State AG Opinions
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Did a Clarendon County charter school need county school-board approval after the district board approved its application?
The 1999 AG letter said no county-board approval was required under the charter statutes it reviewed. The local school district board handled the application and the approved charter was filed with…
Could Clemson’s law-enforcement director also serve as mayor of Easley under South Carolina’s dual-office rule?
The 1999 AG letter thought the constitutional constable exception would allow both positions because the director’s law-enforcement powers came solely from a state constable commission. It also…
Would a proposed increase in Oregon PERS retiree benefits count as an increased local-government service, and would the pre-1997 program exemption apply?
The AG concluded that proposed legislation increasing PERS retirement benefits would require local governments to provide an increased level of service for an existing program under Article XI,…
Can a Maryland county or Baltimore City create a special tax or a benefit assessment district just to pay for public library services?
Yes, with limits tied to home rule status. The opinion concluded the State could levy a special library tax at any time, that Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Montgomery County already had…
Can a volunteer firefighter belong to two different fire companies at once if one of them only does ambulance work?
No. Town Law § 176-b(10) bars membership in more than one volunteer fire company at a time, even if the second company provides ambulance services. Under General Municipal Law § 209-i(1-a), a…
If a New York village snowplow knocks over my mailbox during snow removal, does the village have to pay to fix it?
Not automatically. The AG concluded that a village is not liable for damage to a mailbox placed in the village's highway right-of-way if the damage was caused by non-negligent snow removal. The…
Could the Port of South Louisiana extend an unclassified employee's contract beyond two years or pay more than 75% of its director's salary?
The 1999 opinion said no. The executive director could renew an unclassified employee's contract, but each contract had to stay within the statutory two-year term and 75%-of-director-salary limits;…
Could a newly elected Washington city councilmember receive a pay raise enacted earlier in the unfinished term?
The Attorney General concluded in 1999 that a councilmember elected to finish an unexpired term could not receive a compensation change enacted during that term by the council. The restriction…
Could a Kentucky mail-order pharmacy fill a prescription from a doctor licensed only in another state?
The 1999 opinion concluded that a Kentucky pharmacy could fill a prescription from a practitioner licensed in the practitioner's home state even without a Kentucky license. The Attorney General…
When a state department surveys its employees about workplace conditions, are the questionnaires, answer sheets, and written comments public records, or are they confidential personnel records?
The questionnaire, answer sheets, and comments were public records. The AG said DOA could redact specific parts of the answers or comments if it had a reasonable basis to find they related to the…
What election steps did a Louisiana town need for a Sunday alcohol-sales restriction?
The 1999 opinion said a town could propose a Sunday restriction for voter approval under the cited local-option statute. The governing authority had to draft the proposition within the…
Can the NC Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Authority pursue 'decay-in-storage' (holding radioactive waste long enough for it to decay to safe levels) as an alternative to permanent disposal, under its existing statutory mandate?
The Authority can study and recommend decay-in-storage as an option, but cannot actually build or license a DIS facility without first getting approval from the General Assembly. Chapter 104G uses…
Can a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist administer anesthesia in NC without a physician's supervision?
Generally no. The Nursing Practice Act and Board of Nursing rules require CRNA anesthesia care to be under physician supervision because anesthesia management involves prescribing medical treatment…
Can a Texas parent or hopeful adoptive parent advertise to place or find a child for adoption?
The chair of a Texas House committee asked four questions about the law (Penal Code section 25.09) that makes it a crime for anyone but a licensed child-placing agency to advertise that they will…
Do New York's restrictions on police campaign activity apply to sheriffs and deputy sheriffs?
Yes. The AG concluded that sheriffs and deputy sheriffs are now 'police officers' under State law and members of a 'police force' for purposes of Election Law § 17-110, so they are bound by the same…
Does a Texas cosmetologist have to be tested and certified free of hepatitis to get a license?
The Texas Cosmetology Commission's interim director asked two things about a 1997 law requiring an applicant for a new or renewed cosmetology license to submit a doctor's certificate showing the…
Can NC require the BUYER of electrical equipment to make sure the equipment was tested by a qualified laboratory, or does that legal duty fall only on the seller?
Article 4 of Chapter 66 does not require a purchaser to ensure that electrical equipment was tested by a qualified laboratory; its text applies to sellers and others disposing of equipment. The AG…
Can a corporation that isn't owned by veterinarians own a vet clinic or employ vets in Texas?
The director of the Texas veterinary board asked whether several business arrangements between a corporation that is not owned entirely by veterinarians and a practicing veterinarian amount to the…
Can a Texas appropriations rider force state agencies to take and pay for the Human Rights Commission's training?
The chair of the Texas Southern University Board of Regents asked whether a state agency or university that got three or more employment-discrimination complaints in a year had to let the Texas…
Must Texas agencies buy computers through the disability set-aside program or the state IT purchasing rules?
The General Services Commission's director asked whether the mandatory purchasing program that steers state agencies to buy goods made by people with disabilities (Human Resources Code chapter 122)…
Can the Texas Legislature let a state agency interpret the home equity amendment to the state constitution?
A state senator asked whether the Legislature, by statute or by a constitutional amendment, could put a state agency in charge of interpreting article XVI, section 50 of the Texas Constitution, the…
Can a Texas city or district that joined a regional 9-1-1 plan pull out of it on its own?
The executive director of the state 9-1-1 advisory commission asked three questions after the City of Corpus Christi tried to drop out of its regional 9-1-1 plan. First, can an emergency…
Could South Carolina towns impose a 3% business license tax only on telecom companies?
The AG said the described 3% telecom tax was constitutionally suspect because municipalities supplied no rational basis for its large disparity from other business rates. It also said a court would…
What approvals and notice does a landowner need when a proposed use affects a parcel in two New York towns?
The owner must comply with both towns' land use rules. In this grazing case, the AG said the owner must seek any approvals required by Stanford, notify Stanford of the pending Clinton variance…
Can the Dutchess County Transportation Program Administrator also serve on the City of Poughkeepsie Planning Board, given that the County reviews some of the City Planning Board's actions?
Yes. The AG concluded the positions are compatible. General City Law § 27(12) provides that serving on a county planning board does not disqualify a person from a city planning board, and General…
When the 1998 General Assembly appropriated capital project money for NC community colleges, can the colleges receive the money without coming up with matching local funds?
No. G.S. 115D-31(a)(1) imposes an affirmative obligation on the State Board of Community Colleges to require equal matching funds before disbursing state money for land purchase, construction, or…
If a city releases executive-session minutes to one citizen, does it have to give the same minutes to anyone else who asks?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1998. The AG found the City of Newark violated FOIA when it released personnel-related executive-session minutes to one citizen who requested them but withheld the…
Is a Minnesota school district required to make the same level of health insurance coverage available to retired employees who are 65 or older as to active employees?
No. The AG concluded that Minn. Stat. § 471.61, subd. 2b lets retired employees continue indefinitely in the employer-sponsored insurance group they were in at retirement, but the requirement that…
Can an electric membership corporation (EMC) in NC sell propane gas at retail to its members? What if a wholly-owned subsidiary does it, or through a joint venture?
No to both. EMCs in NC are organized under Chapter 117 with a narrow statutory purpose: provide electric service to members. They cannot expand into retail propane distribution, directly or…
Could Miller force South Carolina beer distributors to litigate in Wisconsin or lose their franchises?
The AG said South Carolina beer law would prevail over conflicting terms in Miller’s proposed distributor agreement. It concluded that refusal to accept an exclusive Wisconsin venue clause or…
When could a Louisiana justice of the peace set or change bail in a criminal case?
The 1998 opinion said a justice of the peace could initially set bail within territorial jurisdiction for offenses that were not capital or necessarily punishable by hard labor, if a judge or…
Can a town withhold housing code violation notices from public records requests by calling them investigation files?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1998. The AG found that a town's Code Enforcement Officer is an investigative agency, so notices of Housing Code violations qualify as exempt investigatory files…
Could the DC Inspector General subpoena the Housing Authority while it was under a DC Superior Court receivership?
Yes, under the 1998 opinion. DCHA's procurement exemption and its DC Superior Court receivership did not remove it from the Inspector General's subpoena authority. The receivership order allowed a…
Does NC's Environmental Management Commission have to go through formal administrative rulemaking before signing a cooperative agreement with the federal National Parks Service and Forest Service about reviewing air permits for facilities near Class I federal lands?
No. The AG concluded that the proposed MOU governed how North Carolina and federal land managers would share information and consult on air permits, without adding requirements for permit…
Could Allendale County base its school tax cap on last year’s budget instead of last year’s millage?
The AG read the 1992 local act to base the cap on the preceding year’s millage, plus the specified inflation factor and up to four additional mills. It said the county auditor had a ministerial duty…
Does a state Consumer Protection Board employee serving as the Board's representative on an advisory board to the Targeted Accessibility Fund get state defense and indemnification, or does the Board need to buy private insurance?
Yes, the employee is covered. The AG concluded that a Consumer Protection Board employee serving as the Board's representative on the TAF Advisory Board is acting within state employment, so Public…
If a NC sheriff's election is being contested and won't be resolved before the incumbent's term ends, who serves as sheriff in the meantime?
The incumbent sheriff would continue serving. The State Board directed withdrawal of an improperly issued election certificate while a contest was pending. Because Article VI, § 10 kept the…
When the 1998 budget bill restored the cost-of-living raise for state employees with poor performance ratings, did that fix reach backward to give them the 1997 COLA they missed too, or only the 1998 COLA?
Only the 1998 COLA. The AG found no clear intent in the 1998 legislation to repeal the poor-performance exclusion retroactively or give affected employees retroactive pay raises. The office…
If a NC town buys a private lake that is subject to a conservation easement, and the conservation easement gets amended to allow a public park with walkways and small buildings, does that create a public trust doctrine problem under NC law?
The AG concluded that Holly Springs' proposed dam reconstruction and public park use, as described in the request, would not adversely affect public trust rights in Bass Lake. The office said the…
Could a South Carolina drug task force sell forfeited vehicles for salvage and keep the proceeds?
The AG said the county should dispose of the forfeited vehicles through its ordinary surplus-property procedures. The sale proceeds would go into the law enforcement agency’s special drug-forfeiture fund.
When a county DSS is investigating a possible welfare fraud, can it require an employer to hand over the suspect's employment information without consent, subpoena, or court order?
A private employer may voluntarily give a county DSS employee information unless an employment contract or collective bargaining agreement bars disclosure. State, county, and city employers can…
Who can serve as the local school district's representative on an IEP team for a child with disabilities? Does the role have to be filled by a particular position (like a principal), or does the school district have flexibility?
Local school administrative units have discretion. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the State Board's rules specify functional qualifications (must be qualified to provide…
Could a Washington county ban audio or video recording at an open public meeting?
The 1998 AG opinion said a county could not ban recording of the open portion of a meeting covered by the Open Public Meetings Act. It could impose restrictions needed to keep order, and could…
Could a Washington public utility district sell Internet service or lease spare fiber capacity?
In 1998, the AG found no authority for a district to operate a separate Internet or telephone service business. It could lease genuinely excess fiber capacity installed for its electric utility…
Can you discharge New York DMV civil penalties for driving without insurance in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy?
Yes. The Supremacy Clause overrides Vehicle and Traffic Law § 318(11)(e), so a debtor who completes Chapter 13 plan payments can discharge DMV civil penalties imposed under Article 6 of the V&T Law.
Can a New York joint village and town planning board, formed to review border-area land use applications, weight its members' votes so the host municipality has the majority?
Yes. The AG concluded that a joint village and town planning board may use weighted voting to give the municipality where a parcel lies a slim majority. Some or all board actions may also require…
After the Bailey court order on 401(k) and 457 plan vesting, does the August 12, 1989 date still control class membership, or did the court drop that requirement?
August 12, 1989 still controls. The NC AG concluded that the November 1998 Bailey class-definition order, even though its Conclusion of Law No. 3 did not repeat the August 12, 1989 date, did not…
Could South Carolina deny commercial fishing licenses to residents of states that restrict South Carolina fishers?
The AG repeated its view that the reciprocity provision was constitutionally suspect but said agencies should continue following it until a court or the Legislature acted. Because the constituent…
Could South Carolina’s Education Oversight Committee review and approve state education decisions?
The AG concluded that the 1998 Education Accountability Act’s oversight and approval duties for an appointed committee were constitutional, even where they affected the elected superintendent and…
Was a pharmacy on the Mashantucket Pequot reservation a nonresident pharmacy under Connecticut law?
The AG concluded that the Pequot Pharmaceutical Network was located within Connecticut for purposes of the state provisions governing pharmacies outside the state. He did not decide whether other…
Could Washington county clerks share confidential case details with other courts through the Judicial Information System?
The 1998 AG opinion said yes when statutes or court rules required the exchange for court functions. Providing appropriate juvenile or mental commitment information to the JIS did not itself violate…
Can a member of the public find out whether a specific NC public school teacher has a valid teaching license, and from which agency?
Yes from the State Board of Education or DPI; no from the local school district. The AG split the analysis by record custodian. Teacher licensure status is a public record under G.S. § 132-1 in the…
Could a Fountain Inn mayor replace standing council committee members during the mayor’s term?
The AG said the city ordinance gave standing committee members a term lasting through the mayor’s term, so the mayor’s ability to replace them was severely limited. The city council could amend the…
Could a Louisiana school bus driver also serve as an elected school board member?
The 1998 opinion said no. It treated the bus driver's job and the school board seat as employment and elective office in the same political subdivision, a combination the dual officeholding statute…
Could the public inspect adoption records or indexes held by a South Carolina court clerk?
No. The AG said adoption papers and records filed with the clerk were confidential and that this covered indexes in the clerk’s custody. The statute allowed inspection only on a court order for good cause.
Can off-duty New York deputies respond to a neighboring county's mutual aid request and be paid by the race track they're protecting?
No, not as mutual aid. The AG concluded that Wayne County's arrangement, with off-duty deputies paid directly by the track, did not comply with the mutual aid statute. It discussed statutory mutual…
If a Texas water district director runs for another office, do they automatically lose their director seat?
A state representative asked whether Water Code section 49.072, which says a water district director who becomes a candidate for another office 'is no longer qualified to serve as director,' is…
Can a New York property owner whose land is inside the village but only gets fire protection (no streets, sidewalks, lights, sewer, or water) petition to be excluded from village boundaries?
No. The AG concluded that Village Law § 18-1804 makes property ineligible for exclusion if it receives any one of the listed village benefits, including fire protection. Even though the Village of…
Between October 1998 and July 1, 1999, were the ex officio members of the NC Child Fatality Task Force allowed to vote on Task Force matters?
Yes. The AG said every ex officio member of the N.C. Child Fatality Task Force could vote on all matters until July 1, 1999. After that, the Chief Medical Examiner was the only ex officio member…
Who controls a Texas county's records management and preservation fee, the commissioners court or the county clerk?
Three county officials asked who decides how the records management and preservation fee that a county clerk collects under Local Government Code section 118.0216 may be spent: the commissioners…
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