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Could a hospital-owned physician network claim South Carolina’s peer-review confidentiality protection?
The AG concluded that a cardiac physician network wholly owned alongside hospitals by the same parent, sharing officers and peer-review information, would be treated as part of the hospital for…
Could a South Carolina highway patrol officer serve on a county school board at the same time?
No. The AG said both positions counted as public offices, so taking the school board seat automatically vacated the patrol office under the dual-office rule. The person could act temporarily as a de…
Can a New York municipality borrow from the State emergency services revolving loan fund as a surrogate for a private fire company or ambulance service?
No. The AG concluded the State Finance Law § 97-pp loan program is for municipalities and fire districts to acquire their own emergency equipment, not for a municipality to act as a financial…
Did police have to remove a suspect’s name before releasing a South Carolina incident report?
No automatic deletion was required. The AG said the cited statutes did not by themselves require removing suspect information because an investigation was pending, no warrant had issued, or no…
Could a Maryland driver who refused a breath test seek an ignition interlock license modification in 1999?
Yes. The AG concluded that the MVA could modify a suspension or issue a restrictive license to a driver who participated in its ignition interlock program for at least one year, even if the driver…
Can a Texas hospital district enter an interest-rate swap or hedge contract on its bonds?
The Attorney General concluded no. The El Paso Hospital District has only the powers the Legislature expressly gave it, plus those necessarily implied to carry out the express ones. It can run a…
When the NC Department of Revenue mistakenly listed the Libertarian Party as a qualified party on 1998 tax forms (when it didn't have the 1% voter registration the statute requires), should the funds taxpayers checked for the Libertarian Party go to the Libertarian Party anyway, and how should the 'Unspecified' designations be split?
The Libertarian Party keeps the funds taxpayers designated for it, even though the Party did not formally qualify under § 105-159.1. The NC AG reasoned that the Secretary of Revenue's interpretive…
Did a broker licensed in Connecticut by reciprocity need a new exam after moving into the state?
The AG concluded that a nonresident real estate broker or salesperson who had obtained a Connecticut license under a qualifying reciprocity arrangement did not have to complete standard courses,…
Can the Texas fire commission hire someone whose spouse leads a firefighters' association?
The Attorney General concluded that, on the facts given, yes. Section 419.006 of the Government Code bars the Commission on Fire Protection from putting an officer, employee, or paid consultant of a…
Can a city fix a decades-old mistake of not enrolling an employee in the Texas Municipal Retirement System?
The Attorney General concluded no, at least not for errors older than four years. Section 855.410 of the Government Code only imposes interest on late monthly contributions; it does not create a…
When a Minnesota county sheriff and the county board of commissioners disagree about what color the sheriff's squad cars should be, who gets to decide?
The county board. The AG concluded that under Minn. Stat. § 387.29, subd. 2 and the county board's general power to manage county property under § 375.18, subd. 2, the board has the final say on the…
Can a NC Chief District Court Judge issue a standing order forbidding juvenile court counselors from diverting any juvenile case that came out of the public schools?
No. The Attorney General said a blanket court order barring diversion of school-originated juvenile complaints would usurp the chief court counselor's statutory duty to evaluate each complaint…
Could a town use a tax warrant to levy on a delinquent taxpayer’s unclaimed property held by Connecticut?
The AG said sovereign immunity barred a municipal alias tax warrant served on the state treasurer for taxpayer property in state custody. The city had also bypassed the specific statutory process…
Can a school district charge fees under a brand-new records-request policy for requests it received before the policy existed?
No, under the law as it stood in 1999. The AG found the Christina School District violated FOIA by withholding financial records a parent requested in March and April 1999 while it developed a new…
Could an indigent South Carolina defendant remain jailed before trial longer than the maximum possible sentence?
The AG said detention beyond the possible maximum sentence raised serious statutory and equal-protection problems, especially for a person unable to post bond. A detention facility could not release…
Could a South Carolina transportation commissioner serve a second consecutive term?
No. The AG reaffirmed earlier opinions that district commissioners could not succeed themselves. A former commissioner could be elected again after representation rotated to another county for at…
Can the New York Racing and Wagering Board approve electronic computer aids to help bingo players track their cards?
Yes, for the specific format proposed. The player still uses and submits a paper card, and numbered objects or balls are drawn randomly. The computer helps players with poor eyesight or multiple…
Can a New York off-track betting corporation also hold a harness racing meeting at a track it owns?
No. The AG concluded an off-track betting corporation (OTB) cannot conduct a harness race meeting. OTBs are public benefit corporations with the limited statutory purpose of off-track pari-mutuel…
Can the Maine Legislature designate confirmation committees by simple resolution, and can it extend its session by majority vote despite a statutory adjournment deadline?
The Maine AG concluded that the 'as provided by law' clause in Me. Const. art. V, pt. 1, § 8 modifies all of the preceding committee-composition language, and that the Maine Legislature can…
Can a Texas county leave the state funds off the form jurors use to donate their jury pay?
The Attorney General concluded no. Section 61.003 of the Government Code requires that each prospective juror get a form letting them donate their jury-service reimbursement to listed funds and…
Can the Texas Lottery Commission renew a bingo or lottery license after it has already expired?
The Attorney General concluded that the Commission cannot revive a dead license. It may renew a bingo license or a lottery sales-agent license only if the licensee mailed or faxed a sufficient…
Does a Texas official's child's income count as the official's income for conflict-of-interest rules?
The Attorney General concluded that a minor child's or dependent child's earnings are the child's own gross income, not the parent official's. Family Code provisions giving parents control over a…
Where does the interest earned on a Texas prosecutor's hot-check fund go?
The Attorney General concluded the interest does not stay in the hot-check fund. Although the common law says interest follows the principal, section 113.021(c) of the Local Government Code…
Can a Texas county commissioner be paid to drive an ambulance for the county EMS department?
The Attorney General concluded no. Section 81.002 of the Local Government Code, the oath every county commissioner takes, forbids a commissioner from having any interest, direct or indirect, in a…
Does the Texas Open Meetings Act apply to a committee that helps a county choose an architect?
The Attorney General concluded yes, on the facts presented. A Smith County 'Evaluation Committee' that ranked architectural firms for the commissioners court and then negotiated the contract with…
Does a Texas funeral home need its own embalming room, and can it hire an embalmer as a contractor?
The Attorney General read article 4582b to require every licensed funeral establishment to have its own on-site embalming room; it cannot satisfy that licensing requirement by designating another…
Did South Carolina’s DUI breath-test video rules apply to cameras supplied by a county rather than SLED?
The AG said the 1998 breath-test videotaping statute appeared to apply only to equipment purchased and supplied by SLED. It did not read the new requirements as applying retroactively to Orangeburg…
If sponsors filed the text of a South Dakota constitutional amendment with the Secretary of State after one gubernatorial election but gathered signatures and submitted the petition after a later gubernatorial election, which election's vote count sets the signature threshold?
The later election. The AG read Article XXIII, Section 1 to require 10 percent of 'the total votes cast for Governor in the last gubernatorial election,' measured at the time the petition was…
Does a federal law protecting military reservists' jobs override a state rule barring judges from practicing law while serving as a National Guard legal officer?
No. The opinion concluded USERRA, the federal law protecting reservists' civilian jobs, does not preempt or create an exception to Maryland's Code of Judicial Conduct, so a sitting circuit court…
Could South Carolina require a Social Security number to register a boat under the 1996 welfare law?
The AG concluded that the federal Privacy Act prevented South Carolina from requiring a Social Security number on a watercraft registration application. Although state law treated watercraft…
If a NC Superior Court Judge is specially assigned to run the Administrative Office of the Courts, does that special assignment break his 'continuous service' for purposes of later becoming Senior Resident Superior Court Judge? Does he still receive his judicial salary?
No, the assignment does not break continuous service, and yes, the judge continues to receive his Superior Court Judge salary and expenses. The Chief Justice's constitutional power to assign judges…
When two Texas bills amend the same tax statute in the same session, which one controls?
The Attorney General concluded that the later-enacted bill controls. In 1997 the Legislature passed two bills, Senate Bill 141 and House Bill 3306, both rewriting section 34.06(b) of the Tax Code on…
Does a Texas city council have to post notice before going into closed session to talk to its attorney?
The Attorney General concluded that a private consultation with the body's attorney is a 'meeting' under the Open Meetings Act, so the body must give notice of the subject, even when the talk…
Can a Texas constable serve legal process in a school truancy case, or only the attendance officer?
The Attorney General concluded that a constable may serve process on a person who fails to appear at a truancy hearing, and must do so when a justice of the peace directs it. Section 25.091 of the…
Must a Texas county auditor audit the county department of education, and can the county charge for it?
The Attorney General concluded that the Harris County Auditor must audit the Harris County Department of Education every year under article 2919g-1 of the Revised Civil Statutes, even though an…
Can a Texas county attorney also work as a city attorney for a city in the county?
The Attorney General concluded that the Brewster County Attorney could simultaneously serve as an attorney for the City of Alpine. Because he was appointed by and served at the will of the city…
Is a state bond pricing committee covered by the Texas Open Meetings Act, and can it meet out of state?
The Attorney General concluded that a pricing committee appointed by the Texas Public Finance Authority Board to negotiate the final terms of a bond sale and sign the bond purchase contract is…
Did Oregon's income-tax exclusion for spousal health insurance violate the state constitution when same-sex domestic partners were excluded?
Yes. The 1999 opinion concluded that Oregon violated Article I, section 20 by excluding the value of employer-paid health insurance for spouses from taxable income while taxing the same coverage for…
When a hospital authority leased a county hospital to a private operator in 1984, does it have the power years later to amend that lease and consent to assignment to a new operator without going through the public bidding process?
It can amend the lease, but assignment is subject to the full G.S. 131E-13 bidding regime. Hospital authorities all operate under Chapter 131E now (not the repealed Chapter 131), regardless of when…
Could a Maryland state's attorney dismiss a judge initiated criminal contempt charge without the judge's approval in 1999?
The AG concluded in 1999 that a state's attorney appointed to prosecute criminal contempt retained ordinary discretion to dismiss the charge without special court approval, subject to general…
Who was responsible for providing office space for a South Carolina county magistrate in 1999?
The Attorney General's office read the law in 1999 as placing responsibility for a magistrate's office facilities on the county. It suggested that the magistrate ask the county attorney for help…
Could a South Carolina county tax a nonresident's rental property business merely because the property was inside the county?
In 1999, the AG's office said a county could impose a business license tax on a nonresident who conducted business inside the county. Whether a particular rental owner did so depended on the owner's…
Can Texas store low-level radioactive waste in an assured-isolation facility, and can it ban private companies from disposing of federal nuclear waste?
The Attorney General concluded that an above-ground assured-isolation facility would satisfy Texas's current duty under the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact to manage and provide…
Did South Carolina marriage licenses have to display Social Security numbers, and could the public see numbers on applications?
The AG's office concluded in 1999 that Social Security numbers had to be recorded on marriage-license applications, but not displayed on licenses. It said South Carolina's public-records law allowed…
Can Texas license Canadian or Mexican engineers under NAFTA, or does federal welfare-reform law require them to be U.S. citizens or residents?
The Attorney General concluded that the federal Welfare Reform Act of 1996 restricts professional licenses for aliens based on their immigration status, but it does not limit licenses to U.S.…
If a Texas social worker was first licensed without an exam and let the license lapse for years, do they have to take an exam to get licensed again?
The Attorney General concluded that under the plain language of section 50.023(e) of the Human Resources Code, a person originally licensed as a social worker without an examination, whose license…
Can a Texas home-rule city ban killing feral pigeons or outlaw organized pigeon shoots?
The Attorney General concluded that the City of Carrollton could not forbid the killing of feral pigeons, because section 64.002(b) of the Parks and Wildlife Code expressly allowed feral rock doves…
When did Greer's hospitality tax apply, and could the city exempt sellers or require separate business licenses?
The AG's office said Greer's hospitality tax applied from the ordinance's October 1, 1998 effective date despite later notice to businesses, assuming no local notice rule changed that result. It…
Does the state or the county have to pay a Texas district judge's legal bills when the judge is sued?
The Attorney General concluded that neither the state nor a county was required to reimburse a state district judge for the cost of defending a mandamus action. Section 74.141 of the Government Code…
Could Washington’s Commission on Judicial Conduct split investigation and hearing duties between separate member panels?
The Attorney General concluded in 1999 that the Commission could not divide its members into separate investigative and adjudicative panels under its existing constitutional authority. Prior…
Does a town have to disclose in its meeting agenda that it plans to discuss hiring a specific police officer applicant?
No, under the law as it stood in 1999. The AG found Bethany Beach's notice describing an executive session as covering "personnel matters relating to names, competency and abilities of individual…
When a Minnesota city annexes land in the Mississippi Headwaters corridor, does the city's zoning ordinance for that land need formal review and certification by the Mississippi Headwaters Board?
No. The AG concluded that the Mississippi Headwaters Board's formal review-and-certification authority under Minn. Stat. § 103F.373 reaches county zoning actions but not city zoning, so a…
Can a Texas charity raffle off a house or other prize worth more than $50,000?
The Attorney General concluded that under the Charitable Raffle Enabling Act a qualified organization may raffle a prize worth more than $50,000 only if the prize was donated and the organization…
Does federal law override Texas's notice rules for canceling private mortgage insurance?
The Attorney General concluded that the federal Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 did not supersede the Texas notice law. Because the two notice requirements were consistent, a lender that gave…
Could Washington invest the principal of its permanent common school fund?
The Attorney General concluded in 1999 that the constitution allowed the Legislature to authorize investment of permanent common school fund principal. The “permanent and irreducible” requirement…
Can a Texas prosecutor waive certified-mail service of a habeas corpus application?
The Attorney General concluded that Code of Criminal Procedure article 11.07, section 3(b) requires the court clerk to serve the prosecutor with a habeas corpus application by certified mail, return…
What investments counted as securities for the Texas Teacher Retirement System, and could outside managers choose them?
The Attorney General concluded that the investment meaning of securities in article XVI, section 67 came from chapter 8 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, not the broader federal and state…
Can a New York village pave or fix potholes on a private street if the residents ask?
No. The AG concluded that spending public funds to maintain a private street is an unconstitutional gift of public funds. The village can take the street by dedication or eminent domain and then…
Can a New York school district adopt a code of ethics that restricts gifts to its officers and employees more strictly than General Municipal Law § 805-a's $75 cap?
Yes. Under General Municipal Law § 806, school districts can adopt a code of ethics that goes beyond § 805-a's $75 floor, including banning gifts from anyone with an official relationship to the district.
Can a New York city set a 15 mph school-zone speed limit on a street that dead-ends next to a school but doesn't pass the school building?
No. Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1643 only authorizes a 15 mph school-zone speed limit on a highway 'passing a school building,' so a city cannot impose that limit on a street that just ends at the…
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