State AG Opinions
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In Maryland, can a county freeze its sheriff's or state's attorney's salary to block an automatic pay raise that was set before their term began?
The opinion concluded that Queen Anne's County's State's Attorney and Sheriff were entitled to the automatic pay raises tied to District Court judges' salaries, because those raises had been set by le…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 5, file 2020-076)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved Sedey's petition 2020-076 (version 5 of the 12-version voting-access slate) as sufficient as to form under § 116.332 RSMo. The fiscal-note companion (126-2019) car…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 4, file 2020-075)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved Sedey's petition 2020-075 (version 4 of the 12-version voting-access slate) as sufficient as to form under § 116.332 RSMo. Per opinion 146-2019, versions 3 and 4 u…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 3, file 2020-074)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved Sedey's petition 2020-074 (version 3 of a 12-version voting-access slate; per opinion 146-2019, this version uses 16+ pre-registration without Department of Correc…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 2, file 2020-073)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved Sedey's petition 2020-073 (version 2 of a 12-version voting-access slate) as sufficient as to form under § 116.332 RSMo. Form approval is procedural and not a subs…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's first 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 1, file 2020-072)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved Sedey's petition 2020-072 (version 1, the lead version of a 12-version voting-access slate) as sufficient as to form under § 116.332 RSMo. Form approval is procedu…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Damien Johnson's 2019 initiative petition to amend Article I of the Missouri Constitution?
No. AG Schmitt rejected the form of Damien Johnson's Article I initiative petition (file 2020-071) because it did not match the format required by § 116.040 RSMo. Under § 116.332.4 RSMo the Secretary …
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for SJR 14 & 9 (extending the two-term restriction to all statewide elected officials)?
Yes. AG Schmitt approved the ballot summary statement for Senate Substitute for SCS for SJR Nos. 14 & 9, which would amend Article VII to extend Missouri's two-term restriction (currently only Governo…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fair ballot language for SJR 14 & 9 (extending the two-term restriction to all statewide elected officials)?
Yes. AG Schmitt approved the fair ballot language for Senate Substitute for SCS for SJR Nos. 14 & 9, which would extend the existing two-term cap (currently applying only to the Governor and Treasurer…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 initiative petition (version 12) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the sufficiency-as-to-form of Sedey's Article VIII petition Version 12 (file 2020-083). It is the companion to Version 11 (Opinion 105-2019). Form approval is mech…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 initiative petition (version 11) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the sufficiency-as-to-form of Sedey's Article VIII petition Version 11 (file 2020-082), one of several parallel versions Sedey filed targeting election law. Form a…
What does the Missouri AG's procedural form approval mean for the last of a multi-version initiative petition campaign?
The AG approved the form of Mary Anne Sedey's Version 10 initiative petition to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form review is a procedural gate; ballot title, signatures, and substan…
When a Missouri proponent files multiple versions of the same initiative petition, what does the AG's form review actually decide for each version?
The AG approved the form of Mary Anne Sedey's Version 9 initiative petition to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Each version of a multi-version filing gets its own independent form rev…
How does the Missouri AG's form-only approval relate to whether a constitutional amendment petition will end up on the ballot?
The AG approved the form of Mary Anne Sedey's Version 8 initiative petition to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval is a narrow procedural check and does not put the petition…
What does the Missouri AG's form-only approval of an initiative petition mean, and what does it not cover?
The AG approved the form of Mary Anne Sedey's Version 7 initiative petition to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval is a narrow procedural check; substance, ballot title, and…
What does it mean when the Missouri AG approves an initiative petition 'as to form,' and what happens next in the Missouri ballot process?
The AG approved the form of Mary Anne Sedey's Version 6 initiative petition to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval is a narrow check that does not endorse the substance and …
When a county commissioner files candidacy paperwork while living in one magisterial district but moves to a different district before the general election, which district counts as 'his' for the constitutional rule that no two commissioners can be elected from the same district?
The AG concluded under W. Va. Const. art. IX, § 10 and Burkhart v. Sine that a commissioner is 'elected from' the magisterial district where he or she lived on the date of the general election, not th…
Can a Texas state board member receive a grant from a program their own agency administers?
No, the AG advised. The Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board asked whether a 2017 change to the state contracting law let one of its own board members receive $15,000 in financial assistance …
Can a Delaware family member get the public-health investigation file on a disease outbreak at an assisted-living facility?
No. Delaware DPH properly withheld the full investigation file on a GI outbreak at Brandywine Assisted Living at Fenwick Island under FOIA's medical-files exemption (29 Del. C. § 10002(l)(1)) and the …
Can a Delaware town go into executive session about selling city property and immediately vote on the sale in open session?
Yes. The Delaware AG ruled that a Rehoboth Beach Special Meeting agenda combining a § 10004(b)(2) executive session on a possible property sale with an open-session vote on the same matter satisfied F…
If the Missouri Attorney General approves an initiative petition 'as to form,' does that mean the petition is constitutional or that it will be on the ballot?
No. The AG approved Mark Pedersen's Article XIV initiative petition (2020-070) as to form only. Form review checks procedural and structural requirements; it does not opine on the petition's substance…
When the state sends a Virginia city local sales tax that should have gone to a different locality, does the city owe interest when it pays the money back?
No. The Virginia AG concluded that the Tax Commissioner has no authority to charge interest on local sales tax revenues that the Commonwealth erroneously sent to the wrong locality; the money is repai…
Can a Tennessee minister ordained online still officiate weddings after Public Chapter 415 took effect?
After July 1, 2019, no. Public Chapter 415 added a sentence to Tennessee's marriage statute saying persons who receive online ordinations cannot solemnize marriages, even if their religious tradition …
When a Delaware agency redacts records, does it have to explain why each redaction was made?
Yes. Delaware FOIA at 29 Del. C. § 10003(h)(2) requires public bodies that deny a request 'in whole or in part' to state the reasons for the denial in the response itself. The Delaware Department of A…
When can a Tennessee handgun permit holder carry a gun into a courthouse, and what counts as 'judicial proceedings in progress'?
Tennessee's gun-free-courthouse rule under § 39-17-1306(a) applies only when judicial proceedings are actually in progress, but those proceedings include in-chambers and remote court business, not jus…
Does an arbitration award force a Texas state agency to pay a manufactured-home consumer claim in full?
No, the AG advised. The Manufactured Housing Division of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs runs a Consumer Claims Program that pays manufactured-home buyers for actual damages caus…
Can a collection agency hired by a Texas county charge a credit card fee on court debts?
Likely yes, if it acts as the county's agent, the AG advised. A county auditor asked whether a private attorney or collection agency that contracts with a county to collect delinquent court debts (fin…
Who writes the ballot question text Missouri voters actually read on a constitutional initiative, and what does the Attorney General check before it's used?
The AG approved the legal content and form of the proposed summary statement for Heidi Miller's Article IV initiative petition (20-063), which would have authorized Medicaid expansion in Missouri. Sta…
Can a California city councilmember be removed from office for not actually living inside the city?
Yes, through a quo warranto action. The Attorney General granted leave to sue Ridgecrest councilmember Wallace T. Martin because there were substantial questions about whether he had established a leg…
Can a Texas county spend subdivision bond money on private roads without taking them over?
Yes, the AG advised, and spending the money does not force the county to adopt the roads. A county attorney asked how a county may use the proceeds from a subdivision road-and-drainage bond, the kind …
Can Texas allow DNA testing of human remains found at a historic cemetery site?
Likely yes, the AG advised. The Texas Historical Commission asked whether it had authority to permit destructive testing of human remains for research, including taking DNA samples to help identify ge…
When an Arkansas school district investigates and suspends an employee for misconduct involving a student, can the district withhold the investigative records by saying there's no compelling public interest?
Likely no. The AG concluded the public has a compelling interest in disclosure when the conduct occurred during school hours and affected a student. Even when the employee holds no leadership role, th…
Can DNREC withhold permit files under FOIA because two private property owners might sue each other over a boundary dispute?
No. DNREC violated FOIA by withholding bulkhead permit application files under the potential litigation exemption when the only foreseeable lawsuit was between two private neighbors over a boundary di…
If a Delaware public body finally produces records mid-petition, is my FOIA delay complaint dead?
Yes. Once the City of Wilmington produced the narrowed records during the petition process, the journalist's FOIA delay claim was moot. Delaware FOIA petitions exist to determine whether a violation '…
What is the Missouri Attorney General's role in approving the fiscal note summary that voters see for a ballot initiative?
The AG approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary the State Auditor prepared for Heidi Miller's Article IV initiative petition (20-063). The review is a narrow procedural check tha…
How far does the State Properties Review Board's authority reach when it reviews no-bid construction, no-bid consultant, and design-build contracts?
AG William Tong concluded the Board's review of all four contract types runs broad. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 4b-3(f) lets the Board examine 'all aspects' of the proposed transaction, including financial rec…
Can the Delaware AG order an Auditor to produce school district audit reports that the requester believes should exist under another statute?
No. Delaware FOIA limits the AG's petition jurisdiction to deciding whether FOIA was violated. The AG cannot order the Auditor of Accounts to produce audit reports the requester believes should exist …
Can a journalist get a roster of Delaware pre-trial detainees with names, charges, ICE holds, and bond amounts under FOIA?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that the Department of Correction properly denied a journalist's FOIA request for a roster of pre-trial detainees because 11 Del. C. § 4322(a) and § 8513(d) statutorily prohi…
Can the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System sue to recover overpayments to deceased retirees without waiving the State's sovereign immunity?
The answer is uncertain after the 2018 *Andrews* decision. Older cases said the State could be the moving party in court without waiving immunity, but *Andrews* held the General Assembly cannot waive …
Can a sitting Arkansas county coroner run for re-election to a school board seat in the middle of his coroner term?
No. Article 7, section 53 of the Arkansas Constitution bars a person elected as coroner from being elected or appointed to a school board during his term as coroner. The fact that the school board sea…
What kinds of formatting mistakes will get a Missouri initiative petition rejected by the Attorney General on form?
The AG rejected Steven Reed's initiative petition (2020-066) on form because it did not follow § 116.050.2(2) and (3), RSMo. The opinion does not list every defect — form review stops once one fatal f…
Is it still illegal for a Texas board to use a walking quorum after the Doyal ruling?
Yes, the AG advised: the conduct still violates the Open Meetings Act, and civil remedies still apply. In early 2019 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, in State v. Doyal, struck down one criminal pr…
Can TxDOT still add to the North Tarrant Express toll project after the 2017 contract deadline?
Yes, the AG advised. Two state senators asked whether the Texas Department of Transportation could still enter a new facility agreement under the North Tarrant Express Comprehensive Development Agreem…
Can a Texas city use zoning to keep gun stores away from schools or limit where they can open?
No, the AG advised. A state senator asked whether Texas cities may use zoning and similar regulations to restrict where firearm and ammunition stores can operate, citing proposals to ban such sales ne…
If a Missouri initiative petition doesn't show its proposed deletions in brackets and additions underlined, will the Attorney General reject it?
Yes. The AG rejected Charles Hurth's initiative petition (2020-065) on form because it failed § 116.050, RSMo, which requires deleted constitutional text to be shown in brackets and new text to be und…
Can a convicted felon run for office in Texas after finishing their sentence?
Not automatically, the AG advised. A county attorney asked whether someone convicted of a felony becomes eligible to run for office in Texas just by completing their sentence and getting their voting …
Do Texas insurers have to pay out-of-network emergency room claims on time, and can they be penalized if they pay late?
Partly, the AG advised. Two state representatives asked whether both the deadlines and the penalties in the Insurance Code's prompt-pay provisions (chapter 843 for HMOs and chapter 1301 for PPOs) reac…
If a police officer follows a no-chase policy and doesn't pursue a suspect, can the officer be sued when that suspect later hurts someone?
Probably not, the AG advised. Two state representatives asked whether a 'no-chase' policy (one that tells officers to refrain from high-speed pursuit in certain situations) is unlawful and whether an …
When a Delaware agency finally produces records after a journalist files a FOIA petition for missing the 15-business-day deadline, is the petition moot, and what about new complaints about how the agency searched?
The AG concluded the petition was moot because DOC produced the responsive records before the AG ruled. The AG did find that DOC failed to give a good-faith time estimate within fifteen business days …
Why did the Missouri AG reject Mark Pedersen's 2019 initiative petition to amend Article XIV of the Missouri Constitution?
Because the petition did not show what would be deleted in brackets and what would be added underlined, as § 116.050, RSMo requires. The AG did not look for additional defects because this one was eno…
Can a retired Little Rock city employee block disclosure of his personnel file by claiming the request is meant to embarrass him?
No. Retired status is not a basis to refuse a FOIA request, and the requester's motive is generally irrelevant. The custodian's release decision was nearly correct, but additional redactions (date of …
Are Connecticut's 2019 captive-audience bills preempted by federal labor law, or could the state defend them?
AG William Tong split the answer. SB 64 was the same as a 2018 bill the prior AG had said would likely fall to NLRA preemption, and Tong stuck with that conclusion. SB 440 was different: it amended th…
Could Connecticut's legislature take the State Bond Commission away from the Governor and run it as a legislative committee?
AG William Tong concluded a court would almost certainly strike that down. Senate Bill 1134 would have moved the Bond Commission to the legislative branch, eliminated all executive members, and let le…
Is a Virginia petition to move city elections from May to November invalid if it does not say whether the new elections fall in odd or even years?
The Virginia AG declined to decide. Va. Code § 24.2-684.1(9) gives the validity question to the circuit court reviewing the petition, not to the AG, so the opinion explained the legal framework but le…
Can a Minnesota city turn off your electric or water service because you didn't pay your garbage bill or another unrelated municipal charge?
Probably not, and the AG expressly overruled a 1938 opinion that had allowed it. Municipal utilities must use reasonable methods to compel payment, and disconnection requires good cause. Disconnecting…
When do acts of the 2019 Arkansas General Assembly that don't have an emergency clause take effect?
July 24, 2019 for almost all of them. The single exception is Act 1092, which became effective July 30, 2019, because the Senate took it up on the day of sine die adjournment, pushing its 90-day clock…
Could a Minnesota public school bar a graduating senior from walking across the stage at graduation because of unpaid school lunch debt?
No. The AG concluded in 2019 that a school could not deny a student who had met all academic requirements the opportunity to participate in graduation ceremonies based on unpaid meal balances. The opi…
Does Florida § 648.44(1)(b), which limits how bail bond agents can advertise and distribute information inside jails, prisons, detention centers, and courts, violate the First Amendment commercial-speech rights of bail bond agents?
AG staff declined to opine on a sitting statute's constitutionality, consistent with office policy. The letter noted § 648.44(1)(b) differs from the Texas statute struck down in Pruett.
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of a 2019 initiative petition to amend Article IV of the Missouri Constitution?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the sufficiency as to form of Heidi Miller's initiative petition 2020-063, a follow-up to her earlier rejected petition (2020-062). Approval is procedural only and does n…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for a 2019 initiative to cut minimum prison terms for dangerous felonies from 85% to 50% on a first conviction?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the summary statement for initiative petition 2020-056 (submitted by Shetova Hayes), which would amend Chapter 558 to cut first-conviction minimum time-served from 85% to…
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