State AG Opinions
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Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Charles Hurth's 2019 Article VIII initiative petition (file 2020-100)?
No. AG Schmitt rejected the form of Hurth's petition 2020-100 because it failed two specific § 116 requirements: it was not in the form prescribed by § 116.040 RSMo, and it did not show deletions in b…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting-access initiative petition (file 20-098)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note prepared by State Auditor Galloway for Sedey's petition 20-098. Same projected fiscal numbers as the parallel 20-097 petition: at…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting-access initiative petition (file 20-097)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note prepared by State Auditor Galloway for Sedey's petition 20-097. The fiscal note projected at least $1 million in one-time state c…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Winston Apple's 2019 statutory initiative creating a state-run health insurance cooperative (file 20-096)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note prepared by State Auditor Galloway for Apple's petition 20-096. The fiscal note projected no state-government costs and possible …
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Winston Apple's 2019 initiative letting Missouri cities and counties set local minimum wages above state and federal floors (file 20-093)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note prepared by State Auditor Galloway for Apple's petition 20-093. The fiscal note projected no costs or savings for either state or…
Can a California county supervisor also sit on the local transportation commission and a regional transit JPA at the same time?
Yes. The Legislature expressly authorized supervisors to be appointed to local transportation commissions (Gov. Code § 29535) and to joint powers authority boards (Gov. Code § 6508). Those statutes ab…
Can a public-university employee block release of complaints made about him by saying disclosure would be embarrassing or that there's no compelling public interest?
No. "Harmful and embarrassing" is not the test for releasing personnel records under the Arkansas FOIA. "Compelling public interest" applies only to employee-evaluation records, not personnel records.…
Can a former University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff employee block release of complaints she made against coworkers?
No. Unsolicited complaints filed by an employee are personnel records of both the complainer and the person complained about. The AG concluded that releasing them would not be a clearly unwarranted in…
When an Arkansas school employee disputes the district's decision to classify complaints as personnel records (not evaluation records), can the AG resolve it?
Not when the dispute is factual. The AG could not say whether complaints about a Bryant School District employee were created "at the behest of the employer to evaluate" the employee. That is a factua…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Mark Pedersen's 2019 Article XIV initiative legalizing recreational and medical marijuana with no age limits and full record expungement (file 2020-070)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's summary statement for Pedersen's petition 2020-070 to amend Article XIV of the Missouri Constitution. The petition would…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Sara Baker's referendum on HB 126 (the 2019 'heartbeat' abortion law, file 20-R001)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note prepared by State Auditor Galloway for Baker's referendum petition 20-R001 on HB 126. The fiscal note projected state revenue los…
If I ask my town for the Town Manager's 'schedule' and they send me his employment contract, did they violate FOIA?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that the Town of Dewey Beach did not violate FOIA when it responded to a Town Commissioner's FOIA request for the 'Town Manager's and Police Chief's schedule' by producing ex…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Shetova Hayes's 2019 statutory initiative cutting the dangerous-felony first-time minimum prison term from 85% to 50% (file 20-092)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note prepared by State Auditor Galloway for Hayes's petition 20-092 (the 50%-sentence proposal). The fiscal note projected no addition…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's later-July 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 2, file 2020-089)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-089 (version 2 of the follow-on July 2019 wave). Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 million in one-…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's later-July 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 1, file 2020-088)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-088 (version 1 of a follow-on July 2019 wave). Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 million in one-ti…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 12, file 2020-083)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-083 (version 12, the last in a 12-version voting-access slate). Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 …
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 11, file 2020-082)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-082 (version 11 in a 12-version voting-access slate). Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 million in…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 10, file 2020-081)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-081 (version 10 in a 12-version voting-access slate). Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 million in…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 9, file 2020-080)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-080 (version 9 in a 12-version voting-access slate). Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 million in …
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 8, file 2020-079)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-079 (version 8 in a 12-version voting-access slate). Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 million in …
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 7, file 2020-078)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-078 (version 7 in a 12-version voting-access slate). Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 million in …
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 6, file 2020-077)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-077 (version 6 in a 12-version voting-access slate). Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 million in …
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 5, file 2020-076)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note prepared by State Auditor Galloway for Sedey's petition 2020-076 (version 5 in a 12-version voting-access slate). The auditor pro…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 4, file 2020-075)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-075 (version 4 of a 12-version voting-access slate). Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 million in …
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 3, file 2020-074)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-074 (version 3 of a 12-version voting-access slate). Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 million in …
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 2, file 2020-073)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-073 (version 2 of a 12-version voting-access slate). Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 million in …
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 1, file 2020-072)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Sedey's petition 2020-072, the first version of a 12-version voting-access slate. Auditor Galloway projected at least $1 mill…
Can a Delaware county refuse to search for time-stamped copies of my own FOIA filings?
Partly. The Delaware AG ruled New Castle County violated FOIA by not specifically addressing whether it had searched for time-stamped copies of the requester's earlier FOIA filings; the County had to …
Can a Delaware citizen FOIA a 1980s mayor's original candidacy filings, and does the agency have to keep records forever?
No. FOIA does not require a Delaware public body to produce records that do not exist. The Delaware Public Archives' retention schedule for candidate filings is 22 months, after which the records are …
Can a Texas navigation district require an easement for utility lines crossing over its land?
Likely yes, with conditions, the AG advised. The Jackson County auditor asked whether the county's navigation district could require an easement for new and existing aerial utility lines that cross ov…
Is there a time limit or dollar cap on Texas county economic development loans and grants?
No fixed statutory cap, the AG advised. A state representative asked whether the ten-year and amount limits that apply to county tax-abatement agreements also limit the loans and grants a county makes…
Does the Texas Board of Nursing have to seal criminal history in a disciplinary order it already issued?
Yes, the AG advised. The Executive Director of the Texas Board of Nursing asked what the Board must do when a court issues a nondisclosure order sealing someone's criminal history, given that the Boar…
Does a typo in a Delaware agency's FOIA response letter prove the agency is hiding records?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that the Department of Elections did not violate FOIA when it inadvertently dated a response 'March 22, 2019' instead of April 23. DOE explained it reuses prior letters as te…
Can a former Arkansas school employee block release of his personnel file when an FOIA requester asks for grievances, suspension letters, and termination records?
The AG could not give a definitive answer because he had not seen the actual records the custodian was prepared to release. But the requester's motives and the subject's privacy and harassment objecti…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mark Pedersen's 2019 Article XIV (cannabis) initiative petition (file 2020-070)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Pedersen's petition 2020-070, which would have amended Article XIV of the Missouri Constitution. The auditor projected at lea…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Winston Apple's 2019 Chapter 130/143 (public campaign finance) initiative petition (file 2020-099)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved Apple's petition 2020-099 (amending Chapters 130 and 143 RSMo) as sufficient as to form under § 116.332 RSMo. The companion fiscal note (159-2019) frames this as t…
Can I use Delaware FOIA to get a city employee's personnel file, complaints, and disciplinary records?
No. The Delaware AG determined the City of Wilmington did not violate FOIA by withholding a City employee's personnel file, including complaints and disciplinary records, under the personnel-file exem…
If a Delaware city says it has no records matching my request, can the AG force it to search again?
No. The Delaware AG determined the City of Wilmington did not violate FOIA where the City represented that it had no records responsive to the second and third items of Kostyshyn's request and made no…
Can a Little Rock police officer block release of his personnel file under the Arkansas FOIA?
No. The AG concluded that the LRPD officer's personnel records were properly classified, the redactions were appropriate, and the privacy-balancing test did not tip in favor of withholding. The office…
When a sewer utility asks a public water utility for customer billing information in Arkansas, does the water utility have to comply, and can it charge a fee?
The water utility must turn over customer information within 15 days of any change. The notification is ongoing, not a one-time request. The utility can probably charge a fee, but the statute is uncle…
Can a county rural development authority in Arkansas own or operate a hospital?
Yes, after Act 830 of 2019. The act expanded the definition of a Rural Development Authority "project" to include healthcare facilities, so a Sevier County RDA could acquire, own, and operate a hospit…
Can an Arkansas city or county charge residents a flat fee to fund ambulance and emergency medical services?
Counties can, under Ark. Code Ann. § 20-13-305, but only after notice, a public hearing, and an opportunity for a referendum. Cities cannot impose a per-resident EMS fee. Cities and counties can joint…
Can a crime victim use FOIA to get an unredacted copy of the Delaware State Police initial crime report?
The Delaware AG ruled that the Delaware State Police could not show its response to Jeffrey Clouser's FOIA request for an unredacted initial crime report was timely under § 10003(h)'s 15-business-day …
Can a Delaware journalist get a list of who has filed waste-fraud-and-abuse complaints with the State Auditor of Accounts, including the agency named and the reason?
No. The Auditor of Accounts' Hotline Log is an investigatory file 'compiled for civil or criminal law-enforcement purposes' under 29 Del. C. § 10002(l)(3), even though AOA is not itself a police agenc…
If my wages are already being garnished at the maximum amount, can a second creditor's later garnishment also start running, and how does the six-month clock work?
A later-filed writ that seeks less than the maximum can run alongside an existing maximum garnishment, but it cannot collect anything until the first writ ends or drops below the cap. The six-month cl…
If I have an amateur radio emergency license plate in Tennessee, can I run amber and white flashing lights all around my car?
No. Even with an amateur-radio 'emergency' license plate, a privately owned vehicle is still a 'nonemergency vehicle' under the lighting statute, and the prohibition on flashing lights in front and re…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Winston Apple's 2019 Chapter 192 (public health co-op) initiative petition (file 2020-096)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved Apple's petition 2020-096 (amending Chapter 192 RSMo, the Department of Health and Senior Services chapter) as sufficient as to form under § 116.332 RSMo. The comp…
Why did the Missouri AG reject the form of Winston Apple's 2019 Article III §52 initiative petition (file 2020-094)?
Because the petition failed to bracket deleted text and underline new text as required by § 116.050 RSMo. AG Schmitt rejected Apple's petition 2020-094 (amending Article III, Section 52) for that draf…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Winston Apple's 2019 Article III §39 (local minimum wage) initiative petition (file 2020-093)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved Apple's petition 2020-093 (amending Article III, Section 39) as sufficient as to form under § 116.332 RSMo. The companion fiscal note (139-2019) confirms this is t…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's August 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 2, file 2020-098)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved Sedey's petition 2020-098 (version 2 in a third Article VIII voting-access wave) as sufficient as to form under § 116.332 RSMo. The Secretary of State retained fin…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's August 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 1, file 2020-097)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved Sedey's petition 2020-097 (version 1 of a third Article VIII voting-access wave) as sufficient as to form under § 116.332 RSMo. Procedural review only; the Secreta…
If a Delaware agency says it does not have the document I asked for, can the AG investigate and force them to look harder?
No. The Delaware AG declined to find a FOIA violation by the Auditor of Accounts because counsel represented that the requested timekeeping policy had been sent and that no other office-closure record…
Can a Delaware agency demand prepayment for a $351 FOIA fee estimate before turning over a single page?
Yes. The Delaware AG ruled that the Office of Defense Services lawfully required prepayment of its $351.74 cost estimate before producing records. Section 10003(m)(5) expressly allows public bodies to…
Does Delaware FOIA force the agency to mail me a date-stamped copy of my own request, and how specific does my records request have to be?
No. Delaware FOIA requires public bodies to make records available for inspection and copying, not to mail copies (29 Del. C. § 10003(a)). Requesters must describe records with enough specificity for …
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Shetova Hayes's 2019 dangerous-felony 50%-sentence initiative petition (file 2020-092)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved Hayes's petition 2020-092 (a Chapter 558 amendment cutting the dangerous-felony first-time minimum prison term from 85% to 50%) as sufficient as to form under § 11…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for SJR 14 & 9, the 2019 legislative referral imposing two-term limits on all statewide elected officials?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note for Senate Substitute for Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Joint Resolution Nos. 14 & 9, which would have placed a two-term…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's later-July 2019 Article VIII voting petition (file 2020-089)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved Sedey's petition 2020-089 (the second version of a follow-on July 2019 wave) as sufficient as to form under § 116.332 RSMo. Procedural review only; the Secretary o…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's later-July 2019 Article VIII voting petition (file 2020-088)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved Sedey's petition 2020-088 (the first version of a follow-on July 2019 wave of voting-access petitions) as sufficient as to form under § 116.332 RSMo. The check is …
Does a Virginia Commonwealth's Attorney have to collect unpaid toll judgments owed to a private toll facility operator?
No. Code § 19.2-349 does not require a Commonwealth's Attorney to collect a judgment of civil penalties, unpaid tolls, administrative fees, and court costs awarded under Code § 46.2-819.3:1 for toll v…
Is a Virginia Commonwealth's Attorney required to collect unpaid toll judgments owed to private toll facility operators, and may a court compel her to do so?
Va. Code § 19.2-349 does not require a Commonwealth's Attorney to collect a judgment of civil penalties, unpaid tolls, administrative fees, and court costs awarded to a private toll facility operator …
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