State AG Opinions
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Who could change the territory and governing board of the Donalds-Due West Water Authority?
The AG said the answer turned on the Authority’s legally defined service area. For a multi-county area, the General Assembly likely could legislate board and boundary changes; a county council could…
When a Georgia lender makes a non-real-estate loan under $3,000 (a small consumer or business loan not under the Georgia Industrial Loan Act), can it charge a loan or origination fee in addition to the 16% statutory interest cap, or does the fee count as 'interest' that pushes the loan over the usury limit?
If the fee is supported by documented services or costs (origination work, title search, coupon books, credit checks) and is not based on a time-value-of-money calculation, it is not interest.…
Can a town council vote to remove a member from office under a vague 'New Business' agenda item?
No, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found Odessa violated FOIA by voting to declare a councilman's office forfeited and appoint his replacement under a bare 'New Business' agenda label,…
Could Louisiana suspend a dentist's license for unpaid child support without a separate dental-board hearing?
The AG said the child-support suspension process met due process when the department gave the required delinquency notice and opportunity to object, and held an administrative hearing after a timely…
Could a county redirect victim-service surcharge money from the sheriff to an alcohol and drug commission?
The AG said required victim-assistance programs in law enforcement, detention, prosecution, and summary courts had first priority. Only after funding those programs could remaining money support…
After Clarks changed from a village to a town, how many aldermen did its board need?
The AG said the newly classified town had to have five aldermen. The statute required five for a town, and its use of 'shall' made that number mandatory.
Could a Charleston police officer also serve on Hollywood’s planning and zoning commission?
The AG said both positions were public offices, so simultaneous service would violate the dual-office rule. Taking the commission seat would vacate the earlier police office by operation of law and…
Must Johnsonville provide its mayor a lawyer in a contest over his reelection?
The AG said a court would likely find that the city was neither required nor permitted to pay for the mayor’s defense in a personal election contest. Public funds and city counsel must serve a…
Could DeSoto Parish dissolve and reappoint the board of a waterworks district that included two towns?
The AG said the police jury could dissolve the district's board and reappoint commissioners within its seven appointment slots. Stonewall and Logansport retained one appointment each, and…
If cockfight operators draw blood or tissue samples from some of the gamecocks and send them to a poultry laboratory for disease testing, does that 'scientific research' angle defeat a cruelty-to-animals prosecution under O.C.G.A. § 16-12-4(b)?
No. Under the factual scenario described, the Attorney General concluded that cockfighting violates § 16-12-4(b) and is not exempt under § 16-12-4(e) merely because blood or tissue samples are taken…
Could Seneca’s victim-services coordinator also serve on Westminster City Council?
Yes, on the facts presented. The AG treated the coordinator as a municipal employee rather than a public officer because no statute or city ordinance created that office or gave it the office-holder…
What did Idaho's AG say about a 2003 ballot initiative requiring all Idaho schools to be funded above the bottom 5% of school districts nationwide?
The AG predicted a court would find all or part of the proposal unconstitutional or unenforceable. It would restrict Idaho’s budget and appropriations authority using an external school-funding…
Did Washington’s fifteen-day military leave statute apply to elected city and county officials?
The Attorney General concluded in 2003 that the fifteen-day leave rule in RCW 38.40.060 did not apply to elected officials. Their military-service absence was governed by RCW 73.16.041, which…
Could an incapacitated county council member be removed or temporarily replaced after an accident?
The AG found no existing automatic vacancy or temporary-replacement procedure for a council member in a coma. It doubted the Governor’s removal statute applied to that situation, but said the…
Can a New York part-time assistant town attorney whose duties are limited to one town board represent private clients before other town boards?
Yes, but only with strict guardrails. Compensation must reflect the reasonable value of services rendered, not a contingency tied to agency action. The attorney also has to avoid common-law…
Is a New York school district employee on non-active military reservist status entitled to military leave when he voluntarily attends funerals of retired military personnel and veterans?
No. Voluntary attendance at military funerals does not constitute 'ordered military duty' under Military Law § 242 (the duty must be performed pursuant to orders from competent state or federal…
Could an elected Louisiana constable keep a parish road-supervisor job?
Yes. The AG treated the constable's elected ward and the parish employer as separate political subdivisions. The dual-officeholding ban on employment in the same subdivision therefore did not bar…
Could Connecticut pass a temporary budget after a vetoed state budget?
The AG concluded that Connecticut's legislature had constitutional authority to pass a temporary appropriations measure during a budget gap. The governor could veto it; the vetoed 2003 bill had no…
Could a nursing-home resident or representative install surveillance equipment in the resident’s room?
The AG found no then-existing South Carolina statute specifically allowing or forbidding consensual room surveillance and treated it as a matter of agreement among the parties. It warned that…
Could a fire district's assistant chief also serve on the board that employed him?
No. The AG said the employee and board positions were incompatible under Louisiana's dual-officeholding law, and the statute allowing extra pay for a board secretary-treasurer did not create an…
Can a New York town highway superintendent also serve on the board of a public hospital jointly owned by two towns including his own?
Yes. The town highway superintendent of Fine could simultaneously serve on the board of managers of the Clifton-Fine Hospital, jointly owned by the towns of Clifton and Fine. The offices were…
Who pays a private prosecutor appointed after a Louisiana district attorney is recused?
The AG concluded that a private lawyer appointed in the recused district attorney's place could be paid as a prosecution cost by the parish where the case proceeded. The appointing court would…
Could a Louisiana fire-protection tax pay for firefighters' meals, awards, flowers, and travel?
The AG allowed reasonable meals during substantial fire-department business or training, modest service awards, and necessary training travel with proportionate public benefit. He rejected…
When a Maine state hospital replaces a predecessor facility, can it use the new legislatively chosen name and take over the old statute's functions even before the statutes are formally rewritten?
Yes on both counts. The Attorney General concluded the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services could rely on 2001 Resolves ch. 79 to name the new facility Riverview Psychiatric Center,…
Could Vernon Parish pay its coroner's expenses from a tax dedicated to the parish health unit?
No. The AG said the voter-approved tax was dedicated to the health unit and animal shelter, and neither that proposition nor the health-unit statute authorized using it for the coroner's expenses.
What did Idaho's AG say about a 2003 ballot initiative to repeal Idaho's Right to Work law?
The AG cleared the proposed initiative as raising no significant legal issues. Initiative legislation is on equal footing with bicameral-passed legislation and so can repeal a statute. The…
Could Myrtle Beach use its Victims’ Advocate Fund to pay a nonprofit for services to fire victims who were not crime victims?
No. The AG said the statutory fund was restricted to services for crime victims as defined by law. Funding an organization, including the Red Cross, for services to non-crime victims would be unauthorized.
Could the Hunley Commission return a discovery note left at the H.L. Hunley site to its author?
The AG said a court would likely treat the note as a historical record owned by South Carolina and under the Hunley Commission’s authority. The state public-records law would not authorize removing…
Could a Louisiana public hospital discount bills for uninsured patients who paid promptly?
The AG said Franklin Foundation Hospital's proposed prompt-pay discount for uninsured patients was not a prohibited donation of public assets. The hospital would receive the tangible benefit of…
Could Louisiana's education department pay interest owed on an employee's missed retirement contributions?
No. The AG said the statute assigned the employee's contributions and related compound interest to the employee, even though a state agency's error had prevented timely enrollment. Paying that…
What rules apply when a Maine legislative advisory council uses a university staffer for fundraising, and what records and gift-solicitation rules apply to the legislators on the council?
The Attorney General concluded the Muskie School had to staff the Legislative Youth Advisory Council from existing resources or grants under 3 M.R.S.A. § 168-A(10); Muskie's records relating to that…
Could the Transportation Infrastructure Bank withhold Greenville road grant payments because a separate wind tunnel or graduate program was not built?
The AG said a court would likely require payment under the Bank–City agreement because it did not make funding contingent on either separate Clemson project. The opinion assumed the supplied…
Could Colorado correct Centennial’s highway fund payments after discovering a vehicle-registration count was wrong?
Yes. The AG said the county clerk, Department of Revenue, and state treasurer had to correct the certification and payments once the accurate count was verified. The statute set no particular…
Could Charleston County School District force a converted charter school to accept the district’s existing Pepsi vending contract?
The AG said a court would likely find the charter school was not bound by the district’s prior vending contract and that unilateral addition of a Pepsi term could be an unauthorized material change.…
If the Lead/Deadwood School District received Deadwood gaming proceeds in January 2003 for the 2002 calendar year, but did not qualify for state school aid during 2002 and only qualified for partial aid in January-June 2003, could the Department of Education and Cultural Affairs offset the entire gaming payment against the partial 2003 aid? How far across fiscal or calendar years could that offset reach?
Yes to the offset, and the offset was not capped by the year boundary. The AG read SDCL 42-7B-48.2 literally: gaming receipts reduce 'any general state aid otherwise payable' dollar-for-dollar, with…
Could an elected Louisiana constable also serve as a sheriff's deputy?
The AG said an elected constable could hold a part-time deputy position. A full-time deputy appointment was generally barred, subject to a narrow statutory exemption; the opinion did not determine…
Could Bluffton revise the area map after voters signed an annexation petition, and could signers ratify the change?
The AG said a materially revised map could not simply be substituted after signing. Re-circulating the petition with the new map and obtaining signatures was clear; ratification might suffice if…
Could Easton's municipal utility provide cable and internet service outside town limits?
Yes, under the 2003 opinion, Easton's utility could extend cable and internet service throughout Talbot County if the outside service was ancillary to town service and did not harm town subscribers…
When and from what sources could research centers supply matching funds for endowed professorship grants?
The AG said matching money had to be on hand and available for the specific endowment; a promise or loan-like foundation arrangement did not suffice. A fiscal 2003–04 proviso allowed sources…
Could the State Ethics Commission declare a campaign-disclosure statute unconstitutional and dismiss a charge on that basis?
No. The AG said only a court could declare the statute unconstitutional, although it considered § 8-13-1354 constitutionally doubtful. It outlined other routes: a constitutional construction,…
When non-lawyers (especially third-party pension administrators) advise NC employers on what kind of pension plan to set up and help draft ERISA plan documents, can the NC State Bar prosecute that as unauthorized practice of law, or does federal law block the prosecution?
Mixed. The NC AG concluded that NC's UPL statutes (§ 84-8 is a criminal statute) probably are NOT preempted by ERISA itself, because ERISA's preemption clause (29 U.S.C. § 1144(a)) has a savings…
Could a Louisiana village police chief give a police badge to someone who was not hired as an officer?
The AG found no authority for a chief to issue a police department badge to a person who had not been hired as an officer. The chief could issue an honorary commission without aldermen's approval,…
Could a Louisiana sheriff use forfeiture proceeds for drug enforcement rewards and staff pay?
Yes, for the uses described: drug enforcement rewards and pay for full-time or part-time staff doing strictly drug enforcement work, including related secretarial work. The AG required a connection…
Could York police arrest solely for federal immigration, counterfeiting, or firearm offenses?
The AG said local officers lacked general authority to arrest solely for federal-law violations. Passing counterfeit money could support a state-law arrest; a simple domestic-violence conviction…
When the South Dakota Parole Board counts how many felony convictions an inmate has for purposes of computing parole eligibility, does it look at the date of conviction, the date of offense, or the date of sentence? And how should it count a suspended imposition of sentence that was later revoked because of a new felony?
Date of conviction, in most cases. The AG concluded that SDCL 24-15-5 and 24-15A-32 turned on whether the trial court entered separate judgments under SDCL 23A-27-4 or specifically used 'separate…
Did Colorado’s 2003 concealed handgun law override the University of Colorado Regents’ campus weapons policy?
No, under the law analyzed in 2003. The AG said the statute did not expressly limit the Regents’ authority over university affairs, so their existing policy banning most weapons on campus could…
Could Berkeley County reduce an incumbent magistrate’s work hours and corresponding pay during the magistrate’s tenure?
The AG said salary protection was the general rule. Under the statutory exception, a county could reduce hours and proportionate pay only after at least four years from the latest appointment and a…
Were the statutory license delays and suspensions for sixteen-year-old restricted drivers likely unconstitutional?
The AG said the penalties in § 56-1-185 would likely be upheld as within the legislature’s public-safety authority. It could not invalidate the statute merely because a constituent regarded it as…
Could Connecticut charities use merchandise prize wheels at bazaars after the 2003 gambling repeal?
The AG concluded that merchandise prize wheels were no longer lawful at Connecticut charity bazaars. Although the 2003 repeal named money wheels, the AG treated merchandise wheels as functionally…
Could a South Carolina county employ its administrator through a contract with his wholly owned corporation?
The AG said a court would likely find Georgetown County's proposed contract invalid because it would delegate the administrator's discretionary duties to a private corporation, create an…
Could a South Carolina town move its municipal election date if doing so extended incumbents' time in office?
The AG said a town could reasonably move its election date for a public purpose even if incumbents served longer as a consequence, subject to federal preclearance at the time. It could not directly…
Could a licensed Georgetown harbor pilot serve on the Georgetown Pilotage Commission?
The AG said a licensed Georgetown pilot could serve as a commissioner but could not chair the board. The appointment was not automatically an Ethics Act violation, though conflict rules still…
Could a South Carolina transportation commissioner serve consecutive terms or keep acting after the holdover period?
The AG said a commissioner could not be reappointed without an intervening term, but an incumbent who continued serving could be a de facto officer whose acts remained valid for third parties until…
Could a 2003 Idaho initiative create an independent judicial accountability commission outside the three branches of government?
The AG said the proposed independent Idaho Judicial Accountability Commission would effectively be a fourth branch, contrary to Idaho Constitution art. II, § 1. He predicted a court would likely…
Could Clemson generally prohibit U-turns when South Carolina law allowed safe U-turns?
The AG said Clemson's general ban conflicted with state traffic law and would likely be invalidated by a court. The ordinance remained presumptively valid until a court set it aside.
When most of a Georgia professional licensing board's seats are vacant, how many people does it take to make a quorum, and how many votes does it take to act?
A quorum is a majority of the total number of statutory positions, not a majority of those currently appointed and serving. So a board with eight statutory positions needs five members present to do…
Can the Maine Legislature pass a law that tells voters which municipal decisions they're not allowed to overturn through a citizen initiative or referendum?
No. The Attorney General concluded LD 389, both in original text and as amended, would violate Article IV, Part 3, § 21 of the Maine Constitution because it tried to limit the substantive areas of…
Could a South Carolina county keep surplus school tax revenue in its general fund?
The AG said county council could not retain or redirect surplus funds from school-designated levies. The county treasurer had to carry the full unspent amount forward to the school districts for the…
Could a Nicholls State University recreation director also serve on the Lafourche Parish Council?
Yes, under the facts given. The AG said the director's planned teaching duties placed him in a professional educational capacity, allowing the exception to Louisiana's usual ban on holding local…
Could a South Carolina town use tax money to maintain lakes owned by a property owners association?
The AG said the town needed a valid public purpose and factual findings before spending public funds on the privately owned lakes. It declined to decide whether this particular project met that test…
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