State AG Opinions
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Can a South Carolina county council keep a citizen-initiated ordinance off the ballot after refusing to pass it?
Generally no. The Attorney General concluded that under S.C. Code § 4-9-1210, qualified electors can petition (with signatures from at least 15% of the county's electors) to have an ordinance adopted,…
Can a Delaware reporter use FOIA to get a list of police calls for service to a specific address?
No. The AG concluded DSP could withhold a five-year list of calls for service to a private Wilmington address, because every call to a residence initiates a police investigation and the resulting reco…
If Arizona authorized historical horse race (HHR) betting machines outside tribal casinos, would tribes be released from their gaming-revenue-sharing payments to the state?
Yes. The 2021 amended tribal-state gaming compact still treats HHR machines as 'gaming devices' that only tribes can offer. If the legislature authorizes them at racetracks or anywhere else off-reserv…
Can a physician assistant in Oklahoma prescribe Schedule II drugs at an off-site location?
No. Oklahoma law permits a physician assistant to write an order for a Schedule II drug only for immediate or ongoing administration on site. Off-site prescribing of Schedule II controlled substances …
Can a New Mexico state legislator also work as a special prosecutor on a particular criminal case without violating separation of powers?
Yes, a private attorney serving in the legislature can also take a one-off appointment as a special assistant district attorney for a specific case. The temporary, case-limited nature of the role keep…
Does Tennessee's requirement that a DUI defendant report ignition interlock installation to the prosecutor violate the right against self-incrimination?
No. Reporting compliance with the bond condition is favorable to the defendant, not incriminating. And even if a defendant reported noncompliance, that alone is not criminal activity, just grounds for…
If a former Delaware police academy cadet asks for body-cam footage and his evaluations from the academy, can the city refuse by saying he's just trying to set up a lawsuit?
Not without proof. Joshua Carter attended the Dover Municipal Police Academy from October to November 2023 and FOIA'd body-cam footage, training videos, evaluations, and correspondence with Dewey Beac…
How does the Arkansas Attorney General review the ballot title and popular name of an initiated constitutional amendment, and what changes did the AG make to the 'Arkansas Medical Cannabis Amendment of 2024' before certifying it?
The Arkansas AG substituted and certified a revised popular name and ballot title for an initiated constitutional amendment proposing to expand Arkansas's medical marijuana program. Key changes: repla…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the proposed amendment that would have changed how the AG reviews ballot titles and limited who can challenge ballot titles in court?
The AG rejected David Couch's proposed amendment to amend Arkansas's initiative and referendum process because the text was ambiguous about (1) who could challenge ballot title sufficiency in court (o…
Can a Mississippi city give federal flood-mitigation grant money directly to private homeowners?
Generally no. Section 66 of the Mississippi Constitution prohibits donations or gratuities of public funds without a two-thirds legislative vote. The Mississippi Supreme Court in *McAdams v. Perkins* …
Does giving craft distillers a lower New Mexico liquor excise tax violate the dormant Commerce Clause?
No. New Mexico's lower excise tax for spirits made by craft distillers does not violate the dormant Commerce Clause because the craft-distiller license is open to both in-state and out-of-state produc…
Can a New Mexico educational-services cooperative use its joint-powers procurement agreement to fund a student scholarship program?
No, or at least not under the agreement CES currently operates under. The AG concluded that CES's authorizing joint-powers agreement is limited to cooperative procurement of tangible personal property…
Are New Mexico Livestock Board inspectors required to wear body cameras under state law?
No. New Mexico's body-worn camera mandate applies only to municipal police, county sheriffs, the State Police, and the Department of Public Safety. The Livestock Board is not on that list, so its insp…
Can a Delaware journalist FOIA prison policy on punishments like 'roll the log' or 'pick up bottle caps,' or does the security exemption shield it?
No. Although DOC tried (and failed) to invoke 11 Del. C. § 4322(d) without the required Commissioner judgment, the AG found a different exemption that did apply: § 10002(o)(17), which shields response…
Can a Texas emergency services district that used to be a rural fire prevention district run a county-wide ambulance service?
Yes, generally. The Johnson County district was created in 1956 as a rural fire prevention district, but in 2003 Health and Safety Code section 775.026 converted every such district into an emergency …
Can a Texas county commissioner use county equipment and crews to maintain a drainage ditch that sits entirely on private property?
The AG would not give a yes-or-no answer, because it depends on facts the commissioners court has to find. Three things have to line up. First, the county needs statutory authority; chapter 254 of the…
Can a Virginia political party still nominate by convention if it excludes deployed soldiers, college students out of state, or voters with disabilities?
No. Under § 24.2-509(A) as amended in 2021, a Virginia political party cannot use a nomination method, including a convention, that requires covered voters to be physically present or that otherwise h…
Does Tennessee's 2023 ban on at-large elections for district-nominated candidates apply to home-rule cities that draw their districts geographically rather than by population?
Yes. The amended § 6-53-110(a) applies to all Tennessee municipalities, including home-rule cities, regardless of how they draw their districts. If a city requires candidates to be nominated from dist…
Does moving an expelled student to an alternative school when they're readmitted count as double jeopardy?
No. The Attorney General concluded that penalties from school disciplinary proceedings under § 59-63-210(A), including expulsion and reassignment, are civil rather than criminal, so the Double Jeopard…
Can the Tennessee House of Representatives require visitors to get a ticket before sitting in the public gallery during a session?
Yes. The 'open doors' clause in Article II, § 22 of the Tennessee Constitution doesn't guarantee public seating; it just says the doors stay open. A ticketing system manages limited gallery space rath…
Did South Carolina's 2023 change to the Sexually Violent Predator Act lower the standard for civil commitment?
No. The Attorney General concluded the 2023 amendment defining 'likely to engage in acts of sexual violence' as 'predisposed' and 'more probably than not' did not change the burden of proof, which rem…
Can a city release police misconduct termination records and bodycam footage when officers have appealed terminations to the city council and a criminal investigation is ongoing?
When a city has fired officers for police misconduct and the officers have appealed to the city council (which can overrule by two-thirds vote), the terminations are not 'administratively final' under…
Can a Delaware city use a vague 'matters discussed in executive session' agenda item to vote on hiring a new city solicitor with no public discussion?
No. Rehoboth Beach violated Delaware's open-meeting law twice: by voting on a new city solicitor without putting that decision on the agenda in 'plain and comprehensible' language, and by discussing t…
Can a Delaware criminal defendant who says he was exonerated FOIA the dash and body camera footage from his own arrest cases after they close?
No. The AG held that the investigatory-files exemption in 29 Del. C. § 10002(o)(3) is not limited to pending investigations and continues to apply after a case is closed, so DSP did not violate FOIA b…
Can a school district in Arkansas redact people's names from settlement agreements and law-firm invoices under the FOIA's personnel-record or employee-evaluation exceptions?
The Vilonia School District improperly redacted information from settlement agreements and law-firm invoices under FOIA's personnel-record (§ 25-19-105(b)(12)) and employee-evaluation (§ 25-19-105(c)(…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the proposed 'Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024' ballot title that would have required identical academic standards for voucher-receiving schools?
The AG rejected the proposed 'Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024' because two key terms in the measure's text were ambiguous: 'provision' (does the State directly supply schools or just fun…
Can lottery ticket courier services like Jackpocket legally operate in Mississippi?
No. Mississippi's lottery law (the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law) does not authorize lottery ticket courier services. Only certified lottery retailers can sell tickets to the public, and § 2…
If a Mississippi county failed to pay a school district its share of taxes for years, how far back can the school district claim the unpaid taxes?
There is no time limit. Section 104 of the Mississippi Constitution says statutes of limitation do not run against the state or its political subdivisions. So if Lauderdale County actually owes back-d…
Can the Mississippi Development Authority sell, auction, or donate state property in Columbus below appraised fair market value?
No, MDA cannot sell, auction, or negotiate the property below the average of two appraisals. SB 2810 Section 1(3) is mandatory. The property may be sold 'in whole or in part,' so MDA could sell a port…
Can a Mississippi county pay a 14-year-old back-tax claim from a city, or does the three-year statute of limitations bar it?
Yes, the County can pay the back claim. Section 104 of the Mississippi Constitution provides that statutes of limitation do not run against the state or any political subdivision. The Mississippi Supr…
When recording a deed in Oklahoma, when do I need to file the foreign-ownership affidavit and when am I exempt?
Oklahoma's 2023 anti-foreign-ownership law (S.B. 212) requires an affidavit with most recorded deeds, but four categories are exempt: deeds to government bodies (US, state, political subdivisions, fed…
Does an Oklahoma driver's license suspension stay on my motor vehicle report after it is lifted?
Yes. Once a suspension lands on your Motor Vehicle Report (MVR), it stays for three years even if Service Oklahoma lifts the suspension and reinstates your driving privilege. The only exception: a sus…
Can a competing port operator block public records about a Delaware port deal by sending a litigation-hold letter and then suing later?
The litigation hold combined with related EAB appeals was enough for DSPC to invoke the pending and potential litigation exemptions for almost everything Holt asked for. But DSPC failed to support its…
Did the Arkansas AG certify a 2024 ballot title to lower the antique-tag eligibility age for vehicles from 45 years to 25 years?
After rejecting five prior versions, the AG substituted and certified a workable popular name ('The Arkansas Historic or Special Interest Vehicle Act of 2024') and ballot title for an initiated act th…
Does a small Delaware town's museum review committee have to follow open-meetings rules?
Yes. The AG ruled the Town of Leipsic's Museum Review Committee, comprising the Mayor, Acting Council Secretary, and a Town resident, was a public body that violated FOIA when it met on November 6, 20…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the popular name and ballot title for the Arkansas Government Openness Amendment in 2024?
Yes. The Attorney General substituted and certified a popular name and ballot title for the proposed amendment, replacing 'The Arkansas Government Openness Amendment' with 'The Arkansas Government Dis…
Did the Arkansas AG certify a popular name and ballot title for the citizen-initiated Arkansas Government Transparency Amendment in 2024?
Yes. The Attorney General substituted and certified a popular name and ballot title for the proposed amendment, replacing 'The Arkansas Government Transparency Amendment' with 'The Arkansas Government…
Can a public agency release nonelected employees' names alongside their salaries under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. Names of nonelected public employees, paired with their job positions and salary information, are personnel records under Arkansas FOIA. Release does not constitute a 'clearly unwarranted invasio…
Can a city release a former police officer's termination letter under Arkansas FOIA when the officer objects?
Yes. The termination letter is an employee-evaluation record because it explains the grounds for termination. All four elements of the release test are met: the officer was terminated, the termination…
Do South Carolina public colleges have to let service-animals-in-training on campus, and can they set rules for them?
The Attorney General concluded that basic puppy raising, obedience, and house training do not make a dog an 'assistance or guide dog in training'; the dog must be learning to do tasks for a disabled p…
Can Maine pass a law capping how much hospital executives are paid, and how would the state actually enforce that?
AG Frey said the Legislature arguably has the authority to cap hospital executive pay if the cap is prospective only, and outlined three enforcement routes: tying it to hospital licensure, tying it to…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the ballot title for the Arkansas Government Disclosure Act of 2024?
Yes. The AG substituted and certified the popular name 'The Arkansas Government Disclosure Act of 2024' and a substantially rewritten ballot title. The certification followed the rejections in Opinion…
Can a county release an internal-investigation report and termination form for a fired county employee under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes, both records (the internal-investigation report and the termination form) are properly classified as employee-evaluation records and may be released, but only if the termination is administrative…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the 2024 Medical Cannabis Amendment ballot title?
The AG rejected the proposed amendment because: (1) it included an enacting clause that only initiated acts (not constitutional amendments) require; (2) the new advertising-restriction language was am…
What counts as an 'excessive discount' on liquor under Texas law, and can a package store be charged for selling too cheap?
Texas law (Alcoholic Beverage Code section 102.07(c)) bars a package store or wine-only package store from allowing an 'excessive discount' on liquor, but neither the Code nor the Texas Alcoholic Beve…
Can a company use Delaware FOIA to pull records from a state agency while it has a pending appeal against that same agency, or is FOIA off-limits as a discovery shortcut?
DNREC did not violate FOIA. Holt's law firm represents an appellant in a pending Environmental Appeals Board appeal challenging DNREC's subaqueous-lands permit for the Diamond State Port Corporation. …
Who gets to appoint the next batch of Arizona Clean Elections Commissioners after a six-year freeze, and does the appointment cycle alternate by political party or by office?
Per A.R.S. § 16-955(D), the cycle alternates between the governor and the highest-ranking statewide official from a different political party than the governor, not strictly between political parties.…
Can you collect ballot-petition signatures near a polling place in South Carolina, or does the 500-foot rule ban it?
You can. The Attorney General concluded that S.C. Code § 7-25-180, read narrowly as it has been for decades, prohibits only distributing campaign literature and placing political posters within 500 fe…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the second version of the Arkansas Government Transparency Act ballot title?
Same rejection as Opinions 2024-009/2024-010/2024-011/2024-012. The text included the same preemptive-repeal clause and added a new 'substantial personal privacy interest' provision that the sponsors …
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Arkansas Government Openness Act ballot title in January 2024?
Same rejection as Opinions 2024-009 and 2024-011: the act contained a preemptive-repeal clause that the AG concluded was unconstitutional and violated the full-text requirement. The submitted popular …
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Arkansas Government Disclosure Act ballot title in January 2024?
The AG rejected this submission for the same reason as Opinion 2024-009: the act contained a preemptive-repeal clause that the AG concluded was unconstitutional and violated the full-text requirement.…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Open Meetings and Open Records in State and Local Government Act ballot title?
Same rejection as Opinions 2024-009, 2024-011, and 2024-012: the act contained a preemptive-repeal clause that the AG concluded was unconstitutional and violated the full-text requirement. The submitt…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Arkansas Government Transparency Act ballot title in January 2024?
The AG rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title because the act contained a 'preemptive repeal' clause: it would automatically repeal any future legislation enacted after January 1, 2024 th…
Does Arkansas Act 393 of 2023 require Medicaid to cover continuous glucose monitors only as a pharmacy benefit?
No. Act 393 of 2023 requires Arkansas Medicaid to allow eligible beneficiaries to obtain continuous glucose monitors through a pharmacy as a pharmacy benefit, but it does not prevent Medicaid from als…
Who legally owns the Santa Fe Plaza Obelisk that was toppled in 2020, and where is it now?
The AG declined to make a definitive ownership ruling because that is a factual question for a court, not the AG. The most likely owner is the City of Santa Fe under a 1901 federal land patent that co…
Did the AR AG certify the popular name and ballot title for the Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment?
Yes. Notably, the AG certified the submitted popular name 'The Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment' as submitted (after correcting the typo 'Disclsoure' to 'Disclosure') and substituted only the …
Did the AR AG certify the popular name and ballot title for the Open Meetings and Open Records in State and Local Government Amendment?
Yes. The AG substituted the same canonical ballot title used in Opinions 2024-005, 2024-007, and 2024-008, but kept the submitted popular name 'The Open Meetings and Open Records in State and Local Go…
If I file 18 FOIA requests at once, does the Delaware agency have to send 18 separate responses?
No. The AG ruled the City of Seaford did not violate FOIA when it responded to 18 of Crystal Long's FOIA requests in a single letter with an aggregated cost estimate. FOIA permits a public body to com…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the popular name and ballot title for the 2024 Arkansas Abortion Amendment?
Yes. The AG substituted and certified the popular name 'Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024' and rewrote the ballot title to include (1) a clarification that 18 weeks of fetal age equals approximately…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Open Meetings and Open Records State and Local Government Amendment ballot title?
The AG rejected this submission (labeled BT-2 by the sponsors) for the same three reasons identified in Opinion 2023-123, which is incorporated here: (1) the measure's key terms were unclear, (2) the …
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