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Could a South Carolina jail deduct a prior stay’s elective medical cost from an inmate’s account during a later stay?
The 1996 AG concluded that a prior unpaid charge for elective medical treatment could remain collectible during a later incarceration at the same facility. The statute did not confine deductions to…
When did an indigent defendant in a South Carolina municipal court receive appointed counsel under the 1996 rule?
The 1996 AG said an indigent municipal court defendant was entitled to appointed counsel if a prison sentence was likely upon conviction. The county public defender would represent an approved…
If North Carolina passes a state law requiring landowners to maintain riparian buffers along streams, can a landowner who donates a conservation easement over that already-mandated buffer still claim the state conservation tax credit?
The Attorney General concluded that donating an easement over land subject to a state-required riparian buffer would qualify for the North Carolina conservation tax credit. The statutes exclude land…
Does discussing employee salary and personnel policy count as 'public business' that Delaware's open-meetings law covers?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG denied Georgetown's request for reconsideration, holding that a memo setting employee salary, pay-docking, and leave policy was clearly 'public…
Could Connecticut’s deputy insurance commissioner decide an acquisition case after the commissioner recused himself?
The AG said the deputy insurance commissioner could exercise the commissioner’s powers after his recusal from an insurer acquisition case. The deputy could read the hearing record and decide without…
Could a 1996 Idaho ballot initiative require legislative and voter approval of any agreement to receive additional radioactive waste in Idaho, and could it retroactively invalidate the October 1995 INEL settlement agreement among the Governor, Attorney General, the Department of Energy, and the Navy?
Probably not. The AG flagged that the proposed referendum-style approval mechanism conflicted with how the Idaho Constitution uses the referendum (as a 'veto' rather than a confirming vote), and the…
If North Carolina raises the Property Tax Commission's per-day pay to a near full-time salary, can a sitting county manager still serve on the Commission, or does the higher pay trigger the dual-office-holding bar?
Yes, the county manager can still serve. The AG concluded that compensation level does not affect dual-office-holding analysis. The same prior 1995 AG opinion that found no dual-office bar at the…
Could Horry County’s school board pay a resigned superintendent through his contract end date without further services?
On the stated assumptions, the 1996 AG said paying salary and insurance to the superintendent after his effective resignation, with no further services or contractual severance right, would likely…
Could a South Carolina election commission reject a 1996 voter form that changed the citizenship oath?
The 1996 AG said a county commission should reject an application that struck the U.S. citizenship declaration, changed the statutory oath’s capitalization, or gave inaccurate answers. The…
Did South Carolina’s 1996 harmful-to-minors law treat a school showing an R-rated movie differently from a theater?
The 1996 AG said the harmful-to-minors prohibition could reach school officials as well as theaters, but schools had a statutory affirmative defense when carrying out a legitimate function. An R…
Did political subdivision investment limits displace a South Carolina nonprofit water company’s investment powers?
Assuming Little River Water & Sewerage Company was a political subdivision, the 1996 AG concluded that both the nonprofit corporation’s investment authority and the political subdivision investment…
Could a Kentucky school board member keep serving after filing for city commission?
No. The AG said a member of the Covington independent school board could not continue serving after filing for city commission and was subject to removal under the cited statutes. The candidacy…
When taxpayers underpay their estimated NC income tax, are the resulting addback amounts treated as a penalty (which the Secretary of Revenue can waive) or as interest (which the Secretary cannot waive)?
Interest. The AG concluded that the addback under G.S. 105-163.15(a) is unwaivable interest, not a discretionary penalty. The addback compensates the State for the lost use of funds that should have…
If a private group offers to donate land to North Carolina for state park use, and the state begins the acquisition process but then learns the Department of Transportation wants the same parcel for a highway, has the state already acquired the land?
No. The Council of State approved further investigation and acquisition, but that approval did not compel completion. The Department of Administration stopped its acquisition work after learning of…
Can North Carolina constitutionally pay part of an insurance-premium tax to the State Firemen's Association, a private nonprofit, and require fire departments to join the Association in order to receive any share of the tax?
Yes on both counts. The 1996 AG opinion concluded that channeling a small share of the fire-and-lightning insurance premium tax to the State Firemen's Association is constitutional because the…
When the General Assembly's Fiscal Research Division asks a state agency for information to write a fiscal note on pending legislation, who at the agency is allowed to know about the request, and can the agency tell other agencies or the public?
Until the fiscal note is released, no one at the agency may tell the public or another agency (except the Office of State Budget and Management) that Fiscal Research even asked. Inside the agency,…
Could a South Carolina school district excuse students for religious lessons held off campus under the 1996 law?
The 1996 AG concluded that districts could adopt reasonable policies allowing students to leave school for off-campus religious instruction. He found that the statutory school-day length did not bar…
When the State Legislature lets the Division of Housing and Community Renewal's authority to administer New York's federal HOME affordable-housing funds lapse, can the Governor unilaterally designate a different state corporation to keep the program running, or does that require legislative approval?
Yes, the Governor can act alone. Federal law (24 CFR § 92.2; 42 USC § 12704) lets a State qualify as a HOME participating jurisdiction through any agency or instrumentality designated by the chief…
When the 1995 Swine Farm Siting Act took effect on October 1, 1995, was a swine farm considered 'sited' on that date if the technical site evaluation had already been done? And if water-quality rules forced a farmer to enlarge an existing lagoon into the new setback area, did the new Act block that work?
The AG read the statute to apply to swine houses, lagoons and sprayfields located on or after October 1, 1995. Operations whose technical site evaluations were completed and DEM-permitted before…
If a county supervisor in New York is suing his own county, does he have to step aside from all budget votes?
No, not from all budget votes. A New York county board of supervisors member who has filed a lawsuit against the county and one of its officials must recuse from votes on that lawsuit and similar…
If a county health department employee runs a weight-loss program as part of her job, does she have to follow the state weight-control-services regulations?
No. Local government employees engaged in dietetics or nutrition work within the scope of their employment are completely exempt from the Dietetics/Nutrition Practice Act. Because the weight-control…
Could a for-profit club open to the public claim South Carolina’s nonprofit-club alcohol license, and could a city set its hours?
Assuming the club operated for profit and sold memberships to the public, the 1996 AG said the limited-membership nonprofit provision did not apply. He also concluded that state law preempted…
Could South Carolina DHEC impose late fees on annual drinking-water system charges under its 1996 authority?
The 1996 AG found a likely gap in DHEC’s authority to assess late fees or penalties on annual drinking-water system charges. The cited funding statute directed where the base fees went, and the…
Could a 1996 South Carolina bill bar political-party donations and party-affiliation literature in school board races?
The 1996 AG considered both proposed bans constitutionally suspect. He thought an absolute ban on party contributions to school board candidates swept too broadly and that forbidding campaign…
Who paid for special education when Connecticut's child welfare agency placed a child with no home school district under the 1995 law?
Under the 1995 act, the Attorney General said a no-nexus child's former district initially paid after a DCF placement. If the child remained uncommitted in placement beyond one year, DCF paid;…
Did Kentucky's proposed certification board for pastoral counselors violate the First Amendment?
The AG concluded proposed House Bill 385 was unconstitutional under the First Amendment test he applied in 1996. The bill would have created a state certification board for pastoral counselors, but…
Did South Carolina FOIA require a county assessor to create a custom property report and provide it on the requester’s chosen medium?
The 1996 AG said FOIA required access to existing nonexempt assessor records for inspection or copying, but did not require the county to extract selected data and create a new report. The county…
Did Marlboro County’s auditor have to resign before running for county treasurer in 1996?
The 1996 AG said state law did not require the auditor to resign merely to run for treasurer. The dual office holding issue would arise only if she won and tried to hold both offices; the opinion…
Can a New York Business Improvement District spend its assessments on improvements outside the district's boundaries?
No, not without amending the district plan first. A New York business improvement district can only spend its assessment revenues on improvements and purposes set out in its adopted district plan,…
Can a New York county attorney deputize social services department lawyers to handle Family Court cases, and do those lawyers have to be sworn in?
Yes. Under Social Services Law § 66, a New York county legislature can authorize the appointment of attorneys in the social services department and let the county attorney deputize them to assist…
Can a NY village mayor also serve on the town's board of assessment review when the village uses the town's assessment roll?
No. The AG concluded that the positions of village mayor and town board of assessment review member are incompatible when the village uses the town assessment roll and the town BAR hears grievances…
Must a NY town board member recuse from voting on suing the assessment review board when her husband chairs that board?
Yes, recuse. The AG concluded that a town board member should recuse herself from deliberations and voting on possible legal action by the town against the board of assessment review when her…
Could Kentucky let a young child witness testify by closed circuit video outside a defendant's presence?
The AG concluded proposed SB 169 was constitutional. He said a court could use its special video-testimony procedure for qualifying children only after a case-specific finding that the defendant's…
Could a Washington homeowner use a homestead or “allodial title” declaration to stop property-tax foreclosure?
No. The Attorney General concluded in 1996 that recording an allodial-ownership declaration did not exempt land from property taxes, and a homestead declaration did not bar foreclosure for unpaid…
Could Washington landowners develop an old recorded plat without review under the 1969 subdivision law?
It depended on when and how the plat was approved. The Attorney General concluded in 1996 that a pre-1937 recorded plat had not received land-use approval and could not simply bypass current review,…
Could a Washington winery or brewery become a state liquor vendor solely to sell its own distilled spirits?
No. The Attorney General concluded in 1996 that the Liquor Control Board’s vendor power was meant to provide a state-store equivalent where no state store existed, not a product-limited outlet for a…
Could Maine constitutionally let the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages set the markup on spirits and fortified wine to hit a fixed revenue target?
Yes. The AG concluded LD 1706's proposed 28-A M.R.S.A. § 1651-A(1), which would let the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations set the wholesale markup on spirits and fortified wine to…
Did Newberry County’s voter-adopted Revenue Ordinance prevent a proposed industrial fee-in-lieu-of-taxes arrangement?
On the materials presented, the 1996 AG agreed with the county attorney that Newberry County’s Revenue Ordinance was aimed at new or increased county taxes, not industrial growth. The AG deferred to…
Can county agencies and employees stay at a hotel owned by one of the county commissioners without putting that commissioner at risk of criminal liability for self-dealing?
It depends on whether the county Board of Commissioners is involved in the choice. If individual county agencies or employees pick the hotel on their own and pay with county funds, § 14-234 does not…
If a North Carolina state agency keeps adding new records to an old database, does that trigger the public-records index requirement under § 132-6.1(b)?
No. Routinely updating or adding records to an existing electronic database is not the same as 'compiling' the database. The 1995 statute let agencies skip the index-creation requirement for…
Did Lexington School District Four’s fiscal autonomy remove the county-board consent requirement for selling school property?
The 1996 AG said the school district still appeared subject to the statute requiring county education board consent before a school property sale or lease. Its separate authority over tax levies did…
Could a South Carolina political subdivision use an insurance company’s deferred compensation plan under the 1996 statute?
The 1996 AG did not give every insurer blanket approval. He said an insurance company offering the plan would at least need to qualify as a supervised trust institution and keep deferred amounts in…
Did South Carolina’s 1996 false-information statute cover a driver who gave police a false name during an investigation of the driver?
The 1996 AG said the cited statute did not appear to cover a driver’s false statement of their own identity when officers were investigating that same person. Its text addressed false information…
Could a South Carolina police department prohibit officers from taking off-duty jobs at businesses that sell alcohol?
The 1996 AG said courts had generally upheld rules barring officers from off-duty work in establishments licensed to sell alcohol. He pointed to a South Carolina decision sustaining a similar…
Could an Edgefield County employee serve on the same county’s council while keeping the county job?
The 1996 AG said the office’s longstanding view was that a county council member could not simultaneously work for that county because the person would be both supervisor and employee. A county…
Can a Minnesota city enforce the Uniform Fire Code's 20-foot fire-apparatus access road requirement against an existing manufactured home park where the fire chief has determined that the park's narrower roads create a distinct hazard to life and property?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Uniform Fire Code applies statewide and authorizes enforcement of code provisions against existing conditions that the local fire chief determines constitute a…
Does a 15-passenger van have to meet Texas school bus rules when carrying students?
The Commissioner of Education asked how to read the 'school bus' and 'passenger car' rules in Education Code section 34.003, added by Senate Bill 1 in 1995. That statute lets school districts use…
Can a NY county require municipal police departments inside the county to report bias-motivated crime incidents to the county?
Yes. The AG concluded that Westchester County could enact a local law requiring municipal police departments within the county to report bias-related incidents to the county's Department of Public…
Could a South Carolina sheriff post current warrant and eviction records online without invading privacy?
The 1996 AG said accurate, nonmisleading reporting of current or recent public warrants and eviction court records would not, on the facts presented, amount to invasion of privacy or defamation. His…
Could a South Carolina school use a drug dog to check student lockers or students without a warrant in 1996?
The 1996 AG viewed a reliable dog sniff of lockers as permissible and said an alert could support a locker search, with discovered drugs usable in school or criminal proceedings. He thought…
Can the New York Department of Environmental Conservation issue 'temporary revocable permits' to a utility to install electrical cables on the beds of two Adirondack forest preserve lakes so that nearby private residences can have electric service?
No. Article XIV, § 1 of the State Constitution ('forever wild') prohibits leasing, selling, exchanging, or taking forest preserve land by any corporation. The DEC's permitting authority does not…
Can a Maryland trust deduct funeral and administration expenses from inheritance tax the same way a probate estate can?
The Attorney General reaffirmed a 1959 opinion concluding that expenses ordinarily deductible from a decedent's probate estate, such as debts, funeral costs, and administration expenses, were also…
Could an Alaska court require a South Carolina robbery victim to travel back to testify despite hardship?
The 1996 AG said an Alaska request would not by itself compel the South Carolina witness to travel. Under the interstate witness act, a South Carolina court would hold a hearing on materiality and…
Can a NY town create a temporary flood disaster department and appoint the town supervisor as administrator, without a referendum?
Yes. The AG concluded that a town may use its home-rule authority to enact a local law creating a temporary flood disaster department under the town board's supervision. The local law is not subject…
Can a sitting NY town board member resign and then be appointed by his fellow board members to a paid town position like zoning enforcement officer?
Yes. The AG concluded that Town Law § 64(5) authorizes a sitting town board member, otherwise qualified, to resign and then be appointed by the board to fill a vacancy in town office. The statute…
Could a first-district South Carolina transportation commissioner serve a consecutive term or remain after the term expired?
The 1996 AG said a commissioner who served the initial two-year term could not immediately take the next four-year term because representation had to rotate to another county. He also read the…
Could a South Carolina transportation commissioner serve consecutive terms, including after an initial two-year term?
The 1996 AG reaffirmed that a DOT commissioner could not immediately succeed themselves. County representation had to rotate, although the same person could serve again after another county’s term;…
Could a Christian student club meet during a South Carolina high school activity period?
The 1996 AG said the answer depended on the school’s facts: whether the period was noninstructional time and whether other noncurriculum student groups could meet then. The opinion did not decide…
Can a bank that has no offices in North Carolina serve as the trustee for bonds issued by the North Carolina Medical Care Commission, or is in-state presence required?
Yes. The general rule is that an out-of-state bank cannot exercise fiduciary powers in North Carolina, but the Medical Care Commission's own statute (§ 131A-12) creates an express exception: the…
Is the North Carolina Property Tax Commission subject to the Open Meetings Law, and if so, can it close its adjudicatory deliberations to the public?
Yes and yes. The Property Tax Commission is a 'public body' under § 143-318.10(b) because it is an administrative and quasi-judicial body functioning as the State board of equalization and review.…
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