State AG Opinions
Free state attorney general opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
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If a school board president says "the majority of the board agrees," does that prove the board held an illegal secret meeting?
No, according to this opinion. A community member argued that a school board president's public statement that "the majority of the board also agrees" with a controversial decision proved an…
In 2017, were Tennessee's proposed 20-week abortion ban and the proposed Tennessee Infants Protection Act constitutional?
Mostly no. The AG concluded HB 101/SB 766's 20-week ban was constitutionally infirm under controlling Roe/Casey precedent prohibiting pre-viability bans, and that HB 1189/SB 1180's post-viability…
Can a Tennessee county impose blanket random drug testing on all county employees and elected officials to lower insurance premiums and improve public confidence?
No. The AG concluded that a blanket random drug-testing policy targeting every county employee and elected official violates the Fourth Amendment and Article I, Section 7 of the Tennessee…
When voters approve a special tax levy specifically to fund a named non-profit, and the county later cancels its contract with that non-profit, what happens to the leftover money: does it go to the non-profit, the county, or back to taxpayers?
Neither the non-profit nor the county can keep using the money for its own purposes. The voters approved the levy for one specific purpose, supporting the named Foundation, and that purpose can no…
Can Augusta County build a new courthouse next door to the current one in Staunton without a new voter referendum, after the 2016 relocation vote failed?
No. The AG concluded that under § 15.2-1644 Augusta County may not build a new courthouse on land contiguous to the current Staunton location without voter approval, because the contiguous-property…
If an Arkansas school-board ballot listed the wrong term length for an unopposed candidate, did he serve the listed term or the statutory term?
Statutory term controls. AG Rutledge concluded that an unopposed Crossett School Board candidate was elected to the established five-year term, even though the 2013 ballot mistakenly listed it as a…
Can the Tennessee commerce and insurance commissioner appoint multiple fire-investigation assistants for the same territory, and what happens when an assistant changes jobs?
Generally no. The AG concluded that fire-investigation assistants are designated by statute, not appointed; the commissioner can appoint only in three narrow circumstances. Status as an assistant…
Will the Arkansas AG opine on the validity of a private agreement between liquor stores and grocers?
No. AG Rutledge declined to opine on the validity or enforceability of an agreement between liquor stores and grocers because the AG's office is not permitted to interpret or evaluate contracts…
Could a South Carolina city require developers to fund public art through building permits?
The 2017 AG opinion predicted a city could not add an art charge to building permit fees or impose a new art tax without specific statutory authority. A rule making private developers pay for art…
Did South Carolina law require a county ambulance to transport patients involuntarily admitted for mental health care?
The 2017 AG opinion said the amended mental health transport statute did not require Richland County to supply an ambulance or EMT. Absent a friend or relative taking responsibility or an agreed…
If a public meeting agenda lists "public comments," does the board have to let anyone from the public speak?
Not necessarily, according to this opinion. A county Board of Adjustment listed "Public Comments" on its agenda but meant only a farewell tribute to a retiring county employee, then declined to let…
Can Tennessee require all license plates to bear 'In God We Trust,' or only offer it as a chosen option?
Optional only. The AG concluded that requiring every Tennessee plate to display 'In God We Trust' would be constitutionally suspect under the First Amendment's Establishment, Free Exercise, and Free…
Could proposed legislation change Florence County school board terms and move its elections?
The 2017 AG opinion predicted a court would uphold a draft law extending Florence County School District Three board terms, moving elections to even-year general elections, and shortening some…
Could a South Carolina mayor pro tempore also serve as a county deputy coroner?
The 2017 AG opinion reaffirmed its earlier conclusion that both positions were offices of honor or profit. It said serving in both at the same time would violate South Carolina’s constitutional dual…
Can a Jefferson County agency withhold a former employee's salary, termination letters, and personnel file from a FOIA request?
The AG said the former public employee's salary must be released. She could not decide whether to release the other records without seeing them or knowing the custodian's factual determinations. A…
Can a former public employee in Arkansas get a copy of the grievance file about her, including names of other employees mentioned?
Mostly yes. AG Rutledge said the FOIA gave the subject of a grievance file a right of access, and disclosure of other employees' personnel-record portions did not invade their privacy under the…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Larry Morris's cannabis amendment ballot title in Opinion 2017-031?
The AG identified eight ambiguities in Morris's proposed cannabis amendment. They included who needed transport passes, which sheriff issued them, how to mark hemp fields, who faced a location…
When does an Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission appointee have to take the constitutional oath of office?
At the commencement of service. AG Rutledge concluded that members of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission are public officers under Article 19 § 20 and must take the…
Does an Arkansas school district have to follow a student's do-not-resuscitate order?
No. AG Rutledge concluded that the Arkansas Emergency Medical Services Do-Not-Resuscitate Act applies to EMS personnel, not to school staff or districts. Schools have no statutory duty to honor a…
Does Tennessee's race-track insurance law apply only to automobile races, or to motorcycle and other motor-vehicle races too?
All of them. The AG concluded that 'motor vehicle race' under Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 55-22-101 to -105 is broader than 'automobile race' and reaches any contest of speed among self-propelled wheeled…
Could the Washington legislature combine the independent Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials with another state agency, and could the Commission hold its required public meetings entirely by telephone conference call?
Yes to both, with conditions. Combination is allowed only if the Commission's constitutional 'independence' in setting salaries is preserved and any composition change passes by two-thirds vote.…
Can Delaware state police redact purchase order details for cell-site simulator ("Stingray") surveillance equipment from a public records request?
Yes, largely, according to this opinion. The AG found Delaware State Police properly redacted FBI-designated proprietary details from purchase orders for cell-site simulator ("Stingray") equipment…
Can an Arkansas agency redact other employees' names from a personnel file the subject is entitled to see?
The former employee could access her own personnel and evaluation records. The AG could not determine from the document alone whether redacting information about other employees was proper. The…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject Mary Berry's recreational marijuana ballot title?
AG Rutledge rejected the ballot title for Mary Berry's proposed Arkansas Cannabis Hemp and Recreational Marijuana Amendment of 2018. The underlying text contained five concrete ambiguities…
Why did the Arkansas Attorney General reject Barry Emigh's casino-and-alcohol ballot title?
The AG rejected Emigh's revised title. Although shortened from roughly 3,000 to 990 words, it still accompanied a proposal the AG found too complex and ambiguous for a fair ballot summary. She…
Does a Texas district clerk have to file a grand jury report that isn't an indictment?
A district attorney asked whether grand jury reports prepared as part of investigations into official misconduct under article 2.03 of the Code of Criminal Procedure can be filed with the district…
Who controls the unclassified (exempt) positions in a Washington county sheriff's office, the sheriff or the county commissioners, and who sets the salaries?
Authority is split. The county commissioners create positions, fund the sheriff's office, and set compensation. The sheriff selects which authorized positions are unclassified and changes job titles…
Did Washington's Initiative 200 (RCW 49.60.400) bar all race- or gender-conscious measures in state contracting?
No. The 2017 Washington AG opinion concluded that Initiative 200 prohibited only 'reverse discrimination' in which the State used race or gender to pick a less-qualified contractor over a…
Could a Richland County council member also take an elections, college, or museum job?
The 2017 AG opinion could not conclusively classify the elections director job without knowing whether it included deputized sovereign powers. It said the Midlands Technical College campaigns…
Could South Carolina’s Manufactured Housing Board require continuing education to renew licenses?
The 2017 AG opinion said the board had express and implied authority to require continuing education for licensed manufactured home retail dealers, salespersons, contractors, installers, and…
When the Virginia Port Authority takes title to terminal assets under an installment-sale contract, do local property taxes still apply?
No local property tax. The AG concluded that assets transferred to the Virginia Port Authority under an installment-sale contract are owned by the Authority for taxation purposes and are exempt from…
What happens to the money in a Virginia jail's inmate trust account when former inmates can't be located after release?
Send the funds to the State Treasurer. The AG concluded that under § 55-210.9, intangible property held by a governmental entity becomes presumed abandoned one year after it became payable to the…
Can a West Virginia public school keep a 'girls-only' softball team girls-only and exclude a male student who identifies with non-traditional gender expression, without violating Title IX?
The 2017 AG opinion concluded yes, in appropriate circumstances. Title IX regulations expressly allow separate-sex athletic teams for skill-based sports, and the AG read 'sex' in Title IX as…
Would NOAA's proposed Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary take fishing-regulation power away from Virginia and Maryland's joint Potomac River Fisheries Commission?
No. The AG concluded NOAA has authority under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act to regulate fishing within marine sanctuaries, but is not proposing to do so for the Mallows Bay-Potomac River…
Could Greenville County require a three-fourths council vote for new or increased service fees?
The 2017 AG concluded that state law set a minimum positive-majority vote for service fees but did not bar Greenville County from requiring three-fourths of its full council. Its existing ordinance…
Can the Achievement School District or the Tennessee education commissioner add grade levels to a school that has been placed in the ASD?
No. The AG concluded that while the Commissioner has authority to manage day-to-day operations of any school or grade configuration placed in the ASD as it existed at priority designation, no…
Can the Texas Long-Term Care Ombudsman testify for or against bills at the Legislature?
A House committee chair asked whether the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman may testify 'for' or 'against' legislation, or only 'on' it, given the ethics rules that limit state agencies from lobbying.…
Does a Washington county lose its eligibility for state Rural Arterial Program fuel-tax funds if it spends county road levy money on traffic prosecutions, court costs, indigent defense, jail, or coroner services?
Likely yes for all five categories. Incarceration and coroner activities are not 'highway purposes' under Article II, section 40 of the state constitution. Costs of traffic prosecution, defense, and…
Can a government agency withhold emails about a possible environmental violation because there's already an investigation open?
Yes, according to this opinion. DNREC properly denied a News Journal reporter's request for emails about a possible crude-oil-shipment violation because the records fell within FOIA's…
Did the Tennessee AG issue an opinion on the constitutionality of population-bracket exemptions in March 2017?
No. The opinion request was withdrawn, so no opinion was issued. The slot for Opinion No. 17-18 is preserved on the AG's website as a withdrawn record.
Can a Florida town consider price along with qualifications when selecting which firms it will negotiate a construction-manager-at-risk contract with?
No. The opinion concluded that sections 287.055, 255.20, and 255.103 do not allow a hybrid process where the town evaluates qualifications and price together to rank firms before negotiating; price…
Does Florida's Sunshine Law require a special magistrate to let the public speak at code enforcement hearings, and must the magistrate announce the order in a public hearing?
The AG said section 286.0114's public-comment rule did not apply to quasi-judicial code hearings before a delegated special magistrate. On outcomes, she said section 162.07(4) contemplated…
Did a second degree domestic violence indictment qualify as a crime of moral turpitude for a South Carolina governor to suspend an officer?
The 2017 AG concluded that a court would most likely treat second degree domestic violence as a crime of moral turpitude for the governor’s constitutional suspension power. It found the described…
Does a private seller owe Virginia grantor's tax when conveying property to VDOT for a highway project?
No. The AG concluded that when VDOT purchases real property from a private seller for a highway project, § 58.1-811(C)(5) exempts the conveyance from grantor's tax because the Commonwealth is…
Can a Texas county count an official's prior employee service toward longevity pay?
Houston County asked whether longevity pay for officials who used to be county employees, crediting their employee years, counts as forbidden retroactive pay. The AG concluded it does not, as long…
Can a town be forced to answer a FOIA request asking where the money came from for an old land purchase if the records were destroyed years ago?
No, according to this opinion. The Town of Middletown didn't violate FOIA by failing to identify the funding source behind a 2002 real estate purchase, because FOIA doesn't require a public body to…
In Arkansas, does the county judge or the quorum court decide which committee a proposed ordinance goes to?
The quorum court, not the county judge. AG Rutledge concluded that assigning proposed ordinances to committees is a procedural function of the legislative body. The county judge appoints committee…
Can an Arkansas contractor block disclosure of contract fees and rates under FOIA's 'competitive advantage' exemption?
The AG could not decide whether the contract fees and rates were exempt. The contractors had to give the records custodian specific factual evidence of likely substantial competitive injury;…
Can an Arkansas school district let voters cast separate votes on parts of a proposed school millage?
No. AG Rutledge read Article 14, Section 3 of the Arkansas Constitution as allowing the school board to present only one proposed tax rate for a vote. Separate votes on its component millages are…
Does Tennessee treat land surveying as a construction service under Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-4-107(a)?
No. The AG concluded that land surveying is not a construction service under Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-4-107(a) because surveying concerns land location and use, rather than building things. The opinion…
Could Arkansas legislators violate federal law by voting to implement the state's medical marijuana amendment?
AG Rutledge attached and incorporated her earlier Opinion 2016-119, which said the General Assembly was mandated by the AMMA's plain terms to fund and appropriate. She declined to opine on potential…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Larry Morris's recreational marijuana ballot title?
AG Rutledge rejected the popular name and ballot title for Larry Morris's proposed recreational marijuana and industrial hemp amendment due to ambiguities in the underlying text. Where a proposal is…
What happens in Arkansas if a school board member misses the 10-day oath-of-office deadline?
AG Rutledge concluded that a newly-elected school board member who failed to take the oath of office within the 10-day window in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-13-617(a)(1) was likely disqualified, with the…
Why did the Arkansas AG reject Mary Berry's first cannabis amendment ballot title?
AG Rutledge rejected the popular name and ballot title for Mary Berry's first proposed Arkansas cannabis hemp and recreational marijuana amendment due to ambiguities in the underlying text. Berry…
How can an Arkansas county get an easement on land owned by a defunct church or unincorporated association?
It depends. AG Rutledge said an unincorporated nonprofit association continues to exist until it is wound up, so its managers or members can grant an easement during winding up. Where the…
Are county library board employees in Arkansas considered 'county employees' for retirement and insurance benefits?
Yes, generally. AG Rutledge said Poinsett County Library Board employees were 'county employees' for APERS purposes because they were paid through county-collected millage and the county treasurer…
Can Tennessee enter into a private concession contract to redevelop and operate Fall Creek Falls State Park without violating a statute that limits when the parks department can contract for state-employee work?
Yes. The AG concluded that Tenn. Code Ann. § 11-3-112's limit on TDEC contracting did not apply because the deal was being run through the Department of General Services with State Building…
Could Barnwell County take back property its economic development corporation received from three towns?
The 2017 AG said a court could invalidate a county ordinance transferring the corporation’s property if the towns were beneficiaries of a trust holding that property. That conclusion depended on…
Can a former Arkansas city employee block release of disciplinary documents from his personnel file?
AG Rutledge said the City of Jonesboro could release the disciplinary records of former employee Erick Woodruff. The four-prong evaluation-records test was satisfied. Three records that appeared to…
Can a Little Rock School District employee block FOIA release of his job application and contract?
The AG said release of these types of job applications and contracts was generally consistent with FOIA only after personal contact information and college transcripts were redacted. The custodian…
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