State AG Opinions
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Is it constitutional for Texas to give big counties less time than small counties to appoint a lawyer for indigent defendants?
The Attorney General concluded that a court would likely uphold both rules. Article 1.051(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by the 2001 Texas Fair Defense Act (Senate Bill 7),…
Could a California city keep a nonprofit lease and extend an airport contract when council members had financial interests?
The AG said the existing nonprofit lease could continue and new grants could be made with disclosure and abstention. It said the city could not extend an airport construction contract benefiting a…
Could Connecticut sell state lottery tickets inside its building at the Big E in Massachusetts?
The AG concluded that Connecticut could not approve state lottery ticket sales in its Eastern States Exposition building in West Springfield. Connecticut owned the building and land, but the site…
Did Connecticut’s annual pay cap cover all work by Siting Council members?
The AG concluded that the annual compensation cap in the Connecticut Siting Council statute applied only to attendance at hearings. Executive sessions and other council business were compensable…
Did South Carolina’s appointed-counsel law cover indigent defendants given suspended jail sentences?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said South Carolina’s statute and court rules met the Supreme Court’s counsel requirement, including when a suspended prison term could later be activated. The office…
Did Fenwick Island properly fix its earlier open-meeting violations by publicly re-voting on a police salary decision?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found the Town of Fenwick Island properly remediated its earlier open-meeting violations by publicly discussing and ratifying its police salary…
Could a licensed California contractor hire a person whose contractor license was revoked?
Yes, ordinary employment was permitted under the law reviewed. The revoked person could not serve in a prohibited ownership or management role, and regulated work had to meet the employee exception.
Did a South Carolina budget proviso give the Agriculture Commission control over its own funding?
The 2002 AG said no. The proviso protected commissioners’ per diem and subsistence from a General Fund reduction unless an individual waived payment, but it did not expand the commission’s powers or…
Could a California county board of education award student scholarships or cash prizes?
Only when the county board was acting as a school district governing board. The AG found no independent authority for a county board to grant those scholarships or monetary awards.
When could issue advocacy groups or elected officials use Jefferson Parish meeting rooms?
Under state law, the AG said paying a commensurate fee avoided the public funds objection to issue advocacy groups' use of a public room. Jefferson Parish's resolution separately barred political…
Does a retired Texas state park peace officer have to take continuing education to keep an active peace-officer license?
The Attorney General concluded that a peace officer who retired from the State Park Law Enforcement Program is a 'retired state employee' under section 1701.356 of the Occupations Code. A qualifying…
Can a Texas mayor serve as both a board member and the paid executive director of his city's industrial development corporation?
The Attorney General concluded there was no legal bar to a mayor serving simultaneously as a board member and salaried executive director of an industrial development corporation his city created…
Can a city promote a longtime police officer whose parent was recently elected to the city council, despite nepotism rules?
The Attorney General concluded the promotion was permissible. An Azle police lieutenant had served continuously since 1997, and his mother was elected to the city council in 2001; the city manager…
Does Texas have to let a hospital review its data before the state releases hospital-specific information to the public or a legislator?
The Attorney General concluded yes. Under chapter 108 of the Health and Safety Code, when the Texas Health Care Information Council got a request for public use data about a specific hospital, it…
Was a race-car video game like Chess Challenge legal in South Carolina under the 2002 gambling law?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said no for the machine the office reviewed. Its fast-spinning icons and uncontrolled roulette-style feature made chance dominate the result, so the AG considered it…
How did the 2002 South Carolina AG distinguish a video game of skill from an illegal game of chance?
The AG favored the dominant-factor test: chance made a game a game of chance when it controlled the result more than skill. The opinion said prize merchandise did not rescue a game that involved…
Was a California project with separately owned lots and shared common land a condominium despite its recorded label?
No. The AG classified the described project as a planned development. Its owners held separate lots and shared an interest in common land, rather than owning condominium units defined as space.
Could lawyers from one Maryland county attorney's office advise a zoning board and argue before it in the same case?
Yes, if the office used procedures to keep the roles separate and preserve a fair hearing. The AG said one lawyer could represent a county agency before its Board of Appeals while another advised…
Could South Carolina schools start charter conversion before new regulations were issued, and who controlled the parent and staff vote?
The 2002 AG said the amended charter law took effect without waiting for implementing regulations. It found no authority for a school board to cancel or take over the parents’ and staff’s initiation…
Could reporters observe a child’s California IEP meeting if the parents consented?
No. The AG concluded that news media members could not attend an IEP team meeting merely as observers, even with parental consent. The opinion distinguished a later hearing in the IEP process where…
Did a South Carolina public employee called to emergency military duty get 30 scheduled shifts of paid leave or 30 calendar days?
The 2002 AG retained its view that the leave meant 30 regularly scheduled workdays, so each missed 24-hour shift counted as one day. The letter noted contrary decisions elsewhere and urged a South…
In Maine, can a sitting Probate Judge serve in the State Senate if elected?
No. The Maine Constitution flatly bars a probate judge from holding both offices. Articles III, VI, and IX each prohibit it through different mechanisms (separation of powers, judicial-officer…
Could Cotton Valley restrict personal use of police cars despite having an elected police chief?
The AG said the town could limit its vehicles to official business without intruding on the elected chief's police powers. Travel to and from home by officers on call was treated as official use,…
Did Jefferson Parish School Board have to use public bids for maintenance service contracts?
The AG said service contracts were outside the Public Bid Law and that a request for proposals was a valid way to compare them. It also warned that some maintenance work might count as public work,…
Could a teacher’s spouse claim enhanced survivor benefits when the named retirement beneficiary was a trust?
The AG concluded that the surviving spouse could not claim the enhanced teachers’ retirement survivor benefit because the teacher had designated only a trust, not the spouse, as beneficiary. The…
When does attendance by other council members turn a South Carolina committee meeting into a full council meeting?
The 2002 AG said participation by noncommittee members in committee deliberations clearly made it a council meeting. Even silent attendance by enough members for a council quorum created a…
Could a Lexington County council member also serve on a joint water and sewer commission or work as a city utilities director?
The 2002 AG treated city utilities director as employment, which did not create a dual-office violation. Commission membership and county council membership were both public offices, however;…
If representatives from several Delaware school boards meet regularly outside of any official board meeting, does that group have to follow the open meeting law?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG applied a 'functional equivalent' test and found that a joint group of school board members and administrators who met monthly to discuss shared concerns…
Can I file a Delaware FOIA complaint if a town simply doesn't have the planning document I asked for yet?
No, according to this opinion. The Delaware AG found that a town did not violate FOIA by failing to hand over a comprehensive development plan that did not yet exist, since FOIA does not require a…
Could a Greenwood sewer district referendum elect only three of its six board members under the 2002 South Carolina law?
The 2002 AG said the proposed ballot question did not comply with the law because it covered only the three governor-appointed seats, rather than the entire six-member governing body. The AG also…
Could Beaufort County Council hire its own attorney or internal auditor without involving the county administrator?
The 2002 AG said the administrator had to be involved in hiring an attorney or auditor even if the person was called an independent contractor. Council could set the role’s functions, but could not…
Can a small Texas city council create a 'city administrator' and give that person the mayor's or a city manager's statutory powers?
The Attorney General concluded it cannot. General-law cities have only the powers the Legislature grants them. The Legislature made the mayor the budget officer of a general-law city (unless the…
If a Texas county underpaid the statutory salary owed to its county court-at-law judges, must it pay the difference?
The Attorney General concluded that, on the facts presented, Angelina County had not complied with either path the law gives a county that collects the special court fees under section 51.702 of the…
Can a Texas prosecutor keep an autopsy report secret during a murder investigation if a justice of the peace holds it?
The Attorney General concluded that an autopsy report held by a justice of the peace as part of an inquest is open to public inspection under section 27.004 of the Government Code, and that no…
Could Rockville apply its zoning and historic-preservation rules to a county school board's property?
Generally no for the school property described. The AG treated the county board as a State agency for school-property use, exempt from Rockville's zoning, subdivision, and historic ordinances, but…
When DC's Corporation Counsel and the head of the Child and Family Services Agency disagree about whether to file or dismiss a child-abuse-and-neglect petition, who has the final say?
It depends on the reason for the decision. If the question is whether the evidence is sufficient to win the case, only Corporation Counsel attorneys can make the call (because that decision involves…
Could a California city place a tax-repeal initiative on the March primary ballot when its regular election was in November?
Only if the initiative qualified for a city special election that could coincide with the March primary. Otherwise, the regular city election set for November governed its ballot timing.
Could a Louisiana district attorney use part of a court's child support expedited-process fee?
The AG found no bar to an agreement allowing the district attorney to use part of the court's five-percent fee for the expedited process that establishes or enforces child support orders. The funds…
Could a Washington health insurer charge employees extra for contraceptive coverage when their employer objected to buying it?
The Attorney General concluded in 2002 that a carrier could not add a separate employee charge for prescription contraception when the employer’s plan generally covered prescription drugs. The…
Can a Texas sheriff post a list of preapproved bail bondsmen in the county jail if the county has no bail bond board?
The Attorney General concluded that a sheriff in a county without a bail bond board has no authority to post a list of preapproved bondsmen in the county jail. In those counties, bail is governed by…
Can a Texas bank scan the magnetic stripe on a customer's driver's license to verify identity?
The Attorney General concluded no. Section 521.126 of the Transportation Code limits the use of the electronically readable (magnetic stripe) information on a Texas driver's license to law…
Is it a crime in Texas to slaughter horses and export the meat for people to eat overseas?
The Attorney General concluded yes, assuming the operator had the required intent or knowledge. Chapter 149 of the Agriculture Code makes it a crime to sell, possess for sale, or transfer horse-meat…
Can a parent see their child's school counseling records in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that, generally, all of a student's school records are available to the parent, and counseling records may be withheld only under very narrow and unusual…
Can a Texas school board trustee also serve as a political party county chair?
The Attorney General concluded yes. To be a county or precinct chair of a political party, Election Code section 161.005 says a person may not hold an elective office of the federal, state, or…
Were California Clinical Advisory Panel meetings open when it reviewed independent medical review cases?
Yes. The AG concluded that the panel’s meetings were subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and that it could not close meetings to review independent medical review information and findings.
Could Donaldsonville pay an employee for maternity leave beyond accrued sick and annual leave?
The AG said the city could use accrued sick and annual leave for maternity purposes, but additional maternity leave had to be unpaid. Discretionary extensions of paid leave for this purpose lacked…
What conflict-of-interest restrictions apply to a Georgia State Ethics Commission member who is a practicing attorney, especially regarding the lobbying, administrative-law practice, and government representation activities of the Commissioner and the Commissioner's law firm?
Assuming the Commissioner does not lobby, affiliated lawyers may lobby depending on the facts and generally may practice before other agencies. Section 45-10-22(a)(2) bars the Commissioner, a…
Can a school board pick a new superintendent almost entirely behind closed doors?
No, according to this opinion. The Delaware AG found a school board could interview finalists for superintendent in a properly limited executive session, but violated the open meeting law by using…
Can a Texas accounting firm with non-CPA owners incorporate as a regular business corporation or LLC?
The Attorney General concluded yes. A 2001 law (Senate Bill 1358) amended the Public Accountancy Act so an accounting firm could be licensed even though some of its owners are not certified public…
Can someone ordained online claim the clergy exemption from Texas psychologist licensing?
The Attorney General concluded the State Board of Examiners of Psychologists may consider the fact that a person was ordained for a fee over the internet or by mail when deciding whether that person…
If Maine cancels school funding mid-contract, does the state owe a vendor like Apple money for laptops already delivered?
If funding stopped, the opinion said Maine would owe rent already appropriated and budgeted for accepted devices and would have to return those devices at its expense. Payments under the services…
When would an unopposed candidate elected to fill a South Carolina clerk of court vacancy take office?
The 2002 informal AG opinion said the candidate still had to win the general election, where write-in votes were possible. Assuming the election filled only the unexpired term, the winner could take…
Could Inman-Campobello Water District voters petition for elected commissioners in 2002?
The 2002 AG said yes, assuming the district had no written contract to provide service outside South Carolina. Qualified district voters could petition for a referendum, with the petition presented…
Who would fill a Summerville school board vacancy when the 2002 candidate petition deadline had already passed?
The 2002 informal AG opinion favored keeping the legislative delegation’s appointee through the rest of the term, ending in 2004, because a vacancy election in 2002 could not meet the act’s earlier…
When the NC General Assembly changed the appointing authority for public members of the State Board of Mortuary Science from the Governor to a mix of Governor, Speaker, and President Pro Tempore, can the legislature also use a specific appointment to displace an existing Governor's appointee mid-term, even if the new appointee is a licensee whom the general statute would otherwise bar?
Yes on all counts. George Parrott was validly appointed by the General Assembly under S.L. 2001-486 for a term that runs through Dec. 31, 2003, and his appointment displaces the existing…
Could Gueydan's elected police chief also work full time as its electric department superintendent?
The AG concluded that Louisiana's dual officeholding law barred the elected police chief from simultaneously holding the town's full-time electric superintendent position.
Can an Oregon state auditor look at sealed juvenile expunction judgments to verify that records have actually been removed from the youth offender database, or does the auditor need a court order each time?
The AG concluded that under ORS 419C.001(3), the Secretary of State and Secretary-selected auditors may access and review confidential juvenile court records, including expunction judgments, without…
Can a Delaware county withhold its correspondence with an outside law firm from a public records request?
Yes, according to this opinion. The county released the firm's engagement letter and its billing statements, but the AG reviewed the remaining correspondence between the county and the firm in…
Could Livingston Parish use public money to repair a bridge serving one private landowner?
The AG said the parish could not assume repair and maintenance costs for the bridge as described, because the benefit went to one landowner rather than the public. The opinion left room for a…
Could Terrebonne Parish pay firefighters vacation time after the wage claim period expired?
Yes. The 2002 opinion said the parish could pay vacation time owed despite expiration of the suit period because a natural obligation remained; it also said the parish could not be compelled to pay…
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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.