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Did the Arkansas AG certify a popular name and ballot title for the citizen-initiated Arkansas Government Transparency Amendment in 2024?
Yes. The Attorney General substituted and certified a popular name and ballot title for the proposed amendment, replacing 'The Arkansas Government Transparency Amendment' with 'The Arkansas…
Can a public agency release nonelected employees' names alongside their salaries under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. Names of nonelected public employees, paired with their job positions and salary information, are personnel records under Arkansas FOIA. Release does not constitute a 'clearly unwarranted…
Can a city release a former police officer's termination letter under Arkansas FOIA when the officer objects?
Yes, on the facts supplied to the AG. The letter explained the officer's termination, which the opinion said was administratively final; the AG found all four conditions for releasing an…
Do South Carolina public colleges have to let service-animals-in-training on campus, and can they set rules for them?
The Attorney General concluded that basic puppy raising, obedience, and house training do not make a dog an 'assistance or guide dog in training'; the dog must be learning to do tasks for a disabled…
Does giving craft distillers a lower New Mexico liquor excise tax violate the dormant Commerce Clause?
No. New Mexico's lower excise tax for spirits made by craft distillers does not violate the dormant Commerce Clause because the craft-distiller license is open to both in-state and out-of-state…
Can Maine pass a law capping how much hospital executives are paid, and how would the state actually enforce that?
AG Frey said a prospective hospital executive pay cap would be legally defensible, though without controlling precedent he could not assess its legality with certainty. He said the Legislature…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the ballot title for the Arkansas Government Disclosure Act of 2024?
Yes. The AG substituted and certified the popular name 'The Arkansas Government Disclosure Act of 2024' and a detailed ballot title. He cautioned that the measure's length and complexity could make…
Can a county release an internal-investigation report and termination form for a fired county employee under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes, both records (the internal-investigation report and the termination form) are properly classified as employee-evaluation records and may be released, but only if the termination is…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the 2024 Medical Cannabis Amendment ballot title?
The AG rejected the proposed amendment because: (1) it included an enacting clause that only initiated acts (not constitutional amendments) require; (2) the new advertising-restriction language was…
What counts as an 'excessive discount' on liquor under Texas law, and can a package store be charged for selling too cheap?
Texas law (Alcoholic Beverage Code section 102.07(c)) bars a package store or wine-only package store from allowing an 'excessive discount' on liquor, but neither the Code nor the Texas Alcoholic…
Can Delaware FOIA reach agency records related to a pending Environmental Appeals Board appeal?
DNREC did not violate FOIA. Holt's law firm represents an appellant in a pending Environmental Appeals Board appeal challenging DNREC's subaqueous-lands permit for the Diamond State Port…
Who gets to appoint the next batch of Arizona Clean Elections Commissioners after a six-year freeze, and does the appointment cycle alternate by political party or by office?
Per A.R.S. § 16-955(D), the cycle alternates between the governor and the highest-ranking statewide official from a different political party than the governor, not strictly between political…
Can you collect ballot-petition signatures near a polling place in South Carolina, or does the 500-foot rule ban it?
You can. The Attorney General concluded that S.C. Code § 7-25-180, read narrowly as it has been for decades, prohibits only distributing campaign literature and placing political posters within 500…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the second version of the Arkansas Government Transparency Act ballot title?
The AG rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title because the measure contained a misleading provision that the proposed ballot title also summarized. The opinion directs the sponsors to…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Arkansas Government Openness Act ballot title in January 2024?
The AG rejected this submission because a misleading provision in the proposed act was also summarized in its ballot title. He incorporated Opinion 2024-009 for the analysis and instructed the…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Arkansas Government Disclosure Act ballot title in January 2024?
The AG rejected this submission because a misleading provision in the proposed act was also summarized in its ballot title. He incorporated Opinion 2024-009 for the analysis and instructed the…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Open Meetings and Open Records in State and Local Government Act ballot title?
The AG rejected this proposed popular name and ballot title because a misleading provision in the act was also summarized in the title. He incorporated Opinion 2024-009 for the analysis and…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the Arkansas Government Transparency Act ballot title in January 2024?
The AG rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title because the act contained a 'preemptive repeal' clause: it would automatically repeal any future legislation enacted after January 1, 2024…
Does Arkansas Act 393 of 2023 require Medicaid to cover continuous glucose monitors only as a pharmacy benefit?
No. Act 393 of 2023 requires Arkansas Medicaid to allow eligible beneficiaries to obtain continuous glucose monitors through a pharmacy as a pharmacy benefit, but it does not prevent Medicaid from…
Who owns the Santa Fe Plaza Obelisk, and where did it go after its removal?
The AG did not decide who owns the Obelisk. Ownership may lie with the City of Santa Fe under a 1901 federal land patent, but the AG said a court must resolve that factual question. The City…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the popular name and ballot title for the Arkansas Government Openness Amendment in 2024?
Yes. For this submission, the AG replaced the proposed 'Government Openness Amendment' name with 'The Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment of 2024' and substituted a ballot title. He certified…
Did the AR AG certify the popular name and ballot title for the Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment?
Yes. Notably, the AG certified the submitted popular name 'The Arkansas Government Disclosure Amendment' as submitted (after correcting the typo 'Disclsoure' to 'Disclosure') and substituted only…
Did the AR AG certify the popular name and ballot title for the Open Meetings and Open Records in State and Local Government Amendment?
Yes. The AG substituted and certified a popular name and ballot title for this proposed amendment. The certified name is 'The Open Meetings and Open Records in State and Local Government Amendment.'…
Must New Orleans wait out every review period before approving a payment-in-lieu-of-tax proposal?
No. The Louisiana AG said the Office of Economic Development may send a PILOT recommendation before its 45-day period ends, and the City Council may proceed to its legislative period before using…
If I file 18 FOIA requests at once, does the Delaware agency have to send 18 separate responses?
No. The AG ruled the City of Seaford did not violate FOIA when it responded to 18 of Crystal Long's FOIA requests in a single letter with an aggregated cost estimate. FOIA permits a public body to…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the popular name and ballot title for the 2024 Arkansas Abortion Amendment?
Yes. The AG substituted and certified the popular name 'Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024' and rewrote the ballot title to include (1) a clarification that 18 weeks of fetal age equals…
Can a Texas school board let school marshals openly carry a handgun on a duty belt instead of concealed?
Yes. Education Code section 37.0811(c) lets a school marshal 'carry a concealed handgun or possess a handgun' on campus in the manner set by the board's written regulations. The AG read 'possess a…
Can a school district withhold a teacher's letter of suspension because the suspension is not yet final?
It depends. A letter of suspension is generally a personnel record subject to the Young v. Rice balancing test. But if the suspension is disciplinary (initiated because the employer believes the…
Can Tennessee bar its National Guard from active-duty combat overseas unless Congress formally declares war?
Probably not. House Bill 1609 (2024) is constitutionally suspect under the Supremacy Clause. Federal law already lets Congress and the President order Guard members into active service in war,…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the citizen-initiated act lowering the antique-vehicle-tag age threshold from 45 to 25 years?
The AG rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title because the text wrongly described existing law as a 'requirement to obtain Antique Tags.' Antique tags are discretionary, not required.…
Can a New Mexico educational-services cooperative use its joint-powers procurement agreement to fund a student scholarship program?
Based on the proposal described, the AG's office could not conclude that CES had authority to run the scholarship program. It said the proposed disbursement of funds was outside the cooperative…
Are New Mexico Livestock Board inspectors required to wear body cameras under state law?
No. New Mexico's body-worn camera mandate applies only to municipal police, county sheriffs, the State Police, and the Department of Public Safety. The Livestock Board is not on that list, so its…
Does Arizona's automatic-recount statute apply to a city ballot measure (like Tucson's Proposition 413) that passed by a margin under one-half of one percent?
No. Attorney General Kris Mayes concluded that 'referred measures' in A.R.S. § 16-661 covers only statewide initiatives and referenda, not municipal measures. The structure of the surrounding…
Can a Delaware school district charge $780 to search for emails about a manga library and refuse to open its book-review committee meetings?
Caesar Rodney School District lost on the fee estimate. The District wanted to bill $93 to $140 an hour for administrators to search their own emails, but FOIA requires the lowest-paid employee…
Did Missouri approve the ballot summary for a county tobacco cigarette tax petition?
Yes. The attorney general approved the legal content and form of the proposed summary statement for petition 2024-172. The letter expressly says this review did not endorse the petition or its goals.
Can Connecticut switch to ranked choice voting for governor, statewide officers, and the General Assembly without amending the state constitution?
Probably not. Attorney General William Tong concluded that ranked choice voting in general elections for state office would likely fail under two provisions of Connecticut's constitution: the…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the proposed 2024 Educational Rights Amendment?
The AG rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title. He found a First Amendment problem with identical standards for publicly funded schools, several vague terms, and a conflict between the…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the proposed 2024 hand-marked paper ballots constitutional amendment?
The AG rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title because the disabled-voter definition relied on statutory definitions that were not set out in the measure. The cross-references obscured a…
Did the Arkansas AG certify the proposed 2024 Absentee Voting Amendment?
Yes. The AG substituted the popular name (the original was so long it read like a second ballot title) to 'The Absentee Voting Amendment of 2024' and substituted the ballot title to add several…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 first version of the Arkansas Government Transparency Act?
The AG rejected the December 2023 first submission of the proposed Arkansas Government Transparency Act because it contained provisions that were clearly unconstitutional (e.g., procedural rules…
Can Livingston Parish exempt diapers and feminine hygiene products from its dedicated roads and jail sales tax?
Yes. The Louisiana AG said the parish may exempt those purchases from all or part of its sales and use tax under La. R.S. 47:337.10.2. Exempting items from the tax is different from using collected…
Can a journalist obtain a roster naming every Delaware State Police trooper and linking names to biographical information?
The AG upheld DSP's denial of a roster naming all troopers and the other requested information tied to their identities, citing the security exemption and sworn evidence that a complete list would…
Did Maryland's attorney-consultation rule for children violate a child's or parent's constitutional rights?
The Attorney General found no basis to say Maryland's requirement that a child consult an attorney before custodial questioning violated the constitutional rights of the child or parent. The opinion…
Can a Virginia school board keep a settlement agreement secret, and does it need the city council or county board to approve it?
A Virginia school board has the exclusive authority to settle claims against the school division and can agree to confidentiality terms; the local city or county does not have to approve the…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Government Openness Act ballot title (BT-4)?
Same rejection as Opinion 2023-127. BT-4 parallel submission under 'The Arkansas Government Openness Act.' Eventually certified in Opinion 2024-020 after redrafting.
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the BT-3 proposed initiated act ballot title?
The AG rejected the BT-3 popular name and ballot title for the shared problem explained in Opinion 2023-127. He instructed the sponsors to redesign the proposed initiated act, popular name, and…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Open Meetings and Open Records Act ballot title (BT-2)?
The AG rejected the BT-2 popular name and ballot title for the problem explained in Opinion 2023-127, which he incorporated by reference. He instructed the sponsors to redesign the initiated act,…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Government Transparency Act ballot title?
The AG rejected the popular name and ballot title because the proposed text would have radically curtailed existing FOIA notification rights for public employees while the ballot title summarized…
Can a North Dakota board withhold an executive session recording on grounds (attorney consultation, negotiation strategy) different from those listed in the meeting notice?
Yes, the Board properly denied access. The general subject matter listed on the notice was good enough to comply with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20(2). The executive session itself was authorized for attorney…
Can a North Dakota professional licensing board withhold a licensee's response in a disciplinary case as 'confidential' even when no peer review committee has been formed?
The Board of Chiropractic Examiners' decision to withhold a licensee's disciplinary response was reasonable given the unclear statute, but technically incorrect. N.D.C.C. § 43-06-14.1(7)'s…
Can a Mississippi city create a revitalization district where buildings are exempt from some or all of the city's building code?
Generally no. Miss. Code Ann. § 17-2-4(1) makes the State Uniform Construction Code mandatory, and § 17-2-4(3) gave cities only a 120-day window from August 1, 2014, to opt out. The opinion says…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Government Openness Amendment ballot title (BT-4)?
The AG rejected the BT-4 popular name and ballot title. He identified unclear key terms, absence of the measure's full text, and a ballot-title clause describing something absent from the measure.…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Government Disclosure Amendment ballot title (BT-3)?
The AG rejected the BT-3 popular name and ballot title. He identified three shared defects: unclear key terms, absence of the full text, and a ballot-title clause describing something absent from…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Open Meetings and Open Records State and Local Government Amendment ballot title?
The AG rejected the proposed popular name and ballot title labeled BT-2. He identified unclear key terms, absence of the measure's full text, and a ballot-title clause that described something…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the December 2023 Government Transparency Amendment ballot title (BT-1)?
The AG rejected the proposed popular name and BT-1 ballot title. The measure left key terms undefined, appeared to incorporate existing law without setting out its full text, and the ballot title…
Must Lafourche Parish's coroner repay past autopsy fees, and which parish pay ordinance controls?
The attorney general said no reimbursement was due if the parish found that past payments were for work earned, but the office could not make that factual finding itself. State law controlled…
Can someone convicted of a felony in Georgia become a Louisiana notary without a pardon?
No, on the facts the AG assumed: the Georgia offense would be a felony in Louisiana and the conviction had not been pardoned. The AG said a pardon from Georgia's Board of Pardons and Paroles would…
Can New Orleans' City Council require the city attorney to brief it before police consent-decree filings?
The Louisiana AG said the City of New Orleans is the law department's primary client and the council generally cannot direct it in matters outside the council's own role. For litigation in which the…
Could Livingston Parish's sheriff buy land for an emergency center near the 2023 governor's election despite payroll-padding limits?
Yes, under the facts the Louisiana AG reviewed. The land purchase and ongoing construction were capital-project costs, not the operating expenses restricted by the political payroll-padding statutes.
Did Missouri approve the fiscal note summary for the 2024-172 local tobacco tax petition?
Yes. The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary for petition 2024-172. The letter expressly withheld any endorsement and did not assess whether the estimated…
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