State AG Opinions
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Can a Texas county add the 15% delinquent-tax collection penalty to property taxes that become delinquent on July 1?
On behalf of the Brazos County Tax Assessor-Collector, the county attorney asked whether the extra penalty that pays for collection-attorney costs (Tax Code section 33.07) reaches taxes that fall…
Did South Carolina sheriffs have general law-enforcement authority outside their own counties?
No. The AG said a sheriff’s territorial authority was ordinarily confined to the county of election, even though sheriffs were classified as state officers for some purposes. Specific statutes and…
Did unclassified employees of South Carolina commodity boards keep state grievance rights?
The AG deferred to the state Office of Human Resources’ conclusion that unclassified commodity-board employees did not lose their grievance rights. The letter did not independently analyze those…
Did Connecticut’s 1998 registry transition require a newly probationary sex offender to register?
Yes. The AG said the probationer in the department’s example had been subject to the earlier registration law, so the new act required registration shortly after taking effect. He also described…
Did Connecticut’s Husky B program have to cover medically necessary abortions?
The AG concluded that Husky B’s proposed restriction to life-saving, rape and incest cases would violate the Connecticut Constitution. He said the state had to cover medically necessary abortions,…
If someone with a cognitive disability needs help understanding what's happening in an Oregon court case, must the court pay for a 'process interpreter' under the ADA?
The AG concluded that an Oregon court could require a party requesting a process interpreter to file a motion and hold a hearing under UTCR 7.060, and that the court had discretion to deny the…
Which Texas school district taxes a pooled gas well's royalties, the one with the well or the one where the land is?
The Wheeler County Attorney (whose duties the District Attorney for the 31st and 223rd Judicial Districts had taken over) asked how to split ad valorem taxes on gas royalties between two school…
Which government-held funds count as 'public funds' that a Texas agency can invest under the Public Funds Investment Act?
Catherine Ghiglieri, the Texas Banking Commissioner, asked which funds her department controls may be invested under the Public Funds Investment Act (Government Code chapter 2256) and what 'public…
Can a Texas appraisal district pay its chief appraiser's legal fees for defending a criminal charge tied to his job?
Senator Judith Zaffirini asked whether the board of an appraisal district may reimburse the attorney fees its chief appraiser ran up defending a criminal prosecution for official misconduct. (In…
Could a Louisiana parish create voting precincts with fewer than 300 registered voters?
The 1998 opinion said a parish police jury could create a precinct below 300 registered voters only if a statutory exception applied. It declined to decide whether Avoyelles Parish's proposed…
Can a Texas county force a road across private land to reach a landlocked neighbor's property?
Howard Freemyer, the Kent County Attorney, asked whether the county commissioners court could establish a 'neighborhood road' under Transportation Code section 251.053 for a landowner whose only…
Can someone with a federal conviction restore their Texas civil rights if they also have a misdemeanor on their record?
Representative Al Edwards asked whether a person convicted of a prior federal offense may apply to restore civil rights forfeited in Texas because of that federal conviction, if the person has also…
Does a public body violate FOIA if more people show up to a meeting than it expected and the room can't hold everyone?
No, under the law as it stood in 1998, as long as the room was reasonable for the crowd the public body actually expected. The AG found Woodbridge's school district didn't violate FOIA when a…
Could the University of Connecticut randomly drug-test student athletes under its revised policy?
The AG advised that UConn’s proposed random drug testing of student athletes could comply with the Fourth Amendment under the facts supplied. His conclusion relied on the university’s health…
Does the Texas colonias subdivision law apply when a school district leases teacher housing on its grounds?
Joe Rubio, the District Attorney for the 49th Judicial District, asked on behalf of the Webb Consolidated Independent School District whether the colonias statute (Local Government Code chapter 232,…
Could a Johns Island resident serve on the St. John’s Fire Commission after the property was annexed into Charleston?
No, if annexation placed the person outside the fire district. The AG said the 1978 act required a Johns Island commissioner to be both an island resident and a qualified elector of the fire…
If a court issues a stay of execution after the lethal injection has already started, must Oregon prison officials stop the execution and try to save the inmate's life?
The AG concluded that a stay received before the execution was complete required the superintendent to stop the injection and provide ordinary emergency medical care. Medical staff could forgo…
Is it constitutional for Texas to require water-district board members to own land in the district?
Sherry Robinson, the Waller County Criminal District Attorney, asked whether the land-ownership requirement for serving on a fresh-water-supply district board (Water Code section 53.063(2)) and a…
Could someone buy a South Carolina garage’s storage lien and claim the uncollected vehicle?
The AG doubted that a repair or storage lien could be assigned to a third party under the then-current statute without court or legislative approval. It advised against the proposed transfer until…
When two Minnesota townships split maintenance of a town-line road in an 1885 agreement and the counties later took over part of the road, can the county boards reallocate responsibility for the remaining township portion?
Yes. The AG concluded that Minn. Stat. § 164.12, subd. 6 authorizes county boards to determine the proper division of town-line road maintenance responsibility, even where the prior allocation was…
Can off-duty employees of a New York public water authority moonlight as plumbers installing private service lines that connect to the authority's water mains?
No, regardless of whether those employees personally inspect the work. The AG concluded that Suffolk County Water Authority employees should not take off-duty work installing private water service…
Could a county election-board member attend a fundraiser for candidates whose election the member oversaw?
No, if the member knowingly attended a fundraiser benefiting candidates whose election was within the member’s jurisdiction. The AG said the statute made such a member subject to removal, and the…
How were South Carolina’s one-percent fire-insurance tax proceeds divided among fire departments?
The AG said qualifying organized fire departments received shares calculated under §23-9-420 using the assessed value of real-estate improvements in their service areas. It referred the county…
Can someone with an arson conviction join a New York volunteer fire company or serve as a fire commissioner if they have a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities?
For membership in a volunteer fire company, yes, but the company and the fire district can still refuse based on the conviction. For fire commissioner, no: a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities…
If a New York county misses the eight-, twelve-, or twenty-year deadline for reviewing an agricultural district, does the district just expire on its own?
No. The AG concluded that an agricultural district does not terminate by operation of law if the county fails to conduct the periodic review under Agriculture and Markets Law § 303-a. The statute…
Can a Minnesota statutory city move its city-owned telephone and cable television companies under a public utility commission that operates independent of the city council?
No. The AG concluded that Minn. Stat. § 412.351 enumerates the public utilities a statutory city's public utility commission may take jurisdiction over (water, light and power, gas, sewer, and…
How does an attorney-in-fact sign a deed for a principal in New York: with the principal's name and his own, or just his own name with the 'attorney-in-fact' label?
Either format works. The AG concluded that no New York statute (General Obligations Law power-of-attorney provisions; Real Property Law recording provisions) makes the attorney-in-fact's authority…
Can a New York sewage-works corporation that provides sewer service to a private development reorganize itself as a limited liability company?
No. The AG concluded that the Tracy Sewer Works Corporation could not reorganize as an LLC. Article 10 of the Transportation Corporations Law is the exclusive vehicle for private sewer service to…
Can voters force a referendum on consolidating two New York towns by signing a petition, or does it take action by both town boards?
Both town boards have to act. The AG concluded that Town Law Article 5-B does not authorize a citizen petition to put town consolidation on the ballot. Each town board has to pass a resolution…
Can the same person serve as the Director of a county planning board and as a member of the county industrial development agency in New York?
Yes. The AG concluded that the positions of director of the Fulton County Planning Board and member of the County's IDA are compatible. General Municipal Law § 856(4) expressly authorizes municipal…
Can a county building code enforcement officer also serve as a county fire investigator who investigates the cause of fires in buildings he previously permitted?
No. The AG concluded the two positions are incompatible because the fire investigator would be reviewing his own code-enforcement work. Even when a colleague does the fire investigation, the…
If a New York city wants to scrap its city personnel officer and have the county civil service commission take over, does that change require a public vote?
No. Municipal Home Rule Law § 23(2)(k) requires a mandatory referendum only for changes to a city civil service commission's membership or terms. Geneva had a personnel officer, not a commission, so…
If a town board appointed a Deputy Supervisor by resolution but never separately created the office, was the office still validly established?
Yes. The AG concluded the Town of Forestburgh effectively created the Deputy Supervisor position. The 1992 resolution combined creation and appointment in one step, and although the appointment…
Could an asphalt plant renew construction and operation permission after a new setback law took effect?
The AG said a one-year conditional operating permit for the Colchester plant expired by law in January 1998 and was nonrenewable. If the plant was not operating by the end of 1997 and lay within the…
When did Lake City’s newly elected mayor take office after the incumbent died before the term ended?
The AG said the election winner would take office when the new four-year mayoral term legally began, assuming other requirements were met. The letter did not identify the exact date and referred…
When the law says a school finance officer 'serves at the pleasure of the superintendent,' can the superintendent fire the finance officer without the school board's approval, and can the finance officer appeal the firing to the school board?
Yes, the superintendent can fire the school finance officer unilaterally for any reason or no reason (so long as not illegal), without board approval and without giving the finance officer a right…
Could a Cameron Parish water board accumulate a surplus from customer water fees?
The 1998 opinion allowed a reasonable, occasional surplus incidental to water service operations. It warned that a charge aimed chiefly at raising revenue, or clearly and materially above the…
Could a Washington university give individual raises above a budgeted average salary increase?
Under the 1997–99 budget, the AG said faculty and exempt staff raises could vary around the funded 3 percent average without overspending the appropriation. Other lawful funds could address…
Could a Washington county issue a presumptive death certificate when a missing boater’s body was never found?
The 1998 AG opinion said a coroner or equivalent official could issue one after an accident or natural disaster on sufficient evidence tied to the county or nearby waters. When the death location…
Did a South Carolina county veterans affairs officer qualify for county personnel policies and grievance rights?
The AG said a court would likely find that county veterans affairs officers were outside the “county employee” category covered by the county personnel-policy statute. A 1966 opinion calling them…
Did South Carolina require rental-car airport surcharges and ways to avoid them to appear in rental agreements?
The AG read the then-current disclosure requirement as applying to advertisements of rental rates, not to rental agreements. The letter expressly limited its answer to that legal question and did…
Can political party observers inside a NC voting place use a video camera to film voters, or use a cell phone, while they observe?
The AG concluded that political party observers could not videotape voters from the voting enclosure: that activity exceeded their statutory role and threatened voting without intimidation or loss…
If North Carolina repealed its Enterprise Corporation investment tax credit in 1996, can someone who invested in 1996 still claim the credit, and at what cap?
Yes, but only at the reduced cap. The AG reaffirmed its 1996 conclusion: investments made during calendar year 1996 in a NC Enterprise Corporation remained eligible for the credit on the 1997…
Could Louisiana's cosmetology board bar beauty-school students from working or even visiting licensed salons?
The 1998 opinion did not decide whether the board's broad salon restriction was valid. It said the answer required factual findings about the rule's connection to a legitimate public purpose and…
Could a South Carolina county transportation committee pay members for attending meetings?
No. The AG said the committee statute did not authorize member salaries or per diem payments, so it could not pay the proposed per-meeting amounts. It allowed limited reasonable administrative…
Could a South Carolina merchant charge a bad-check writer for the bank fee imposed on the merchant, on top of the payee service charge?
The 1998 opinion treated the $25 payee service charge as the exclusive charge for processing a dishonored check. A bank fee imposed on the merchant could be covered by that charge, but the AG…
Did the Oil City police chief recall petition have enough valid signatures to trigger an election?
The 1998 attorney general opinion accepted the registrar's certification of 212 qualified signatures and said the Governor should call a special election on recalling Oil City's police chief.
Did South Carolina’s School Safety Act let a Fort Mill police officer work at schools outside the town limits?
No. The 1998 opinion found no grant of general law-enforcement jurisdiction outside Fort Mill in the School Safety Act. It pointed instead to specific pursuit authority or an authorized agreement…
Can a NC county officially 'recognize' a Native American tribe, and if so, does the county's recognition force the state to recognize the tribe too?
No on official state recognition; yes on supportive resolutions. Orange County had adopted a 1995 resolution recognizing the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation as a Native American tribe…
When a New Jersey town council, school board, or other public body goes into closed (executive) session, do they have to take minutes of what was discussed?
Yes. The Open Public Meetings Act requires reasonably comprehensible minutes of 'all' meetings, and that includes closed/executive sessions, not just the public portions. The minutes don't have to…
When did a South Carolina prisoner serving over three months enter state custody, and who had to arrange pickup?
The 1998 opinion said the prisoner entered Department of Corrections custody upon sentencing for more than three months. After notice, the department had to arrange pickup with reasonable…
Could a South Carolina magistrate court fund its operations and salaries from criminal fees it collected?
The 1998 AG opinion said a proposal to pay magistrate-court expenses, salaries and benefits from its own criminal fees and assessments would face constitutional difficulties. It did not decide the…
If the General Assembly exempts a school district from local building permit fees, can the school district and the county still work around that by having the county charge the contractor and the school district reimburse the contractor?
No. The 1997 local act exempted Wake County public and qualified nonpublic schools from development charges on school construction, including building permit fees. The AG said an agreement to bill a…
Could Marion County cut a magistrate’s pay after a city ended its municipal-court stipend?
The AG did not decide whether the county could reduce this magistrate’s pay. Its 1998 opinion said the statute protected salary during tenure, but whether the ended municipal-court stipend counted…
How do New York villages handle chair designations and member terms on zoning and planning boards under the revised Village Law, and what happens when those rules are misapplied?
The AG worked through four sub-questions for Westhampton Beach: the 1996 three-year chair designation for the ZBA was invalid as to term length because Village Law now provides no term and the chair…
Could Louisiana authorize a Carencro vote on racetrack slot machines and let the town tax gaming proceeds?
The 1998 opinion said the legislature could authorize a local gaming election and a local tax under specified constitutional conditions. Existing Act 721 did not cover Lafayette Parish or Carencro,…
Did South Carolina’s 24-hour bond-hearing rule also require a probable-cause hearing within 24 hours after a warrantless arrest?
No. In 1998, the AG read the 24-hour rule as governing bond hearings for bailable offenses, not as replacing the separate probable-cause rule after warrantless arrest. The opinion said jail…
Could a South Carolina concealed-weapons permit holder carry a pistol in a purse or briefcase?
The 1998 AG opinion advised against prosecuting a valid concealed-weapons permit holder merely for carrying a pistol in a purse, handbag or briefcase under the holder’s control. It found the…
If a county commissioner sits on a North Carolina district board of health, does the three-consecutive-three-year-terms limit that applies to other board members apply to that commissioner too?
No. Under N.C.G.S. § 130A-37(c), county commissioner members of a district board of health are not subject to the three-consecutive-term limit that applies to other board members. The only statutory…
Could a Louisiana town police chief receive extra pay per traffic ticket or a monthly sheriff payment?
The 1998 opinion found no authority for a traffic-ticket percentage and said the town board had to establish the chief's compensation by ordinance. It lacked enough facts to decide the…
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