State AG Opinions
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Can a Florida hospital district that is the lessor of a hospital (but not the hospital's governing board) close its meeting under the public-hospital strategic-plan exemption?
No. The exemption from the Sunshine Law in section 395.3035(4)(a), Florida Statutes, applies only to meetings of the 'governing board' of a public hospital. The Marion County Hospital District identif…
Can a city employee block release of his personnel file, disciplinary file, and ID photo under Arkansas FOIA, and what gets redacted?
On the first question (consistent with FOIA?), the AG set out the standard framework: personnel records released under Young v. Rice balancing, evaluation records released only if the four-prong Thoma…
Can the subject of an Arkansas FOIA request block release of his personnel and disciplinary records by claiming invasion of privacy?
No. AG Rutledge concluded that the subject's stated objection (invasion of privacy) was not, by itself, a legally sufficient reason to withhold otherwise disclosable records. The custodian had to appl…
What legal protections did Virginia tenants have against eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic in summer 2020?
Federal CARES Act § 4024 barred filings to evict for nonpayment of rent on covered federally backed housing through 8/26/2020. Separately, Virginia's HB 340 gave any pandemic-affected tenant a mandato…
Can a comparable or practice exam satisfy the test requirement for a Texas bilingual-teacher tuition grant?
No, the AG concluded a court would likely say. The Commissioner of Higher Education asked whether universities could let students qualify for a bilingual-education teaching grant by passing an exam co…
Does someone moving to Georgia from Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or another U.S. territory get the same driving-test waiver as someone moving from another U.S. state?
Yes. The term 'state' in O.C.G.A. § 40-5-27(a)(3)(A) includes territories of the United States, because Title 40's own definition section, O.C.G.A. § 40-1-1(61), defines 'state' for that title to incl…
In a West Virginia county that imposes an ambulance fee, does the sheriff have to be the one who bills and collects it, or can the county commission give the job to someone else?
The AG concluded that the sheriff is the default bill collector under W. Va. Code § 7-5-1 and cannot refuse the role, but the county commission can affirmatively designate a different employee, the am…
On a West Virginia fire chief appointment exam, do veterans get five extra points, and can the city add bonus points for years of service in the local fire department?
The AG concluded that under W. Va. Code § 6-13-1, the five-point veteran preference must be added to every passing exam score for an appointment-based vacancy, including current department members. Ex…
During COVID-19, does fear of catching or spreading the virus count as 'illness' or being 'unavoidably absent' for absentee voting in Arkansas?
AG Leslie Rutledge declined to answer because the question was the subject of pending litigation. The AG's longstanding policy is to stay out of issues currently before the courts so the judicial bran…
Can a Texas drainage district levy its own flood-control tax without a voter election?
No, the AG concluded, and the county can't raid those funds either. The Jackson County Criminal District Attorney asked three questions about the split of authority between the Jackson County County-W…
Can a national news organization use Delaware FOIA to demand the Biden senatorial papers themselves from the University of Delaware Library?
No. The University of Delaware is FOIA-able only on full-Board-of-Trustees meetings and records relating to public-fund expenditures. The papers themselves are not university documents about public fu…
Can a Texas judge appoint a court recorder instead of a court reporter?
Generally no, the AG concluded a court would likely hold. The Cherokee County Attorney, citing a shortage of court reporters and the need to avoid delays when a reporter retires, dies, or is unavailab…
What did the Missouri AG approve as the on-the-ballot fair ballot language for the 2020 legislative redistricting and lobbyist-gift amendment (SJR 38, later Amendment 3)?
AG Eric Schmitt approved, under § 116.025, RSMo, the legal content and form of the Secretary of State's fair ballot language statement for SS#3 SJR 38, which voters saw on the November 2020 ballot as …
What was the Missouri Attorney General's role in approving the fiscal note summary for Senate Joint Resolution 38, the legislature's 2020 redistricting and lobbyist-gift measure?
Under § 116.175.4, RSMo, AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary that State Auditor Nicole Galloway prepared for SS#3 SJR 38. The AG's approval is procedural and…
Who hires the head of the Kentucky State Fair Board and the Fish and Wildlife commissioner, the board or the governor's cabinet?
The boards do. The Attorney General concluded that under KRS 247.130 the State Fair Board alone appoints its president and CEO and sets that person's compensation, and under KRS 150.061 the Fish and W…
In Mississippi DUI cases, does law enforcement have to certify a defendant's prior record before the judge can take a guilty plea on a first offense?
Section 63-11-30(8)(b) requires law enforcement to submit certification (driving record, confidential registry, NCIC search) before a defendant pleads guilty to a second or subsequent DUI offense. The…
Can a Mississippi county Board of Supervisors second-guess a circuit judge's order on how much to pay an appointed indigent-defense lawyer?
The AG concluded that Section 99-15-17 vested discretion to set indigent-defense compensation in the appointing judge alone. The Adams County Board of Supervisors had no authority to increase, decreas…
Can a Mississippi city refund a contract fee to a developer if the developer never actually used the service the city was paid for?
The AG concluded that returning a $10,000 contract fee to a developer who never connected to Hattiesburg's wastewater system would not violate Section 66 of the Mississippi Constitution. A refund of c…
Can a Mississippi municipal court enroll unpaid criminal fines on the circuit court judgment roll, garnish wages, and proceed against an indigent defendant?
Yes to all three questions, with one limit. Mississippi municipal courts may enroll unpaid fines on the circuit court judgment roll to create a lien, may garnish wages, and may enroll judgments agains…
Can a Mississippi county board force other elected officials to use a county time-clock or computer-login payroll system?
No. The AG concluded that a Mississippi Board of Supervisors cannot require other county elected officials to use a countywide payroll documentation system if those officials have adopted and filed wi…
Can a Mississippi county forgive penalties and interest on a property tax bill the taxpayer did not know existed?
Yes. The AG concluded that when a Mississippi tax assessor's error caused a property owner to be delinquent (here, by assessing the wrong parcel and not assessing the right one), the Board of Supervis…
Is Mississippi's voluntary statewide association of election commissioners subject to the Open Meetings Act?
No. The AG concluded that the Election Commissioners Association of Mississippi is a voluntary association of individual election commissioners, not an entity created by statute or executive order, an…
Can a Mississippi municipal court charge a $50 filing fee for an expungement petition?
No. The AG concluded that Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-7(11) explicitly forbids any filing fee for bringing an action in municipal court, so a court could not charge $50 for filing an expungement petition …
How does a Mississippi county split federal national-forest payments between two school districts when the forest land sits in both?
The Board of Supervisors had discretion to choose the formula. Section 49-19-23 told the county to spend 50% of the federal Weeks Act receipts on schools, but did not require a per-acre, per-pupil, or…
Can the same person serve as a Mississippi county administrator and a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives at the same time?
Yes, under the Mississippi separation of powers doctrine. The AG concluded that a county administrator does not exercise 'core powers,' so simultaneous service as a state representative is not constit…
Can a Kentucky fiscal court refuse to pay the CPI raise for elected county officials?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Fulton County Fiscal Court may not decline to pay the Consumer Price Index salary increase for its elected county officials. KRS 64.5275 requires the Depart…
Does Delaware FOIA cover University of Delaware records about Joe Biden's senatorial papers stored at the UD library?
No. The University of Delaware is subject to Delaware FOIA only for full Board of Trustees meetings and records 'relating to the expenditure of public funds.' UD attested under oath that no public fun…
Can a Little Rock police officer block FOIA release of his 2017 disciplinary records while his appeal is still pending in circuit court?
No to blocking. AG Rutledge concluded that Lieutenant Farley's objection (that his 2017 disciplinary records were under appeal in Pulaski County Circuit Court) was not a sufficient basis to reverse th…
Did Kentucky's COVID order against utility shutoffs stop a water company from disconnecting a meter someone turned on without permission?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Louisville Water Company would not violate Governor Beshear's executive order suspending utility disconnections if it shut off a water meter that had been turne…
Does Arkansas FOIA require release of police body-camera footage and misconduct records, and what about the bystanders shown in the videos?
Mostly yes. AG Rutledge concluded the custodian's decision to release the police suspension records was for the most part consistent with FOIA. The four-prong evaluation-records test was met because m…
Can a Texas school district keep and maintain a historic cemetery found on its property?
Yes, generally, the AG concluded. Representative Senfronia Thompson asked about Fort Bend Independent School District's authority to keep and maintain a cemetery discovered during construction, the 'S…
Can a Texas river authority give up a surplus flood easement without getting fair market value?
Yes, the AG concluded. The San Antonio River Authority's chairman asked whether the Authority can release a surplus inundation easement (an easement letting the dams store floodwater on private land) …
Can a Texas county pay an invoice on an amended contract for work that was done before the amendment?
The AG gave general advice rather than ruling on the specific invoice, which he called a fact question for the commissioners court. Paying an amount the county already owed under the original contract…
Does occasionally renting out a school gym or auditorium for commercial events strip a school district's property tax exemption?
Not necessarily. Occasional commercial use of a school-owned facility (renting a gym, auditorium, or field) doesn't automatically strip the § 42-11104(A) tax exemption. But more than 'occasional' comm…
Can an Arkansas county declare itself a 'Bill of Rights' or 'Second Amendment sanctuary' or otherwise sovereign jurisdiction?
AG Rutledge could not give a definitive yes/no without seeing the specific ordinance text. She did establish: a county ordinance has no effect against state law it conflicts with, county self-governan…
Can an Arkansas insurer set up a subsidiary that owns part of a Medicaid risk-based provider organization, even if the insurer plus subsidiary together own more than 51%?
Yes. AG Rutledge concluded the Medicaid Provider-Led Organized Care Act does not bar an insurer from owning a subsidiary that has an ownership interest in a risk-based provider organization (RBPO), re…
Can a Fairfax County retirement board member also serve on an advisory committee of the Virginia Retirement System Board?
No. The Virginia AG concluded that Va. Code § 51.1-124.26(C) bars any 'elected or appointed official,' regardless of branch or level of government, from serving on a VRS Board advisory committee. A Fa…
Does a Texas state agency have to build a monument that a legislative resolution authorized?
No, the AG concluded. In 2007 the Legislature passed a concurrent resolution authorizing the State Preservation Board and the Texas Facilities Commission to approve and permit a privately funded Bill …
Do double-decker tour buses have to follow Texas axle weight limits on interstate highways?
Yes, the AG concluded. Texas Transportation Code section 621.101(a)(2) caps tandem axle weight at 34,000 pounds, and double-decker over-the-road buses often exceed it. A bus operator argued that a fed…
Are dual-role public safety officers (who serve as both firefighters and law enforcement officers) eligible for Florida's firefighter cancer benefits?
Only if their primary responsibilities are firefighting. The AG read § 112.1816 to exclude dual-role officers whose predominant duties are law enforcement.
Are tattoo studios required to post Florida's human trafficking public awareness signs?
Yes. The AG read tattoo establishments as 'bodywork' businesses under § 787.29(3)(b), so they must post the public awareness sign; counties enforce by ordinance.
Can a Mississippi tax assessor still get the $3,500 dual-office bonus if a deputy who works the assessor's office sometimes covers shifts in the tax collector's office?
The AG concluded that whether Franklin County's tax assessor/collector maintained 'two full-time offices' under Section 25-3-3(5) was a factual finding for the Board of Supervisors, considering all fa…
Can a Mississippi public improvement district use the county's real property sale statute to sell tax-forfeited property it owns?
Yes. The AG concluded a Mississippi public improvement district may sell or otherwise dispose of real property using either § 19-7-3 (the county real property sale statute) or § 17-25-25 (the governin…
What is the candidate qualifying deadline for a Mississippi circuit-court judge special election?
60 days before the election. The AG concluded that since neither § 23-15-849 nor § 23-15-833 specify a qualifying deadline for circuit court judge special elections, and § 23-15-977's March 1 judicial…
Can a Mississippi Gulf Coast convention bureau borrow under the federal Paycheck Protection Program?
No. The AG concluded that the Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau, created by Chapter 926, House Bill 1716, Local and Private Laws of 2013, has neither express nor necessari…
Can a Mississippi special-charter city remove civil-service protection from its police chief?
No. The AG concluded that even though McComb operates under a special charter, the Mississippi legislature made the civil service system in §§ 21-31-1 to 21-31-27 specifically applicable to McComb via…
If a Mississippi city contracts with the county election commission to run its city elections, how much does the county get paid?
By agreement. The AG concluded that under Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-221(2), if a Mississippi city abolishes its municipal election commission and contracts with the county election commission to conduct…
Can a Mississippi elected official hire their grandchildren temporarily to open mail and answer phones during a busy season?
It depends on the job duties. The AG laid out the three-part nepotism test (relationship, appointing authority, prohibited position) but said only the hiring authority could decide on the third questi…
Is there still a Mississippi moratorium on permits for new or expanded swine concentrated animal feeding operations?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the swine CAFO moratorium written into § 49-17-29(3)(f) expired on January 1, 2000 by the statute's own terms, so the Permit Board has authority to consider new…
Does a Texas mental health commitment hearing have to be recorded by an official court reporter?
Probably yes, the AG concluded. The Kerr County Attorney asked whether a hearing on an application for court-ordered mental health services, which Health and Safety Code section 574.031(g) says 'is on…
Can a Texas county call a bond election to pay for fixing streets inside a city?
Yes, with limits, the AG concluded. The Sterling County Attorney asked whether a county could call a bond election under article III, section 52 of the Texas Constitution and use the money to construc…
After Janus, can a Texas public employer deduct union dues from an employee's paycheck without fresh consent?
Not safely, the AG concluded. A state representative asked how the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 Janus decision affects Texas payroll deductions for public-sector union dues. The AG read Janus to mean a p…
What did the Missouri AG approve about the ballot language voters would see for the 2020 Medicaid expansion constitutional amendment?
AG Eric Schmitt approved, under § 116.025, RSMo, the legal content and form of the fair ballot language statement that the Secretary of State drafted for petition 2020-063, the Heidi Miller initiative…
If a Delaware city responds to my FOIA request slowly and I think the delay was deliberate to keep documents out of a public hearing, will the AG investigate?
No. The AG ruled Jeremy Rothwell's timeliness complaint against the City of Harrington was moot once the City eventually produced records, and refused to resolve the disputed allegation that the FOIA …
If a Virginia first responder catches COVID-19 at work, are they covered by workers' compensation and the Line of Duty Act?
Yes, with caveats. A first responder covered by workers' compensation who becomes ill from a work-related COVID-19 exposure can recover under the Act, and if COVID-19 is an upper-respiratory disease i…
Can a Texas city enforce its development rules on a water district building or rebuilding a dam, or does state law preempt that?
Mostly not preempted, the AG concluded. A House committee chair asked whether the City of Austin could apply its development ordinances to the Upper Brushy Creek Water Control and Improvement District…
Did Illinois law allow Governor Pritzker to issue back-to-back COVID-19 disaster proclamations beyond the original 30-day emergency-powers window without legislative approval?
The AG concluded that an earlier 2001 informal opinion (No. I-01-028), which had suggested 30 days was the absolute outer limit, had failed to consider critical legislative history. The General Assemb…
Can a Mississippi PERS retiree elected as Transportation Commissioner keep getting retirement benefits and partial pay?
Generally no. The AG concluded that the Transportation Commissioner's salary is fixed at $78,000 by Miss. Code Ann. § 25-3-31 and cannot be reduced or waived. So § 25-11-127(4)(a)'s half-salary path i…
Is a Kentucky utility board member's resignation effective if the mayor refuses to accept it?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a member of the Glasgow Electric Plant Board who tendered his resignation remained on the board because the mayor refused to accept it and never appointed a rep…
Can a Mississippi state legislator be appointed Executive Director of the Public Utilities Staff?
Yes, with separate ethics review. The AG concluded that the Executive Director of the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff is a fixed six-year term position under § 77-2-7(1). A sitting legislator may b…
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