State AG Opinions
Free state attorney general opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
No opinions match these filters
Try fewer or different words, check the spelling, or clear the filters to browse everything.
Could the Texas dental board reinstate a dentist's license after it had remained unrenewed for two years?
No. Under the statute then in effect, a license expired for two years or longer could not be renewed; the former licensee had to seek a new license through reexamination and the original licensing process.
Does North Carolina's Medical Database Commission, after 1987 amendments allowing collection of patient social security numbers, comply with federal alcohol and drug abuse patient confidentiality regulations?
Yes, as of the 1987 amendments the AG reviewed. The opinion concludes that North Carolina’s Medical Database Commission statute complied with the cited federal confidentiality rules. The amendments…
Did a Texas plumbing license exempt a plumber from the air-conditioning contractor licensing law?
Only in part. The Attorney General concluded that licensed plumbers were exempt when their plumbing services also fit the air-conditioning definitions, but not for unrelated air-conditioning work.…
Did a Texas health-facilities development corporation have to follow the Open Meetings Act?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the nonprofit public corporation did not fit any state or local governmental-body category in the former Act, and its enabling statute did not independently…
Under Idaho law, when can a creditor charge a late fee on a credit card or other consumer credit account, and how does the late fee have to be disclosed?
The 1987 AG opinion said late charges on open-end credit accounts were permitted as finance charges. For other interest-bearing consumer credit, it recognized only precomputed loans and loans…
How much rulemaking authority did a Texas public-health district's administrative board have?
The board could adopt only rules and regulations specifically authorized by state law. Its rules also could not conflict with state law or an ordinance of a member city or county.
Could Texas voters use the former Tax Code rollback election to reduce a county tax rate set for constitutional county funds?
The Attorney General concluded that they could not under the 1987 provisions. He treated the constitution as granting the commissioners court authority to set those rates within stated ceilings,…
Who could represent the Texas Commission on Human Rights in employment-discrimination lawsuits?
The Attorney General had authority to represent the commission. Staff or outside lawyers hired by the commission could appear in court only under the Attorney General's supervision and direction.
Could a Texas city let tenants repair a landlord's neglected property defect and deduct the cost from rent?
No, under the law considered in JM-790. The Attorney General concluded that Property Code chapter 92 occupied the field of landlord repair duties and tenant remedies and did not authorize a…
Could a Texas county require a subdivider to deed fee-simple title to subdivision streets before approving the plat?
No. The Attorney General concluded that chapter 232 authorized road standards and dedication for public use but did not authorize a county to demand fee-simple ownership rather than an easement.
Could a Texas county spend public money to challenge a state radioactive-materials license amendment?
Yes, if the county could show actual injury or economic damage and its commissioners court found the spending served the county's interest. The county could fund lawyers and experts, contest the…
Did Maryland's prepaid dental plans have to follow the general Insurance Code, or just their own special dental-plan law?
In this 1987 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that prepaid dental plans licensed under Subtitle 42 of Article 48A were insurers generally subject to the rest of Maryland's Insurance Code,…
Did a Texas school district have to pay registration fees for a vehicle it leased rather than owned by title?
No. A school district or other listed government body that had the legal right to possess or control a leased vehicle counted as its owner and qualified for the registration-fee exemption if the…
If a DC zoning, liquor licensing, or other agency decision affects neighborhoods on both sides of an ANC boundary, do both Advisory Neighborhood Commissions get formal notice and the right to weigh in?
Yes, more than one ANC may be affected. Under this 1987 opinion, an agency that uses the DC Register for notice need not determine whether an action affects multiple ANCs. An ANC seeking to…
Could a Texas budget rider bar high school exit tests from covering material students had not reasonably been taught?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the rider was valid because it merely stated what the Education Code already implied: an exit exam given in eleventh grade had to test material eleventh…
Could Maryland's Racing Commission let a track hold Arabian horse races with betting in 1987, and did it need to write new regulations first?
In this 1987 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Maryland's Racing Commission had authority under its original 1920 licensing statute to permit Arabian horse racing with wagering at a…
Did a subpoenaed Texas state employee receive paid leave, per diem, and travel reimbursement for a court appearance?
Only when the employee appeared in an official state capacity did the appearance count as work and qualify for per diem and travel reimbursement. For a private-capacity appearance, the agency had…
Can a Maryland hospital association publish reports on doctors' practice patterns using ID numbers instead of names?
In this 1987 opinion, the Attorney General concluded a hospital association's report analyzing physician practice patterns across hospitals, using confidential ID numbers rather than names, did not…
Can a Texas commissioners court shift unspent road-and-bridge money between precincts, and must it find an emergency to amend the county budget?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court using the default road-supervisor system could reallocate unencumbered road-and-bridge funds among precincts and consider prior…
Could a Texas sheriff buy food and other county-jail supplies without following the County Purchasing Act?
No. The sheriff controlled the jail's daily operation, but purchases for the jail remained subject to the County Purchasing Act, including competitive-bidding rules and commissioners court approval…
Could a Texas House member work as executive director of a nonprofit transit system that received state-administered federal grants?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the legislator's salary interest was too remote to be an interest in the transit system's state grant contract, and the nonprofit job was not an office or…
The 1987 Legislature created the Department of Labor Employees Retirement Board to administer a retirement program established under SDCL 61-2-15. What is the scope of the Board's authority? Does it merely oversee the Department of Labor's administration of the plan, or does it actually administer the plan itself, including investment decisions, eligibility determinations, contribution and benefit amounts?
The Board administers the plan, fully. AG Tellinghuisen ruled that the 1987 Chapter 386 transferred the entire administrative authority from the Secretary of Labor (under SDCL 61-2-16) to the new…
Could a Texas landowner divide and sell land by metes and bounds without subdivision plat approval if no public road was dedicated?
Not automatically. The Attorney General said plat requirements depended on the purpose and facts of the division, and neither a private-road label nor the absence of a public dedication was enough…
When Maryland expunges a driver's record, can the MVA still keep a hidden copy on file, and can a hearing officer look at someone's alcohol-related probation before judgment?
In this 1987 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that a driving record the MVA is required to expunge must be completely removed from inspection by anyone, including the MVA and other government…
Could a Texas city define its own local community standard for deciding whether material was obscene?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the proposed Lewisville ordinance conflicted with state and federal law because Texas used a statewide community standard and juries had to decide prurient…
Did a Texas district attorney have to pay the county clerk to record a judgment abstract from a bond forfeiture case?
No. The Attorney General concluded that article 3912e barred the county clerk from collecting the recording fee from the district attorney because the charge was not a litigation cost payable by the state.
Could the Liberty County Court at Law hear a lawsuit to foreclose a lien for delinquent property taxes?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the statute creating the Liberty County Court at Law gave it jurisdiction concurrent with the district court over delinquent-tax foreclosures, as long as the…
Did Texas prosecutors have to charge loss of mental faculties and loss of physical faculties as separate DWI offenses?
No. The Attorney General concluded that loss of normal mental or physical faculties described one way of committing DWI and could be pleaded in a single count.
Can Maryland's legislature fix a town's mistaken boundary description from decades ago, or does the town have to do it itself?
In this 1987 opinion, the Attorney General concluded the Maryland General Assembly could not amend Highland Beach's 1922 act of incorporation to correct its boundary description, because the Home…
When the office of county prosecuting attorney falls vacant, who fills it, and what happens if the county can't find a qualified replacement?
The 1987 AG opinion concluded that county commissioners must fill a prosecutor vacancy under Idaho Code § 59-906 with an election-qualified county resident. If they cannot find one, the district…
Could a Texas district attorney hire an investigator whose spouse owned a bail-bond business?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the investigator could serve without violating article 988b because an arrest decision was not a vote or decision on a matter involving the spouse's…
Did an irrigation district tax assessor-collector need property-tax certification if the district charged a flat benefit-plan fee instead of ad valorem tax?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the certification statute applied through the Tax Code definition of a taxing unit, which covered entities imposing ad valorem property taxes, not this…
Can a Maryland savings bank develop real estate through a limited partnership?
In this 1987 opinion, the Attorney General concluded a Maryland-chartered mutual savings bank could engage in real estate development activities to the same extent as a federal savings bank, but…
Could the Texas Veterans Land Board charge an $80 paid-in-full deed fee when an older land contract promised the veteran a deed without another payment?
No. The Attorney General concluded that imposing the later $80 deed fee on a purchaser whose older Veterans Land Program contract promised a deed upon full payment would substantially impair the…
Could a Texas independent school district use electronic funds transfer to deposit employee pay directly into an employee's bank account without express statutory authorization?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that school trustees could adopt electronic funds transfer for employee pay because the Education Code authorized payment but did not prescribe the payment…
Could the Texas governor distribute Exxon and Stripper Well petroleum-overcharge funds without a legislative appropriation?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Legislature, not the governor acting alone, had authority to allocate and appropriate petroleum-overcharge funds received through the Exxon judgment…
When an Idaho prisoner had multiple consecutive sentences and was eligible for parole on the first one, could the parole board release them onto parole while still keeping them in prison to serve the next sentence?
Yes, for crimes committed before February 1, 1987. The AG concluded the Commission could parole a person from an indeterminate sentence into a consecutive sentence under properly adopted rules,…
Did a Texas school district board have to approve the transfer of its territory to another district under the 1987 Education Code?
Sometimes. The Attorney General concluded that the receiving district's board had to approve a section 19.022 transfer, and a transferring district also had to approve if section 19.008 covered it.
Did Idaho's Medicare supplement insurance law cover policies sold to disabled people on Medicare, or only people on Medicare 'by reason of age'?
The 1987 AG opinion concluded that Medicare supplement policies could be sold to persons eligible for Medicare by reason of disability (not just by age), and the Director of the Department of…
Could a Texas commissioners court condition a constable's salary on voter support, deny office expenses, or pay constables different salaries?
The commissioners court could not condition or deny a reasonable salary or refuse reasonable office expenses. It could set different constable salaries when precinct circumstances reasonably…
Could Texas Tech University form a joint venture with a private or municipal utility to build and operate a cogeneration plant?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a true joint venture would expose Texas Tech, and therefore the state, to shared liabilities in violation of article III, section 50 of the Texas Constitution.
When does a Maryland home seller have to give homeowners association fee and rule disclosures to a buyer, and can a buyer waive that right?
In this 1987 opinion, the Attorney General concluded a home seller had to obtain and disclose known HOA fee and rule information to the buyer before the contract was formed, not later, that a…
Could a Texas water district fund an ambulance for its lake and contract with the county hospital to provide emergency medical crews there?
Yes, with limits. The Attorney General concluded that the district could fund an ambulance only for lawful district purposes, with public benefits and controls, and could enter an interlocal…
Could a Texas county clerk refuse to file a financing statement that appeared legally insufficient under the Uniform Commercial Code?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the clerk's duty was to accept, record, and index the statement when the filing requirements and fee were met, leaving legal sufficiency to the courts.
Was it constitutional for Texas law to shield a county from liability when a reserve deputy was injured while serving?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the liability exclusion did not violate the Texas due-course guarantee or the Fourteenth Amendment's due process and equal protection clauses.
Did Idaho's law requiring AIDS testing of incoming prisoners apply to existing inmates, and could prison officials keep an AIDS-positive prisoner quarantined past the end of their sentence?
The 1987 AG opinion read Idaho Code § 39-604 to require AIDS blood testing for incoming prisoners, not inmates already in custody. The state bore examination and treatment costs in state facilities.…
Could a Texas sheriff bar peace officers from carrying guns while off duty as patrons in bars or nightclubs?
A sheriff could impose reasonable off-duty restrictions on the sheriff's own deputies when tied to proper law-enforcement duties, but had no supervisory power over officers employed by other…
Did the county clerk who kept Texas commissioners court minutes have to be a certified shorthand reporter?
No. The Attorney General concluded that court-reporter requirements applied to courts conducting litigation, while a separate statute assigned commissioners court minutes to the county clerk.
Could one Texas county pay another county's sitting county attorney extra compensation for serving as a special prosecutor?
No. Because a county attorney was an 'attorney for the state,' article 2.07(b) made the special-prosecutor work an additional duty of the existing office without additional compensation.
Could Texas courts require probationers to use electronic home-monitoring devices without violating their rights or the rights of household members?
In 1987, the Attorney General concluded that electronic monitoring did not inherently violate the constitutional rights of a probationer or a person sharing the home, provided the probationer could…
Could Maryland's Racing Commission let one track take telephone bets on a race running at a different track in 1987?
In this 1987 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Maryland's telephone-betting statute authorized the Racing Commission's proposed regulation letting one licensed track accept and wire bets…
Did land identified for possible Maine Indian Territory lose eligibility when its 1980 owner sold it to someone else?
No. The Maine Attorney General concluded that the owner names in section 6205 merely identified the eligible parcels as they existed in 1980. Later transfers did not remove those parcels from…
Could Maine's Deputy Secretary of State also serve on the Maine Turnpike Authority?
Yes. The Maine Attorney General concluded that the Deputy Secretary of State and Maine Turnpike Authority positions were not incompatible because neither office regulated or exercised meaningful…
Can the Idaho legislature kill an approved minimum stream flow application just by passing a concurrent resolution?
No. The AG predicted that a court would strike down the concurrent-resolution veto in Idaho Code § 42-1503 and sever it from the minimum stream flow statute. A legislative act requires a bill and…
Could a Texas constable enforce traffic laws outside the constable's precinct but still within the same county?
Yes, after September 1, 1987. The Attorney General concluded that amended article 6889 extended a constable's expressly authorized acts, including traffic enforcement, throughout the county.
Can a North Carolina public school principal who is also a county commissioner vote on the school board's budget request to the commission?
The AG said the school employee was not prohibited from voting on the school board’s budget request. The employee should request to be excused from a particular vote if personal interest…
Could a Texas peace officer release a person charged with a misdemeanor on a personal bond without a judge or magistrate's approval?
No, except for the separate written-promise procedure in traffic cases. The Attorney General concluded that only the court handling the case or a magistrate could authorize a personal bond.
Could the Texas Department of Corrections give every incoming prisoner good-time credit for time previously spent in a county jail?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the director could presume good conduct and award county-jail good-time credit uniformly, so long as the statutory discretion was exercised consistently with…
Did a Washington parole board need another court order to parole an inmate transferred from treatment?
The 1987 AG said the board could request a parole plan after the transferred inmate served the minimum confinement period, less good time, and did not need a new order from the committing court…
When could a Texas taxing unit stop paying into a reinvestment zone's tax increment fund after three years?
The Attorney General concluded that a taxing unit could stop after three years only if none of the three listed development events had occurred. Bonds, property acquisition, or the start of…
How these opinions are useful
- Understand state law: AG opinions are authoritative interpretations of how state law applies.
- Persuasive authority: Not binding like court decisions, but they carry significant weight.
- Government guidance: Often clarify how state agencies and officials should interpret statutes.
- Legal research: Cite AG opinions in letters, motions, and legal arguments.
Browse opinions by state
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.