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Are the development impact fees that the Ada County Highway District charges new builders actually fees, or are they really taxes? And can ACHD make the State of Idaho pay them when the state builds something in Ada County?
ACHD's Ordinance 184 has features (discretion to spend fees outside benefit zones, no clear nexus between the fee and the development's actual road impact, unclear accounting) that look more like a…
Can a county commissioner who owns a real estate firm sell a house to a buyer using federal HOME program assistance funds, when the commissioner serves on the local HOME consortium board, without violating NC's conflict-of-interest law?
For the described sale, the AG found a conflict under the HOME funding agreement and 24 CFR 92.356, but no conflict under N.C.G.S. §14-234(a) because subsection (b) provided an exception for certain…
Under Maine's 1986-amended reapportionment provisions, how many days does the Legislature have to act on the Apportionment Commission's plan: 10 days (130 minus 120) or 30 days?
30 days. The AG concluded that the 1986 amendments to Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 1, § 3 (House) and Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 2, § 1 (Senate) extended the Apportionment Commission's plan-submission…
When a radio station and newspaper ask a local school board for copies of the travel-expense records of the former superintendent, are those records public records that must be disclosed, or are they protected personnel-file documents because the records may relate to the superintendent's recent departure?
They are public records. The 1993 AG concluded that the school superintendent's travel-expense records must be disclosed under G.S. 132-6. Although G.S. 115C-319's broad definition of 'personnel…
Do labor-and-employment bills that apply to all Maine employers, including municipal employers, count as 'mandates' under Me. Const. art. IX, § 21, just because they affect municipal payrolls?
No. The AG concluded that two bills before the Joint Standing Committee on Labor (LD 406 expanding family medical leave coverage to employers with 25 or more employees across all worksites, and LD…
Can a child whose family moves to Idaho mid-year enroll in an Idaho public kindergarten or first grade if the child started school in another state but doesn't meet Idaho's August 16 cutoff?
If the child has not met Idaho's age-five-by-August-16 cutoff, the child may not enroll in kindergarten in Idaho even if the child started kindergarten in a state with a later cutoff. If the child…
Can Idaho's Commission of Pardons and Parole commute an inmate's indeterminate sentence to a shorter fixed term so the inmate can be transferred to Mexico under the U.S.-Mexico prisoner transfer treaty?
Yes. The AG concluded the Commission has constitutional power under article 4, section 7 of the Idaho Constitution to commute an indeterminate sentence to a lesser fixed term, which is what the…
Can the General Assembly require that assets of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System be used to fund non-contributory medical coverage for retirees and other Retirement System beneficiaries under the State's Comprehensive Major Medical Plan, instead of continuing to fund that coverage out of General Fund appropriations?
No. The 1993 AG concluded that Article V, Section 6(2) of the North Carolina Constitution limits the use of Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System assets to three purposes: retirement…
If North Carolina was obligated under the Southeast Compact to be prepared to accept up to 32 million cubic feet of low-level radioactive waste, did the state's radioactive waste authority have to apply for a license to dispose of all 32 million, or could it license a smaller initial volume?
It could license a smaller volume. The AG concluded the 32-million-cubic-foot figure was a host-state maximum obligation, not a minimum licensing target. The NC Low-Level Radioactive Waste…
Does a Texas state agency have to fire a worker on injury leave past 12 months?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Department of Health did not have to fire an employee just because a work-related injury kept them on unpaid leave longer than 12 months. The General…
Can a Texas county cut off a worker's supplemental injury pay after promising it?
The Attorney General concluded that the Lavaca County Commissioners Court could not use a 1991 order to cap the supplemental injury payments owed to two employees who were hurt before 1991 under a…
Can a NC consumer-finance licensee make a loan to a borrower who already has a loan from the licensee's affiliated bank or other lender that is not covered by the Consumer Finance Act?
Yes. Although G.S. 53-179's one-loan rule appears broad, the more specific provisions in G.S. 53-180 and the exemptions in G.S. 53-191 show the legislature meant to allow concurrent loans when the…
Can off-duty Texas police officers work school security as a side job?
The Attorney General concluded that article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution, which bars one person from holding two 'civil offices of emolument,' does not as a matter of law stop off-duty…
Who controls the breakage money from greyhound racing bets in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that all of the 'breakage' (the leftover odd cents from pari-mutuel payouts) that section 6.09(d) of the Texas Racing Act assigned to the greyhound side, the 50…
Can someone keep a Texas peace officer license after a felony conviction is set aside or dismissed?
The Attorney General concluded that a felony conviction disqualified a person from being a Texas peace officer or county jailer, and that probation, dismissal of the indictment, release from…
Can the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare investigate suspected child abuse on school grounds without parents present, and can school officials be barred from sitting in?
Yes. The AG concluded that DHW has full authority to investigate child-abuse reports inside schools, including the discretion to exclude school personnel from interviews, and parental consent is not…
Did Connecticut’s longer health continuation period apply to employer plans governed by ERISA?
The AG said ERISA preempted Connecticut’s 104-week continuation rule for employer plans covered by ERISA, regardless of employer size. For plans outside ERISA, he read the state amendment to give…
Could Kentucky make a physician's license depend on accepting patients in a state health care pool?
The AG concluded in 1993 that putting this condition in Kentucky's physician licensing chapter appeared unrelated to that chapter's aim of ensuring physicians were properly trained. The opinion left…
Did a Mecklenburg County ordinance requiring one-half mile between group homes violate the Fair Housing Act Amendments even without evidence of discriminatory intent or effect?
The AG said a spacing rule was not automatically unlawful under the FHAA, but could still violate it through discriminatory intent or effect. The opinion predicted that a court in the Fourth Circuit…
Does the 1987 local act regulating deer hunting (including hunting with dogs) in Anson County override the general state statute G.S. 113-291.5 and the Wildlife Resources Commission rules that ban running deer with dogs west of N.C. Highway 742? And can the WRC make rules on game lands that contradict that state or local law?
The AG said the 1987 Anson County act should be enforced over conflicting provisions of G.S. 113-291.5 and WRC rules, and that WRC game-land rules cannot override a legislative act. It also warned…
Could a charter city appoint its finance director to the firefighters’ pension board after abolishing the comptroller’s office?
The Attorney General concluded in 1993 that a first-class charter city could give the comptroller’s pension-board seat to its finance director when that director inherited the comptroller’s…
When did an out-of-state political group have to report contributions to Washington campaigns?
The Attorney General concluded in 1993 that reporting applied to out-of-state groups that qualified as political committees and had sufficient contacts with Washington. A nonreporting committee that…
Can a former Texas utility regulator go to work for a company the PUC regulates?
The Attorney General concluded that the Public Utility Regulatory Act's one-year revolving-door ban (section 6(i) of article 1446c) kept a former PUC employee from being hired by a public utility he…
Can a Texas probation department hire a relative of a district judge without breaking the nepotism law?
The Attorney General concluded that when the director of a community supervision and corrections department (the local probation agency) hires a person related within the third degree to a district…
Which Kentucky insurance statute governed an acquisition applicant's financial statements and approval period in 1993?
The AG concluded that the later Insurance Holding Company Systems Act provision controlled the conflicting parts of the older statute. Under the 1993 opinion, an applicant had to submit five years…
When a NC joint municipal power agency (like ElectriCities member agencies) buys or sells property, does the public-bid-law exemption in G.S. 159B-11(12) and (13) cover all of its property dealings, or only the privately negotiated ones?
Only the privately negotiated ones. The exemption clauses sit inside subsections (12) and (13), which deal with private negotiated purchase, lease, sale, and disposition. They do not exempt the…
Can a Texas board member attend an open meeting by video instead of in person?
The Attorney General concluded that the Open Meetings Act did not let a member of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission (or any governmental body subject to the Act) who could not attend a meeting in…
Are interns in Texas's nursing-home ombudsman program protected from lawsuits like the certified volunteers?
Clarifying an earlier opinion (DM-173), the Attorney General concluded that people serving the three-month internship in the Texas long-term-care ombudsman program are, like certified volunteer…
When did Kentucky's 1993 special-session laws and Senate Bill 7 take effect?
The Attorney General gave May 18, 1993, as the ordinary effective date for laws from Kentucky's first 1993 special session. Senate Bill 7's emergency clause made the act effective on the afternoon…
Can North Carolina create a state licensing board specifically for Christian counselors, and require Christian counselors to be licensed by it, without violating the First Amendment's separation of church and state?
The AG said the proposed board would likely violate the Establishment Clause by favoring Christian counseling and entangling the state in religious questions. The Free Exercise answer was less…
Does Maine's state-mandates amendment (Me. Const. art. IX, § 21) require a 2/3 vote or 90% State funding when the Legislature creates new crimes or civil infractions that municipal police will then have to enforce?
No. The AG concluded that legislation creating new crimes or civil infractions, including LD 486 (Senator Brannigan's seat-belt civil-violation bill), does not constitute a 'mandate' under Me.…
Did Kentucky's lottery contractor political-contribution restriction apply to consultants hired by the state auditor?
The AG concluded in 1993 that the restriction did not apply to consultants assisting the state auditor's performance review of the lottery. Their work was a management review rather than the…
Could a Kentucky county judge/executive set fiscal court meeting dates despite a county ordinance assigning that decision to the fiscal court?
The 1993 AG said yes. State law assigned the regular-term start dates to the county judge/executive, so a contrary county ordinance was inconsistent with the statute and had no effect.
Could Washington apply its salmon landing limits to fish caught in Canada and set different lingcod limits for anglers and spearfishers?
The Attorney General concluded in 1993 that Washington could apply its salmon landing and possession limits to fish caught in Canadian waters but landed at a Washington port. The Fisheries…
Can a Minnesota city charge property owners a monthly storm sewer utility fee based on impervious surface and rainfall runoff, rather than levying a special assessment?
Yes. The AG concluded that Minn. Stat. § 444.075 authorized cities to impose reasonable storm sewer service charges keyed to the quantity and difficulty of disposal of storm water produced by each…
Could North Carolina's State Auditor perform CAFR test work, federal assistance review, or internal-control review at the Department of Insurance under the two-year restriction in G.S. 147-64.12(b)?
The AG said the Auditor's office should not perform any of those three Department of Insurance reviews for two years. Each came within the statutory definition of an audit. The opinion quotes G.S.…
Can a North Carolina school district send students home early during exam week so teachers have more time to grade exams?
No. State Board of Education rules require a minimum of 5.5 hours of instructional time per student per day, and that minimum is binding under the Basic Education Program through G.S. § 115C-81.…
If a Minnesota city and township have signed an orderly annexation agreement with time frames, can the city bypass those time frames using the 1992 annexation-by-ordinance procedure?
Yes. The AG concluded that under the 1992 amendment adding § 414.033, subd. 2a, a city may annex land within an orderly annexation area by ordinance if the city owns the land or if all landowners…
Does a member of the NC State Banking Commission lose their seat if, during their term, they change from being a 'practical banker' to being a non-banker (or vice versa)?
Yes. A practical-banker member who stops being a bank officer or employee (other than by retirement) loses the seat. A public member who becomes a director, employee, or substantial owner of a…
What were Kentucky's maximum constitutional-officer salaries for 1993, and which AG opinion corrected the county figure?
The AG verified Kentucky's 1993 CPI-adjusted salary figures, including $42,877 for specified county officers and many city officers, $71,462 for several state officers, and $84,059 for the governor.…
How could Kentucky officials test an electronic voting machine during a recanvass if its counter could not be reset?
The AG concluded in 1993 that officials should run the machine manufacturer's self-diagnostic routine. The opinion treated that test as serving the recanvass statute's purpose when a state-approved…
Which businesses must follow Texas's extra licensing rules to run a home health agency?
Answering the Texas Department of Health, the Attorney General read the home-health-agency licensing statute (Health and Safety Code section 142.005) broadly. First, the extra application…
How does a Texas county assess subdivision road-repair costs, and what can it charge property owners?
Answering follow-up questions about article 6702-3 (the law letting a county fix subdivision roads and bill the property owners), the Attorney General concluded: a county must propose a separate…
Could Kentucky legislators release lottery accounts-receivable information they had already received despite a confidentiality warning?
The AG concluded in 1993 that the legislators could release the lottery information already in their possession. The opinion treated the cited records exemptions as grounds to withhold records when…
Could Kentucky's Uninsured Employers' Fund pay claims against a coal company while its self-insurance application was pending?
The AG concluded in 1993 that claims against South East Coal Company for July 6, 1986, through January 15, 1993, might be payable by the fund. The company lacked an insurance policy and an effective…
If a Texas recess appointee quits and is replaced before the Senate meets, does the old name still go to the Senate?
Answering the chair of the Senate Nominations Committee, the Attorney General concluded that when a governor appoints someone to a state office while the Senate is in recess, that first appointee…
Could a CPA firm audit a Kentucky school district if a CPA's spouse or dependent worked for the district?
The AG concluded in 1993 that the state audit committee could not select the firm when a CPA's spouse or dependent was a district employee. The opinion also said the school-contract statute barred a…
Did a Kentucky county clerk need a judge's qualification certificate before taking office after the Judicial Article?
The AG concluded in 1993 that the judicial certificate requirement no longer applied to county clerks after the Judicial Article shifted court-clerk duties to circuit clerks. It did not resolve the…
Could Kentucky's finance office pool workers' compensation commission funds overnight and lend its securities without violating fund-separation rules?
The 1993 AG approved the described arrangements: overnight pooling retained separate accounts, commission control, and collateral, while the securities transaction was treated as an authorized…
Was Kentucky OAG 93-12's $42,887 local-officer salary figure withdrawn and corrected?
Yes. OAG 93-21 expressly withdrew and replaced this February 1993 opinion because its $42,887 local-officer figure was a typographical error; the replacement gave $42,877. Read OAG 93-12 only as a…
Could Connecticut’s governor sign the Pequot video gaming agreement without legislative approval?
The AG said the governor could execute the 1993 Mashantucket Pequot video-facsimile memorandum without legislative approval because it implemented existing federal gaming procedures and settled a…
After the U.S. Supreme Court's Casey decision, did Idaho's abortion statutes (the trimester scheme, the informed-consent rules, and the parental-notification clause) still pass constitutional muster?
Mostly. The AG concluded that Idaho's trimester scheme and informed-consent provisions could be reconciled with Casey, but the second-trimester hospitalization requirement remained unconstitutional.…
Could Kentucky merit-system deputy sheriffs campaign for office or count prior police training toward their required hours?
The AG said covered deputies could not run for public office or solicit political contributions, but could take part in some private, off-duty campaign work. It also concluded that prior training…
Could a Washington school district grant family-care leave beyond the twelve-day annual leave limit?
The Attorney General answered yes, with a condition: a district could grant separate family-care leave beyond the limit if its policy defined the limited illness, injury, and emergency leave as…
Does Maine's new constitutional state-mandates amendment (Me. Const. art. IX, § 21) apply to legislation affecting county governments, or only to legislation affecting municipalities?
Yes. The AG concluded that the phrase 'local unit of government' in Me. Const. art. IX, § 21 (the 'state mandates' amendment ratified by voters November 3, 1992, effective November 23, 1992)…
Could a Kentucky primary candidate switch parties after a general election, switch back, and still run for the original party?
The AG concluded in 1993 that a voter registered with the original party at the preceding general election could return to that party before the primary and vote in its primary. Assuming other…
How did Kentucky's AG suggest defining a resident for a proposed state health care plan in 1993?
The AG described residence as requiring an actual place of abode in Kentucky together with intent to remain. For the proposed health care plan, it suggested a general statutory resident definition…
Did a Kentucky county school board need to redraw election divisions after another district annexed part of its territory?
The AG concluded in 1993 that Whitley County's board had to redraw its five election divisions after the annexation upset population balance. It found no fixed deadline for this type of redraw and…
Can a Texas city or county invest public money in mutual funds that hold only government adjustable-rate mortgages?
Answering the chair of the House Financial Institutions Committee, the Attorney General concluded that the Public Funds Investment Act (V.T.C.S. article 842a-2) lets cities, counties, school…
Can Texas require nursing home license applicants to disclose their past record?
Answering Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock, the Attorney General concluded that the Texas Board of Health had legal authority to adopt proposed rules requiring a nursing-facility license applicant to…
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