State AG Opinions
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Could South Carolina search warrant affiants be sworn through any electronic messaging service?
The Attorney General declined to approve additional electronic oath methods. It noted that the telephone-and-fax order expressly covered Richland County and advised courts elsewhere to seek Supreme…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject the very first March 2018 draft of the four-county casino constitutional amendment?
AG Rutledge rejected this March 29, 2018 draft for ambiguities about the franchise holders' obligations and the relationship between casino licensing and racing operations, the same kinds of issues…
Could the Arkansas Economic Development Commission make Minority Business Loan Mobilization Fund loans to women-owned businesses before the legislature formally amended the loan-fund statute?
No. AG Rutledge concluded that even though Act 1080 of 2017 expanded the broader Minority Business Economic Development Act to cover women-owned businesses, the specific loan-fund statute (Ark. Code…
Can a former state agency lawyer represent private clients against the agency after leaving state employment?
A former DF&A staff attorney is not permanently barred from representing private clients in tax disputes against the State, but is barred for one year from cases that fell within his official…
Is Arkansas's 2017 'In God We Trust' poster law (Act 911) constitutional under the First Amendment?
Yes, in the AG's view. AG Rutledge concluded that Act 911 (requiring schools and state agencies to display posters with the national motto and U.S./Arkansas flags when funded by donations) is not…
Do Arkansas housing authority and urban renewal agency commissioners have to live in the area their agency serves?
Yes. AG Rutledge concluded these commissioners hold a 'civil office' under Article 19, section 3 of the Arkansas Constitution, which requires them to be qualified electors within the political…
Can the Washington State Auditor audit UW Physicians, the nonprofit corporation that provides medical services through the University of Washington School of Medicine?
Likely yes. The AG concluded that the University exercises so much control over UW Physicians (UWP) that a court would treat it as the functional equivalent of the University for state-auditor…
Could a South Carolina county collect municipal code liens on tax bills without a collection agreement?
The Attorney General predicted that a county could collect the described municipal lien using property tax procedures only when it had a collection contract with the municipality and followed state…
Can Tennessee fix the constitutional problem with the whiskey-barrel tax exemption by adding a legislative interpretation of 'manufactured article'?
No. SB 2076/HB 2038 (2018) as amended by Amendment No. 2 (HA 0942) is unconstitutional. The amendment tried to fix the constitutional problem identified in Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 18-06 (March 5, 2018)…
Did South Carolina’s standard sheriff election schedule override exceptions preserving four year terms?
The Attorney General concluded that the standard sheriff election schedule was subject to exceptions where needed to preserve constitutionally required four year terms, including the historical…
Is a Tennessee bill creating senior 'business judges' appointed by the Supreme Court without a one-year-minimum or election history constitutional?
Yes, the senior-business-judge provisions raise constitutional concerns under Tenn. Const. art. VI, § 4 (election of judges). SB 2493/HB 2184 (2018) would let the Tennessee Supreme Court appoint as…
Who could appeal a South Carolina Human Affairs Commission panel decision?
The Attorney General said a commission attorney representing an aggrieved party could seek review; an unlisted complainant first had to intervene; the Commission itself could be aggrieved by a panel…
Could a South Carolina local ordinance require towing a vehicle when proof of insurance was missing?
The Attorney General predicted that a properly drafted county or municipal towing ordinance could coexist with the state misdemeanor for failing to maintain proof of insurance. It lacked a proposed…
Could a South Carolina watershed district director also work as a circuit judge’s law clerk?
The Attorney General concluded that the two roles could be held together because a judicial law clerk was an employee who did not independently exercise sovereign power, so the clerkship was not a…
Can a Texas constable also serve as a deputy sheriff and enforce truck-weight limits?
The AG concluded yes. No statute, the Texas Constitution's dual-office ban (article XVI, section 40), nor the common-law incompatibility doctrine stops a constable or deputy constable from also…
When does postmortem toxicology testing in Texas need Forensic Science Commission accreditation?
The AG concluded it depends on why the test was ordered. A lab doing postmortem toxicology at a medical examiner's or forensic pathologist's request is a 'crime laboratory' needing Forensic Science…
Can a Texas county deduct money from a worker's paycheck for using tobacco?
The AG concluded that no provision of the Local Government Code lets a county dock an employee's salary without consent just because the employee uses tobacco. But a county does have authority to…
Could readySC use South Carolina’s in state tuition residency rule to select free job training participants?
The Attorney General doubted the tuition rule applied to a free training program where a company selected participants. It distinguished a fixed residency duration from a bona fide residency…
Are Tennessee counties or cities required to pay for the burial or cremation of indigent residents?
Tennessee local governments are not required to provide burial, cremation, or funeral services for indigent residents. Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-9-101(4) authorizes counties to appropriate funds for the…
When can Texas police release or withhold body camera footage to the public or city officials?
The AG drew different lines for different requesters. For the public, body-camera video that is or could be criminal evidence runs through the Public Information Act; an agency may withhold it under…
Can a Texas officer watch other officers' body camera video before giving a statement?
The AG concluded the officer gets to choose. Occupations Code subsection 1701.655(b)(5) requires a law enforcement agency's body-camera policy to entitle an officer to access any recording of an…
Does a Tennessee distillery that sells its own spirits for on-premises consumption owe the 15% liquor-by-the-drink tax?
Yes for the 15% liquor-by-the-drink tax, no for the annual facility-type privilege taxes. A licensed Tennessee distillery selling its own alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption under Tenn.…
If Tennessee adopted ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) banning lawyer harassment and discrimination 'related to the practice of law,' would that violate Tennessee attorneys' constitutional rights?
Yes, the proposed Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(g), patterned after ABA Model Rule 8.4(g), would violate the constitutional rights of Tennessee attorneys. The opinion incorporates the AG's…
Could a South Carolina railroad special constable work part time for a municipal police department?
The Attorney General predicted that a South Carolina commissioned special officer or constable could work part time for municipal police while the railroad or common carrier commission remained…
How much of a township road right-of-way must an adjoining landowner clear of vegetation under SDCL 31-31-2, and when does farming, fencing, or altering the grade of a section-line highway cross the line into illegal obstruction?
SDCL 31-31-2 requires the landowner to remove grass, weeds, trees, and brush across the township road's entire right-of-way, leaving vegetation in a condition that can be cut with a mower. Farming,…
Can Tennessee force every city to grandfather existing short-term rentals and forbid future bans, when only some cities had rules on the books before 2014?
Mostly constitutional, but with one likely fatal flaw. The grandfather provision drawing the line at 2014 is rationally tied to when short-term rentals went mainstream and survives equal protection…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the 2018 four-casino constitutional amendment ballot title?
AG Rutledge rejected the popular name as too long to function as a useful voter label, and rejected the 1,190-word ballot title because it failed to disclose that two of the four casinos were…
Does a Delaware police department have to answer written questions submitted as a FOIA request?
No. The AG found the Wilmington Police Department did not violate FOIA by not answering an incarcerated requester's three questions, since FOIA only requires producing existing records, not…
What happens if a Delaware public body keeps denying FOIA requests after the AG already ruled it must comply?
The AG will find another violation, but can't force compliance itself. The AG ruled the Trustees of New Castle Common violated FOIA again by denying a records request based on its rejected argument…
What redactions does Arkansas FOIA require before releasing a former city employee's personnel file to the news media?
Fayetteville's decision to release a former employee's personnel and evaluation records to media outlets was largely consistent with the FOIA. The AG ordered specific additional redactions to…
Why did Arkansas reject the 2018 ballot title for amending Article V, Section 20 sovereign immunity?
AG Rutledge accepted the 'authorized by the General Assembly' branch but rejected the rest of the ballot title because 'waived by the State' had no clear grammatical object and could mean either…
If a small Tennessee city's interstate ramps are within city limits but only one lane of the highway between them is, can the city's police enforce traffic laws on that stretch?
No. A Tennessee municipality with a population of 10,000 or less may enforce the rules of the road on an interstate only when the contiguous stretch between its two entrance and two exit ramps lies…
Could South Carolina counties and cities sue opioid companies for their own losses?
The Attorney General found legal support for county and municipal opioid suits but said their standing and the effect of the State’s Purdue case remained unsettled. Local governments could not sue…
Does a Delaware FOIA complaint about missing insurance policy pages end once the town finally finds and sends them?
Yes. The AG found a complaint over Dewey Beach's slow production of insurance policy endorsement pages, including ones tied to military-surplus equipment storage, became moot once the town located…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject the 2018 Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission ballot title?
AG Rutledge rejected sponsor David Couch's redistricting-commission ballot title because the commissioners' term length was undefined (creating an unclear 18-year cooling-off period), 'reasonably…
Can Tennessee community-corrections officers search offenders, and if not, can a court override that and authorize them to search?
No. The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) administers the community corrections program statewide and has the sole authority to set standards under the Community Corrections Act of 1985.…
Can a Tennessee citizen review board subpoena records and access information about pending criminal cases involving police?
A Tennessee citizen review board's subpoena power depends entirely on the local government charter that created it. The General Assembly has not given citizen review boards independent subpoena…
Could a Marion County detention center lieutenant also serve on county council?
The Attorney General concluded that serving as both a Marion County council member and a detention center correctional officer would violate South Carolina’s dual office holding prohibition and the…
Could a school board or town council member join the Allendale Hampton Jasper Regional Library Board?
The Attorney General concluded that an Allendale County school board member was barred from the regional library board under the older library statute. It also predicted that a Fairfax town council…
Can a state agency release a former employee's evaluation record when the employee resigned 'in lieu of termination'?
It depends on whether the resignation was truly voluntary or was a forced/constructive termination. If voluntary, the four-prong test for releasing an evaluation record is not met because there was…
Could a South Carolina city assign its police officer to a school outside city limits?
The Attorney General predicted that the school resource officer statute did not itself let a municipal officer serve routinely at a school outside the city. It said an appropriate contract under the…
Did Anderson County have to supervise its fire district, and how could the district raise its millage?
The Attorney General said Home Rule did not require Anderson County to supervise its preexisting fire protection district. For operating millage, it adhered to earlier opinions identifying two…
Can a Delaware state employee use FOIA to get her own ADA accommodation records from her employer?
No. The AG found the Department of Insurance could deny an employee's own FOIA request for her ADA accommodation emails as an exempt personnel file, even though she was the subject of the records,…
Can a city withhold all records of an employee's computer-policy violation under the Arkansas FOIA employee-evaluation exemption?
No. Fort Smith improperly classified all records of an employee's computer-policy violation as exempt employee-evaluation records. Most are not evaluation records at all; the actual evaluation…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Berry's revised 2018 recreational marijuana ballot title?
The AG rejected Berry's revised title, popular name and measure. She said the latest proposal condensed and reorganized language already rejected without resolving fundamental problems, including an…
Could Tennessee constitutionally exempt aging whiskey barrels from property tax as 'manufactured articles' under article II, section 30?
No. Article II, section 30 of the Tennessee Constitution exempts only 'manufactured articles' in the hands of the manufacturer who made them. The Tennessee Supreme Court (Benedict v. Davidson…
Who could administer a new South Carolina municipal police officer’s oath?
The Attorney General predicted that any public officer with general authority to administer oaths could give a municipal police officer the required oath. It identified judicial officers, clerks of…
If a state transit agency shares its FOIA system with a parent department, can it be blamed for 'ignoring' a request that the parent department answered?
No. The AG found Delaware Transit Corporation didn't violate FOIA when its parent agency, DelDOT, responded to a records request on both agencies' behalf through their shared FOIA system, even…
Can a city police officer in Arkansas run for and hold an elected county office?
Yes. Nothing in the Arkansas Constitution prevents a city police officer from running for or holding an elected county office. Article 7, Section 53 (added by Amendment 95 in 2016) bars sitting…
Does an Arkansas state employee who moonlights as a part-time police officer have to take annual leave to testify in court?
A state employee who also works part-time as a law enforcement officer and is subpoenaed to testify about that part-time work is a fact witness, not a paid expert witness, even though his part-time…
Can the Fairfax County Park Authority ban drone takeoffs and landings in its parks despite a Virginia statute preempting locality regulation of private drones?
Yes. Although Code § 15.2-926.3 prevents 'localities' (counties, cities, towns) from regulating private drones, the Fairfax County Park Authority is a separate body politic and corporate, not a…
Does the $6 unpaid-toll fee cap apply to public entities operating Texas toll lanes for TxDOT?
The AG concluded the cap applies to those operators too. Senate Bill 312 limited the administrative fee the Texas Department of Transportation may add to an unpaid toll invoice to $6, with no more…
Can a Texas veteran get a VA cash-out refinance loan on their home?
The AG concluded no. A Texas 'cash-out' loan is a home equity loan, and the Texas Constitution lets a home equity loan be secured only by the homestead itself. Because a U.S. Department of Veterans…
Can a teacher employed by a JTED member district sit on the JTED's governing board, or is that a conflict?
The statute does not flat-out prohibit a member district's CTE teacher from serving on a JTED governing board, but the common-law doctrine of incompatibility of public offices likely does, because…
What did Florida certify about its parental-rights law for a 2018 Rape Survivor Child Custody Act grant application?
The AG's office identified section 39.806(1)(m) as Florida's qualifying statute and certified that it remained in force and had not changed since its 2013 enactment. The letter supported a federal…
Is a police department's response to a FOIA request 'delivered' if it's left in a parcel box marked packages-only?
Yes. The AG found a Delaware police department's hand-delivered FOIA response was timely even though it was left in a porch box meant for packages, not letters, and separately upheld withholding a…
Could Chapin require a town attorney by ordinance, and did a candidate’s past lawsuits bar appointment?
The Attorney General predicted that Chapin’s ordinance requiring appointment of a town attorney was consistent with the state statute allowing one. It did not decide whether the proposed lawyer’s…
Could an Aiken city council member also serve on a school district area advisory council?
The Attorney General predicted no. Although named an advisory council, the Area 1 body exercised delegated policy and fiscal powers that the office treated as a public office, making concurrent city…
Did South Carolina parks have to sell harvested timber through the state surplus property process?
The Attorney General predicted that timber sales by the parks department were exempt from surplus personal property sale procedures. Standing timber remained part of the land, while statutes…
Can the Delaware AG resolve a FOIA dispute over whether records are protected by attorney-client privilege or potential litigation?
Not fully. The AG found it structurally unable to verify New Castle County Council's privilege and potential-litigation claims without record-by-record detail FOIA doesn't require agencies to…
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