State AG Opinions
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How is the Texas state solid waste disposal fee calculated at a landfill?
By comparing two numbers, not three. The Attorney General read Health and Safety Code section 361.013(a) to mean a landfill charges the greater of a weight-based fee or a volume-based fee, not the…
Did Maryland's Health Department need to adopt formal regulations before charging the Kidney Disease Program fee the legislature had already set by statute?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene did not need to adopt a regulation before applying the Kidney Disease Program's statutory fee formula, because…
Can a Texas county pay justices of the peace different salaries based on how many cases they handle?
Yes, on its face. The Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court may set different salaries for justices of the peace in the same county based on the number of cases filed in each court,…
Do audiology students need a hearing-aid license to make earmold impressions in Texas?
No. The Attorney General concluded that an audiology student at an accredited college or university, who is measuring human hearing as part of the academic curriculum, may make impressions for…
Did a Washington city’s dry liquor vote extend automatically to a wet area it later annexed?
No. The 1991 AG said Fircrest’s class H liquor restriction remained limited to the city boundaries at the time of its local-option vote. A business in the later-annexed area could continue to have…
Who was exempt from Connecticut's 1991 firearm sale waiting period, and could dealers use plastic ties as gun locks?
The AG said officers listed in the statute avoided the two-week wait but still had to meet its other requirements; specified permit holders, military members, hunting-license buyers of long guns,…
Can a Texas Supreme Court justice also serve on a federal board like the State Justice Institute?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Constitution's dual office holding ban (article XVI, section 12) prevents a justice of the Supreme Court of Texas from serving on the Board of…
What notice, fees, sale price, and redemption rules applied to Washington irrigation district foreclosures in 1991?
The 1991 AG declined to decide whether notice was adequate in a particular foreclosure. It said irrigation districts could not add attorney fees to the specified delinquency or redemption amounts,…
Did a Connecticut store using UPC scanners have to mark the selling price on each product in 1991?
Yes, under the 1991 opinion. A retailer that used universal product coding to total a customer's purchases had to mark each covered, UPC-bearing consumer commodity with the price the customer would…
Can a Texas school district pay its employees for unused sick leave when they leave?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that Texas school districts have the authority to pay their employees for accrued (unused) sick leave, and that they kept that authority after the 72nd…
Could a Maryland county let nonlawyers represent public employees in formal grievance hearings without state legislation?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that Howard County could not, on its own, allow nonlawyers to represent public employees in formal grievance hearings before the County Personnel Board, because…
If Maryland's public defender runs out of money for conflict cases, who pays for the defendant's lawyer?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the Public Defender's office was right to decline representation once its budget for panel attorneys ran out, that a court could then appoint…
Can someone serve on a Texas river authority board and a county appraisal district board at the same time?
Yes, at least for this river authority. The Attorney General concluded that a director of the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority may also serve on a county appraisal district board. The Texas…
Does Maryland's rule forcing circuit court masters to retire at age 70 violate the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the mandatory retirement provision in Rule 2-541, requiring standing masters to retire at age 70, conflicted with the federal Age Discrimination in…
Does a Texas law reducing the time before parole eligibility apply to inmates convicted before it passed?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the 1987 amendment to article 42.18, section 8(b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which cut the time a prisoner has to serve before becoming eligible for…
Could Pierce County use donated employee leave for a sick leave bank without making a prohibited gift?
The 1991 AG said the proposed bank was not a county gift of public funds. Donated leave was not pensionable compensation for the donor or the recipient under the retirement statute the opinion analyzed.
Can Idaho's parole commission schedule a parole hearing before an inmate's fixed minimum term has expired so the inmate can actually be paroled the day eligibility kicks in?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Commission for Pardons and Parole can hold an initial parole hearing before an inmate's determinate sentence runs out, so that release can happen on the eligibility…
Can a Texas public official give a merit raise to a spouse who works at the same agency?
Not a discretionary merit raise. The Attorney General concluded that a Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation school superintendent violated the state nepotism law (article 5996a)…
Can county commissioners decide the boundaries for a local wet/dry alcohol election in Texas?
Only in one narrow situation. The Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court may set the boundaries for a local option liquor election only under section 251.80 of the Alcoholic Beverage…
Does a city transit agency have to use competitive bidding to build a monorail or rail transit system?
Mostly yes, but with an exception. The Attorney General concluded that a metropolitan transit authority's purchase of a new rail or monorail system was subject to the competitive bidding requirement…
Is it constitutional for Texas to exempt real estate brokers in smaller counties from continuing education?
The Attorney General declined to decide, saying it depends on facts. A 1991 law let real estate brokers licensed 10 years or more, with their principal place of business in a county of 225,000 or…
Could a Washington boundary review board review a city water extension that followed an approved regional water plan?
The 1991 AG said no. When a city extended water service beyond its limits consistently with an approved coordinated water system plan, the local boundary review board had no authority to review that…
When the South Dakota Department of Transportation sells state-owned railroad property, the law gives the lessees and abutting landowners 60 days' notice and a right to purchase at appraised value, except for sales 'for railroad purposes.' What does 'railroad purposes' mean, and when does a buyer get to skip the notice-and-purchase-right requirement?
The AG read 'sale for railroad purposes' as a sale for running a railroad on the right-of-way sold. The notice and purchase opportunity apply unless it can be shown before the sale that the use…
Can an 18-to-21-year-old under Texas Youth Commission supervision be held with younger juveniles in detention?
Only in limited circumstances, the Attorney General concluded. The 1985 law raised TYC jurisdiction to age 21, but the Family Code still defines a 'child' as under 18 and bars housing such children…
Did Texas law require the Secretary of State to supply corporation records on a print-image tape when seven suitable access methods already existed?
No, the Attorney General concluded. The Secretary of State already offered corporation records in seven formats (microfilm, microfiche, magnetic tape, online access, telephone responses, copies of…
Can the EEOC require a Texas state agency to delete records from an employee's personnel file?
No, not in violation of state law, the Attorney General concluded. The EEOC resolves discrimination claims through voluntary conciliation, and its compliance manual lists expunging adverse materials…
When does Texas have to hold a public hearing before giving an HIV-services grant?
Only before an initial grant over $25,000, the Attorney General concluded. Under the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Services Act (chapter 85 of the Health and Safety Code), the Department of Health…
Could a Texas hospital district close its dental clinic, and would it still have to pay for indigent dental care elsewhere?
The district could close the clinic by resolution if its board found closure was in residents' best interest. The AG could not determine whether the district still had to provide or pay for the…
Can a Maryland town bar its commissioners from running again right after serving two consecutive terms?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a proposed charter amendment barring a Poolesville commissioner from running again immediately after two or more consecutive terms, including…
Are executive management search consultants regulated by Texas even though they don't need a certificate of authority?
Yes, in part, the Attorney General concluded. Under the Personnel Employment Services Act, a management search consultant is a type of personnel service. Section 2(b) exempts these consultants only…
Can Maine voters use a citizen initiative to limit how many years state or federal legislators can serve?
No. Term limits on state legislators or members of Maine's congressional delegation cannot be imposed by ordinary statute, whether passed by the Legislature or by citizen initiative. The Maine and…
Can a Texas county abolish the elected office of county public weigher?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. Because the commissioners court has discretion under Agriculture Code section 13.253 to create the elective office of county public weigher, it also has…
Can Maryland abolish a state employee's job through the budget process instead of a formal layoff?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that when the Governor, the General Assembly, or the Governor and Board of Public Works together eliminated the funding for a specifically identifiable…
Who controls jury selection in a Texas county, the district clerk or a jury administrator?
The district clerk, the Attorney General concluded. Where a county uses electronic or mechanical equipment to select juror names under Government Code section 62.011 and interchangeable juries under…
Could Maryland justify unequal population sizes among Baltimore City's state legislative districts because of a census undercount or a desire to keep the city's boundaries intact?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the Baltimore City census undercount alone could not justify legislative district population deviations above the usual 10% threshold, but that a…
Did Texas House Bill 2 deregulate Lloyd's and reciprocal auto insurers or ban experience rating?
No on both counts, the Attorney General concluded. Section 2.02 of House Bill 2, which put motor vehicle insurance under the new flexible rating program in subchapter M of the Insurance Code,…
Can a Maine legislator who owns land in a study district serve on a special committee planning that district's future?
Yes. Representative Lipman's land holdings in the Augusta capitol planning district did not legally disqualify him from the Special Committee on the New Capitol Area Master Plan. The committee was…
Does Maryland have to pay higher social security contributions when a school system reclassifies a whole category of jobs to a higher pay grade?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that Section 9 of the 1991 Budget Reconciliation Act barred the State from paying increased employer social security contributions caused by reclassifying an…
If a South Dakota drainage district was formed in the 1910s or 1920s under the old drainage laws and is still functioning, does it have to file its vested drainage rights with the register of deeds before the 1992 deadline, or are the pre-1985 districts exempt?
No filing required. The 1991 SD AG concluded that a drainage district that was functioning or making assessments in the three years before July 1, 1985, and is therefore preserved under SDCL…
If a campground owner in South Dakota already holds a state campground license from the Department of Health, does the operator also need a separate county temporary campground permit during events like the Black Hills Motorcycle Classic?
A county may require a temporary campground permit under SDCL 7-18-21 even when the operator already holds a state campground license. The AG said county and state licensing authority can operate…
Could the Maryland General Assembly use statistically adjusted census numbers instead of the official 1990 head count to redraw legislative districts?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the General Assembly was not required to use the official 1990 census head count for legislative redistricting, but could use statistically…
Could a Connecticut teacher buy retirement service credit for time spent on disciplinary suspension?
No on the facts considered. The teacher's signed agreement and the school board's records described an unpaid disciplinary suspension, not a formally granted leave of absence, so he could not make…
Can Maryland's Governor require legislators to sign letters of support before the Board of Public Works or a state agency approves capital project funding?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that no statute required legislators to write letters of support for capital projects, but the Governor's practice of asking for such letters was not itself…
If Texas legalized casino gambling in its waters, could Indian tribes run casinos on their Texas lands?
Most likely yes, the Attorney General concluded. Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, if Texas enacted a bill permitting Class III (casino-type) gaming anywhere in the state, including…
Can a Texas city grant a homestead tax exemption if it would hurt the city's ability to pay its bonds?
No, not where it would impair the bonds, the Attorney General concluded. Camp Wood pledged all its property tax revenue to repay bonds in September 1990, then voters approved a $50,000…
Can Maryland ban liquor licenses within 300 feet of a church's property line, and does that cover a church hall or parsonage?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that Somerset County's 300-foot buffer between certain liquor licenses and church property does not violate the First Amendment, that the distance is measured…
Can a Maryland state employee deduct attorney's fees before repaying the state for accident leave pay?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a state employee who was paid accident leave for an on-the-job injury, and who then recovered damages from the person who caused it, could withhold…
What kind of entity is Idaho's Water District 1 (the big Snake River district managed by the Committee of Nine), and who controls the water-bank money it collects?
Water District 1 is a state instrumentality created under Idaho Code § 42-604 to assist the Department of Water Resources. The watermaster cannot also act as district treasurer (the offices are…
Can Maine voters use a citizen initiative to require future legislation on a specific topic to be approved by referendum?
No. A citizen initiative cannot impose a procedural requirement (like a future statewide referendum) on the Legislature's power to enact later statutes on a specific subject. Such restrictions can…
Could a correctional officers' private gun club use a state prison range for recreational shooting?
The Attorney General said the club's long use and privately built range building gave it no ownership or leasehold interest. Without a specific legislative authorization or a properly arranged state…
Could Connecticut DOT cancel a bridge contractor's existing orders or choose another firm for future work?
DOT could recommend cancellation, but DAS held final authority over the existing Hartford Paving orders. DOT could choose another eligible firm for future projects after considering performance and…
Could Connecticut's consumer protection agency garnish DOT payments owed to a contractor to collect restitution?
No. The Attorney General said DOT's payments to Hartford Paving could not be attached or garnished under the general statutes because the state had not been made subject to that process. Another…
Must a Texas county clerk give you a microfilm copy of deed and real estate records, or just a paper copy?
Just a paper copy, the Attorney General concluded. A county clerk may provide microfilm copies of real estate and deed records, but the Open Records Act does not impose a duty to do so. The Act…
Could Maryland's State Police charge a fee for medevac helicopter transfers between hospitals without losing legal immunity?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the State Police could charge fees for medevac helicopter transfers between hospitals under the law as it then stood, but the opinion also found…
Could a Maryland campaign treasurer let the candidate or someone else handle the campaign's money and required reports instead of doing it personally?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a campaign treasurer under the Fair Election Practices Act could not delegate statutory duties, like receiving contributions, signing checks, or…
When a North Carolina home health agency takes state Home Health Services money, does it have to open its books to the State Auditor?
Yes. Private home health agencies that received Home Health Services (HHS) funds from the Division of Adult Health were subject to the audit requirements of N.C.G.S. § 143-6.1, despite the program's…
When a city contracted with a Washington sheriff and an officer transferred, did seniority start at the city hire date or county transfer date?
For a qualifying transfer under the statute, the AG said seniority in the county civil service system dated from the officer’s original city or town hire, not the later move to the sheriff’s office.
Did Washington’s 1991 machine-gun prohibition apply to armed forces members when they were off duty?
The AG said the then-existing statute exempted members of the United States or Washington armed forces without an official-duty condition. It contrasted the separate exemption for peace officers,…
Did two Connecticut community service grantees qualify as eligible entities for federal block grants in 1991?
Yes. The Attorney General found that CAFCA and ATEP qualified as eligible entities through their 1981 limited purpose agency status and continued designation. A separate possible route based on 1981…
On a North Carolina public construction project, who has to do the work of finding and using minority businesses: the contractor, the city or county, or both?
On all public construction contracts subject to N.C.G.S. § 143-128, both the State and any city, county, or other public body had a verifiable percentage goal for minority business participation.…
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