State AG Opinions
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Can a Texas county waive or refund property tax penalties and interest if the county caused the late payment?
It depends on whether the county actually mailed the tax bills, the AG advised. A Hood County attorney asked whether the county could give relief to taxpayers for penalties and interest on…
Can a newly appointed Texas county official keep supervising a relative who already worked there?
Yes, if the relative had already worked in the position continuously for one year before the official took office, the AG advised. A Cherokee County attorney asked whether a person appointed to fill…
Can a litigant use Delaware FOIA to get records about an expert witness an agency may use against them?
The Delaware AG concluded DNREC did not violate FOIA when it denied a request for records about Environmental Liability Assessment, LLC (ELA), the third-party consultant DNREC used in 'ability to…
Are a city personnel committee's meetings public under Delaware FOIA, and can a city council go into executive session to discuss a wastewater transfer?
The Delaware AG concluded Rehoboth Beach violated FOIA twice: holding an executive session to discuss an attorney-client privileged memorandum without meeting the litigation-strategy requirements,…
Can legal aid workers enter a migrant labor camp on the employer's property to talk to farmworkers about their legal rights?
Yes. The Virginia AG concluded that legal aid representatives may enter a migrant labor camp to share information about legal resources, even if they are not formally appointed counsel for any…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note summary for Rik Combs's initiative petition (20-038) amending Article X of the Missouri Constitution?
Yes. The AG approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary the State Auditor prepared for Rik Combs's initiative petition 20-038, a proposed amendment to Article X (taxation) of the…
Could South Carolina investigate housing discrimination complaints on Catawba Nation land?
The AG concluded that the Human Affairs Commission retained investigative jurisdiction on Catawba reservation land, including federally funded tribal housing. It predicted a court would find that…
Does the doctrine of issue preclusion bar Oregon from arguing that the 1865 treaty (rather than the 1855 treaty) governs the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation's off-reservation hunting rights?
Yes. Because Oregon already lost the question of whether the 1855 treaty governs the Tribe's off-reservation fishing rights in U.S. v. Oregon (1968), the AG concluded that issue preclusion would bar…
Does Arkansas law prohibit a newspaper from publishing the names of potential jurors?
No. The AG concluded that Ark. Code Ann. § 16-32-111 is not a general prohibition on publishing juror information. It only prohibits the specifically enumerated persons (attorneys, parties, audit…
Can Delaware DNREC withhold all records about a master plan when only a small piece of it is involved in pending litigation with the requester?
The Delaware AG concluded DNREC violated FOIA by applying the pending-litigation exemption too broadly. While some records pertaining to the easement and the relocated Yorklyn/RR Segment were…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Damien Johnson's Article III petition 2020-032 on initiative-process reforms?
Yes. The AG approved the form of the Secretary of State's summary statement for Damien Johnson's initiative petition 2020-032. The statement matches the parallel 2020-030 summary (Op. 47-2019),…
Could a South Carolina agency restrict public access to St. Phillips Island's beach?
The AG identified no agency authority to restrict access below the high water mark solely for its own sake, and the agencies consulted said they were not doing so. It also described narrower…
Can a Delaware city council go into executive session to get legal advice about zoning, then come back into open session and vote?
The Delaware AG found that Lewes improperly used an executive session to discuss legal advice about zoning and failed to give adequate notice of an open-session vote. The City did not show that a…
Can a Virginia coalfield county use coal and gas severance tax revenue to fund repair of a town's water system?
Yes. Dickenson County, as a member of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, may appropriate a portion of its local coal and gas road improvement severance tax revenues to fund…
Could a Maryland county approve a major septic subdivision if its growth tier map failed statutory rules?
Generally no. The Attorney General concluded that a locality with a noncompliant growth tier map could approve a major residential subdivision only if it was served by public sewer and located in…
Does a Delaware FOIA request sent to someone other than the listed FOIA Coordinator count as received by the public body?
The Delaware AG found no timing violation after a request sent to a police sergeant reached the listed FOIA Coordinator, who responded within the statutory timeframe. Footnote 6 says a request…
Can a Delaware FOIA requester obtain the agency lawyer's advice about why records were withheld?
The AG upheld DNREC's denial of records seeking its legal reasoning about an earlier FOIA decision, finding attorney-client privilege and work-product protection evident from the request. A separate…
Why did the Missouri AG reject Winston Apple's initiative petition 2020-041?
Rejected for the same technical-form failure as petition 2020-040. The AG concluded petition 2020-041 did not include deletions in brackets and additions underlined as required by § 116.050, RSMo.…
Could Charleston municipal court hear appeals from city trespass warnings?
The AG said a court would likely find the warning appeals civil and outside municipal court jurisdiction. It warned that a court might strike the entire warning ordinance if the appeal provision…
Is a mayor's hand-picked advisory committee on water rates subject to Delaware's open meetings law?
The Delaware AG concluded that the City of Rehoboth Beach's wastewater working group was a public body under FOIA. Because the committee was appointed by the Mayor (a public official) and was…
Why can't I get free copies of Delaware corporate records through a FOIA request to the Department of State?
The Delaware AG concluded that the Department of State did not violate FOIA when it required a requester to pay the statutory $10 per page fee under 6 Del. C. § 18-1105(a)(5). That special statute…
Can a Delaware city use an outside vendor to search a broad FOIA request for emails?
The AG found no FOIA violation in Wilmington's decision to use an outside vendor for this broad email search. The City supported its need with sworn affidavits, showed that the vendor estimates…
Why did the Missouri AG reject Winston Apple's initiative petition 2020-040?
Rejected for technical-form failure. The AG concluded petition 2020-040 did not include 'all matter which is to be deleted included in its proper place enclosed in brackets and all new matter shown…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Damien Johnson's Article III petition 2020-030 on initiative-process reforms?
Yes. The AG approved the form of the Secretary of State's summary statement for Damien Johnson's initiative petition 2020-030. The statement asked voters whether to amend the Missouri Constitution…
If someone in Tennessee commits a crime against a person because that person is transgender, can the court use the hate-crime sentence enhancement under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-114(17)?
Yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-114(17) lets a Tennessee sentencing court enhance a defendant's sentence when the defendant intentionally selected the victim because of the defendant's belief or…
Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note summary for Damien Johnson's Article III initiative petition 20-032?
Yes. The AG approved as to legal content and form the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Damien Johnson's initiative petition 20-032, a proposed amendment to Article III of the Missouri…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Gerald Peterson's petition 2020-027 expanding Medicaid and family-planning funding?
Yes. The AG approved the form of the Secretary of State's summary statement for Gerald Peterson's initiative petition 2020-027. The statement asked voters whether to amend Chapter 208 of RSMo to (1)…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Gerald Peterson's petition 2020-026 reinstating the corporate franchise tax?
Yes. The AG approved the form of the Secretary of State's summary statement for Gerald Peterson's initiative petition 2020-026. The statement asked voters whether to amend Chapter 147 of RSMo to…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Damien Johnson's earlier Article III petition 2020-025 on initiative-process reforms?
Yes. The AG approved the form of the summary statement for Damien Johnson's initiative petition 2020-025, the earliest in his series of Article III initiative-process reform petitions. The package…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Patricia Thomas's Article V petition 2020-024 (version 2) making appellate judges run in nonpartisan-but-endorsable elections?
Yes. The AG approved the form of the Secretary of State's summary statement for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition 2020-024, version 2. This version (paired with the more strictly partisan…
Did the Missouri AG approve the ballot summary for Patricia Thomas's Article V petition 2020-023 making appellate judges run in partisan elections?
Yes. The AG approved the form of the Secretary of State's summary statement for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition 2020-023, version 1. The statement asked voters whether to amend Article V of…
Did the Missouri AG approve the Secretary of State's summary statement for Patricia Thomas's 2020-022 initiative petition combining right-to-work, prevailing-wage repeal, and a criminal penalty?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved as to legal content and form the Secretary of State's proposed summary statement for Patricia Thomas's 2020-022 initiative petition, a proposed amendment to Article…
What memorial-related ballot summary did the Missouri Attorney General approve for petition 2020-021?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a proposed summary statement about certain historic memorials on public property. The statement says they could not be removed, renamed,…
Did the Missouri AG approve the Secretary of State's summary statement for Patricia Thomas's 2020-020 initiative petition requiring municipalities to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved as to legal content and form the Secretary of State's proposed summary statement for Patricia Thomas's 2020-020 initiative petition, a proposed amendment to Article VI…
Did the Missouri AG approve the Secretary of State's summary statement for Patricia Thomas's 2020-019 right-to-work initiative petition amending Article I of the Missouri Constitution?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved as to legal content and form the Secretary of State's proposed summary statement for Patricia Thomas's 2020-019 initiative petition, a proposed amendment to Article I…
Can the Missouri Ethics Commission receive complaints and issue advisory opinions about violations of Amendment 1's two-year lobbying waiting-period and five-dollar gift-limitation provisions?
Yes to both. AG Eric Schmitt concluded that § 105.957.1(6), RSMo, which authorizes the Missouri Ethics Commission (MEC) to receive complaints about constitutional or statutory provisions 'relating…
Could Washington physician assistants and advanced registered nurse practitioners perform pre-viability aspiration procedures within their scope of practice?
Yes. The 2019 Washington AG opinion read the Reproductive Privacy Act together with the physician assistant and advanced registered nurse practitioner statutes to allow PAs and ARNPs to perform…
Can a Virginia county let a private bank, instead of the county itself, run the billing and lien enforcement for a PACE clean-energy loan?
Yes. The Virginia AG concluded that under § 15.2-958.3, a locality is not required to do the billing and collection itself; it may contract with a third-party administrator or with the private…
Can a police department release a fired officer's personnel and investigative records under FOIA over the officer's objection?
Yes. The Fort Smith Police Department's decision to release the records was consistent with FOIA. The terminated employee's belief that his termination was unfounded was not a legally sufficient…
Can an Arkansas city swap real estate worth more than $20,000 with a state agency without competitive bidding?
Act 470 of 2017 appeared to bar a city from exchanging real property worth more than $20,000 without competitive bidding, even with a state agency. The AG said legislative clarification would be…
Did a South Carolina pawn shop have to refund part of its finance charge when a loan was repaid early?
The AG said a pawnbroker could prorate a finance charge but was not required to do so for early repayment within the thirty-day period. It also concluded local ordinances could not prohibit the…
Did every improper-lane conviction carry the same license points in South Carolina's e-citation system?
The AG said the traffic statute described separate offenses and that the applicable charge and points could vary with the prosecutorial decision. It declined to assign specific electronic citation…
Does West Virginia's 2019 Senate Bill 451 (the Comprehensive Education Reform Bill) violate the West Virginia Constitution's rule that a bill can only address a single object?
The AG concluded that SB 451 likely satisfied the single-object requirement of W. Va. Const. art. VI, § 30. Its detailed multi-page title fairly described every provision, the bill's many provisions…
Did the Missouri Attorney General approve the form of Rik Combs’s Article X petition (2020-038)?
Yes. The Attorney General approved the petition as to form, while stating that the Secretary of State could still reject it. The letter does not decide substantive sufficiency or endorse the petition.
Did the Missouri AG approve the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Damien Johnson's 20-030 initiative petition amending Article III of the Missouri Constitution?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved as to legal content and form the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Damien Johnson's initiative petition 20-030, a proposed amendment to Article III of the…
Why did Arkansas reject the popular name and ballot title for the 2019 cannabis industry constitutional amendment?
The AG rejected the entire submission. The proposed amendment was so long and complex that voters could not have made an intelligent choice in the limited time of the voting booth, which made any…
What is Florida's qualifying statute for the federal Rape Survivor Child Custody Act, and is it still in force?
Section 39.806(1)(m), Florida Statutes, enacted in 2013, is Florida's RSCCA-qualifying statute. The Florida AG's office certified in January 2019 that the statute had not been amended since…
Can a city release a former employee's ID photograph and personnel file under FOIA over the employee's objection?
The custodian's withholding of address, date of birth, telephone number, and Social Security number was consistent with FOIA. The decision to release the employee's photograph was likely consistent…
Could a South Carolina tax sale buyer appeal a property tax assessment before receiving the tax deed?
The Attorney General concluded that a court would likely give a delinquent tax sale purchaser standing to challenge the property assessment even if the county had not yet issued the tax deed. The…
Did the Missouri AG approve the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Gerald Peterson's initiative petition (20-027) amending Chapter 208 of the Revised Statutes (Medicaid)?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved as to legal content and form the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Gerald Peterson's initiative petition 20-027, a proposed statutory amendment to Chapter 208 of…
Did the Missouri AG approve the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Gerald Peterson's 20-026 initiative petition amending Chapter 147 of the Revised Statutes (corporate franchise tax)?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved as to legal content and form the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Gerald Peterson's initiative petition 20-026, a proposed statutory amendment to Chapter 147,…
Did the Missouri AG approve the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Damien Johnson's 20-025 initiative petition amending Article III of the Missouri Constitution?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved as to legal content and form the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Damien Johnson's initiative petition 20-025, a proposed amendment to Article III of the…
Did the Missouri AG approve the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition (20-023) amending Article V of the Missouri Constitution?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved as to legal content and form the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition 20-023, a proposed amendment to Article V of the Missouri…
Did the Missouri AG approve the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition (20-022) amending Article XIV of the Missouri Constitution?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved as to legal content and form the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition 20-022, a proposed amendment to Article XIV of the…
Did the Missouri AG approve the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition (20-021) amending Article XIV of the Missouri Constitution?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved as to legal content and form the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition 20-021, a proposed amendment to Article XIV of the…
Did the Missouri AG approve the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition (20-020) amending Article VI of the Missouri Constitution?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved as to legal content and form the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition 20-020, a proposed amendment to Article VI of the…
Did the Missouri AG approve the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition (20-019) amending Article I of the Missouri Constitution?
Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved as to legal content and form the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition 20-019, a proposed amendment to Article I of the Missouri…
Can a state agency release a list of employee names, titles, salaries, start dates, gender, and race under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration's decision to release a list of employee names, titles and divisions, salaries, start dates, genders, and races was consistent with FOIA.…
Could a South Carolina school district obtain a proprietary security business license?
The Attorney General concluded that a court would likely find school districts ineligible for a proprietary security business license. The opinion expressly preserved its earlier conclusion that…
Can Delaware DNREC refuse a FOIA request from someone it is suing because the records relate to the lawsuit?
The Delaware AG concluded DNREC did not violate FOIA when it refused to produce records to an attorney whose clients DNREC was suing over a dry cleaning site, because the records pertained to that…
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