State AG Opinions
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Could South Carolina school districts use public resources to campaign against a state education bill in 1995?
The 1995 informal letter said the answer depended on whether the activities educated the public or advocated an outcome; public spending required a public purpose. It found no general state…
Can the NY DEC run a no-purchase-necessary sweepstakes to boost subscriptions to The Conservationist magazine?
No. The AG concluded that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation could not undertake a promotional sweepstakes (even one with no purchase required) to promote subscriptions to…
Can the NC legislature lease the bottom of state-owned navigable waters to private marinas for a nominal fee without violating the state constitution?
Likely yes for the nominal fee, with caveats. The proposed bill setting a $1,000-per-acre one-time fee for marina easements over state-owned submerged lands probably survives the exclusive…
Could a registered Connecticut broker-dealer hold prepaid funeral money in escrow without another license?
The AG concluded that the Connecticut-registered corporate broker-dealer in the request was authorized to serve as an escrow agent for prepaid funeral contracts. It still needed a Banking…
Would a Maine bill exempting migrant-labor mobile home parks from health and safety regulation violate equal protection?
Yes. The AG concluded LD 507, as amended, would violate the equal-protection clauses of the U.S. and Maine Constitutions. The amendment would have stripped migrant-labor mobile home parks of the…
Who is responsible for administering the optional retirement program for Maryland public college employees?
The opinion concluded that no single entity 'sponsored' Maryland's Optional Retirement Program for public college employees; responsibility was divided by statute among the Board of Trustees of the…
Could a Washington public college place student teachers at a religiously affiliated school?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that placement at a school found to be pervasively religious would violate the constitutional rules then discussed, even for secular teaching. The opinion said…
Which Kentucky agency handled complaints about sewage discharged from houseboats?
The AG said the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet retained primary authority to regulate and enforce the marine toilet sewage rules, even after the Division of Water Patrol…
Could a South Carolina foster care review board member also hear property assessment appeals in 1995?
The 1995 informal opinion said yes. It treated the local foster care review board as advisory and therefore not an office for dual-office purposes, while treating the assessment appeals board seat…
Could a Croft Fire District commissioner rewrite the fire chief’s proposed budget in 1995?
The 1995 informal opinion found no answer in the district’s enabling act: it assigned no budget-preparation duty to the fire chief. The author treated the chief’s role in budget preparation as a…
Could a South Carolina legislator work as a private county economic-development director in 1995?
The 1995 informal opinion said the described interim director role at a privately formed nonprofit did not appear to be a public office, so concurrent House service did not violate the cited…
Why could South Carolina police officers not also serve on town or school boards in 1995?
The 1995 informal opinion explained that police officers held public offices for dual-office purposes, while boards and councils could be second offices. Firefighters and constables had express…
Could North Carolina’s Department of Cultural Resources pledge securities transferred by the Battleship Commission as collateral for the loan described in this 1995 opinion?
Yes. The AG said the securities had been validly transferred to the Department and that their pledge for this loan was assistance within N.C.G.S. § 121-11. The agreement, once executed and…
Can a Maryland circuit court clerk administer the oath of office to a public official who lives in a different county?
The Attorney General concluded that a circuit court clerk could not travel outside the clerk's own county to administer an oath of office, but a clerk could still swear in an officer who lived in,…
Could Kiawah Island appoint private guards to issue beach ordinance summonses in 1995?
The 1995 opinion said the town could appoint association security guards as municipal code enforcement officers for the beach area, with duties limited to ordinance summonses and no custodial…
When a NY district attorney resigns and someone is elected to fill the vacancy, does that person serve the full four-year term or just out the predecessor's unexpired term?
Full four-year term. The AG concluded that the person elected in November 1995 to fill the Rockland County DA vacancy serves for a full four-year term, not the balance of the predecessor's term.…
Can a teacher chaperoning a school trip accept a free trip or perks from the tour company?
Generally no. The AG concluded that when a school chaperone has discretion to choose the ski area or tour operator and receives free trips, lift tickets, or shop discounts from the chosen vendor,…
If I file a complaint about a North Carolina police officer, can the city's Internal Affairs Division (IAD) tell me the outcome? And can the press get a copy of the IAD letter?
The letters IAD sends to a citizen complainant are personnel records under N.C.G.S. § 160A-168 and are confidential. The city can release them to the complainant only by following one of the…
Could North Carolina replace its intangibles tax with an additional 1% tax on gains from selling stocks and bonds, effective from the start of the year in which the bill passes?
The AG thought the proposed mid-year rate increase would withstand federal and North Carolina constitutional challenges. The opinion reserved judgment about gains on previously issued bonds whose…
Could a Washington public utility district pay a commissioner extra for serving as board president or secretary?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a public utility district commissioner could receive only the compensation authorized for commissioners, even when serving as president or secretary. The…
Could a South Carolina town reroute a drainage ditch across private land for a council member in 1995?
The 1995 informal opinion did not decide the proposed Hampton ditch relocation. It said municipal resources used on private property generally raised a public-purpose restriction, and town council…
Could a majority corporate owner draw South Carolina unemployment benefits when the business lost money in 1995?
The 1995 informal opinion did not decide eligibility or the company’s contribution formula. It said those questions required facts about actual unemployment, business status, work availability and…
Could a Kentucky county consolidation commission decide no change was needed and skip a public vote?
No. The AG said a commission formed under KRS 67.830(3) had to develop a comprehensive charter county or consolidation plan and submit it for voter approval or disapproval. The statute did not…
Can the Commissioner of Banks construe the phrase 'trust assets' in N.C.G.S. § 53-122(1) (which sets bank-examination assessment fees) to include all fiduciary assets except real estate held by a bank's trust department, including guardianships, managing agencies, and safekeeping accounts? And does the agency have to refund trust-assessment fees previously collected on that broader basis, as a prior Commissioner's January 1995 letters suggested?
Yes, the AG concluded the Commissioner may construe 'trust assets' to include all fiduciary assets (except real estate) held by the bank's trust department, not just narrow express trusts. The…
Can a Texas court clerk turn unclaimed court funds over to the state without a judge's order?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that section 117.002 of the Texas Local Government Code is valid and constitutional. Under it, money deposited with a county or district clerk in a court case…
Could a South Carolina college commission limit public speaking at its meetings in 1995?
The 1995 informal opinion said the Freedom of Information Act did not itself prescribe an agenda or public-participation procedure. Whether Denmark Technical College’s policy was reasonable,…
Could county council members also serve as the county transportation committee in 1995?
The 1995 informal opinion said such dual service would most probably violate South Carolina’s dual-office prohibition. It relied on earlier opinions treating both county council and county…
Would Maine's proposed takings bills (LD 170 and LD 1217) trigger Article IX, Section 21's mandate clause and force the State to fund local compliance?
Yes. The AG concluded LD 1217 and LD 170 would constitute mandates under Me. Const. art. IX, § 21 in at least three ways: temporary-takings compensation owed by a municipality even after it stops…
Who served on Florence City Council while a 1995 election contest was on appeal?
The 1995 informal opinion said the incumbent council members held over, could vote, and the apparent winners should not be sworn in until the election contest was finally determined. Participation…
Was the 1995 South Carolina judicial pension cutoff on a survivor’s remarriage constitutional?
The 1995 informal opinion predicted courts would uphold the rule ending a judge’s or solicitor’s survivor pension on remarriage. It reasoned that the condition did not substantially interfere with…
Could a Kentucky prosecutor release a grand jury transcript to the public?
A prosecutor could ask the circuit court controlling the grand jury record for permission to release it, but could not release it on the prosecutor's own authority. The AG said secrecy remained the…
Can a NY county pass a term limits law for elected officials without a public referendum?
Yes. The AG confirmed Informal Opinion No. 83-10 and the Court of Appeals' Roth v Cuevas decision: a county may use its home-rule authority to limit the number of consecutive terms an elected…
Can a NY police department post the results of internal discipline on a bulletin board that only officers can see?
Yes. The AG concluded that Civil Rights Law § 50-a was enacted to stop disclosure of officer personnel records to litigants who would use them to harass or impeach officers, not to bar internal…
If a DWI victim recovers under their own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, does that recovery reduce what they can collect from North Carolina's Crime Victims Compensation Fund?
Yes. The 1995 NC AG opinion concluded that UM/UIM proceeds paid to a DWI victim count as a 'collateral source' under N.C.G.S. § 15B-2(3), so the Crime Victims Compensation award must be reduced by…
Would Maine's proposed bans on professional strikebreakers and permanent replacement workers (LD 686 and LD 316) be preempted by federal labor law?
Yes, both. The AG concluded LD 686 (banning professional strikebreakers via civil injunction) and the LD 316 committee amendment (banning permanent replacement workers) would very likely be found…
Could a South Carolina register charge for returning unrecordable documents or modem access to records in 1995?
The 1995 opinion said a county ordinance could authorize a postage charge for returning an unrecordable document, and supplies might also be chargeable. It found no support for charging staff time…
Did a South Carolina jailer have to follow a family court work-release contempt order in 1995?
The 1995 opinion said a jailer had to do everything possible to carry out the family court order until a court reversed or modified it, despite objections about program availability or security. It…
Could McCormick County Council cut funding for its veterans affairs office despite the officer's submitted budget?
In 1995, an Assistant Attorney General said county council had discretion to set funding for the veterans affairs office because she found no law assigning that decision elsewhere. The 1945 act…
In New York, can a village mayor fill a mid-term vacancy in an appointed office without board of trustees approval?
Yes. Under New York Village Law § 3-312(3), the mayor appoints to fill the unexpired term without board approval. When the term expires, the next appointment requires board confirmation under § 3-301(3).
Does a Texas school district have to take competitive bids before buying insurance?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a Texas school district must put a contract for the purchase of insurance out for competitive bids if the contract is worth $25,000 or more over a…
Can the NY Pilots Board suspend a Hudson River pilot's license for negligent acts he did while working as a docking master, not under his license?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Board of Commissioners of Pilots could proceed against the license of a State-licensed Hudson River pilot for actions taken while he was working as a docking master…
Can a NY EMT install red lights and a siren on her personal car to respond to ambulance calls?
Yes, when properly equipped and operating as an agent of an ambulance service. The AG concluded the phrase 'owned or operated by' in Vehicle and Traffic Law § 115-c is disjunctive: a private vehicle…
Can a Texas state agency buy liability insurance for its employees?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission could obtain Tort Claims Act liability insurance for employees at no cost. A 1993 budget rider barred using…
Does Maine's LD 1217 takings bill just restate constitutional property protections, and is it retroactive?
No to the first question; yes to the second. The AG said LD 1217's compensation scheme went far beyond constitutional takings protection. At enactment, it would reach laws and regulations applicable…
Do disabled parking plates let you skip campus parking permits and fees at a Texas university?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that a Texas state university could require students, faculty, and staff, even those who are disabled, to register their vehicles and pay a reasonable fee, and…
Is it illegal in Texas to bet on card games played online over computers and modems?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that when two or more people use their own computers and modems to play and bet on a card game, the activity is illegal gambling under chapter 47 of the Texas…
Do the proposed amendments to LD 1412's Section D-4 fix the constitutional problem flagged in Op. 95-6?
Probably. The AG said amendments H-182 and S-102 appeared to remove the constitutional problem in the original Section D-4. They replaced the Governor’s ability to implement statutory changes after…
Is LD 1412 Part D (the Productivity Realization Task Force budget mechanism) constitutional, particularly its Section D-4 authority for the Governor to implement statutory amendments without legislative action?
Mixed. The AG concluded Section D-5 of LD 1412 (authorizing the Governor to transfer positions and balances to achieve a $45 million productivity savings target) would survive nondelegation and…
Where did proceeds go when a South Carolina sheriff sold a vehicle bought with drug-forfeiture funds?
A 1995 informal opinion said the proceeds would return to the law-enforcement agency’s drug-fund account. The same restrictions on drug-enforcement use, budgeting, purchasing and records still applied.
Did a third shoplifting offense go to South Carolina general sessions court regardless of the stolen goods’ value in 1995?
Yes. An Assistant Attorney General said the 1995 repeat-property-offense amendment made a third or later shoplifting case a general sessions matter regardless of value; municipal court jurisdiction…
In a NY eviction, does the sheriff have to physically remove the tenant's furniture and possessions?
Yes, by default. The AG concluded that a sheriff executing a RPAPL § 749(1) warrant must effect the removal of the evicted person's personal property unless the petitioner-landlord relieves the…
Could Connecticut move excess unemployment administration money to cover future federal funding gaps?
The AG found the Labor Department’s annual transfer of amounts above $500,000 from its special unemployment administration fund lawful under the statute as amended in 1982. The administrator’s…
Can a Texas city make its own rules for septic systems, or does the state control that?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that chapter 366 of the Texas Health and Safety Code set up comprehensive statewide regulation of on-site sewage disposal systems (septic systems) under the…
When Maryland's Constitution says a newly elected or appointed official must take the oath of office 'before the Governor,' does the Governor personally have to read the oath out loud?
No. The opinion concluded that an officer qualifies 'before the Governor' as long as the oath is taken in the Governor's presence; the Governor is not required to personally administer or read the oath.
Was a Washington arena partly exempt from property tax when a city owned a minority share with a private company?
The Attorney General concluded in 1995 that the jointly owned Tri-Cities Coliseum qualified for neither a full nor a partial public-property exemption. The city held a 49 percent beneficial…
Would Maine's LD 537 (extending binding arbitration to municipal labor disputes over salaries, pensions, and insurance) be an unfunded mandate?
Yes. The AG concluded LD 537, which would amend 26 M.R.S.A. § 965(4) to make controversies over salaries, pensions, and insurance subject to binding arbitration (instead of advisory arbitration),…
When does Maine's initiated bill LD 716 (repealing the motor vehicle emission inspection program) take effect, and can the Legislature pass it as an emergency?
Both questions answered. The AG concluded that if the Legislature enacted initiated bill LD 716 (repealing the motor vehicle emission inspection program) without invoking the emergency clause, it…
Can Maine's Legislature divert pre-1992 appropriations to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and over-appropriated funds in excess of actual department revenues, to other purposes despite the Article IX, Section 22 dedication amendment?
Yes, in two narrow circumstances. The AG concluded that Me. Const. art. IX, § 22 (effective November 23, 1992) protects only funds equal to revenues actually collected by the Department of Inland…
Does a fire district commissioner have a conflict if he's a paid firefighter in another city and belongs to the same national union as the firefighters he must negotiate with?
No. The AG concluded membership in the same national union, through different locals, creates only a remote and indirect incentive. Fire commissioners are unpaid volunteers; the commissioner had no…
Can a NY county create a fire marshal position by resolution, or does it need a local law?
The AG concluded that a county may create a fire marshal position and define its duties by local law, or by charter law in a charter county; a resolution will not suffice. Once the office is…
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