State AG Opinions
Free state attorney general opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
No opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Can a Maryland trust company combine pension money it manages as trustee with money it only holds as an agent or custodian into one common investment fund?
In this 1983 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General overruled a 1965 opinion and concluded that a trust company acting as a managing agent or custodian for pension trustees is acting in a "fiduciary" …
Could Maryland pass a hate crime law adding extra punishment for crimes motivated by racial, religious, or ethnic bias without violating the First Amendment?
In this 1983 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a proposed bill imposing extra criminal penalties for otherwise-criminal acts committed because of a victim's race, religion, or nati…
South Dakota counties collect several revenue streams (bank franchise tax, rural electric tax, telephone tax, transient farmer tax, etc.) and pass them through to school districts. Some counties split the money across the school's General Fund, Capital Outlay Fund, Bond Redemption Fund, and Special Education Fund based on the current year's tax levy ratios. Other counties just credit everything to the General Fund. Which approach is correct?
General Fund only. None of the statutes governing these pass-through revenues directs the county to apportion the money across a school district's multiple funds. The county's only job is to deliver t…
South Dakota's state investment officer invests state retirement funds. SDCL 4-5-14 prohibits members of the State Investment Council from benefitting directly or indirectly from any transaction made by the state investment officer. Does that conflict-of-interest rule disqualify a state employee from serving on the council, since strong investment returns improve the retirement fund the employee is also a member of?
No. The conflict rule in SDCL 4-5-14 was not intended to bar council members from the kind of diffuse, generalized benefit that a state employee gets when the retirement system performs well. The rest…
On a South Dakota Indian reservation, an electrical inspector found two people doing their own home wiring under SDCL 36-16-15's homeowner exemption: one was non-Indian, the other was Indian. The state requires a wiring certificate under ARSD 20:44:04:01(2). Both refused, saying the state had no jurisdiction on the reservation. Does the State Electrical Commission have jurisdiction over either?
Yes for the non-Indian, no for the Indian. State jurisdiction generally extends to non-Indians on reservation fee land for matters like electrical permits, so the state can require the non-Indian to o…
Could Maryland pass a law making a criminal defendant prove he was insane, instead of requiring the prosecution to prove he was sane?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that it would be constitutional for the General Assembly to require a criminal defendant to prove his own insanity, rather than requiring …
Can Maryland bar drug users from state jobs, or would that violate federal disability discrimination law?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that the Secretary of Personnel had authority to screen State job applicants for illegal drug use and adopt a rule barring current drug ab…
Can a Maryland county require condominium boards to hold open meetings, or does the state Condominium Act preempt that kind of local rule?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a Montgomery County ordinance requiring open meetings and specific voting procedures for condominium councils of unit owners was not …
When a Maryland historic district commission denies a building permit, how does the appeal process work and how much deference does the reviewing board owe the commission?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that the Town of Easton's zoning ordinance, which routes appeals from the Historic District Commission first to the Board of Zoning Appeal…
Can a former Maryland state employee who already left the retirement system file late for disability retirement benefits?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that only a current member of the Employees' Retirement System, or that member's department head, may apply for accidental disability reti…
Does changing how an office is filled, or giving it an across-the-board raise, stop a Maryland legislator from later being appointed to it?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a member of the General Assembly would remain eligible for appointment as Insurance Commissioner even if the legislature changed how …
Can a Maryland county or town ban or restrict the sale and possession of handgun ammunition?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that state law preempts local governments from regulating the possession or sale of handgun ammunition, so neither a proposed Montgomery C…
If an insurance company sells a Maryland mortgage to a bank, does the bank suddenly have to start paying interest on the escrow account?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General reversed a 1975 AG opinion and concluded that when a lender exempt from Maryland's escrow-interest law, such as an insurance company, made a mortgag…
Could Maryland bill parents for their child's stay at a state psychiatric residential center (RICA) if the placement was for special education?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that if a child was placed in a Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents (RICA) solely for educational reasons, the State could see…
If a South Dakota school district advertises for bids on fuel oil and no supplier will offer a firm fixed price for the school year, may the district sign a continuing contract with one supplier under which the price is adjusted up or down each delivery to track the supplier's documented costs?
No. The school district cannot enter a continuing contract with renegotiable pricing. Under SDCL 5-18-9.2 the district may instead reject all bids and make sale-by-sale purchases via competitive quota…
Can a city government register its own promotional slogan as a trademark in Maryland?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Baltimore City, and governmental entities generally, qualify as "persons" eligible to register trade and service marks under the Mary…
Can a Maryland town charge every business and profession a local license fee even if the state already licenses them?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a Maryland municipality cannot adopt a blanket ordinance requiring every business and profession within its borders to obtain a local…
Can a Maryland county charter let individual towns opt out of new county laws unless the town asks for them to apply?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a proposed Dorchester County Charter provision, making a countywide local law take effect in an incorporated municipality only if tha…
Could Maryland cap how much people or corporations give to committees supporting or opposing a ballot question?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Article 33's $2,500 limit on contributions to committees formed to support or defeat a ballot question was unconstitutional, because …
Does a self-propelled golf cart driven on a North Carolina public highway require a license, liability insurance, and a safety inspection?
Yes to all three. The AG concluded a self-propelled golf cart used on the public highway was a 'motor vehicle' under G.S. 20-4.01(23). The driver needed at least a Class C license, the cart had to mee…
When a North Carolina court or county DSS sends a child to live with the child's parent, grandparent, or other relative who lives in another state, does the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children apply, or is this kind of relative placement exempt?
The Compact applies. The AG concluded that when a NC court, government agency, or child-placing agency arranges to send a NC child to live with a parent, relative, or guardian in another party state, …
If a DC government employee wins a discrimination claim at the Office of Human Rights, can the OHR order the District to pay attorneys' fees and compensatory damages?
No. The Office of Human Rights cannot award attorneys' fees or compensatory damages in claims brought by DC employees against DC agencies. The Mayor's Order that governs those public-sector claims aut…
If a Maryland judge loses a primary election, how long can they keep serving on the bench afterward?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a Supreme Bench of Baltimore City judge who lost his bid for renomination at the primary election could continue holding office past …
Who regulates septic systems in North Carolina after the 1981 Ground Absorption Sewage Act, and what happens to permits issued before the transition? Can a local health board write its own septic rules?
DHR (now DHHS) generally controls. Local boards of health that want their own septic rules normally need DHR approval, but they can adopt stricter rules without approval if local conditions justify it…
Could Maryland's State Board for Community Colleges split a supplemental funding appropriation by a different formula than it uses for the regular annual budget?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that the State Board for Community Colleges acted within its statutory discretion when it distributed a special legislative appropriation …
Should land in Day County owned by South Dakota and managed by the Department of Game, Fish and Parks as a game production area be classified as 'agricultural' for property tax mill-levy purposes?
Yes. The state's game production land in Day County met all three criteria of the SDCL 10-6-31.3 agricultural-land test: it was actively grazed, hayed, and cultivated on roughly 30% of acreage; the co…
Can Maryland change a county's boundary line by letting all voters citywide or countywide decide, or does only the area being transferred get a vote?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a proposed bill to let Takoma Park voters decide whether to unify the city into either Montgomery or Prince George's County was uncon…
When South Dakota acquired the Milwaukee Road line from Rapid City to Mitchell in 1982 and took over the line's licensing agreements, can the state Division of Railroads charge a rural electric cooperative annual rent for utility line crossings, even though state law gives the co-op a right to cross publicly owned land?
Yes. SDCL 47-21-66 protects a co-op's right to construct and maintain lines across publicly owned land, but it does not require crossings to be free. SDCL 1-44-28 gives the Division of Railroads autho…
Can the DC Mayor agree to pay interest on emergency unemployment-trust-fund loans from the federal government, and where does the interest money come from?
Yes. The Mayor can borrow from the federal unemployment account when DC's own unemployment fund runs short and can agree to pay the federally required interest on those advances. The interest just can…
Could a Maryland non-home-rule county set up its own deferred-compensation retirement plan for elected officials like commissioners and sheriffs?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Cecil County's Board of County Commissioners had no authority to adopt a deferred compensation plan funded by county-paid annuity pre…
Could Maryland lawyers pool small client trust funds into interest-bearing NOW accounts to fund legal aid without violating federal banking law?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that lawyer trust accounts commingled under a new state law and dedicated to funding the Maryland Legal Services Corporation qualified for…
Can a Maryland county give one sport a much lower amusement tax rate than every other sport without violating equal protection?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a proposed Prince George's County ordinance temporarily taxing professional hockey admissions at 0.5% while keeping a 10% rate for vi…
Can the North Carolina Attorney General's Office act on behalf of counties under the Set-off Debt Collection Act to collect judgments against social services recipients?
No. The AG concluded N.C.G.S. § 105A-2(1)h made the Attorney General's Office a 'claimant agency' only for State agencies whose claims had been reduced to judgment. Counties were defined as claimant a…
Who gets to keep the bank interest on state welfare funds handled by the Baltimore City Department of Social Services, the state or the city?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a State directive requiring local social services departments to deposit their funds in interest-bearing accounts and remit the inter…
Are the Maryland Legal Services Corporation's board members and staff bound by the state's public ethics law?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that the newly created Maryland Legal Services Corporation, its board of directors, and its employees were not subject to the Maryland Pub…
Does a Maryland tax evasion conviction disqualify someone from staying registered to vote or running for local office?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a conviction for willfully evading state income tax was an infamous crime under Article 33, section 3-4(c), which meant the convicted…
Can a coastal North Carolina county like New Hanover regulate where floating homes can be located, how dense they can be, and how they can be built when those homes sit on public waters that border the county's shoreline?
Yes. The AG concluded that New Hanover County has authority under both its general zoning power (G.S. § 153A-340) and its land use plan under the Coastal Area Management Act to regulate floating homes…
Is a North Carolina restaurant's parking lot a 'public vehicular area' for purposes of the Motor Vehicle Code when the restaurant is closed for the night?
Yes. The AG concluded G.S. 20-4.01(32)'s 'public vehicular area' definition covers a restaurant parking lot whether the restaurant is open or closed. The statute does not condition coverage on whether…
Can a Maryland farm owner keep clergy, lawyers, health workers, or other visitors away from migrant workers living in an employer-owned labor camp?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that migrant farm workers residing in camps provided by farmers or growers had the legal right to receive guests, including clergy, medica…
Can a Maryland second-mortgage lender charge the borrower for a title examination on top of a title insurance premium?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a savings and loan association making a secondary mortgage loan could require the borrower to pay for a title examination as part of …
Can a Maryland charter county sell a county-owned building to a private buyer and then lease it back for continued government use?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Harford County could sell county-owned property to a private investor and lease it back long-term, because Article 25A, section 5(B) …
When North Carolina paused new rest-home licensing in 1982 to slow the growth of institutional elder care, did that moratorium also block existing rest homes from getting relicensed when they changed owners or administrators?
No. The AG concluded that the moratorium's 'initial licensure' restriction applied only to new facilities or new beds, not to changes of ownership or administrator at an already-licensed facility. The…
Can Maryland require a circuit court judge to actually live in a specific county, not just anywhere in the multi-county judicial circuit?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that the statute requiring all resident judgeships allocated to the Prince George's County Circuit Court to be filled by actual residents …
Do North Carolina vocational-education instructors need a general contractor's license to supervise student construction of residential dwellings as a classroom project on school board property?
No. The AG concluded G.S. 87-1's general-contractor licensing requirement does not apply to vocational instructors supervising student-built residential dwellings on local school board property. G.S. …
Could an out-of-state lawyer represent a client in a Maryland health claims arbitration or other administrative hearing without being admitted to the Maryland Bar?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that an out-of-state lawyer could not be specially admitted, pro hac vice or otherwise, to represent a client in the arbitration of a heal…
An out-of-state corporation wants to build a pilot mining plant in South Dakota that mines about 5,000 tons of ore and affects one acre, just to test whether a full-scale operation makes economic sense. Should the pilot be permitted under SDCL 45-6B (the Mined Land Reclamation Act) or SDCL 45-6C (exploration)? And does the answer change if the pilot is larger?
Under SDCL 45-6B (mining), not 45-6C (exploration). The exploration definition expressly excludes development; the mining definition expressly includes development, and development expressly includes …
Are car-buying or referral services like AAA's car-buying program legal under Maryland's vehicle salesman licensing law?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that car buying and referral services like United Buying Service, and a proposed AAA car-buying program, fall within the statutory definit…
Can Maryland let a county pay for its own lawyer for the sheriff instead of using the Attorney General's office?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that a bill letting Cecil County pay for a sheriff's attorney could still be constitutional, but only if it was administered as an appoint…
Did Maryland's 1982 law letting charities raffle off real estate override the usual county permit and licensing rules for raffles?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General approved House Bill 1885, which let bona fide charitable organizations raffle off real property, but warned the General Assembly that the bill's bro…
When two bills in the same legislative session both amend the same statute, does the second one signed cancel out the first?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General advised Governor Harry Hughes that two racing bills, Senate Bill 1042 and Senate Bill 1043, which each amended the same takeout provision of Article…
Could Maryland let school principals search a student based on 'reasonable belief' instead of the stricter 'probable cause' standard?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General approved House Bill 1514, which amended the Education Article to let a principal, assistant principal, or school security guard search a student bas…
Was it legal for Maryland veterinarians to euthanize dogs and cats with T-61 solution, or did that count as a banned 'curariform drug'?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that T-61 Euthanasia Solution was not a prohibited 'curariform drug' under Article 27, §59A, even though one of its three components has a…
Can a Maryland county require owners of existing, already-built swimming pools to add fencing after the fact?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Calvert County had the constitutional and statutory authority to require the fencing of swimming pools that were built or installed b…
Can a public high school officially recognize a Christian student club, like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, as a school organization?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that while a public high school could let a religious student club use school facilities after hours like any other community group, grant…
In South Dakota, can the same person serve as both a county commissioner and a state legislator at the same time? And can a state legislator also sit on the South Dakota Veterans Commission?
No to both, but for different reasons. The AG concluded that simultaneous county commissioner and state legislator service created a conflict of interest, because the legislator would have authority t…
After North Carolina rewrote its alcoholic beverage laws in 1981, could the ABC Commission issue on-premises wine permits to Gastonia restaurants and hotels even though Gastonia voters had previously voted for ABC stores only (no on-premises wine)?
Yes. The AG concluded that the 1981 rewrite of NC's ABC laws (Chapter 412) preempted prior local-option election results that had limited wine sales in ABC-store jurisdictions. Under new G.S. 18B-603(…
Some South Dakota rural water associations are private nonprofit tax-exempt organizations. Can they qualify as 'public or quasi-public agencies' eligible to receive federal surplus property under federal regulations?
No. Under federal regulations (41 CFR § 101-44.207), only state agencies, political subdivisions, instrumentalities created by interstate compact, multijurisdictional substate districts established by…
Could Maryland make it a crime to publish material that defames a whole racial or religious group, like Nazi or Klan hate literature?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that House Bill 1018, which would have made it a crime to knowingly and maliciously distribute written material that defamed the members o…
Could Maryland have required every public school student to pray, read the Bible, or meditate each morning?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Senate Bill 2, which would have required every public school student to affirmatively choose to pray, read the Holy Scripture, or med…
Can Maryland raise the pay of an election board member if the raise takes effect the same day their new term starts?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Article III, Section 35 of the Maryland Constitution, which bars changing a public officer's salary during their term of office, did …
How these opinions are useful
- Understand state law: AG opinions are authoritative interpretations of how state law applies.
- Persuasive authority: Not binding like court decisions, but they carry significant weight.
- Government guidance: Often clarify how state agencies and officials should interpret statutes.
- Legal research: Cite AG opinions in letters, motions, and legal arguments.