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 a different search term or clear the filters.
Can a Delaware FOIA request force a state agency to write custom database queries and review thousands of police reports to compile statistics that don't already exist?
No. The AG ruled DELJIS did not violate FOIA when it refused to perform extensive custom programming and manual record review to compile firearm-arrest statistics for Scott Becker. FOIA does not requi…
Does a Texas county's inmate phone commission go to the sheriff's commissary or the county general fund?
The county general fund, the AG concluded. Washington County's jail used to sell prepaid phone cards through the commissary, which the sheriff controlled. Under a new system, the phone service provide…
Does a Texas real estate inspector need a plumber's license to do a sewer-line camera inspection?
Likely no, the AG concluded. A real estate inspector's license under Occupations Code chapter 1102 lets the inspector give an opinion on the condition of a home's plumbing systems, and the AG read tha…
Can a Delaware agency refuse a FOIA request when the records relate to an ongoing administrative proceeding the requester is involved in?
Yes. The AG ruled DNREC did not violate FOIA by denying Gary Myers's request for renewable-energy cost data, because the records pertained to a quasi-judicial Public Service Commission proceeding in w…
Can the Tennessee General Assembly pass a law to protect low-income and disabled seniors from losing their homes to property-tax debts or housing evictions?
Yes. Tennessee's General Assembly has plenary legislative authority to protect senior access to housing and provide property-tax relief, subject to U.S. and Tennessee constitutional limits. Article II…
Can a Florida county use tourist development tax money to pay airfare and travel costs for travel writers and tour brokers to attend tourism promotion events?
No, not unless those travel writers or tour brokers are themselves traveling on official agency business under section 125.0104(9)(c). The AG read section 125.0104(9)(a) of the Local Option Tourist De…
Can a Delaware school board add a controversial agenda item like a censure vote a few hours before its meeting?
Yes, in narrow circumstances. The AG ruled that adding a board member censure resolution to the agenda seven hours before a meeting did not violate FOIA, because the news story prompting the censure h…
Can a Texas city impose its own reporting rules on pawnshops that buy used goods?
Mostly no, the AG concluded. The City of College Station's ordinance made secondhand dealers, including pawnbrokers, electronically report purchases of used property to police and hold the property be…
Who sets the salaries for a Texas multicounty court at law's reporter and administrator?
The commissioners courts, not the judge, the AG concluded. The 1st Multicounty Court at Law serves Fisher, Mitchell, and Nolan counties, and its budgeted staff salaries had swung wildly. The Nolan Cou…
Can a Texas school district buy land outside its boundaries to build a school?
Not under an express grant, and the rest is uncertain, the AG concluded. Laredo ISD wanted to replace Cigarroa Middle School but could not find suitable land inside its boundaries, only a parcel just …
Can the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith release a former employee's termination and disciplinary records under Arkansas FOIA?
Mostly yes. AG Rutledge concluded UAFS's decision to release the responsive personnel and evaluation records (as redacted) was consistent with FOIA. She declined to opine on whether several Bates-stam…
Can a veterans nonprofit accept a donated state correction center under Act 160 of 2019, then sell or lease back the buildings as condos?
Mostly declined. AG Rutledge declined to opine on V2A's first three questions (about sell-back arrangements, condo designations, and fee assessments) because they require speculation and factual deter…
Does a Kentucky utility regulation that deducts coal severance taxes when comparing fuel bids violate the Commerce Clause?
No. The Attorney General concluded that 807 KAR 5:056 § 3(5), which tells the Public Service Commission to evaluate utility fuel costs after subtracting any coal severance tax 'imposed by any jurisdic…
Can a California city council give its own members extra-rich health benefits, what happens if it does, and how does the city recoup overpaid amounts?
The AG concluded a benefit plan keyed to the average salaries of higher-paid managers (and not extended to other staff) violates Government Code sections 53200-53210. Unintentional violations risk cri…
Can a Texas nonprofit that leases a public building claim the historic rehabilitation tax credit?
Generally yes, with conditions, the AG advised. Texas gives a franchise tax credit for rehabilitating certified historic structures, administered by the Historical Commission and the Comptroller. The …
Does Texas regulate a vehicle depreciation benefit product if you pay for it in cash instead of financing it?
No, the AG concluded. A depreciation benefit product is a vehicle add-on that, after a total loss, pays the buyer a credit toward a replacement vehicle equal to the gap between what they paid and the …
Does a Virginia general registrar have to follow the county's personnel policies, and does the county owe the registrar the same annual raises and leave benefits as other county employees?
Mostly yes. The Virginia AG concluded the registrar is subject to the locality's policies and practices, but only insofar as they don't interfere with registrar duties. The locality is *not* required …
If a Delaware county invokes the litigation exemption sloppily and missed the response deadline, is that still a FOIA violation?
Yes, technically. The Delaware AG ruled New Castle County violated FOIA by failing to give a permitted extension reason and good-faith time estimate when responding to James Owen's FOIA request about …
Can a county library use millage tax money to pay rent on its own library building, or to repay the county for renovating it?
Declined. AG Rutledge could not opine on whether the Independence County Library's use of millage funds for rent and renovation reimbursement was lawful, because the answer turns on the specific ballo…
Can the Pine Bluff School District release a teacher's transfer request and application after a blogger files a FOIA request for the personnel file?
Mostly yes. AG Rutledge concluded the Pine Bluff School District's decision to release transfer-related records (as redacted) was generally correct under FOIA. Transfer requests are personnel records …
Can Tennessee restore a felon's voting rights conditionally, and revoke them again if the felon falls behind on a payment plan for restitution, court costs, and child support?
Likely yes under Sixth Circuit precedent. Tennessee could require a felon seeking re-enfranchisement to enter a payment plan for restitution, court costs, and child support, and could revoke restored …
Does Delaware FOIA reach the Delaware River and Bay Authority's executive sessions?
No. The Delaware AG dismissed the petition, ruling the Delaware River and Bay Authority is a bi-state entity created by interstate compact between Delaware and New Jersey. Neither state can unilateral…
Can a California-based documentary filmmaker use Delaware FOIA to investigate state pet-food regulation?
No. The Delaware AG ruled the Delaware Department of Agriculture properly denied California documentary filmmaker Kohl Harrington's FOIA requests for AAFCO-related staff emails and DDA's FOIA log. Har…
Does a Kentucky legislator have to abstain from a vote if a family member owns stock in a company the bill could affect?
No. The Attorney General concluded that House Speaker David Osborne was not required by Section 57 of the Kentucky Constitution to abstain from voting on House Bill 137, the 2020 sports-wagering bill,…
Who sets the background-check fee for a Virginia concealed handgun permit application: the county board of supervisors or the sheriff?
The sheriff (or the State Police), not the county board. The Virginia AG concluded that under Va. Code § 18.2-308.03, only the sheriff (up to $35) and the State Police (up to $5) have discretion over …
What did the Missouri AG decide about the ballot summary for the version 3 renewable energy initiative filed by James Owen in 2020?
AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the Secretary of State's summary statement for petition 2020-144 (a parallel version of the Chapter 393 renewable energy initiative). The review …
What is the Missouri Attorney General's role when the Secretary of State sends over a proposed ballot summary for a citizen-initiated renewable energy amendment?
Under § 116.334, RSMo, the AG reviewed the Secretary of State's draft summary statement for James Owen's renewable energy initiative (Chapter 393, version 2; petition 2020-143) only for legal content …
What ballot summary did the Missouri Attorney General approve for the first version of James Owen's renewable energy initiative?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's summary statement for Owen's version 1 petition (2020-142). The summary asked voters to amend Missouri law to raise the renewable energy…
Can a Kentucky county adopt a Second Amendment sanctuary resolution without violating the state firearms preemption law?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the proposed Marshall County and McLean County resolutions declaring Second Amendment 'safe harbor' or sanctuary status did not violate KRS 65.870, Kentucky's …
Does the 180-day deadline to fill a school board vacancy apply to the Harris County Department of Education?
Yes, the AG concluded. The Harris County Department of Education is the last Texas county school district still operating under repealed former chapters 17 and 18 of the Education Code, which it is al…
Does the AG weigh in when a state agency dispute is already scheduled for an administrative hearing?
No. The AG declined to opine on a constituent's APERS retirement-credit dispute because it was already scheduled to be heard by the APERS Board of Trustees, and the office's longstanding policy is to …
Will the AG answer condominium-development questions sent on behalf of a private nonprofit?
No. The AG declined to address questions about a nonprofit's proposed condominium project, calling it private legal advice that state law forbids the office from giving and a fact-bound matter outside…
Can a city use its advertising-and-promotion tax revenue to fund economic-development services through a chamber of commerce?
Only if the chamber's services fit one of the permissible categories (tourism promotion, conventions, A&P facilities) listed in § 26-75-606. A general subsidy of the chamber is forbidden, and Amendmen…
When the Assessment Coordination Division publishes a manual telling county assessors how to value poultry houses, does that count as a 'rule' that needs legislative approval?
No, the AG concluded that the optional ARCREM poultry-valuation guidelines were not 'rules' under Amendment 92 because assessors were not required to follow them. The Division did not have to submit t…
If a juvenile gets multiple consecutive sentences for crimes that include a homicide, do the parole eligibility waiting periods stack?
Yes. Where a juvenile was convicted of multiple offenses and at least one involved another person's death, the AG read § 16-93-621(a)(2)(A) to allow stacking of parole eligibility periods, because the…
Can a public employee union challenge a charter-amendment ballot measure that the city placed before voters without consulting the union under the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act?
Yes, by quo warranto. The AG granted Local 1319 leave to sue Palo Alto to invalidate Measure D, which had repealed the charter's binding-arbitration clause for police and fire unions. PERB and the Cou…
Did the Missouri Attorney General sign off on the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for James Owen's renewable energy initiative (version 2)?
Yes. Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary for Owen's version 2 petition (2020-143). The summary estimated about $143,500 in annual ongoing state…
Did the Missouri Attorney General sign off on the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for James Owen's renewable energy initiative (version 1)?
Yes. Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the fiscal note summary's legal content and form under § 116.175.4, RSMo. The fiscal note summary said state government would face about $147,000 in annual …
Did the Missouri Attorney General sign off on the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for James Owen's renewable energy initiative (version 3)?
Yes. Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the fiscal note summary's legal content and form for Owen's version 3 petition (2020-144). The estimated annual state cost was about $143,500 (matching vers…
Does a Seaford BOA agenda violate FOIA when it lists a variance by tax parcel number rather than street address?
No. The Delaware AG ruled the Seaford Board of Adjustment did not violate FOIA when its December 4, 2019 agenda identified a variance by case number, applicant name, business name, business activity, …
When a school district investigates a sexual harassment complaint, can the accused employee get a copy of the investigative report even if the FOIA otherwise exempts it?
Yes, the subject of an employee-evaluation record is entitled to it under § 25-19-105(c)(2), but the school cannot publicly release the report just because the subject 'authorizes' it. If the same rep…
After a Florida tax deed sale produces a surplus, do governmental lienholders lose their claim if they don't file a request for the surplus within 120 days?
No. The AG concluded that section 197.582 distinguishes between (a) governmental units holding liens of record against the property, who must be paid first from the surplus regardless of whether they …
Does West Virginia law force a county commission to clean debris out of a creek or stream when a water utility or property owner asks them to?
The AG read W. Va. Code § 7-1-3u as a grant of authority, not a mandate. Counties were authorized to dredge, remove debris, and do other flood-control work in streams, but the statute did not require …
Does a West Virginia county sheriff have to appoint a deputy as humane officer, or can the sheriff hold that role personally?
The AG concluded that the plain text of W. Va. Code § 7-10-1 makes the appointment mandatory: a sheriff must designate a deputy (or, with county-commission agreement, the county dog warden) as humane …
Why did the Missouri Attorney General reject Mark Parachini's fourth initiative petition (2020-148) on form grounds in February 2020?
Same defect as 6-2020. Attorney General Eric Schmitt rejected the petition for failing to comply with § 116.050.2(3), RSMo, the rule requiring that all new matter being added to existing law be shown …
Why did the Missouri Attorney General reject Mark Parachini's third initiative petition (2020-147) on form grounds in February 2020?
Attorney General Eric Schmitt rejected the petition for not complying with § 116.050.2(3), RSMo, which requires that all new matter being added to existing law be shown underlined. Unlike the prior tw…
Can police destroy rape-kit or DNA evidence early if the victim decides not to press charges?
No. The Attorney General concluded that under KRS 524.140 a law enforcement agency could not seek a court order to destroy biological evidence from a sexual assault investigation only three years afte…
How does a Mississippi county board buy emergency E-911 equipment without competitive bidding, and can it sign a 7-year contract?
Once the Board declares an emergency under § 31-7-1(f), § 31-7-13(k) lets it skip competitive bidding. Multi-year equipment with a 7-year life is fine, but service contracts that extend past the curre…
Can a Mississippi community college lease land to a private nonprofit without monetary rent if the lessee covers construction, taxes, and maintenance?
Yes, the AG concluded a community college may take into account the lessee's payment of construction costs, ad valorem taxes, maintenance, and the college's right to use part of the facility when dete…
Whose job is it to draft Mississippi youth court orders, the prosecutor or the court staff?
Filing petitions is the youth court prosecutor's job. Orders from adjudication and disposition hearings are the responsibility of court staff hired by the judge and paid by the county under § 43-21-11…
Can the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District pay half the cost of a county guardrail repair to protect its existing water and sewer lines?
Yes. The AG concluded the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District may contract with Rankin County to share the cost of guardrail repairs on Northshore Causeway, if the District factually determines t…
Can a Mississippi waterway district give a lender a security interest in just the lease (not the state land itself) for its tenant?
Yes for the leasehold. The AG concluded the Pat Harrison Waterway District may grant the lessee's lender a security interest in the leasehold interest itself, but not in the state-owned premises. On f…
Can a Mississippi county tax assessor/collector also serve as the interim county administrator at the same time?
Yes. Under the core-powers doctrine, the tax assessor/collector exercises core executive powers, but the county administrator does not, so holding both positions does not violate separation of powers.…
Can a Mississippi county let the Red Cross use a county building for free?
Yes, with a cap. The AG concluded that under Miss. Code Ann. § 19-5-93(1), Yazoo County could enter into a use agreement with the American Red Cross for free use of a county-owned building, treating i…
Are total donation amounts to specific charities under Mississippi's Children's Promise Act tax credits public information?
Yes. The AG concluded that the total contribution amounts received by individual charities under Mississippi's Children's Promise Act tax credit programs are subject to disclosure under the Public Rec…
Can a Mississippi county offer health insurance dependent coverage to some employees but not others?
Yes. The AG concluded that under Miss. Code Ann. § 25-15-103(4)(b), as amended in 2019, a county Board of Supervisors may provide group hospitalization benefits and life insurance for specified groups…
If a Mississippi defendant misses a justice or municipal court date for a traffic ticket, can the judge issue a warrant and require a cash bond equal to the fines?
The court can hold the no-show defendant in contempt and impose a fine up to $1,000 or six months in jail, or both. A cash bond is not strictly proper because contempt has already been adjudicated. Af…
Does the Fresh Start Act force the Mississippi Board of Physical Therapy to ignore prior felony convictions when licensing applicants?
The AG concluded that because the Physical Therapy Board's enabling statute did not bar licensure based on prior convictions, the Board had to comply with Section 73-77-5 of the Fresh Start Act. Its g…
Does Mississippi's Fresh Start Act let people with criminal records get a nursing license, or can the Board of Nursing still bar them?
The AG concluded that the Mississippi Board of Nursing's existing enabling statute, which let it deny a license for felony or moral-turpitude convictions, qualified as 'applicable state law' that exem…
Does the Fresh Start Act limit the Mississippi Funeral Services Board from disqualifying applicants for prior crimes?
Partly. The AG concluded that the Funeral Services Board's enabling statute, Miss. Code Ann. § 73-11-51, did not bar an applicant for a prior criminal conviction. So Fresh Start Act § 73-77-5 applied …
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.