State AG Opinions
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Could Faulkner County withhold investigation records when the employee wasn't suspended or fired?
Yes. The Faulkner County prosecuting attorney's decision to withhold closed investigation records was consistent with FOIA. The records were employee evaluation records, and the employee in question w…
Can a Little Rock firefighter's union representative get records from a pending internal investigation under Arkansas FOIA?
Likely yes for the firefighter's own records. The City's blanket denial was inconsistent with FOIA. An employee or their designated representative is entitled to that employee's personnel and evaluati…
Can a county civil attorney in Arkansas serve simultaneously as an elected member of the Arkansas House of Representatives?
Yes, in the AG's view. The county civil attorney position created under Ark. Code Ann. § 16-21-114 is public employment, not a 'lucrative office' under Ark. Const. art. 5, § 7, so the constitutional b…
When does an Arkansas city's property tax exemption start after buying property for public use?
Not immediately. Tax status is set on January 1 of each tax year. A city that buys property for public purposes in mid-year owes the full year's taxes; the exemption first applies on the following Jan…
Can a Tennessee municipality grant an exclusive contract for roll-off dumpster service, and is HB 1293 (which lets any private hauler operate anyway) constitutional?
Mostly yes on exclusivity; HB 1293 has Contract Clause risks. The AG concluded that roll-off dumpster services are 'public services' under Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 6-2-201(12) and (13); exclusive contracts …
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the third 'Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment' submission from True Grass BQC in September 2017?
The proposal's two new defined terms, 'carry on' and 'personal effects,' were defined in ways that did not make sense or that introduced new ambiguity. 'Carry on' meant possession 'on one's body and p…
Can a sitting member of the Arkansas Motor Vehicle Commission also be hired as the Commission's Executive Director?
No. Common-law incompatibility blocks a current commissioner from also holding the Executive Director job, regardless of dealer status. A former commissioner who is a licensed dealer can be hired. Com…
Can Delaware DOT keep the identity of someone who filed a complaint about you confidential under FOIA?
Yes. The AG found that records identifying who complained to DelDOT about a person's mailbox are exempt investigatory files under FOIA, so the agency did not have to disclose the complainant's name or…
Can a Tennessee county school board approve a non-binding memorandum of understanding for a school turnaround partnership that isn't yet allowed by law?
Yes. The AG concluded that a county board of education may vote on a non-binding memorandum of understanding about a potential partnership district to help priority schools, even though current law do…
Could the City of Little Rock release names of police recruits who got $5,000 incentive payments and quit, plus their CLEST F-4 forms and the incentive-pay policy, without violating Arkansas FOIA?
Likely yes, with redactions. Salary and pay records of public employees are generally open under Arkansas FOIA. The custodian must scrub personal identifiers (home address, dates of birth, Social Secu…
Can a Tennessee LEA open a public school or authorize a charter school inside another LEA's territory?
No. The AG concluded that an LEA, as a creature of statute, has no inherent power. It can open and operate a public school or authorize a charter school only within its own jurisdictional boundaries. …
Can a Tennessee LEA open a school or authorize a charter school inside another LEA's territory?
No. The AG concluded that LEAs are creatures of statute with only express or necessarily implied powers. Nothing in the public school or charter school statutes authorizes an LEA to operate a public s…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Ed Frizzell's 'Multi-Member Districts Amendment' ballot title in September 2017?
The ballot title contradicted the proposal's text. The title said the new apportionment would 'provide the expression of geographical, community, and political interests' in addition to equal populati…
When did the Arkansas Public School Health Services Advisory Committee created by Acts 414 and 935 cease to exist?
December 31, 2017. Act 935 of 2015 amended Ark. Code Ann. § 6-18-709 to fix that termination date, replacing the earlier December 31, 2014 sunset in Act 414 of 2013.
Is a Florida mosquito control district a political subdivision, and is its drone a public aircraft eligible for FAA Certificate of Authorization?
Yes. The Lee County Mosquito Control District, an independent special district created by special act, is a political subdivision under § 1.01(8). Section 388.231(1) prohibits use of mosquito-control …
Is the Florida property appraiser a public entity for FAA Certificate of Authorization purposes?
Yes. The Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser is a constitutional county officer (Art. VIII, § 1(d)). Acting in his official capacity, the property appraiser is part of Santa Rosa County, a political …
Does Tennessee's new charter-school student-directory-information disclosure statute conflict with FERPA, and can charter schools use the info for outreach?
Mostly no conflict; charter outreach is fine. The AG concluded that (1) Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-13-132 does not violate FERPA because the required information is the kind FERPA expressly permits to be re…
Does a Texas county clerk have to record an affidavit of adverse possession?
The AG concluded the clerk does have to record it. A county clerk must record any instrument the law permits to be recorded, and Property Code section 12.001(a) permits recording an instrument that co…
If a Texas county adopted a stock law by election back in 1918, is that law still in force today?
The AG concluded the old stock laws survived. When the Legislature folded the local stock law statutes into chapter 143 of the Agriculture Code in 1981, that recodification did not repeal stock laws t…
Does the district attorney's office have to pay for the extra copy of the court reporter's record in a criminal appeal?
The AG concluded the district attorney's office does not have to pay. In a criminal appeal, Rule of Appellate Procedure 34.6(h) makes the court reporter prepare a duplicate of the reporter's record an…
Can a Texas county pay its fire marshal's salary out of the county health services sales tax?
The AG concluded a court would likely say no. A chapter 324 county sales and use tax can be spent only to provide health services in the county, and the statute points to hospitals and public health d…
Does a name on a ballot petition have to exactly match the voter registration to count?
The AG concluded an exact match is not required. Election Code section 141.063 does not make a qualified voter print his or her name exactly as it appears on the voter registration list, and the statu…
Does a Delaware zoning board violate FOIA if it doesn't forward a citizen's written comments to the final decision-making body?
Not by itself. The AG found no FOIA violation in a Planning & Zoning Commission's alleged failure to share a citizen's opposition materials with the County Council, since FOIA's petition process only …
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the September 2017 'Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment' draft from True Grass BQC?
The proposal contained five fundamental defects: it offered an open-ended list of alternative popular names (including one to be chosen by the AG); it used confusing noun-and-verb 'acts to cultivate' …
When a Tennessee defendant skips bail, are 'costs of the court proceedings' under § 40-11-120 just the forfeiture costs or all the costs in the case?
All of them. The AG concluded that 'costs of the court proceedings' under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-11-120 includes the costs of every proceeding in the case against the defendant, not just the bail forfei…
Are towns inside a Virginia county required to be parties to a revenue-sharing agreement between the county and an adjacent city?
No. The AG concluded that for a growth-sharing agreement between a city and an adjacent county under § 15.2-1301, towns inside the county are not 'affected localities' (and not necessary parties) when…
What's the right procedure to amend a Tennessee county comprehensive growth plan if the coordinating committee is gone, and did the 2015 annexation reform impliedly kill any growth-plan provisions?
Use an alternate entity, agreed by the county and all municipalities. The AG concluded that (1) under § 6-58-104(a)(9)(B) the only alternative to a coordinating committee is an entity the county and a…
Can Delaware withhold Planned Parenthood adverse-event reports sent to the state health department from a FOIA request?
Yes. The AG found DHSS could withhold the records in full because the office receiving them functions as a statutory peer-review organization, whose records are shielded by a separate confidentiality …
What residency and voter-registration rules apply to candidates for sheriff in Tennessee?
Two rules. The AG concluded that Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-102(a)(3) requires a sheriff candidate to be (1) a 'qualified voter of the county' (meaning the person meets the qualifications in § 2-2-102 but …
Can Delaware's governor's office redact executive privilege material from FOIA calendar records if it backs the redactions with a sworn affidavit?
Yes. The AG found the Governor's office properly redacted executive privilege and attorney-client privilege material from calendar records once it backed the redactions with detailed, notarized affida…
Does a Delaware city have to announce the Attorney General's FOIA rulings at a public council meeting?
No. The AG found nothing in FOIA that requires a public body to present or discuss the AG's prior FOIA determinations during a council meeting; publishing them online is enough.
How long do you have to file a Delaware FOIA open-meetings complaint after the meeting happened?
Six months at the outside. The AG dismissed a complaint about zoning approvals from 2002 and 2016 as untimely, because Delaware FOIA claims must be brought within 60 days of learning of the action and…
What rules limit a Virginia locality's authority to remove or relocate a war or veterans monument on its property?
A Virginia locality considering removal or relocation of a war or veterans monument must work through three layers: Code § 15.2-1812 (which only applies prospectively to monuments erected after the re…
Can Delaware deny a FOIA request both because the requester isn't a Delaware citizen and because the records are investigatory files?
Yes. The AG found the Division of Professional Regulation properly denied a complainant's records request on two independent grounds: she wasn't a Delaware citizen, and the records were exempt investi…
If a West Virginia county wants to contract directly with local EMS squads for ambulance service, does it have to put the contracts out to competitive bid first?
No. The competitive-bidding requirement in W. Va. Code § 7-15-16 applies only when an 'emergency ambulance service authority' is procuring supplies, equipment, materials, or facilities, not when a cou…
Must a Delaware prison hand over its own cumulative summary reports on contraband seizures under FOIA, even if individual incident reports are exempt?
Yes for the summaries, no for the underlying reports. The AG found Delaware's Department of Correction violated FOIA by not turning over its own summary documents on contraband seizures at James T. Va…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the 2017 'Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment' ballot title submitted by Mary L. Berry?
Three fundamental ambiguities, the AG said: when the amendment would actually take effect, whether age limits applied to people working for licensed businesses, and what 'considered legally served' me…
If an Arkansas inmate serving a life sentence for a juvenile crime gets paroled under Act 539, how long does parole supervision last?
For life. Act 539 makes certain juvenile lifers parole-eligible, but parole does not shorten the underlying sentence, and Arkansas law has no mechanism for ending supervision early. The Parole Board c…
Can the Arkansas Auditor of State deposit unclaimed property trust funds with the State Treasurer for investment purposes?
Almost certainly no. The Unclaimed Property Act requires those funds to be deposited in financial institution accounts and administered as cash funds, which by definition are not held by the State Tre…
Does Delaware's public records law apply to requests from people who aren't Delaware residents?
No. Delaware's AG confirmed that FOIA only obligates public bodies to fulfill records requests from Delaware citizens, so the State Treasurer's office did not violate FOIA by denying a request from an…
Can a Florida special district use district funds to pay for board members' group health insurance, in addition to their statutorily authorized compensation?
Yes. Section 112.08(2)(a) authorizes the Loxahatchee River District (a 'local governmental unit') to use district funds for board members' group health insurance, in addition to the $100/month compens…
When the Illinois Legislature overrides a Governor's amendatory veto on a bill that includes an immediate effective date, when does the law actually take effect?
On the date of the second house's override vote. AG Lisa Madigan concluded that for a bill with an immediate effective date subjected to amendatory veto and then overridden, the effective date is the …
Do Connecticut's priority-funding-area rules, the village-character cooperation rule, and the State Facilities Plan apply to a state police training facility being built in Griswold using bond proceeds?
Mostly no. Section 16a-35d's restriction on funding outside priority funding areas does not apply to state agencies building their own facilities. Section 16a-35e's village-character cooperation requi…
How far in advance must a Delaware city council post its meeting agenda under FOIA?
At least seven days before the meeting. The AG found Wilmington's City Council violated FOIA by only posting its full agenda one day before an April 2017 meeting, even though the city argued its annua…
Are Virginia's statutes and constitutional ban on same-sex marriage still on the books after Obergefell, and can the Code Commission recommend removing them as obsolete?
Virginia's statutory prohibitions on same-sex marriage in Code §§ 20-45.2 and 20-45.3 are obsolete within the meaning of Code § 30-151 because they have been held unconstitutional and lack any legal f…
Does Arkansas's new Amendment 95 (Article 7, Section 53) bar a county judge or sheriff from serving on regional boards, county equalization boards, or workforce councils?
It depends on whether the position is a 'civil office.' The AG declined to answer for each of the 23 boards listed because the test is fact-intensive, but laid out the criteria: a civil office require…
Can a South Dakota city create a second business improvement district that overlaps an existing one, does the new overlay need its own separate board, and can hotels within the new BID pass the special assessment through to their guests as a separate line item on the bill?
Yes, a second BID may overlay an existing one (the BID statute repeatedly speaks of 'districts' in the plural). Whether the existing BID board can also serve the second BID depends on whether its memb…
Can an Arkansas district judge issue a no-contact order at a bond hearing before the defendant is arraigned, and what penalty applies if it's violated?
A pre-arraignment no-contact order is enforceable but only as criminal contempt (Class C misdemeanor). The Class A misdemeanor penalty in Ark. Code Ann. § 16-85-714(d) applies only to no-contact order…
Could the City of Little Rock pay accrued vacation and sick-leave time to district-court judges who became state district judges on January 1, 2017?
Probably yes, but only if the local district judges were city employees before reorganization. The AG could not say definitively without examining the specific employer-employee facts. Whether a 'loca…
Can the Russellville Advertising and Promotion Commission give a grant to a church group for a secular tourism event without violating the Establishment Clause?
Yes. Grant funding for a public secular event run by a religious group, where the event has no religious theme and the group is treated the same as any secular applicant, does not violate the Establis…
Can a county commissioners court let the treasurer pay bills before the court approves them?
The AG concluded the commissioners court cannot do that. Under the Local Government Code, the commissioners court must examine and approve claims against the county, and the treasurer and auditor cann…
What can a Texas sheriff legally spend jail commissary money on?
The AG said whether a specific expenditure is proper is a fact question it could not decide in an opinion, so it gave the legal standards instead. Local Government Code section 351.0415 lets a sheriff…
Can a Texas DA require you to give up your right to expunge an arrest to enter pretrial diversion?
The AG concluded yes. Expunction of arrest records is a statutory privilege, not a constitutional right, and Article 1.14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure lets a person waive any rights secured by la…
Is a cabinet council created by the Delaware governor's executive order a 'public body' subject to FOIA's open-meetings law?
Not automatically. The AG found the Governor's Family Services Cabinet Council fell under FOIA's 'body of one' exemption because its only members were the Governor and his own Cabinet secretaries, mak…
Was the Arkansas Department of Human Services custodian's decision to release a redacted personnel file consistent with the Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. After reviewing the records, the AG concluded the DHS custodian's redactions were proper and no further redactions were required. The specific items the employee asked to keep confidential (perso…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Mary Berry's July 21, 2017 cannabis amendment without going through the usual ambiguity analysis?
Because Berry's submission was substantively identical to two recent rejections (her own Opinion 2017-076 and Larry Morris's Opinion 2017-081, both from the same True Grass committee), the AG declined…
Can a South Dakota town that has never adopted a comprehensive zoning plan or any zoning ordinances create a business improvement district under SDCL chapter 9-55 to fund downtown improvements?
No. SDCL 9-55-4 says a business improvement district has to lie within an established business area that has been zoned for business, public, or commercial purposes. A municipality with no zoning ordi…
If a state agency is doing an internal HR investigation into a complaint, can the agency fire an employee under W. Va. Code § 29-6-19 for refusing to talk to the investigators?
No. § 29-6-19's job-forfeiture penalty applies only to formal proceedings before a court, judge, legislative committee, or a statutorily-authorized administrative tribunal like the Public Employees Gr…
Can a Texas official appoint a relative to an unpaid volunteer job that only reimburses expenses?
The AG concluded yes. Texas nepotism law bars a public official from appointing a close relative to a position compensated from public funds. But reimbursing a volunteer for the actual expenses incurr…
Does a Washington school board member or city council member break the law by sharing what was discussed in a properly closed executive session?
Yes, with conditions. The AG concluded that the Open Public Meetings Act creates a duty of confidentiality for information learned in a properly convened executive session, when the information falls …
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