State AG Opinions
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Could a Maryland employer count protected sick and safe leave as absence points that might lead to discipline?
The Attorney General concluded that an employer could not assign absence points that might lead to discipline for legitimate sick and safe leave. An employer could penalize actual improper use or a…
Can a Delaware county discuss agricultural-easement purchases in executive session under the 'site acquisition' exemption?
Yes. The Delaware AG ruled Sussex County Council did not violate FOIA by holding executive sessions for the Agricultural Lands Preservation Program. Buying preservation easements is buying real…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Winston Apple's 2019 Article III initiative petition on protecting voter-approved initiative statutes from legislative repeal (file 2020-103)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's summary statement for Apple's Article III petition 2020-103. The petition addressed protecting voter-approved…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Winston Apple's 2019 Article III initiative petition on proportional representation for state legislators (file 2020-102)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's summary statement for Apple's Article III petition 2020-102. The petition addressed proportional representation for…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Winston Apple's 2019 Article VIII initiative petition on ranked-choice voting for federal and statewide offices (file 2020-101)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's summary statement for Apple's Article VIII petition 2020-101. The petition addressed ranked-choice voting for federal…
Is the new Arkansas law letting school districts drug-test teachers and applicants likely to survive a constitutional challenge?
The AG said it would likely be difficult to win a facial constitutional challenge to Act 323. Any drug-screening policy a district adopts under the Act would still face Fourth Amendment scrutiny;…
Was the Auditor of Accounts’ staff search for Odyssey Charter School records adequate under Delaware FOIA?
Yes, on this record. The AG accepted a sworn Chief of Staff affidavit describing the search, including an email asking staff to collect responsive communications from private email and cell phone…
When can a Tennessee county election commission release early and absentee voting totals?
Only after every polling place in the county has actually closed, meaning every voter who was in line at the official closing time (8 p.m. Eastern or 7 p.m. Central) has finished voting. The early…
Must a South Carolina school board give public notice of its committee meetings?
Yes, when a quorum of the committee convenes to discuss or act on its public work. The AG said the committee is its own public body, so its members determine the quorum, and FOIA's requested-notice…
Does Delaware FOIA require an agency to produce the same email twice if it sits in two officials' inboxes?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that the City of Lewes did not violate FOIA by producing one copy of an email rather than separate duplicates from each official's inbox. FOIA does not require an agency to…
When a school district considers not renewing a teacher's contract, are the related records evaluation records or personnel records, and does discussing them in an open hearing make them releasable?
It depends on content. A nonrenewal letter is not automatically an evaluation record; it only is if it details performance. And discussion in a public meeting does not convert exempt records into…
Does the $75 Building Homes and Jobs Act recording fee under Government Code section 27388.1 apply to a record of survey?
Yes. The AG concluded that a record of survey is a document 'relating to real property' under section 27388.1 and is subject to the $75 fee, unless one of the statute's exceptions (residential…
Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary for Winston Apple’s petition 20-103?
Yes. The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary for petition 20-103. The letter does not describe the petition’s substance or assess whether the estimated…
Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary for Winston Apple’s petition 20-102?
Yes. The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary for petition 20-102. The letter does not describe the petition’s substance or assess whether the estimated…
Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary for Winston Apple’s petition 20-101?
Yes. The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary for petition 20-101. The letter does not describe the petition’s substance or assess whether the estimated…
Can a South Carolina auction firm keep its license number after its listed auctioneer changes?
The AG said a court would likely find that the Auctioneers' Commission may reissue the same firm license number on renewal after a change in the listed licensed auctioneer. It found no rule…
Can a Virginia sheriff assign deputies to act as full-time security at a private school?
Not while on duty. The Virginia AG concluded a sheriff cannot dedicate on-duty deputies to permanent security for a private school, but the locality may adopt a § 15.2-1712 ordinance letting…
Can a Virginia city or county use zoning to keep a gun shop from opening next to a school?
Yes. The Virginia AG concluded that Va. Code § 15.2-915, which generally bars localities from regulating firearms, does not stop a locality from using its zoning power to control where…
Can a Walterboro council member also serve on the state Research Authority and a technical college commission?
The AG said those board and council roles are public offices and simultaneous service would violate South Carolina's dual-office rule. It could not decide whether the requester's…
Can a South Carolina county election board combine precincts or make several precincts share one polling place?
Generally no, the AG said. County boards lack authority to consolidate precincts or use one polling place for several precincts unless the legislature specifically allows it; the opinion identifies…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting-access initiative petition (version 8, file 2020-112)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's voting-access petition 2020-112 (version 8) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting-access initiative petition (version 7, file 2020-111)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's voting-access petition 2020-111 (version 7) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting-access initiative petition (version 6, file 2020-110)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's voting-access petition 2020-110 (version 6) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting-access initiative petition (version 5, file 2020-109)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's voting-access petition 2020-109 (version 5) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting-access initiative petition (version 4, file 2020-108)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's voting-access petition 2020-108 (version 4) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is…
Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey’s Article VIII petition 2020-107?
Yes. The AG approved the form of Sedey’s version 3 petition to amend Article VIII. The letter gives no details of the proposed amendment, and the Secretary of State retained final form authority.
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting-access initiative petition (version 2, file 2020-106)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's voting-access petition 2020-106 (version 2) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is…
Did the Missouri AG approve the form of Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting-access initiative petition (version 1, file 2020-105)?
Yes, as to form. AG Schmitt approved the legal form of Sedey's voting-access petition 2020-105 (version 1) to amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution. Form approval under § 116.332 RSMo is…
Can a South Carolina city IT director also serve as a commissioned railroad police officer?
Yes, the AG said, for a railroad officer commissioned as a special state constable. The state constitution expressly excepts constables from its dual-office restriction. The opinion reserved the…
Can a Florida water control district let its landowners vote by mail (absentee ballot) for the three landowner-elected seats on its Board of Supervisors at the annual landowners' meeting?
AG Moody concluded in 2019 that there is no language in the District's charter or in Chapter 298, Florida Statutes, that authorizes voting by mail in district landowner elections. Section 298.11(2)…
Can a Florida police and firefighters' pension board hire a cybersecurity vendor for penetration testing if the vendor might see confidential Social Security numbers and exempt personnel records?
The AG said incidental access under a confidentiality agreement would appear permissible if the Trustees find that the testing administers the pension fund for SSNs and that a substantial policy…
If a Florida city had a pre-2011 ordinance regulating vacation rentals (which is grandfathered from the state's preemption statute), can it amend that ordinance to allow vacation rentals in additional zoning districts without losing its grandfathered protection?
AG Moody concluded in 2019 that amending a pre-June 1, 2011 ordinance does not, by itself, destroy grandfathering for the unchanged provisions, but any new provision that prohibits vacation rentals…
When a Florida municipality owns and operates an airport and leases hangar space to private aircraft owners purely for non-commercial storage, are those leasehold interests exempt from county ad valorem property tax?
Yes, for the private aircraft storage described in the request. The AG concluded that the noncommercial hangar leaseholds at Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport were exempt under § 196.199(2)(a). The…
Can a Florida community development district divide itself into voting zones, with each zone electing one board member to ensure each subdivision within the district gets representation?
No. The AG read Chapter 190 as requiring board members to be 'qualified electors of the district' rather than of a zone; the Legislature, not the district, would have to authorize zoned elections.
Are heavily-armed private militia members who patrol around a Virginia government building breaking the law?
Yes, potentially. The Virginia AG concluded the described conduct (showing up armed, in fatigues, patrolling a line of citizens at a state government building) can violate Va. Code § 18.2-174, which…
Does the Williamsburg-area tourism council that spends Historic Triangle sales tax have to follow Virginia open-records, procurement, and conflict-of-interest laws?
Yes to all of them. The Virginia AG concluded the Tourism Council of the Greater Williamsburg Chamber and its Historic Triangle Office of Marketing and Promotion are 'public bodies' under the…
Can the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology use state funds to buy stock in private startups without violating the Virginia Constitution?
Yes. The Virginia AG concluded that equity investments by the Center for Innovative Technology using Growth Accelerator Program funds, made for the public economic-development purposes set out in…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Sara Baker's referendum petition seeking to put HB 126 (the 2019 'heartbeat' abortion law) before the voters?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved (as a re-issued, typo-corrected version) the Secretary of State's summary statement for Sara Baker's petition 2020-R001, a referendum on Senate…
Can one person serve as both city manager and police chief in a Texas home-rule city?
It depends on how the city sets it up, the AG advised. A district attorney asked, for the City of Ranger, whether one person could hold both the city manager job and the police chief job in a…
Does a Texas criminal district attorney's office have to follow the county purchasing agent's rules?
Only some of them, the AG advised. The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney asked whether her office had to comply with purchasing procedures and rules adopted by the county purchasing agent.…
Can a reporter obtain raw Delaware State Police traffic-stop data when the requested fields come from exempt reports?
The AG found no FOIA violation for these requested fields. It accepted State Police counsel’s statement that they came from exempt police or accident reports and held that putting report information…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Winston Apple's 2019 statutory initiative on a $5 income-tax checkoff to publicly fund clean-money campaigns (file 2020-099)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's summary statement for Apple's petition 2020-099 to amend Chapters 130 and 143 RSMo. The petition would create the…
Do Arizona counties have to count their public-pension catch-up payments toward the constitutional expenditure limit, or are those payments excluded as 'long-term obligations'?
Count them. The AG read 'long-term obligations' in Article 9 § 20(3)(d)(i) to mean bond-like obligations for which the county received amounts or property. The pension amortization payments…
Can multiple Illinois state agencies share a single chief internal auditor through an intergovernmental agreement instead of each appointing their own?
No. The AG concluded that the Fiscal Control and Internal Auditing Act required each designated state agency (the Department of Insurance, the Departments of Agriculture, Corrections, Labor, and…
If a Virginia nonprofit school sets up a single-member LLC to hold property, does that property still qualify for the property-tax exemption for institutions of learning?
No. A single-member LLC (SMLLC) is a separate legal entity from its owner. Property owned by an SMLLC does not qualify for the Virginia property-tax exemption for nonprofit institutions of learning…
What process should South Carolina police use before seizing hemp grown in violation of the Hemp Farming Act?
The AG advised SLED to seek court authorization with notice and a hearing for the grower before seizing allegedly unlawful hemp. The Act did not specify a seizure procedure, and the opinion deferred…
What charge applies in South Carolina if someone rides a moped while their moped license is suspended?
The AG said driving under suspension under § 56-1-460 was the appropriate charge. It acknowledged a court could apply the no-valid-moped-license provisions, but read the motor-vehicle definition and…
If a state legislator sits on the board of a state-created nonprofit that is exempt from FOIA, does the legislator still have to hand over records about that role when the public asks?
Yes. AG William Tong concluded that even though the Partnership for Connecticut, Inc. itself was statutorily exempted from Connecticut FOIA, House Minority Leader Themis Klarides remained subject to…
Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the form of Winston Apple’s Article III petition 2020-103?
Yes. The AG approved the form of Apple’s petition 2020-103 to amend Article III. The letter does not describe the amendment’s terms, and the Secretary of State retained final authority to approve or…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Winston Apple's 2019 statutory initiative creating a state-run health insurance cooperative through the Department of Health and Senior Services (file 2020-096)?
Yes, as to legal content and form (re-issued August 5 to fix a typographical error). AG Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's summary statement for Apple's petition 2020-096 to amend Chapter 192…
Who controls how Texas pretrial intervention fees are spent, and can they pay staff salaries?
The commissioners court controls the spending, the AG advised, and the fees can pay staff who run the program but only for that purpose. A county auditor asked whether a prosecuting attorney could…
Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the form of Winston Apple’s Article III petition 2020-102?
Yes. The AG approved the form of Apple’s petition 2020-102 to amend Article III. The letter does not describe the amendment’s terms, and the Secretary of State retained final authority to approve or…
Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the form of Winston Apple’s Article VIII petition 2020-101?
Yes. The AG approved the form of Apple’s petition 2020-101 to amend Article VIII. The letter does not describe the amendment’s terms, and the Secretary of State retained final authority to approve…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting-access initiative petition with 16-year-old pre-registration (version 2, file 2020-098)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's summary statement for Sedey's Article VIII petition 2020-098 (version 2). Like its sister version 2020-097, the…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting-access initiative petition with 16-year-old pre-registration (version 1, file 2020-097)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's summary statement for Sedey's Article VIII petition 2020-097 (version 1). The petition would establish automatic voter…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Winston Apple's 2019 initiative letting Missouri cities and counties set local minimum wages above state and federal floors (file 2020-093)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the Secretary of State's summary statement for Apple's petition 2020-093 to amend Mo. Const. art. III, § 39. The petition would have given any…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Winston Apple's 2019 statutory initiative on a $5 income-tax checkoff to publicly fund clean-money campaigns (file 20-099)?
Yes, as to legal content and form. AG Schmitt approved the fiscal note prepared by State Auditor Galloway for Apple's petition 20-099 to create the Missouri Elections Trust Fund. The fiscal note…
Can a Washington county give a commercial requester property records that can be sorted into a list of individual owners?
No, if the records can be queried or sorted within the records to display lists of individuals. RCW 42.56.070(8) bars access to those lists for a commercial purpose. The agency should consider…
Did Maryland's carbon monoxide alarm requirement cover all-electric rental homes?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that Maryland's 2016 carbon monoxide alarm requirement applied to all rental dwelling units, including units that relied only on electricity and had no…
Can a homeless shelter or other nonprofit in Arkansas keep its zero-tolerance drug policy under the state's medical marijuana law?
The AG expressly declined to decide whether a nonprofit can administer a zero-tolerance drug policy and comply with medical marijuana law. She concluded only that Amendment 98’s relevant property…
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