State AG Opinions
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Can Arkansas nonprofit organizations use inmate labor or community-service workers from local jails and probation?
Mostly no for Act 309 inmates and mostly yes for DCC community-correction offenders. Act 309 inmates are statutorily assigned only to public detention facilities and political subdivisions, so they ca…
Is a free-to-play promotional sweepstakes with computer terminals legal under Arkansas anti-gambling laws?
Probably legal under the facts described. Because the RMT sweepstakes requires no payment to play and the terminals do not decide who wins or loses, the program does not appear to violate Arkansas' co…
Can a Texas community college ban concealed handguns in classrooms where minors attend class?
State Representative Abel Herrero asked whether a junior or community college may prohibit concealed handguns in classrooms and other areas where minors attend or are routinely present. The AG said no…
Can the same person serve as both a community college trustee and a county commissioner in Texas?
Brazos County Attorney Rodney Anderson asked the AG whether one person could serve at the same time as a Blinn College board trustee and a Brazos County commissioner, given a 2015 law that let the com…
Does Arkansas require child care facilities to have only one CPR-certified staff member on site, or more?
More than one. Ark. Code Ann. § 20-78-210(e) sets a statutory floor of 'at least one' CPR-certified adult on site, but it directs DHS to write the actual licensing rule. The Division's regulation requ…
Can Arkansas DHS withhold employee records because the FOIA requester might harass employees?
Mostly consistent with FOIA. Three DHS audit employees objected to disclosure of their personnel records based on the requester's identity and concerns about harassment. The AG ruled that requester id…
When a juvenile lifer is resentenced under Miller v. Alabama, does Arkansas' 70 percent parole rule apply to the new sentence?
The 70 percent law does not apply. A juvenile capital murderer resentenced to a term of years under Miller v. Alabama must serve the percentage of sentence required for a Class Y felony not specified …
Does a planning commission have to post a meeting notice sign at the property being rezoned, or just at its own office?
No, according to this opinion. A resident argued a planning commission's meeting notice sign at a proposed development site was poorly placed and left neighbors unaware of the hearing. The AG found FO…
Can a Virginia county adopt an enterprise zone tax-reduction program for a zone in a town that used to be an independent city?
Yes. The AG concluded that § 58.1-3245.8(A) expressly empowered Bedford County to adopt an enterprise zone development taxation program for the zone in the Town of Bedford. The town's earlier status a…
Can a Tennessee city pass an ordinance making marijuana possession a $50 civil ticket instead of a criminal misdemeanor?
No. A municipal ordinance making marijuana possession a $50 civil ticket conflicts with Tennessee's Drug Control Act, which makes the same conduct a Class A misdemeanor with mandatory minimum fines an…
Can one attorney serve as a code enforcement special magistrate for multiple Florida jurisdictions through an interlocal agreement or sequential contracts without violating the dual office-holding rule?
The opinion concluded sequential contracts as a code enforcement special magistrate for multiple jurisdictions appeared inconsistent with the sovereign-power test for office-holding, and § 162.07 does…
Can a teacher's suspension and resignation records be released under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The records of a school district employee's disciplinary suspension under the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act are releasable under Arkansas FOIA when the employee resigned before the school board rule…
Can a city director in Arkansas's city administrator form of government also serve as fire chief?
No. The general aldermanic dual-office ban at § 14-42-107(a)(2) probably does not reach city board members in the city administrator form of government. But Ark. Code Ann. § 14-48-110(a)(3) does, and …
Does VDOT have to repair a historic brick retaining wall along U.S. Route 50, and if it does, must it follow federal historic-preservation standards?
The AG concluded VDOT has sole administrative discretion over whether to repair and maintain a historic brick retaining wall within its right-of-way along U.S. Route 50 in Aldie. If VDOT chose to do t…
Can a Virginia jail inmate be criminally charged with indecent exposure or obscene sexual display for acts committed inside the jail?
Yes, in some circumstances. The AG concluded that a jail may be a 'public place' for purposes of §§ 18.2-387 and 18.2-387.1 when the conduct occurs in an area or under circumstances where the inmate h…
Are redactions of a school district employee's job application consistent with Arkansas FOIA?
Mostly consistent with FOIA. The records were properly classified as personnel records and the custodian's standard redactions of personal contact information, social security number, and education sc…
Why did Arkansas reject Barry Emigh's Fairdeal Holdings casino-gambling ballot title?
Rejected. Barry Emigh's proposed gambling amendment was sent back because the sponsor swapped the popular name and ballot title labels, the measure claimed to be self-executing while also delegating r…
Who counts early voting ballots in Texas, and what happens if a poll watcher is blocked?
District Attorney Wiley McAfee asked the AG three election questions. On the first, whether electronic voting systems must store a 'ballot image' meeting the Election Code's ballot-form requirements, …
Why did Arkansas reject Robert Reed's Hemp and Cannabis Amendment of 2018 ballot title?
Rejected. Robert Reed's proposed 'Arkansas Hemp and Cannabis Amendment of 2018' could not be summarized fairly because of seven significant ambiguities, including overlapping cannabis/Cannabis definit…
Can a New York city's charter give the mayor and city council members the power to administer oaths and take affidavits, even if they aren't commissioners of deeds?
Yes. AG Schneiderman concluded that the Auburn City Charter's grant of oath-administering power to the mayor and council members is valid; nothing in Executive Law § 139(1) makes commissioners of deed…
When a Banning Library District trustee leaves before the term ends, do the remaining trustees fill the seat or does Riverside County Board of Supervisors appoint a replacement?
The remaining Banning Library District trustees fill the vacancy under Gov. Code § 1780. Because the district remained a chapter 3 (school-established) district after the 2005 legislation, Education C…
Must a Virginia local electoral board post draft minutes online, or only finalized minutes?
Both. The AG concluded that § 24.2-107, as amended by 2016 Senate Bill 89, requires local electoral boards to post on an official website both draft and final minutes. The cross-reference to § 2.2-370…
Can an insurance company verify which Arkansas providers are registered users of the state's prescription drug monitoring program?
Conditional yes/no. If the information that would let an insurance company verify provider PDMP registration is part of the controlled substances database, no, it is confidential under the PDMP Act. P…
After the Arkansas Valley Tech merger into Arkansas Tech, who is eligible for unused sick leave payouts at retirement?
Layered answer. On the merger date (July 1, 2003), section 21-4-501 did not apply to any higher-ed employees. Today, classified Arkansas Tech employees, including former Valley Tech employees, are eli…
How long must Arkansas keep old election records like financial interest statements and candidate filings?
No fixed time. Arkansas law does not generally prescribe a retention period for the Secretary of State's election records. Disposal is left to the Secretary's reasonable discretion for a legitimate go…
Can an Arkansas city withhold witness statements from an open internal harassment investigation under FOIA, when no suspension or termination has occurred yet?
Yes. The AG opined that witness statements gathered during an ongoing internal harassment investigation are employee-evaluation records, and because no suspension or termination has reached final admi…
Why did Arkansas reject the first Arkansas Cannabis Amendment ballot title in 2016?
Rejected. The AG could not certify Mary Berry's first version of 'The Arkansas Cannabis Amendment' because the underlying measure was internally ambiguous on 14 distinct issues, including residency re…
If I'm the subject of a Little Rock internal investigation, am I entitled to the investigation file under Arkansas FOIA?
Mostly yes. The AG opined that under § 25-19-105(c)(2), the subject of personnel or evaluation records can obtain them even when the public cannot. Portions that are exclusively another employee's eva…
Did the Arkansas Attorney General approve the proposed Arkansas Term Limits Amendment for the ballot in 2016?
Yes. AG Leslie Rutledge certified the popular name and ballot title for Thomas Steele's proposed Arkansas Term Limits Amendment, which would cap House members at three two-year terms, Senate members a…
Can a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse log into Georgia's prescription drug monitoring database in their own right, or only as a delegate of a physician?
Only as a delegate. Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses do not have access to the GAPDMP database in their own right, because they are neither dispensers nor practitioners authorized to di…
If a new government committee forgets to post notice of its first meeting, does the meeting have to be redone?
No, according to this opinion. A newly formed state committee admitted it violated FOIA by failing to give public notice of its first meeting. The AG found no remediation was warranted because the mee…
Does directing a records requester to a public website satisfy a FOIA request if the requester is incarcerated and has no computer access?
Yes, according to this opinion, at least based on what the agency knew at the time. An incarcerated requester asked for campaign finance records, and the State Election Commissioner directed him to it…
If meeting minutes show a board voted during a closed executive session, is that automatically a FOIA violation?
Not necessarily, according to this opinion. A charter school's approved meeting minutes appeared to show the board voting on a settlement while in a closed executive session, which would violate FOIA'…
Can a Texas city remove the board member it appointed to a regional water district before the term ends?
State Representative Jim Keffer asked the AG whether a member city of the North Texas Municipal Water District may remove or replace, at its discretion and with or without cause, a director it appoint…
Did the Arkansas Attorney General certify the proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment for the ballot in 2016?
No. AG Leslie Rutledge rejected the proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment's popular name and ballot title, identifying at least ten ambiguities in the measure's text that prevented an impartial summary…
If a high school district refuses to transfer credit from a charter school, can the student demand a placement test to earn that credit?
Yes. The AG concluded that once a student enrolls and asks, the high school district must offer the student a chance to demonstrate competency in a subject without taking the class. For high school ma…
Can a Florida school district open competitive bids electronically through an online procurement system without holding a physical public bid opening?
The opinion declined to interpret State Board of Education rules. The AG noted § 1010.04 allows online procurement systems but the State Board's rule 4.2(2)(e) requires public bid opening, and the Flo…
Can a Little Rock police officer's job application be released to a FOIA requester after personal contact details are redacted?
Yes. The AG concluded a Little Rock Police sergeant's employment application is a personnel record properly subject to release, and that the custodian's redactions of personal-privacy information were…
Can a FOIA requester get the names, salaries, and years of service for University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences employees?
Yes. The AG opined that names, salaries from 2013 forward, and years of service for UAMS Respiratory Care Services employees are personnel records subject to disclosure under Arkansas FOIA.
If a Georgia physician's malpractice insurer pays out under a high-low agreement even after the physician wins at trial, must the physician report that payment to the Composite Medical Board?
Yes. Under O.C.G.A. § 43-34-8(j), every physician licensee must notify the Board of 'any settlement' involving a medical malpractice action. A high-low agreement is a settlement (Black's Law Dictionar…
Under Arkansas FOIA, which Little Rock Police Department personnel records (names, pay, addresses, dates of birth) can the public obtain?
The AG opined that LRPD properly determined names, race, age, gender, dates of hire, promotions, pay, and pay increases of officers are releasable personnel records. Home addresses, social security nu…
Can a Tennessee 911 district board automatically remove a sheriff or mayor who serves ex officio if they miss too many meetings?
Yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 7-86-314(a) says 'any' board member with four consecutive unexcused absences or attendance below 50% of meetings in a 12-month period is automatically removed. The word 'any' co…
Did the Arkansas Attorney General approve Barry Emigh's proposed Fairdeal Holdings casino gambling constitutional amendment for the ballot?
No. AG Leslie Rutledge rejected the proposed amendment for fundamental defects: it targeted a non-existent November 14, 2017 election, used an overlong popular name, left the 'local ballot option' pro…
Can a Texas county spend public money on holiday decorations and literacy programs?
Upshur County Criminal District Attorney Billy Byrd asked the AG whether a commissioners court may spend county funds on holiday lighting and decorations for county buildings and on local literacy pro…
Can a Florida city amend its charter by ordinance to require council candidates to designate a specific seat before the election, or does that require a referendum?
The opinion confirmed AGO 2010-54: requiring council candidates to designate which seat they seek before the election is a change in the 'manner of election' under § 166.021(4) and can only be made by…
Can a Florida special master carry a concealed firearm into the courtroom where they preside?
No. The narrow courtroom-firearm exception in § 790.06(12)(a)5. applies only to constitutionally vested 'judges' (county, circuit, DCA, supreme, federal district, federal appeals). A special master pr…
Can a Florida hospital district pay a board member's attorney fees for help responding to a public records request?
No. Florida law authorizes reimbursement of attorney's fees to a public board member only when the member is charged with a Sunshine Law violation and is later acquitted (§ 286.011(7)). Where no charg…
Can one person serve simultaneously on a Florida city planning and zoning board and a county historic preservation board?
The opinion concluded that simultaneously serving on the Lighthouse Point Planning and Zoning Board and the Broward County Historic Preservation Board violated Article II, § 5(a) because both boards e…
Can a Florida city pay severance pay above 20 weeks to long-tenured employees, and can it run an early retirement program that exceeds the 20-week severance cap?
The opinion concluded § 215.425(4)(a) caps severance pay at 20 weeks for post-2011 contracts and bars it for misconduct. Pre-July-2011 employees under existing local ordinances are grandfathered. Actu…
Can a Florida county expand a municipal service unit to fund landscaping, signage, and canal maintenance?
Maybe. § 125.01(1)(q) lets counties create municipal service taxing or benefit units for enumerated services and 'other essential facilities and municipal services.' Whether landscaping, signage, and …
Can a Florida city use a zoning ordinance to require minimum distances between vacation rentals or to cap the number of vacation rentals per neighborhood?
The opinion concluded that distance separation requirements or numeric/percentage caps on vacation rentals would have the effect of prohibiting eligible units from being rented as vacation rentals, wh…
Can an Arkansas property owner claim the Arkansas homestead property tax credit and also claim a homestead-style credit in another state in the same year?
The AG opined that Arkansas law does not bar an owner from claiming both, but warned that since both credits typically require a principal place of residence and a person can only have one, claiming b…
Can an Arkansas quorum court give bonuses or longevity pay to county employees, county officers, or its own justices of the peace?
The AG concluded yes for county employees (broad quorum-court authority over compensation), yes for county officers when included within the annual salary fixed by ordinance, but no for justices of th…
Did Florida's AG ask the state Supreme Court to bless the 'Voting Restoration Amendment' ballot summary in 2016?
Yes. This 2016 filing was the AG's mandatory petition to the Florida Supreme Court, asking the Court to review whether the proposed Voting Restoration Amendment, which would automatically restore voti…
When do Texas courts defer to a state agency's interpretation of a statute?
Insurance Commissioner David Mattax asked the AG when Texas courts give deference to a state agency's reading of a statute, and specifically whether a formal notice-and-comment rule carries more weigh…
Can a school board trustee also serve on a city planning and zoning commission in Texas?
Webb County Attorney Marco Montemayor asked the AG whether one person could serve at the same time as a trustee of an independent school district and as a member of a city planning and zoning commissi…
Can an out-of-state resident be denied access to Delaware public records under the state's FOIA law?
Yes, according to this opinion. A Colorado resident's broad request for state banking records was denied because he was not a Delaware citizen. The AG concluded that Delaware's FOIA statute, despite a…
Can a state agency charge me for the time it takes a non-lawyer employee to decide which of my requested records are exempt from disclosure?
No, according to this opinion. A former State Treasurer requested roughly 19,000 emails from his old office, and the office's cost estimate included time for a non-lawyer coordinator to decide which e…
Can a city council remove a speaker from public comment for making personal attacks on the mayor?
Yes, according to this opinion. A resident was removed from a city council meeting's public comment period after comparing the mayor's conduct toward a councilmember to treating him 'like a pubescent …
Can Virginia voters take photos or selfies of themselves with their ballot inside a polling place, and can they use phones to get voting help from someone outside?
Mostly yes for self-photography, no for outside assistance. The AG concluded that recent State Board of Elections regulations permitting voters to use cameras and recording devices in polling places d…
How these opinions are useful
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