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.
Do Kentucky criminal justice agencies have to give criminal history records to federal agencies doing security background checks?
Yes, with one condition. The Attorney General concluded that under the federal statute 5 U.S.C. § 9101, Kentucky criminal justice agencies must provide criminal history record information to a…
Can a Washington school district run its own health clinic on campus, lease space to one, or use district funds to advertise it?
It can host but not run one. AGO 2023 No. 2 says a Washington school district still has no statutory authority to operate or establish a health clinic itself. But under RCW 28A.605.040 (added in…
Can a Mississippi city allow electric stand-up scooters on its public streets and sidewalks?
It depends on the scooter's design. Mississippi has no general law on motor-assisted stand-up scooters. If a particular scooter qualifies as an 'electric personal assistive mobility device' under §…
Can a Mississippi city wipe out a resident's past garbage bill for the months when the city had taken away their garbage can?
Yes, but only for the period of no service. If the City of Petal makes a factual finding that the resident did not receive garbage service during a specific period (because the city had removed her…
Can a Mississippi county board of supervisors force elected officials' offices onto a new countywide payroll schedule?
No, not for officials who have adopted their own personnel system. Under § 19-2-9(2), an elected county official with such a system determines staff pay frequency, and the board's countywide system…
After Washington's 2021 and 2022 police-reform laws, can an officer use physical force when rendering emergency aid, can an officer use a chokehold to save a life, and how strictly should courts read the law's words like 'available' and 'appropriate'?
Force during emergency aid is sharply limited; chokeholds remain banned but officers have a defense; and the words mean what they ordinarily mean. AGO 2023 No. 1 says officers cannot use physical…
Can a Florida circuit court clerk sell uncollected court-ordered debts (court costs, fines, attorney-fee liens) to a third-party debt buyer?
No. Section 28.246, Fla. Stat. lays out an exhaustive list of how clerks must pursue collection of court-ordered debts (in-house, payment plan, private attorney, or registered collection agent).…
Would a South Carolina bill requiring people to stay 12 feet from police while recording them be constitutional?
The South Carolina AG did not decide whether either version of the proposed distance rule was constitutional. The opinion said a challenge would likely argue that singling out recordings of police…
If county commissioners meet one-on-one with the same official to discuss the same project, does that violate North Dakota's open meetings law?
Yes. The North Dakota Attorney General held the Billings County Commission violated open meetings law when its three commissioners met individually, on the same day, with the NDDOT director about…
How does Mississippi remove a school board member who has moved out of the district, and are the votes they already cast still binding?
The school board itself decides whether a trustee has moved out of the district and thereby vacated the office, after giving the trustee due process. If the board concludes the trustee was…
Can a Connecticut childcare provider get a state license without a Social Security number, by using an ITIN instead?
Yes, according to the opinion. OEC must ask for and record SSNs and EINs from applicants who have them, but the law need not make an SSN a licensing precondition. The state and federal rules serve…
In Tennessee, does a district public defender have to accept appointments to represent indigent defendants in general sessions court?
Yes. When a Tennessee general sessions court appoints the district public defender to represent an indigent person in a criminal prosecution or juvenile delinquency proceeding that could result in a…
Does an appointed city council member have to file a duplicate oath of office the same way that a state officer commissioned by the Governor does?
No. The AG said Arkansas law does not require an appointed city council member to execute and file a duplicate oath. City officers still must take the constitutional oath; if an appointee fails to…
Does Delaware recognize a deliberative process privilege that lets DNREC withhold raw PFAS sampling data from FOIA?
No. DNREC violated FOIA by denying AP reporter Randall Chase access to raw PFAS sampling data and related internal correspondence under a deliberative process privilege theory. Delaware courts have…
Can my Arizona county make me pay for a full land survey before it will approve splitting my parcel into smaller lots?
No. Under A.R.S. § 11-831(B)(3), a county must approve a qualifying land division if the applicant supplies a statement from a licensed surveyor or engineer about physical access (and meets the…
If a fintech company lets workers withdraw their already-earned wages a few days early, does it have to be licensed as a consumer lender in Arizona?
No, not if the product is truly non-recourse and charges no finance charge. The AG concluded that a fully non-recourse Earned Wage Access product (no debt collection, no credit reporting, no legal…
Can the public request to inspect or copy voted ballots after an election under the Arkansas FOIA?
No. A voted ballot is not open to public inspection or copying under the Arkansas FOIA. The exemption is in A.C.A. § 25-19-105(b)(27)(A): ballots, other than sample ballots, are not deemed open to…
When a Delaware agency invites stakeholders to advise on policy changes, do those meetings have to be open to the public?
Yes, when the group is appointed by a public official and charged with making recommendations. The Parks Director's surf-fishing Stakeholder Workgroup met four times to develop recommendations for…
Can a city council president use a FOIA petition to allege that three other councilmembers held secret meetings about a tourism director hire, and what does the AG do when the suspicion seems plausible but everyone swears it didn't happen?
Affidavits win. Council President Michael Platt alleged that three other New Castle City Council members coordinated outside public meetings to flip the tourism-director hire. The three swore under…
Can a city add two extra members to a five-member utility commission by ordinance?
No. The AG concluded that a commission created under Ark. Code Ann. § 14-201-105 must have five commissioners, and a city cannot add two more by ordinance.
What can a Texas online notary add to a document, what fees can they charge, and what has to be redacted before sharing the record?
The AG answered three online-notary questions. First, an online notary may add extra information like a barcode to the notarial certificate or elsewhere on the document, as long as it does not…
Who decides how Texas ballots get numbered, and can a voting machine print the number instead of using pre-printed ballot stock?
The county elections administrator decides, and yes, a machine can print the number. Hood County switched to a hybrid voting system (the Hart Verity 2.4) and asked three questions about Election…
Can Maryland's Governor or General Assembly cut or redirect the casino-funded money set aside to repay Built to Learn Act school construction bonds?
The opinion concluded that the Built to Learn Act's requirement to move a fixed amount each year from the casino-funded Education Trust Fund into the school construction bond repayment fund is a…
If a Nashville-style stadium has 25,000 permanent seats and 5,000 temporary seats, can the city still levy the 'municipal stadium' privilege tax?
Yes. The 30,000-seat threshold in § 7-3-202(a)(3) for the metropolitan government's privilege tax counts both permanent and movable/temporary seats. The statute requires that the stadium 'contain…
What can I do if a Delaware public body just ignores my FOIA request?
The AG found that Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation violated FOIA by failing to respond to two audit-records requests within 15 business days. It required FDRPC to give the…
Who would call a special election after a Charleston County school board trustee resigned in 2022?
The Attorney General expected a court to treat the trustee's letter as a resignation, fill the vacancy by special election, and have the Governor call that election. It stressed that recent changes…
Can a Mississippi school district pay teacher's assistants their 10-month wages over 12 months so they keep getting paychecks in the summer?
Yes. Mississippi law contains no prohibition on a school district paying teacher's assistants their wages in 12 equal monthly installments, even though they only work 10 months. The pay can be set…
Can a Mississippi county sell surplus property to a private business below cost, and can it instead donate the property to an economic development district?
Two pieces. Yes, a Mississippi county can sell surplus property to a private business at less than the county paid, as long as the board makes the findings § 19-7-3(3) requires and gets some good…
When a California county supervisor dies mid-term, when must the election to fill the seat be held?
Government Code § 25061 uses the first general election after a supervisor vacancy at which candidates still have time to qualify, unless that election falls in the term's final year. A date under…
Can a teacher at a North Dakota religious private school receive a state grant for mentoring new teachers, or does the state constitution's Blaine Amendment block it?
Yes. The North Dakota AG concluded that teachers at religious private schools may receive grants from the state Teacher Support System for mentoring new teachers. North Dakota's Blaine Amendment,…
After Maryland partially legalized cannabis, could police still search a vehicle or person based only on cannabis odor?
The Attorney General predicted that cannabis odor from a vehicle would likely still supply probable cause to search the vehicle after partial legalization, because the vehicle might contain evidence…
Did DNREC violate Delaware FOIA by withholding an employee settlement or by failing to discuss a reporter's request before responding?
After DNREC produced the settlement, the AG found the withholding claim moot. The AG separately found no violation of the coordinator's duty to foster cooperation under the circumstances of this request.
Can a former employee block release of her personnel file because the records are old, or because they contain her signature?
The AG said records do not become exempt because an agency kept them beyond the minimum retention period, and she saw no basis on the limited facts to depart from the usual rule against redacting…
Are settlement agreements that the University of Delaware enters with employees or others available under FOIA, or can UDel withhold them because the settlements weren't paid from State money?
UDel can withhold them. Delaware FOIA only covers two slices of UDel: full Board of Trustees meetings, and University documents that 'relate to the expenditure of public funds.' UDel's general…
Can a Delaware agency charge a $198 cost estimate to compile records that the requester believes should be readily available?
Yes, when the agency justifies the estimate. DelDOT supplied a sworn affidavit from the Chief of Right of Way explaining tab sheets are not in a centralized file, identifying the lowest-paid…
If a Delaware school board member has been elected but not yet sworn in, can that person sit in on an executive session?
Yes, narrowly. Victor James Leonard, Sr. was elected to the Red Clay Consolidated School Board on May 10, 2022, with a term beginning July 1, 2022. He attended two executive sessions on July 11 and…
Can a Mississippi county board of supervisors override the tax assessor/collector's chosen effective date for employee raises?
No. As long as the raises fit within the tax assessor/collector's approved annual budget, the elected tax assessor/collector decides the effective date of prospective raises for the office's…
Can a Mississippi sheriff also draw separate pay for running the county's FEMA Safe Room?
Yes. The salary cap in Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-25 applies only to a sheriff's pay for performing sheriff duties. A sheriff can hold separate employment, like running a FEMA Safe Room in the county…
When a power company files an apportionment error on its public utility property, can the county tax collector fix the error to redistribute taxes correctly among the taxing districts?
No. A county tax collector cannot substitute a different apportionment for one approved by the Department of Revenue without a DOR directive or judicial determination. The AG declined to decide…
Can a Mississippi city locate a polling place outside its city limits to align with the county?
No. Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-557 lets a municipality choose how many precincts and where polling places are, but every polling place must be within the city limits. Aligning with county precincts is…
Can a county use a sales tax dedicated to 'emergency services' to pay 911 dispatcher salaries?
The AG declined to decide whether Perry County may use its dedicated tax to pay 911 dispatchers. The answer depends on the levying ordinance and ballot title; the county must determine locally…
Could Darlington's city manager also serve on South Carolina's Public Charter School District board?
The Attorney General concluded that Darlington's city manager could also serve on the Public Charter School District board without violating South Carolina's dual office prohibition. The manager was…
Do unpaid dividends from a self-insured workers' comp group have to be remitted to the Mississippi State Treasurer as unclaimed property?
No. The Mississippi Unclaimed Property Act (§ 89-12-1 et seq.) was amended in 2006 to exclude 'future or prior dividends' made by self-insured workers' compensation groups from the definition of…
Can a school board hold a closed personnel meeting after the state takes over its personnel powers?
A board that lacks authority to consider any personnel matter listed in Arkansas FOIA’s executive-session exemption cannot use that exemption. The AG did not decide whether the Helena-West Helena…
Can an insurance company defending a fraud claim get Wilmington police body camera and street surveillance footage under FOIA?
Mixed. The City of Wilmington properly withheld three officers' body camera footage of a motor vehicle accident under § 10002(o)(3) (investigatory files compiled for civil or criminal…
Can a Minnesota public school give a student with unpaid meal debt a 'minimum meal' (like a peanut butter sandwich) instead of the scheduled lunch other students receive?
No. Under Minn. Stat. § 124D.111, subd. 5(a) (added by the Legislature in 2021), schools that participate in the federal school lunch program must provide meals respectfully and cannot limit a…
If someone steals a blank personal check, forges the accountholder's signature, and cashes it in Virginia, should the prosecutor charge forgery and uttering under § 18.2-170 (Class 4 felony) or § 18.2-172 (Class 5 felony)?
Charge under § 18.2-172 (Class 5 felony). The AG concluded § 18.2-170 covers counterfeiting of currency (historically private banknotes, now Federal Reserve notes), not personal checks. Forgery of…
If a North Dakota provider is charged with performing an abortion, can the provider disclose the patient's protected health information to mount an affirmative defense?
Yes. The North Dakota AG concluded that HIPAA does not prevent a defendant charged under N.D.C.C. § 12.1-31-12 from disclosing a patient's protected health information to assert an affirmative…
If a Delaware public body recorded its meeting, can I get the recording even after a related lawsuit is filed?
Yes. The AG ruled the State Employee Benefits Committee violated FOIA by withholding the September 19, 2022 meeting recording. Once a public body records a public meeting, the recording is treated…
When a transit authority like CARTA serves multiple cities and counties, which jurisdiction's purchasing rules apply to its contracts?
A transit authority created by one or more cities or counties under §§ 7-56-101 to -109 acts as an arm of those participating governments. It must follow their purchasing laws (competitive bidding,…
After a juvenile-court judge orders a child detained pending an adjudication hearing, who is responsible for transporting the child to and from court?
The duty splits in two phases. First, the person (usually a law-enforcement officer) who took the child into custody is responsible for transporting the child to the court-ordered detention facility…
If only Rock Hill earned one seat by population, who selected the other municipal members of a county sales tax commission?
The Attorney General concluded that when Rock Hill was the only municipality entitled to appoint a member under the population formula, its appointee could select the remaining two municipal…
Can a Florida city use a zoning overlay to allow vacation rentals in only part of a residential neighborhood while banning them in the rest?
No. Florida law (§ 509.032(7)(b)) prohibits cities from regulating the 'frequency' of vacation rentals, and a zoning overlay that allows rentals in some areas but not others with the same base…
Can a Delaware city council take a discussion of police overtime, vacation, and city-vehicle use into a private executive session, and does the council have to put detailed background materials in the public meeting packet?
Not all of it. Dover City Council voted to defer Item 27 (special-event overtime, vacation, and city-vehicle usage) to a future executive session. The AG warned the Council that a general discussion…
Could South Carolina cities share business license tax application data with other officials or outside requesters?
The Attorney General expected a court to permit sharing business license tax data among public officials performing their duties and publishing statistics that do not identify taxpayers. It said…
If a Mississippi city attorney does work for a separately-funded tourism commission, who pays?
The city. Under § 21-15-25, the municipal attorney is paid by the municipality. If the work for the Greenwood Tourism Commission falls outside the contracted-for duties, the city can pay additional…
Can the state release a list of executive branch employees with names, salaries, and demographic data, while withholding personnel ID numbers?
Yes. The Office of Personnel Management's decision to release records on Executive Branch employees (names, titles, departments, race, gender, full/part-time status, location, hire/termination…
Does Mississippi's $400 cost cap in commitment proceedings cover hospital and physician fees, or just court costs?
All costs incidental to court proceedings. The $400 cap in § 41-21-79 includes court costs, prehearing hospitalization, transportation, attorney fees, and physician/psychologist/nurse fees. The cap…
Could Gaston police officers work off duty for a private salvage lot without holding a second public office?
The Attorney General said the described private salvage lot work did not give Gaston officers a second public office, so it did not violate the dual office rule. It discussed state rules for…
Could a subpoena for an insurer that was not a party be served through South Carolina's insurance director?
The Attorney General thought South Carolina's insurer service statutes were broad enough to include subpoenas as legal process. It left unresolved whether they authorized serving a subpoena through…
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.