first appointments four months later did not move the term cycle, and the 1981 sunset …
Did Texas Insurance Code article 3.68 bar a life insurer from paying premium-based fees to an affiliated service company with the same officers?
JM-88 originally said yes and also applied article 3.68 to commissions based on out-of-state business. JM-187 later withdrew the per se rule for affiliate service fees, while expressly reaffirming JM-…
Could Texas fish farming, shellfish culture, and other aquaculture qualify for agricultural property-tax treatment?
Yes, when the activity involved cultivating or producing aquatic life. JM-87 said fish farming, shellfish culture, and similar mariculture could receive agricultural tax treatment, but merely catching…
Are leases of buildings on the North Carolina State Fair grounds, including year-round leases to flea-market vendors, exempt from the statutory ban on government competition with private enterprise (G.S. 66-58), or does the exemption apply only during the nine-day October fair?
Year-round exempt. The 1983 AG concluded that 'The North Carolina State Fair' in G.S. 66-58(b)(12) refers to the year-round operation of the State Fair, not just the nine-day October event. The conclu…
Could the Fort Worth Transportation Authority condemn land, including a station or terminal site, without Fort Worth City Council approval?
No. JM-86 concluded that the transit authority needed Fort Worth City Council approval to exercise eminent domain generally and to acquire land for a station or terminal complex.
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