State AG Opinions
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Could Kentucky order religious schools to close during COVID if they followed social distancing and hygiene guidelines?
No. The Attorney General concluded that during the COVID-19 emergency the Governor, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and other state and local officials could not order religiously…
Could a pardoned former councilmember vote and run to fill the seat he forfeited?
The AG said a pardon restored the person’s voting and public-office rights generally, but a councilmember who forfeited office for lacking a qualification during that term could not run in the…
Could a South Carolina sheriff be personally liable for spending beyond the county budget?
The AG said sheriff spending above an adopted appropriation could be unlawful, and a court could impose personal liability if it found negligence. It could not decide whether the Jasper County…
When a Texas water district builds roads for a county to take over, who sets the construction standards and can the county delay acceptance with a warranty period?
The county sets the standard, within statutory limits, and may impose a warranty period that meets those limits, the AG concluded. Senator Eddie Lucio asked, for the Bastrop County Water Control and…
Do appraisal district board members in Texas have to take the state's mandatory cybersecurity training for local government officials?
Probably not, the AG concluded. The Hill County Attorney asked whether Government Code section 2054.5191(a-1), which makes a local government require its employees and 'elected officials' to…
Does a Mississippi school district issuing a shortfall promissory note have to prove the shortfall would prevent it from meeting its financial obligations?
No. The AG concluded a school district issuing a shortfall promissory note under § 37-57-108 must only make a good-faith determination that revenue is short of budget; the financial-distress test…
Can a Mississippi state agency keep granting paid COVID administrative leave to employees who can't come back to work?
Yes, conditionally. Under § 25-3-92(2)(b), the head of a state agency can grant paid administrative leave to employees during an emergency, but the agency itself has to make the factual call that…
Can Texas A&M University remove or relocate the Sul Ross statue on its campus on its own?
Not on its own, the AG concluded. Chapter 2166 of the Government Code generally does not apply to projects of state universities, but section 2166.5011, which uses 'notwithstanding any other…
Can a Texas city or county halt evictions under a local disaster declaration?
No, the AG concluded. Senator Brandon Creighton asked whether local governments operating under COVID-19 disaster declarations could delay, prohibit, or restrict the eviction procedures the…
Must a Virginia city or county deny a business license when a non-citizen applicant does not produce a green card?
No. Virginia law does not require a commissioner of the revenue to deny a business license to a non-citizen applicant who fails to produce a permanent resident card. A 2006 AG opinion that reached…
Could a Liberty councilmember also serve on a county arts foundation and chamber board?
The AG concluded that serving on both nonprofit boards while on the Liberty City Council did not violate the constitutional dual-office rule. It left possible ethics conflicts to the State Ethics…
Did Saluda County’s COVID-19 disaster declaration restrict firearms or alcohol sales?
The AG said the declaration itself only announced an emergency and copied an older ordinance’s powers; it did not impose those restrictions. The older ordinance’s firearms and governor-level…
How and when can Georgia's Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission adjust the dollar limits on campaign contributions, and can it delegate that decision to staff?
Adjustments work in $100 increments based on CPI inflation or deflation. The Commission must adjust contribution limits for primaries, primary run-offs, general elections, and general election…
If a child with disabilities is placed in an Arkansas residential treatment center by an out-of-state parent, does an Arkansas school district have to provide special education?
Yes. AG Rutledge concluded that under Ark. Code Ann. 6-41-202(a) and Arkansas Department of Education regulations, a child with a disability placed in an Arkansas residential treatment facility for…
Can rural Arizona homeowners form a Domestic Water Improvement District that uses water haulers and standpipes instead of a pipe network?
Likely, if the proposed district has waterworks and a system for delivering domestic water to property owners. The AG said standpipes, pumps, a water source, and water haulers would likely qualify;…
Can a Texas transit authority require masks and refuse service to riders who won't wear one?
Yes, the AG concluded. Representative Jim Murphy asked whether the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) could refuse service to and bar a rider who would not follow a rule…
Can a Texas county or judge require masks in courthouses and county buildings?
Yes, through several different officials, the AG concluded. Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan asked who could require face coverings in courtrooms, courthouses, and other county buildings during the…
Which court can issue a capias in a Texas misdemeanor case, and when?
The judge of a court that obtains jurisdiction of a misdemeanor case when an information or complaint is filed may issue a capias after commitment or bail and before trial, the AG concluded. Filing…
Are Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) records public, or do FERPA and state privacy laws keep them confidential?
ESA records are generally public records under Arizona's public records law. But personally identifiable information (PII) about specific students must be redacted before disclosure, under FERPA and…
Could a South Carolina county hold a live tax auction with online bidding during COVID-19?
The AG said the statute likely contemplated a physical sale within the county, but a court could find a live in-county auction with online bidding substantially compliant during the pandemic if…
Did South Carolina’s evidence-preservation law require police to keep an impounded car after searching it?
The 2020 South Carolina AG said a searched vehicle might itself be physical evidence in a covered case. Local authorities had to decide that question; the custodian could seek a court order for…
What did South Carolina’s Family Privacy Protection Act require counties to do with records sought for commercial solicitation?
In 2020, the South Carolina AG said counties had to give notice and take reasonable additional measures against commercial-solicitation use of personal information. It left the choice of measures to…
Can a Mississippi school district pay students cash incentives for ACT scores, and can it pay teachers and staff for school-wide ACT improvements?
The AG said the district cannot pay students cash for prospective ACT performance because it lacks statutory authority and the payments would be unlawful donations. It may pay employee incentives if…
What is an 'administrative review' under Mississippi's youth court juvenile-detention statute, and what factors should the court consider?
The statute requires administrative review of juvenile detention longer than 45 days, but does not define the term or specify factors. The youth court has discretion to design the review, and the…
Can a Mississippi county pay an attorney to represent the tax assessor in defending an election contest?
It depends on the board's factual finding. The AG reaffirmed that the Humphreys County Board of Supervisors may pay legal fees for the tax assessor/collector in an election contest only if the board…
Can a county patrolman enforce Mississippi littering law on county roads, and does a § 97-15-30 conviction carry the extra $50 fine?
The AG said a board of supervisors may employ county patrolmen and include enforcement of § 97-15-30 littering on county roads and rights-of-way in their duties. The additional $50 fine in §…
Who has to write up the minutes for a Mississippi county board of supervisors meeting, the chancery clerk or someone else?
The chancery clerk has the duty to take, prepare, and present board of supervisors minutes under § 19-3-27. The board may appoint another person as recording clerk to draft the minutes for board…
Can a Mississippi county clean and repair a flooding creek that runs across private property?
Yes, with conditions. The AG concluded an Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors may clean or clear a flooding creek on private property if it makes the public-health findings required by §…
Can Mississippi state-owned property be used to rebury prehistoric Native American remains?
Yes. The AG concluded the Mississippi Department of Archives and History may use existing state-owned property, or acquire new property, to rebury prehistoric Native American remains, as long as the…
Can a Mississippi city stop using bound minute books and store its meeting minutes only electronically?
Yes. The AG said a municipality may keep its minutes electronically if all statutory requirements, including signing and seal requirements, are met and the public can inspect the minutes at the…
Can a Mississippi community college spend public funds on PPE for students and employees without violating the constitutional ban on donations?
Yes, with a finding. The AG concluded a community college board may purchase PPE for students and employees if it determines the spending serves a statutory purpose (here, safe campus reopening)…
Can a Mississippi town's Board of Aldermen order the mayor to make an employee show up at a board meeting, and what happens if the mayor refuses?
Mostly no. The AG concluded the Board of Aldermen cannot order the mayor to deliver a particular employee to a meeting (that crosses the legislative-executive line), but it can seek mandamus when…
Could a South Carolina Lottery Commission member also serve on Spartanburg’s hospitality-tax grant committee?
Yes under the dual-office rule analyzed in 2020. The South Carolina AG said the city grant committee only recommended allocations and did not hold sovereign authority; it deferred separate ethics…
Who enforced the fire code in Orangeburg County’s unincorporated areas?
The AG expected a court to hold that the county had building and fire code enforcement responsibility in its unincorporated areas. A city or district providing fire services there did not…
Could a South Carolina judge issue a fugitive warrant for an out-of-state bench warrant or probation violation?
The AG said the judge should examine the underlying out-of-state crime and its possible punishment, rather than the bench warrant or probation violation alone. Transferred supervision under the…
When an Arkansas Department of Health employee objects to her old discipline file being released, what does the AG actually decide?
The AG declined to opine on the specific records because Wylie did not submit them. AG Rutledge instead set out the legal standards (personnel records under the Young v. Rice balancing test,…
When the Arkansas Department of Health releases a discipline file on a high-ranking employee, is that consistent with FOIA?
Yes. AG Rutledge concluded the ADH custodian's decision to release the three records (one personnel record, one mixed personnel/evaluation record, and one evaluation record), as redacted, was…
Could Benedict College police arrest someone on a nearby road that did not touch campus?
The AG believed campus officers’ general jurisdiction reached roads that actually touched college property, not roads merely nearby. Off-campus authority could arise from another source, but the…
What does Arkansas's AG do when a former police officer wants his personnel and internal-investigation files kept private from a FOIA requester?
The AG declined to opine on the specific records because Jeffers did not submit them to her office. AG Rutledge instead set out the FOIA framework: the AG's authority is limited to reviewing the…
Can a Connecticut state employee use a union grievance to challenge a POST Council certification decision?
The AG said grievance procedures in collective bargaining agreements between the State and state employees do not directly intersect with POST Council decisions. The opinion did not address…
Does Delaware FOIA require a town council to take up a particular issue at a public meeting before the town manager or solicitor can act on it?
No. The AG ruled FOIA does not dictate when a public body must take up a matter of public business. Councilmember Vicki Carmean's complaint that Fenwick Island Town officials approved an open pool…
Can a state employee block release of her suspension records under Arkansas FOIA because she's afraid of harassment?
No. The AG found that Kriesel’s record was an employee-evaluation record, met all four conditions for disclosure, and could be released with redactions. Her fear of harassment was not, on its own, a…
Can Arkansas release an ADH employee’s personnel and evaluation records over his objection?
The AG found the custodian’s decision to release the two records with redactions consistent with FOIA. One record met the test for releasing personnel records; the other appeared to meet the…
When a police officer works 12-hour shifts, does Arkansas count a 'working day' of sick leave as 8 hours or 12?
The AG said a court would likely read working day in Ark. Code Ann. § 14-52-107 as eight hours. If a court adopted that reading, officers would be unlikely to retain hours above the statutory…
Could North Augusta remove the Meriwether Monument without action by the South Carolina legislature?
The AG said no: the monument was erected under state legislation that remained in effect, so the city needed legislative relief. It did not decide whether the Heritage Act also protected the monument.
Can an Arkansas city or county pass its own ordinance against drug possession, or has the state taken over the field?
Counties cannot criminalize felonies. Two conflicting county statutes need judicial or legislative resolution on the misdemeanor question. Cities cannot criminalize felonies but are explicitly…
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 in section 395.3035(4)(a), Florida Statutes, covers portions of meetings of a public hospital's governing board. The Marion County Hospital District identified itself as the…
Can a city employee block release of his personnel file, disciplinary file, and ID photo under Arkansas FOIA, and what gets redacted?
The AG could not definitively decide whether the custodian's release decision complied with FOIA because she had not reviewed the records. She explained the standards for personnel and…
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…
Did a beer wholesaler’s ownership automatically bar the wholesaler’s spouse from a retail beer permit?
The AG said one spouse’s ownership did not necessarily give the other a financial interest, but the particular facts required a court. It also concluded the Department of Revenue had broad authority…
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…
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…
Could Bamberg County Council move a Confederate statue from the courthouse grounds on its own?
The AG said the county should not move the statue on its own. Whether the Heritage Act covered this particular monument required a court’s factual determination; legislative permission could then be…
Can a Georgia driver's-license applicant with a valid license from a U.S. territory qualify for the road and knowledge test exemption?
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…
Could South Carolina’s Real Estate Commission keep requiring Social Security number-based background checks?
The AG expected a court to say no. The amended licensing statute specified fingerprint-based checks by SLED and the FBI and removed the commission’s former authority to choose the check sources.
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…
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.…
During COVID-19, does concern about catching or spreading illness qualify a voter for an absentee ballot in Arkansas?
The AG did not decide. She declined to answer because the question was pending before a court, citing Baker v. Thurston in a footnote. The opinion gives no ruling on absentee-ballot eligibility.
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…
Could the Clarendon County legislative delegation appoint the new consolidated school board?
The AG concluded that the 2020 consolidation act expressly authorized the delegation to make the initial appointments. It saw no constitutional or Voting Rights Act preclearance bar under the…
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