State AG Opinions
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Did a state highway right of way turn adjacent privately deeded land into public property in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter did not give a categorical answer. It said the documents creating the right of way and any reserved rights, encroachment permission, or other servitude had to be examined before…
Which South Carolina agency tracked local-government debt limits for legislators in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter pointed to the State Treasurer’s statutory responsibilities and published debt reports, but said a requirement to keep legislators informed about local debt percentages was a…
Could a Springfield town council member also take a paid water-and-sewer job with the town in 1995?
No. The 1995 AG letter said simultaneous council service and town employment would violate the state statute barring a council member from holding municipal employment during the elected term,…
Could Connecticut draw on a proposed casino letter of credit after a lawsuit or court order?
The AG said filing a lawsuit alone would not bar a draw under Mirage Bridgeport’s proposed casino letter of credit. As written, however, a court or agency order affecting the planned facilities…
When a NC state agency settles a lawsuit with another agency, does the settlement have to be styled as a 'consent judgment' under N.C.G.S. § 114-2.2 to be enforceable, or can a court-approved settlement agreement do the job?
The 1995 NC AG opinion concluded a court-approved settlement agreement is enforceable on its own terms. Section 114-2.2 governs consent judgments specifically but does not require every state-agency…
Did selling a collectible card with a chance to win cash count as a lottery in South Carolina in 1995?
Yes, under the facts reviewed in the 1995 AG letter. It found a prize awarded by chance and treated the card purchase as payment for entry, despite describing the entry as “free.” It concluded the…
Could a South Carolina town annex an area when it could not find enough property owners to sign in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter found no clear route around the signature problem. It viewed the owner-petition procedure in §5-3-150 as the most likely available method, but said electors could not simply…
Could a South Carolina coroner authorize cremation of an indigent or unclaimed person in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter said a coroner could authorize cremation when the decedent was indigent or disposition was the state’s or county’s responsibility, in the absence of a person serving as the…
Can a NY village set a fixed term of office for a police chief whose position is in the competitive class of civil service?
No. The AG concluded that a municipality may not establish a term of office for any position in the competitive class of the civil service, including a police chief who serves as the executive head…
Could Delaware's tax division get Social Security numbers from the DMV's driver records to enforce state tax laws?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1995. The AG concluded that Delaware's Division of Revenue could access Social Security numbers held in Division of Motor Vehicles records, through the state's…
Could South Carolina pay a private college to operate a women’s leadership program in 1995?
In an informal 1995 letter, the AG’s office considered state payments under the Converse College contract constitutionally valid because they paid for a public educational purpose and gave the…
Could a South Carolina sheriff test jail inmates, including pretrial detainees, for sexually transmitted diseases in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter said the then-current statute authorized examination and treatment of confined people for sexually transmitted diseases and did not exclude pretrial detainees. It also found…
Can a NY county enter a mutual aid agreement with a county in another state for fire and emergency services?
Yes. The AG concluded Cattaraugus County could enter a mutual aid agreement with Potter County, Pennsylvania, using General Municipal Law Article 14-G (interlocal agreements with public agencies of…
Can the State of North Carolina and its cities and counties accept bids and contract with out-of-state motor vehicle dealers who are not licensed in North Carolina, or does Article 12 of Chapter 20 require all dealers to hold an NC license to sell vehicles to public entities?
Yes. Out-of-state dealers do not need an NC license to sell vehicles directly to the State or its political subdivisions. The licensing statute protects NC citizens from fraud in private…
Building on the prior week's opinion, can the NC House Ethics Committee split its proceedings (closed session just for a minor witness's testimony, open session for the rest), and can it consider investigatory reports in closed session?
Yes to both, with conditions. The AG concluded that if the Committee can close meetings under N.C.G.S. § 143-318.11(a)(6) at all (a question the prior opinion flagged as unresolved), the Committee…
Could Medicaid pay an unlicensed livery company for trips that counted as invalid-coach service?
The AG said Connecticut’s Medicaid program should not reimburse wheelchair livery providers for transportation that met the statutory definition of invalid-coach service unless they held the…
Could a South Carolina county recreation commission donate tax funds to a YMCA in 1995?
No, for the donation described. The 1995 AG letter reaffirmed an earlier conclusion that using public funds for a YMCA building fund would violate the state constitution and said a donation to a…
Could a South Carolina sheriff release the name of a missing child to the public in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter said releasing the name of a missing child who had not been taken into custody did not trigger the juvenile custody-record confidentiality rule. It also said child-protection…
Did a South Carolina private-investigator license provide a defense to a stalking charge in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter said legitimate investigative conduct within a registered detective’s authority could be asserted as a defense under the then-current stalking law. Registration did not shield…
Could Fripp Island require sprinklers in new homes through water-district rules in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter treated the proposed sprinkler requirement as a building-code issue. It said Beaufort County’s adopted code might need a modification or waiver under the statutory process and…
Could a South Carolina fire district withhold public incident reports because a requester planned to solicit insurance clients in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter said the commercial-solicitation ban did not itself justify withholding otherwise public fire incident reports. The recipient was responsible for the use restriction, while the…
Can a NY town pass a 'pay to play' law banning contracts with people who donated to town officials?
No. The AG concluded that Southampton's proposed law (no town contracts over $1,500 to persons who had donated more than $100 to town officials or candidates) was both inconsistent with and…
Did a handgun sale started before October 1995 avoid the new permit rule if delivery came later?
The AG said a pistol or revolver purchased or received on or after October 1, 1995 had to satisfy the new permit, eligibility-certificate or listed-officer exception, even if the transaction began…
Did a free hunting or fishing license let Catawba Nation members use South Carolina wildlife areas without a separate permit in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter accepted the Department of Natural Resources’ reading that the statute gave Catawba Nation members free recreational hunting and fishing licenses but did not waive a separate…
When the NC House Ethics Committee investigates sexual harassment charges against a member, can it (1) keep the investigatory reports it commissions confidential, and (2) take closed-session testimony from a 16-year-old former House page and then publish a transcript with the page's name redacted?
No to both. The AG concluded that investigatory reports the Committee receives are public records (News & Observer Publishing Co. v. Poole) and the Committee cannot withhold them. On closed-session…
Did Allendale County have to pay the entire cost of the town’s solid-waste disposal in 1995?
No such full-payment duty was found in the 1995 AG letter. It distinguished the county’s responsibility to provide for facilities serving incorporated and unincorporated areas from who bears every…
Could South Carolina DOT or education board members be reappointed without rotating counties in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter said initial two-year DOT district commissioners could not immediately receive a consecutive four-year term; the next seat should rotate to another county. For the State Board of…
Can a NY county clerk accept a DBA certificate when the assumed name looks like a person's name, and can the clerk fix obvious filing errors?
Yes on both. The AG concluded a county clerk may accept a General Business Law § 130 assumed-name certificate at face value when it explains the secondary or historic meaning of the name, may not…
Could South Carolina’s LLR director refuse state-funded travel for a dentistry board member in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter said it could not find that the director exceeded his authority by refusing the travel. It read the Government Restructuring Act as giving the director broad management control…
Could South Carolina suspend an indicted school superintendent and pay for his criminal defense in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter said the governor could suspend the superintendent because the described bid-rigging and gratuity indictment charged moral turpitude. It also concluded the school district could…
Did a part-time property owner count as a resident freeholder for a South Carolina town boundary petition in 1995?
The 1995 informal opinion treated residency as domicile: the owner had to intend the place to be a permanent or indefinite home. Periodic absences did not automatically end residency, but merely…
Could a South Carolina county legislative delegation elect officers by anonymous paper ballot in a public meeting?
The 1995 informal opinion said paper ballots were not automatically forbidden, but a member’s request to identify how each person voted probably called for recording individual votes. Without the…
Did the 1995 South Carolina overweight-truck fine option unlawfully penalize drivers who requested a hearing?
The 1995 informal opinion concluded that the payment option would withstand a due process and equal protection challenge. A cited driver could choose a magistrate’s hearing, while timely direct…
Could South Carolina State University use public funds for sympathy gifts or a student representative’s wardrobe?
The 1995 AG letter found the public purpose of university bereavement acknowledgements difficult to demonstrate. It did not decide whether the wardrobe or proposed canteen expenditures qualified;…
After the 1995 statutory amendments that stripped some independent powers from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, did the Superintendent still have authority to sign contracts on behalf of the State Board of Education?
Yes, but only under the existing State Board delegation. The AG concluded that the 1995 amendments eliminated the Superintendent's independent statutory contracting power but did not revoke a 1989…
If a North Carolina county department of social services has custody of a child in an abuse or neglect case, can DSS let the parents' lawyer interview the child when the child's own court-appointed guardian ad litem or attorney advocate objects?
No. Once a juvenile petition alleging abuse or neglect is filed and the court appoints a guardian ad litem and attorney advocate for the child, the responsibility for protecting the child's legal…
When a North Carolina superior court judge ruled in Maready v. City of Winston-Salem that § 158-7.1 economic development incentives were unconstitutional, did that ruling immediately bind every other county in the state, and were Guilford County commissioners personally on the hook for honoring an existing 1993 reimbursement contract for developer-built water and sewer lines?
No on both fronts. A superior court ruling binds only the parties to that case, not city and county governments statewide. Only a NC Court of Appeals or Supreme Court ruling would have statewide…
Could a South Carolina school district release students from regular classes for religious instruction in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter said a district appeared able to adopt a released-time policy for religious instruction, including during regular classes, if the student met state education requirements and the…
Did a paid million-dollar hole-in-one contest likely violate South Carolina lottery and gambling law in 1995?
The 1995 informal opinion concluded that the proposed paid contest would likely be both a lottery and gambling. It viewed a hole-in-one as sufficiently dependent on chance despite golf skill, while…
Does the NY tropical hardwood purchase ban cover every tropical species, or only the species the statute lists by name?
The AG concluded that State Finance Law § 165 prohibits the state and its agencies from purchasing only the roughly forty tropical-hardwood species listed by name in the statute. The general…
Can a Texas city or county ban licensed concealed handguns in its parks, or a transit agency on its buses?
Representative Ron Wilson asked, after the 1995 concealed handgun law passed, whether a rapid transit authority could bar licensed concealed handguns from its buses and whether cities and counties…
Could a Texas business post a sign barring concealed-handgun license holders, and how could the owner enforce it?
Yes. The 1995 concealed-handgun law did not prevent private business owners from excluding license holders under the criminal-trespass statute, and a posted sign was the most effective notice.…
Could Washington police use drug forfeiture proceeds for patrol work that also addressed other crimes?
Yes, if the work had a close, demonstrable connection to controlled-substance enforcement. The AG said incidental benefits for other policing did not disqualify it, but general policing without that…
Did a third South Carolina bad-check conviction have to be punished as a Class E felony under the 1995 law?
The 1995 AG letter said a court would probably apply the repeat property-offense rule to a third fraudulent-check conviction, even for a check of $500 or less, because punishment depended on the…
Could a South Carolina magistrate countersign a faxed arrest warrant from another county in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter said there was no absolute legal prohibition on countersigning a faxed copy of an arrest warrant. Whether to countersign it remained within the individual magistrate’s discretion.
Can a NY town agree to provide police protection only to a village inside the town and skip the rest of the town?
No. The AG concluded that if a town establishes a police department under Town Law § 150, it must serve the entire town including any village without its own police force. A town cannot lawfully…
Could a South Carolina district allow students to leave instructional time for religious education in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter said federal precedent and a state education regulation appeared to permit a district policy excusing students for religious instruction. It left the amount of release time and…
Did a South Carolina public hospital have to provide emergency care to a prison inmate in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter said a hospital appeared obligated to provide emergency care when an inmate actually sought it and medical staff found it necessary, regardless of ability to pay or residence. It…
Could Kentucky enforce its extra fuel tax on heavy interstate trucks after September 1996?
The Kentucky AG concluded in 1995 that the state's separate fuel use tax on vehicles over 59,999 pounds did not fit the International Fuel Tax Agreement's vehicle classification. Federal law…
When a chain restaurant builds a new location using a corporate prototype plan, can a North Carolina county environmental health specialist re-review and disapprove the inside design, or only the site-specific outside factors?
Only the site-specific outside factors. The AG concluded that the State approves prototype franchise/chain restaurant plans, and county environmental health specialists exercise their authority…
Can a Texas school district transport students in a vehicle that isn't a certified school bus?
The Texas Education Agency asked whether a school district could buy, lease, rent, or use a vehicle that does not meet federal and state school bus safety standards to carry students. The Attorney…
Could Connecticut approve and regulate a state bank branch inside the Foxwoods casino?
The AG said the proposed branch of a Connecticut bank at Foxwoods would be “in this state,” and state regulation of that independent bank would not be federally preempted on the described facts. He…
Could a Washington city use hotel tax money to make and sell shirts promoting a community festival?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that most cities and counties could not use hotel/motel tax for festival shirts merely because the shirts promoted tourism. A narrow civic-festival proviso or…
Does North Carolina's Commission of Indian Affairs have the authority to recognize a newly organized 'Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians' tribal council as the official government of the Lumbee Tribe, or to take sides between that council and the Lumbee Regional Development Association?
No. The AG concluded that the Commission of Indian Affairs is a creature of the General Assembly with only the powers conferred by statute, and nothing in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143B-406 or § 143B-407…
When a Minnesota city extends its subdivision regulations to land within two miles outside its limits, and the surrounding county has its own zoning ordinance covering the same land, whose rules govern subdivision and zoning on that land?
Different things go to different authorities. The AG concluded that under Minn. Stat. § 462.358, subd. 1a, a city's extraterritorial subdivision regulations control over the county's subdivision…
Could an elementary school bar a student from distributing anti-abortion material in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter did not decide whether the specific material could be barred. It said the answer required examining the material and distribution circumstances, while the cited cases allowed some…
Did South Carolina repeal the special distribution rules for certain drug fines in 1994?
The 1995 AG letter concluded that Section 36 of the 1994 appropriations act repealed the earlier fine-distribution subsections for specified drug offenses. It treated their appearance in an…
When did ordinary laws from Kentucky's third 1995 special session take effect?
The Attorney General concluded that ordinary legislation from Kentucky's third 1995 extraordinary session took effect at the first moment of Friday, November 3, 1995. The conclusion excluded general…
When the General Assembly tells a state agency it can't spend money on a federal-court-mandated program except from specifically appropriated funds, can the agency still move lapsed salary money over to cover a shortfall?
Yes. The AG read § 143-23(a1)(3) and the conflicting 1995 budget provisions in pari materia and concluded that transferring lapsed salaries to cover the Thomas S. shortfall was lawful because the…
Did parents have a constitutional right to take students out of class for religious instruction in 1995?
The 1995 AG letter said a school district could consider excusing students under its attendance policy, but it could not determine whether the First Amendment required release. That question lacked…
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