State AG Opinions
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Could a Washington home rule county impose a countywide business and occupation tax through its charter alone?
The 1980 AG said no. A home rule charter could assign tax decisions to the county council, but it could not create taxing authority that the state legislature had not granted. The opinion found no…
Could a Washington teacher who moved to a nonteaching public job keep teacher retirement membership or join PERS?
The 1980 AG said a person who first qualified for the Teachers’ Retirement System through teaching could keep earning TRS credit in a later nonteaching school district or state agency job. Continued…
Could a Washington restaurant use the shoplifting civil penalty against a customer who left without paying for a meal?
The 1980 AG said no for an ordinary dine-in restaurant meal, even if the customer intended not to pay. It treated that transaction as restaurant services rather than merchandise under RCW 4.24.230.…
If a North Carolina defendant enters a no-contest (nolo contendere) plea to a felony charge and is sentenced, does that plea by itself strip away the defendant's right to vote, the way a guilty plea or jury verdict of guilty would?
No. The AG concluded that the 1971 NC Constitution, which disqualifies only persons 'adjudged guilty of a felony,' is more specific than the pre-1971 language that disqualified anyone 'convicted, or…
Should an alcoholic beverage commission chairman recuse when his son represents a party?
The 1980 South Carolina AG opinion advised the commission chairman to follow judicial disqualification guidance when his son appeared as counsel before the commission. It said the remaining…
If a North Carolina driver gets convicted of DWI in a different North Carolina county than where they live and loses their license, do they have to apply for a limited driving privilege in the same level of court (superior or district) that convicted them, or can they pick whichever court is easier in their home county?
The driver has to apply to the equivalent level of court. The AG concluded that when an in-state out-of-county conviction triggers the limited driving privilege application, the driver must apply in…
What could a Washington juvenile court order for truancy under the 1979 attendance law?
The 1980 AG said a juvenile court hearing a truancy petition could impose the attendance law’s civil fine, up to $25 per unexcused day, after school measures failed. It could not use broader…
If a county or the State has appropriated less money for Aid to the Needy Blind than is needed to pay every fully qualified applicant, can DHR or the county turn applicants away because the money ran out?
No. The 1980 AG concluded that the obligation to accept all duly qualified and otherwise eligible applicants is not reduced or limited by the amount appropriated. A county's failure to fund its…
Could a Washington owner split a lot inside an existing subdivision using the short-plat process in 1980?
The Attorney General said no for the existing full subdivision in the question. Even a split into four or fewer lots was a resubdivision, subject to the general subdivision provisions rather than a…
Could Washington assess an omitted mobile home after someone bought the land it was attached to?
The Attorney General said the omitted-assessment bar applied only if the mobile home was permanently affixed as a real-property improvement and a bona fide purchaser, encumbrancer, or contract buyer…
Did Washington have to reimburse a county for costs of new superior court judgeships under Initiative 62?
The Attorney General said yes under the 1980 initiative. Adding superior court judgeships increased the county’s court services and its salary, staffing, and facility costs, bringing the added local…
Under North Carolina's new Domestic Violence Act, if a police officer has probable cause to believe someone is violating a court protective order but the offender doesn't know the order exists, must the officer make a mandatory arrest under G.S. 50B-4(b)?
No. The 1980 AG concluded that the mandatory arrest provision should be read as requiring probable cause to believe the violation was 'willful.' Civil contempt requires willful disobedience, which…
Did Washington’s criminal-law infancy defense apply to juvenile offender cases in 1980?
The Attorney General said no. It concluded that the criminal-code rule for children under eight and the rebuttable presumption for ages eight through eleven did not apply to juvenile-offender…
Could the public inspect Washington county property-tax assessment rolls, including for commercial research, in 1980?
The Attorney General said assessment rolls and supporting records generally had to be available, subject to specific taxpayer privacy and competitive-harm exemptions. A real-property roll listing…
When a mineral exploration company drills a well, then signs an agreement turning over the well to the landowner so it can be used as a water well, is the company off the hook for the well? And does the state require a bond from the landowner before the conversion is complete?
Yes, the company is off the hook. SDCL 45-6A-6.14 statutorily allows the conversion and shifts the well's care to the water user (landowner or lessee). No bond may be required from the landowner:…
Can a South Dakota city operating under a city manager form of government hire a full-time fire chief for its volunteer fire department, and can the fire department's members elect the chief themselves?
Yes to hiring a full-time fire chief, but no to having the firefighters elect that person. Under SDCL 9-10-13, only the city manager appoints administrative officers in a city-manager city. The…
When North Carolina police arrest a juvenile under age 14, can the juvenile waive the right to have an attorney present during interrogation, or does the law require an attorney to be present no matter what the child says?
The juvenile under 14 can waive the right to have an attorney present. But the juvenile cannot waive the separate right to have some supporting adult, a parent, guardian, custodian, or attorney,…
Did Washington’s 1979 compulsory-attendance law allow any private school, or only an approved one?
The AG said “private school” still meant a state-approved private or parochial school. Removing a sentence about proof of absence changed the attendance-violation evidence rule, not the retained…
Can a registered nurse give a refill dose of caudal anesthesia through a catheter the physician already set in place, when the physician orders the specific refill amount each time?
Yes. The 1979 AG concluded that injecting additional doses of a caudal analgesic through a catheter the physician inserted, on the physician's specific direct order each time, falls within the RN's…
Can the North Carolina State Auditor audit the books of hospitals and other Medicaid vendors to verify that DHR paid them correctly, and can the auditor see records that are confidential under state public-assistance law?
The 1979 AG said the State Auditor could examine hospital vendors' records for state-payment irregularities. Access to confidential assistance records was authorized under the circumstances…
Did every Washington public employee risk a criminal penalty for failing to enforce 1979 public-smoking rules?
No. The AG said the penalty provision applied only to officials who already had legal authority to act against alleged violators. The smoking regulation itself carried no criminal or civil penalty,…
Can Maryland's medical board discipline a doctor for pressuring opposing expert witnesses during his own malpractice trial?
In this 1979 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that the Commission on Medical Discipline had jurisdiction to discipline a physician for pressuring opposing expert witnesses during his…
Does the State Budget Manual, which dictates how agencies prepare and execute the budget, count as 'rules' under North Carolina's Administrative Procedures Act, and if so does it have to be filed with the Attorney General and go through the standard rulemaking procedure?
Yes to both, with exceptions. The 1979 AG concluded that portions of the Budget Manual that are 'rules' under G.S. 150A-58 must be filed with the Attorney General (under Article 5, Publication of…
Three configurations: (1) Can public assistance pay for care in a rest home owned by an employee of a State Alcoholic Rehabilitation Center? (2) Same, but the home is owned by a corporation where the employee is officer or shareholder? (3) The home is rented from an employee of an area mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse authority?
The 1979 AG answered no for a home owned by a State Alcoholic Rehabilitation Center employee and no for one owned by a corporation in which that employee was an officer or shareholder. It answered…
Can a North Carolina city be served with a garnishment for child support when the noncustodial parent is a city employee, or does sovereign immunity protect the city from garnishment proceedings?
Cities are not immune. The 1979 AG concluded that the general rule (governments cannot be garnished without statutory authorization) does not control under G.S. 110-136, because the statute starts…
Was property on a Washington Indian reservation automatically exempt from state property tax in 1979?
No. The 1979 AG distinguished ownership and property type. Non-Indian ownership generally was not exempt merely because of reservation location; qualifying tribal or resident-member personal…
When a sheriff's deputy or police officer serves or tries to serve a civil summons, does North Carolina law require the court to add a process fee to the case costs and collect it, then send the money to the right governmental unit?
Yes. The 1979 AG concluded that G.S. 7A-311(a)(1) requires the fee to be assessed, collected and remitted whether the officer successfully serves the process or only attempts to serve it. The…
Did a Washington school board have to hold a public hearing when a parent objected to a classroom film?
Under the 1979 statutes, the AG said a parent’s complaint about a teaching film required evaluation in a public hearing. The board or its administrative staff could conduct the hearing, and the…
Could a Washington county assessor value new construction below true and fair value to match older assessments?
The 1979 AG said no under the statutes then in force. New construction had to be listed at full true and fair value, even in an area not scheduled for that year’s cyclical revaluation.
In a worthless check prosecution, can the prosecuting witness get the new $5 witness fee added to costs if the witness wasn't actually present when the magistrate took payment or when the defendant pleaded guilty in court?
No. The 1979 AG concluded that the witness must be in actual attendance on the court to be entitled to the fee. G.S. 14-107(5)'s new fee provision (added by Chapter 837, Session Laws of 1979) is an…
When the State of North Carolina is the majority stockholder of a railroad company chartered as a private corporation, can the railroad sell or buy land on its own, or does it need the Governor and Council of State to sign off first?
Sales (dispositions) need Governor and Council approval; ordinary purchases (acquisitions) do not. The 1979 AG read G.S. 124-5 as covering only dispositions, leases, mortgages, and other…
When a person under 18 with no prior convictions has three misdemeanor charges consolidated for trial and gets a sentence within the limit for a single offense, can the judge expunge the whole batch under G.S. 15-223?
Yes. The 1979 AG concluded that consolidated misdemeanor charges receiving a single-offense sentence should be treated as one misdemeanor for expungement purposes. The statute is remedial and should…
In 1979, could a parent let another adult give liquor to a minor child in Washington?
The AG said a parent’s or guardian’s verbal or written permission could be a defense under the specific furnishing statute for a single occasion. General or continuing permission was insufficient,…
Could Washington’s Legislative Budget Committee audit a joint public-power agency in 1979?
The AG said yes. Although the agency was audited as a municipal corporation, the committee’s authority to review local governments receiving shared state revenues, read with the 1979 appropriation,…
Can a North Carolina parent satisfy the state's compulsory attendance law by teaching her child at home, either under the new 1979 nonpublic-school deregulation statutes (Articles 32A and 32B) or under the longstanding 'private school' provision in G.S. 115-166?
No to both. The 1979 AG concluded that home instruction was not a 'school of religious charter' or a 'nonpublic school' under Articles 32A and 32B, which were intended to reach only established…
Can an attorney who sits on the local Area Mental Health Board be paid for legal services he renders to a private nonprofit group home that has a service contract with the Area Authority his board governs?
The 1979 AG said a paid services arrangement for an Area Mental Health Board member, as described, would appear to violate G.S. 14-234. The opinion focused on a contemplated transfer of funds to pay…
Can North Carolina use its uniform reciprocal enforcement of support law to enforce child support obligations between NC residents and residents of West Germany, the same way it enforces support orders across state lines within the U.S.?
Yes. The 1979 AG found West German support law substantially similar to North Carolina's for URESA reciprocity under N.C. Gen. Stat. 52A-3(13). The opinion describes West German child support,…
Under the 1977 rewrite of the North Carolina statutes governing Area Mental Health Authorities, does a satellite unit operated by an Area Mental Health Authority require its own license? What about a private agency that contracts with the Area Mental Health Authority to provide services that are statutorily required of the Authority?
Yes to both. The 1979 AG concluded that under G.S. 122-35.51 (effective July 1, 1977) every 'area mental health facility' operated under Chapter 122 must obtain a license issued by the Department of…
For Washington superior court judges in 1979, did Social Security wages include the county-paid half of salary?
Yes. The AG said the full statutory salary was the wage base for OASI contributions and coverage even though the state and counties each paid a portion. A judge held one office, and the wage…
After the 1975 reorganization of North Carolina state government, who actually runs the Office of State Personnel, the Secretary of Administration or the State Personnel Director?
The State Personnel Director. The 1979 AG concluded that the Office of State Personnel was a largely independent agency placed under the Department of Administration only for organizational…
When a driver crashes into someone because the driver did not slow down even though the driver was within the posted speed limit, is failure-to-decrease-speed only a civil negligence question, or can the State also charge it as a crime?
Both. The 1979 AG said N.C.G.S. § 20-141(m) created a misdemeanor under § 20-176 and supplied a civil standard of care. It also said safety-statute violations may be criminal if culpably negligent…
In the late 1970s, could a South Dakota National Guard member taking a Board of Regents extension course off-campus get the reduced-tuition benefit, and did the 'C average' requirement mean the average for the most recent semester or the cumulative average across all college work?
Yes on the extension course. The reduced tuition benefit under SDCL 33-6-5 reached any undergraduate course in a state institution, not just on-campus courses. And the 'C average' requirement was…
In North Carolina, if a woman who is 22 weeks pregnant learns through testing that her fetus has a severe genetic disorder that will leave the child severely intellectually disabled or unlikely to live past infancy, can she request and obtain an abortion based on that diagnosis alone under the state's abortion statutes as they stood in 1979?
No, under the 1979 AG reading of the statutes then in force. The 1979 AG concluded that G.S. 14-45.1(b) authorized post-20-week abortions only when there was a 'substantial risk that continuance of…
If a North Carolina National Guardsman is hurt at a federally required two-week summer training camp and the federal government already pays his medical bills, full duty pay, and other federal benefits, can he also collect North Carolina workers' compensation from the State?
On the facts presented, no: the federal government had apparently treated the guardsman as called or ordered to training and paid his full duty pay and benefits, so the AG said he was not a state…
How did South Carolina’s 1979 homestead exemption treat residency, incapacity, and out of state disability findings?
The 1979 AG said the one year residency condition had to be met by the prior December 31, a person who lacked mental capacity could not voluntarily change legal residence, and a disability finding…
If the State Treasurer's Retirement and Health Benefits Division gets a request from someone other than the retirement system member, asking for information from that specific member's individual retirement account, does the Division have to turn over the records, or can it withhold them based on its internal rule that says individual retirement benefits won't be publicly disclosed?
Yes, the Division has to turn over the records. The 1979 AG concluded that individual member retirement account information is a 'public record' under G.S. 132-1, and any person may seek access…
Could a Washington coroner take jurisdiction when a seriously ill person died without a recent in-person medical visit?
The 1979 AG said yes under the statute’s sudden-death clause when the illness was not apparent to people around the person and no practitioner had physically attended them within the preceding 36…
After a person is convicted of driving under the influence, can the district court still grant the person a limited driving privilege through a motion for appropriate relief that the person files more than ten days after the trial?
Generally no. The 1979 AG concluded that under G.S. 15A-1411 and 15A-1415(b), a defendant could only obtain post-judgment relief through a motion for appropriate relief filed more than 10 days after…
Did Washington’s 1979 annual-leave cap apply to exempt staff, judges’ staff and governor-appointed agency leaders?
The AG said the state annual-leave statute covered all three government branches, classified and exempt employees, and governor-appointed directors and board members. Accrual beyond 30 working days…
Could a Washington merchant bring a civil shoplifting claim for stolen gasoline without proving actual loss?
The 1979 AG said gasoline offered for sale at a pump was covered by the civil conversion statute. It also said a merchant could seek the statutory penalties without alleging actual damages, and a…
When someone signs and delivers a deed giving real property to a North Carolina county, does the county legally own the land on the date the deed is signed, or only on the later date when the county board of commissioners formally votes to accept the gift?
Only on the date the board of commissioners formally accepts the deed. The AG concluded that NC law requires county actions to be taken by the board of commissioners, so a deed signed in 1968 but…
Could a guilty plea to aggravated first-degree murder have led to life without parole under Washington’s 1979 sentencing statute?
No. The 1979 AG said that sentencing route required a special proceeding after a jury guilty verdict. A guilty plea did not trigger it, so the statute called for life imprisonment under its separate…
After a DUI conviction, the court can order the defendant to complete an alcohol rehabilitation course. Can the judge make the program's tuition fee part of the court costs, have the clerk of court collect it along with the other costs, and then forward it to the rehab provider?
No. The 1979 AG concluded that Article 28 of Chapter 7A (the uniform-cost statute, § 7A-304 et seq.) defines the costs the clerk may collect in the trial divisions, and a third-party rehabilitation…
Is a notary public considered a public officer in North Carolina, and if so, can a notary hold one appointive office with a city and one appointive office with a county at the same time, or does that count as three public offices and run afoul of the constitutional limit?
Notary yes, three offices no. The 1979 AG concluded that a notary public is a public officer under North Carolina law, and that under Article VI, Section 9 of the State Constitution as supplemented…
Did Washington’s train bell and whistle statute apply at a private farm-road crossing?
The 1979 AG said the statute’s misdemeanor rule did not apply to a strictly private road crossing. A railroad could still face a civil negligence claim if its warning was inadequate under the…
When North Carolina amended its intangibles tax in 1978 to reach money on deposit in stock-owned savings and loan associations, did the tax also apply to deposits in federally chartered stock savings and loan associations, or did federal law block the state from taxing those federal deposits?
No. Although the 1979 AG read the state tax statute as covering deposits in federal stock-owned savings and loan associations, it concluded that taxing those deposits while leaving deposits in…
Could a Washington county create a reserve fund just for uninsured tort claims, and keep the investment interest?
The 1979 AG said the general claims-fund law did not authorize that narrow fund, but the cumulative-reserve-fund law did. Investment earnings belonged to the reserve fund after the treasurer’s…
After a Washington sewer district merged into an irrigation district, did county approval of a sewer expansion plan remain required?
The 1979 AG said no under the cited sewer-district statutes. After the merger dissolved the sewer district, the surviving irrigation district inherited its powers, but those statutes applied to…
Would a proposed Washington school immunization requirement with medical and parental exemptions have been constitutional?
The 1979 AG concluded that the proposal would have been constitutional if enacted as drafted. It conditioned school and day-care attendance on vaccination records, an approved schedule or an…
If a moped (a bicycle with a small helper motor) is going faster than 20 miles per hour, does it lose its 'exempt bicycle with helper motor' status and become a regulated motor vehicle?
Yes, if the engine is doing the work. The 1979 AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 20-4.01(23) and (27)(d) exempt bicycles with helper motors only if the engine produces 'ordinary pedaling speeds up to a…
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