State AG Opinions
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Could a Washington community college give its president a fixed monthly car stipend outside the state travel-reimbursement system?
The AG said no to the described reimbursement stipend. Before 1990, trustees’ salary-setting power did not authorize expense reimbursement, and the later compensation wording did not let them…
Does a Texas school district have to use competitive bidding to hire a food service management company?
Yes, when the district participates in federal school nutrition programs. The Attorney General concluded that federal regulations governing the National School Lunch Program and similar programs…
Can a Texas county maintain a private dirt road just because school buses drive on it?
No, the Attorney General concluded. A commissioners court ordinarily has no legal authority to maintain or improve a private road, even one used as a school bus route. The only constitutional…
Could Washington’s banking supervisor adopt rules governing insurance activity by state banks and trust companies?
The AG concluded that the supervisor had authority to adopt the identified 1990 rules. Its review covered insurance agency activity by small-town banks and trust companies, and federally recognized…
Could a Washington city pay its separate municipal court judge less than a full-time district court judge?
Yes. The AG said a municipal court created under the separate city-court chapter was outside the district court system, and the city set its judge’s salary by ordinance; the district judge salary…
Can a Texas water district board member also be hired and paid as the district's manager?
The Attorney General concluded yes, in this case. The Duval County Conservation and Reclamation District ran on the powers of a water control and improvement district, and Water Code section 51.084…
Is it a conflict for a judge to rule on cases involving the county commissioners who set his pay?
The Attorney General concluded it was not a constitutional conflict of interest. The Government Code lets commissioners courts set the salaries of county court-at-law judges and, for certain…
Did inheriting classified farm or forest land count as a transfer under Washington’s property-tax statutes?
Yes. Inheritance counted as a transfer throughout the current-use and forest-land provisions. An heir needed to sign a continuance to keep the land's special classification; the two-year exception…
Can one owner of a joint bank account remove another owner's name without permission?
The Attorney General concluded no. Section 440 of the Texas Probate Code let 'a party' to a joint account change 'the form of the account,' but the opinion read that power narrowly: it reaches only…
If a juvenile felony record can't be sealed in Texas, does the person have to disclose it on a job or license application?
The Attorney General concluded that the protection did not apply. Section 51.16(h) of the Family Code let a person whose juvenile records had been sealed decline to disclose the proceeding on an…
Could Baltimore City's liquor board force a Class B-D-7 licensee to keep running an actual bar or restaurant instead of just a package goods store?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the statute governing Baltimore City's Class B-D-7 liquor license did not clearly require licensees to maintain any minimum on-premises bar or restaurant…
Could a Maryland governor's cabinet agencies make the Legislative Auditor file a formal public-records request before examining agency files?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that Executive Branch agencies could not force the Legislative Auditor to file a written Public Information Act application before examining agency…
Could a Washington county coroner use a vehicle the sheriff seized and forfeited under drug law?
No. The Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the sheriff could retain a forfeited vehicle for the sheriff’s official use or release it to another law enforcement agency under the statute, but a…
Could the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority require local governments to adopt its wetlands standards?
No. The Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the authority could recommend wetlands protections but could not set binding minimum standards or require cities and counties to adopt them.
Did owners of Washington Bush Act tidelands keep the right to cultivate clams after the 1919 law was repealed?
The Attorney General concluded in 1991 that owners who had cultivated clams, or substantially relied on the 1919 law, before its 1949 repeal held vested rights. The Legislature could later phase out…
Could Connecticut require Wesleyan's campus special constables to complete basic police training?
Yes. The Attorney General and Chief State's Attorney said municipal appointees who retained and used special-constable powers to serve criminal process and make arrests were police officers under…
How was a Connecticut judge paid while called to active military duty during Desert Storm?
Under the 1991 act, the Attorney General said the judge kept full judicial pay for the first 30 calendar days. After that, the Judicial Department paid the difference between judicial base pay plus…
Does adding a new component to the Idaho State Water Plan (the Comprehensive State Plan: Payette River Reaches) count as a 'change' under article 15, § 7 of the Idaho Constitution, and may the Legislature act on it during its current session?
No, the Payette River Plan is not a 'change' under art. 15, § 7. 'Change' refers only to deletions or revisions of an existing plan; new geographic components are additions reviewed under sentence…
When the Idaho Legislature redistricts after the 1990 census, what limits do the federal Constitution, the Voting Rights Act, and the Idaho Constitution put on how it can draw districts?
The Fourteenth Amendment requires substantial population equality (overall range under 10% is presumptively safe). The Voting Rights Act prohibits diluting racial or language minority voting power.…
Did Connecticut's Department of Housing qualify as a public housing agency for federal Section 8 assistance?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the department met the federal definition because Connecticut law authorized it to administer and support low-income housing programs, including development…
If the State Land Board acquires land already subject to a county zoning ordinance, must it manage the new state land in compliance with that ordinance, or do its constitutional school-trust duties override local zoning?
The Land Board does not have to comply with local zoning when managing state endowment lands. Its constitutional duty under article 9, §§ 7-8 to maximize long-term financial return for the named…
If a Maryland county appropriated more than required for its public schools one year, does that whole higher amount become the mandatory minimum funding floor for the next year?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a county's entire prior-year school operating budget appropriation, not just narrowly defined "basic current expenses," sets the baseline for the…
Could Washington fund property-tax-linked assistance payments under proposed House Bill 1297?
The Attorney General found in 1991 that the proposed payments would not violate property-tax uniformity or discharge state taxes. The payments were gifts of public funds, however, and would be valid…
How precisely must Texas compute the school tax rate that decides who pays the state's teacher-retirement contribution?
The Attorney General concluded the Teacher Retirement System could carry the calculation to as many decimal places as needed, not just two. Section 825.405(h) of the Government Code excused a school…
Does a nonprofit that serves senior citizens have to follow the Open Meetings Act?
The Attorney General concluded no. The Parker County Committee on Aging was an ordinary nonprofit corporation formed under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act, run by a board not chosen by city or…
Does releasing provisional census numbers start the clock on the Texas Legislature's duty to redraw districts?
The Attorney General concluded yes. The February 5, 1991 release of the 1990 census 'public law 94-171' counts was a 'publication' of the decennial census under article III, section 28 of the Texas…
How quickly did Washington agencies have to answer public records requests, and what could they charge?
The Attorney General said in 1991 that agencies had to act reasonably expeditiously under the circumstances, with no fixed number of days. Inspection, searching and retrieval were free; agencies…
Can a Maryland orphans' court judge appoint himself, or a fellow judge on that same court, to fill a vacancy as register of wills?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a common law rule against self-appointment barred an orphans' court from naming one of its own judges to fill a vacancy in the register of wills…
Can a local beer distributor sell a brand anywhere in Texas if it bought the beer from a general distributor instead of the maker?
The Attorney General concluded no. Under sections 102.51 and 102.52 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code, a local beer distributor could sell a particular brand only inside the territory the brand's…
Could the North Carolina General Assembly give a legislative oversight commission the power to indefinitely delay the effective date of any agency rule it considered to exceed statutory authority?
The AG concluded that two draft bills allowing the Administrative Rules Review Commission to delay agency rules indefinitely would likely violate the North Carolina Constitution. It reasoned that…
If a Texas county advertises for bids and gets none, can it just buy directly or must it advertise again?
The Attorney General concluded the county had to readvertise. Under the County Purchasing Act (Local Government Code sections 262.022 through 262.035), a purchase over $10,000 had to go through…
Does requiring arbitration before suing over bad seed violate Texans' right to open courts?
The Attorney General concluded that chapter 64 of the Agriculture Code, which made a buyer of vegetable seed submit a performance complaint to non-binding arbitration before suing the seller, did…
Could Baxter State Park run its remote cabin facilities at Daicey Pond and Kidney Pond using contractors instead of civil-service employees?
Yes. The Maine AG agreed that contractors running Baxter State Park's Daicey Pond and Kidney Pond cabin facilities were not Park agents or representatives under 12 M.R.S.A. § 904, so they did not…
When may New Jersey's Local Finance Board grant an additional exception to the municipal spending cap?
Only when something genuinely unusual and unforeseeable has driven up the cost of a service that is essential to public health, safety, or welfare. The Local Finance Board cannot grant a Cap Law…
Can Maryland cap future state pension benefits without violating employees' contract rights?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that legislation applying the federal tax code's benefit accrual limits, IRC §415, prospectively to the state retirement and pension systems would not…
Can the Idaho Legislature retroactively amend tax statutes (H.B. 92 and H.B. 94) to undo two recent Idaho Supreme Court decisions that authorized refunds, or does that violate due process, the contract clause, art. 11 § 12, or separation of powers?
The bills should survive due process, contract clause, and art. 11 § 12 challenges, but the AG concluded a separation-of-powers attack would likely succeed because retroactively rewriting the…
Was Washington’s Small Business Export Finance Assistance Center subject to open meetings and public records laws?
The Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the center was not the functional equivalent of a state agency. The open meetings and public records statutes then at issue therefore did not apply to it.
Did Connecticut liquor control commissioners still serve staggered six-year terms after the 1977 reorganization?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the later executive-branch statute superseded the inconsistent six-year term provision. Liquor control commissioners served with the Governor's term, or until…
Did Connecticut need its own warrant to hold an out-of-state probationer for return to the sending state?
No. The Attorney General said Connecticut could briefly confine the probationer without a Connecticut court warrant when the sending state had issued an arrest warrant and requested the temporary…
Do Maryland waterfront owners need a state permit to install erosion-control 'beach beams' on tidal land?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that installing a 'beach beam' erosion-control structure in tidal wetlands counted as regulated filling under the Wetlands Act of 1970, so a riparian…
Could Washington’s Ecological Commission veto Ecology Department shoreline or water-resource rules?
The Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the Ecological Commission could advise Ecology but could not block the director’s shoreline rules. Its advisory statute did not govern water-resource…
Can a Texas city avoid the nepotism law by letting a city administrator do the hiring instead of the council?
The Attorney General concluded no. A city council cannot escape the nepotism law (article 5996a) by delegating hiring to a city administrator, because what matters is whether the related officer can…
Could a Washington first-class city elect charter freeholders by district instead of by citywide vote?
The Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a first-class city could require freeholder primaries, numbered positions, and district residency, but the final election had to be citywide. District…
If a Maryland will splits the residuary estate among heirs taxed at different inheritance tax rates, how is the tax calculated?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that inheritance tax on a residuary estate should generally be computed separately for each legatee at that legatee's own tax rate rather than deducted…
Could a Maryland local school board let a private day care company build its own new building on public school land?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a local board of education's authority to let a private day care provider construct its own building on public school land was doubtful under the…
If a new federal tax law cuts a high earner's itemized deductions, does Maryland cut that person's state itemized deductions too?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that when a 1990 federal tax law required certain high-income taxpayers to reduce their total itemized deductions, those taxpayers had to use the same…
South Dakota voters added a state-lottery clause to the state constitution in 1986. The clause permitted the Legislature to authorize a state lottery, provided the lottery was 'regulated, controlled, owned and operated' by the state. The Legislature then passed video lottery in 1989. Here was the puzzle: the actual video lottery machines were owned by private licensed operators (bars, lounges, convenience stores), not by the state. The state owned only the central control computer system to which all machines had to connect. Was that enough 'state ownership' to satisfy the constitutional clause? Governor Mickelson wanted a written AG opinion before video lottery rolled out fully.
Yes. AG Mark Barnett (in an unusual AG-issues-constitutional-opinion exception) concluded that the video lottery scheme was constitutional under Article III, § 25. The state did not need a…
Can a Texas state research council hire outside contractors for administrative support, or only the state health department?
The Attorney General concluded that the On-Site Wastewater Treatment Research Council could get administrative support only from the Texas Department of Health, not from outside entities, because…
If a Maryland court orders a body disinterred and reburied, does the State's Attorney still have to separately approve it?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a person generally still needs the county State's Attorney's consent to disinter a body, overruling a 1954 opinion that had said this requirement…
Could Maryland's Physical Therapy Board decide by regulation that spinal manipulation was within the scope of physical therapy, not just chiropractic?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the General Assembly had not itself decided whether spinal manipulation and mobilization fell within the scope of physical therapy, so the Physical Therapy…
In North Carolina, can a small-loan company sell other things (like motor-club memberships or non-credit insurance) at the same office as its loans, and can it keep the commissions?
The Commissioner of Banks can let a consumer finance licensee run another business on the same premises as its small-loan office. But that licensee cannot benefit, directly or indirectly, from any…
Could a Washington county accept property-tax payments by credit card and collect the bank’s service fee from taxpayers?
The Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a county could accept a bank card if the bank guaranteed full taxes, interest, and penalties without a discount or charge to the county. The statute did…
Could Maine's Hancock County hold a county-wide vote on whether to allow a proposed cogeneration power plant?
No. Maine counties have no general authority to conduct referenda. Absent specific legislative authorization, the Hancock County Commissioners could not authorize a county-wide vote on whether the…
Can a Maryland bill that amends 113 old bond laws the same way just print the new text once instead of 113 times?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that a bill amending 113 prior Baltimore City bond authorizations with the exact same new refunding provision does not have to repeat that text 113…
Did Washington’s Pacific States radioactive-materials agreement end the Legislature’s control over new waste-truck entry points?
The Attorney General concluded in 1991 that the Pacific States Agreement did not trigger the expiration clause in RCW 46.48.200. The agreement did not provide for designating highway ports of entry,…
Could Bridgeport file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy without state permission in 1991?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Connecticut law gave Bridgeport no express authority to file and that the Bridgeport Financial Review Board's statutory control of city finances precluded…
Could a Maryland county's Human Relations Department order an employer to reinstate a worker and pay back pay for discrimination without a specific state law allowing it?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that Frederick County's commissioners could not lawfully authorize the county's Human Relations Commission or Department to impose remedies such as…
Can a Connecticut town vote as a property owner on a proposed local historic district?
Usually no. The Attorney General said a town could have at most one owner ballot, or a fractional ballot, only when property it now owned met the statute's prior-owner assessment and tax-liability…
Can a Maine legislator also sit on a city school board?
Yes. Article IV, Part 3, Section 11 of the Maine Constitution bars legislators from holding most state and federal offices, but municipal school board membership is not an 'office of profit under…
Can a Texas county commissioners court hire its own staff attorneys to advise individual commissioners or the sheriff instead of using the county attorney?
No, not on its own. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Harris County Commissioners Court could not create staff-attorney positions for individual commissioners or the…
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