State AG Opinions
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Did Louisiana police officers have to take leave to run for chief of police, especially if a coworker took leave?
The 1998 opinion said the officers did not have to take leave just to run, and one candidate's decision to take leave did not require the others to do so. It warned against campaign activity…
Could a South Carolina magistrate also serve on the Commission for Minority Affairs?
The 1998 AG opinion said simultaneous service was most probably allowed under the state constitution’s dual-office rule because commission membership was most probably not a public office. It also…
Did a full-time Kentucky deputy sheriff qualify for police funding even when assigned to court security?
The 1998 opinion concluded that a full-time sworn deputy sheriff qualified for Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program funding regardless of primary assignment, including court security. It said…
Could a Sunset police officer run for chief of police without resigning or taking leave?
The 1998 opinion said an eligible officer could qualify and campaign while remaining employed. Leave or resignation was not automatically required, but campaign activity could not prevent the…
Was a Louisiana school board's special-meeting vote invalid because it broke the board's reconsideration rules?
The 1998 opinion said the Franklin Parish board broke its own reconsideration rules, but that alone did not make the vote illegal. A separate Open Meetings Law notice defect could make the action…
Are a South Carolina legislative delegation’s records and its members’ working papers open under FOIA?
The 1998 AG opinion said records held by a legislative delegation had to be assessed under FOIA’s public-record definition and disclosed unless exempt. It said individual legislators’ memoranda,…
Could a golf cart cross a South Carolina primary highway between parts of a golf course under the old golf-cart permit law?
The 1998 opinion said a golf cart crossing a primary highway was being operated on that highway. The then-current golf-cart permit provision covered secondary roads under stated conditions and…
What are Newburgh city marshals authorized to do, and can they carry a pistol inside New York City?
Newburgh city marshals can serve civil and criminal process of the Newburgh City Court throughout Orange County, but the court may direct that police officers serve particular criminal process. As…
Can a village put a part-time police officer's towing business on the official rotation list the police use to call towers?
Yes, if the village uses an automatic rotation system and takes steps to keep the officer from being involved in calls that benefit his own business. The AG warned that the officer's own business…
Could New Haven County sheriffs operate the Union Avenue courthouse lockup?
The AG concluded that the New Haven County high sheriff had authority to operate the Union Avenue lockup under § 6-32d. The statute allowed the responsible agencies to agree on prisoner custody…
What did Aiken County have to disclose and how did it appoint its elections executive director in 1998?
The 1998 opinion said the delegation had to disclose materials for at least the final three applicants and the number considered, subject to specified exemptions. The executive director required…
Is the Greensprings Livestock District in Oregon a valid 'fence-out' district when over a third of its acreage is federal BLM land, and can someone still challenge it 23 years after it was formed?
The AG concluded that federal lands may be counted toward the 2,000-acre minimum required to form a livestock district under ORS 607.010(3), that, absent facts indicating a failure to publish the…
Could Kenner vote on a municipal civil service system and a tax to fund it on the same ballot?
The 1998 opinion said Kenner could use the constitution's local-option process and could put a funding millage on the same ballot as a separate proposition with the required purpose and duration. If…
Did the gaming board’s two-year revolving-door bar prevent a regulator from leading the state lottery corporation?
The AG concluded that the acting special revenue director could accept the presidency of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation without violating the specific two-year employment restriction for Gaming…
How did Connecticut’s 1998 sex-offender registry act affect DNA collection, release and prior registrants?
The AG answered implementation questions about out-of-state convictions, older registrants, DNA collection, required court findings, correctional release and pending appeals. The opinion interpreted…
Could an auto insurer send injury claimants a flyer encouraging them to settle without an attorney?
The AG advised that Allstate’s “Do I Need An Attorney?” flyer appeared to discourage injury claimants from retaining counsel, contrary to Public Act 97-58. He described the assessment as advisory:…
Could Connecticut include indirect expenses in its assessment for regulating tribal casino gaming?
The AG said the Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Procedures allowed Connecticut to assess the tribe for both direct and indirect costs of gaming regulation and related investigations. The agency had to…
Did a South Carolina town owe police-academy training reimbursement after hiring an officer who left another town over working conditions?
The 1998 AG opinion said the later hiring town still owed statutory training reimbursement when it hired the officer within the specified period. The officer’s reasons for leaving the first…
Could a South Carolina House member also work as a public-school substitute teacher?
Yes, according to this 1998 opinion. The AG said earlier opinions had found no state statutory or constitutional bar to a legislator also serving as a teacher or other school-district employee, so…
Did public officials holding ex officio seats on the Walterboro-Colleton Airport Commission violate South Carolina’s dual-office ban?
The 1998 AG opinion said no. The officials held airport-commission seats by virtue of their existing offices, and the opinion treated all five seats, including the elected city-council seat, as ex…
Is it a FOIA violation if a public body briefly strays into an improper topic during executive session but stops as soon as someone objects?
No, according to this opinion. The AG cleared Woodbridge's school district of any FOIA violation across five executive-session topics, finding that personnel and labor-negotiation items fit within…
Can a town agenda say a council will consider 'nominations' for a vacant seat and then hold an actual election at the same meeting?
No, under the law as it stood in 1998. The AG found the Town of Townsend violated FOIA by posting notice of its meeting only six days ahead of the required seven, and by listing the agenda item as…
Could South Carolina’s Budget and Control Board require every state agency to title land in the state’s name?
The 1998 opinion doubted the Board could impose a universal state-name titling rule, especially where an agency had express power to hold title in its own name. It said a carefully drafted statute…
Which 1998 South Carolina misdemeanor convictions were excluded from expungement, and did the three-year wait apply to older convictions?
The 1998 opinion read the “enhanced penalties” exclusion as applying to specified Title 50 offenses, not all offenses with repeat-offender penalties. It also reaffirmed the AG’s view that the…
When a NC public charter school enrolls students from a school district that levies a supplemental school tax, does the charter school get a per-pupil share of that supplemental tax revenue or only state funding?
Yes. The AG read the Charter School Act’s local current expense appropriation to include the school board’s current expense fund, which expressly includes supplemental taxes. The opinion concludes…
Could a Louisiana public university hire its own CPA firm for a financial examination?
The 1998 opinion said a university management board could hire an independent CPA firm and could delegate that authority. An institution could also hire one absent a contrary board policy, subject…
Could South Carolina’s Juvenile Parole Board share a juvenile’s records with other agencies to make release decisions?
The 1998 AG opinion said the Juvenile Parole Board could release juvenile records to other agencies when necessary and appropriate to coordinate services and carry out parole or discharge decisions.…
Could a South Carolina school district require binding student enrollment promises with a charter-school application?
The 1998 opinion found nothing in the Charter School Act requiring students to make binding attendance commitments when a charter application was filed. It expressly declined to decide whether the…
Can Oregon ODOT share driver and vehicle personal information with other state agencies, and what limits apply to redisclosure?
Yes, with limits. ODOT could disclose motor vehicle personal information to state agencies for their governmental functions. Resale or redisclosure to outside parties was restricted to ORS 802.179's…
Who interpreted “similar disability” for South Carolina head and spinal cord injury case-management eligibility?
The 1998 opinion did not define “similar disability” or decide the constituent’s eligibility. It said the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs administered the law, and its reasonable…
Could a former Ferriday employee collect five years of unused annual leave despite a ten-day carryover limit?
The 1998 opinion said the employee was due at most ten days under Ferriday's ordinance, assuming that rule had not changed during her employment. The town could define the benefit by ordinance, but…
Could Ascension Parish transfer a rural-development grant or purchased land to its airport authority?
The 1998 opinion said either route could fulfill the grant's stated purpose and serve a public purpose. It did not decide whether the public benefit was proportionate to the expenditure; the…
Could Louisiana district judges designate the duty judge to sign wiretap orders?
The 1998 opinion said a vote designating the duty judge for electronic surveillance orders did not seem to violate the statute if only one eligible elected judge served in that role. An appointed…
Did South Carolina’s 1997 three-year expungement wait apply to a conviction entered while the wait was one year?
The 1998 AG opinion said the amended three-year waiting period applied to convictions entered before the change, including one whose old one-year period had not run by the amendment. It stressed…
Could a contract city attorney also serve as Abbeville County’s master-in-equity under South Carolina’s dual-office rule?
The 1998 AG opinion said Greenwood’s city attorney appeared to be a contract lawyer rather than a public officeholder on the facts presented. Because the master-in-equity post was an office but the…
Could a South Carolina sheriff serve court papers at an employee’s workplace, and when would resistance be a crime?
The 1998 opinion said deputies could serve process at a place of business, but the employer’s private work area raised privacy limits. It suggested using public areas or seeking the employer’s…
Could a Kentucky employer ban a licensed employee's concealed weapon inside the employee's own parked car?
The 1998 opinion concluded that an employer could prohibit concealed weapons on its premises generally, but could not bar a licensed employee from keeping one in the employee's personally owned…
When must a NC public school principal report an act of indecent liberties with a minor to law enforcement, and what's the age cutoff?
The AG said the duty under G.S. § 115C-288(g) arises when a principal has personal knowledge or actual notice from school personnel that an act violating G.S. § 14-202.1 has occurred, with a victim…
Did Louisiana's Good Samaritan law protect a volunteer using a defibrillator, and did a crowded venue have to provide one?
The 1998 opinion said the general Good Samaritan statute protected a gratuitous AED rescuer when its conditions were met. The office knew of no legislation then requiring crowded venues to provide…
Can the mayor of a New York city serve at the same time as a member of the county legislature?
Yes. The AG concluded that the positions of city mayor and county legislator are compatible. County Law § 411 does not list either office in its bar on dual elective county/town office, and the AG…
Can a New York city charter require a super-majority (four-fifths) vote of the city council to enact local laws?
No. The AG concluded that a city charter provision requiring a four-of-five vote of the council to adopt a local law was inconsistent with State law. Municipal Home Rule Law § 20(1) requires only a…
Can a New York village vote to abolish its police department, and what does the legal process look like?
Yes, but only after the village board first passes a local law to abolish the department. The local law is subject to permissive referendum: voters can force a vote by petition, or the board can…
Can a Texas sheriff make an attorney or bondsman post collateral, or refuse the attorney's bail bond for a client?
Two county attorneys, Richard Miller of Bell County and Bill Moore of Johnson County, asked about a sheriff's authority over bail bonds, especially bonds an attorney executes for a client the…
Did a South Carolina court clerk have to create bond-worth or lien-free statements, and could a recorded mortgage use an electronic signature?
The 1998 opinion found no duty for the clerk to create a surety’s worth statement or a statement that someone had no liens or judgments, though the clerk could assist and had to provide access to…
Should a South Carolina arrest warrant charge the underlying property crime or the repeat-offender sentencing statute?
The 1998 opinion said the warrant should charge the underlying offense, such as shoplifting, rather than treating the repeat-offender statute as a separate crime. The enhancement provision governed…
Could South Carolina repeal a Dorchester County law that shifted appointment and budget powers to county government?
The 1998 AG opinion found Act No. 512, a Dorchester-only transfer of appointment and budget powers to county government, constitutionally doubtful. It said a special law repealing that act and…
Can a Texas commissioners court continue a meeting for up to a week without posting a new notice?
Jose Rodriguez, the El Paso County Attorney, asked whether a commissioners court could continue a meeting for up to one week without reposting notice, pointing to the Local Government Code provision…
If a NC county votes in 1998 to expand its board of commissioners from three to five, when does the expansion actually take effect, the next county election in 2000 or 2002 as the resolution said?
If voters approved the 1998 proposal, the AG said Madison County had to elect the expanded board at the next election for county offices, in 2000. Under G.S. § 153A-62, the alteration would take…
Could the Allen Parish Tourist Commission pay to create events, or only promote attractions?
The 1998 opinion distinguished promotion from creating an attraction. It treated a promotional radio show as within the commission's role, canoe purchases needed to hold a race as event creation,…
Could a Leesville city council member keep a part-time job as deputy city marshal?
The 1998 opinion said no. The marshal's office received fines that were paid into the city's treasury, making the council position and deputy marshal job incompatible under the cited dual-office rule.
If a tiny Oregon county is absorbed into a larger one, can the bigger county keep its landfill 'host fee' programs only for residents who lived there before the merger, or does the constitution require equal treatment?
The AG concluded that, on the facts provided, there was no apparent justification for restricting Gilliam County's host-fee-funded economic development programs to citizens and businesses in the…
Could a Louisiana registrar of voters remain qualified in her parish if she spent more time at her spouse's home in another parish?
The 1998 opinion said this St. Helena Parish registrar remained a resident and qualified voter there. She maintained a home with a homestead exemption in the parish and was registered to vote there,…
Could a Louisiana veterinarian put outside laboratory charges on an invoice and provide the lab's details only if the client asks?
The 1998 opinion said no. If a veterinarian used an outside lab and passed its charges to a client, the invoice itself had to disclose the lab's name and address and the net amount paid or payable…
Could a Louisiana parish award a simple equipment bid immediately and accept a wholesaler's low bid?
The 1998 opinion found no Public Bid Law violation in the immediate award of this simple equipment contract. It said the low bid could not be rejected merely because the supplier was a wholesaler…
Could a Louisiana city marshal use court-cost funds to match employees' deferred-compensation contributions?
The 1998 opinion said the Ruston marshal could pay the employer portion of a voluntary supplemental retirement plan from the office's dedicated court-cost account. Its enclosed earlier opinion…
Did South Carolina’s Gift of Life Trust Fund have to invest only in state pooled funds?
No. The 1998 opinion read state pooled investment funds as an available option, not a requirement for the Gift of Life Trust. It separately said the Trust did not appear to be a state agency for the…
If a person moves to South Dakota for a 12-month contract job but keeps voting and paying taxes in their home state, can they get a South Dakota concealed pistol permit after 30 days?
No for the applicant in the opinion. SDCL 23-7-7.1 required at least thirty days as a resident of the county or municipality, not merely temporary presence. The AG inferred an intent to return to…
Could a South Carolina municipal traffic judge dismiss tickets after drivers completed a court-run class without prosecutor approval?
The 1998 opinion found the proposed court-run traffic diversion program legally suspect. It said a state statute was needed for a municipal judge to dismiss prosecutions on completion of a class,…
Did a Louisiana alderman candidate have to live in the ward for a full year before qualifying?
The 1998 opinion said no fixed period of ward residence was stated. It said the candidate had to be a ward resident, while the one-year domicile and actual-residence requirement applied to the…
Could Louisiana's Insurance Department set leave rules for its unclassified employees despite a governor's order?
The 1998 opinion said yes. Executive Order MJF 96-79 excepted systems authorized by law to manage and supervise themselves, and the office read the Insurance Commissioner's statutory authority as…
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Two states are not listed and are not pending: New Hampshire publishes its opinions on a page that automated retrieval cannot read, and Rhode Island publishes no complete full-text archive at all. We will add them if that changes.