State AG Opinions
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Do Texas police have to take a missing 17-year-old into custody if the teen does not want to go?
The Attorney General concluded that article 63.009(g) of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires an officer who locates a seventeen-year-old reported as a missing child to take possession of the…
In Texas, who pays to bury an indigent person, the county or the family?
The Attorney General concluded that under section 694.002 of the Health and Safety Code, the county must provide for and pay to dispose of a deceased pauper's remains according to its own rules,…
Can a Texas county use a state salary supplement to pay the employer's payroll taxes on it?
The Attorney General concluded that section 46.0031 of the Government Code does not permit a county to pay the employer's share of employment taxes (such as FICA) on a county attorney's state…
Who collected Louisiana's commercial bail-bond premium fee when city police made the arrest?
The AG said the parish sheriff collected and distributed the two-percent surety fee regardless of whether city or parish officers made the arrest and whether city or district court handled the charge.
Were court reporters appointed by 24th Judicial District judges and paid by the parish exempt from federal overtime pay?
The AG said the court reporters described were not within the executive, administrative, or professional exemptions. It concluded the parish owed time and a half for work over 40 hours a week or…
Which Louisiana state employee records could remain private in a public records request?
The AG said employee information had to be assessed by category and context. It identified social security numbers and certain tax details as private, while general job information and gross pay…
Could a North Carolina home-schooled teenager who used a hunting rifle on family property under a parent's supervision lose their learner's permit or driver's license under the 'Lose Control, Lose Your License' law?
No. The AG read the statute literally and concluded that 'enumerated student conduct' triggering license revocation required the conduct to actually 'result in disciplinary action.' Disciplinary…
Would a random cash prize for people who voted count as an illegal lottery in South Carolina in 2000?
The 2000 AG declined to give a confident yes or no. Earlier lottery analysis looked for a prize, consideration, and chance, but a recent state Supreme Court ruling had narrowed the constitutional…
Could Bonneau's mayor also sit on Berkeley County's advisory rural fire control board in 2000?
The 2000 AG said yes. The mayoralty was a public office, but the county fire board's coordinating role was largely advisory and did not make its members officeholders for the dual-office rule.
Was Beaufort's city attorney holding two offices by also prosecuting municipal cases in 2000?
The 2000 AG said no. State law let city council define the municipal attorney's duties, and prosecution of city ordinance violations could be one of them. In the described arrangement, council had…
Could a Louisiana state employee use sick leave while taking federal family or medical leave?
The AG said accrued sick leave could substitute for unpaid federal leave only when the employer's leave policy allowed that use. It said the state civil service policy then in force did not allow…
Did ultrasound screening for cardiovascular disease count as practicing medicine in Louisiana?
The AG said yes. Screening people for evidence of disease involved examination for a diagnostic purpose within the statutory definition of the practice of medicine, even when the company described…
Could an assessor's deputy or employee also hold elected office in Louisiana?
The AG distinguished deputy assessors from ordinary staff. It said a full time deputy assessor could not also hold city, parish, or state elective office, while an assessor's employee could hold…
Could a victim's family inspect a Louisiana prosecutor's taped confession after the criminal case ended?
The AG said access depended on whether the conviction had become final. Once criminal litigation was finally adjudicated or otherwise settled, the prosecutor's case file became subject to public…
Could a Hammond city council member also work full time for Louisiana's elections commissioner?
No. The AG said city council membership was a local elective office and employment in the state elections commissioner's office was state employment, making the combination a violation of the cited…
Could a Louisiana police department withhold information from an ongoing criminal investigation at a civil service hearing?
The AG said information held by Monroe police that was subject to pending criminal litigation or would reveal a confidential source was outside required public disclosure under the cited records exception.
Could South Carolina's Ports Authority keep part of a private cargo terminal's profits on leased naval base property?
The 2000 AG said the redevelopment statute probably did not forbid the proposed arrangement. It deferred to the Ports Authority's and Redevelopment Authority's reasonable reading that the law…
Can the NC Department of Transportation award engineering and surveying contracts to the lowest bidder instead of selecting based on qualifications?
Mostly no, with narrow exceptions. The AG concluded that for federal-aid highway projects, the federal Brooks Act and 23 U.S.C. § 112 required qualifications-based selection (QBS), period. Low-bid…
Could a Louisiana port district keep paying insurance for a worker who left before qualifying for retirement?
The AG said no on the stated facts. A worker leaving to receive Social Security, but not yet eligible to retire under the state retirement system, was terminating employment rather than retiring;…
Could eligible Louisiana students use TOPS awards at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary?
The AG concluded that eligible graduates could use TOPS at the seminary if it maintained regional accreditation, joined the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the…
Could Louisiana carry unspent riverboat gaming enforcement money into the next fiscal year?
The AG said the unspent and unencumbered surplus had to be returned to the state general fund under the fiscal year rule, up to the amount of general fund money drawn by the agency that year.
Which acknowledgment form do New York county clerks use for real property deeds, corporate documents, and out-of-state filings?
Three rules. Real property conveyances (including by corporations) and non-real-property filings by non-corporations use § 309-a. Non-real-property corporate filings use § 309. Out-of-State…
Could Richland County require every dog or cat to be sterilized before returning it to its owner in 2000?
The 2000 AG said the statute did not bar a county from adopting sterilization procedures generally, but it exempted a privately owned animal when its owner claimed or proved ownership. The county…
What standard must a Texas state agency meet to override a parent's rights over their child?
The Attorney General concluded that a state agency that tries to interfere with a parent's fundamental right to direct the upbringing of his or her child must satisfy the 'compelling state interest'…
Can a Maryland county condition part of a school board's budget on the board agreeing to things like creating auditor positions, studying bus fleet options, or sharing a health insurance plan with the county?
Mostly yes, with one exception. The opinion concluded a county may condition release of budget funds to a local board of education on reasonable, nonsubstantive procedural requirements, such as a…
Could the Terrebonne Parish School Board add its own language to a voter petition to reduce board seats?
The AG said no. The school board's role under the charter was to specify the petition form, not insert its own message into the proposal. It deemed the added language beyond the board's authority…
Could Shreveport's mayor extend a stadium concessions contract to other city facilities without council approval?
The AG said no. The contract and authorizing ordinance addressed Independence Stadium, so extending concessions to other city facilities required a new council ordinance; the city could negotiate…
Could a Louisiana district attorney match employee contributions to a supplemental retirement plan?
The AG said yes for an eligible voluntary supplemental plan, including contributions for employees and officials, so long as any statutory compensation ceiling and federal deferral limit were respected.
Can Maryland's Insurance Commissioner discipline or overrule the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund (MAIF) the same way it regulates private car insurers?
Mostly yes, with limits. The opinion concluded MAIF, the state's auto insurer of last resort, is generally regulated like any private insurer, so the Commissioner can order it to stop unfair claims…
Could Westminster's police chief also serve as city administrator under South Carolina's dual-office rule?
The 2000 AG said the arrangement did not appear to violate the rule. A police chief held a public office, but under Westminster's council form of government the administrator most probably did not,…
Did McBee's 1972 council vote legally annex the Horton-Norwood tract?
The 2000 AG did not decide whether the tract was inside McBee. The answer depended on unresolved facts about the required owner petition, council ordinance, and the town's treatment of the area; the…
Does the University of Delaware have to follow the same FOIA open-meeting and records rules as a city council?
No, under the law as it stood in 2000. The AG found the University of Delaware's FOIA obligations are narrower than a typical public body's: it only has to disclose records tied to the expenditure…
Does Connecticut legislative approval of a state employee arbitration award end a court challenge to that award?
The Attorney General concluded that legislative approval did not stop the State from asking a court to vacate or modify a state employee arbitration award. The legislature reviewed funding; the…
Does a New York municipality have to pass a local law to adopt Public Officers Law § 18 defense and indemnification for its employees, or can a resolution do it?
A resolution works. Public Officers Law § 18(2)(a) expressly allows a local legislative body to confer § 18 benefits by law, bylaw, resolution, rule, or regulation. The AG also noted that a…
Can a New York town extend its supervisor's term from two years to four when that supervisor also sits on the county board of supervisors?
Yes, but only by board resolution subject to a mandatory voter referendum, not by local law. The AG concluded that Town Law § 24-a (added in 1981) permits towns to lengthen the supervisor's term to…
Can a city council member be appointed to a separate government board by their own council?
The Attorney General concluded that the common-law doctrine of incompatibility bars an officer who holds appointing power from appointing himself to another office, so a San Antonio city council…
How must a Texas school district procure a single 'program manager' for a big building program?
The Attorney General concluded that a school district may not use the Professional Services Procurement Act (Government Code chapter 2254) to contract for bundled 'guaranteed program management'…
What makes a newspaper one of 'general circulation' for publishing legal notices in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that a 'newspaper of general circulation' is one with more than a de minimis number of subscribers within a geographic region, a diverse subscribership, and some news…
Does a county clerk have to bill another county for mental health hearing costs?
The Attorney General concluded that section 571.018(b) of the Health and Safety Code, as amended in 1999, requires the clerk of the court conducting a mental health services proceeding to bill the…
When is a payment to a departing school superintendent a 'severance payment'?
The Attorney General concluded that a 'severance payment' under section 11.201(c) of the Education Code is compensation paid to a superintendent beyond wages upon early termination by a school…
Who decided whether a referendum petition was sufficient for a Maryland law applying to one county?
The AG concluded in 2000 that the State Board of Elections, advised by the Attorney General, should determine the sufficiency of a petition to refer a public local law enacted by the General…
Could a city council member also sit on Calcasieu Parish's gaming-related redevelopment district board?
Yes. The AG said the district board seat was part-time and appointive, so a city council member could hold it concurrently. He declined a definite answer for other local officials without details of…
Could a Louisiana college appoint campus police officers as ex officio notaries under the police chief statute?
No. The AG said the statute applied to municipal police departments and did not authorize public or private colleges to appoint ex officio notaries for campus police.
Can Georgia's Department of Education send Reading Challenge after-school grants to churches and other sectarian institutions?
No. The Georgia AG concluded that Article I, Section II, Paragraph VII of the Georgia Constitution forbids public funds, directly or indirectly, in aid of any sectarian institution. Grants to…
Can a small New York town let its highway superintendent live outside the town?
Yes. The AG concluded a town may enact a local law broadening the residency requirement for highway superintendent and deputy. Because the Legislature has already given the Towns of New Castle and…
Could Louisiana criminal courts assess two separate district attorney fees in one case?
The AG said yes under the two statutes then in force. It concluded that each $10 fee applied to convictions and guilty or no contest pleas, and that the later statute did not repeal the earlier fee.
Could Port Barre give police dispatchers and jailers compensatory time instead of cash overtime?
The AG said an agreement made before overtime could provide compensatory time at no less than one and a half hours for each overtime hour requiring compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act.…
Could Ville Platte buy concrete from a company partly owned by its city clerk?
The AG said no while the clerk retained an interest in the company. Although the Ethics Board had found no bar under its 25-percent ownership rule, R.S. 33:385(C) separately prohibited a municipal…
Was a state owned golf course tax exempt when leased to a private operator?
The AG said the proposed Tournament Players Club land and improvements would qualify under the public property exemption because the state would own them and the facility served the public purposes…
Could a Louisiana registrar's employee also work temporarily for the U.S. Census Bureau?
The AG said no under the dual employment rule it analyzed. It found no exception for temporary federal census work or for census duties performed after registrar office hours.
Who paid towing and storage charges when a Louisiana sheriff seized a stored vehicle for a lienholder?
The secured lienholder, rather than the sheriff, had to pay the storage operator before the vehicle was surrendered under the statute discussed in the opinion.
Could a Louisiana home rule charter reduce an elected parish official's pay during the official's term?
The AG said an elected official's compensation could not be reduced during an existing term under the cited constitutional rule. A reduction could take effect when a new term began, including under…
Could a regional council sign a federal workforce funding agreement for member towns without their approval?
The AG concluded that a regional council of governments could not administer federal Workforce Investment Act funds merely because its chair signed for member towns. The chief elected officials each…
Can a hospital district keep collecting taxes after it closes its hospital?
The Attorney General concluded that closing a hospital does not end a hospital district's constitutional duty to provide and pay for medical care for its needy residents, so the Garza Hospital…
Can cities agree to cut off utility service to people who owe another city?
The Attorney General concluded that the Interlocal Cooperation Act did not authorize local governments that run utilities or landfills to sign a contract where each would collect the others' unpaid…
Does a city taxicab ordinance apply to a government-run Medicaid van service?
The Attorney General concluded that if the City of Midland's taxicab ordinance covered the Medicaid transport service the Concho Valley Council of Governments ran under a contract with the Texas…
Can the Governor reappoint Environmental Management Commission members to consecutive terms, and if not, are the Commission's decisions still legally binding?
The AG concluded yes on both questions. The EMC statute § 143B-283(b) is ambiguous on reappointments; it lacks the express prohibition that the General Assembly used in other commission statutes…
Who could fill a Louisiana port commission seat after a parish president missed the appointment deadline?
The AG said the governor could appoint the commissioner after the parish president missed the 60-day deadline. The late parish appointment was void, and the former commissioner remained as a…
Did juvenile custody time start when a judge placed the child with Louisiana's corrections department as a probation condition?
The AG said yes: actual placement with the Department started the custody period. A disposition keeping the child beyond the statutory maximum was illegal and could be corrected through the court…
Did South Carolina's 2000 video gambling ban cover disabled machines and their component parts?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the ban made video gambling machines contraband even when unplugged, disabled, or stripped of parts. Criminal possession depended on the facts, including who…
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