State AG Opinions
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How should Georgia clerks of court calculate and distribute the Peace Officer and Prosecutor Training Fund (POPTF) penalty and other surcharges on criminal and traffic fines, especially when the sentencing judge does not mention them, when the defendant pays only part of the fine, or when the court is a probate court?
The Attorney General set out five answers. First, when a sentencing judge is silent on the POPTF penalty, the clerk must still assess and collect it because the penalty is imposed by operation of…
Can a New York non-charter county pass a local law charging probationers fees for services like pre-sentence reports, drug tests, electronic monitoring, and victim impact panels?
No. The State preempted the field of probation services, and counties may not impose new fees beyond those specifically authorized by statute (Executive Law § 257-c for certain VTL convictions;…
Could school board members vote on a lawsuit in which they or their families might recover money?
The AG said the public-contract-fraud statute required a case-by-case inquiry into whether a board member used office to secure public money for personal gain. He advised caution for members who…
Could South Carolina's governor choose a water-district appointee from several names sent by a legislative delegation?
Under the appointment wording assumed in this 2003 opinion, no. The AG said the delegation should recommend only as many people as there were vacancies; the governor's appointment duty was…
Can a New York physician enter a do-not-resuscitate order on a patient over the objection of the patient's health care agent or surrogate when the doctor believes CPR would be medically futile?
No. When a patient is incapacitated and did not consent in advance, Public Health Law § 2965 requires the consent of the patient's health care agent or surrogate before a DNR order can be entered,…
When did ordinary Kentucky laws passed in the 2003 session take effect?
The Attorney General calculated June 24, 2003 as the effective date for ordinary acts passed during Kentucky’s 2003 regular session. General appropriation measures and acts with emergency or delayed…
Could South Carolina lodging-tax funds support performing arts and a nonprofit cultural venue?
The 2003 AG said performing arts, festivals, and historical events could qualify as tourism-related spending. A municipality also had discretion to fund a nonprofit, nonsectarian cultural facility…
Could someone demand direct access to a Louisiana town's computer network to inspect public records?
The AG said electronic communications about official business could be public records, but the town could provide access by another convenient means instead of letting a requester use its network…
Did a Louisiana state agency owe overtime or compensatory time to its contracted executive director?
The AG said an executive director performing bona fide executive work fell within the federal overtime exemption and that no state law required overtime. Whether this director's actual duties or an…
Could a client of a South Carolina staff leasing company sponsor its own self-funded health plan?
The 2003 AG found no prohibition in §40-68-120(F) on a client company sponsoring its own plan, including a self-funded plan with stop-loss coverage, if it complied with insurance law. A staff…
Was South Carolina's 30,000-gallon propane storage rule constitutional for out-of-state dealers?
The 2003 AG warned that a court would probably strike down the in-state storage requirement as an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce, based on an analogous federal appellate decision.…
Did Hyattsville need a two-thirds council vote to spend its general-fund balance on police equipment?
Yes, under the 2003 law. The AG concluded that money set aside generally for unanticipated expenses had not yet been appropriated; a later decision to spend it on police equipment required the…
Could Louisiana's nursing board buy an office building under its power to establish offices?
No. The AG said the nursing board's authority to establish offices did not specifically authorize a purchase of immovable property. He also said the board lacked borrowing or debt authority to…
Could Maryland compensate a wrongfully imprisoned person after a court had already overturned the conviction?
Yes, under the law analyzed in 2003. The Governor could pardon a person whose conviction a court had already set aside; if the pardon declared the conviction conclusively erroneous, the Board of…
Could Washington’s statutory health insurance pool become a nonprofit corporation or change board liability through its operating plan?
The Attorney General concluded in 2003 that the state-created health insurance pool lacked authority to reorganize as a nonprofit corporation. Insurance-commissioner approval of its operating plan…
Could a South Carolina hunter be charged on a public road if the gun was unloaded when an officer arrived?
The 2003 AG said nearby ammunition alone did not make an unloaded gun 'loaded' under the road-hunting statute. An officer did not have to witness a loaded gun personally: witness accounts or other…
Could a South Carolina store employee who was not a security guard detain a suspected shoplifter?
The 2003 AG said citizen-arrest authority came from statute, and a merchant with reasonable cause to believe shoplifting occurred could make an arrest. A separate statute provided a defense for a…
Could a South Carolina county regulate fireworks under its home-rule authority?
The 2003 AG said no. It concluded that the state supreme court's Terpin ruling still barred counties and municipalities from further regulating fireworks, especially through ordinances with criminal…
Could Caddo Parish Fire District Two's chief serve on the board that controlled its funds?
No. The AG said Caddo Fire District Two's chief could not also serve as a board commissioner because the board administered the district fund from which the chief was paid, making the two positions…
Could one person serve on the Hampton County economic development and Lowcountry workforce boards?
The 2003 AG concluded that concurrent service would not violate South Carolina's dual-office-holding ban. It treated the workforce board as arising under federal law and said the county economic…
If a driver is convicted of a later DUI first, does an earlier pending DUI become a second offense?
The 2003 AG said yes: a DUI conviction already entered by the time of trial made the other prosecution subject to enhanced penalties, regardless of which incident occurred first. It said the pending…
Could a 2002–03 South Carolina budget proviso temporarily override restrictions on the Uninsured Motorist Fund?
The 2003 AG agreed that the Department of Insurance could use the restricted fund for its enforcement and regulatory operations under Proviso 72.69. It said a conflicting general law was suspended…
Could Carencro's former police chief be paid for unused leave after leaving office?
The AG said the chief should be paid for leave accrued and documented during his term if records showed it remained unused. He applied the rate provided for other municipal employees.
Who could recommend an appointment to the Greenwood Metropolitan District commission after a court declared a seat vacant?
The 2003 AG said the Greenwood legislative delegation could recommend a candidate and the Governor could appoint that person. It also warned that taxation by a partly appointed district board had to…
Could Maryland issue conduit bonds for a religiously affiliated private school?
The 2003 AG opinion said the authority could reasonably reduce its detailed inquiry into whether a school was 'pervasively sectarian' when offering conduit bonds. It still acknowledged some…
Did Maryland's 2001 HMO amendment stop members from privately paying out-of-network doctors?
No under the AG's 2003 reading. The 2001 amendment was aimed at trauma-physician payment, not at ending HMO members' separate private contracts with out-of-network providers or changing other…
Could a Greenwood public works commissioner also serve on the GLEAMNS Human Resource Commission?
The 2003 AG said yes, assuming the elected public works commissioner joined GLEAMNS as an elected public official. It treated that second seat as ex officio service, outside the usual dual-office…
Could Connecticut sell Treasure Tower scratch tickets with a CD-ROM game?
The AG advised Connecticut's gaming regulator to withdraw approval of the proposed Treasure Tower ticket and CD-ROM game. He found that players had to use the computer game or agent lookup to learn…
Could a Maryland school system subtract National Guard pay from a teacher's civilian salary during active duty?
No under the 2003 opinion. A school employee called to active National Guard duty by Maryland's Governor was entitled to leave with full civilian pay, without an offset for military pay.
Was the Clinton–Newberry Natural Gas Authority a state agency, and could city officials sit on its board and share its net revenue?
The 2003 AG called the authority a political subdivision, not a state agency. It found the mayors' and council members' board service ex officio, and said distribution of uncovenanted net revenue…
Can the same person serve on a New York county planning board while also holding municipal positions in towns and villages within the same county, and what recusal duties apply?
The positions were not automatically incompatible, but they may be incompatible if many matters from the town and villages reach the county planning board. If appointed, the individual must recuse…
Could Idaho resort counties impose a local sales tax without repeating the constitutional flaw that invalidated an earlier county tax law?
The AG said the broader resort-county definition appeared to avoid the local-or-special-law defect that invalidated an earlier statute, and the proposal raised no apparent legal issue. Blaine County…
Could Coastal Carolina University issue replacement diplomas to alumni who graduated before it became independent?
The 2003 AG said Coastal Carolina University could issue distinct 'honored alumnus' replacement diplomas to pre-1993 graduates whose original degrees came from the University of South Carolina.
Could Connecticut cut laid-off workers’ health coverage during union negotiations?
The AG concluded that if Connecticut had established a practice of providing laid-off employees six months of health benefits, it could not unilaterally shorten that benefit while labor proceedings…
Could Idaho exempt food from sales tax by automatically following future changes to a federal food eligibility rule?
The AG warned that tying the exemption to future changes in a federal food regulation could be an unconstitutional delegation of Idaho’s legislative power. The draft also misidentified the…
Was South Carolina's joint legislative vote for judges and other officers constitutional without weighted Senate votes?
The 2003 AG concluded that a court would likely uphold the joint-session method. It treated the legislature's selection of nonlegislative officers as an appointment, for which one-person-one-vote…
Did a Washington driver have to receive a traffic citation showing their own signature?
The Attorney General concluded in 2003 that a person served with a traffic infraction notice or traffic citation had to receive a version bearing their signature if they had signed it. The opinion…
Could Washington’s elected-official salary commission consider the economy and state budget when setting salaries?
The Attorney General concluded in 2003 that the independent salary commission could consider economic conditions and budget size when setting state elected officials’ pay. It retained discretion…
Could someone work part-time for both Simmesport and its housing authority?
The AG said the general dual-officeholding ban on two full-time jobs did not apply to the proposed pair of part-time positions. He could not decide whether the jobs were legally incompatible without…
Could Covington use a dedicated fire tax for something besides its ladder truck and station additions?
No. The AG said the special-tax proceeds could be used only for the purposes for which the tax was levied: an aerial ladder and additions to the fire station.
Could a Louisiana deputy sheriff own or direct a private security company?
The AG said a deputy could not own an interest in, be a stockholder or member of, or serve as director of a business providing law-enforcement services. A deputy could work for such a firm as an…
Could Morgan City firefighters and police officers buy, sell, or trade accrued compensatory leave?
The AG said the local fire and police civil service board could decide whether to allow the practice. If it did, the board had to adopt rules defining the transactions, their conditions, and the…
Could an Idaho initiative let Fish and Game commissioners block legislative changes to the department’s budget?
The AG said voters could change the commission’s membership, regions and terms by initiative. But a separate provision requiring five commissioners to approve legislative budget amendments would…
Could someone carry a pistol or rifle while riding a motorcycle under South Carolina law in 2003?
The 2003 AG said a motorcycle counted as a vehicle for the then-existing closed-compartment pistol exception, and cited an earlier opinion on a latched saddlebag. It said a rifle had to be secured…
Could a James Island public service district member or city fire chief also sit on a charter high school board?
The 2003 AG said a public service district board member could not hold the charter school board seat simultaneously because both were offices. It said the fire chief could, under the Constitution's…
Could a Lexington County council member advise the joint water and sewer commission without holding a second office?
The 2003 AG said yes, if the council member's commission role was solely advisory or honorary, with no vote or commissioner authority. Its conclusion depended on the actual limits of that role.
Could the Vermont legislature adopt instant runoff voting for governor and other statewide offices by ordinary statute, or did it need a constitutional amendment first?
AG Sorrell concluded that voter approval of a constitutional amendment was legally required before instant runoff voting could be applied to elections for governor, lieutenant governor, and…
Could a write-in candidate win a Kentucky school board seat when nobody filed for it?
The Attorney General concluded that a write-in candidate could run for an at-large school board seat only when a qualified candidate had filed for that opening. When no one filed for a seat, the…
What remedies did the 2003 South Carolina AG identify for duplicate reimbursements, diverted county funds, and a treasurer's payment to her son?
The AG said unauthorized overpayments could be recovered by suit or repayment agreement; responsibility for diverted public funds depended on facts. It said nepotism and ethics restrictions might…
Could South Carolina State University use state funds to buy water coolers after campus water tests showed lead?
The 2003 AG said a court would find a valid public purpose in providing safe drinking water to university employees on the facts supplied. The office did not express a view on the policy merits of…
Which of the eighteen new misdemeanors created by Georgia's 2002 General Assembly will trigger fingerprinting at booking under Georgia Crime Information Center procedures (after the 2003 update that adds vehicle-registration offenses)?
Twelve of the eighteen are designated fingerprintable. The Attorney General's 2003 update kept all eleven designations from 2002 Op. Att'y Gen. 02-07 and added a twelfth: knowingly driving a vehicle…
Which fundraising activities could a Washington school district itself undertake under its educational powers?
The Attorney General concluded in 2003 that school districts could solicit related donations, use authorized interlocal arrangements, and sell goods or services tied to education or district…
How could the Inman Mills Water District be dissolved or joined with Inman–Campobello, and did a commissioner-employee have a conflict?
The 2003 AG identified statutory dissolution and consolidation routes, assuming Inman Mills was a pre-1973 legislatively created district. It found no present master-servant conflict on the stated…
When the NC Insurance Commissioner approves a hospital/medical service corporation's conversion to a for-profit insurance company, can he attach conditions to that approval?
Yes, but the conditions have limits. The AG concluded that the express statutory power to approve a conversion plan carries with it the implied lesser power to approve with conditions. However, any…
Could Louisiana use cash from one dedicated state fund to cover another fund's temporary shortfall?
For the two funds and temporary seed advance described, the AG found no specific prohibition and said the interfund transaction was permissible. He limited that answer to funds administered by the…
Could an Orleans Parish registrar join or be required to run a voter registration drive sponsored by political groups?
The AG said the registrar could use a mobile unit for a drive he deemed necessary, including a jointly sponsored drive, only if participation did not violate the ban on political activity. No…
Did legislators' majority and chairmanship on the Hunley Commission violate dual-office or separation-of-powers rules?
The 2003 AG said no on both questions. It characterized legislators' commission service as duties attached to their legislative offices and the commission's preservation work as a permissible…
How does a New York village formally transfer a village road to the county for maintenance, and what is the maintenance responsibility after that transfer?
By adding the village road to the county road system map under Highway Law § 115. Once the map is approved by the county board of supervisors and filed with the county clerk and county highway…
Were South Dakota pardons issued by the Governor between 1995 and 2002 automatically sealed from public view, or could the Secretary of State release them under the open records law?
It depended on which kind of pardon. The AG concluded that SDCL 24-14-11 only sealed pardons that went through the chapter 24-14 Board of Pardons and Paroles process. A pardon issued under the…
Could a Mount Pleasant public works commissioner also serve on the town's Open Space Foundation board?
The 2003 AG said yes on the facts supplied. It treated the public works commission seat as an office but the nonprofit foundation's director seat as outside South Carolina's dual-office prohibition.
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