State AG Opinions
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Did keeping Washington teachers' annual salaries unchanged while cutting three workdays violate the 1981 pay-increase limit?
The 1981 AG said cutting certificated employees' contract year from 183 to 180 days at the same annual pay increased their daily pay in the ordinary sense. It concluded that this change alone did…
Did a separate owner of mineral rights have to join a Washington landowner's current-use tax application or sign a continuance notice after a mineral transfer?
No. The 1981 AG said a separately held mineral interest did not make its owner a required applicant for forest, open-space, agricultural or timber-land tax treatment. A transfer of only that mineral…
When Congress changed federal depreciation rules in August 1981 to apply retroactively to property placed in service after December 31, 1980, did NC corporations get to use those faster federal write-offs for state income tax purposes too, given that NC's corporate tax statute cross-referenced the Internal Revenue Code 'in effect on January 1, 1981'?
Yes. The AG concluded that the federal Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981's accelerated depreciation rules flowed through to NC corporate income tax for taxable years beginning on or after January 1,…
Can a North Carolina court order a criminal defendant to take psychotropic medication against his will, when the medication is needed to make him competent to stand trial and he is refusing it?
Yes, under limited conditions. The AG concluded that a NC court can order involuntary administration of psychotropic medication if a psychiatrist testifies directly that the medication is likely to…
Did Washington's 1981 discrimination law stop smaller cities from running local human rights programs?
No. The AG said the 1981 law did not withdraw cities' existing power to prohibit discrimination or create human rights agencies. Its additional authorization for administrative remedies applied only…
Could a Washington insurer subtract another driver's liability payment or workers' compensation from underinsured motorist coverage?
The 1981 AG said those payments could not reduce the UIM coverage limit, though the insurer could account for them when calculating unpaid damages. It allowed an offset between liability and UIM…
Could a Washington LEOFF Plan II officer or firefighter serve on and vote for a local disability board?
The 1981 AG said Plan II officers and firefighters could be elected to local LEOFF disability boards. They could vote in a city board election, but not a county board election because the county…
Could a Washington port district set its property tax levy after an October deadline when using a December budget hearing?
Yes. The AG said a port district choosing the permitted December budget schedule could set its levy after adopting that budget. A county assessor could not require that district to certify its levy…
Could Washington issue state bonds to finance public power projects in 1981?
Yes, the AG said the legislature could authorize state general obligation bonds for the public power supply system. Without voter approval under the state constitution, those bonds would count…
How did Washington’s 1981 laws cap interest on real estate contracts and retail credit?
The AG applied different 1981 ceilings to covered real estate contracts, retail installment contracts, retail charge agreements, and bank credit cards. Which cap applied depended on the transaction,…
Did a Washington school district have to cut an existing employee insurance contribution in 1981?
No. The AG said a district renegotiating a collective bargaining agreement could continue its previous contribution above the specified threshold, because continuation at the same rate was not an…
Could a 1974 special law shorten Summerville public works commissioners’ terms?
In 1981, the Attorney General agreed that a town specific law setting four year terms for Summerville public works commissioners was unconstitutional special legislation in light of the later state…
Can a city police officer tow a car off a private restaurant's parking lot just because the restaurant owner asks, and does the city police department have any duty to arrest people loitering on that private lot?
No on both counts. The AG concluded that the police should not tow a vehicle from private property unless the owner first puts the request in writing and assumes responsibility for damages. And…
Could a Washington community college keep proceeds from selling surplus campus land in 1981?
Yes. The AG said proceeds from a sale under the community-college property statute could be retained as local funds and spent without a separate legislative appropriation under the law then in force.
A meat truck operator brings fresh meat to Mitchell one day a week, every week, for six months. He has paid the transient merchant license fee throughout. Now he wants to claim his business is permanent (and therefore not subject to the transient merchant statute). Does one day a week, repeated, qualify as 'permanent' under SDCL ch. 37-12?
A business operating one day a week can be deemed permanent if it meets the tests of SDCL 37-12-1 and 37-12-3. The AG applied the six-month rule to a merchant who had completed the required forms,…
Which legislative district supplied a replacement after Washington redistricted in 1981?
The AG said the immediate appointee had to come from the old district represented by the departing legislator. The successor elected in November 1981 would run from the newly drawn district assigned…
If a retired North Carolina district or superior court judge bought back his military service time within the Uniform Judicial Retirement System, does that purchased military service count toward the 15 years of creditable service required to be commissioned as an emergency judge?
Yes. The AG concluded that purchased military service in the Uniform Judicial Retirement System is creditable service for purposes of the 15-year requirement to serve as an emergency judge under…
Once a North Carolina felon is fully released from probation, parole, and the Department of Correction, can he legally possess a handgun outside his home or business right away, and does a Governor's Pardon of Forgiveness give him his full firearms rights back?
No on both counts. The AG concluded that, after the 1975 repeal of the restoration-of-citizenship exception, a NC felon cannot possess a handgun or weapon of mass destruction outside his home or…
Did Washington have to reimburse school districts for the sick-leave cash-out program under Initiative 62?
The Attorney General said Initiative 62 did not require reimbursement for the added sick-leave cash-out cost because it was employee compensation, not a measurable increase in services to the…
If a North Carolina district court judge was serving as a non-attorney judge on January 1, 1981, when a new constitutional amendment required judges to be licensed attorneys, can that judge later sit out a term and then run again, or does taking a break end the grandfather protection?
The judge can run again. AG Rufus L. Edmisten concluded that Article IV, Section 22 of the NC Constitution creates a permanent grandfather clause for any person who was elected or serving as a judge…
When a child gets a dental exam or dental treatment under North Carolina's Medicaid EPSDT program (Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment), do the regular Medicaid prior-approval rules and copayment rules apply, or are EPSDT dental services treated separately?
Under the 1979-81 Appropriations Act, the prior-approval requirement for ordinary Medicaid dental services did not apply to EPSDT dental screening and treatment. The opinion also concluded that…
If someone in North Carolina got welfare benefits by lying on the application and then files for bankruptcy, does the bankruptcy wipe out the county's claim to be paid back, or does the county still have a route to recover the money?
The county can still recover, if the county DSS properly presents its claim in the bankruptcy. A debt for public assistance obtained by fraud, false representation, or a materially false written…
Could a Washington municipal court hear a state-law traffic infraction committed inside the city in 1981?
The Attorney General said no. It read municipal and police courts’ traffic-infraction authority as covering local ordinance violations, while state-law infractions belonged in the district court…
Did Washington’s 1981 property-tax levy limit cover a county levy to pay tax refunds?
The Attorney General said yes. The 106 percent limit applied to a county refund-fund levy, measured against the limit for the year the refund levy was made rather than the earlier year whose taxes…
Can a North Carolina city deny a special use permit for a bingo establishment to a for-profit corporation whose prizes exceed ten dollars per game?
Yes. The AG concluded a Goldsboro city ordinance conditioned on compliance with the Bingo and Raffles law could be enforced to deny a permit. G.S. 14-292.1 limits regular bingo to tax-exempt…
Could a Washington county open a road to snowmobiles and set its own equipment or age rules in 1981?
The Attorney General said a county could open a road to snowmobiles even while ordinary vehicles used it, after giving notice. It could not impose equipment or operator-age rules that conflicted…
Do the administrative and investigative assistants a district attorney can hire under G.S. 7A-68 and 7A-69 have to take an oath of office, or are they just employees?
No oath required by default. The 1981 AG concluded that these positions, as defined by the statutes, do not involve the exercise of sovereign State power, so they are employees and not public…
Was a Washington hospital liable for an officer-requested DUI blood test if the arrest later proved unlawful?
The Attorney General said the hospital and its personnel retained statutory protection when they drew blood at an officer’s direction under the implied-consent law, even if the arrest or grounds…
When North Carolina's Child Support Enforcement statute says 'the county attorney or an attorney retained by the county and/or State shall represent the State in all proceedings brought under this section' (G.S. 110-135), does that requirement reach only debt-collection actions under 110-135, or also subrogation actions under 110-137?
The 1981 AG read G.S. 110-135's attorney-representation clause as applying to State proceedings under both G.S. 110-135 and G.S. 110-137. It said the clause provided representation where deemed…
When a South Dakota city specially assesses state-owned property for a local improvement, three things are unclear: is the state property assessable at all, does the state owe interest and penalty when it pays the assessment in installments, and does SDCL 5-14-20 give the Bureau of Administration authority to approve interest payments?
State property is subject to special assessments, but the state is not subject to interest or penalty on installment payments because the legislature has not consented to it. The Bureau of…
Can a South Dakota township borrow money from a bank to buy a road maintainer (grader), spread payments over 10 years, and issue warrants to the bank for each annual payment?
No. A South Dakota township has no statutory power to enter into a 10-year financing contract for equipment. The only authorized methods to fund a road-maintainer purchase are (1) issuing bonds…
Could a Washington county transit authority offer free rides or discounts only to seniors, students or low-income riders?
The 1980 AG said a county authority could make rides free for everyone if it had other funding, and could reduce fares for all riders at off-peak times for operational reasons. Selective reductions…
Would Washington’s Initiative 62 require the state to reimburse local governments for higher pension contributions or hiring standards?
The 1980 AG said no under Initiative 62 section 6(1) for the proposed PERS, TRS and firefighter or police hiring changes. It read that section as covering mandated new public services or measurable…
Could a Washington mobile home on leased land be claimed as a homestead in 1980?
The 1980 AG said yes if the owner used or intended to use the mobile home as a residence and had enough interest in the land to keep the home there. Ownership of the land in fee was unnecessary. The…
Could a Washington school district grant more than 12 paid sick, injury and emergency leave days or set a separate emergency quota?
The 1980 AG said a district could not grant or accrue more than 12 combined paid days a year for illness, injury and emergencies under the amended law. It could keep emergency leave as a separate…
Who paid county jail costs when a city officer arrested someone for a state felony in 1980?
The 1980 AG said the county paid ordinary care, housing and board costs after the city officer transferred the state-law felony suspect to the sheriff, both before and after arraignment. The opinion…
When a fugitive in North Carolina waives extradition and agrees to return to the demanding state, can he post bond and walk out while waiting for officers from that state to come pick him up, or must he stay locked up until they arrive?
Must stay locked up. The 1980 AG concluded that the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act allows bail at one stage only (between arrest as a fugitive and issuance of the Governor's warrant). After arrest…
Can a member of the Uniform Judicial Retirement System whose only prior service was as a Superior or Appellate Court judge retire from the bench before January 1984 and then later buy military service credit?
No. The 1980 AG concluded that the purchase right under G.S. 135-4(f)(6) requires ten years of 'membership service,' which for judges means service as a judge while a member of the system. The…
Could a Washington police agency record incoming calls that were not emergencies, including calls it induced a suspect to make?
The 1980 AG said police could generally record incoming station calls even when they were not emergencies, provided at least one participant consented under federal law. It cautioned that a…
Who owned Washington state athletic tournament receipts, and did district travel spending make a gift to the WIAA?
The 1980 AG said tournament receipts belonged to the private Washington Interscholastic Activities Association under the arrangements described, not to participating districts’ student bodies. A…
In a county health department's venereal disease clinic with no physician on site, can a registered nurse give gonorrhea treatment (penicillin, tetracycline if allergic, spectinomycin if pregnant) under written standing orders from a physician?
Yes. The 1980 AG concluded the protocol was valid: confirmation of a positive culture or contact status is not a diagnosis the nurse makes, and the physician who wrote the standing orders…
In North Carolina, can a Chief Medical Examiner refuse to release a body to the surviving spouse or closest relative because that person is a suspect in the death?
No. The 1980 AG said the Chief Medical Examiner should release the body to the claiming spouse or next of kin after completing official duties, even if that person is suspected, arrested, or…
Could a Washington LEOFF board cover a doctor-prescribed over-the-counter drug or insulin syringes and choose the provider?
The 1980 AG said a physician-prescribed drug could qualify even if sold without a prescription. Insulin syringes were not themselves “drugs and medicine” in the statutory minimum, but a disability…
Sioux Falls has grown across the Minnehaha-Lincoln county line, and those two counties are in different judicial circuits. For traffic and criminal offenses committed in the Lincoln County portion of Sioux Falls, can preliminary proceedings (like a guilty plea) be heard in Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, without a change of venue? And could the legislature pass a statute letting offenses be tried wherever the city is, regardless of which county the offense actually occurred in?
Yes to the first, no to the second. SDCL 23A-17-1 lets a defendant in writing waive trial in the county where the charge is pending and consent to disposition in the arresting county, with the…
Did Washington cities have to use the state DUI penalty when prosecuting an identical municipal offense in 1980?
The 1980 AG said no. A city or town defining the DUI offense in the same terms as state law did not also have to copy the state penalty, including its mandatory jail day. The opinion distinguished…
Were Washington’s new 1981 superior court judgeships to be filled by election or governor appointment?
The 1980 AG said the Pierce, Kitsap and Cowlitz seats were to be filled in the 1980 election for both the short January 1–12 period and the four-year term beginning January 12, 1981. The governor’s…
Do North Carolina foster parents who have cared for a child for two or more years have legal standing to file a petition to terminate the biological parents' rights, even if the foster parents are working as agents of the county Department of Social Services that placed the child with them?
Yes. The AG concluded that under G.S. § 7A-289.24(5), any person (including a foster parent) with whom a child has continuously resided for two or more years before the petition has standing to…
In North Carolina, can someone other than a licensed physician legally pronounce a person dead?
No, as a matter of medical-practice law: determining whether a person is dead is part of the practice of medicine and must be done by a licensed physician applying ordinary and accepted standards.…
Could a Washington coroner issue a presumptive death certificate when no body had been found?
The 1980 AG said no under the death certificate statutes then in force. A court could find the fact and cause of death from circumstantial evidence, but the coroner’s statutory role in a death…
Could a Washington county transit authority run a route already served by a certificated private bus company?
The 1980 AG said the county authority first had to acquire the affected private carrier’s operating authority and equipment or contract with that carrier for all or part of the service. It could run…
If a North Carolina defendant on probation falls behind on court-ordered restitution and then files Chapter 13 bankruptcy, does the automatic stay or the eventual discharge prevent the Superior Court from arresting him for violating probation?
No. The 1980 AG concluded that the defendant-probationer may be jailed. The bankruptcy automatic stay expressly does not apply to criminal proceedings (11 U.S.C. § 362(b)(1)). Restitution ordered as…
Can a volunteer citizen group, even one sanctioned by the Chief District Court Judge to advise the Juvenile Court on custody review, see the confidential protective service case files DSS keeps on children in foster care?
No, unless the group's review is specifically authorized by Social Services Commission or DHR rules as 'directly connected with the administration of public assistance programs.' The 1980 AG…
Did Washington’s 1979 change in city office start dates shorten incumbents’ terms and their final salary?
The 1980 AG said yes. For the specified city officers elected in 1975, the 1979 law ended their terms on December 31 rather than about two weeks into January. They were owed salary through the…
Did Washington’s 1980 usury limit apply to a two-party installment contract for a residential property sale?
The 1980 AG gave a qualified no. It read the state usury limit as inapplicable to a two-party contract between the owner-seller and buyer, whether the seller was private or commercial, while an…
Could a national bank in Washington charge credit card interest above the state retail charge cap and add an annual card fee?
The 1980 AG said a national bank could charge interest on card purchases above Washington’s retail charge cap to the extent federal law allowed. It could also charge an unrelated membership fee, but…
When a Mecklenburg County partition proceeding's clerk-issued interim ruling on commissioner fees is appealed to Superior Court, does the Superior Court take over the whole case, or does the case go back to the clerk after the judge rules on the appealed issue?
The Superior Court may keep the case. G.S. 1-276 lets the judge 'hear and determine all matters in controversy' in any civil action or special proceeding that comes up from the clerk, or remand to…
If a North Carolina parent voluntarily admits their child to a psychiatric or mental-health treatment facility, can the parent later remove the child before the required judicial hearing happens?
No. The 1980 AG read G.S. 122-56.7(f) to mean that, once a child entered a treatment facility on a parent's voluntary application, only the court or facility could release the child after…
Could a fourth class Washington town impose the special hotel and motel occupancy tax in 1980?
The 1980 AG said yes. It read “any city” in RCW 67.28.180 to include a fourth class municipality, commonly called a town. The opinion relied on the 1973 amendment that broadened the lodging tax…
If a North Carolina county can't pay its share of Medicaid because the legislature suddenly raised the county percentage, can the county borrow money from the State Public Assistance Contingency Fund without holding a referendum?
Yes, through either of two routes identified by the 1980 AG: a loan complying with Article V, Section 4(2)(f)'s two-thirds limit, or a written Governor determination of an emergency immediately…
If the State drops or loses a criminal prosecution, does that automatically let the court tax court costs against the prosecuting witness, and does the judge have to make written findings of fact before doing so?
No to automatic taxation; yes to required findings. The 1980 AG concluded that G.S. 6-49 only authorizes taxing costs against the prosecuting witness when the court forms the opinion that 'there was…
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