State AG Opinions
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When a Maine Governor curtails spending mid-year, does the Legislature have to mirror the cuts by reducing appropriations in a supplemental budget?
No, the Legislature is not legally required to deappropriate the curtailed funds. But the AG flagged real benefits: it locks in the cuts permanently, brings the budget into actual balance, and…
Could a candidate also serve as a voting-machine custodian at a Louisiana polling place?
The AG found no violation from a candidate's appearance as a deputy parish voting-machine custodian whose duties did not require staying at the precinct during voting. It also said a commissioner…
Did a large transfer of municipal utility revenue to a town's general fund turn customer charges into an illegal tax?
The AG said no. Municipally owned utility charges were prices for services rather than taxes, and a significant transfer of utility revenue to the general fund did not change their character into a tax.
Could a fight between two brothers in the same South Carolina home qualify as criminal domestic violence?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said a brother was a household member under the then-existing statute’s second-degree blood-relationship definition. Physical harm or an attempt meeting the statute’s…
Could a South Carolina county create its own procedure for unclaimed money left by former jail inmates?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said two state abandoned-property statutes might apply and did not choose between them. It said a county could not adopt an inmate-funds ordinance inconsistent with…
Can a Texas city council ban its own members from serving on the volunteer fire department?
The Attorney General concluded that a type A general-law city (Cockrell Hill) had no authority to adopt a resolution barring its mayor or council members from also serving in the city's volunteer…
Can Texas appellate courts be required to follow the state's employment-discrimination audit law?
The Attorney General concluded that Labor Code sections 21.451 through 21.456, which require the Texas Commission on Human Rights to audit state agencies' employment policies (including those of the…
Does a Texas city official have to resign to run for a political party precinct chair?
The Attorney General concluded no. The 'resign-to-run' rule in article XI, section 11 (and article XVI, section 65) of the Texas Constitution applies only when an officer becomes a candidate for…
Can Texas require early childhood intervention providers to hand over children's personal information?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention is authorized by state and federal law to require its contracted local service providers to collect…
Can a Delaware physical therapist work for or accept patient referrals from a physician who profits from those referrals?
No, according to this opinion. Delaware law bars a physical therapist from splitting fees or accepting money, wages, discounts, or gratuities from anyone who refers patients to them, including a…
Does North Carolina's Junkyard Control Act apply in Ashe County, and who can enforce it?
Yes. The opinion applies the Act to areas within 1,000 feet of Ashe County's North Carolina routes, subject to four statutory exceptions. Sworn law enforcement officers write citations for…
How long did a person have to file a South Carolina public accommodations discrimination complaint with the Human Affairs Commission?
The 2002 AG interpreted the then-silent Public Accommodations Act to use the 180-day administrative filing period from the parallel Human Affairs law. The opinion called that conclusion uncertain…
Can the public get copies of private admonitions the NC Judicial Standards Commission has issued to judges, and the documents about the rule that authorizes private admonitions?
The AG concluded that records about developing and adopting the Commission's rules are public records. Under G.S. 7A-377(a), papers and proceedings concerning an individual judge are confidential…
Could Maryland's prison agency require correctional officers to be 21 when State training rules allowed 18-year-olds?
Only if the agency could prove age 21 was a bona fide occupational qualification. The AG said a blanket 21-year minimum otherwise violated Maryland employment-age protections and would be hard to…
Can a company be penalized for filing frivolous confidentiality claims to block a Texas public records request?
The Attorney General concluded no. The Texas Public Information Act lets a third party (such as a business whose records a governmental body holds) ask the AG to withhold information on privacy or…
Can the Texas Department of Insurance examine a physician group's records when it provides only medical care under a contract with an HMO?
The Attorney General concluded yes. A nonprofit health corporation certified by the Board of Medical Examiners counts as a physician under the HMO Act, and when it has a contract with a health…
Could a South Carolina officer leave a traffic ticket with another driver, and how many points followed a general traffic-law conviction?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said a traffic ticket initiating criminal proceedings required personal service on the accused. It found no point assessment listed for the broad offense cited and…
Was a South Carolina bad-check warrant timely if the applicant completed the required steps within 180 days but the judge signed it later?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said a court would likely treat the warrant as obtained on time once the applicant supplied the required documents and sworn testimony within 180 days, even if the judge…
Did California National Guard members need peace officer training before using police powers during a state emergency?
Yes. The AG concluded that Guard members called into emergency state service had to complete the introductory course prescribed by the peace officer standards commission before exercising peace…
Can an El Monte council member also serve on the Upper San Gabriel Valley water district board?
No. The AG concluded that the city and district posts were incompatible because the district’s groundwater supply decisions could affect El Monte’s water costs and use, creating potential clashes of…
Can I get a copy of a Delaware government's settlement agreement with a fired or departing employee?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG found that a settlement agreement and related payment records between a public employer and an employee are public records under FOIA, rejecting…
Did Sussex County violate FOIA by making its revised comprehensive plan available online and at the zoning office?
No. The AG found reasonable access because the revised plan and meeting minutes were available on the county website and at the zoning office. It also found that the commission gave the required…
Did Connecticut mandate an abuse report for every sexual relationship involving a teen under sixteen?
The AG found DCF’s reading reasonable: consensual activity between a teen aged thirteen to fifteen and a partner under twenty-one who was more than two years older did not automatically require a…
Could Allendale County stop following a solid-waste ordinance without formally repealing it?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said a valid county ordinance remained in force until amended or repealed through the required ordinance process. The AG declined to determine whether Allendale County…
Could a Kisatchie-Delta planning district employee serve on the Rapides Parish School Board?
The AG said yes under the dual officeholding rule it reviewed because the planning district and school board were separate political subdivisions, so the full-time employment was not in the same…
Could South Carolina release a taxpayer’s reported business address for marketing when it might also be a home address?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said the Department of Revenue could reasonably withhold an address sought for commercial solicitation when it could not tell whether the reported business address was…
Did South Carolina volunteer firefighters need commercial driver’s licenses to drive a heavy fire truck?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said volunteer firefighters operating the department’s pumper truck were exempt from the commercial-license requirement because the truck appeared to be an authorized…
Could Elloree’s town council block its public works board’s water and sewer rates or authorize a lower-rate contract?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said no. The public works commissioners had independent authority to set rates and did not need council approval; the council also could not authorize an agent to…
When a Georgia juvenile is held at a Department of Juvenile Justice facility before being formally committed to DJJ, who pays for emergency medical care, the state or the county?
The county pays. The Attorney General concluded that until a juvenile court issues a formal order of commitment under O.C.G.A. §§ 15-11-66 or 15-11-67, the Department of Juvenile Justice has only…
Can a Georgia drug task force use federal asset forfeiture funds (DOJ equitable sharing money) to pay overtime to participating state and local police officers?
No. The Attorney General concluded that federal forfeiture proceeds transferred to Georgia law enforcement agencies must be spent in accordance with Georgia law, and Georgia law (O.C.G.A. §…
Could a Maryland charter county restrict smoking inside a home when smoke harms neighbors?
Potentially yes. The AG said a charter county could restrict smoking in a private residence when substantial smoke harmed or significantly bothered neighboring property, subject to the specific…
Could Havre de Grace annex an island in neighboring Cecil County?
Yes, as a matter of county boundaries. The AG inferred that Maryland's general municipal annexation statute allowed a town to annex land in an adjacent county if the statute's other conditions were…
Did a granted sewer easement force the City of Union to use that route instead of another property?
The 2002 informal AG opinion declined to second-guess the city’s chosen sewer-line location under the stated condemnation standard. It said choosing another route might indicate abandonment of the…
Can a Texas city commissioner take part in discussing a merit raise for a sibling who works for the city?
The Attorney General concluded no. Under the continuous-employment part of the nepotism statute, a city commissioner whose sibling keeps a city job may not participate in any deliberation or vote on…
Can a Texas school board trustee also serve on the board of a small groundwater conservation district?
The Attorney General concluded the trustee could not, on the facts described. The Water Code rule that disqualifies a member of one political subdivision's governing body from serving as a…
Could a South Carolina House member also serve on North Greenville College’s governing board?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said yes under the constitutional dual-office rule. House membership was public office, but the private college’s governing board did not exercise state sovereign power…
Can a New York county ban all free tobacco product samples within its borders, despite state law that allows some distribution at private functions and trade shows?
No. Public Health Law § 1399-bb, part of the Adolescent Tobacco-Use Prevention Act, contains an express preemption clause giving it precedence over any local law regulating free tobacco sample…
When a New York town annexes territory or a court redraws town boundaries, do fire district boundaries automatically change too?
No. Neither town annexation nor a court decision redrawing the boundary between two towns changed the existing fire district boundaries. The Cadyville Fire District continued to serve the territory…
Could a Kentucky school board set the nomination and voting rules for teachers on a superintendent search committee?
No. The Attorney General concluded that teachers had sole authority to conduct the election of their representatives to a superintendent screening committee. A school board could make rules for the…
Could a South Carolina casino day cruise use gambling devices while docked or within state waters?
The 2002 informal AG letter said no under the controlling Stardancer ruling: the narrow day-cruise scenario allowed gambling only after the vessel passed beyond South Carolina’s territorial waters.…
Did South Carolina’s 2002 family privacy law bar realtors from using county deed records for business?
The 2002 AG said the then-new act applied to state agencies, not county recording offices or other political subdivisions. It also viewed deed and title records generally as outside the act’s…
Could a Louisiana drainage district spend leftover construction-bond money on canal maintenance?
The AG said no. Surplus general-obligation bond funds should be returned to taxpayers if practical; otherwise, money raised for capital construction should go to a similar capital purpose, not…
Where does a county council have to post its meeting notice, and how specific does the agenda need to be?
It depends, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found New Castle County Council had to post meeting notice at its own principal office regardless of where a joint meeting was actually held,…
Does a Texas water or special utility district need county or city permission to lay water lines in road right-of-way?
The Attorney General drew a line between counties and cities. A water district or water supply corporation has statutory rights-of-way in public roads, but when it lays water system facilities it…
Is the medical information I submit to get disability accommodations on a Texas licensing exam kept confidential?
The Attorney General concluded that it depends on who supplies the information. When a physician fills out the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners' disability assessment form, the diagnosis,…
Can a towing company give a parking lot or apartment complex free services in exchange for the towing contract?
The Attorney General concluded no. Chapter 684 of the Transportation Code bars a towing company from giving a parking facility owner 'anything of value' in connection with removing vehicles, and…
Does a Texas city get to approve how its economic development corporation winds down and sells off assets?
The Attorney General concluded yes on review, with a limit. A city that created a section 4A economic development corporation has general authority to supervise and control it, so the corporation's…
Could Maryland police use force to collect a required blood or breath sample after a fatal crash?
Yes, under the compulsory-testing law analyzed in 2002, officers could use force when necessary to obtain a required sample. Any force had to be objectively reasonable under constitutional standards.
Did Connecticut banking regulators have to pay a service provider’s costs of answering an electronic-records subpoena?
The AG concluded that Connecticut’s banking department had to reimburse reasonable, directly incurred costs when it obtained covered electronic records from a remote computing service under a…
Could a California district attorney copy a juvenile case file without a court order?
No. Under the law reviewed, a district attorney could inspect a juvenile case file, but needed a court order to copy its documents.
Could Livingston Parish put a mosquito-control surcharge on residents' electric bills?
The AG said Livingston Parish's home rule charter did not authorize the council to impose that surcharge. It said legislation would be needed for such authority and identified a voter-approved…
Could Livingston Parish fund mosquito control with a household charge on electric bills?
The AG said the waterworks service-charge provision did not authorize a charge on other utilities' customers. It concluded the district could levy a $2-per-household special tax with voter approval…
Could a Maryland taxpayer multiply the college-savings deduction by using several portfolios for one child?
No under the 2002 provision. The AG read the annual subtraction as limited to $2,500 per beneficiary for one taxpayer, regardless of how many plan portfolios received contributions; the taxpayer…
Could Dalzell Water District limit its annual election to water users rather than all district residents?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said no. The district’s enabling act called for nominations at a residents’ meeting, so conflicting bylaws referring to users could not exclude non-user residents from voting.
Under NC's Chapter 122C mental health law (as amended by HB 381 in 2001), can a county opt out of running mental health services through an 'area authority' and govern services directly? And does the older § 153A-77(a) provision (which lets only counties over 425,000 people take direct control) violate the state constitution's prohibition on local acts about health?
No exemption from service mandates. The NC AG concluded that HB 381 lets counties choose to operate mental health programs themselves rather than through an area authority, but every county must…
Must California accept faxed director signatures on a nonprofit dissolution certificate?
No. The AG concluded that the Secretary of State was not required to file a nonprofit dissolution certificate bearing facsimile rather than original director signatures. The electronic-transactions…
Could California county recorders accept electronic real estate documents in 2002?
The AG concluded that county recorders could not generally implement electronic recordation outside Orange and San Bernardino Counties. Specific statutory exceptions still applied.
Does a Texas county have to register exotic or dangerous wild animals, and can residents force it to?
The Attorney General concluded yes. Under subchapter E of chapter 822 of the Health and Safety Code, added by House Bill 1362, every county that has not entirely banned the ownership, possession,…
When Texas law lets a city restrict trucks to 'two designated lanes,' does that mean exactly two or two or more?
The Attorney General concluded it means exactly two. Section 545.0651(b) of the Transportation Code lets a municipality restrict, by class of vehicle, through traffic to 'two designated lanes' of a…
Does a Texas nonprofit cemetery or a crematory have to register with the Funeral Service Commission?
The Attorney General reached four conclusions about the Texas Funeral Service Commission's authority over cemeteries and crematories under chapter 651 of the Occupations Code, as expanded in 2001.…
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