State AG Opinions
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Can a New York state agency spend public funds to educate the public about a Governor's reform proposal, or does that cross the line into illegal partisan advocacy?
Yes. The AG concluded the Workers' Compensation Board may use state funds to explain proposed reforms, why they were proposed, and their anticipated effects, so long as the materials are educational…
Could a Kentucky school district pay teachers to retire early without making an unconstitutional gift?
The AG found the two proposed school-board plans constitutional because the payments induced eligible teachers to retire voluntarily and early, creating a present service to the district. He…
Did housing county prisoners in a city jail transfer the sheriff’s county-jail duties?
The 1996 opinion said a city-jail housing contract alone did not necessarily transfer the Union County sheriff’s jail duties to county council. A transfer required clear intent by the sheriff and…
Did a gun in a car’s center console qualify for South Carolina’s glove-compartment exception?
The 1996 opinion said no for the car described, which had a separate traditional glove compartment. The AG found the officer’s charge reasonable, while leaving a jury to decide whether the pistol…
Can a town council go into a closed executive session during a rezoning hearing without a public vote or a stated reason?
No, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG found the Camden Town Council violated FOIA by not disclosing in its agenda that it intended to hold an executive session or vote on a rezoning request,…
Could a South Carolina municipal prosecutor defer a case if a defendant met conditions?
The 1996 opinion said a prosecutor generally had discretion to defer or dismiss a case on reasonable conditions, such as restitution or good behavior. It cautioned that city prosecutors lacked a…
Can a Texas judge charge a fee to perform a wedding and keep the money?
Representative Steve Holzheauser asked whether a judge may perform marriage ceremonies during regular office hours, using public property and public employees, and keep the fee charged for personal…
Could a Texas justice of the peace keep hot-check restitution and fines in a separate checking account before paying them out?
A justice of the peace in a county under 190,000 could place Penal Code section 32.41(e) restitution in a separate account because the money belonged to the dishonored-check holder, not the county.…
Could a South Carolina technical college refuse records requested by its state oversight board?
The 1996 opinion said the State Board, its members, and its executive director had broad authority to request college documents related to the board’s oversight mission. A local area commission…
Could one person serve on South Carolina’s Commission for the Blind and Independent Living Council?
The 1996 opinion said concurrent service did not violate the state dual-office rule. It treated the Blind Commission seat as a state office but the federally required Independent Living Council seat…
If a South Dakota homeowner lives in one unit of a duplex or triplex and rents out the others, can the property still qualify for the 20 percent owner-occupied property tax credit? What about a single-family home with a rentable basement apartment?
No to both. The AG read SDCL 10-13-39 as covering only houses, condominium apartments, townhouses, townhomes, and manufactured or mobile homes assessed as a single unit. Duplexes and triplexes are…
Can a town council reopen a meeting after adjourning it to take a vote, or informally poll members by phone on a property deal?
It depends, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG found the town council violated FOIA by reconvening after its meeting had adjourned and the public had left in order to vote on a property…
Could police charge every minor near alcohol at a South Carolina house party?
The 1996 opinion said constructive possession could support an underage alcohol charge when evidence showed the minor knew of the alcohol and had control or the right to control it. Mere presence…
Are the annual unclaimed-property reports that South Dakota businesses file with the State Treasurer open to public inspection, and can the Treasurer charge the public for copies?
Mostly yes. The AG concluded that the reports were public records under SDCL 1-27-1 because the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act required the Treasurer to keep them, but Social Security numbers,…
If a zoning board chairman's comments mislead the public into thinking a vote is deferred, but the board decides that same night, is that a FOIA violation?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG found the board violated the Act when its chairman's ambiguous comment that a decision would have to 'wait' led attendees to reasonably believe the…
Did a railroad have to help replace a closed road bridge over its tracks in Williamston?
The 1996 opinion said the town had a defensible legal argument for railroad contribution to rebuilding the bridge, but did not decide whether the railroad owed it. The answer required the old…
What happens to bail after a South Carolina magistrate finds no probable cause?
The 1996 opinion said the magistrate must release the defendant from physical custody, but that finding is not an acquittal or a final end to the charge. Under the South Carolina authorities the AG…
Were Connecticut tourism districts exempt from sales tax or automatically subject to state and municipal audit laws?
The AG said tourism districts were neither political subdivisions nor government agencies, so the cited sales tax exemption and Municipal Auditing Act did not cover them. A district could fall under…
Could Connecticut’s consumer counsel stay in office after his term ended while the governor had not named a successor?
The AG concluded that the specific Consumer Counsel term provision controlled over the general officer-term rule. John Merchant’s term had ended on May 20, 1996 despite the absence of a successor,…
Can a North Carolina hospital or nursing home refuse to follow a patient's advance directive on conscience grounds, and if it does, does state law require it to transfer the patient to a facility that will honor the directive?
Yes, an institution may refuse on conscience grounds, with the same rule applying to public, private-with-public-payment, and private-no-public-payment institutions. State law does not require…
Can North Carolina give insurance companies a state premium-tax credit for investing in venture-capital companies that invest only in in-state businesses, or does the dormant Commerce Clause strike that down after Fulton Corp. v. Faulkner?
The AG advised that the bill almost certainly would have been struck down under the dormant Commerce Clause if it offered the credit to taxpayers generally, because the in-state-business requirement…
Can a North Carolina city charge more than $5 for parking in a fire lane, or is the maximum fine capped at five dollars under G.S. 20-162.1?
Yes, up to $50. G.S. 14-4(b), as amended in 1991, set a $50 cap on the penalty for violating any city ordinance regulating parking. The 1991 amendment specifically repealed all conflicting laws,…
Does Maryland's Open Meetings Act ban board members from discussing public business by e-mail, and are those e-mails public records?
The Attorney General concluded that members of a public body exchanging e-mail did not trigger the Open Meetings Act unless a quorum was engaged in a simultaneous, real-time exchange, but any e-mail…
Could Winthrop University pay nine-month faculty early and subsidize six credits of classes?
The 1996 opinion said Winthrop could not pay faculty in advance of work performed under the cited state pay rule, though contract terms and summer work could affect whether particular pay was…
Does Delaware's open-meetings law require a town council to let citizens set the agenda, list every visitor in the minutes, or tape every meeting?
No, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG found the Act gives a public body discretion over its own agenda and minutes content (it doesn't have to list attendees or let citizens add agenda…
Could Pickens County enforce its protest ordinance on county property inside city limits?
The 1996 opinion said a county ordinance would not automatically apply inside the City of Pickens. A city-county agreement could make it applicable there; under such an agreement, the sheriff could…
Do judges who manage a probation department have to follow the Open Meetings Act in Texas?
Harris County District Attorney John B. Holmes, Jr., asked whether the committee of district and statutory county court judges that oversees the county's Community Supervision and Corrections…
Can a Texas city use public funds or hotel taxes to help build a presidential library?
Texas A&M System Chancellor Barry Thompson asked, for the City of College Station, whether the city could spend public money (including hotel-motel occupancy taxes) on the George Bush Presidential…
Could a Washington liquor wholesaler offer retailers free or discounted nonalcoholic products?
No, under the tied-house interpretation assumed in the 1996 opinion. The Attorney General concluded that a narrow statutory exception allowed certain beer and wine wholesalers to sell nonliquor food…
Was the 1996 Idaho One Percent Initiative capable of being implemented as written, and how would it have affected school funding, voter-approved bonds, urban renewal districts, and charter school districts?
No. The AG concluded the initiative could not be implemented because it imposed a 1% cap without giving any official the authority to enforce it, and warned of cascading conflicts with the property…
Could laid-off sheriff’s deputies transfer to a city police department formed years after incorporation?
Not under the 1993 transfer statute in the facts examined in 1996. The Attorney General concluded that a city incorporated before that statute did not trigger transfer rights merely by later ending…
Can the Delaware Attorney General rule on whether a town violated its own charter when firing an employee?
No, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG explained that its authority under the Freedom of Information Act complaint process only reaches violations of that Act, 29 Del. C. ch. 100, not…
Could a South Carolina housing authority seek charges after accepting a tenant repayment agreement?
The 1996 opinion said a repayment agreement or partial payment did not bar a warrant for knowingly misstating income to obtain or retain public housing. Probable cause for the statutory offense was…
In 1996, did North Carolina have to recognize a same-sex marriage that was legally performed in another state under the U.S. Constitution's full-faith-and-credit clause?
No, according to this opinion. The AG concluded that under G.S. 51-1 (which defined marriage as solely between a man and a woman) and the public-policy exception in Loughran v. Loughran, NC could…
Can I still get a pardon after my conviction was set aside at the end of probation in Texas?
Then-Governor George W. Bush asked the Attorney General two questions about article 42.12, section 20 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the provision that lets a judge, at the end of 'regular' or…
Can a deaf juror bring a sign language interpreter into the jury room during deliberations?
Harris County District Attorney Mike Driscoll asked whether an interpreter for a deaf juror could go into the jury room during deliberations, given an apparent conflict between two Texas statutes:…
Could a South Carolina city court hear an unlawful phone call placed outside the city but received inside?
The 1996 opinion said a municipal court generally had jurisdiction when the unlawful call was completed and received within city limits, even if the caller dialed from outside. The analysis depended…
Were South Carolina pretrial-intervention court dockets public before expungement?
The 1996 opinion said ordinary court records for a pending PTI case remained public until the court issued an expungement order after successful completion. Entry into the program did not itself…
Would proposed South Carolina service bills violate existing annexation contracts?
The 1996 opinion said the proposed retroactive bills could impair existing fire, water, or sewer service contracts tied to annexation, but were not facially unconstitutional. Whether a…
Could a South Carolina county cut a part-time magistrate’s hours and total pay when a new term began?
The 1996 opinion agreed that a county could reduce a part-time magistrate’s hours and proportionate total pay at the permitted four-year point after a material change in conditions. The hourly basis…
Can a Texas city enter a telecom joint venture with a private phone company?
Senator David Sibley asked whether the City of San Antonio, acting through its City Public Service Board electric utility, could enter a twenty-five-year contract with ICG Access Services to jointly…
Could a South Carolina school district pay rent and teacher salaries for a private program serving pregnant students?
The 1996 AG thought the Florence Crittendon program was not a private educational institution under the state constitution on the facts supplied. If a court classified it otherwise, district rent…
Did the Council have to approve contracts over one million dollars for the Washington Convention Center Authority and other DC independent agencies, or only contracts run through the Mayor's office?
Yes, all of them. Section 451(b) of the DC charter (added by the 1995 federal control-board law) covers every contract by any DC government entity over one million dollars in a 12-month period,…
Can a town council retroactively legalize meetings that violated Delaware's open-meetings law just by taking a follow-up vote?
Not the way Georgetown tried it, under the law as it stood in 1996. After finding numerous separate violations, mostly missing 7-day meeting notices without an explanation and an improper…
When the North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance proposed rules on managed care, preferred provider organizations, and provider contracts, did the Commissioner have authority to dictate substantive terms of provider contracts and to credential providers, or do those rules go beyond what the legislature authorized?
The Commissioner could regulate provider networks when their arrangements were insurance contracts, the business of insurance, or covered by the specified service-corporation or HMO statutes. The…
If a New York town supervisor has a son in the town police department, can she vote on the police contract or the police budget?
Partly. A New York town supervisor whose son is a sergeant in the town police department must recuse from actions affecting the terms and conditions of her son's employment, including negotiations…
Can the same person serve on a New York town board and chair the village zoning board of appeals for a village inside that town?
Yes, the two positions are compatible. Under the People ex rel. Ryan v Green test for compatibility of office, neither role is subordinate to the other and the duties are not inherently…
In 1996, did the U.S. Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause force North Carolina to recognize a same-sex marriage performed legally in another state?
The 1996 AG opinion concluded no. North Carolina, the AG said, could refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states under § 51-1, which restricted marriage to a man and a woman.…
Can a Texas city end a TIF reinvestment zone and recreate it to reset the tax base?
Representative Fred Hill asked, for the City of Dallas, whether a city can terminate a tax increment financing (TIF) reinvestment zone and create a new one with the same boundaries to set a fresh…
Can Delaware towns refuse to release a list of employee names and salaries by claiming privacy or administrative burden?
No, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG ordered eleven Delaware municipalities to produce, within ten days of a proper request, a list pairing each employee's name with their salary, rejecting…
Did Connecticut have to use the federal retail-minus formula for telephone wholesale rates despite a utility’s below-cost claim?
The AG said Connecticut’s utility regulator had to set wholesale rates under the federal retail-minus rule. He declined to decide whether the effect was unconstitutional because the impact on…
Could Goose Creek residents recall recreation commissioners, and did city annexations expand the recreation district?
The 1996 AG found no recall procedure for the Goose Creek commission members. He could not determine whether city annexations automatically expanded the district because the governing acts and their…
Does a Texas county clerk have to file a judgment from a 'common law court'?
A county attorney asked whether a county clerk must file a judgment from a self-styled 'common law court,' the kind used by the 'Republic of Texas' movement. The Attorney General said no. The Texas…
Could a South Carolina regional planning council administer shared local government services?
The 1996 AG said a council of governments could possibly administer joint local functions, but each project had to fit the governing constitutional provision, enabling statute and council agreement.…
Can a Texas coach work as an athletic trainer without a license?
The Texas Department of Health asked whether someone whose job title is 'coach,' but whose main duties are working on injured athletes, must be licensed as an athletic trainer. The Attorney General…
When does a Texas school district have to use formal competitive bidding for construction?
The Texas Education Agency commissioner asked how two purchasing laws fit together: Education Code section 44.031, which lets a school district pick from six purchasing methods based on best value,…
What limits did South Carolina place on sexual content in public school health education materials in 1996?
The 1996 AG read the health education law as strictly limiting films, pictures and diagrams to explaining bodily functions or reproduction and excluding portrayals of sexual activity. He made no…
Where did a Kentucky taxpayer seek a refund of real estate transfer tax?
The AG said a real estate transfer-tax refund request had to go to the county that collected the tax, rather than the state Revenue Cabinet or the Attorney General. Under the common-law rule he…
Did a Kentucky deed for a nominal amount still need to state the property's estimated fair cash value?
Yes. The AG said a deed transferring real property by gift or for nominal or no consideration had to include a sworn, notarized certificate stating its estimated fair cash value. A gift also had to…
Did Kentucky's AG find amended House Bill 287 on utility refunds and unpaid liabilities constitutional?
Yes. The AG found amended House Bill 287 constitutional and found a reasonable relationship between Kentucky Utilities' refund and South East Coal Company's unpaid liability. This brief opinion…
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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.