State AG Opinions
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Could Kentucky reduce a turnpike debt-payment fund allotment during a road-fund shortfall despite an escrow rule?
The 1992 AG said yes. The escrow rule concerned money already allocated but unusable for faster bond repayment because of bond or market impediments; it did not bar reducing the allocation when…
Could a Kentucky school board pay for crossing guards after a city stopped staffing a school intersection?
The 1992 AG said common school funds could not pay for school crossing guards because that was not an educational purpose under the Kentucky Constitution. It also said the city controlled traffic on…
Is it illegal to use a computer in Maryland to buy an out-of-state lottery ticket?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that using a computer in Maryland to buy or arrange the purchase of an out-of-state lottery ticket violated Maryland's anti-lottery statutes, even though the…
Which Louisville EMS demotion and reinstatement records had to be released under Kentucky’s Open Records Act?
The 1992 AG said Louisville had to release the medical director’s withdrawal and reinstatement memoranda and the city memorandum adopting reinstatement. Internal preliminary material could remain…
Could a Kentucky Medicaid formulary subcommittee meet in private to discuss and vote on drug recommendations?
The 1992 AG said no on the facts given. The Formulary Subcommittee was a public agency under the Open Meetings Act, and its drug discussions and recommendation votes did not fit a cited exception…
Does Texas nepotism law apply to relatives hired as independent contractors, not just employees?
On the two questions asked: a school board may hire a board member's second cousin, because a 1991 change to the nepotism law adopted the civil-law method of counting kinship, under which second…
If redistricting abolishes a Texas constable's precinct, does he have to get a peace officer license?
No, not on these facts. The Attorney General concluded that when redistricting eliminates a constable's precinct and folds it into a new, larger precinct, and the incumbent is reelected as constable…
Can one Texas district judge pay his court reporter a different salary than the other judges in the county?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a district judge can set the salary of his official court reporter at a level different from the salaries set by the other district judges in the same…
Could Kentucky officials order and forcibly enforce an emergency evacuation, and when would they be liable?
The 1992 AG said the Governor, mayors and county judges/executive could initiate an emergency response that included evacuation, and officials could remove people by force when needed to enforce it.…
Could Louisville fund management-district economic improvements by assessing benefited property owners?
The 1992 AG said the statutes permitted special assessments for economic improvements in a management district and that an assessment had to benefit the property charged. It could not decide whether…
Can a Texas county pre-trial services office hold a defendant's property as security for a personal bond?
No. The Attorney General concluded that chapter 17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure does not authorize a county personal bond office, like the Harris County Pre-Trial Services Agency created under…
When a Maryland sheriff or State's Attorney joins the state pension system, does the state or the county pay the employer's share of the contribution?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the State, not the counties or the officials themselves, was legally required to pay the employer's share of pension contributions for sheriffs, State's…
When does a Kentucky school employee’s new assignment count as a prohibited promotion of a superintendent’s or board member’s relative?
The 1992 AG said a transfer, move from substitute to full-time teaching, or extra-service assignment did not automatically count as a promotion. The answer depended on whether the change materially…
Can Maryland's Motor Vehicle Administration discipline a licensed wholesale car dealer for selling vehicles to retail buyers at an out-of-state auction?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the Motor Vehicle Administration could not discipline a licensed wholesale dealer merely for selling vehicles to retail buyers in another state, since…
Did the Supreme Court's Hafer v. Melo decision expose Maryland prosecutors to new personal liability for doing their jobs?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Hafer v. Melo, which allowed state officials to be personally sued under Section 1983 for actions taken in their…
Did Connecticut’s 1991 child support guidelines need new legislative or UAPA approval?
No for the guidelines issued January 1, 1991: the later act reached guidelines issued after that date, even though implementation came later. The AG also said the special guidelines commission did…
Who decides how a Texas city spends police asset-forfeiture money, the city council or the police department?
The law enforcement agency, not the city council. The Attorney General concluded that under article 59.06 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, forfeiture funds are awarded to, distributed to, and…
Can a Texas public housing authority evict a tenant just for legally owning or keeping a gun at home?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a municipal housing authority is a division of the city that created it, so it is bound by section 215.001 of the Local Government Code, which bars a…
Could Connecticut EMTs provide treatment on their own at workplaces or in hospital units outside emergency services?
The 1991 AG opinion said EMS certification did not authorize independent treatment outside the EMS system or an emergency medical setting. It also said unlicensed hospital workers' authority…
Could Connecticut prisons record inmate calls using only the inmate's written consent?
No. The Attorney General said correction officials did not qualify for the criminal law enforcement exception in the 1991 call-recording statute. Inmate consent alone did not satisfy it; the…
Are Idaho's residency-waiting-period rules for veterans' emergency relief and admission to the state veterans' home (three years for relief, two years for admission) constitutional?
No. The AG concluded that the durational residency requirements in Idaho Code §§ 65-203 and 66-901 unconstitutionally burden the fundamental right to migrate and deny equal protection to newcomer…
Did part-time prosecutor work and Korean War service count toward a Connecticut state's attorney's longevity pay?
Yes for the prosecutor in this 1991 opinion. His municipal court and assistant state's attorney terms counted by time holding office rather than hours worked, and his documented Korean War service…
Can a Texas city buy excess or surplus insurance without competitive bidding under Local Government Code 252.024?
No, not on the strength of that section alone. The Attorney General concluded that section 252.024 of the Local Government Code does not by itself exempt a municipality's purchases of excess or…
Can a Texas security licensing board punish someone just for being indicted, before conviction?
No, not on the charge alone. The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies could not discipline a licensee, registrant, or commissioned…
Could Maine cancel merit pay step increases for state employees during the budget crisis, even when collective bargaining agreements promised those increases?
Probably not for current contracts. The AG concluded that Section NN-1 of L.D. 1985, which barred all merit increases between January and December 1992, would likely be an unconstitutional…
Can Maine's Governor cut state-municipal revenue sharing payments to towns when state finances are tight?
Yes, but with limits. The AG concluded that the Governor's allotment-curtailment power under 5 M.R.S.A. § 1668 extends to the state-municipal revenue sharing program in 30-A M.R.S.A. § 5681. The…
Could a Maryland county pass its own law requiring gun owners to store firearms safely away from children, or did state law preempt that kind of local rule?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that Montgomery County could enact a proposed ordinance requiring gun owners to keep loaded firearms away from unsupervised minors, because the state's…
Could a Maryland school system investigate its own employee for suspected child abuse separately from the police or social services investigation?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a local school board could conduct its own personnel investigation of an employee accused of child abuse, separate from the mandatory investigation…
Could a Washington school district buy nearby land to remove a possible student health hazard?
The 1991 AG said a district had authority to buy land for that purpose if it determined the risk and purchase were warranted. It could not pay more than appraised value for title alone, but could…
After a Connecticut nurse pronounced a patient's death, did a physician still have to examine the body before signing the death certificate?
Yes, under the 1991 opinion. A nurse could pronounce an anticipated death in the circumstances specified by statute, but a physician still had to personally view and examine the body before signing…
Can a Texas city enforce its own accessibility building code on a school district despite a state waiver?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the City of El Paso could refuse to issue building permits or certificates of occupancy to the El Paso Independent School District for failing to meet the…
Who controls a Texas jail commissary contract, the money it makes, and its books?
The sheriff controls the contract, the money benefits inmates, and the county auditor can audit. The Attorney General concluded that the commissioners court has no authority over the terms of a jail…
Can a Texas hospital district build a clinic to lease to private doctors and pay for it with bond funds?
It could build and lease the clinic, but not pay for it that way. The Attorney General concluded that the Val Verde Hospital District had express authority under its enabling statute to construct…
Could Connecticut's Comptroller require OPM to provide the forecasts and analyses behind state revenue estimates?
Yes. The Attorney General said § 3-112 let the Comptroller request finance reports and inspect OPM records, including budget forecasts and analyses, despite 1991 changes to monthly reporting duties.…
Can a Maryland family get a hearing to challenge a medical examiner's ruling on how a relative died?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a family member disputing the Chief Medical Examiner's determination of a relative's cause or manner of death had no right to a formal hearing…
Can the Texas education commissioner move a school district to a different county education district?
No, not in this situation. The Attorney General concluded that the commissioner of education had no authority to create a new county education district beyond those the statute already listed, and…
Can a religious group hand out literature and ask for donations on Texas state agency property?
It depends on the type of space. The Attorney General concluded that handing out literature and soliciting charitable donations are expressive activities protected by the First Amendment, so the…
Did the 1991 bingo tax law raise the interest rate on jeopardy tax determinations?
No. The Attorney General concluded that House Bill 11 (1991) did not change section 32(b) of the Bingo Enabling Act, so the interest rate on a jeopardy tax determination under that section stayed at…
Did Connecticut liquor permit holders lose a fee rebate if the qualifying event happened before the 1991 repeal but they applied afterward?
No. The Attorney General said a qualifying event before September 19, 1991 created a vested rebate claim that could still be processed after repeal, if the application met the former statute's…
Who is legally responsible if a Maryland prison inmate working on a private contractor's asbestos removal job gets hurt or injures someone else, and does that inmate have to be paid minimum wage?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that an inmate injured while working for a private contractor on a prison asbestos abatement project would have to seek recovery through the Sundry…
Can Texas waive the bingo prize fee on small prizes, or can the charity pay it instead?
No, the fee could not be waived, but there was a workaround for small prizes. The Attorney General concluded that the Alcoholic Beverage Commission could not waive or exempt the three percent fee on…
Can someone get a death certificate that lists AIDS or HIV as the cause of death in Texas?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Act, which keeps AIDS test results confidential, did not stop the state registrar from releasing a death…
Can a Texas talent agency follow Screen Actors Guild fee rules without breaking the Talent Agency Act?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a talent agency franchised by the Screen Actors Guild would not violate sections 2(b), 2(c), or 10(b) of the Texas Talent Agency Act by following the amended…
Does a Texas bail bondsman have to be licensed in the same county where the case is pending?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that under article 2372p-3 a person must be licensed by a county's own bail bond board to act as a bail bondsman in any court of that county. So the Tarrant…
Could Washington’s Optometry Board define a contact lens prescription and set prescribing standards?
Yes, if its rules promoted public safety and carried out the optometry law’s purposes. The 1991 AG said the Board could define contact lens prescriptions and set standards for optometrists’…
Is Idaho's proposed One Percent Initiative (a 1992 ballot measure to cap property taxes at 1% of market value) workable, and if not, can it still be put on the ballot?
The AG concluded that the One Percent Initiative had multiple fatal flaws (impossible-to-implement two-thirds-of-qualified-electors threshold, undefined 'special taxes,' no apportionment mechanism,…
Can a Texas board still act under a certification statute after it has been repealed?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Court Reporters Certification Board could not continue to consider an application for certification under Government Code section 52.021(e) after that…
Under Maryland's 1991 child safety seat law, does a child need to be both 4 years old AND over 40 pounds before switching to a seat belt?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that under TR §22-412.2(d), a child must be both four years of age or older and weigh more than 40 pounds before a person may use a seat belt instead of…
Did Connecticut's tax department have to report a taxpayer on a current payment plan for an offset against state contract payments?
No. The Attorney General said the 1991 offset statute did not require Revenue Services to notify the Comptroller that taxes were due when it had accepted a payment plan and the taxpayer was…
Can a Maryland county pay its own money to top up the salaries of local social services employees who are technically state workers?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that county governments may supplement the state salaries of local department of social services employees out of county appropriations, and because…
How much flexibility does a Maine state agency have to privatize services that its employees currently provide?
It depends on the agency and the service. Some agencies have direct statutory authority to contract services out. For example, the Commissioner of Corrections can contract for medical services to…
Can a Texas justice of the peace set bail over the phone or use a fixed bail schedule?
No to both. The Attorney General found no authority for a justice of the peace to set bail by telephone for someone who has just been arrested and has not yet appeared before a magistrate; the…
Did Maine's new constitutional anti-diversion amendment force the State to restore $73.5 million in MSRS funds that had already been deappropriated earlier in 1991?
No. The AG concluded that the November 1991 amendment to Article IX, § 18 is prospective only. The Legislature's earlier deappropriation in Part P of the FY 1992 General Appropriation Act (P.L.…
Can a Maryland state agency sign a contract or accept goods and services when it doesn't currently have a budget appropriation to pay for them?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that a state agency generally may enter into a contract even when no appropriation currently exists to pay for it, since the constitutional requirement that…
Can a Texas school board ban tobacco use by staff and visitors on school property?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that an independent school district's board of trustees had the authority both to enact a policy prohibiting tobacco use by district staff and the general public…
Can a Texas school board member also serve on a county education board, teach elsewhere, or work for a legislator?
Yes to all three. The Attorney General concluded that a school district trustee may serve on the board of the county education district his district belongs to, may teach in a different school…
Could Washington’s judicial conduct commission rotate substitutes from a pool of alternates?
No. The 1991 AG read the appointment statute to require one alternate paired with each commission member, rather than a rotating pool.
Could Connecticut's governor keep essential state services running by executive order during the 1991 budget lapse?
The Attorney General said the governor lawfully ordered government operations to continue during the 1991 gap. Existing statutes and constitutional duties authorized necessary expenditures; the…
Can the Texas Water Commission make rules to regulate groundwater, or is that an unconstitutional delegation?
It can. The Attorney General concluded that section 28.011 of the Texas Water Code, which directs the Texas Water Commission to make and enforce rules for conserving, protecting, preserving, and…
How many trustees does a Texas school district elect when expanding its board from seven to nine members?
Enough to reach nine, not a fixed six. The Attorney General construed Education Code section 23.023(h), which converts a large school district's board from seven members to nine. The statute…
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