State AG Opinions
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Can a public employee under internal investigation get the full investigation file under Arkansas FOIA, even when other employees are named in it?
Yes. The Arkansas FOIA gave the requesting employee a right to his own personnel and evaluation records under section 25-19-105(c)(2). Portions also qualifying as other employees' personnel records…
Could a Washington city, county, or school district let 17-year-olds vote in local elections, and could the legislature authorize that by statute?
No to both. The AG concluded that Article VI, section 1 of the Washington Constitution sets mandatory qualifications for voting in 'all elections,' including a minimum age of 18. A local measure or…
Could a South Carolina council add a tax district referendum to its agenda as an exigent circumstance?
The Attorney General concluded that the previously existing election ballot deadline did not make the omitted referendum an emergency or exigent circumstance under FOIA’s meeting agenda rule.
If a Tennessee county rescinds a GO bond resolution to avoid a forced referendum, can it then use a different financing method without an election?
Yes. The Tennessee AG concluded that rescinding the GO bond resolution removes the trigger for a referendum, even if a protest petition was already filed. The county can then adopt a different…
Can a school district use its own resources to send a cease-and-desist letter to a political candidate using the district's logo without permission?
Probably yes, if four conditions are met: the logo is non-descriptive with secondary meaning; the district has a content-neutral, uniformly-applied takedown policy; the letter applies that policy…
Could South Carolina regulate parasailing and inspect vessels the Coast Guard did not inspect?
The Attorney General concluded that the General Assembly could regulate water sports in South Carolina territorial waters. Whether a proposed state inspection program for vessels not inspected by…
When a Delaware town council goes into executive session about a complaint against an appointed official, what makes that closed-door discussion legal under FOIA?
The AG concluded that Frankford Town Council properly used the personnel exception under 29 Del. C. § 10004(b)(9) because the executive session in-camera record showed an individual employee's…
Why was the proposed Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment of 2020 ballot title rejected by the Attorney General?
The Attorney General rejected the popular name, ballot title, and entire submission. The proposal recycled multiple earlier rejected recreational-marijuana submissions, and its convoluted…
Will the Arkansas Attorney General decide whether a school district employee was misclassified as exempt under the FLSA administrative exemption?
The Attorney General declined to render an opinion. The FLSA administrative-exemption analysis is intensely factual and turns on federal labor law, both of which fall outside the scope of an AG…
Does an Arkansas town selling its water system have to follow both the water-system-specific statutes and the general municipal property sale rules, including competitive bidding?
Yes. The town's sale was governed by both Ark. Code Ann. section 14-199-302 et seq. (water-system-specific preconditions like the council resolution and ratepayer petition) and section 14-54-302…
Do non-state-agency Arkansas entities like the General Assembly and the courts have to provide a catastrophic leave program for their employees?
No. The entities listed in Ark. Code Ann. section 21-4-214(a)(2)(B), including the General Assembly, BLR, Legislative Audit, AHTD, Game and Fish, the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, AOC,…
When a Tennessee county adds local funding for the DA's 'office expense,' does that include big-ticket capital assets, or only small supplies?
It includes both. The Tennessee AG concluded 'office expense' in § 16-2-518 covers all authorized costs, including capital assets like equipment, that the DA's office needs to do its work, which…
Can a California elected official be ousted in quo warranto for running under her married name when she still uses her birth name on payroll records?
No. The Attorney General denied leave to sue Trinity County Supervisor Judy Morris in quo warranto. Under California's common law right of name change, a person can adopt a name through general…
Does Washington have to enforce a domestic violence protection order issued by another state's court or by an Indian tribal court, and does the order have to be registered first?
Yes to enforcement and no to registration. Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 2265) and the Washington Foreign Protection Order Full Faith and Credit Act (RCW 26.52) require Washington courts and police to…
Can a Virginia school board arm teachers by getting them appointed as special conservators of the peace?
No. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) cannot lawfully issue a temporary or valid registration to teachers or other school personnel seeking appointment as armed special…
Can a Texas presiding election judge carry a handgun at the polling place on election day?
While on duty, yes in many places, the AG concluded, but with real limits. A state representative asked whether Penal Code sections 46.02 and 46.03, which bar carrying firearms at a polling place,…
Does a town building committee have to hold a public meeting before approving a building permit?
Yes, based on this opinion. The Fenwick Island Building Committee is a public body and violated FOIA by approving a building permit application without holding a public meeting, though a separate…
Why was the Arkansas Cannabis Amendment ballot title rejected for failing to clearly explain its effect on the existing medical marijuana amendment?
The Attorney General rejected the popular name, ballot title, and proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment. The ballot title left voters unable to understand how the proposal would interact with the…
Can a California school board trustee be removed for not living in the trustee area she was elected to represent?
Yes, when there's a substantial question of fact about residency. The Attorney General granted the Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District leave to sue trustee Patricia Kelley in quo warranto.…
Can the same person serve on a California city council and as the county superintendent of schools at the same time?
No, where the city sits inside the county. The Concord City Council member and the Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools positions are incompatible offices under Government Code section…
If only one person files for a California water district seat and the appointment to fill the seat would create incompatible-office issues, can the county board of supervisors decline to appoint?
No. Elections Code section 10515(a) requires the board of supervisors to appoint the unopposed candidate. The mandatory language admits no incompatibility-based discretion at the appointment stage.…
Would letting Arizona racetracks offer historical horse race wagering machines blow up the state's tribal gaming compact?
Yes. Historical horse race wagering on player terminals was not legal in Arizona on May 1, 2002 (the cutoff date the Tribal-State Gaming Compact uses), so legalizing it now would risk triggering the…
Did a local legislative body have to designate a zoning board alternate, and for how long?
The Attorney General concluded that the covered local legislative body had to designate at least one alternate member of its zoning board of appeals. An alternate served the same three-year term as…
Can a city release redacted Residency Incentive Program applications under Arkansas FOIA, and what redactions are required?
Mostly consistent with FOIA. Little Rock's classification of Residency Incentive Program applications as personnel records and its decision to release them with redactions was consistent with the…
Could the Oregon Health Authority hand local law enforcement a complete list of every medical marijuana grow site address in their jurisdiction?
No. The AG concluded that ORS 475B.882(1)(b) makes grow site addresses confidential, and the law-enforcement disclosure exception in ORS 475B.882(2)(b) is limited to verifying specific addresses or…
Could South Carolina capital project sales tax proceeds buy land for economic development or fund other projects?
The Attorney General concluded that a flexible reading of the tax law allowed land acquisition for economic development. Using excess proceeds for that purpose also required a qualifying project, no…
Can advanced practice nurses and physician assistants in Illinois dispense the abortion drug mifepristone under a physician's supervision?
Yes. The AG concluded in 2018 that recent amendments to the Medical Practice Act, Physician Assistant Practice Act, and Nurse Practice Act did not change the answer reached in 2009 opinion 09-002: a…
Does Tennessee's ban on hospitals employing radiologists, anesthesiologists, pathologists, and ER doctors violate those doctors' rights?
No. The Tennessee AG concluded there is no state or federal constitutional right to be employed by anyone, so the statute barring direct hospital employment of these four specialties does not…
Could an Andrews town clerk also serve as municipal court clerk under South Carolina dual office rules?
The Attorney General concluded that a municipal clerk or employee could serve as municipal court clerk under the statute. On the described facts, it viewed the court work as added duties of one…
Can Tennessee's Electronic Monitoring Indigency Fund pay for a DUI defendant's GPS ankle monitor?
No. The Tennessee AG concluded the Electronic Monitoring Indigency Fund covers only transdermal or other alcohol/drug-monitoring devices. GPS location monitors are governed by a separate statute,…
Can a Delaware school district refuse a FOIA request by saying it doesn't have a report broken down at the school-building level?
Yes, based on this opinion. FOIA does not require a public body to create a new record, compile data from other existing records, or reformat information into a report that doesn't already exist, so…
Does a Delaware county council have to disclose a property's purchase price in its public meeting minutes while still negotiating the deal?
No, based on this opinion. FOIA requires public bodies to keep minutes of meetings and record votes, but it doesn't require minutes to include a summary of everything discussed, so Sussex County…
If a South Dakota city signed a ten-year contract for water tower and tank painting in year one plus annual inspections and maintenance in following years at total cost exceeding $150,000, was the city required to put the contract out to competitive bid as a public improvement, or could it skip bidding under either the professional services exemption or the equipment repair contract exemption?
Bidding was required. The AG concluded that painting and maintaining a city-owned water tower is a public improvement under SDCL 5-18A-1(22), so any contract over $50,000 had to be bid regardless of…
If someone in Arkansas has a felony conviction (or one that has been expunged), can they still run for public office or become a certified police officer?
Felony convictions blocked Arkansas public office under Article 5, section 9, but a valid expungement under the Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act ordinarily restored eligibility. Law…
In Arkansas, which boards (county fair, library, RDA, soil conservation, etc.) count as 'civil offices' that legislators and certain elected county officials cannot also serve on?
It depends on the board. The AG concluded that county fair boards, county soil conservation boards, local museum boards/commissions, county library boards, and Rural Development Authority…
Do Tennessee's political ad disclaimer rules apply to Facebook, Twitter, and other social media posts?
Yes. The Tennessee AG concluded that paid political ads on social media count as a 'communication' and a form of 'general public political advertising' under § 2-19-120, so they need the same…
Is a Florida county property appraiser a 'public entity' that can operate a drone as a 'public aircraft' under federal law?
Yes. The AG confirmed the Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser as a public entity; the office's drone, used for non-commercial purposes, qualifies as a public aircraft under 49 U.S.C. § 40125.
Can a Florida city delegate forfeiture trust fund spending to its Police Chief through a 'grant program,' or must the city council approve each appropriation?
The city council must approve each appropriation. The Florida AG concluded in 2018 that section 932.7055 does not authorize a municipality to delegate forfeiture trust fund disbursement authority to…
Does a Delaware public board violate open meetings law by voting on hiring a director without naming the position out loud?
Not a substantive violation, based on this opinion. The Wilmington Housing Authority committed only a technical FOIA violation by labeling its executive session agenda item a 'personnel matter'…
Can a Texas school employee who serves on the city council be paid for council service?
Only if the employee is a schoolteacher, the AG concluded. A district attorney asked whether three Eagle Pass school district employees who serve on the city council, a counselor, an assistant…
Are Texas PACE clean-energy assessments treated like property taxes?
Yes, in key respects, the AG concluded. A county attorney asked, on behalf of Williamson County's PACE program, whether the contractual assessments local governments impose under the Property…
What must Delaware's Governor's office submit to explain executive-privilege redactions in a FOIA response?
The AG found that the Governor's office adequately raised and explained its executive-privilege redactions through counsel's affidavit and a detailed written submission. It expressly declined to…
Can a right of reverter in a deed be enforced against a Texas state agency that owns the property?
Yes, the AG concluded. Texas State Technical College took a building and land from the Marshall Economic Development Corporation under a deed that gave the College a 'fee simple determinable,'…
Is a nonprofit that a city created to run a housing program a 'public body' subject to Delaware's open records law?
Yes, based on this opinion. Because the City of Wilmington established the Wilmington Housing Partnership in 1989 and the nonprofit receives public funding, it met both parts of FOIA's two-part…
Can the Arizona Legislature redirect Medical Marijuana Fund money to drug addiction treatment programs without putting it on the ballot?
Yes, the Legislature can redirect Medical Marijuana Fund money to drug addiction programs, but only with a three-fourths supermajority in each chamber, only if the Fund still has enough left to…
Can DF&A release an Arkansas Department of Emergency Management employee's name with the amount of her performance-review pay raise under the FOIA?
Yes. The AG concluded that DF&A's decision to release the names and pay raise amounts of state employees who received raises under the new performance-review system was consistent with the Arkansas…
Can DF&A release a state employee's name with the amount of her performance-review pay raise under the Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The AG concluded that DF&A's decision to release the names and pay raise amounts of state employees who received raises under the new performance-review system was consistent with the Arkansas…
Can DF&A release a state DHS physician's name with the amount of her performance-review pay raise under the Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The AG concluded that DF&A's decision to release the names and pay raise amounts of state employees who received raises under the new performance-review system was consistent with the Arkansas…
Can DF&A release a state employee's name with the amount of her performance-review pay raise under the Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The AG concluded that DF&A's decision to release the names and pay raise amounts of state employees who received raises under the new performance-review system was consistent with the Arkansas…
Can DF&A release a state Arkansas Health Center supervisor's name with the amount of his performance-review pay raise under the FOIA?
Yes. The AG concluded that DF&A's decision to release the names and pay raise amounts of state employees who received raises under the new performance review system was consistent with the Arkansas…
Can Arkansas DF&A release the names and pay raise amounts of state employees who got raises under the new performance review system in response to a FOIA request?
The AG approved DF&A’s planned release of employees’ names and raise amounts. She classified raise information as personnel records, not evaluation records, and said disclosure of public employees’…
After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down PASPA, did Colorado need a constitutional amendment, or just a statute, to legalize commercial sports betting?
Just a statute. The AG concluded sports betting is not a constitutional 'lottery' under Article XVIII, § 2, but it is criminal 'gambling' under § 18-10-102(2). Legalizing it required new…
Does Arkansas State Police Retirement System Tier II require thirty years of actual participation to enter the DROP, or can reciprocal service from another state retirement system count?
Yes. The AG concluded that Ark. Code Ann. section 24-6-502 required thirty years of actual participation in the ASPRS Tier II Benefit Plan to enter the Tier II Deferred Retirement Option Plan.…
Would Arkansas courts likely treat seven kinds of water, airport, fire, hospital, health and levee board seats as civil offices?
The AG predicted that the seven categories with identified governing statutes likely qualify as civil offices under Articles 5 and 7. She could not assess the Southwest Mental Health Board because…
Which public positions did Arkansas's AG regard as civil offices under the rules for legislators and county officials?
The AG said Arkansas Supreme Court decisions already treated the first five listed positions, plus sheriffs and deputies, as civil offices under Article 5, § 10. She predicted police officers and…
Can an Arkansas county judge or county clerk also serve on the Workforce Development Board, an Intergovernmental Cooperation Council, or the Electronic Recording Commission without violating the dual-office rule in Amendment 95?
Mixed. The AG concluded that the Intergovernmental Cooperation Council and the Electronic Recording Commission imposed only additional duties on existing county offices, not separate civil offices.…
Can a West Virginia county development authority hand out matching grants to community colleges, scholarship programs, and recreational projects, even though the statute that creates the authority does not mention 'education' in its list of purposes?
Yes, in most cases. The statute gives county development authorities broad, liberally-construed power to do anything 'necessary or convenient' to advance the county's business prosperity and…
Do Tennessee charter commission members have to file a charter, and what can the county do if they don't?
Yes, a Tennessee charter commission has a mandatory duty to prepare and file a proposed charter. The county legislative body can extend the nine-month deadline as many times as it wants and may have…
Can a Tennessee event accept money from a liquor company to be the exclusive product served?
It depends. The Tennessee AG concluded that an exclusive sponsorship agreement between a licensed alcohol industry member and a licensed retailer would generally violate tied-house rules for wine…
How much authority does Tennessee's appointed State Board of Education have over locally elected school boards?
The Tennessee AG concluded the State Board of Education sets binding policies, guidelines, and minimum standards that every local school board must follow, even though local board members are…
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