State AG Opinions
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When is a trailer taxed at the $1,000 highway use tax cap (the commercial-vehicle rate) versus the $1,500 cap (the regular cap)? Specifically, when does a trailer qualify as a 'commercial motor vehicle'?
A trailer qualifies for the $1,000 commercial-vehicle cap in three situations: it has a GVWR of 10,001 pounds or more and is titled together with a towing unit that pushes the combination to 26,001…
Could Maryland's Transportation Trust Fund pay for parking lot construction at the old Redskins stadium site?
Partly. The opinion concluded the Secretary of Transportation already had authority to use Transportation Trust Fund money for a grant to build on-site roadways and related infrastructure at the…
Can Kentucky AG Opinion 96-5 on university prevailing wages be cited after it was withdrawn?
No. The AG withdrew OAG 96-5 after learning the same university prevailing-wage dispute was already in litigation. He said that earlier opinion should not be cited as authority and treated it, as…
Can a town council avoid Delaware's open-meetings law by having members review and sign a policy memo one at a time instead of meeting together?
No. The AG found that Georgetown's staggered council review and adoption of an employee policy memo violated FOIA's notice, agenda, and minutes requirements, even though the town said no quorum met…
Did South Carolina coroners qualify for the law enforcement subsistence allowance in 1996?
The 1996 AG concluded that a court would likely find coroners and deputy coroners outside the allowance in Section 23-1-40 because they were not law enforcement officers for that statute, despite…
Could South Carolina prosecute distribution of sexually explicit material to minors under its harmful-material law?
The 1996 AG considered Section 16-15-385 a constitutional means to prohibit distribution of material harmful to minors. The submitted publications might qualify, but prosecution depended on the…
Would South Carolina judicial conduct rules prevail over a statute assigning judges to government committees?
In 1996, the AG informally concluded that judicial conduct canons would take precedence if they conflicted with a statute requiring judges on outside government committees. The AG declined to judge…
Did the Town of Reidville’s South Carolina charter still exist after decades without active town government?
Assuming the facts supplied were correct, the 1996 AG thought Reidville’s charter continued because later statutes made municipal charters perpetual and no qualifying forfeiture or cancellation…
Were South Carolina game-law conspiracy cases tried in magistrate court or general sessions court in 1996?
The 1996 AG concluded that the specific Title 50 conspiracy penalty controlled over the general conspiracy statute, making those cases General Sessions matters. Continuing to bring them in…
Did a South Carolina trust company operating in January 1972 need later approval under the trust-business law?
The 1996 AG said an entity actually conducting trust business on January 1, 1972 qualified for the statutory exception without any minimum transaction volume. The Board of Bank Control, not the AG,…
Does a Texas official automatically resign by announcing a run for another office, and can they keep serving?
A county attorney asked about the Texas Constitution's 'resign to run' rule (article XVI, section 65). A Hopkins County court-at-law judge, with more than a year left in his term, announced at a…
Could South Carolina police decline to seize a repeat DUI or suspended-license offender’s vehicle because forfeiture costs were high?
The 1996 AG said officers had no discretion to skip a vehicle seizure once Section 56-5-6240’s conditions were met, even if liens and costs exceeded the vehicle’s value. Lienholders and other…
If a school board member's company doesn't sell directly to the schools, but instead sells materials to contractors who in turn install them at the schools, does that indirect arrangement still violate § 14-236?
Probably yes. Section 14-236 reaches both direct and indirect pecuniary interests in supplying goods to the schools the board administers. Selling through contractor intermediaries still gives the…
A school board member's company sells and services HVAC equipment to the school system. When the school administration (not the board) decides who to use for routine servicing of already-installed units, and the work is service-only with no parts or materials, does that violate North Carolina's public-officer conflict statutes?
No. Section 14-234 only applies when the public body itself makes or approves the contract; routine administrative servicing decisions made without board involvement do not trigger it. Section…
Do Texas Youth Commission workers earn longevity-pay credit during their first year in a hazardous job?
The Texas Youth Commission asked the Attorney General two pay questions. First, does an employee in a hazardous-duty position keep building 'lifetime service credit' toward longevity pay during the…
Can vendors sell phone or pager service to Texas agencies through the catalogue purchase method?
The General Services Commission asked whether vendors of local telephone, long-distance, cellular, mobile-radio, or pager service could sell those services to state agencies through the 'catalogue…
Could Washington fish officials close an unguarded water diversion or require old guards to be upgraded?
In 1996 the Attorney General said the director could close a diversion after proper notice and 30 days without a required guard, but lacked a direct administrative order power to compel…
Who paid employer benefit contributions for Washington superior court judges: the state or counties?
The Attorney General concluded in 1996 that the state and the counties each owed half of the employer contributions for the specified superior-court-judge benefits, absent a contrary legislative…
Can the same person be Troy's corporation counsel and serve on the Troy school board?
No. The AG concluded that a person may not simultaneously serve as Troy's corporation counsel and as a member of the Troy City School Board. Education Law § 2502(7) bars the same person from holding…
Could South Carolina water recreation tax money pay to plan and develop a riverfront project?
The 1996 AG said the funds could pay for planning and development only to the extent a project directly supported physical improvement of a natural water resource or associated wetland. The AG could…
Who counted as the host local government for a regional South Carolina landfill, and who could serve on its citizens committee?
The 1996 AG read the host local government as the subdivision furnishing the regional landfill facilities. Up to ten committee members could be chosen, with at least 80 percent registered voters or…
Did an out-of-county property bail bond need a second clerk’s approval in South Carolina?
The 1996 AG found no statutory requirement for the clerk in the county where the bond was pending to countersign after the clerk where the real property was located valued it. The latter clerk had…
Was South Carolina’s mail voter-registration deadline 30 or 45 days before a 1996 special election?
In 1996, the AG concluded that the National Voter Registration Act displaced South Carolina’s 45-day mail-registration rule, allowing registration up to 30 days before an election. The conclusion…
Did employees of a South Carolina city housing authority qualify for state military leave in 1996?
The 1996 AG concluded that a city housing authority counted as a political subdivision for Section 25-1-2250, so its officers and employees came within that military-leave provision.
Was a South Carolina loan production office automatically a bank branch under the 1996 banking law?
The 1996 AG withdrew an older view that loan production offices inherently were branches. Later statutes and decisions showed that a typical office soliciting loans while decisions were made…
Does a NY volunteer fire/rescue department have to honor a nonhospital DNR order, keep DNRs on file, and check them before answering 911 calls?
Must honor; need not maintain files. The AG concluded that a village volunteer fire/rescue department is required to honor nonhospital DNR orders issued under Public Health Law § 2977, and may…
Can the Maine Legislature let Sardine Council members cash out a share of Council assets and let the Council set its own excise tax rate?
Mixed answer. The AG concluded the Legislature could authorize a pro-rata refund of Sardine Tax assets if the Council dissolved, treating it as a tax refund to all who paid in. But it could not…
Did South Carolina’s 1995 job development fees serve a public purpose and count as public funds?
The 1996 AG concluded that the Enterprise Zone Act’s job development fees served a valid economic-development public purpose. Qualifying employers’ retained withholding was treated as a tax credit,…
Could Kentucky's Health Policy Board approve Medicaid-funded nursing beds beyond the state budget?
The AG said the Health Policy Board had to keep nursing-bed certificates within biennial budget authorizations and limits, although it did not have to ask anyone for a funding opinion. The General…
If the State Education Assistance Authority created a new fund to help families save for college, would that fund automatically be an instrumentality of the State, or just a trust fund managed by the Authority?
Just a trust fund. The AG concluded that the Authority's act of creating the proposed CollegeVision Trust Fund would not by itself make the fund a State instrumentality. The fund would instead…
Could the public inspect Washington juvenile-court files in a student truancy case?
No, under the law examined in 1996. The Attorney General concluded that juvenile-court truancy files were confidential, subject only to the access exceptions in the juvenile-record statutes. The…
Did a Kentucky charity need an alcohol license to raffle or auction a bottle of liquor?
The AG said a charitable or nonprofit group needed a special temporary license to auction alcoholic beverages, whether the auction stood alone or was part of a dinner. He also read the board's…
Who had to serve South Carolina magistrate restraining orders for stalking or harassment in 1996?
The 1996 AG concluded that a county sheriff had to serve a magistrate’s stalking or harassment restraining order when the court placed it in the sheriff’s hands. The court remained responsible for…
Could South Carolina local police enforce the criminal retail-license law even though it named the tax agency?
The 1996 AG said local law enforcement could enforce the criminal offense for operating as a retailer without the required license. The statutes did not reserve criminal enforcement exclusively to…
Could a South Carolina coroner disclose a deceased person’s HIV or hepatitis B test results to an exposed rescuer?
The 1996 AG found no absolute statutory bar and thought a coroner probably could notify an exposed caregiver of test results. It stressed uncertainty, the interests of the deceased and family, and…
Is a real estate marketing program where sellers pay into a fund that funds a drawing for a $10,000 broker cash prize and a buyer trip an illegal lottery under New York law?
Yes. The 'Good as Gold' promotion combines the three elements of an unlawful lottery — consideration, chance, and a prize — and violates both N.Y. Const. art. I, § 9 and Penal Law § 225.00. Removing…
Could an Idaho political subdivision voluntarily withdraw its employees from PERSI without first triggering the statutory complete or partial withdrawal conditions, and did current employees have a constitutional right to keep accruing PERSI benefits if their employer left the system?
No. Idaho Code § 59-1326 only permits withdrawal upon complete or partial withdrawal as defined; absent that, voluntary withdrawal was not authorized. The AG also concluded Idaho law did not…
When the Social Services Commission is asked to expand who qualifies as a 'special needs child' for adoption assistance, can it adopt a temporary rule, and what budget approval will the change require?
The Social Services Commission can consider a temporary rule only if one of the six statutory criteria in N.C.G.S. § 150B-21.1(a) applies (such as a recent federal change, court order, or recent…
When North Carolina creates new judgeships that go unfilled because of a delayed Voting Rights Act preclearance, how does the Governor fill them once preclearance finally comes through?
The Governor fills them by appointment under § 7A-142, treating the offices as vacant. The 1993 legislation created two District Court judgeships in Districts 3A and 20, with terms running from…
Can a Texas water district tax Permanent University Fund land that never got water service?
The University of Texas System asked whether the El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 could levy taxes 'on the benefit basis' under Water Code chapter 55, subchapter N, against three…
Were volunteer South Carolina state constables covered by public liability insurance and workers’ compensation in 1996?
The 1996 AG said a constable employed by a public agency could receive coverage through that employer, but being commissioned alone did not make all volunteer constables eligible as a group. Group…
Community colleges have to pay tort claims out of their local-funding stream, but can they at least use state funds to buy the liability insurance that covers those claims?
Yes. Section 115D-31.1 directly says community colleges may use state funds to pay liability-insurance premiums, even though § 115D-32(a)(2)b2 ordinarily makes tort awards a local-funding…
Could Kentucky redirect unclaimed utility refunds to cover a bankrupt coal company's workers' compensation obligations?
The AG concluded that proposed House Bill 72 was constitutional because it preserved ratepayers' refund rights and made workers' compensation settlements voluntary. He also found the required…
When did Kentucky law require a doctor to report suspected spouse abuse?
The AG said a physician had to report a patient who was abused or neglected by a spouse and needed protective services. He also described a reporting duty when the abuser was unknown and the patient…
Did Kentucky universities have to pay prevailing wages when renovating residence halls and other campus buildings?
The AG initially said construction projects at four universities were exempt from prevailing wages, including residence hall work. He withdrew this opinion shortly afterward because the question was…
Did South Carolina’s 1995 failure-to-stop expungement law cover older convictions?
The 1996 AG said the new expungement remedy generally did not apply to crimes committed before the amendment took effect on June 12, 1995, absent a court ruling otherwise. For qualifying first…
Can a Texas city annex land again after it was annexed and then disannexed by petition?
A state representative asked whether a Texas general-law city is barred from reannexing an area that it had annexed under Local Government Code section 43.033 and then had to disannex after the…
Can the NC State Ports Authority issue bonds to finance an industrial facility that the Authority owns and leases to a private company, even when the facility is not located right next to the ports?
Yes, the AG concluded, with two strict conditions. First, the lease must impose a binding obligation on the private company to use the state ports at a substantial level (this satisfies the…
Did a Kentucky county-owned nonprofit have to pay prevailing wages on a public works project?
The AG said the nonprofit could share the county's prevailing-wage exemption if the county retained organizational control and state funds financed less than half the project. He treated the Fleming…
Could Citadel alumni living outside South Carolina vote on appointments to its Board of Visitors?
The 1996 AG found no constitutional requirement limiting the Association of Citadel Men’s appointment process to South Carolina residents. The statute delegated selection of three board members to…
Did South Carolina police have to transport people certified for emergency mental health admission and could they bill the state?
The 1996 AG said an officer had a mandatory duty to transport a patient when a facially valid emergency certificate or court order was placed in the officer’s hands. It found no authority for a…
Could South Carolina’s economic-development council reject a tourism infrastructure grant application?
The 1996 AG said the council had broad discretion to approve or deny applications from the special tourism infrastructure fund, using guidelines consistent with the statute and the fund’s purpose.…
Would Kentucky's 1996 House Bill 81 give health officials new power over tobacco or firearms?
No. The AG said House Bill 81's proposed additions to KRS 211.180 did not give the Cabinet for Human Resources any additional power to regulate tobacco or firearm use.
Did selling scratch-and-win cards become a lottery even when free entries were offered?
The 1996 AG predicted that the described scratch-and-win promotion was a lottery, despite a “no purchase required” option, because buyers paid for a chance and free entrants still supplied a benefit…
If a Teaching Fellows scholarship recipient becomes an assistant principal instead of staying in the classroom, does that administrative role count toward the four years of teaching needed to forgive the loan?
No, not unless the Commission decides to broaden its definition. The Teaching Fellows statute does not define 'teaches' or 'years,' so the Commission has discretion to define both. The Commission…
Besides the $10 teen court fee, can a Texas municipal court charge a juvenile other court costs?
A district attorney asked whether a municipal court of record must charge a juvenile in a 'teen court' program any court costs beyond the $10 administrative fee that the teen-court statute (Code of…
Could South Carolina’s Hunley Commission sponsor a fundraising dinner for recovery and display of the submarine?
The 1996 AG said the commission could sponsor the described dinner, with private proceeds donated through Charleston to help raise, conserve, and display the Hunley. The opinion flagged public-fund…
Could a South Carolina traffic court reduce points for a lesser charge but keep the higher charge’s fine?
The 1996 AG said a court accepting a plea to a lesser traffic offense had to use the fine authorized for that lesser offense. It could not retain the higher charge’s monetary penalty simply to raise…
Did Kentucky's proposed 1996 House redistricting plan meet the state constitution?
Yes. The AG found the proposed House Bill 1 plan constitutional under Section 33 as read in Fischer: it divided 22 counties, the minimum he calculated, and kept each district within 5% of ideal population.
Could a national bank serving a South Carolina military base open banking facilities off the base?
The 1996 AG recognized federal authority for a bank facility on the military installation but said substantial banking facilities beyond the base would face South Carolina branch-banking restrictions.
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