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Which South Carolina county received rollback taxes after farmland shifted county boundaries?
The Attorney General predicted that the county containing the land when its use changed would receive the rollback taxes. The calculation could still use different taxing district rates for…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the 2018 ballot title for the Citizens' Redistricting Commission constitutional amendment?
AG Rutledge rejected the proposal because key terms (such as a commissioner's required 'commitment' to honesty and impartiality, and what counts as 'substantial neglect of duty') were too vague and…
Can Texas spend the Proposition 1 and Proposition 7 highway money on toll roads or on projects that have tolled and free lanes?
The AG concluded that the Texas Transportation Commission may not spend state highway funds it receives under Propositions 1 and 7 on any toll road, because both constitutional amendments restrict…
Can a Texas school board put term limits on its own trustees through a governance policy, without a state law authorizing it?
The AG concluded that a court would likely say no. Independent school district boards have broad authority to govern and manage their schools, but adding a term limit is really an extra eligibility…
What did a South Carolina notarial certificate need when a subscribing witness proved a power of attorney?
The Attorney General predicted that the certificate had to state the subscribing witness certified that they were not a party to or beneficiary of the transaction, along with the other information…
Can a West Virginia county fire board use the county fire service fee revenue under W. Va. Code § 7-17-12 to pay salaries and personnel costs for firefighters, including paid firefighters?
The AG concluded yes. Section 7-17-12's revenue is dedicated to the county fire board for the purposes set out in Article 17, and Section 7-17-10 expressly authorizes the board to expend funds,…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the 2018 minimum wage proposal that would have let cities and counties set higher local minimum wages?
AG Rutledge rejected the proposal both because the title omitted significant aspects of the underlying measure and because the local-option provision itself was ambiguous about how cities and…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject John Hall's 2018 adult and medical cannabis amendment?
The 27-page proposal combined adult and medical marijuana, industrial hemp, local licensing, taxes, penalties, and a partial repeal of Amendment 98. The AG said its length and complexity made an…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the 2018 Arkansas True Grass recreational marijuana ballot title?
The AG rejected it for fundamental ambiguities in the proposal text. The AG also reminded the Arkansas True Grass committee that drafting and accurately summarizing the measure are the sponsor's…
Did South Carolina’s Iran Divestment Act contracting restriction continue after federal Iran sanctions were revoked?
The Attorney General concluded in 2018 that the federal revocation order triggered the state Act’s termination provision for the described Iran energy sector restrictions. It treated restrictions…
Can a Delaware school agency deny an entire records request just because it says the records relate to a pending lawsuit against the agency?
No, not automatically. The AG found the Department of Education could not justify a wholesale denial of a public records request just by pointing to pending litigation on a related subject; the…
Does a city council violate Delaware's open meetings law if a consultant interviews each council member separately about the same topic?
No, according to this opinion. The Delaware AG found that a Human Resources consultant's one-on-one interviews with each Newark City Council member and the Mayor, gathering their individual views…
Are public employees' names, job positions, and pay rates releasable under the Arkansas FOIA, even over the employees' objections?
Yes. AG Rutledge confirmed that names, positions, and salary information for public utility employees are personnel records that must be released under the Arkansas FOIA, and that employees'…
Did a proposed interim South Carolina utility rate rollback violate constitutional limits?
The Attorney General predicted that the proposed House version of S. 954, if enacted, would be constitutional and not confiscatory under the utility rate balancing test. It left final judicial…
Are the costs of court-appointed defense attorneys for indigent criminal defendants public record in Delaware?
Yes. The AG found records showing defense attorney costs, including who was paid and how much, must be disclosed if ODS has them, subject to valid privilege and other FOIA redactions. It recommended…
Can California voters use the local referendum power to block a city's resolution selling former redevelopment-agency property under a long-range plan that the state has already approved?
No. The AG concluded that a city's resolution implementing a long-range property management plan that the oversight board and the Department of Finance had already approved was an administrative…
Does a city staff committee count as a public body under Delaware's open meetings law if no elected official sits on it?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG ruled that Seaford's Employee Benefit Committee was a public body under Delaware FOIA because the City Manager, a public official, appointed its members and…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject David Couch's proposed minimum wage ballot title in April 2018?
The title could imply every hourly worker would get the proposed raises, without explaining which employers and employees the wage law covered or its existing exceptions. The measure also used…
Could Connecticut ban employers from forcing workers to attend meetings about unions, or would federal labor law block the state from doing that?
AG Jepsen advised that a court would likely hold preempted HB 5473's provision barring employers from requiring meetings about joining or supporting a labor organization. He relied on NLRA section…
Can a city sue in California to remove a water district director, claiming the district wrongly excluded the city's nominee from the appointment ballot?
The AG granted the City of Huntington Park leave to sue in quo warranto. The dispute presented substantial legal and factual questions about whether the city's nominee qualified as a 'representative…
What happens when an Arkansas ballot-title sponsor resubmits virtually the same proposal the AG already rejected?
The AG rejected Robert Reed's near-identical resubmission because it left unresolved the ambiguities identified in Opinion 2016-110. She said those problems had to be addressed before her office…
Can a city's Advertising and Promotion Commission use A&P tax money to build a youth-programming auditorium next to its existing convention center?
Yes, likely. AG Rutledge concluded the A&P Commission may spend its funds either as a convention center 'extension' (if annexed) or as a 'public recreation facility' under Ark. Code Ann. §…
If a state board member also works for a private contractor, can that contractor still bid on state work, and what are the conflict-of-interest rules?
A member of the Underground Storage Tanks and Solid Waste Disposal Control Board is a state official, not a state employee. The contractor that employs that member may bid on state work as long as…
If the holder of a private transfer fee on Texas property botches the required notice, is the fee void, and what about a seller's disclosure?
The AG concluded that the rules are strict for the fee holder and looser for the seller. Property Code section 5.203 says that if the payee of a pre-2011 private transfer fee obligation fails to…
Does Texas's SB 312 force the Loop 1604 toll project to repay state highway money, or is it exempt because its environmental review started early?
The AG could not give a yes-or-no answer because it turns on disputed facts. Senate Bill 312 amended the Transportation Code so a toll project entity does not have to repay funds the Department of…
Can Texas require food to be eaten on the premises before a restaurant's scale is exempt from state weights-and-measures registration?
The AG concluded that a court would likely strike down that requirement. Agriculture Code section 13.1002 exempts a commercial weighing device used exclusively to weigh 'food sold for immediate…
Who pays for a disaster property reappraisal in Texas, and must owners be notified when their value goes down?
The AG concluded two things. First, a taxing unit that authorizes a disaster reappraisal must pay the appraisal district all the costs of making it, but the district cannot bill for routine…
Can the Texas Governor suspend election laws and call an early special election during a disaster?
The AG concluded the Governor's disaster powers reached that far. Under Government Code section 418.016(a), the Governor may suspend Election Code timing and procedure rules to the extent strict…
Did South Carolina’s self defense law automatically immunize a permit holder responding to a mass shooting?
The Attorney General declined categorical immunity. It said immunity could apply if the required self defense elements and statutory conditions were met, with case specific decisions for courts; it…
Could South Carolina legislators retroactively ratify Greenville Hospital System agreements during litigation?
In an expedited opinion, the Attorney General predicted that proposed S. 1116 would likely withstand constitutional challenge because the legislature could generally ratify a subordinate agency’s…
Can a Delaware prison keep the names of employees assigned take-home cars secret for safety reasons?
Not the names, but some vehicle details can stay private. The AG ruled DOC had to disclose the names and titles of administrators assigned take-home vehicles as a form of public employee…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the proposed Citizens' Redistricting Commission ballot title in April 2018?
The AG identified nine concerns in the measure and title, including an unusually broad family definition, unclear party affiliation limits, a possible commissioner-selection deadlock, and unclear…
Can Texas TCEQ deny an air permit for a concrete plant because it conflicts with city zoning?
The AG concluded that local zoning has little role in these air permits. Section 382.112 requires the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to give maximum consideration to a local government's…
Can two Arizona fire districts merge their operations under a single joint authority without putting it on the ballot, and is that a disenfranchisement of voters?
The AG found the CAFMA agreement lawful on the information presented. A.R.S. § 48-805.01 allows fire districts to create a separate legal entity to jointly exercise common powers without voter…
Was Fort Smith's decision to release a deputy director's disciplinary record inconsistent with Arkansas FOIA?
The AG could not say the custodian's planned release conflicted with FOIA. She identified the record as an evaluation record and said it was reasonable to infer that the custodian found compelling…
Could Connecticut authorize the East Windsor tribal casino, or open the door to sports betting, without the federal Department of the Interior's approval of compact amendments?
AG Jepsen advised against acting without that approval. The 2017 statute authorizing the joint Mashantucket-Mohegan casino in East Windsor required Interior to approve amendments to the gaming…
Could South Carolina fine locomotives without Positive Train Control equipment under proposed S. 970?
The Attorney General predicted that a court would find proposed S. 970 preempted because its fines regulated locomotive equipment, a field governed by the federal Locomotive Inspection Act. It…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Alex Gray's proposed four-county casino amendment ballot title in April 2018?
The AG found four unresolved ambiguities: whether casinos would actually operate at the named tracks, whether facility and operator licenses differed, how a racing obligation and its penalties would…
Is a mandatory municipal solid waste collection fee subject to the Arkansas gross receipts tax?
The AG declined to answer this question, explaining that interpretations of state sales tax law are the responsibility of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration's Revenue Division,…
Can an Arkansas school district avoid Arkansas FOIA by hiring a private firm to handle confidential superintendent applications?
No. AG Rutledge concluded that when a private search firm collects superintendent applications for a public school district, the firm is acting as the 'functional equivalent' of the district, and…
Can Delaware's Office of the State Bank Commissioner deny a FOIA request from an out-of-state publisher?
Yes. The AG upheld the office's denial of a FOIA request from an Illinois-based publisher, reaffirming that Delaware public bodies are only required to comply with records requests from Delaware citizens.
Can Fort Smith release police investigation records when the officer says he resigned but the custodian believes he was terminated?
The AG could not decide without knowing how the custodian classified the records or resolving whether the officer resigned or was terminated. If they are evaluation records, an ordinary voluntary…
Are complaints and investigation records about Arkansas public school employees exempt from FOIA?
There is no blanket exemption. An unsolicited complaint is generally a personnel record, while an employer-created investigation record may be an evaluation record. Each has a different disclosure…
Can the East Tennessee Regional Agribusiness Marketing Authority lease its 76-acre I-81 property to non-agribusiness, non-wastewater tenants to bring in any kind of jobs?
No. The East Tennessee Regional Agribusiness Marketing Authority (ETRAMA) only has authority to develop or lease its property for activities that further one of its two statutory purposes: operating…
Can an out-of-state call center handle property maintenance calls and rental inquiries for Arizona properties without a real estate license?
Yes, with conditions. Out-of-state call center workers handling maintenance calls (taking the call, routing the work order, dispatching emergency repair) for Arizona residential rentals are exempt…
When can a California city sue to remove a council member by claiming the member did not actually live in the council district during the residency window?
The AG denied the City of Dixon's quo warranto application against council member Devon Minnema. Sworn statements of residence, voter registration, change-of-address records, and corroborating…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the ballot title for Randall Bynum's proposed four-county casino amendment?
The proposal did not explain how casino operators would receive licenses or how licenses related to ownership of the four designated properties. The AG said those gaps prevented her from writing a…
Can a Delaware school district charge $800 to search employee emails for a FOIA request?
The specific complaint became moot before the AG ruled on the merits, but the AG still warned the district that FOIA requires searching its own email records with reasonable effort before…
Could South Carolina’s contractor licensing board consider an applicant’s employee stock ownership plan finances?
The Attorney General concluded that the board could consider ESOP financial information when evaluating net worth, whether it helped or hurt an applicant’s qualification for a general contractor license.
Do alcohol-delivery apps (like Drizly) need an Arizona liquor license, and how do delivery and after-hours rules apply when an unlicensed app is the front end?
Receiving an alcohol order counts as a sale. If an app qualifies as an on-sale or off-sale retailer, accepting an order between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. violates the service-hour rule, even if…
Can the Tennessee legislature use a narrow population bracket to let one specific county collect a tax that state law forbids?
Likely not. HB 2341/SB 1652 would exempt only Obion County from the hotel-tax priority rule through a narrow population bracket. Because no rationale for that classification was provided or…
Can a Tennessee judge follow the Code of Judicial Conduct's bar on sexual-orientation bias while still applying state law that does not prohibit sexual-orientation discrimination, and does the rule on organizational membership exclude judges who belong to traditional religious congregations?
Yes to question 1, no to question 2. A Tennessee judge can comply with Rule of Judicial Conduct 2.3, which bars manifestations of bias based on sexual orientation among other characteristics, while…
Can a city council member who also practices law represent a private client whose interests are adverse to the city, or vote on a council matter that affects that client?
No on both counts. The AG concluded that an attorney who serves on a city council may not advocate for a client whose interests are adverse to the city, even pro bono and even if the matter is not…
Could a South Carolina nonprofit deny members record inspection because it had 501(c)(6) tax status?
The Attorney General predicted that a nonreligious nonprofit could not eliminate statutory member inspection rights solely because it had federal 501(c)(6) status. Which accounting records a…
Did a vendor installing an industrial paint shop need a South Carolina general contractor license?
On the stated facts, the Attorney General thought a vendor merely supplying and securing specialized equipment inside a building might not need a general contractor license. It emphasized that any…
Did Arkansas FOIA allow release of Brandon Smith's employee evaluation record after the records custodian decided to disclose it?
On the face of the record, the AG could not say the custodian's disclosure decision conflicted with FOIA. The custodian had classified it as an evaluation record and determined that all four…
Can Tennessee give landlords a property tax break for renting at below-market rates to low-income tenants without violating equal protection or uniform taxation rules?
Yes. The proposed Affordable Rental Property Act, HB 1987, is constitutional. The bill creates an opt-in property tax classification for landlords who voluntarily restrict their property to…
Can a Florida city, in a local ethics investigation, decide whether an elected official violated the state ethics code section 112.313?
No. The Florida Constitution and the state Code of Ethics give the Florida Commission on Ethics exclusive authority to determine whether an elected official violated § 112.313. A city, in a local…
Does a FOIA complaint about a missing report end once the town sends it a day later?
Yes. The AG found a reporter's complaint over Dewey Beach's delayed agreed-upon-procedures report was moot once the town sent the completed report within 24 hours of her follow-up, even though she…
Did South Carolina DMV have to remove expunged charges from online driving records?
The Attorney General predicted that DMV generally had to comply with a proper expungement order and remove an eligible charge from internet based public records, including a public driving record if…
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