State AG Opinions
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Who decides whether a private school can participate in Texas's Education Freedom Accounts program, and what laws disqualify a school?
The Comptroller's Office, not the Attorney General, has the exclusive duty to find the facts that decide eligibility for the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program. The AG declined to make…
Can Texas's juvenile Independent Ombudsman interview and inspect on behalf of youth committed to TJJD who are still sitting in a county detention center waiting to be moved?
Yes. The Office of Independent Ombudsman can interview a child who has been adjudicated for a felony and committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department even while the child is held in a county…
If I'm the subject of a Pulaski County FOIA request for a workplace complaint about me, what can the County actually release and what must it redact?
The Attorney General agreed that the emails could be released as personnel records, subject to supported, consistent redactions. He treated the complaint form as a mixed record, assuming it was…
Can an Arkansas county tax collector require exact-change payments, refuse cash, or operate a fully cashless office? Should tax payments be rounded to the nearest nickel because the U.S. Mint has discontinued the penny?
Yes, yes, and yes (with the rounding question covered by a separate opinion). Neither federal nor state law (constitutional, statutory, or regulatory) requires county officials to accept cash…
Can someone in Arkansas run for school board AND for mayor (or city council) at the same time? Can they hold both offices if elected?
Yes, under the law analyzed. The AG said A.C.A. § 7-5-111 does not bar simultaneous candidacy for school board and mayor or city council. The AG found no current constitutional, statutory, or…
Does 'advanced recycling' like plastic pyrolysis count as recycling under Texas law, or is it just incineration?
It counts as recycling. Under the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act, an advanced recycling facility that uses pyrolysis on post-use polymers (plastics) is engaged in 'recycling.' The statute expressly…
Can a Texas city reduce or repeal the local option homestead exemption it adopted, even if voters vote to lower the city's property tax rate?
No. Under Tax Code subsection 11.13(n-1), a city, county, or school district that had a local option homestead exemption in place for the 2022 tax year cannot reduce or repeal it through the 2027…
Can the Mississippi State Treasurer invest the excess tax dollars Mississippi collects from medical cannabis sales in a money market fund?
Yes, but only if the State Treasurer determines (1) that the cannabis tax revenues sitting in the General Fund really are 'excess' beyond seven business days of operating need, (2) that they cannot…
Can a Florida town pass an ordinance requiring stores to submit a shopping cart retention plan or install a cart-retention system?
The AG concluded that § 506.5131 preempts municipal requirements for shopping cart retention plans, plan denials, and penalties for noncompliance. It also preempts required retention systems, except…
Does a North Dakota school district violate the open records law by giving a requester redacted documents and explaining the redactions verbally instead of in writing?
Not necessarily. The AG concluded the Williston Basin School District substantially complied with the open records law. The district provided records the day after they were requested, and verbally…
Does the Arkansas Attorney General have an opinion on whether Act 573 of 2025 (Ten Commandments classroom posters) is constitutional or whether universities have to grant religious accommodations from it?
The AG declined to answer all four questions because litigation over Act 573 was pending. That includes the questions about whether a public university must or may remove a required poster to…
Are race- and sex-based DEI preferences lawful in Texas public contracting and private employment?
The AG concluded that the public-sector race- and sex-based preferences examined in the opinion fail strict scrutiny. It also concluded that some private-sector DEI practices may trigger liability…
Are Florida laws that give racial preferences, use race-based classifications, or impose racial quotas unconstitutional?
Yes, in the Attorney General's view. The opinion concludes that Florida laws which mandate race-based state action, including affirmative action requirements (§ 110.112), minority contracting…
If the Virginia General Assembly first agreed to a constitutional amendment on October 31, 2025, when does it have to vote on it again to send it to voters?
The proposed amendment must be referred to the 2026 regular session, the first regular session after the November 4, 2025 House of Delegates election. Article XII, § 1 also permits a second…
Now that the U.S. Mint has stopped making pennies, can an Arkansas store round cash transactions to the nearest nickel, including for SNAP customers paying cash for the non-SNAP portion of a mixed transaction?
Neither Arkansas nor federal law specifically prohibits rounding the cash portion of a mixed SNAP purchase to the nearest nickel if the SNAP-eligible portion is charged electronically at its exact…
Can Delaware require me to pay a contractor-based FOIA estimate before retrieving school plans?
Yes, Delaware permits a public body to collect all estimated FOIA fees in advance, so the Department of Education did not violate FOIA on that point. The AG did not decide whether this…
Does the Fourth Circuit's Grimm decision still require Virginia school districts to let transgender students use bathrooms matching their gender identity, after the Supreme Court's Skrmetti ruling?
The AG concluded that Grimm’s holdings apply only to its facts and that the Supreme Court’s Skrmetti decision weakens arguments for extending Grimm to future cases. The opinion does not decide…
Would a Virginia law requiring a license to buy a firearm, or a ban on AR-15s and standard-capacity magazines, violate the Second Amendment?
Yes, in the AG's view. Attorney General Miyares concluded that a permit-to-purchase regime and a ban on commonly-owned firearms, components, and magazines would both violate the Second Amendment and…
If my Arkansas police department's federal-grant overtime threshold is 80 hours of work in a two-week pay period, do my sick days, vacation, and comp time count toward that 80-hour total?
Neither Arkansas nor federal law requires overtime until an officer actually works beyond the applicable threshold. The AG used a 171-hour/28-day ratio to illustrate an 86-hour threshold over 14…
Can a Florida county invoke 'extraordinary circumstances' to raise impact fees above the 50% statutory cap based on steady population growth alone?
No. The AG concluded that Nassau County’s 17% population increase over five years did not establish the extraordinary circumstances required to raise its impact fees above the ordinary 50% cap.
Can the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority require medical cannabis certifications to be electronic only, or do qualified practitioners still have to be allowed to issue paper certifications?
Paper certifications must still be allowed. Attorney General Miyares concluded that the Cannabis Control Authority cannot adopt a digital-only policy because Virginia's general definition of…
Must a North Dakota school district obtain old bid records it no longer has to answer an open records request?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Williston Basin School District #7 complied by providing all responsive Innovation Academy bid records in its possession. Its superintendent also contacted…
If Tennessee passes a law shielding pesticide manufacturers from failure-to-warn lawsuits when their labels comply with state and federal law (S.B. 527/H.B. 809), what tort claims would still survive, and would the law conflict with FIFRA?
The proposed Tennessee bill would shield manufacturers and sellers from civil claims 'related to the labeling' of a registered pesticide whose label complied with FIFRA at the time of sale, but only…
In South Dakota, can a candidate or officeholder pay for childcare or personal security out of their campaign account?
Probably yes, but only when the expense exists because of the campaign or office, not as a personal cost the person would have anyway. SDCL 12-27-50 is silent on these categories, so each expense…
If I asked my Delaware town council to discuss my employment in open session, can they still go into executive session over my objection?
The AG found no FOIA violation in Greenwood’s August and December 2025 executive sessions. Although Janet Todd had requested open discussion of her employment, the Town showed a realistic threat of…
Did the Missouri attorney general approve the fair ballot language for House Bill No. 1's congressional-district map?
Yes. The attorney general approved the proposed fair ballot language's legal content and form under § 116.025, RSMo, while stating that the approval was not an endorsement of House Bill No. 1.
Did New Mexico's 2023 Native American Voting Rights Act force counties to redraw precinct boundaries on tribal lands right away, or do counties wait until their next regular boundary update?
Counties wait. Section 1-21A-3 does not impose its own deadline. The tribal-consultation duty is triggered the next time a board of county commissioners adjusts precinct boundaries under existing…
Can a New Mexico public university just promote its interim president into the permanent role, or does state law force the board of regents to run a formal search?
A formal search is required. Section 21-1-16.1(B) makes the board consider at least five finalists, give 21 days' public notice of the finalists, and take the final hiring vote in an open public…
Can a Mississippi constable handle the squatter-removal affidavit under the Real Property Owners Protection Act, or must landlords go to a sheriff or police department?
The new statute does not say. It tells a property owner to file the squatter-removal affidavit with 'the law enforcement agency' of the county or municipality, but it does not define that term and…
Can I get my own job interview notes from a Delaware city under FOIA?
The AG found no FOIA violation in withholding the interview panel records. Because the City kept the notes in a separate recruitment file, the personnel-file exemption did not apply. The AG instead…
If a Delaware public body says my housing application records are exempt but won't say specifically why, did they violate FOIA?
Yes. Delaware's AG found that the State Housing Authority failed to justify denying access to the requested tenant program application records. Its broad statements about exemptions, prior access,…
Can a Mississippi city hire a councilmember's daughter for a 'cashier/clerk' job in the city electric department, given the state nepotism law?
It depends on the actual duties of the position. Mississippi's nepotism statute (Section 25-1-53) bans hiring a relative within the third degree as an 'officer, clerk, stenographer, deputy or…
Can a New Mexico county or city use opioid settlement money to help build a general behavioral health facility that will treat some opioid patients along with patients who have other mental health conditions?
No. Under the State-Subdivision Agreement, opioid settlement funds can only pay for opioid-specific expenditures. Construction of a general behavioral health facility that treats a mix of patients…
If my supervisor wrote a memo about a conversation we had and filed a discrimination/harassment complaint against my wishes, can the County release those records under FOIA?
The custodian classified these documents incorrectly as personnel records. The Attorney General found that the supervisor’s memo and complaint form were employee-evaluation records, which must be…
Can an Arkansas school district let a booster club and an outside ad agency sell broadcast rights to high school football games and keep the proceeds, without going through the public-school-facility sale rules or competitive bidding?
Broadcast rights are intangible property, so the school-facility sale statute does not govern them. The district may hire an advertising agency without bidding if its fee is below the statutory…
Can a Mississippi school board ban people with enhanced concealed-carry permits from bringing firearms to school athletic events, especially when the high school activities association says they have to?
The AG reaffirms that a school district may not bar enhanced permit holders with concealed pistols or revolvers from a school facility or athletic event to which the public is normally permitted. It…
I FOIA'd Pulaski County for complaints against employees. They redacted entire pages and lots of names. Are those redactions legal under Arkansas FOIA?
Mostly, yes. Whole-page redactions of evaluation records are required when the four-part test isn't met. Name redactions are case-by-case under the privacy balancing test, justified for things like…
Does the Arkansas Attorney General have to approve a Memorandum of Agreement between Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Pulaski County to share costs for a public-safety study and Group Violence Intervention?
No. For this agreement, the Attorney General found that the parties would do nothing other than pay money. It was not joint cooperative action under the Interlocal Cooperation Act, so his approval…
Can a Kansas county offer a property tax rebate program without specific state statutory authorization?
Likely no. The Attorney General concluded that taxation is purely a creature of state statute, so a county cannot lawfully implement an ad valorem property tax rebate program unless it is authorized…
Can the Executive Director of a joint regional sewer authority also serve on a city's planning commission, or does South Carolina's dual office holding ban prevent it?
Yes for the OJRSA executive director position the AG examined. It was not created by the legislature, required no oath, and served at the board's pleasure. The AG concluded that its holder could…
Can a Kentucky public agency stop a citizen from live-streaming a public meeting on their cell phone?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Open Meetings Act does not let a public agency prevent a member of the public from live-streaming its meeting on a cell phone, as long as the person is…
Can Tennessee local governments consider price when choosing an energy savings contractor, and share the contract with other governments?
Yes, they may consider price without awarding the contract through competitive bidding. Energy-related services contracts can be shared through cooperative purchasing among Tennessee local…
Can a Virginia county board of supervisors install and operate security cameras in the county treasurer's office, even if the treasurer objects?
No. The AG concluded that the treasurer, as a constitutional officer with exclusive control over the operation of her office, may refuse to allow the county board of supervisors to install or…
If a Virginia property deed is notarized in another state via remote online notarization (the signer was not in the physical presence of the notary), can the deed still be recorded in a Virginia circuit court?
Yes. The AG concluded that under § 47.1-13.1, a notarial act performed outside Virginia via remote online notarization by an authorized out-of-state notary has the same effect as if performed by a…
If a Virginia sheriff stores his own records on a server owned by the county or city, can the county administrator restrict or deny the sheriff's access to those records?
No. The AG concluded that a sheriff, as a constitutional officer independent of local government, must have unfettered access to his own records even when stored on locality-owned servers. Local…
When a Virginia locality has part-time and temporary employees working for a constitutional officer (sheriff, Commonwealth's attorney, commissioner of revenue, court clerk), does the locality have to give them the vacation, sick leave, and legal-holiday benefits that § 15.2-1605 requires for 'employees'?
Part-time employees: yes. Temporary employees: no. The AG read § 15.2-1605 to cover permanent full-time and part-time employees of constitutional officers, but not seasonal or short-term temporary…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for Andrew Prewitt's Osage River gambling petition 2026-147?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary stating that petition 2026-147 would revise Article III, Section 39(e), authorize one additional gambling location on the Osage…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for Andrew Prewitt's Osage River gambling petition 2026-146?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary stating that petition 2026-146 would allow lotteries, gift enterprises, and games of chance at one legally defined Osage River…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for Andrew Prewitt's Osage River gambling petition 2026-145?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary stating that petition 2026-145 would authorize one gambling site on the Osage River within described Miller County boundaries,…
If a hunter sends a deer dog onto private land where the hunter has no permission to hunt, can the hunter be charged with criminal trespass under South Carolina Code Section 50-1-90?
The AG declined to say yes outright. The Office acknowledged that 1960s opinions reading Section 50-1-90 narrowly may be outdated, but stopped short of declaring the dog an extension or agent of the…
Can Adams County let homeless individuals shower at its FEMA-funded emergency shelter when there is no declared disaster?
Yes, if the county adopts a uniform written policy authorizing such private use of the shelter and collects from the user any actual costs the county incurs (cleaning, utilities). Without those…
When a church or religious organization buys property in Mississippi, when does the property tax exemption start, and can it be applied retroactively to the current tax year?
The exemption starts at the next lien-attachment date after the religious organization meets the statutory requirements, not retroactively to the current year. For real property, the lien attaches…
Can a Mississippi city give a long-term lease of city property to a non-profit for $1, or some token amount?
A municipality cannot lease property for nominal consideration unless a statute specifically authorizes it. The AG identifies several possible statutes, but leaves their application to the city's…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for Mark Johnson's electoral-vote petition 2026-125?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary stating that petition 2026-125 would replace Missouri's winner-take-all presidential electoral-vote system with a proportional…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for Mark Johnson's electoral-vote petition 2026-124?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary stating that petition 2026-124 would replace Missouri's winner-take-all presidential electoral-vote system with a proportional…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for Mark Johnson's electoral-vote petition 2026-122?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary stating that petition 2026-122 would replace Missouri's winner-take-all presidential electoral-vote system with a proportional…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for Mark Johnson's electoral-vote petition 2026-121?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary stating that petition 2026-121 would replace Missouri's winner-take-all presidential electoral-vote system with a proportional…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for Mark Johnson's electoral-vote petition 2026-120?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary stating that petition 2026-120 would replace Missouri's winner-take-all presidential electoral-vote system with a proportional…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for Mark Johnson's electoral-vote petition 2026-119?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary stating that petition 2026-119 would replace Missouri's winner-take-all presidential electoral-vote system with a proportional…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for Mark Johnson's electoral-vote petition 2026-118?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary stating that petition 2026-118 would replace Missouri's winner-take-all presidential electoral-vote system with a proportional…
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