State AG Opinions
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Can Arkansas release citizen complaints about an Alcoholic Beverage Control enforcement agent under FOIA, even if the agent objects?
Yes. AG Rutledge confirmed that citizen complaints about an Arkansas ABC enforcement agent are personnel records under FOIA, and that under the Young v. Rice balancing test the public's interest in…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Mary Berry's recreational-marijuana ballot title in 2017?
The AG rejected Berry's proposed ballot title because Section 8 did not make clear which convictions would be expunged or what other convictions would prevent release. She separately urged Berry to…
Who hires staff for a Texas veterans treatment court, the judge or the county?
The AG split the authority. Under chapter 124 of the Government Code, a county commissioners court that establishes a veterans treatment court program can create the staff positions and fund them,…
After Congress deauthorized the federal Stonington Harbor breakwater in 2016, who owns it and who is responsible for maintaining it?
The AG concluded Connecticut owns the breakwater and the submerged land beneath it, and DEEP regulates maintenance. Federal statutes did not directly decide title to the deauthorized structure; the…
Is a Florida mosquito control district a 'political subdivision' for purposes of the FAA's public-aircraft rule when it applies for a UAS certificate of authorization?
The AG concluded that the Beach Mosquito Control District, a special taxing district created under Florida law, was a 'political subdivision' of Florida for purposes of 49 U.S.C. § 40102(a)(41),…
Does Amendment 97 let an Arkansas city agency fund economic development projects or services through a private recipient?
Generally yes, in concept. AG Rutledge opined that Amendment 97's economic-development authority for cities extends to local governmental agencies that act as arms of the municipality. Whether a…
Does an Arizona county supervisor have to resign to apply for a Superior Court judgeship the Governor would fill by appointment?
No. The AG's informal opinion concluded that submitting an application for a gubernatorial appointment is not the same as 'offering yourself for nomination or election.' The resign-to-run statute…
Could one person serve on both Allendale County’s school and hospital boards?
The 2017 South Carolina AG opinion predicted that holding both seats would violate the state constitution’s dual office prohibition. It treated membership on each board as an office of honor or…
Can a Virginia city require pre-ADA commercial buildings to retrofit their doors with manual entry hardware for disability access?
No. The AG concluded a Virginia locality lacks authority to enact an ordinance requiring retrofitting of commercial buildings with manual entry door hardware where the buildings were constructed…
Why did the Arkansas AG refuse to certify Larry Morris's 2017 recreational-marijuana ballot title?
Rejected. AG Rutledge declined to certify the popular name and ballot title for Larry Morris's proposed 'Arkansas Decriminalization of Recreational Marijuana Amendment' because the underlying…
When a county commission has voted no to a sheriff's request for a drug dog, can the sheriff accept a privately donated drug dog as a gift to the sheriff's office, and can the sheriff then go around the commission and amend the county's insurance policy to cover the dog?
Yes on the gift, no on the insurance. A sheriff has implied authority to accept gifts directly related to his statutory law enforcement duties, including a trained drug dog. But only the county…
Did South Carolina’s AG think proposed ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) violated lawyers’ constitutional rights?
In 2017, the AG said the proposed lawyer conduct rule was constitutionally suspect and predicted a substantial chance of a successful First Amendment or due process challenge if adopted. The opinion…
Were South Carolina caterer service fees and portable toilet transactions subject to sales tax?
The 2017 AG opinion declined to decide either constituent’s actual sales tax liability because that required facts about each transaction. It cited decisions taxing catering service fees and…
Does the West Virginia Open Meetings Act force a local volunteer fire department to open its meetings to the public?
It depends on how the fire department was created. If a local government ordinance set it up as a public body, the Act applies (per the 1999 Whitesville advisory opinion). If it was incorporated as…
Does a Virginia sheriff or regional jail have to pay the outside hospital bill when an inmate is treated for a medical condition that existed before they came into custody?
No (for payment), yes (for ensuring care). The AG concluded that § 53.1-126 exempts sheriffs, regional jails, and localities from paying outside healthcare providers for treatment of an inmate's…
How long does Virginia have to collect unpaid criminal fines, court costs, and restitution from someone in prison?
The AG concluded that the limitations period for civil enforcement of circuit-court fines and costs is 20 years from the date of offense or delinquency, not tolled by incarceration. Civil…
Could the State of Arkansas pay travel costs for Medical Marijuana Commission members to tour an out-of-state cultivation facility despite Amendment 98's no-reimbursement clause?
Yes, with caution. AG Rutledge concluded Amendment 98 does not prevent the State from paying AMMC members' out-of-state travel directly, but it forbids reimbursing commissioners for expenses they…
Can Arizona registered nurse practitioners order and interpret x-rays without a separate radiation license?
Yes. The AG concluded that 'use' of x-ray equipment in the radiation statute means physically operating the machine, not ordering or interpreting images. RNPs are licensed practitioners governed by…
Could South Carolina local governments require or incentivize affordable housing through zoning?
The 2017 AG opinion said counties and municipalities had delegated zoning power to consider affordable housing. It predicted that a court would reject a zoning amendment compelling low- or…
Can a West Virginia constitutional officer like the Commissioner of Agriculture sign long-term real estate leases in the final days of his term, after his successor has been elected? And can the new commissioner unilaterally tear up those leases?
Yes, the outgoing Commissioner had full constitutional authority to sign the 30- and 35-year farm-property leases in his last days. West Virginia has not adopted the Wyoming public-policy rule…
Can Garland County hand AWIN radios to a private property owners' association in Hot Springs Village for free, or pay to maintain its dispatch center?
Not as a gift. AG Rutledge concluded Article 12 § 5 of the Arkansas Constitution bars Garland County from donating AWIN radios to the Hot Springs Village Property Owners' Association because the POA…
Did the Arkansas AG decide whether Act 882 of 2015 applies retroactively to undo earlier Malvern annexations?
No decision. AG Rutledge declined to answer because the same questions were already pending in City of Malvern v. City of Rockport, and her office's standing policy is not to opine on matters before…
Are fire-protection services provided to an Arkansas city automatically 'in kind,' and can the city charge the fire station rent?
Fire protection under a § 14-53-101 agreement is not automatically an in-kind service. A city generally may charge rent for use of its property, but the AG could not decide either question for Omaha…
Does a small Arkansas first-class city violate the federal Voting Rights Act by electing some council members at large and others by ward?
Not necessarily. AG Rutledge concluded that a mixed at-large and ward voting system in a first-class Arkansas city is not a per-se Voting Rights Act violation. Vote-dilution claims demand a…
Is an ordinary Arkansas county copier rental a short-term financing obligation under Amendment 78?
Probably not. The AG said a typical office-equipment rental likely is not the interest-bearing capital-finance obligation governed by Amendment 78. Local counsel must review a particular lease to…
Could children affected by the Carolina border correction attend a South Carolina school without tuition?
The 2017 AG opinion said families living on property newly classified as North Carolina could keep children in the South Carolina district formerly thought to contain that property without charge if…
Can volunteer committee members violate Delaware's open-meetings law by discussing and deciding a request over email instead of at a public meeting?
Yes, according to this opinion. Three of five members of a Village of Arden community-center committee exchanged emails and reached a consensus decision to deny a resident's parking-lot request, and…
When does a Texas search warrant affidavit become a public record?
The AG read the words literally. Article 18.01(b) says the affidavit 'is public information if executed.' The AG concluded a court would likely hold that an affidavit is 'executed' when it is sworn…
Can a Texas school district's illegal homestead exemption repeal change its state funding?
The AG said no. In 2015 the Legislature froze local option homestead exemptions at their 2014 level and barred school districts from repealing or reducing them (Tax Code 11.13(n-1)). The education…
Could a South Carolina engineering corporation subcontract construction in an environmental cleanup?
The 2017 AG opinion said the environmental remediation procurement exemption governed how the state bought those projects and did not waive contractor licensing. It predicted a qualified engineering…
Why did Arkansas reject Mary Berry's revised cannabis ballot title?
The AG rejected Berry's revised ballot title because she could not tell how its packaging exemption applied to free distribution by a business or person, or which convictions its expungement…
In 2017, was Tennessee's bill letting assessors presume mobile homes attached to real property are residential constitutional?
Mostly yes, with a limit. The AG concluded HB 768/SB 907 was consistent with Article II, Section 28 only when applied to property with no more than one rental unit. The Tennessee Constitution…
Can Texas deposit sales-tax money into the highway fund after the fiscal year ends?
The AG said yes, through substantial compliance. Article VIII, section 7-c(a) of the Texas Constitution tells the Comptroller to deposit up to $2.5 billion of net sales-tax revenue into the state…
When a West Virginia police officer suspects someone working in the state may be present unlawfully, what can the officer actually do without risking a federal civil rights lawsuit?
Going to a workplace and demanding ID from workers based only on suspicion of unlawful presence will likely violate the Fourth Amendment under Santos v. Frederick County (4th Cir. 2013), exposing…
In Tennessee, who can legally perform microneedling and microblading on a client?
A licensed aesthetician cannot do either at a cosmetology shop or a medical spa because the procedures affect the dermis. Microneedling at a medical spa requires the physician/nurse exemption in…
Does the Connecticut Constitution require the Education Cost Sharing formula to weight a town's ability to pay 90% on property wealth and 10% on income?
No specific weighting is required. The Connecticut Supreme Court (Horton III) demanded that the state move toward equalizing educational opportunity but left the specific formula to the legislature,…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Barry Emigh's Fairplay Holdings casino-gambling amendment?
Rejected. AG Rutledge declined Barry Emigh's casino amendment, his seventh submission of essentially the same proposal. Two threshold problems prevented review: the proposal did not specify how the…
Does Tennessee's general definition of 'agriculture' apply to the word 'agriculture' in the property-tax statute that defines 'Farm Property'?
Yes. The AG concluded that the agriculture definitions in Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-105(2)(A) and § 43-1-113(b)(1) both apply to the word 'agriculture' as used in Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-5-501(3)'s…
Are funds a Texas state agency inherits from a dissolved state program 'public funds'?
The AG concluded a court would likely say yes. When the Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool was abolished, the Legislature sent $5 million of its money to the Texas Health Services Authority to use for…
Who appoints an associate judge for Texas court-ordered mental health cases?
The AG resolved an ambiguity over the words 'county judge.' Health and Safety Code section 574.0085(a) lets 'the county judge' appoint an associate judge to preside over court-ordered mental health…
Do Texas election judges have to take the constitutional oath of office?
The AG concluded a court would likely hold that election judges, alternate election judges, and early-voting clerks are public officers under the Aldine test, because they exercise sovereign…
Does a Texas county attorney who also handles district attorney duties need a separate DA bond?
In Lee County the county attorney prosecutes all criminal cases, doing the work of both a county attorney and a district attorney. The AG concluded that because the Legislature left all of those…
Can someone with an out-of-state felony run for office in Texas if their rights were restored?
A former Texas mayor had pleaded guilty to a felony theft in Arkansas decades earlier, but an Arkansas court later terminated his probation under that state's First Offender Act and ordered him…
Must Oregon dedicate corporate minimum tax revenue from gas-station companies to the highway fund under Article IX, section 3a?
No. The AG concluded that the corporate minimum tax under ORS 317.090 is not a tax 'levied on, with respect to, or measured by' the sale of motor vehicle fuel. It is a flat tier-based tax for the…
Could a South Carolina school board chair mark a present member absent for sitting away from the table?
The 2017 AG opinion said the chair could not mark a physically present member absent or bar that member’s vote for refusing the board’s table-seating rule. It thought the chair might have exceeded…
In 2017, would Tennessee SB 1085/HB 1111's 'ordinary meaning' rule create a separation-of-powers problem or undermine Obergefell when courts read gender-specific terms in statutes?
Mostly no. The AG concluded that the bill codified an existing canon of statutory construction, so a separation-of-powers challenge was possible but unlikely. Gender-specific words read literally…
Could Pioneer Rural Water District build a new freshwater treatment facility?
The 2017 AG opinion reaffirmed its earlier conditional answer: the district’s statutory water distribution powers could imply authority to build or contract for a treatment facility if the facility…
Does a company that supplies off-duty law enforcement officers for highway work-zone traffic control need to register as a private security company in Tennessee?
No. The AG concluded that Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-35-103(a)(15)(A) specifically exempts companies that use or provide certified law enforcement officers exclusively for traffic control in temporary…
Would dividing Tennessee's property tax relief program into separate programs for the elderly/disabled and for disabled veterans/surviving spouses violate the state constitution?
No. The AG concluded that an administrative split of the tax-relief program into two components does not by itself violate Article II, Section 28 of the Tennessee Constitution, as long as the…
Does Tennessee's firearms-preemption statute let someone manufacture guns in an area zoned residential?
No, but for a different reason than you might think. The AG concluded that Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1314's preemption of firearms regulation does not invalidate a generally-applicable zoning…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Larry Morris's second 2017 recreational-marijuana ballot title?
Rejected. AG Rutledge declined certification of Larry Morris's second 2017 recreational-marijuana proposal. Four ambiguities prevented certification: inconsistent use of 'business,' 'person,' and…
Can a Tennessee solar generating facility that sells power only to the property owners or tenants on the same or adjacent land avoid being treated as a regulated public utility?
It depends on the facts. The AG said selling power only to owners or tenants on the same or adjacent premises is one factor, but does not decide whether the facility's property is dedicated to…
Why did Arkansas reject Mary Berry's 2017 cannabis ballot title?
The AG rejected Berry's proposed cannabis title. She could not tell whether packaging rules applied to free distribution in a place of business or which convictions Section 8 would expunge. Without…
Can a Virginia juvenile court order a local sheriff or police officer to transport a violent juvenile to a treatment facility in another state, and does the officer keep arrest authority on the trip?
Yes. The AG concluded that § 16.1-254 of the Code of Virginia let the chief judge of a juvenile and domestic relations district court designate local law enforcement (not state police) to transport…
Can a Virginia city avoid competitive bidding for Children's Services Act therapy contracts by buying services one child at a time instead of in bulk?
Sometimes. The AG concluded that § 2.2-4345(A)(14) of the VPPA exempts certain CSA personal services from formal competitive sealed bidding or negotiation when the services are for direct use by an…
Does an Arkansas city violate the constitutional 'lending of credit' clause when it abates a nuisance, files a lien, and waits years to collect?
No. AG Rutledge concluded that a city's exercise of its statutory grass-cutting and nuisance-abatement authority does not 'loan its credit' under Article 12 § 5. The municipal lien recovers a fee…
Was a school district’s audio recording of a board meeting a public record under South Carolina FOIA?
The 2017 AG opinion said an employee-made audio recording of a school board meeting was a public record even if it was made only to help prepare official minutes. It predicted disclosure under FOIA…
Can a West Virginia county commission pay an elected official's legal bills when the official successfully fights off an ethics complaint that didn't ask for any specific punishment?
Probably yes, if the official's conduct was tied to actual official duties and the official acted in good faith. The narrow indemnification statute (§ 11-8-31a) only covers actions seeking removal…
Could Daytona Beach Shores amend its charter by referendum to mandate denial of certain development orders and require a vote on comprehensive plan amendments?
No. The opinion concluded that § 163.3167(8) bars initiative or referendum on any development order or local comprehensive plan amendment, and that prohibition cannot be overridden by a charter…
Was South Carolina DMV required to translate driving tests for limited-English-proficiency applicants?
The 2017 AG opinion declined to decide which DMV tests or materials Title VI required it to translate for a particular language group. It summarized federal agency guidance, including a…
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Two states are not listed and are not pending: New Hampshire publishes its opinions on a page that automated retrieval cannot read, and Rhode Island publishes no complete full-text archive at all. We will add them if that changes.