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.
Does a federal conviction for sexual abuse of a ward under 18 U.S.C. § 2243(b), where the defendant was a drug treatment specialist at a federal prison and had a sexual relationship with an inmate enrolled in her program, require registration under North Carolina's sex offender registry?
Yes. The federal offense is 'substantially similar' to NC's offense of sexual intercourse or sexual act with a custodial victim under § 14-27.7, which is listed as a 'sexually violent offense' under…
Can a Texas city and county combine their plat and subdivision rules into one hybrid set for the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction?
The Attorney General concluded yes. In a municipality's extraterritorial jurisdiction (the unincorporated strip around a city), the city and county have overlapping authority over plats and…
Does the Texas DOT have to issue an oversize or overweight vehicle permit if the applicant meets the requirements?
The Attorney General concluded yes, the issuance is mandatory. A 1995 codification of the Transportation Code changed the permit statute's wording from the Department 'shall' issue oversize and…
Can a private collection agency collect a fine a Texas justice of the peace only suggested but never ordered?
The Attorney General concluded no. Article 103.0031 of the Code of Criminal Procedure lets a county or city contract with a private attorney or collection vendor to collect debts and accounts…
Can Texas environmental regulators count a company's violations from before the 2002 compliance-history rule took effect?
The Attorney General concluded yes on both counts. House Bill 2912 (the 2001 Sunset bill continuing the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, the TNRCC) directed the Commission to adopt a…
Could a South Carolina health service district give money to a state candidate or political action committee?
The 2002 AG concluded that a health service district could not make such contributions, including from donated money or a separate political fund. It treated money received by the district as public…
Could Hammond consider public benefits besides rent when choosing a bid to lease airport land?
The AG said airport lease bids could be evaluated for services and financial return, including nonmonetary public benefits. It recommended putting desired benefits in concrete bid specifications so…
Does the grandfather clause in § 58-47-65(c), which exempts pre-1995 group workers' compensation self-insurance funds from the 1997 licensing rewrite, still protect a fund that was organized in 1993, filed dissolution articles in 1998, but never completely wound down before deciding to resume operations?
Yes, on the facts as presented. The fund was organized and approved before July 1, 1995, so it qualifies as a 'pre-1995' fund. The AG said its actions after 1998 had not caused it to lose the…
Are an over-term funeral board member's votes valid, and does a closed-account check count as insufficient funds?
The AG said the board member's continued appointment would be invalid, but acts affecting the public or third parties would remain effective until title to office was adjudged insufficient. It also…
Could Connecticut’s governor use Banking Fund surplus to pay for an unbudgeted agency move?
The AG concluded that the governor could not add unappropriated relocation, renovation and furniture costs to the banking department’s budget using Banking Fund surplus. The legislature could…
Is Maine required to balance its budget, and how broad is the governor's power to cut spending mid-year when revenues fall short?
The Maine AG concluded that Me. Const. art. IX, § 14 effectively requires a balanced budget by sharply limiting state debt, and that 5 M.R.S.A. § 1668 authorizes the governor to temporarily curtail…
Did a South Carolina safety checkpoint need written rules, traffic data, and advance publicity to be constitutional?
The 2002 AG said those particular features of Michigan’s checkpoint plan were not each mandatory under Sitz. It said a checkpoint needed an administrative plan with explicit, neutral limits on…
Can a New York village pass a helmet law that overrides a county helmet law in the village, and must the village police enforce the county law in the absence of a village one?
Yes to the first; conditional to the second. A village could enact its own helmet law that differed from a county helmet law, and inside the village the village law would govern. If the village had…
Can a Louisiana city lower a customer's water bill because a pipe leaked?
The AG said Morgan City could adjust a water bill for a leak only if the city caused the leak. A policy based merely on the customer's repair documentation omitted that condition.
Did a South Carolina legislator have to pay for school district records requested for legislative duties?
The 2002 AG said no for the request before it. A legislator’s request for records from a school district in the legislator’s district related to legislative duties, so the public body should provide…
Could Connecticut’s governor appoint a CRRA chair while a budget-only special session was underway?
The AG concluded that the governor’s interim appointment of CRRA chairman Michael Pace was valid. The legislature’s special session was limited to budget matters and could not consider his…
Could a South Carolina fire district put flashing blue lights on its fire vehicles?
The 2002 AG said no for the Cherokee Springs Fire District’s fire units. It read the then-current vehicle statute as requiring flashing red lights for emergency vehicles and reserving blue lights…
Can the NC Department of Transportation fund the proposed Northern Durham Parkway, which includes improvements to existing inner-city roads like Roxboro Road and Duke Street, with Highway Trust Fund 'urban loop' money under § 136-176(b)(2)?
No. The Trust Fund's statutory description of the Durham Northern Loop specifies a 'multilane facility on new location from I-85 west of Durham to U.S. 70 east of Durham.' Improvements to existing…
If a Texas constable misses the 270-day deadline to show a permanent peace officer license, does he lose his office automatically?
The Attorney General concluded the office is forfeited by operation of law but the constable is not automatically removed. Under Local Government Code section 86.0021(b), a constable who fails to…
Does the Texas plain-language loan contract rule apply to bank and credit union loans, or only to Consumer Credit Commissioner loans?
The Attorney General concluded the rule reaches only loans the consumer credit commissioner regulates. Finance Code section 341.502(a) requires that a contract for a Chapter 342 loan, a Chapter 348…
Did Washington’s body-gripping-trap prohibition cover spring-loaded mole traps that pierced the animal?
The Attorney General concluded in 2002 that a spring trap impaling a mole was a body-gripping trap under RCW 77.15.192. The opinion read Initiative 713 to prohibit the described trap and found it…
When did a California prosecutor need to provide a witness transcript or copies to the defense?
A transcript could be required for inspection when recordings failed to disclose the full statement. Disclosure did not generally require furnishing copies; voluntarily supplied copies could not be…
What can the Texas Funeral Service Commission regulate at cemeteries and crematories?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Funeral Service Commission's authority over registered cemetery and crematory owners or operators is narrow. In 2001, House Bill 3067 brought cemeteries…
Could a California city council member also work as deputy county counsel and help negotiate a county policing contract?
Yes, under the circumstances reviewed. The city could contract with the county if the member’s county employment was disclosed and recorded; the member could participate in city negotiations.
Did Horry County’s six-year planning commission service limit apply to members already serving in 2002?
The 2002 AG said yes. It read the county ordinance as counting prior service when deciding whether a current member of a reorganized board could be reappointed, and rejected the argument that this…
Did a South Carolina surveying or engineering firm need its own certificate of authorization?
The 2002 AG agreed with the licensing agency’s counsel that engineers or land surveyors practicing through a firm needed a valid certificate of authorization for that firm under the cited provisions.
Did retaining a retired South Carolina officer’s commission preserve the officer’s power to enforce the law?
The 2002 AG said no. It distinguished a commission kept in retired status from the certification required to enforce state law; retirement ended employment and thus the officer’s active certification.
Did Idaho's AG correct or supplement Opinion 01-4 on the Land Board's authority over the land bank fund?
Opinion 02-1 withdraws Opinion 01-4’s conclusion that sale costs may be deducted before proceeds enter the land bank fund. Idaho law requires all purchase money from endowment-land sales to go to…
Could an Erath town employee run for council, then keep his paid job and volunteer fire chief post if elected?
The AG said he could run without resigning or taking leave if he campaigned off duty. If elected to the Erath council, he could not keep his paid town job, but could continue as the volunteer fire chief.
Under Maryland's 911 Law, can a wireless phone company bill the state's 911 Trust Fund for its own costs of providing enhanced 911 service, or does the fund only reimburse counties?
No automatic right. The opinion concluded that a wireless telephone company is not entitled to recover its enhanced 911 costs from Maryland's 911 Trust Fund, but the Emergency Number Systems Board…
Would federal marine mammal law preempt South Carolina’s 2002 ban on catching or feeding dolphins?
The 2002 AG said a reviewing court would most likely find the state provision preempted. Federal law barred state enforcement of laws concerning marine mammal takings absent transferred authority,…
Did county-jail inmates in electronic home detention qualify for conduct and work credits?
Yes. The AG concluded that people committed to county jail who served through the specified electronic home detention program were eligible for those credits.
Can the Texas Health Care Information Council use confidential or non-public data to prepare its reports?
The Attorney General drew a line between using data and releasing it. The Texas Health Care Information Council collects hospital and provider data, only a stripped-down subset of which (public use…
Can Texas require elevators to meet the current ASME safety code, or only the older adopted version?
The Attorney General concluded the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation could not require elevators, escalators, and related equipment to meet the current ASME safety codes. Health and…
Could Connecticut discipline a state marshal for misconduct before the marshal system began?
The AG concluded that the State Marshal Commission could investigate conduct from a marshal’s earlier service as a deputy sheriff if it bore on current suitability. The commission could take action,…
Could South Carolina’s tourism review committee examine both advertising and tourism project spending from accommodations tax funds?
The 2002 AG said yes. It read the reporting and oversight provisions as covering the 30% advertising and promotion fund and the 65% tourism-related expenditure fund, though it suggested legislative…
Could Mohegan Sun guests use hotel phones to place race bets from their rooms?
The AG concluded that Mohegan Sun’s proposed in-room race wagering by hotel telephone fell within the compact’s definition of telephone betting. The compact’s moratorium still applied, despite the…
Could New Iberia use city funds to help private Little League associations?
The AG said the city’s Park and Recreation Commission could support the baseball program from its funding, and the city could aid needy children under objective criteria or enter a cooperative…
Does the Texas ban on hiring former water-board members apply to a board created before the law passed?
The Attorney General concluded the statute did not reach the San Antonio Water System. In 2001, the Legislature added Local Government Code section 402.909, which bars a municipality (or its…
When the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board spends Measure 66 lottery money to monitor a stream or control invasive weeds, does that count as a 'capital expenditure' for the 65% mandate, or as ordinary operations?
The AG concluded that monitoring, evaluation, and weed control could be capital expenditures, but only when they were part of a specific project to restore, protect, or improve a wild salmonid…
Did the South Lafourche Levee District retain legal status after the court's ruling on overlapping levee districts?
The AG said South Lafourche Levee District would retain legal status provided it did not replace an existing district or overlap the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District's jurisdiction, functions, and…
Could a South Carolina county auditor or mayor also serve on a capital projects sales tax commission?
The 2002 AG said no. It treated commission membership as a public office because the commission shaped the tax referendum and capital project choices; serving at the same time as county auditor or…
Could Pendleton police serve a high school outside town limits and exercise full police powers there?
The 2002 AG said a proper agreement could extend municipal police authority to the school. It identified a town-county agreement for nearby unincorporated territory and a possible contract with the…
Could a private group restore a religious historic landmark on University of Louisville property?
The Attorney General concluded that the University of Louisville could authorize a private neighborhood association to restore the Grotto and Garden of Our Lady of Lourdes on university property.…
Do Texas hospitals need patient consent before reporting their data to the Health Care Information Council?
The Attorney General concluded hospitals do not need written patient authorizations to send required data to the Texas Health Care Information Council. Chapter 108 of the Health and Safety Code…
Can a Texas university use a bank as its depository if a regent works for that bank?
The Attorney General reaffirmed an earlier opinion (JC-0426) and held that Texas Woman's University could not use a bank as a depository when one of its regents was an officer and employee of that…
Can a Texas county auditor sit in on a commissioners court's closed-session meeting with its attorney?
The Attorney General concluded a county commissioners court may let the county auditor attend a closed meeting, but only on conditions, and with a real risk attached. For a meeting closed under…
Did South Carolina’s Education Oversight Committee have to consent before the State Board adopted new standards?
The 2002 AG said prior consent was not required. It read the statutory “advice and consent” process as allowing the State Board to adopt standards and assessments before the committee acted,…
Which budget governed Lafourche Parish when its council adopted no new one, and could it retain surplus revenue?
Under Lafourche's charter as described in this 2002 opinion, the parish used its previous budget; because no 2001 budget was adopted, the 2000 budget carried through 2001 and into 2002. The AG also…
Could a person seek expungement of a first conviction after a later conviction that occurred beyond the three-year waiting period?
The 2002 AG said the later conviction did not erase eligibility to apply under the statute it reviewed. The circuit court still had discretion to deny expungement and could consider that later conviction.
Who controls fire equipment owned by a South Carolina county but used by a fire district?
The 2002 AG said ownership alone did not decide control. If a legislative act created the fire district and gave its board equipment powers, the board likely controlled the equipment; if the county…
Does South Carolina's domestic violence 'must arrest' law leave officers any discretion?
Yes, in assessing the facts and probable cause. The 2002 AG said officers retained broad discretion in that judgment, while the statute mandated arrest when probable cause of a covered offense and…
Can a town council go into a closed executive session to discuss police salaries or get legal advice about the police department?
No, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found the Fenwick Island Town Council improperly used executive session three times to discuss police salary increases and general police department…
Could Baltimore prosecutors tell neighborhood groups where and when drug search warrants were executed?
Under the 2002 rules, prosecutors could share the address and execution date only if the information was already public or a court ordered disclosure. The AG said a drug-nuisance-abatement case…
When could a South Carolina county change a magistrate's work location during the magistrate's term?
The 2002 AG quoted a statute allowing a county governing body to change a magistrate's work location at least four years after the most recent appointment when a material change in conditions…
When the EPA delegated NPDES general permit authority for concentrated animal feeding operations to NC's Environmental Management Commission, can NC use its own stricter 'storm event more severe than the 25-year, 24-hour storm' standard from § 143-215.10C(b), can DENR co-permit swine integrators, and can DENR include bypass-and-upset provisions and other more-stringent conditions?
Yes to all the main questions. NC's § 143-215.10C(b) standard is more stringent than federal law, not less, and DENR must not authorize discharges under EPA's broader 'chronic rainfall' or…
Could Louisiana’s administration commissioner omit statutorily mandated registrar merit pay from the executive budget?
The AG said the commissioner lacked discretion to exclude expenses the legislature had required to be funded. The executive budget still had to stay within the official revenue forecast and remained…
Can a South Carolina municipal court hear a telephone offense after the original arrest warrant was dismissed?
The 2002 AG said a new municipal arrest warrant was unnecessary when a grand jury had directly indicted the telephone offense. Because the offense was outside magistrate court's exclusive…
Can South Carolina's police academy consider conduct behind a pardoned conviction when assessing an applicant?
Yes. The 2002 AG said a pardon removed the conviction's legal consequences, but academy officials could consider the conduct behind it when deciding whether an applicant met the separate…
Could South Carolina agencies release a veteran's DD Form 214 under the state's public records law?
The 2002 AG concluded that federal rules made DD Form 214 confidential without the service member's written consent, so state agencies could withhold it under South Carolina FOIA. The letter added…
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.