State AG Opinions
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Can a fire department in one Arkansas county take over or fund a volunteer fire department in another county?
No state law expressly prohibits one county's fire department from exercising authority over or funding a volunteer fire department in another county. Whether it can actually do so depends on how the …
After my city annexed an area, the city and a county water authority are both charging me for water-service inspections. Which one has the right to inspect and charge?
The city has exclusive authority. Under Act 895 of 2017 (codified at A.C.A. § 14-208-102(a)(1)(C)), when a rural water service operates within the annexed boundaries of a municipality, the municipalit…
When a South Carolina state agency has both general-fund appropriations and federal funds for the same program, which money has to be spent first?
Federal funds first, except for research and student aid grants. South Carolina Code Section 11-9-125 requires state agencies to draw down and expend federal and other funds before spending state gene…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for petition 2026-136 repealing the Show-Me Sports Investment Act?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary stating that petition 2026-136 would repeal the Show-Me Sports Investment Act, ending state bonds, appropriations, and tax credits…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for petition 2026-135 repealing the Show-Me Sports Investment Act?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary stating that petition 2026-135 would repeal the Show-Me Sports Investment Act, ending state bonds, appropriations, and tax credits…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for petition 2026-134 on initiative and referendum rights?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary stating that petition 2026-134 would make initiative and referendum fundamental rights, set a 30-day effective date for approved m…
What fair ballot language did Missouri approve for House Joint Resolution No. 3 on ballot-measure elections?
The Attorney General approved fair ballot language describing limits on foreign funding, criminal penalties for petition-signature fraud, public hearings, approval in every congressional district for …
If I own a pickup truck with an empty weight of 8,000 pounds and a gross weight of 9,000 pounds, do I get the 6% personal motor vehicle property tax rate or the 10.5% rate for other personal property?
The 6% rate. A pickup truck owned and operated by an individual qualifies as a 'personal motor vehicle' under Article X § 1(8)(B)(1) if it carries 10 or fewer people, has an empty weight at or below 9…
What fiscal impact did Missouri approve for Eapen Thampy's initiative petition 2026-144?
The approved summary reported a potentially significant unknown annual loss of federal funding, $51.4 million less annual state revenue, $39.4 million less annual local revenue, one-time costs of $173…
What fiscal impact did Missouri approve for Eapen Thampy's initiative petition 2026-143?
The approved summary reported a potentially significant unknown annual loss of federal funding, $51.4 million less annual state revenue, $39.4 million less annual local revenue, one-time costs of $173…
What fiscal impact did Missouri approve for Eapen Thampy's initiative petition 2026-142?
The approved summary reported a potentially significant unknown annual loss of federal funding, $51.4 million less annual state revenue, $39.4 million less annual local revenue, one-time costs of $173…
What fiscal impact did Missouri approve for Eapen Thampy's initiative petition 2026-141?
The approved summary reported a potentially significant unknown annual loss of federal funding, $51.4 million less annual state revenue, $39.4 million less annual local revenue, one-time costs of $173…
Can a South Carolina city pass its own hate crimes ordinance when the state legislature has not enacted a hate crimes law?
Probably not, if the ordinance creates a criminal penalty. The AG concluded that a Greenwood-style hate crimes ordinance is at strong risk of being struck down as preempted by Article VIII, § 14(5) of…
Did Missouri approve the form of Richard von Glahn's version 4 referendum petition on House Bill 1?
Yes. The Attorney General approved version 4 of Richard von Glahn's referendum petition 2026-R004 on House Bill No. 1 as sufficient as to form. The Secretary of State retained final authority to appro…
Can a county use the pending-litigation FOIA exemption against a requester who is not a party to the lawsuit but asks about the same subject?
Yes. The AG concluded Sussex County did not violate FOIA. Records pertaining to pending or potential litigation are excluded from the definition of public record under 29 Del. C. § 10002(o)(9), and th…
Does the sheriff have to have sole control of the inmate canteen fund's checking account, or can the Board of Supervisors and chancery clerk continue to approve and execute the checks?
The sheriff has sole authority to decide what to spend the canteen fund on, but the actual purchases must still go through the county purchase clerk, get Board of Supervisors approval on the claims do…
What fiscal impact did Missouri approve for Deirdre Hirner's initiative petition 2026-136?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary for petition 2026-136. It reported unknown state costs or savings because applications, approvals, and financing wer…
What fiscal impact did Missouri approve for Deirdre Hirner's initiative petition 2026-135?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary for petition 2026-135. It reported unknown state costs or savings because applications, approvals, and financing wer…
Do the term-limit protections in Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-1-202(c) cover Shelby County's charter officers (sheriff, register, county clerk, assessor, trustee), even though the codified version of the statute does not match the public act the legislature passed in 2025?
Yes. The 2025 public act expanded the protection to cover both 'charter' and 'constitutional' county offices, but the Tennessee Code Commission failed to update the concluding sentence of subsection (…
The Legislative Joint Auditing Committee told the Treasurer to release water-sewer audit turnback funds even though some cities have not filed their reports yet. Can the Treasurer do that?
Not directly. Under Act 453 of 2023, codified at A.C.A. § 14-234-120, the Treasurer can release withheld water-sewer audit turnback funds to a municipality only after receiving a notice from the Legis…
If a Mississippi governor appoints new members to a state board during Senate vacation, do those appointees lawfully hold office before the Senate confirms them?
Yes, as de facto officers. They serve under color of authority, their acts are valid and binding, and they have a lawful right to act until the Senate either confirms them or refuses confirmation. The…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for petition 2026-129 requiring most in-person businesses to accept cash?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of the summary for petition 2026-129. It described a cash-acceptance requirement for most in-person businesses, listed transaction and counterf…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for petition 2026-128 capping card and payment-processing fees at 1.5 percent?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of the summary for petition 2026-128. It described a 1.5 percent cap on combined card and payment-processing fees, a ban on hidden surcharges, …
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for petition 2026-127 imposing a 60-day deadline on business-license decisions?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of the summary for petition 2026-127. It described a 60-day deadline for completed business-license applications, automatic approval after inac…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for petition 2026-126 requiring Ten Commandments displays in public-school classrooms?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of the ballot summary for petition 2026-126. The summary described required Ten Commandments displays in public elementary and secondary classr…
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for petition 2026-123 on proportional presidential electoral votes?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary saying petition 2026-123 would replace Missouri's winner-take-all presidential electoral-vote system with proportional allocation …
What ballot summary did Missouri approve for petition 2026-115 on proportional presidential electoral votes?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of a summary saying petition 2026-115 would replace Missouri's winner-take-all presidential electoral-vote system with proportional allocation …
Does Delaware FOIA require state agencies to accept written public comments at meetings, or can they require comments to be made verbally during the public comment period?
Verbal is enough. The AG determined that the Office of State Planning Coordination did not violate FOIA when it declined Amy Roe's written comments before the September 3, 2025 PLUS (Preliminary Land …
I'm a journalist asking for state employee termination notices. Why won't the agency release them?
Because the termination notices stated the grounds for termination, they qualify as employee-evaluation records, which are subject to a strict four-element release test (suspension or termination, adm…
Why did the Attorney General reject my proposed environmental amendment 'The Amendment to Keep Arkansas Natural'?
The AG rejected this first version of the proposed environmental amendment for four undefined terms in the amendment text: 'environment,' 'environmental life support system,' 'remedies,' and the duty …
When a Delaware town's executive session covers both litigation strategy and personnel matters, can the AG decide whether the closed-session use was proper, even when an employee asks for an open-session discussion?
Sometimes not, on the available record. The AG cleared the Town of Greenwood on the FOIA-coordinator-listing claim because the Town updated its website within the 20-day statutory window after appoint…
Can a Mississippi county sheriff use the inmate canteen fund to buy materials and supplies for jail vocational education programs (HVAC, construction, vehicle repair, electrical)?
Yes, if the sheriff determines that the expenditure is an educational-related expense for the benefit and welfare of the inmates. Section 19-3-81(1)(b) lists 'educational related expenses' as a permit…
Can a Mississippi county board of supervisors hire the father of one of the supervisors as the county economic development director without violating the state nepotism statute?
Yes. The nepotism statute (Section 25-1-53) lists five prohibited classes of employment for relatives within the third degree of kinship: officer, clerk, stenographer, deputy, and assistant. The posit…
How does an Arkansas city sort through a police officer's complete personnel file for a FOIA release? Which records go out, which get redacted, and which stay confidential?
The Fayetteville custodian wanted to release everything with redactions, but the AG splits the file across nine categories: administrative records (mostly releasable as personnel records, with college…
If a Kansas public employee is convicted of official misconduct from a past job, does he lose his current, different public job too?
No. The Attorney General concluded that K.S.A. 21-6002(b)(2)'s office-forfeiture penalty applies only to the specific public office or job that was abused to commit official misconduct, not to a diffe…
Can Kentucky's optometry board accept out-of-country exam scores, and could it waive licensing requirements without a regulation?
The Attorney General reached a two-part answer. First, the Kentucky Board of Optometric Examiners acted within its authority when it amended its regulation (201 KAR 5:010) to accept exam scores from t…
What problems did the Idaho AG flag with the proposed Idaho Medical Cannabis Act ballot initiative?
Many. The Certificate of Review identified single-subject-rule problems with stuffing wholesale schedule reclassification of all marijuana into a 'medical cannabis' initiative, vagueness in 'related a…
What fiscal impact did Missouri approve for Richard von Glahn's initiative petition 2026-134?
The Attorney General approved the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary for petition 2026-134. The approved summary said state and local governmental entities estimated no costs or savings…
If I called the police to report harassment and want to see the report I generated as a victim, can I get it through Delaware FOIA?
No. The AG determined that DSP did not violate FOIA when it denied the request. Section 10002(o)(3) treats police reports as investigatory files, which are categorically excluded from FOIA, and the op…
When a Delaware city sends a FOIA cost estimate of $9,592, does it have to prove the rate is from the lowest-paid capable employee and that one hour was waived?
Yes. The City of Milford violated FOIA by failing to support that its $9,592 cost estimate (261 hours at $36.75/hour) for a multi-category financial records request complied with FOIA's fee provisions…
Can a South Carolina county council withhold an elected sheriff's salary while he is on extended leave?
Yes. South Carolina law gives no constitutional officer authority to take a leave of absence. A sheriff or other elected county officer who stops performing the duties is effectively refusing the job,…
Why did Missouri reject Richard von Glahn's 2026-R003 referendum petition on House Bill 1?
The Attorney General rejected referendum petition 2026-R003 as insufficient in form because House Bill 1 was not yet a law. The governor had not signed it and the time for returning it had not expired…
Why did Missouri reject Richard von Glahn's 2026-R002 referendum petition on House Bill 1?
The Attorney General rejected referendum petition 2026-R002 as insufficient in form because House Bill 1 was not yet a law. The governor had not signed it and the time for returning it had not expired…
Why did Missouri reject Richard von Glahn's referendum petition on House Bill 1 before the bill became law?
The Attorney General rejected the referendum petition as insufficient in form because House Bill 1 was not yet a law. As of the opinion date, the governor had not signed it and the time for returning …
If a public entity never receives my emailed records request because of a server problem, is it still required to respond?
No. The AG concluded that an unreceived open records request creates no more obligation to respond than an unsent one. The City of Parshall's email service provider had a delivery problem during the C…
A school district investigated an employee, the employee resigned, and now the district refuses to release the investigation files. Can they?
Maybe yes, maybe no. The AG offers a roadmap rather than a binary answer because he has not seen the records. Three categories: (1) unsolicited third-party complaints are personnel records subject to …
Does a Kentucky school board have to approve a released-time moral instruction program, and what rules apply?
The Attorney General concluded that under KRS 158.200, as rewritten in 2025, a local school board is not required to approve a moral-instruction (released-time) program, but it cannot deny one arbitra…
Can Kentucky enforce its PBM anti-steering law, or does federal ERISA override it, and does it reach out-of-state PBMs?
The Attorney General concluded that the anti-steering provisions in Section 4 of Senate Bill 188 are likely enforceable and not preempted by ERISA, relying on the U.S. Supreme Court's 2020 Rutledge de…
When a South Carolina probate court commits a child under 16 to a mental institution, can the state withhold that record from the federal NICS background check system since the federal firearms ban only applies at age 16 and up?
No. § 23-31-1020 requires probate courts to forward every mental adjudication and commitment order to SLED, and SLED to forward all of them to NICS, with no age carve-out. SLED has no statutory discre…
Can a Mississippi county and its community hospital sell a surplus parcel of hospital property to a private buyer for use as a pediatric dental clinic, without a public bid?
Yes. Under Section 57-7-1, the county and the hospital can sell surplus property that is not needed for hospital or other governmental purposes to a private buyer for commercial or industrial use, on …
Can a regional airport renew a tenant's lease without going through a bid process if the airport's bylaws don't require bidding?
Likely yes, with caveats. A regional airport organized under the Arkansas Regional Airport Act has the statutory authority to enter contracts and lease property independent of any bylaws. The absence …
Can my Arkansas city or county pause wind turbine construction with a moratorium under Act 945 of 2025?
Yes. Local governments (cities, counties, other municipal/governmental subdivisions defined in A.C.A. § 23-18-1303) may enact moratoriums on wind turbine construction and installation. Act 945 of 2025…
If my child goes to a private school outside of South Carolina, can he or she play on a South Carolina public high school sports team under the state's 'Tim Tebow' athletic-access proviso?
No. Proviso 1.112 of the 2025-2026 SC budget only opens public school interscholastic athletic programs to students who attend independent schools located in South Carolina. The proviso's chapeau says…
Did Missouri approve the form of Eapen Thampy's Article XIV initiative petition 2026-144?
Yes. The Attorney General approved Eapen Thampy's version 4 petition 2026-144 as sufficient as to form. The Secretary of State retained final authority to approve or reject it, and the opinion did not…
Did Missouri approve the form of Eapen Thampy's Article XIV initiative petition 2026-143?
Yes. The Attorney General approved Eapen Thampy's version 3 petition 2026-143 as sufficient as to form. The Secretary of State retained final authority to approve or reject it, and the opinion did not…
Did Missouri approve the form of Eapen Thampy's Article XIV initiative petition 2026-142?
Yes. The Attorney General approved Eapen Thampy's version 2 petition 2026-142 as sufficient as to form. The Secretary of State retained final authority to approve or reject it, and the opinion did not…
Did Missouri approve the form of Eapen Thampy's Article XIV initiative petition 2026-141?
Yes. The Attorney General approved Eapen Thampy's version 1 petition 2026-141 as sufficient as to form. The Secretary of State retained final authority to approve or reject it, and the opinion did not…
After Florida's open carry ban was struck down in McDaniels, can private investigators, security officers, and repossession agents still be required to hold a Class G license or barred from carrying firearms while working?
Yes. The McDaniels decision invalidated Florida's general open carry ban for ordinary citizens but did not address the licensing and restrictions that apply to security professionals. Private investig…
Is the City of Fayetteville now in compliance with Arkansas's sanctuary city ban after the AG's earlier finding that it was not?
Yes. After the AG's earlier Opinion 2025-048 found that Fayetteville maintained a prohibited 'sanctuary policy' under A.C.A. § 14-1-103 and made the city ineligible for state discretionary funding, Ma…
I asked Washington County for discipline records on two former employees and the custodian denied everything. Can the county hold all of that back?
Mostly no. The AG concluded the blanket denial is largely inconsistent with FOIA. The emails, three separation notices, and an investigation closure letter are personnel records that should be release…
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