State AG Opinions
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Does a Texas commissioners court have to fill a vacant constable position?
The Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court has no enforceable duty to fill a vacancy in the office of constable. Section 87.041 of the Local Government Code says the court 'may' fill…
Could a South Carolina business charge police to produce records required by a search warrant?
The assistant deputy attorney general did not decide the fee question. He found no South Carolina authority addressing it and said a court or legislature would need to clarify whether a business…
What could liquor control agents seize during permit inspections, and could they detain people at a casino?
The AG said liquor agents could inspect permit premises and seize gambling evidence, required permit records, false identification and buy money when needed for administrative proof. They could not…
Could Idaho voters limit municipal annexation by requiring approval from a majority of property owners in the area before a city annexes it?
The proposal required approval from a majority of affected property owners before annexation. The AG said this could conflict with an existing annexation statute, did not explain how an election…
Can a Delaware resident use FOIA to see a code enforcement complaint file about their own property, even after the case is closed with no charges filed?
No, under the law as it stood in 1999. The AG found that a Town of Elsmere Code Enforcement complaint file, opened over an unregistered vehicle, was protected from disclosure under FOIA's…
Can a South Carolina jail director start a work program for people held in civil contempt?
The AG said the prison director lacked authority to create the proposed program. A sentencing judge could include work release and directions for the inmate's earnings in a civil-contempt order.
Do national banks have to comply with Oregon insurance laws when offering debt-cancellation contracts on their loans?
No. Debt-cancellation contracts offered by national banks under the National Bank Act and OCC regulations were not insurance for purposes of Oregon's insurance code. The 1999 opinion explicitly…
Can a Texas county borrow money from the State Infrastructure Bank and repay it with property taxes without issuing bonds?
The Attorney General concluded that a Texas county may not borrow money from the State Infrastructure Bank for road and bridge construction and repay the loan with ad valorem property taxes over a…
Can a Texas junior college transfer donor-restricted scholarship funds to a nonprofit foundation?
The Attorney General concluded that scholarship money a donor gives a public junior college for needy students is impressed with a charitable trust, so it is not a general asset of the college.…
If two Texas bills passed the same session both create a state-employee retirement option, which one takes effect?
The Attorney General concluded that section 814.1043 of the Government Code, added by House Bill 3504 to give a temporary early-retirement option to South Texas Hospital workers, has no legal…
Can a Texas county skip competitive bidding for an ambulance service contract?
The Attorney General concluded that a Texas commissioners court may exempt a contract for ambulance service from the County Purchasing Act's competitive-bidding requirement, because ambulance…
Could Seymour hire an outside agent to collect sewer use charges under its property tax pilot program?
The AG concluded that Seymour’s pilot authority to contract for property tax collection did not extend to sewer use charges. The town could instead designate a third party as the statutory collector…
Can a 17-year-old who will turn 18 by the November 2000 general election file for the NC House of Representatives, or does the candidate have to be older?
No. A candidate for the NC House must be at least 21 years old by the date of the general election. The 18-year-old voting-age threshold in Article VI, Section 1 doesn't override the 21-year-old…
Was a South Carolina town protected from tort liability when it opened a hurricane shelter?
The AG said the Tort Claims Act, read with the shelter statute, preserved a municipality's immunity for operating a hurricane shelter in the circumstances presented. It also thought the Act's…
Can a Texas tax assessor-collector use motor vehicle inventory tax interest to boost staff salaries?
The Attorney General answered three questions about the Motor Vehicle Inventory Tax Fund. First, a county tax assessor-collector may use interest earned on the fund to supplement the salaries of…
Can a Texas county waive property taxes on a building used by a nonprofit but owned by an individual?
The Attorney General agreed with Cameron County that it could not waive the taxes, penalties, and interest on a building owned by an individual even though a nonprofit organization used it. Penalty…
Can a Texas city grant a new tax abatement on property that already had a ten-year abatement?
The Attorney General concluded that a governmental entity may not grant a new tax abatement on property that already received a full ten-year abatement under chapter 312 of the Tax Code, and that…
Did Montgomery County have to refer a proposed surplus school sale to the regional planning commission in 1999?
The AG concluded in 1999 that a county council's authority to dispose of surplus schools did not exempt it from the Regional District Act's mandatory planning commission referral. The council could…
Would South Carolina's AG answer a video-poker operator's questions after a Revenue Department citation?
No. The AG's office directed the questions to the Department of Revenue and its administrative process, declining to supersede the agency after it issued a citation. It also said many questions…
Does refusing to prosecute automatically disqualify a South Carolina crime victim from compensation?
No. The AG said a victim's mere refusal to prosecute did not itself show failure to cooperate. Whether an offender would chiefly benefit from an award, or a parent's conduct affected a minor's…
What political activity can a New York city police officer take part in: running for office, joining party caucuses, donating to campaigns?
Most yes, one no. A police officer may run for and hold the office of county legislator, sit in a county legislative caucus, attend party committee meetings, and make political donations. Police…
Can a Texas state officer or employee bind the state with an oral contract?
The Attorney General concluded that a state officer or employee cannot bind the State of Texas by any contract, oral or written, unless the constitution or a statute gives them actual authority to…
Can a Texas county official close the office for bad weather and still pay employees?
The Attorney General answered three questions for a county auditor. First, absent a state law saying otherwise, an elected or appointed county official has the implied authority to set the…
Can Texas revoke a child-care license over an old criminal conviction?
The Attorney General concluded that, under the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services' current rules, the Department may revoke the license of a child-care facility operator who was…
When must Texas police register a parolee as a sex offender?
The Attorney General concluded that local law enforcement has no discretion when a parolee has a 'reportable conviction or adjudication' under chapter 62 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; the…
Could a South Carolina municipal election commissioner chair a candidate's campaign?
The AG said a municipal election commissioner serving as a volunteer campaign chair appeared to violate the campaign-participation ban, subject to the facts found by city council. A violation made…
Was the 1999 NC law giving Charlotte/Mecklenburg schools more flexibility on construction contracts an unconstitutional 'local act' regulating trade?
The AG concluded no. Sections 2 through 6 of Chapter 207 only regulated the bidding process for Charlotte/Mecklenburg, not the contracting industry as a whole. Local acts regulating the bid process…
Did Garrett County's 1998 classified service law take appointment authority away from the sheriff?
No. The AG concluded that the Garrett County sheriff remained the appointing authority for deputy sheriffs after they entered the county classified service system. The sheriff still had to observe…
When the NC Insurance Commissioner collects money from a regulated insurance company, does that money go to the public schools or can the Department of Insurance keep it?
It depends on the nature of the payment. Civil penalties and cease-and-desist forfeitures are punitive, so under Article IX, Section 7 of the NC Constitution their clear proceeds go to local school…
Could Connecticut’s economic development agency accept less than a borrower owed on a state assistance agreement?
The AG said DECD lacked independent authority to forgive part of a funding recipient’s repayment obligation. It could change payment timing without reducing the total debt, but a discounted payoff…
How could South Carolina handle town incorporation petitions after a federal court struck down its freeholder-signature rule?
The AG outlined two possible courses for the Secretary of State: decline to process pending and new petitions based on the district court ruling, or continue statutory duties while an appeal or…
Was stopping an incorrect final paycheck criminal fraud if a merchant had already cashed it?
The AG said the employer's stated clerical-error correction did not violate the stop-payment fraud statute. A merchant who cashed the check could still have holder-in-due-course rights against the…
If a New York cemetery decides to provide all annual lot care services itself, does that void existing contracts between lot owners and outside landscapers?
No. The AG concluded the Annual Care Law applies only prospectively. Lot owners with existing third-party care contracts keep them, and current lot owners can still hire outside contractors. The…
Can a town police officer also serve as a village trustee in a village within that town, when the police department is run by an intermunicipal board?
Yes. The AG concluded the positions are compatible. The Manlius police department is governed by a Police Committee with town and village representatives, but the village board itself has no direct…
Could Kentucky teachers buy retirement service credit before retiring and pay in installments in 1999?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that eligible active teachers could buy up to five years of qualifying service credit without retiring and could pay in installments. The retirement system also…
Can a New York village agree to defend and pay any judgment against outside lawyers it hired, even for punitive damages in a civil rights lawsuit?
Mostly no. The AG concluded the Village can defend and indemnify its own employees by adopting Public Officers Law § 18, but generally cannot extend that to independent contractors. The Village may…
Can a Texas county make a bail bond company post a letter of credit for each agent?
The Attorney General concluded that chapter 1704 of the Occupations Code requires a corporate bail bond surety to furnish one letter of credit to get licensed in a county, and a county bail bond…
Can voter-approved bond money pay legal fees for construction arbitration?
The Attorney General concluded that proceeds of bonds voters approved to construct a public improvement may be used to pay legal fees for arbitration of a contract relating to that construction, but…
Does a company keep its state license when it converts to a different type of business entity in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that, as a general rule, a state license held by a Texas corporation continues to be held by the new entity when the corporation converts to a different business form…
Can a county sheriff police a city inside the county without an agreement, and must service be equal because residents pay county taxes?
The Attorney General concluded that a Texas sheriff is the conservator of the peace for the entire county, so he is authorized to provide law enforcement inside an incorporated city within the…
Can voters in a New York village or fire district force a referendum on whether the fire district contracts with the village for fire protection?
No. The AG concluded only the Legislature can authorize a local referendum, and Town Law § 176(22) (which lets fire commissioners contract for outside fire protection) is not subject to one.…
Can a New York village stop providing water to customers who live outside the village limits?
Yes. Under Village Law § 11-1120, supplying water to outside customers is optional, and the village can terminate the arrangement on reasonable notice that gives customers time to arrange another source.
Can the county officer who runs the county's workers' compensation self-insurance program also serve as supervisor of a town that participates in that program?
No. The AG concluded the two positions are incompatible. The Sullivan County Director of Risk Management decides workers' compensation claims for participating towns, including Liberty. Liberty's…
Can a New York village pass a local law banning the use of truck engine compression brakes (jake brakes) in town?
No. The New York Vehicle and Traffic Law fully preempts local regulation of truck brake equipment, and the Legislature has not delegated authority for villages to restrict engine compression brake use.
Could a Kentucky superintendent promote his son from teacher to assistant principal in 1999?
The Attorney General concluded that the superintendent could not promote his son to assistant principal if the new job carried greater discretion and responsibility. A lower salary or a principal's…
Could a foreign partnership converting to a Maryland LLC claim a property transfer tax exemption in 1999?
The AG said a foreign partnership using a conversion method involving a real property transfer could claim the exemption if ownership, profit and loss shares, and dissolution met the statute's…
Can the NC Marine Fisheries Commission sue or file a contested case against another state agency (the Department of Environment and Natural Resources) over a permit decision that the Commission thinks harms fisheries?
Almost certainly no. The Marine Fisheries Commission's statutory authority lets it 'comment on and otherwise participate in' permit decisions of other agencies, but does not authorize it to file a…
If the NC General Assembly abolishes the Ports Railway Commission and lets the State Ports Authority lease port switching operations directly to private operators, would the State Ports Authority become subject to the federal Railway Labor Act?
The Attorney General said it was highly unlikely that the Ports Authority would be found a railway carrier, and that it likely would not become subject to the Railway Labor Act if it leased…
Would proposed Washington Initiative 695 have restored property tax on motor vehicles?
An informal AG staff opinion in October 1999 did not give a firm answer before the vote. It said repeal of the vehicle-tax exemption could reasonably be read to restore ad valorem tax, while other…
Could a South Carolina city zoning amendment take effect at its second reading?
The AG found no required seven-day wait after second reading. Assuming Florence had met the public-hearing requirement and the readings were on separate days at least six days apart, the zoning…
Can a state agency write a bidding specification that only one company's product can meet?
The Attorney General concluded that, as a general rule, the Texas Department of Transportation may not restrict a material specification to suit only one vendor's product when equal-quality material…
Can a county pay a former employee for unused vacation time after he becomes a county officer?
The Attorney General concluded that where a county's personnel policy credits unused vacation time only on the anniversary of an employee's start date, an employee who resigns before that…
Does a Texas sheriff have to use competitive bidding to spend jail commissary money?
The Attorney General concluded that a sheriff may spend jail-commissary proceeds under section 351.0415 of the Local Government Code without following the competitive procurement rules of the County…
Did South Carolina public employees called up for Operation Southern Watch qualify for extra paid military leave?
Yes. Based on the involuntary presidential call-up and the mission facts presented, the AG said South Carolina's emergency military-leave provision gave affected state and local employees up to…
Did moving into and back out of a South Carolina school district end a student's tuition exemption?
No, on the stated facts. The AG said a temporary move into and back out of the district did not erase the exemption for students enrolled by September 9, 1996, if they remained continuously enrolled…
Who could set a South Carolina county landfill's hours: county council or the county supervisor?
The AG said county council could regulate county facility hours through its personnel-policy authority, and the supervisor would have to carry out that council action. Without council action, the…
What happens to a fire commissioner election if the incumbent runs for a new term when his current term still has a year left?
The AG treated the election as a nullity. Commissioner A remained in his existing term because his oral resignation was ineffective; runner-up B did not win and held over in his expired seat until…
Can a Long Island town set up its own electric utility to buy cheaper power for residents?
No, not without LIPA's agreement. The AG concluded the LIPA enabling act preempts the field of electric utility service in the former LILCO territory. General Municipal Law Article 14-A authority to…
Can a Texas county judge act as a surety on a bail bond in the county where he serves?
The Attorney General concluded that a county judge may not act as a surety on a bail bond in the county where he presides. A bail bond is a contract to which the county is a party and in which the…
Could substitute members participate in Maryland local election board meetings under the 1999 election law?
The AG concluded that substitute members could take part in local board meetings without voting, as regular members determined with State Board approval or acquiescence. A substitute replacing an…
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