State AG Opinions
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Could Union County’s school board raise its own meeting per diem above the amount in a 1969 local act?
The Assistant AG said the board could set its per diem under a later, statewide school-board compensation statute. He found no separate delegation power to change it and limited the conclusion to…
Does Texas charge the agricultural rollback tax when the state buys farmland and stops farming it?
Land that is appraised at its lower agricultural value owes a 'rollback' tax, a penalty recapturing several years of tax savings, when the use changes away from farming. Land Commissioner Garry…
Does Oregon's Public Meetings Law require the bar's disciplinary screening board to hold open meetings?
No. The 1997 opinion concluded that State Professional Responsibility Board meetings were exempt from the Public Meetings Law as 'judicial proceedings' under ORS 192.690(1). It did not decide…
Were Pickens County disability-services board employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act?
The Assistant Deputy AG said the board was a public political subdivision on the facts supplied, so its employees were outside the NLRA and NLRB jurisdiction. He noted his office had not examined…
Could a Connecticut alternative sanctions contractor see a juvenile’s medical and psychiatric detention records?
The AG said contractors serving a delinquent child under the Office of Alternative Sanctions could access that child’s relevant medical and psychiatric detention records. The specific juvenile…
Could a former magistrate who missed the certification deadline be reappointed after someone else held the seat?
The Assistant Deputy AG said no under the 1997 statute. The prohibition followed the person who failed the certification requirement, whether the appointment would fill the old vacancy or start a…
Can New York's 1997 ban on combative sport (extreme fighting) be enforced against events held on an Indian reservation in the state?
Yes. The AG concluded that Chapter 14 of the Laws of 1997 was a criminal/prohibitory law (not a civil/regulatory one) under the Cabazon test, because it imposed an absolute statewide ban on…
Could Kentucky begin removing an elected official after an accepted felony guilty plea but before sentencing?
Yes, if the court had accepted the felony guilty plea. The 1997 AG opinion said an ouster action could begin before sentencing, but ordinarily should wait for final judgment because a plea might be…
Did Kentucky's county tax rollback rule apply to a soil and water conservation millage tax?
Yes. The AG said the 1992 removal of a separate rate limit from the soil and water conservation tax statute ended its conflict with the county tax rollback statute. It overruled an earlier opinion…
Could a Kentucky school district pay retiring teachers for only some unused sick leave days?
No. The 1997 AG opinion said a school district could choose whether to pay for unused sick leave at retirement, but if it did, it had to count every accumulated day and apply one rate. It rejected…
Did Kentucky's 1992 university nepotism rule cover part-time workers and relatives of appointed regents?
Yes. The AG read KRS 164.360(2) to prohibit employment of a person whose relative served on that institution's board of regents, without implied exceptions for appointed regents, part-time…
Were Kentucky students excused from compulsory school attendance after becoming parents?
No. The 1997 AG opinion said KRS 159.030 contained no school attendance exemption for mothers, fathers, or married students. It expressly overruled an earlier opinion that had recognized exemptions…
Could Kentucky teachers work fewer than 185 days if their district lengthened each student instructional day?
No. The 1997 AG opinion said the student instructional requirement could be met in fewer calendar days by lengthening school days, but the statutes still specified 185 workdays for teachers. It…
Does a village attorney have a conflict of interest if they also represent a private client in a matter pending before a town planning board on which the village's mayor sits?
No. The AG concluded the village attorney did not have a disqualifying conflict, because the mayor's role on the town planning board is independent of the village attorney's representation of…
Did South Carolina’s 1997 law against threats to teachers cover a school guidance counselor?
The Assistant Deputy AG predicted that a court would read “teacher” in the threat statute broadly enough to protect a certified guidance counselor. The statute itself did not define that term, and…
Could a Kentucky state agency use one design-build contract for an energy-saving project without following procurement rules?
The AG concluded that Kentucky's energy savings contract law did not displace the Model Procurement Code. A single design-build contract was permissible, but the opinion also applied architectural…
Can a New York town license tow truck operators, set up a rotational call list for accident scenes, and ban tow operators from cruising for tows?
Yes. The AG concluded a town may use its police power to license tow truck operators, establish a rotational towing service list for police-initiated calls at accident scenes, and prohibit…
Can North Carolina's anti-gambling property-seizure law be used to ban billboards advertising the legal Indian casino games at the Eastern Band of Cherokee reservation?
No. The gaming offered at the Cherokee reservation under the Tribal-State Compact is legal in North Carolina, and the First Amendment protects commercial speech about lawful activity. N.C.G.S. §…
When my county pays for materials to build a new school, can the county get back the sales tax it paid on those materials?
Only in narrow circumstances. Local boards of education are not on the list of entities eligible for the G.S. § 105-164.14(c) sales-tax refund. A county can get a refund only when the county itself…
Could a private lawyer prosecute a magistrate or municipal criminal case when the solicitor lacked staff?
The Assistant Deputy AG said a private attorney could participate with the solicitor’s authorization and the trial judge’s approval, while the solicitor retained control. He emphasized the attorney…
Did Spartanburg’s local school districts inherit the county board’s tax-levy authority for joint district programs?
The Assistant Deputy AG said yes. He read a 1995 act’s transfer of all nonreserved county board powers to the seven local boards as including the separate tax-levy authority for approved…
How does Minnesota's 95-percent-of-governor compensation cap apply to school superintendent contracts that include vacation cash-out, deferred compensation, vehicle expense reimbursements, expense allowances, and split-dollar life insurance?
The AG answered nine questions from the Commissioner of Children, Families and Learning following a 1995 State Auditor review of Twin Cities superintendent contracts. The headline holdings: school…
Could a sheriff release a whole sex-offender registry, or identify an offender from an approximate address under 1997 law?
The Assistant Deputy AG said the 1997 registry law allowed specific written requests, with some flexibility when a location identified the person with reasonable certainty, but did not permit…
Can a New York town clerk who already collects state, county, and town taxes also be appointed school tax collector by the local school board?
Yes. The AG concluded the town clerk of Willsboro could be appointed school tax collector for the Willsboro Central School District. Neither position is subordinate to the other, and the duties…
Did sharing a courthouse with county code-enforcement officers automatically disqualify magistrates from their cases?
The Assistant Deputy AG found no rule making shared office space an automatic conflict or ground for recusal. He said county council chose court facilities, but referred the specific judicial-ethics…
Can a New York town's deputy building inspector inspect the building inspector's own home and issue permits, given that the deputy reports to the inspector?
Yes, under the rule of necessity. The AG concluded the deputy may inspect and issue any required permits because the deputy and the inspector were the only individuals authorized to do so. Ideally a…
Can a New York town pass a local law to keep part of the fines its justice court collects on village violations?
No. The AG concluded a town cannot use its supersession power to amend the Uniform Justice Court Act's rule that fines collected for violations of a village local law are the property of the…
Can a New York village reserve on-street parking spaces for municipal employees and for people doing business at village offices?
Yes. The AG concluded that after Chapter 663 of the Laws of 1996 added subdivision 22 to Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1640(a), cities and villages had express state authorization to set aside on-street…
If a New York village or library board member is personally named as a co-defendant in a lawsuit against the board, do they have to recuse from the board's deliberations and executive sessions about defending the case?
No. The AG concluded board members named as individual co-defendants in a lawsuit against the board may participate in the board's deliberations about the village's or library's liability and may…
Can a Minnesota assistant county attorney also serve as the city attorney for a statutory city in the same county?
Yes, qualified. The AG concluded that Minn. Stat. § 481.17's second sentence (any-population provision for criminal prosecutorial functions) means the offices of city and county attorney are not per…
Can a Texas city review or veto the rules its fire and police civil service commission adopts?
State Senator Frank Madla asked whether the City of San Antonio, which has adopted the fire fighters' and police officers' civil service system in chapter 143 of the Local Government Code, may…
Can a school board require a newspaper's records request to be made in writing to its attorney, and can it discuss a controversial charter school application in closed session?
Yes, under this 1997 opinion. The board could require the newspaper to submit its records request in writing to counsel, and it could discuss potential litigation over the charter application in…
When did ordinary Kentucky laws passed in the 1997 special session take effect?
The AG said ordinary acts from Kentucky's 1997 First Extraordinary Session became effective at the first moment of August 29, 1997. This calculation excluded general appropriation bills and acts…
Could Kentucky lawmakers put Louisville's mayoral powers and Jefferson County's executive powers in one new office?
The 1997 AG opinion said the General Assembly could create a city-county mayor executive, abolish Louisville's mayoral office, and transfer executive powers from both governments to the new office…
Was a South Carolina sheriff responsible for courthouse and courtroom security?
The Assistant Deputy AG said sheriffs had clear duties to attend and assist courts, and a common-law courthouse-security duty could be argued from their role as court officers. He found no South…
Can the UIL require Texas school coaches to be full-time employees, and can a school board agree to that?
Representative Paul Sadler asked whether University Interscholastic League (UIL) rules requiring athletic coaches to be full-time school employees exceed the League's authority and intrude on local…
Can a Texas auto club pay members back for towing and other costs, or only for legal fees?
The Secretary of State and Insurance Commissioner asked whether Transportation Code chapter 722 let an auto club reimburse members for expenses such as towing, instead of supplying the service. The…
Did South Carolina’s 1997 health-education restrictions apply outside a dedicated health course, and what could schools teach?
The Assistant Deputy AG said the Act applied whenever instruction covered its subjects, not only in dedicated health classes. He read the then-existing restrictions to limit discussion of same-sex…
Could a public college limit protests at its entrance without violating free-speech rights?
The Assistant Deputy AG said the school-disturbance statute might apply to actual interference with students or teachers, including conduct outside campus, and reasonable content-neutral time,…
Does the mayor of a New York city have veto power over the common council's appointments to the local Industrial Development Agency?
Yes. The AG concluded the Dunkirk City Charter's general mayoral veto over council resolutions applies to IDA appointments. State law requires the city's governing body to appoint IDA members, and…
Can central high school district board members who also sit on a constituent elementary district's board vote on a sale of property between the two districts?
Yes. The AG concluded the dual board members may vote on the proposed sale. The Legislature designed central high school districts knowing constituent-district board members would also sit on the…
Could Idaho voters ban the use of bait or dogs to hunt black bears, and codify a tougher penalty for violations?
The proposed initiative would have banned the use of bait year-round and the use of dogs from May 1 through August 31 to take black bears. The AG identified drafting concerns: an unintentional…
Could five counties form a multicounty industrial park if not every county bordered every other county?
The Assistant AG said the 1997 contiguity requirement could be met by a connected chain of participating counties. On the boundaries described, Newberry and Kershaw did not need to touch each other…
Must a Kentucky planning commissioner recuse himself when a competing engineering firm brings a zoning application?
The AG concluded that the chairman's possible gain from denying a competing firm's application was too speculative to establish a financial conflict under the joint planning commission statute. It…
Does a city or its appointed utility board own and control a municipal water utility's property and staff?
State Representative Edmund Kuempel asked about the legal relationship between New Braunfels Utilities (NBU) and the City of New Braunfels, which had created NBU in 1942 to run the city water and…
How could Seneca police dispose of found bicycles, and could officers seize suspended licenses or plates?
The Assistant Deputy AG said the police-disposition statute was the likely route for tangible found property such as bicycles, rather than a five-year intangible-property regime. He identified…
Who appointed members of the Newberry County Community Hall Commission after county home rule?
The Assistant AG said Newberry County Council was the appropriate body to provide for appointments under Section 4-9-170. He reaffirmed earlier AG opinions applying that later law despite the 1949…
Could Union County use public money to repair a private road through a church cemetery?
The Assistant AG said county work on private property was generally barred, and any private-road maintenance needed a public purpose and irrevocable dedication to the public. He left the factual…
Could South Carolina courts delay collecting new 1997 criminal assessments while updating forms and software?
The Assistant Deputy AG said the new assessment provisions took effect July 1, 1997, but predicted a court would consider good-faith implementation problems before compelling immediate compliance.…
Is North Carolina's tax break that lets in-state corporations deduct dividends from majority-owned subsidiaries (but denies the same deduction to out-of-state corporations) constitutional under the U.S. Commerce Clause?
No. The AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 105-130.7(4), which allowed only corporations commercially domiciled in NC to deduct subsidiary dividends, facially discriminates against interstate commerce in…
Could a magistrate set bond on a first-degree burglary charge when a judge might impose less than life?
The Assistant Deputy AG said no under the 1997 bond statutes. First-degree burglary was punishable by life even though the sentencing court could impose at least 15 years instead, so bond authority…
Could a city police officer refuse to serve a magistrate’s arrest warrant that appeared valid?
The Assistant Deputy AG said an officer had no discretion to refuse a magistrate’s arrest warrant valid on its face. He said refusal could potentially expose the officer to contempt of court.
Does the Minnesota statute capping drainage repair costs at the originally-determined benefits apply only to petitioned repairs, or does it also cap routine maintenance and repairs by the drainage authority?
Only petitioned repairs. The AG concluded that the cost cap in Minn. Stat. § 103E.715, subd. 4(a) (cost cannot exceed the total benefits determined in the original drainage proceeding) applies only…
Can the NC State Education Assistance Authority pay for counselor training and financial aid outreach programs out of the interest income on the NC Student Loan Fund?
Yes. Article 23 of Chapter 116 grants the Authority broad power to operate financial assistance programs and 'to do all other acts and things necessary or convenient' to that mission. Training high…
Could a police department buy photo-lineup equipment with money forfeited in drug cases?
On the facts supplied, the Assistant Deputy AG said yes: the imaging system’s primary use would be drug enforcement, although it might also help other investigations. He treated the purchase as…
Could one person serve as a county magistrate and a town code enforcement officer at the same time?
The Deputy AG said no under the South Carolina Constitution’s dual-office provision. He relied on earlier office opinions treating a magistrate and a code enforcement officer as public officers.
Would changing 'shall' to 'may' in Idaho's teacher-negotiation statute actually let teachers pick their own bargaining representative?
The proposed initiative would have changed Idaho Code 33-1271 from 'shall' to 'may,' making it optional for school districts to enter negotiation agreements with teacher representatives. The AG saw…
Could Idaho voters use the initiative process to undo the 1997 Legislature's tightening of initiative procedures?
The proposed initiative would have repealed most of HB 265 (signed March 20, 1997), which had added time limits, geographic proportionality, signature-gatherer requirements, and judicial review…
Could county planning commissioners privately discuss a pending application with interested parties?
The Assistant AG recommended avoiding private contacts when the commission acted in a quasi-judicial capacity. He said such contacts could jeopardize the hearing and create a rebuttable presumption…
Did a South Carolina charter school that bought state tort insurance have to buy all its other insurance from the state fund?
The Assistant Deputy AG said no. He concluded a charter school could obtain tort coverage through the Insurance Reserve Fund without being bound to buy all property and casualty coverage there.
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