State AG Opinions
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Can a New York city enter intermunicipal agreements with other cities so that a master plumber certified in one city can perform plumbing work in another without separate testing, and can a city waive certification for plumbers from outside who want to do just one job?
Yes, reciprocal agreements are authorized if the cities first standardize their plumber examinations and qualifications. But no, a city cannot waive certification even for a one-off job. The General…
Can the same lawyer serve as a county assistant district attorney and as a member of a town's panel of special counsel that substitutes when the town, planning board, or zoning board attorneys are unavailable?
Yes. The two positions are compatible. Neither is subordinate to the other, and the prosecutor's duties do not inherently conflict with substitute representation of town legislative or land-use…
Can a county medical examiner release autopsy reports of TWA Flight 800 victims to the personal representatives of the victims' estates, even though the crash is under active federal investigation?
Yes, under State law. County Law § 677(3)(b) requires a coroner or medical examiner to furnish a copy of an autopsy report to the deceased's personal representative, spouse, or next of kin on…
Did a Santee lounge need another business license after adding nude dancing to its video-poker operation?
The 1996 informal opinion said there was a strong argument that adult entertainment was a separate business under Santee’s ordinance and required its own license. The author declined to decide…
What happened to a Beaufort County council seat when its member moved out of the district?
The 1996 informal opinion said the member’s lawful tenure ended when he ceased to reside in his district, although residency was a factual question. It said he could continue as a de facto council…
Could Kentucky's executive branch bar licensed concealed weapons from state buildings by regulation?
The Kentucky AG concluded that the Finance and Administration Cabinet could adopt a reasonable regulation barring licensed concealed carry in portions of buildings actually owned, leased, or…
Was Southwest Texas State University's Aquarena Springs amusement park exempt from 1995 property taxes?
The Attorney General could not decide because the answer depended on disputed facts and contract construction. The opinion said state university property was exempt only when used for a public…
Could South Carolina’s transportation department hand highway-construction powers to a Horry County advisory group?
The 1996 informal opinion said the department could use a RIDE committee for research and planning, but lacked authority to delegate its full statutory highway powers to that committee or its…
Can one person be a municipal judge in two Texas cities at the same time?
A district attorney asked the Attorney General whether one person could serve as a municipal judge in more than one Texas jurisdiction at the same time. The Attorney General concluded that a paid…
Can Texas justice and municipal courts hear underage drinking cases that require alcohol-awareness classes or community service?
Yes. Under the 1995 jurisdiction amendments, the Attorney General concluded that justice and municipal courts could hear the listed minor-alcohol cases because an alcohol-awareness course was…
When did a 1996 South Carolina AG letter say police could conduct a strip or body cavity search?
The 1996 informal opinion said a jail strip search had to relate to security needs, while a field strip search required a clear showing of exigent circumstances. For a search below the skin, it…
Did a Connecticut employer have to give an employee legislator time off for legislative work or campaigning?
The AG said an employer with at least 25 employees could not penalize an employee legislator for unpaid time spent on reasonably necessary office duties. The legislator made the initial call about…
Could York County transfer its C-fund transportation program from the committee to county council?
The 1996 informal opinion said a York County council could not take over spending of state gasoline-tax “C” funds from the county transportation committee. It also said a council member serving on…
Could York County council distribute the state gasoline-tax C funds itself?
The 1996 informal opinion said a York County council could not take over spending of state gasoline-tax “C” funds from the county transportation committee. It also said a council member serving on…
After the General Assembly cut the NC Enterprise Corporation tax credit cap in mid-1996 and then repealed the credit altogether effective January 1, 1997, did the savings clause in the repealer let an existing enterprise corporation keep offering investors the old, higher credit for the remainder of 1996?
No. The AG concluded that Piedmont Venture Management's argument failed at multiple steps. An enterprise corporation never had a 'right' to offer tax credits to investors; tax credits are creations…
In North Carolina's vehicle safety and emissions inspection program, who decides whether a station's violation is Type I, II, or III, and can the DMV Commissioner delegate that decision to staff?
The DMV Commissioner has direct statutory responsibility to determine emissions-program violation designations and penalties, but can delegate that authority to other Division employees as a matter…
Could a South Carolina coroner use a blue light or investigate a crash without a death?
A 1996 informal opinion repeated an earlier AG view that a coroner could use a blue light while going to or returning from actual coroner duties, without gaining general police powers. It described…
Could a South Carolina school district require more course units for a state high school diploma?
The 1996 informal opinion said no. It read the amended state statute as fixing the units for a state diploma through the State Board of Education and giving districts no authority to raise that…
Did Spartanburg school districts need county approval to sell district property in 1996?
The 1996 informal opinion said no. It concluded that the county-specific act transferred the relevant county board power to local school trustees and gave the districts fiscal autonomy, so neither…
Should a South Carolina school district follow state board guidance on local funding effort while the rule was disputed?
The 1996 informal opinion suggested following the State Board of Education’s interpretation until a court or the legislature clarified the disputed local-effort calculation. It said the board’s…
Could a Connecticut town without a high school pay only part of a student’s tuition at a chosen public high school?
The AG said a school district without its own high school could designate more than one approved high school and could consent to another approved public high school. In either case the district had…
To whom did a Spartanburg Technical College commissioner need to submit a resignation?
The 1996 informal letter said the commissioner should tender resignation to the governor because the governor appointed the successor. It referred questions about holding over and withdrawing a…
Did a parent’s Chapter 13 bankruptcy automatically stop collection of an earlier child-support order?
The 1996 informal opinion found a good legal argument that a preexisting child-support obligation and its enforcement were outside the Chapter 13 automatic stay, and said arrears could not be…
Could a South Carolina clerk record a document acknowledged within the state in 1996?
The 1996 informal opinion said acknowledgments executed within South Carolina appeared to be recognized under an amended recording statute. It told the clerk to follow the amendment rather than an…
When the NC Utilities Commission collects refund money from a regulated utility through a stipulated settlement (not a formal Commission order requiring the refund), and the utility cannot find some of the overcharged customers, does that unclaimed money escheat to the State Treasurer like other unclaimed property, or does it stay with the Commission?
The opinion concluded that the specific refund money paid to the Utilities Commission under the stipulated settlement was subject to report and delivery under G.S. § 116B-19. The provision for…
Did a Washington water system's approved but unused intertie qualify for the 1991 water-right modification process?
No. The AG concluded that the special process covered interties actually in use on January 1, 1991. For later interties, Ecology reviewed withdrawal limits and harm to existing water rights, while…
Can the public get a list of every Delaware business license holder's name and home address through a FOIA request?
No, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG concluded that the names and addresses of Delaware business license holders are, as a general rule, protected from FOIA disclosure by a common-law right…
Under the 1996 $1.8 billion school bond, does the State Board of Education send the bond proceeds directly to local school boards, or do they have to flow through the county commissioners first?
Through the county commissioners first. The Bond Act consistently uses the phrase 'grants to counties' and the School Budget and Fiscal Control Act prohibits school boards from spending any funds,…
Did Connecticut’s human rights commission retain jurisdiction over unresolved discrimination complaints filed before 1996?
The Attorney General concluded that the commission retained jurisdiction in all five pending or remanded situations presented, so long as it had made a reasonable-cause or no-reasonable-cause…
Could South Carolina’s education department withhold school-bus funds to collect a district’s debt for extracurricular bus use?
The 1996 informal opinion suggested that the department obtain legislative authorization before withholding transportation funds to recover charges for bus uses it viewed as outside state funding.…
Could a South Carolina police department buy traffic radar with forfeited drug money?
The 1996 informal opinion said the proposed radar purchase was authorized as a drug-enforcement expense in the requesting department’s circumstances, where the chief reported that 47 percent of drug…
Could a South Carolina private detective carry a concealed weapon while working under the 1996 permit law?
The 1996 informal opinion said a private detective who qualified for a civilian concealable-weapons permit could carry under that permit while working or as a private citizen, subject to the new…
Could a South Carolina school deny library or cafeteria access to students who would not disclose Social Security numbers?
The 1996 informal letter said a district did not appear authorized to deny library or cafeteria access for refusing to disclose a Social Security number, unless the district could identify an…
Could a former Connecticut utility commissioner work for an unregulated subsidiary of a regulated company within a year?
The AG read the one-year post-service employment ban to include an unregulated subsidiary wholly or substantially owned by a regulated public service company or certified intrastate…
Did a South Carolina jail officer count as a peace officer, and did threats against deputies fall under the public-official statute?
The 1996 informal opinion said detention officers had peace-officer status while performing assigned inmate-custody duties. It separately concluded that a deputy sheriff was a public official under…
Could one Saluda employee handle both police paperwork and municipal court clerking?
The 1996 informal opinion said that assigning one worker to both the police department and municipal court would be inappropriate because it blurred prosecutorial and judicial functions. On a…
Were Kentucky prosecutors required to deposit asset forfeiture money in a state depository?
The Kentucky AG concluded that forfeiture money paid to Commonwealth's or county attorneys remained state money. Prosecutors had to deposit it in a state depository and spend it under state rules,…
Could South Carolina be liable for investments made by a nonprofit created by a state authority?
The 1996 letter said state liability was unlikely if the nonprofit operated independently rather than under state control. It cautioned that liability could arise if the corporation functioned as…
Could a South Carolina court change a California child-custody order that barred a mother from leaving California?
The 1996 letter said the state that issued a valid custody decree generally kept exclusive modification authority while it retained meaningful jurisdiction. South Carolina might consider…
Could a South Carolina family court use a bond instead of jailing someone for unpaid child support?
The 1996 informal opinion said a family court could require an appearance or performance bond to secure compliance with a support order instead of imposing a fine or imprisonment. It also described…
Could Washington’s convention center use a private developer for shared construction without ordinary public bidding?
For the specific 1996 expansion, the AG said yes to the extent needed to satisfy legislative conditions requiring a private funding commitment before detailed design. The state’s own portions still…
When did the Hampton County auditor elected in November 1996 take office?
The 1996 informal opinion said the elected auditor’s term began July 1, 1997, under the statute making the first July after election the start date. It said the comptroller should continue state…
Do Texas housing authorities have to hold open public meetings?
A state representative asked the Attorney General whether the housing authorities set up under chapter 392 of the Local Government Code, the bodies that run public housing for cities, counties, or…
What eye procedures can a Texas therapeutic optometrist perform?
The acting state health commissioner gave the Attorney General a list of eleven eye procedures the Optometry Board had approved for therapeutic optometrists (removing foreign bodies, scraping the…
Can the Texas State Board of Education set content rules for school textbooks?
The education commissioner and the chair of the State Board of Education asked whether the board could adopt a rule setting general content requirements for the textbooks it approves for public…
Could a South Carolina Minority Affairs commissioner also serve on the State University board?
The 1996 informal opinion said yes. It considered a State University trusteeship a public office but said Minority Affairs Commission membership was most probably not, because its duties were mainly…
Could Allendale hold and fund a special election to change its municipal government?
The 1996 informal opinion said Allendale could hold a special election to change from council to mayor-council government through the statutory petition or ordinance route, and town funds would pay…
Could Oconee County pass a state grant to its school district despite an older county-tax funding opinion?
The 1996 informal opinion said the older AG opinion about transferring general county tax revenue did not prevent Oconee County from distributing state-origin grant money to its school district. The…
If North Carolina forces me to leave a strip of my riparian land as a buffer to protect the Neuse River, is that a regulatory taking that requires the state to pay me?
Not in most cases, according to this opinion. So long as the buffer regulation leaves the property as a whole with 'a practical use and a reasonable value' (under Finch v. City of Durham and Agins…
Could South Carolina release student SAT data after removing student identifiers?
The 1996 informal opinion said removing identifiers might permit release under the federal education-records law, but whether the remaining data identified students was a factual question. The AG…
Could Salley reserve all Chitlin Strut chitlin sales for the town itself?
The 1996 informal opinion questioned the validity of the town’s festival-day sales monopoly and urged the town not to enforce that portion of its ordinance. It said the AG could not invalidate an…
When did an elected Newberry County school board member’s term begin after the 1996 election?
The 1996 informal opinion said the term began on the first Tuesday in January after the election. The local act gave a four-year term but no start date, so the author applied the county-officer…
Can a Maryland charter county create its own program offering cash grants to individual public schools that hit performance targets, or does the state's control over education law block that kind of county initiative?
Yes, within limits. The opinion concluded that a charter home rule county like Harford County may establish a school performance incentive grant program despite the State's preemption of education,…
Did transferring a committed juvenile to a mental-health facility end juvenile-justice custody and parole authority?
The 1996 Attorney General opinion said no. It read the transfer statute as moving physical custody for treatment while Juvenile Justice retained legal custody, with discharge authority reserved to…
After the Governor declares a State disaster emergency in New York, does the State get command and control of local fire companies and other local emergency resources, or do those stay under local control?
Command and control of local fire companies (paid and volunteer) and other local emergency resources comes only through one specific mechanism: a temporary disaster relief organization created by…
When is a New York real estate broker who fills out a purchase-and-sale contract for clients crossing the line into the unauthorized practice of law?
A broker can avoid the unauthorized practice of law in two ways: (1) by including a clause making the contract subject to approval by each party's attorney, or (2) by using a fill-in-the-blanks form…
Can a New York county adopt a local law requiring food service establishments (restaurants, convenience stores, grocery stores) to employ at least one certified 'responsible on-site' food handler, or is that occupied by State law?
Yes. The county has home rule authority under N.Y. Const. art. IX, § 2(c)(10) and Municipal Home Rule Law § 10 to require food-handler certification. The AG concluded the described program was not…
Did a South Carolina district have to provide home schooling to a student expelled for bringing a gun to school?
The 1996 informal opinion said no. The then-current statute allowed an expelled student to receive services in an alternative setting, but left placement to the local school board’s discretion and…
Could a sheriff serve a criminal warrant on someone attending family court, including a person later found to be a juvenile?
The 1996 informal opinion said court attendance gave no immunity from criminal process, so a valid criminal warrant could be served. It also said an officer had to execute a warrant valid on its…
Could Louisville pay a law firm under a contract capped at $35,000 plus unspecified agency receipts?
The Kentucky AG concluded that Louisville's contract with an outside law firm was void under its ordinance because it did not state a knowable maximum payment. The $35,000 figure capped only one…
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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.