State AG Opinions
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Can a probation or community corrections officer assign an offender on general community service to graffiti removal without a specific court order?
No. Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-54-127(h) allows a municipality or county to use offenders for graffiti maintenance only when the general sessions, criminal, or juvenile court specifically ordered the offende…
What did the Arkansas minimum wage increase ballot initiative actually propose, and why was it certified without changes?
The Attorney General certified the popular name and ballot title exactly as submitted, based on this opinion, for an initiated act that would raise Arkansas's minimum wage in three steps: from $6.25 t…
Can the Governor of Virginia issue an executive order or guidance document that suspends a state regulation?
No. The opinion concluded that the Virginia Constitution prohibits the Governor from unilaterally suspending the operation of a validly adopted regulation that has the force of law. Three independent …
When a federal credit union takes title to Virginia real estate, does the clerk of court collect the grantee's recordation tax?
No. The opinion concluded that 12 U.S.C. § 1768, which exempts federal credit unions from all state taxation other than tax on their real or personal property, blocks Virginia from collecting the reco…
What does the Arkansas Attorney General have to check before approving a multi-county agreement to run a shared library system?
The Attorney General approved the agreement as submitted, based on this opinion, after confirming it specified all the items Arkansas's Interlocal Cooperation Act requires for a joint government under…
Can a Tennessee county commission order an audit of a single department of the county school board?
Yes. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-101(3), the county legislative body may have its finance committee examine school board accounts quarterly (or whenever there is reason to suspect misuse), and it may…
Does a Texas council of governments count as a 'unit of general local government' for the federal HOME housing program?
The AG declined to answer, because it is a federal question. The federal HOME Investment Partnership Program, run by HUD, sends affordable-housing money to a 'participating jurisdiction,' which can be…
Can a Texas constable also serve as a commissioner of an emergency services district?
No. The AG concluded that Article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution, which forbids holding more than one 'civil office of emolument' at the same time, stops a person from serving as both a con…
Do Texas's juvenile misdemeanor record laws conflict, and must those court hearings be closed to the public?
The AG untangled three 2013 laws and said they fit together. The Eighty-third Legislature passed Senate Bill 393, Senate Bill 394, and House Bill 528, all amending the statutes that keep certain juven…
Is it unconstitutional to charge a Texas defendant the court costs in effect on the conviction date instead of the offense date?
No, in the ordinary case. Comptroller Susan Combs asked the Attorney General whether Government Code section 51.608, which says the court costs imposed on a criminal defendant are the amounts in effec…
Can a Florida city reimpose its local option gas tax after it expires, and for how long?
The AG concluded that under section 336.025(1)(a)1., Florida Statutes, Jacksonville could reimpose or relevy its local option gas tax after the existing levy expired on August 31, 2016, and that a rei…
Which of the new misdemeanor crimes the Georgia legislature created in 2013 should require fingerprinting at arrest?
The AG designated 13 of the 16 reviewed 2013 misdemeanors as fingerprintable, including unauthorized access to confidential child-abuse records, CASA confidentiality breaches, Parental Notification Ac…
Can a Delaware city charge more than the standard FOIA copying fee based on its own internal rules?
No. The AG found that the City of Wilmington could not charge more than FOIA's standard photocopying fee, 10 cents per page after the first 20 free pages, because its higher internal fee schedule had …
Is the Tennessee Claims Commission part of the judicial branch?
No. The Claims Commission is an administrative tribunal within the executive branch of Tennessee government, attached to the Department of Treasury for administrative purposes. Claims Commissioners ar…
Can the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association use future premiums to pay off old obligations from a past storm?
On the funding question, yes. Representative Todd Hunter asked the Attorney General two things about the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA). First, whether it was negligence or a failure of …
Can one person in Florida sit on a county licensing board and two advisory boards at the same time without breaking the dual office-holding ban?
Yes. The AG concluded that serving on the Brevard County Contractors' Licensing Board is an 'office,' but the Port St. John Dependent Special District and the Public Library Advisory Board are purely …
Do Florida special magistrates and sealed-bid openings have to follow the Sunshine Law and keep minutes?
The AG concluded yes on both points. A special magistrate acting under delegated authority as a code enforcement board is subject to the Government in the Sunshine Law (section 286.011), so the hearin…
Can a Florida county spend tourist development tax money to restore a natural coral reef?
The AG concluded that Monroe County could use tourist development tax revenues to fund a coral outplanting project to repair or improve a naturally occurring reef, treating it under section 125.0104(5…
Can an Illinois county board sweep unspent money out of the coroner's special fee account into the general fund, or reduce the coroner's next-year budget by the amount of fees in that account?
Attorney General Lisa Madigan concluded the answer was no to the sweep and yes (within limits) to the budget consideration. Section 4-7001 of the Counties Code earmarks coroner fees for forensic equip…
Can a Tennessee constable carry a firearm anywhere in the state?
Only as permitted by law. Constables aren't 'law enforcement officers' under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1350, so they can't carry on that basis. Like other citizens they may carry a handgun statewide und…
When a Virginia legislator gets help from a registered lobbyist during a campaign, when does the legislator have to disclose a 'lobbyist relationship' on the ethics form?
The Campaign Finance Disclosure Act of 2006 does not preempt the legislator-specific disclosure required by § 30-111, so a 'lobbyist relationship' triggered during a campaign must still be reported on…
When a Virginia circuit court convicts an indigent defendant, can the clerk bill the defendant for both attorney fees and expenses, even if those exceed the court-appointed counsel cap?
Yes for expenses. Va. Code § 19.2-163(2) caps the compensation that can be billed to an indigent convicted defendant at the pre-waiver compensation limit for court-appointed counsel. But the same stat…
If a Virginia homeowner puts their house in a trust, can they still claim the senior, disability, or disabled-veteran property tax exemption?
No, not when title is in a trust. The Virginia Constitution's Article X, § 6(b) (age 65 or disabled) and § 6-A (totally disabled veterans) exemptions require the property to be 'owned by' the qualifyi…
If Maine wanted to amend its General Assistance eligibility rules to exclude legal noncitizens that federal TANF and SNAP rules also exclude, would the change survive a federal Equal Protection challenge?
Probably not. AAG Justin Barnard advised that strict scrutiny applies to state laws drawing alienage-based distinctions (*Graham v. Richardson*, 1971), and that PRWORA's purported grant of discretion …
Why was Arkansas's seventh attempt at a cannabis-repeal ballot measure rejected, even after the sponsor fixed the earlier wording problem?
Rejected again, based on this opinion, though for a narrower reason than before. The sponsor fixed the earlier problem by adding operative language that actually repealed cannabis laws, but the new te…
Does the same ballot-naming gap from Arkansas AG Opinion 2013-067 apply to House Joint Resolution 1009?
Yes, based on this opinion. The Attorney General applied the same conclusion reached in Opinion 2013-067 (regarding SJR 7) to House Joint Resolution 1009: the Attorney General no longer has authority …
Does the same ballot-naming gap from Arkansas AG Opinion 2013-067 apply to a different legislative constitutional amendment, SJR 16?
Yes, based on this opinion. The Attorney General applied the same conclusion reached in Opinion 2013-067 (regarding SJR 7) to Senate Joint Resolution 16: the Attorney General no longer has authority t…
Who is responsible for naming a legislature-proposed constitutional amendment on the Arkansas ballot after a 2013 law took that job away from the Attorney General?
The Attorney General no longer has that authority, based on this opinion. A 2013 law change removed the Attorney General's statutory duty to prepare a popular name for constitutional amendments referr…
Can the Illinois Governor or GOMB use an executive order or budget directive to cut money the legislature already appropriated to an independent state agency like the State Police Merit Board?
Generally no. Attorney General Lisa Madigan concluded that once the General Assembly appropriates funds to the Merit Board and the bill is signed into law, the Governor and the Governor's Office of Ma…
Can a state agency release an employee's termination letter to a FOIA requester if the letter explains the reasons for firing?
Yes, based on this opinion. Because the employee's termination letter recounted the reasons for the firing (not just the bare fact of termination), it qualified as an 'employee evaluation or job perfo…
Can an Arkansas dairy that's certified to sell inspected Grade A milk also sell unpasteurized raw milk under the state's farm raw-milk law?
Probably not, based on this opinion. Although the 2013 law allowing incidental farm sales of unpasteurized whole milk doesn't specifically address Grade A dairies, its required point-of-sale notice st…
Can Tennessee let local emergency communications districts collect the 911 fee on landline and VoIP service?
Yes. No federal or Tennessee law prevents the General Assembly from restructuring the 911 funding model so that emergency communications districts collect 911 fees on both wireline and non-wireline (i…
Can Tennessee require a prescription for all pseudoephedrine products, even though federal law doesn't?
Yes. State laws regulating sale of drugs are a legitimate exercise of police power. The federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act preempts most state OTC drug rules under 21 U.S.C. § 379r, but § 379r(c)(1)…
Can a Tennessee county use the interest earned on the school general-purpose fund for non-school purposes?
Yes. Interest earned on money in the school general-purpose fund is not statutorily restricted to school use and the county commission can appropriate it for any lawful county purpose. If the interest…
Can Tennessee limit a city annexation referendum to property owners, or to residents and nonresident property owners?
Restricting the vote to property owners alone would violate equal protection because nonproperty-owning residents have a substantial interest in annexation. Allowing both residents and nonresident pro…
Does a Virginia sheriff have to take a 10% cut from a sheriff's sale, or can the full proceeds go to the creditor?
It is discretionary. Va. Code § 8.01-499 authorizes (but does not require) the sheriff to deduct a 10% commission from the proceeds of a sheriff's sale before paying the net to the judgment creditor. …
Can a Tennessee pharmacy or home medical equipment provider fit a customer for off-the-shelf diabetic shoes?
Yes for measuring, fitting, or adjusting non-custom off-the-shelf diabetic shoes and inserts, if the staff meets the training criteria in Tenn. Code Ann. § 63-3-208(a) and they don't take a cast, mold…
Does Arkansas's automatic 3% cost-of-living raise for elected county officers apply to justices of the peace?
No, based on this opinion. Justices of the peace are classified by statute as 'township officers,' not 'elected county officers,' so the law requiring an automatic 3% annual cost-of-living increase fo…
Can a city's hotel and restaurant tax pay for referees and equipment at a school basketball tournament held in a public gym?
Probably yes for both, based on this opinion, though the answer is fact-dependent. An advertising and promotion (A&P) commission likely may spend hotel-and-restaurant tax revenue to pay tournament ref…
Does Maryland's ban on a 'segregated ballot' for disabled voters mean their ballots have to look identical to everyone else's, or just avoid being counted separately?
The opinion concluded that a voting system creates an unlawful 'segregated ballot' for disabled voters only when the ballots produced for them are distinguishable in appearance or handling from other …
Can a county quorum court redirect money from the treasurer's commission fund to another department without the treasurer's consent?
The Attorney General declined to answer, based on this opinion. Whether a quorum court's transfer of money from the county treasurer's commission fund to the IT department counts as an authorized 'adm…
Can a Texas county fund a second bailiff for a multi-county district court?
Not a second bailiff, but the court can hire other staff. Kleberg County Attorney Delma Rios-Salazar asked whether the Kleberg County commissioners court could create and fund an extra full-time baili…
Can Austin shift Austin Energy to an independent board by ordinance, and can out-of-city customers have a say?
Mostly yes, by ordinance, but charter amendments still belong to city voters. Senator John Carona asked whether the Austin City Council could move governance of Austin Energy, the city-owned electric …
Could Colorado's General Assembly legalize online casino gambling on its own, without going to voters, by treating the casino server's location as where the bet is placed?
No. The AG concluded that limited gaming under Article XVIII, Section 9 of the Colorado Constitution covers only physical, casino-style gaming inside qualifying buildings in Central City, Black Hawk, …
Can Connecticut's Governmental Accountability Commission evaluate or set expectations for the Office of Governmental Accountability's executive administrator, even though the statute doesn't say so expressly?
Yes. The Connecticut AG concluded the Governmental Accountability Commission has implied statutory authority to set goals and expectations for, and to periodically evaluate, the executive administrato…
Can a Virginia open-end credit lender charge an annual membership fee on top of finance charges, even if I pay my balance in full each month?
Yes. Under Va. Code § 6.2-312, an open-end credit lender can charge both 'finance charges' (only if the borrower fails to pay the balance in full by the close of a minimum 25-day billing cycle) and 'o…
In Virginia courthouses, do sheriffs or judges decide where security cameras go and what doors are locked?
Judges make the rules. Sheriffs enforce them. Va. Code § 53.1-120 puts the duty to ensure courthouses and courtrooms are secure on the sheriff and lets the chief judges and the sheriff agree on the nu…
Does a Virginia prosecutor have to disclose the identity of trial witnesses or confidential informants to the defense before trial?
Generally no, but with two important exceptions. The Virginia rules of criminal procedure (Rule 3A:11, Rule 7C:5) do not require the Commonwealth to disclose witness names, addresses, or phone numbers…
Under Florida's CCNA, can a government skip competitive selection for a design contract over $2 million, and do design fees count toward the $2 million cap?
The AG concluded that a 'continuing contract' for work of a specified nature is still capped at $2 million in estimated construction cost per project, so a contract exceeding that must go through the …
Must a Tennessee county pay for fringe benefits set by the sheriff's civil service board?
Yes. Once a county has adopted the Sheriff's Civil Service Law of 1974, the three-member civil service board can determine fringe benefits for sheriff's department employees and the county legislative…
Can a nonprofit hold a raffle in Florida without breaking the gambling laws?
Responding informally, the AG explained that Florida's general ban on lotteries (section 849.09) has a limited exception in section 849.0935, which lets certain 501(c) organizations, those qualified u…
Can a police department release an officer's name and job title to a FOIA requester, even if the officer objects?
Yes, based on this opinion. A public employee's name and job position are personnel records under Arkansas's FOIA, and releasing them almost never counts as a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy, …
Can a water utility be forced to shut off a customer's water over an unpaid sewer bill from a different city's sewer department?
Yes, based on this opinion. The Paragould Light & Water Commission, which supplies water to residents of Oak Grove Heights who get separate sewer service from that city, is a 'corresponding water util…
What counts as an 'obvious clerical mistake' a Tennessee property assessor can correct outside of an appeal?
Only errors apparent from the face of the official tax and assessment records that involve no judgment or discretion by the assessor. Examples include typos, mathematical miscalculations, misplaced de…
Can a Tennessee city or county pass an ordinance making OTC pseudoephedrine prescription-only?
No. The Tennessee 'I Hate Meth Act' (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-431) occupies the entire field of regulating methamphetamine-precursor sales, both expressly (subsection (n) says the act supersedes any lo…
Can a Tennessee juvenile court issue an order of protection for a child born out of wedlock?
Yes, but only if the protection-order petition fits within one of the juvenile court's two existing buckets of jurisdiction: a paternity proceeding for a child born out of wedlock, or a custody/visita…
Who has authority to manage the 8,600-acre Doe Mountain tract in northeast Tennessee?
The Doe Mountain Recreation Authority, a state-created entity, has sole land-management authority over the tract under Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 11-25-101 to -119. The only outside-approval requirement is th…
Could Tennessee criminalize a movie theater letting a minor watch an R-rated film?
The pre-2013 statute that tied criminal liability to MPAA ratings was unconstitutional under the First Amendment because it borrowed a private, voluntary rating system to define a crime and was not na…
Is Tennessee's proposed pre-suit notice law for establishment clause claims constitutional?
No. SB 965's pre-litigation notice and 120-day response window for state establishment clause claims violates the Tennessee Constitution's freedom-of-worship and open-courts provisions. The bill's cri…
What happens if a Delaware public body doesn't post its meeting notices on the state's official calendar?
The board violated Delaware's open-meetings law by not electronically posting notices and minutes on the state's official Public Meeting Calendar, but the AG found the violation didn't harm anyone and…
How these opinions are useful
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