State AG Opinions
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How much does a Mississippi constable get paid for serving as a bailiff if he covers both civil and criminal court the same day?
The AG concluded that a Mississippi constable serving as bailiff was paid $55 for each day or part of a day, separately for civil and criminal court. A constable who served in both civil and…
Can a Mississippi sheriff put his own son on as a volunteer deputy without violating the state nepotism law?
The AG concluded that the Mississippi nepotism statute did not bar a sheriff's son from serving as an unpaid auxiliary deputy or using county-issued equipment, but it did bar the Sheriff's…
Can George County refinance its hospital bonds under Mississippi refunding laws, and what security would each route permit or require?
The AG said George County may refinance its hospital bonds under Sections 31-27-1 et seq., subject to that chapter's requirements and the Board's determination that the plan qualifies. The separate…
Can a Mississippi municipal employee drive a city vehicle home outside the city or county boundaries?
Yes for official-duty travel. The AG concluded a Mississippi municipality may authorize an employee to take a city vehicle home outside corporate or county limits if the governing authorities…
Does a Mississippi county have to reimburse the tax collector for unpaid travel expenses from prior years?
Reimbursement of mandatory-training travel is required, but late claims for prior years can only be paid from the current fiscal year budget if there is an allocation for them, since under §…
Can a Mississippi regional mental health commission refinance through the state development bank or hospital authority?
No. The AG concluded that under Miss. Code Ann. § 41-19-33(1)(l), a Mississippi regional mental health commission may borrow money only from private lending institutions. The Hinds County Mental…
Can a Mississippi county exempt a production facility at the same address as a free-port warehouse from ad valorem taxes?
Yes, with conditions. The AG concluded that under the 2018 amendments to Miss. Code Ann. § 27-31-53(d), a production or processing facility at the same physical address as a licensed free port…
Who is supposed to set up the audiovisual gear when a Mississippi justice court does an initial appearance by webcam, the judge or the county?
The county. The AG concluded that under Miss. Code Ann. § 19-7-23 and Article 14 Section 261 of the Mississippi Constitution, the Board of Supervisors is responsible for providing all equipment…
Can a Mississippi county pay an attorney to defend its tax assessor in an election contest appeal?
Yes, with a condition. The AG concluded that under Miss. Code Ann. § 19-3-47(1)(b), the Humphreys County Board of Supervisors could hire and pay private counsel from county funds for the current Tax…
Can a Mississippi town tear down a dilapidated building even when the owner is still living in it?
Yes, if the town gives proper notice and a hearing under Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-11, finds the building a menace to public health and safety, and records its findings on the official minutes. Owner…
Did the Arkansas AG approve the seven-city interlocal agreement creating the Northwest Arkansas Razorback Greenway Alliance?
Yes. AG Rutledge approved the Greenway interlocal agreement among Fayetteville, Johnson, Springdale, Lowell, Rogers, Bentonville, and Bella Vista. She found it met the Interlocal Cooperation Act's…
Can Arkansas DFA force you to hand over your expired Arkansas driver's license when you renew it?
The AG did not decide whether DFA may require surrender of an expired Arkansas license. She held that Ark. Code Ann. § 27-16-602(b)(1) does not provide a basis for that requirement; it concerns…
Could a Texas county or city, under a COVID disaster order, stop a second-home owner from occupying their property or limit short-term rentals?
Largely no, the AG concluded. A House committee chair asked whether a local government under an emergency declaration could prevent a second-home owner from occupying the property or limit occupancy…
Can a Texas appraisal review board make you protest your property taxes by videoconference instead of in person during COVID?
No, the AG concluded. A state representative asked whether appraisal review boards could shift property-tax protest hearings to videoconference during COVID-19, and about related notice rules. The…
Can a Texas county judge regulate pawnshop fees, hold periods, or customer limits through a COVID disaster order?
Mostly no, the AG concluded. A House committee chair asked whether the Dallas County Judge could issue emergency orders regulating pawnshops, after a county order changed pawn service fees, set a…
Can Minnesota stop a candidate from helping a voter who needs assistance, and can it cap the number of voters one person can help in a single election?
No to both. The AG concluded in 2020 that Section 208 of the federal Voting Rights Act overrides Minnesota's restrictions in Minn. Stat. § 204C.15, subd. 1 that barred candidates from helping voters…
During COVID, could a Texas gun dealer accept a driver's license whose expiration date was extended by the Governor's order?
The AG gave limited guidance and deferred to the ATF. A state representative asked how the Governor's COVID-19 extension of expired Texas driver's licenses affects firearms dealers, because the…
Can a Texas county or city seize private property during a locally declared disaster?
No, the AG concluded. The Hood County Attorney asked whether Government Code section 418.108 lets local governments commandeer private property when operating under a local disaster declaration. The…
Can a Texas county sheriff donate asset-forfeiture money to a nonprofit that helps provide mental health and victim services?
Likely yes, the AG concluded, with conditions. The Schleicher County Attorney asked whether the sheriff could donate forfeiture funds under Code of Criminal Procedure article 59.06 to a nonprofit…
Does the 2019 windstorm-insurance law apply to TWIA's earlier reinsurance, and can its board act with vacancies?
The AG answered the legal questions and declined the factual ones. A state senator asked several questions about whether the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association complied with recent laws. The AG…
Were South Carolina county veterans’ affairs officers state employees after the 2019 amendments?
The AG said yes, overruling prior opinions that classified them as county officers. Although the statute called them at-will employees, it also specified removal for cause, so the office recommended…
How did South Carolina summary courts handle conditional discharges and expungement for marijuana possession or disorderly conduct?
The AG said summary courts could suspend sentence imposition under the conditional-discharge provisions without gaining general probation power. It distinguished solicitor and circuit-court…
During COVID, could the Virginia General Assembly hold its own sessions by Zoom?
Yes. Items 4-0.01 of HB 29 and HB 30, the 2020 budget bills, override VFOIA's normal ban on legislative electronic meetings and permit the General Assembly to meet electronically during a declared…
Can a city withhold the entire personnel files of terminated employees who failed drug tests, citing privacy and lack of compelling public interest?
Inconclusive. AG Rutledge could not opine without seeing specific records, but flagged that the custodian had classified the files as personnel records yet applied the test (compelling public…
Could Myrtle Beach impose its own COVID-19 lodging restrictions alongside the governor’s order?
The AG reiterated that local governments could not exercise emergency powers reserved to the governor, but it did not decide the validity of the city manager’s particular lodging order. It said a…
Could Lancaster County use public funds for local business grants during COVID-19?
The AG said a program primarily protecting jobs and county economic welfare might satisfy the constitutional public-purpose requirement, but the county had to make its initial determination. The…
Could a South Carolina legislative delegation fill a technical college commission vacancy without a public meeting during the COVID-19 pandemic?
The AG concluded in 2020 that the governor had to appoint a replacement on the recommendation of the appropriate county delegation, acting collectively with a quorum. The delegation could meet…
Could South Carolina use its Housing Trust Fund for temporary rent assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic?
The AG said the Housing Trust Fund Act did not expressly authorize rent assistance, but a court might find a temporary program served its affordable-housing purpose. The office could not decide the…
Must a Florida town record its lien for unpaid water and sewer service from a chapter 159 bond-financed system before enforcing it against a new owner?
The AG concluded that the Town of Davie may enforce its section 159.17 lien without recording it: section 695.01(3) exempts government utility liens from its recording requirement. The five-year…
Can a Florida city run a temporary pilot program allowing some vacation rentals, then snap back to its pre-2011 total ban once the pilot ends?
The AG said a pilot ordinance could not sunset in a way that reimposed Belle Isle's old prohibition on properties opened to vacation rentals by the pilot. But reenacted provisions of the 2008…
Can a Florida city ask employees to document hours served on military or National Guard duty to administer paid leave?
The Attorney General concluded that Miami Beach may require documentation of hours spent on military or National Guard duty to administer section 115.07 paid leave. The City cannot condition the…
Is the West Virginia Housing Development Fund the only entity allowed to act as the federally contracted administrator of Section 8 project-based housing vouchers in West Virginia?
The AG concluded the Fund was the only West Virginia entity with statewide statutory authority to operate as a public housing authority and therefore the only one eligible to be HUD's Performance…
Could Lutricia Abdullah prevent release of her Little Rock job application under Arkansas FOIA?
No. AG Rutledge held that the custodian's decision to release Abdullah's Public Works job application after redacting sensitive personal information was consistent with FOIA. She referred Abdullah…
Does a Texas constable automatically resign by telling people privately he's running for sheriff and collecting petition signatures?
Likely not, the AG concluded. A district attorney asked whether the constitutional resign-to-run rule (article XVI, section 65) made a Kenedy County constable automatically resign after he told…
Can a Texas commissioners court hold one public-comment period for the whole agenda and limit how long each speaker talks?
Yes to both, the AG concluded. The Blanco County Attorney asked how Government Code section 551.007, which requires certain governmental bodies to allow public comment on agenda items at open…
Could South Carolina's High School League make students transferring to charter or private schools ineligible for athletics for a year?
In 2020, the AG said a court might find that the League's transfer bylaws, as then interpreted, unlawfully burdened charter and private school students. The opinion identified possible conflicts…
Does a Washington school district have to put construction management or related design-phase services out for competitive bid if it routes the contract through an educational service district?
Yes, once the project's estimated cost reaches $100,000. The AG concluded that construction management, value engineering, constructability review, and building commissioning all qualify as 'other…
Does Arkansas FOIA allow release of a city employee's job application after personal information is redacted?
Yes. AG Rutledge concluded the City of Little Rock's decision to release the Public Works job application, after redacting sensitive personal information, was generally consistent with FOIA. The…
When does a hospital have to file an 805 report after revoking or restricting a physician's privileges?
Within 15 days after the peer review body's decision becomes final, which is generally after the licentiate's appeal to the peer review body has been completed. Section 805.01 cases involving…
Did South Carolina coroners have to release the names of people who died of COVID-19 during the 2020 public health emergency?
The AG said a court might require disclosure of death certificates under established public records precedent, or might limit disclosure of identifying health information under the emergency…
Does media coverage of an alleged 'abusive workplace' at Pulaski County Election Commission create a compelling public interest in disclosing the underlying employee complaints under Arkansas FOIA?
Indirectly answered. The AG explained that the compelling-public-interest analysis only matters if the records are evaluation records and there has already been a suspension or termination. Where…
Are county advisory boards in Arkansas governing bodies subject to FOIA open meetings, and does an uncodified ordinance survive?
Section 14-14-705 distinguishes advisory boards, which cannot administer programs or set policy, from administrative boards. A board acting solely in the statutory advisory role is not a FOIA…
When did laws passed in Kentucky's 2020 legislative session take effect?
July 15, 2020. The Attorney General concluded that, under Section 55 of the Kentucky Constitution, most legislation passed in the 2020 Regular Session took effect on Wednesday, July 15, 2020, ninety…
Could a South Carolina school board let its chair and superintendent suspend board policies during the COVID-19 emergency?
The AG found no apparent conflict on the face of Beaufort County's proposed emergency resolution, but warned that allowing the chair and superintendent to suspend policies could violate limits on…
Does Illinois law prevent county coroners from collecting, transporting, or storing bodies during a declared public health emergency like COVID-19?
No. The AG concluded in 2020 that nothing in division 3-3 of the Counties Code blocked coroners from helping with mass-fatality response during a declared disaster. The Emergency Management Act and…
If one child in a South Dakota family already attends a neighboring (nonresident) school district under open enrollment, must the nonresident district also accept a sibling who needs special education services it cannot provide, just to keep the family in one district?
No. AG Ravnsborg ruled that SDCL 13-28-44 lets a nonresident district deny an open enrollment application for a child who needs special education services the district cannot provide, even when a…
Could Beaufort require a Historic District Review Board member to belong to a private preservation foundation?
The AG concluded that the foundation could recommend candidates because its mission related to the review board's work, but requiring a nominee to belong to the foundation could unlawfully delegate…
Could South Carolina's governor declare a new COVID-19 emergency after the fifteen-day limit without legislative consent?
The AG concluded in 2020 that a single emergency declaration could not continue beyond fifteen days without legislative consent, but the governor could issue a new declaration based on new facts,…
Can a Texas business claim the disaster property tax exemption for COVID-19 economic losses if its property wasn't physically damaged?
No, the AG concluded. Section 11.35 of the Tax Code gives a temporary property tax exemption for property at least 15 percent 'damaged by the disaster' declared by the Governor. The Chair of the…
Should fingerprinting be required for the new high-and-aggravated misdemeanor in Georgia's medical low-THC oil program?
Yes for § 16-12-225(b), the misdemeanor of high and aggravated nature for gross, willful, or wanton negligence by acts or omissions that contribute to or cause endangerment of patients, trafficking…
Did South Carolina's Heritage Act protect the Cooper River Memorial Library from renovation?
The AG said a court likely would treat the World War II memorial library as covered by the Heritage Act. Whether Charleston County's proposed renovation and addition preserved the memorial or…
Who sets a Texas district court coordinator's salary, the judge or the county commissioners court?
Both have to agree, the AG concluded. Government Code section 74.104 says district judges determine reasonable compensation for their court coordinators, subject to the commissioners court's…
If a Delaware agency finally answers my FOIA request only after I file a complaint about its delay, can the AG still find a violation?
No. The AG ruled Jeffrey Clouser's FOIA petition against the Delaware State Police was moot because DSP issued its denial on the same day the petition was filed. The AG also reminded petitioners…
If a Delaware police agency doesn't keep aggregate ballistics statistics, can a journalist FOIA that count?
No. The AG concluded the Delaware State Police did not violate FOIA when it refused to produce five years of bullet and casing counts, because counsel represented no such compiled record existed and…
If a Delaware agency typed my email address wrong and never delivered its FOIA response on time, did it violate FOIA?
No. The AG ruled New Castle County did not violate FOIA after it mistyped Julie Nay's address and its response did not reach her on time. Once the County re-sent the records, the AG found no…
Did Executive Order 2020-178 validly remove two Kentucky Fish and Wildlife commissioners after Senate confirmation?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Executive Order 2020-178, which purported to rescind the appointments of Fish and Wildlife Commissioners Karl Clinard and Paul Horn, was void and without…
Can an Arkansas judge deny a defendant a state-paid mental examination just because the defendant has retained private counsel?
Mostly no. AG Rutledge concluded an Arkansas trial court may not consider a defendant's lack of indigency or retention of private counsel when deciding whether to order a first mental examination…
Were a rural telephone cooperative's vehicles exempt from South Carolina town property tax?
The AG concluded in 2020 that the rural telephone cooperative exemption did not extend to city or town property tax on vehicles. It could not determine whether the company in question qualified as a…
If a Delaware agency tells me a record I asked for doesn't exist, can the AG order them to produce it anyway?
No. The AG ruled the Delaware State Police did not violate FOIA when it told Scott Becker the requested 2019 firearms-transaction annual report did not exist. The AG accepted counsel's…
Could South Carolina cities ban carrying knives that state criminal law allowed?
The AG concluded that a court would likely invalidate the Greenville, Columbia and Charleston knife ordinances discussed because they criminalized possession that state law permitted. The office…
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