State AG Opinions
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Can an Idaho landowner who leases their land to someone else for grazing still hold the water right that supplies the stock with water?
Yes. The 1988 AG opinion concluded that Idaho Code § 42-114 did not prohibit issuing a stock-watering permit to a landowner who leases the land to a stockman. The appurtenance rule of Idaho Code §…
Can a Texas school district use public money to pay a trustee's lawyer when the trustee is personally sued for an intentional tort?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General said it depends, and the call belongs to the school board. A school district may spend public funds to defend a trustee in a private lawsuit, even one…
Does a Texas prosecutor have to use county competitive bidding when spending money from the hot check fund?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. The 'hot check fund,' built from fees a county, district, or criminal district attorney collects for processing bad checks, is spent at the…
Were a Washington judge’s informal admonishment and waived conduct investigation public in 1988?
The 1988 AG said an informal admonishment had to be public when it followed a public hearing, but the judicial conduct commission could keep a pre-hearing admonishment confidential. A judge’s waiver…
Can Texas open confidential workers' compensation claim files to another state agency so it can offer injured workers rehab services?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. A workers' compensation claim file is confidential under article 8307, section 9a of the civil statutes, and that law lists the specific…
Can a Texas city use its hotel occupancy tax to help pay the operating budget for a public beach and its recreation facilities?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. Section 351.101 of the Tax Code sets out the only purposes a city may spend municipal hotel occupancy tax on, and running general recreational…
Could a Maryland patient refuse a feeding tube, and who could decide when the patient lacked capacity?
In 1988, the Attorney General concluded that a competent Maryland patient had constitutional and common-law rights to refuse artificially administered nutrition and hydration. For a patient who…
Did a Washington homeowner need a licensed installer and permit for new electrical service lines in 1988?
For a person hired to install a homeowner’s service lines, the 1988 AG required a licensed electrical contractor or certified electrician, plus a permit and inspection. A later transfer of line…
Could a Washington city pay a resident’s legal fees after a court ruled the city did not owe them?
The 1988 AG said the city could not pay merely because its council felt morally obligated. With no legal liability for the fees, payment required a statute, ordinance, or appropriation authorizing…
Which Maryland transportation agencies can set their own employee salaries instead of following the state's Merit System pay plan?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the Maryland Transportation Authority, Mass Transit Administration, State Highway Administration, and Maryland Port…
Can Idaho require employers operating on tribal reservations to carry workers' compensation, and can the state enforce that requirement against tribal governments themselves?
The 1988 AG opinion concluded that 40 U.S.C. § 290 extends Idaho's workers' compensation laws to all federal lands within the state, including reservations, and reaches non-tribal employers there.…
Can a Texas county pay a month's mortgage for a low-income resident who is about to lose their home to foreclosure?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded yes. Under chapter 34 of the Human Resources Code, a county running a state-approved emergency relief program for needy residents may make a…
Can a Maryland state commission adopt a bylaw requiring a stricter voting majority than the one set in its governing statute?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission could not enforce its own bylaw requiring a stricter voting majority than the one the…
Is a per-gallon fee on petroleum that pays for underground tank leak cleanup a highway tax Texas must spend on roads?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. A proposed 'delivery fee' on petroleum, charged to fund cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks, would be a regulatory license fee rather…
If an Idaho water right holder files to change the point of diversion or place of use, does that filing pause the five-year forfeiture clock for nonuse?
No. The 1988 AG opinion concluded that filing a transfer application did not toll the five-year forfeiture clock under Idaho Code § 42-222(2). For water placed into the state water supply bank, the…
Can a Texas state agency deny services to a blind child or adult just because they are an undocumented immigrant?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. The Texas Commission for the Blind had to provide services to blind children who qualify, regardless of whether they were legal or…
Can a Texas river authority or water district force property owners on septic tanks to hook up to its sewer system?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. The Upper Guadalupe River Authority, which holds the combined powers of a water control and improvement district and a municipal utility…
Can a Texas county lease a closed, empty county jail to a private company to run as a prison?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded yes, at least for the former Bexar County Jail. A state law barred a commissioners court from 'converting' a facility into a privately operated…
If I refuse a breath test after a DWI arrest in Texas, can the justice of the peace give me probation instead of losing my license for 90 days?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded yes. When a driver refuses a breath test and the case goes to an administrative hearing before a justice of the peace, the JP has authority to…
Could a Washington transit benefit area pay cities or counties to maintain streets used by its buses?
The 1988 AG said no. A transit benefit area had no statutory responsibility or power to make voluntary contributions for city or county street maintenance, even through an interlocal agreement. The…
Can Texas make a public school building a protected historic landmark and stop the district from demolishing it?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General gave a fact-dependent answer. The State Antiquities Committee can designate a school building as a state archeological landmark, but doing so, or denying a…
When the Governor appoints someone from the State Board of Education or the University of Maine System Board of Trustees to also serve on the Maine Vocational-Technical Board, does that person have to step down from the Voc-Tech Board if they lose their seat on the original board, or do they keep their four-year term?
They keep the full four-year term. AG Tierney concluded that 20-A M.R.S.A. § 12705 contemplated a fresh four-year appointment confirmed by the Legislature for each Voc-Tech trustee, including those…
If someone wins election as a Maine Probate Judge while also serving as a member of the Maine Labor Relations Board, can they hold both positions at once?
No. AG Tierney concluded that Article VI, Section 5 of the Maine Constitution bars 'any Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court or any other court' from holding office under the United States or any…
Can a state employee whose agency gets federal funds run for a political party office like precinct chairman?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded yes. A Texas Department of Human Services employee covered by the federal Hatch Act may run for the political party office of county or precinct…
Could a Washington county use its real-estate excise tax to improve city-owned property through an interlocal agreement?
The 1988 AG said only if the improvement served a genuine county purpose. An interlocal agreement did not expand the county's spending power. County ownership was relevant but not an absolute…
Did the 1988 agreement between the Maryland Stadium Authority and the Baltimore Orioles count as the 'long-term lease' state law required before issuing stadium bonds?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the Memorandum of Agreement between the Maryland Stadium Authority and the Baltimore Orioles was a binding 'long-term lease' under state…
If I am laid off but stay on the state payroll to use up my vacation, can I still take paid sick leave?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General said yes. A state employee who has finished their last day of duty but remains on the agency payroll to exhaust accrued vacation may still take previously…
Does a state agency's anti-conflict rule cover every organization it pays, or only ones set up primarily to do that kind of work?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General read the Texas Rehabilitation Commission's conflict-of-interest statute broadly. It reaches everyone associated with any organization that receives…
Did Washington Ecology have to meet water-quality funding percentages every fiscal year?
The 1988 AG said no, apart from the Conservation Commission set-aside. Ecology was to bring distributions as close as possible to the statutory percentages over the full eight-year program and not…
Could a Washington hospital district avoid prevailing wages by leasing land to a builder and leasing the project back?
The 1988 AG said no for a public hospital project: using a private lessee and leaseback did not remove it from the prevailing-wage law. A project serving both public and private purposes required a…
Does Maryland's state MBE fraud statute apply to contractors who misrepresent minority-business compliance to WSSC, or only WSSC's own rules?
A 1988 Maryland opinion concluded that the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), a bicounty agency, is not a 'unit' of the Executive Branch covered by the State Procurement Law, so a…
How much can members of a state board or advisory committee be paid back for their costs, and does everyone get the daily per diem?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General worked through seven different Texas Rehabilitation Commission boards and committees. The main board and the Consumer Advisory Committee could be reimbursed…
If a needy patient is treated at a state cancer hospital, does the county or hospital district have to pay the bill?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no, not on the theory the University of Texas raised. M.D. Anderson can bill a patient's estate or the people legally responsible for the…
Can a transit authority use its special economic-development power to pay for streets, drainage, or a library?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General said only if those projects sit inside a transit station or terminal complex. Article 1118x lets certain transit authorities include 'regional economic…
Does DC have to get 90% of neighbors to sign off before licensing a street festival like Adams Morgan Day?
No, under the 1988 opinion, the 90% consent rule did not apply to activities on public streets and sidewalks. If Adams Morgan Day involved a temporary street closing, a separate regulation required…
Do North Carolina's Administrative Procedure Act rules govern how the Secretary of State's Securities Division handles license actions, hearings, and investigations under the Securities Act?
Yes. The AG concluded the APA (Chapter 150B) applies to the Securities Division, because the Division is not on the exempt list and Chapter 78A does not provide a blanket exemption. Securities…
Are the volunteer board members of a public TV station protected from lawsuits if the station broadcasts something defamatory?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded a public television station can qualify as a charitable organization under the Charitable Immunity and Liability Act of 1987, which would give its…
Can the state parole board hire county probation offices to supervise parolees, or does that hand judicial-branch officers power over parole?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded the arrangement is constitutional. A statute lets the Board of Pardons and Paroles request proposals and award contracts to district (county)…
If my farmland is condemned for a public project, do I have to pay back the tax savings from its agricultural-use valuation?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. Texas taxes qualifying farm and ranch land on its productive value rather than market value, and normally a rollback of the tax savings is…
Did Washington's 1988 firearm statute prohibit merely possessing a gun silencer?
No. The 1988 AG read the statute as prohibiting use of a firearm noise-suppression device, not mere possession of the device. The opinion addressed that statute's wording, not every possible firearm…
Does a private club's liquor permit fee depend on its peak membership, or can it be prorated for members who joined partway through the year?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is not authorized to prorate a private club's membership when calculating the permit fee. The statute sets…
Can county commissioners require performance reviews to decide the salaries of the district attorney's staff?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General drew a line down the middle. When the county sets its budget, the commissioners court has the final say over the salary figures for the district attorney's…
Can the Texas legislature move money out of a special produce-claims fund into general revenue?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded the transfer was lawful, with a caveat. The Produce Recovery Fund is a statutory trust fund, not a constitutionally protected fund, so the…
When bags of medical refuse and other trash wash up on North Carolina beaches, what state and federal laws can be used to stop the dumping, prosecute the dumpers, and recover cleanup costs, and how far out into the Atlantic does North Carolina's regulatory authority reach?
The 1988 opinion identifies North Carolina prohibitions on dumping within its three-mile territorial sea, while saying the answer for waste dumped beyond those waters is uncertain. The State could…
Do Texas construction trust fund rules require a contractor to collect payment affidavits from subcontractors?
The Attorney General read the 1987 amendments to the Property Code's construction trust fund law. A contractor may request an all-bills-paid affidavit as a condition of final payment, but is not…
Does a Texas city have to extend sewer service to newly annexed areas?
The Attorney General concluded a city cannot literally be forced to provide services to an annexed area. A city does not have to extend sewer lines to newly annexed land unless it provides similar…
Can a Texas savings and loan or other lender charge a fee for filling in the blanks on real estate loan documents that its lawyers prepared?
The Attorney General read the 1987 statute (article 320f) that bars anyone other than a licensed attorney from charging for preparing legal instruments affecting title to real property. Whether a…
Can a Texas county guarantee home loans or housing-finance-corporation bonds for low and moderate income families?
No. The Attorney General concluded a county has no express or implied authority to guarantee mortgage loans made to low and moderate income families, or to guarantee the bonds a housing finance…
In Texas, can a state employee be fired for any reason, or do state workers have job protections?
The Attorney General explained that Texas state employees, like private employees, are generally 'at will,' meaning they can be fired for any reason. But that is only the default. A particular state…
Did the Maine State Board of Education have legal authority to require previously certified veteran teachers to earn three credits in special-education training, raise major and minor credit-hour requirements, and apply these new rules without violating teachers' due process rights or the Interstate Compact on Qualifications of Educational Personnel?
Yes. AG Tierney concluded that 20-A M.R.S.A. ch. 502's rulemaking grant in § 13011(1) covered the State Board's exceptionality requirement and the new credit-hour standards, both of which apply only…
Does a Texas school district have to take competitive bids to hire a construction management consultant?
No, not for the consultant itself. The Attorney General concluded a contract for a construction management consultant's services counts as 'professional services' and is exempt from the competitive…
Can a Maryland city ban parking large trucks in residential areas even though state law regulates parking too?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that the City of Rockville had authority to regulate the parking of trucks on private property in residential areas, because the Maryland…
Can a Texas district clerk charge a filing fee to transfer a child support enforcement case to a new county?
No. The Attorney General concluded a district clerk may not charge a fee for filing papers in a child support enforcement action transferred to a new county under section 11.06 of the Family Code.…
Can a city ban loitering in public places without violating the First Amendment?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that Cambridge's loitering ordinance could be applied without violating the Constitution, but only if police read each of its four…
Can a car dealer charge a separate 'documentation fee' on top of the sale price in Maryland?
In a 1988 opinion, Maryland's Attorney General concluded that a car dealer could not charge a financed buyer a separately stated 'seller documentation fee' or 'consumer service charge' under the…
Can Bexar County pay its district judges a salary supplement larger than $12,000 a year?
No. The Attorney General concluded Bexar County has no authority to pay district judges a salary supplement of more than $12,000 a year. Government Code section 32.015 sets the supplement at…
Under a Texas group health plan, can an individual employee reject in vitro fertilization coverage, or only the employer?
Only the employer. A 1987 law required certain Texas group health plans that already cover pregnancy to offer in vitro fertilization coverage. The Attorney General concluded the employer, as the…
Do Maryland's 1988 dollar caps on crime-victim compensation awards apply to claims that were already pending when the caps took effect?
A 1988 Maryland opinion concluded that all of Chapter 250's amendments to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act, including its new dollar caps on disability and medical-expense awards, apply…
Can Texas county clerks and school districts store official records only on optical disks instead of microfilm or paper?
Not yet, as of this 1988 opinion. A 1987 law (House Bill 163) let county clerks and school districts adopt optical disk storage, but the Attorney General read it to carry over the same…
Can a bail bondsman post a life insurance policy as collateral instead of cash under Texas bail bond law?
No, not by itself. The Attorney General concluded that assigning a life insurance policy to the county treasurer does not count as a 'cash equivalent' deposit under the bail bond statute (article…
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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.