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 fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Did South Carolina's 2003 vehicle-lighting law ban additional neon-colored lights on cars?
The 2003 AG found no direct statutory ban and said the additional-accessories provision appeared to allow neon lights if installed consistently with the vehicle-lighting rules. It cited a…
Could Cherokee Springs Fire District increase its tax millage under South Carolina's homestead-exemption statute?
The 2003 AG said Section 12-37-251 did not itself authorize a fire-district millage increase. It identified other statutes for increases, overrides, referenda, or county approval, subject to their…
Could Maryland's Racing Commission let a breeders association and staff administer State racing funds?
Yes for administrative and ministerial duties under the 2003 opinion. The Racing Commission could use the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and a staff administrator for the two bred funds, but…
Could a Louisiana clerk withhold a pauper plaintiff's signed divorce judgment until court costs were paid?
No. For a plaintiff properly certified to proceed without prepaying costs, the AG said the clerk could not hold the signed judgment pending payment. After processing it, the clerk could seek the…
Could Ouachita Parish deny a building permit over safety concerns near a school bus route and canal?
The AG said the police jury could determine publicly whether the described hazards justified denying the permit as a public-safety measure. Its existing property-standards ordinance applied to built…
Are NC public university athletic coaches' employment contracts and related vendor contracts public records subject to disclosure?
Yes. The AG concluded coaches' employment contracts contained policy/standard/duties information not covered by the personnel-file exception in § 126-22. Vendor contracts involving coaches were not…
Did attempted or accessory fourth-degree sexual assault require registration in 2003?
The AG concluded that a person convicted of fourth-degree sexual assault as an accessory had to register under the 2003 nonviolent sexual offense category. Attempt and conspiracy were separate…
How could Connecticut fill twelve judicial selection seats after losing a congressional district?
The AG said Connecticut could use its former six congressional districts to appoint twelve Judicial Selection Commission members after reapportionment left only five districts. That reading…
How late can a town council wait to approve its meeting minutes before it violates Delaware's open meeting law?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found Fenwick Island violated FOIA by leaving the minutes of fifteen 2002 meetings unapproved for two to seven months, but found no violation in how…
Could Lafourche Parish's budget take effect automatically after hearings lacked proper notice?
No. The AG concluded that the proposed 2003 budget was neither adopted nor finalized because the two public hearings failed the Local Government Budget Act's notice requirements. The parish…
Can Maine's Legislature take money out of a dedicated revenue fund, like the PUC Conservation Administration Fund, and sweep it into the General Fund?
The Attorney General concluded that the Legislature could transfer $600,000 from the Public Utilities Commission's Conservation Administration Fund to the State's General Fund because the fund was a…
May a New York village police chief who is not currently certified by the Municipal Police Training Council carry a handgun without a license and wear a uniform and badge?
No to the handgun question; yes to the uniform and badge question. Without MPTC certification, the chief was not a 'sworn officer' under New York law and did not benefit from the licensing exemption…
Could Louisiana's economic development department limit film-contract fraud recapture to the wrongdoer and require arbitration?
The AG said the department could contract to pursue only the party that committed fraud or made a material misstatement, and could require arbitration of contract disputes. His arbitration answer…
Could an Idaho initiative strip judges of immunity and give a special grand jury power to review their decisions?
The AG predicted a court would likely strike down the initiative in full. The proposed Special Grand Jury would intrude on the courts’ authority, and the certificate also identified an ex post facto…
When does a regular legislative bill have to be sent to Maine voters as a 'competing measure' against an initiated bill on the same topic?
A legislative bill dealing broadly with the same general subject as an initiated bill can be a competing measure that must go to voters. Inconsistency between the bills strengthens that conclusion…
Could Maryland apply its new executive-bonus restriction to a nonprofit health-plan sale proposed earlier?
Yes under the 2003 opinion. The AG said the Insurance Commissioner should apply Maryland's 2002 anti-bonus provision when reviewing the pending CareFirst conversion, even though the application was…
Could California’s Little Hoover Commission review court operations and court funding?
The AG said the commission could examine laws on continuing or permanent court appropriations and how those laws were administered, but could not comprehensively review the courts’ structure or operations.
Can the Town of Seven Devils, which straddles two counties, levy a 6% occupancy tax authorized only for 'cities in Avery County'?
The AG found the grant to 'cities in Avery County' ambiguous as applied to Seven Devils, which extends into Watauga County. A town-wide reading was viable, but the AG could not say it would survive…
Is a self-service cardlock fueling site operator responsible for collecting Oregon's use fuel tax?
Yes. The 2003 opinion concluded that a cardlock fueling operator was a 'seller' under Oregon's Use Fuel Tax Law (ORS 319.510 to 319.880) and was responsible for collecting, reporting, and remitting…
Can a town council let some residents speak at a public meeting while refusing to let a non-property-owner respond to criticism about him?
No, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found FOIA doesn't require public bodies to allow public comment at all, but once a town opens the floor for public participation, it can't pick and…
Can I get copies of federal grand jury subpoenas sent to a Delaware county government through a public records request?
No, according to this opinion. The Delaware AG found that federal grand jury secrecy rules count as a statute that specifically exempts records from disclosure, so county grand jury subpoenas are…
Could one person serve on both Hilton Head's accommodations tax advisory committee and South Carolina's tourism expenditure review committee?
The 2003 AG said the two committee roles did not violate the dual-office prohibition because the local committee only recommended spending, while the state review committee exercised public…
Could Maryland move interest earned inside its water revolving-loan funds to the general fund?
No under the 2003 opinion. Interest credited to Maryland's water quality and drinking-water revolving funds could not be moved to the general fund. Withholding an equal amount from a future State…
Did Colorado’s 2002 campaign-finance amendment override home rule rules for local elections?
The AG concluded that, for local election matters already addressed by a home rule charter or ordinance, the local rule controlled even if it was more stringent. It also read the amendment’s…
Could an elected Louisiana city council member also sit on Southern University's Board of Supervisors?
Yes, according to this 2003 opinion. The AG said the Southern University board seat was a part-time state appointment, so the cited rule barring a local elected official from holding a full-time…
Did Connecticut mental health facilities need approval before cutting services or beds?
The AG concluded that identified Connecticut mental health facilities had to submit a certificate-of-need request before terminating a health service or substantially reducing bed capacity. He said…
Could a senator resigning in January prospectively reappoint a magistrate whose term expired in April?
The 2003 AG said no. A prospective appointment could not bind a successor when the magistrate's next term would begin after the senator's own appointing authority ended.
If a Georgia community service board (CSB) hires someone after July 1, 1996, is that employee in the State Merit System's classified service (with hearing rights before dismissal) or in the unclassified service?
Unclassified. The Attorney General concluded that O.C.G.A. § 37-2-6.1(b)(7) (which says CSB employees are 'covered employees' subject to State Merit System rules) must be read together with the 1996…
Can I get the name and home address of the president of a homeowners' maintenance corporation from a Delaware county?
Yes for the name and mailing address, according to this opinion, but not the home or work phone number. The AG found a maintenance corporation president has only a minimal privacy interest in the…
Can the Georgia Board of Dentistry adopt a rule allowing licensed dental hygienists to administer local anesthesia (including controlled substances and dangerous drugs like Lidocaine) under a dentist's supervision?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that O.C.G.A. § 43-11-74 expressly removed (effective July 1, 1992) the prior statutory ban on the Board delegating local-anesthesia administration to dental…
Could Ville Platte give its mayor pro tempore additional management duties and pay?
The AG said the board of aldermen could assign the selected alderman duties beyond filling in for an absent mayor and compensate that additional work by enacting an ordinance.
Was a positive drug test alone enough to prove controlled-substance possession under South Carolina law in 2002?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said a positive test was circumstantial evidence of earlier possession, but South Carolina had no case directly on point. It expected a court would likely require…
Could a South Carolina magistrate's constable also serve as a reserve municipal police officer?
The 2002 AG said yes under the constitutional dual-office rule. It treated a reserve officer as an office but said a magistrate's constable fell within the Constitution's constable exception; local…
Can a town council secretly decide a zoning application in private meetings labeled 'legal advice' and then vote on it in public?
No, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found the Camden Town Council violated FOIA by holding closed-door meetings labeled 'legal advice' to actually discuss and reach consensus on a…
Can a town raise its FOIA copying fees and cap staff time on records requests specifically because one resident keeps asking?
Mixed, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found South Bethany's document access itself complied with FOIA and that council members' personal notes weren't public records, but the town's…
How long did California transit agencies have to keep security video from buses?
The AG said bus and transit security recordings generally had to be kept for one year. Under the duplicate-record procedure described in the opinion, the period could be 90 days if another record of…
Did a South Carolina town need sheriff approval to hire outside police support, and could the sheriff direct municipal officers?
The 2002 informal AG opinion found no required sheriff notice or approval for the described municipal contract and no sheriff veto over contracted officers working within town limits. It also found…
Could South Carolina's State Board of Education set a uniform school start date during fiscal year 2002–03?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said any authority to adopt a uniform date appeared suspended for that fiscal year by the appropriations act. It said legislation could clarify later timing, regulation,…
Can a New York county treasurer also serve as a sole town assessor or as a school board member when those roles interact with each other?
Mixed. County treasurer and sole appointed town assessor were incompatible because the treasurer might have to sit on an acting Board of Assessment Review reviewing his own assessments. County…
Can a Delaware government withhold documents as related to 'potential litigation' with someone else entirely?
No, according to this opinion. The AG found New Castle County could not use the requester's own threatened lawsuit over one matter to withhold unrelated correspondence with a newspaper about a…
Could California clinical psychologists prescribe medication after psychopharmacology training?
No. The AG concluded that the Legislature could continue to prohibit psychologist prescribing despite that training, and the Board of Psychology could not authorize it by regulation.
Could one person serve on Union County's fair association board and its election commission?
The 2002 AG said no. It considered both the county fair board and election commission seats public offices; accepting the second would automatically vacate the first under the dual-office rule.
How independent is the NC State Treasurer from the Governor's Executive Budget Act, and what is his authority over investment-program staffing, commission rebates, contracts, and derivatives?
The State Treasurer is independent of fiscal control by the Director of the Budget or Department of Administration under G.S. § 147-68(e), but not from G.S. § 143-16.3's bar on funding items the…
Could a properly certified copy of a power of attorney be recorded in South Carolina?
The 2002 AG said yes under Section 30-5-220, and expressly superseded its contrary November 2000 informal opinion. Its answer required a copy certified in compliance with the statute.
Could Emerald Center invest its public funds in stocks and other assets outside South Carolina's political-subdivision investment statute?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said no. It treated Emerald Center as a political subdivision whose investments had to fit Section 6-5-10, and flagged a separate constitutional restriction on public…
Can a New York state agency reimburse one of its employees for legal fees paid to a private attorney to respond to an Attorney Grievance Committee complaint?
No. Public Officers Law §§ 17 and 19 cover state-employee defense in civil and criminal court proceedings, not attorney disciplinary investigations conducted by the Grievance Committee of the…
Can a California store require four purchases before entering a customer in a free vacation drawing?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the purchases were payment for a chance at the vacation, making the proposed drawing an illegal lottery even though each product sold at its regular price.
Did a public record become confidential solely because South Carolina's Legislative Audit Council obtained it?
The 2002 AG said records that were public at their original source did not become confidential in the Legislative Audit Council’s hands. It kept its 1991 interpretation despite the amendment…
Could one person serve on Spartanburg County's library board and planning commission?
The 2002 AG said the combination most likely violated South Carolina's dual-office rule if the library board had governing rather than merely advisory duties. The opinion lacked the board's creating…
Can the Attorney Grievance Committee get a copy of a New York matrimonial file from the county clerk using a subpoena signed by the Clerk of the Appellate Division, without a court order?
No. Domestic Relations Law § 235 requires a court order before non-parties may obtain matrimonial records, and an Attorney Grievance Committee subpoena signed by the Clerk of the Appellate Division…
Once a New York village transfers its elections to the county board of elections, can the village take them back by resolution, and does that require a referendum?
Yes. The power to enact a resolution carries with it the power to repeal it. The Village of Fredonia could resume conducting its own elections by passing a resolution rescinding the earlier transfer…
Is $10 for a 68-page copy of a county's comprehensive land use plan a reasonable public records fee?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found Sussex County's $10.00 charge for a 68-page comprehensive land use plan, under seven cents a page, was a reasonable copying fee under FOIA, and…
Could a South Carolina county keep tax-sale surplus to pay a taxpayer's separate delinquent business taxes?
The 2002 AG said no. Once sale proceeds exceeded the taxes and costs in the relevant execution, the county could not redirect the overage to other later delinquent taxes; the statute governed its…
Could a South Carolina Consumer Affairs commissioner also join Conservation Voters' nonprofit board?
The 2002 AG said yes under the dual-office rule. It considered the public commission seat an office but found the proposed nonprofit advocacy board seat nongovernmental and outside the…
Could the Baton Rouge Housing Authority pay all contributions to a supplemental employee retirement plan?
The AG said the authority could pay 100% of contributions to a supplemental retirement plan for its employees. It cautioned that contributions for an employee with a legally fixed salary could not…
Does a government employee's personal notes for a meeting count as a public record under Delaware's FOIA?
No, according to this opinion, as long as the notes were made only to help the employee remember things, kept in personal files, never shared, and could be discarded at any time. The AG separately…
Could a South Carolina city council add to or limit a city manager's duties after adopting council-manager government?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said council could add duties consistent with municipal law and later change those added duties. It could neither remove statutory manager duties nor delegate its…
Can one person sit on both the Round Valley water district and Covelo community services district boards?
No. The AG concluded that the districts’ creek restoration and sewage operations created potential clashes of duties and loyalties, making those two board offices incompatible under the common law rule.
Can North Carolina State University finance a hotel, conference center, and golf course on its Centennial Campus through a non-profit LLC's bond issuance backed by a university usage-purchase commitment, without violating the State Constitution's public-purpose and credit-of-the-state limits?
The AG could not conclude that the proposed project necessarily fell outside the public-purpose test. It also could not conclude that the proposed financing violated the Constitution or state law,…
Does a water district board member lose their seat if a relative works for the private company that runs the district's water system?
No, under the facts presented. The Attorney General concluded that the word 'person' in Water Code section 49.052(a)(1), which disqualifies a board member related to a 'person providing professional…
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.
Browse opinions by state
Two states are not listed and are not pending: New Hampshire publishes its opinions on a page that automated retrieval cannot read, and Rhode Island publishes no complete full-text archive at all. We will add them if that changes.