State AG Opinions
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Which telephone companies have to pay the Texas PURA gross receipts assessment, and do long-distance carriers owe it on the access charges they pay local phone companies?
The section 78 assessment applies to every public utility under the Public Utility Commission's jurisdiction, which after 1987 includes all long-distance (interexchange) carriers, not just those the…
Can a Texas chiropractor call themselves a 'chiropractic physician'?
The board can allow it. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners has authority to adopt a rule permitting its licensees to use the title…
Could Texas local governments impose stricter septic-system installer rules, and did licensed plumbers need state installer registration?
Yes, within limits. JM-1278 concluded that authorized agents could adopt stricter on-site sewage and installer standards needed to carry out local health protections, while nonconflicting rules…
What kind of bond does a Texas charity have to post to hold a raffle when it doesn't yet have the prize?
A surety bond, and the county clerk does not have to take cash. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that under article 179f, section 3(j), V.T.C.S., a charity that does not yet…
Could a Texas county road district borrow beyond voter-approved bonds, and could the county loan or guarantee the money?
Only within voter-approved and constitutional limits. JM-1276 concluded that the road district could use authorized bonds and anticipation notes but could not exceed voter authority; Bastrop County…
Can a Texas county auditor force other elected county officials to use a specific computer accounting system and give the auditor open access to their records?
Only partly. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county auditor in a county with a population under 190,000 may adopt and enforce regulations under Local Government Code…
Can a Texas sheriff make deputies and jailers take random urine drug tests?
Not on a purely random basis without justification. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that random urine drug testing of deputy sheriffs and jailers, meaning testing not triggered…
Can a Texas resident use the alternative court reporter certification route, or is it only for people moving in from other states?
A Texas resident can use it. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that section 52.021(e) of the Government Code, which lets a person become a certified shorthand (court) reporter by…
Can Maine's Governor appoint a legislator-elect to an executive office before that person is sworn in to the Legislature?
Yes. Under Article IV, Part 3, Section 10 of the Maine Constitution, a newly elected senator or representative may accept executive appointment and decline the legislative seat. The Emoluments-style…
Does a nonprofit like AARP need a state license to run a paid driver safety course in Texas?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a private, nonprofit organization that charges a fee (here, $8) for a driver safety course falls within the definition of a 'commercial…
Can an armed security officer for the Texas Adjutant General's Department carry a handgun on the job without a private security commission?
Yes on department premises, but not on the commute. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a 1989 statute (Government Code section 431.029(12)) authorizing the adjutant general to…
Can a Texas group health insurer deny coverage for addiction rehab because it was not at a hospital?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that article 3.51-9 of the Texas Insurance Code requires group health insurers subject to Chapter 3 to cover chemical dependency treatment,…
Can federal savings and loan law override Texas's homestead protection so lenders can make home equity loans on a home?
Not according to this 1990 opinion. On the central question, whether federal rules for federally chartered savings and loan associations preempt the Texas homestead provision (article XVI, section…
Can a Texas commissioners court give county employees raises without amending the county budget?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court may not grant salary increases to selected county employees without amending the budget, even when the raises are…
Do blind vendors have priority to run vending machines in Maryland state and local government buildings?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that Maryland's blind vendor licensing law, ED §21-303(c), let the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation license blind people to run vending facilities,…
Can the Texas Legislature legalize casino gambling without amending the state constitution?
Only for games that are not lotteries. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that Article III, section 47 of the Texas Constitution bans lotteries and gift enterprises, not all…
Can a Texas city council member also work for a school district, special district, or navigation district?
It depends on whether the second position is an office or just a job. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that Article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution (which bars holding…
Do Connecticut property tax exemptions for blind, veteran, or disabled owners lower a home's value when calculating a property tax relief credit?
No. In this 1990 opinion, the Attorney General said those exemptions reduced the taxes qualifying owners paid, but did not change the property's fair market value used in the relief-credit formula.
Can a Texas school district use student activity funds to pay college scholarships for graduates?
It can, if two conditions are met. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that activity funds or agency funds that have actually become the school district's property (not funds still…
Does the Fayette County attorney get paid like a district attorney under Texas law?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the county attorney of Fayette County is not entitled to be compensated as a prosecutor under section 46.003 of the Government Code. Even…
Can a Texas county auditor require the county's federal tax ID number on all county depository bank accounts?
Only for the accounts that hold county money. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county auditor in a county with a population under 190,000 may adopt and enforce a…
Can a Texas county pay a real estate agent a finder's fee for finding a buyer of county land at auction?
Yes, if all other legal requirements are met. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county commissioners court may offer and pay a finder's fee to a real estate agent for…
Can a Texas county or city be sued in tort over property it takes at a tax sale for unpaid taxes?
Generally no, at least for claims tied to the tax sale and redemption itself. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that when a county, home-rule city, or independent school district…
Was Texas Attorney General Opinion JM-1249 withdrawn?
Yes. In this brief December 17, 1990 notice, the Texas Attorney General stated that Opinion JM-1249 was withdrawn in its entirety and that the office would advise later how it would proceed. No…
Could Washington's Apprenticeship Council reject an agreement for lack of need, committee members, or wage terms?
The 1990 AG said the Council could consider each of those grounds within its authority over apprenticeship agreements, while weighing apprentice interests and statutory standards and giving specific…
If a developer started a New Jersey project before the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act took effect, is the project exempt from the new state wetlands rules, and how is that exemption defined?
Yes, but the exemption is mechanical and tied to specific paperwork. A project is exempt if it received preliminary subdivision or site plan approval under the Municipal Land Use Law before July 1,…
Could UConn trustees set faculty travel policies outside the statewide travel rules and contract?
Yes, under the 1990 act the Attorney General said constituent-unit trustees could approve faculty and professional-staff travel policies and rates for expenses paid from sources other than the…
Could Connecticut change a teacher's loan-forgiveness terms after the teacher signed a state loan note?
No, for the amendments the Attorney General analyzed in 1990. Changes to interest, repayment, or forgiveness conditions applied prospectively and did not alter promissory notes signed before the…
Do Texas jail standards apply to a city jail that a private company runs under contract?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the minimum jail standards adopted by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards apply to a jail that a private vendor operates for a…
Can a Texas municipal utility district pay for park land with revenue notes instead of bonds?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a municipal utility district created under article XVI, section 59 of the Texas Constitution and operating under chapter 54 of the Water…
Can Texas charge a petroleum storage-tank cleanup fee on barges bringing fuel in from other states but not on in-state barges?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that section 26.3574 of the Water Code, which funds the petroleum storage tank remediation (cleanup) fund, is unconstitutional as applied to…
Who could ask Maryland's Interdepartmental Committee on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits to review a proposed coverage change?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that the Interdepartmental Committee on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits could review a legislative proposal only at the request of the Governor or the…
Did already-licensed Maryland nursing home administrators have to get a college degree to renew their licenses after the 1990 law?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that the new statutory education requirements for nursing home administrators in HO §8-302(d) were likely not intended to apply to people who were already…
Does the Texas Charitable Immunity Act protect a chamber of commerce and its volunteers from lawsuits?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a chamber of commerce is not a 'charitable organization' under the Charitable Immunity and Liability Act of 1987 (chapter 84 of the Civil…
Do all Texas gasoline distributors pay the fees under House Bill 504, or only those selling ethanol or methanol blends?
It depends on which fee. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General read House Bill 504 (article 8614, V.T.C.S.) to authorize two fees. The general fee in section 9(b), for testing, inspection,…
Can a Texas city issue revenue bonds to build a school building and lease it to the local school district?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a city cannot use its revenue-bond powers to finance a school building and lease it to an independent school district, even for purely…
Did Connecticut have to indemnify private serving officers collecting unemployment taxes?
No statutory indemnification applied to the designated nonemployee serving officers described to the Attorney General. The opinion treated them as independent contractors, not state officers or…
Can businesses use the Maryland flag in a state promotional logo without violating the flag desecration law?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that the state's 'Maryland With Pride' promotional logo, which uses a stylized version of the Maryland flag, does not violate the law against commercial misuse…
Could a South Carolina coroner keep a state constable commission without violating dual office holding rules in 1990?
The 1990 Attorney General opinion said a state constable position was no longer considered a second office under South Carolina's amended dual office holding provisions. It separately noted that the…
Can a South Dakota city charge people outside the city limits more for water and sewer than it charges in-town customers? Does the city have to set those rates by ordinance, or can it just sign a separate contract with each outside customer? And can the city charge commercial users a higher rate than residential users?
Yes to charging non-residents more, yes to commercial vs. residential differentials, and rates had to be set by ordinance (not by individual contracts). The AG concluded that South Dakota cities…
If an occupational licensing board, like the Cosmetic Art Examiners, is subject to the State Personnel Act and the State Budget Act, can it still enroll employees in the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System even though the 1983 General Assembly froze licensing-board participation after July 1, 1983?
No. The 1990 AG concluded that Chapter 412 of the 1983 Session Laws (amending G.S. § 135-1.1) applies to all State boards and agencies that administer professional, trade, or occupational licensing…
If a Texas county's contracted supplier can't deliver, can the county buy the shortfall from another vendor without new bids?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the County Purchasing Act (chapter 262 of the Local Government Code) does not stop a county from making an isolated spot purchase of…
Can a Texas prosecutor use drug-seizure money to pay employee bonuses or raises without commissioners court approval?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a prosecutor may not use drug forfeiture funds to pay bonuses or increase salaries for office employees whose pay is budgeted by the…
In Maryland, does an interior designer need an architect's license to redesign the layout of non-loadbearing interior walls in a public building?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that preparing design plans for a significant movement of non-loadbearing interior walls in a building intended for public use constitutes the practice of…
Can North Carolina's Governor use an executive order to require financial disclosure and ethical-conduct compliance from people appointed to state boards by other Council of State officers?
No. Seven Council of State officers asked whether they (and their appointees) had to follow Executive Order No. 1 after Governor Jim Martin amended it in October 1990 to cover appointees of any…
Did Baxter State Park violate its hiring statute by using contractors instead of civil-service employees at Kidney Pond and Daicey Pond?
No. Assistant AG Paul Stern concluded that 12 M.R.S.A. § 904 controls how Park employees are hired (civil service), but does not limit the Park's authority to retain contractors. The contracting…
Does Maryland have to follow its normal layoff notice and seniority rules when a state employee's position loses its funding?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Maryland's layoff statute and its 90-day notice regulation do not apply when a position is lost simply because no money was appropriated to pay the salary;…
Can an Idaho school district sell new refunding bonds at a premium (above par) to free up cash for the refunding escrow without first holding a two-thirds bond election under article 8, § 3 of the Idaho Constitution?
Yes, as long as the refunding produces a net present value savings to the district and the premium is used for refunding purposes. Refunding bonds change the form of an existing debt rather than…
Could an out-of-state dealer sell a handgun that was not on Maryland's handgun roster to a Maryland buyer?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that Maryland's handgun roster law, Article 27, §36-1(b), prohibited selling an unapproved handgun whenever the buyer took physical delivery in Maryland, no…
Does a Baltimore City employee who left for military service after the draft ended in 1973 still get pension credit for that time under federal law?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that regardless of how Maryland's own veterans-benefit statute is read, the federal Veterans Reemployment Rights Act independently guarantees pension and…
Did Connecticut's 1990 condominium management law invalidate existing contracts or wait for regulations?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Public Act 90-306 did not retroactively invalidate existing condominium management contracts. Provisions already effective could be enforced before the Real…
Which Connecticut police officers had to take legal-update training for managerial duties?
The Attorney General said the 1990 training requirement turned on actual work: officers who directed or supervised other officers or administered programs counted, regardless of rank. Lieutenant…
Can the Texas mental health department buy or lease property for community services without using the state purchasing agency?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that when the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation buys or leases personal property, or leases real property, for…
Do volunteer firefighters in Texas have to meet the state's firefighter training standards?
It depends on whether the fire department is a department of a local government. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that members of a volunteer fire department that is not a…
Could a Texas local government let an auditor temporarily take public records to the auditor's private office?
Section 202.004 neither prohibited nor authorized the temporary move. A local governing body could establish procedures for it through its records-management program if the service contract…
Can a Texas district judge appoint a special auditor or take a commissioners court's executive-session tapes?
This 1990 opinion was withdrawn in its entirety a few weeks after it issued, so it does not represent the Texas Attorney General's position and should not be relied on. In it, the Attorney General…
When the Idaho Senate is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, can the Lieutenant Governor break a tie on organizational matters like the election of the Senate President Pro Tempore?
Yes. Article 4, § 13 of the Idaho Constitution expressly empowers the Lieutenant Governor to vote when the Senate is equally divided. The grant is unqualified and covers organizational votes…
How did Washington's ten-mile rule apply to passenger ferries near state ferry routes?
The 1990 AG said the rule covered passenger-only ferries. It compared both ends of each proposed commercial crossing with the corresponding ends of one state crossing, using ten straight-line…
After Maine voters changed the Sunday closing law in 1990, what could large retail stores actually do, and what protection did employees have?
The 1990 initiative let retail stores over 5,000 square feet open on Sundays only if they did not require employees to work Sundays as a condition of employment. Stores with that exemption had to be…
Which school board counted as a retired Connecticut teacher's last employer for health insurance, and which got the subsidy?
The Attorney General said the last employing board was the most recent board to pay the teacher for work, even temporary work after retirement. The health-insurance subsidy went to the board…
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Two states are not listed and are not pending: New Hampshire publishes its opinions on a page that automated retrieval cannot read, and Rhode Island publishes no complete full-text archive at all. We will add them if that changes.