State AG Opinions
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Did Louisiana’s sex-offender school-property restriction cover a house where children used a home study program?
The AG concluded that the cited restriction on certain sex offenders near public or private elementary or secondary schools did not extend to a residence where children participated in a home study…
Is the Florida Department of Environmental Protection a state agency for purposes of an FAA drone Certificate of Authorization?
Yes. Under Chapter 20, Florida Statutes, the Department of Environmental Protection is a principal administrative unit of the executive branch and an agency of the state, so the Attorney General…
Can a county council discuss how a new pay plan affects specific employees in a closed executive session?
Yes, according to this opinion. A resident challenged Sussex County's handling of a new employee pay plan, questioning why its impact on specific employees was discussed in executive session at a…
Did maintenance work at Charleston’s Union Pier passenger terminal need a South Carolina coastal-zone permit?
On the facts supplied, the 2016 AG predicted that renovations, including added support pilings, continued a passenger-facility use authorized before the coastal law took effect and were exempt from…
What procedure does Shelby County need to follow to assume the unpaid retiree health-benefit (OPEB) debts that Memphis City Schools left behind when it dissolved?
The Shelby County Board of Commissioners had to adopt a resolution, by a majority vote of its members, formally agreeing to assume the OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) indebtedness owed by the…
Could an unpaid school board member also coach a team in the same district?
The 2016 AG concluded that a board member serving as a head or assistant coach in the same district would face a master-servant conflict even without pay. Helping a team at will, without ongoing…
If a state senator was elected as a Republican but switched to the Democratic Party before resigning, which party gets to submit the list of replacement candidates to the Governor under W. Va. Code § 3-10-5?
The party the senator was affiliated with at the time of resignation, not at the time of election. The AG read W. Va. Code § 3-10-5(a) to use a present-participle phrase ('the person vacating the…
Which of the new misdemeanor crimes the Georgia legislature created in 2015 should require fingerprinting at arrest?
The AG designated 9 of the 18 reviewed 2015 misdemeanors as fingerprintable: powdered alcohol, both tiers of harming a law enforcement animal, causing a minor to be identified in an obscene…
Could a Kentucky local school board limit middle school students playing on high school sports teams?
The Kentucky AG concluded in 2015 that local school boards and school-based decision making councils could regulate middle school students’ participation on high school teams. It read the statute…
Could a Kentucky prosecutor demand someone’s records with an investigative subpoena before any criminal case was in court?
The Kentucky AG concluded in 2015 that a prosecutor or police agency could not use an ordinary subpoena duces tecum to obtain records during an investigation with no court case pending and no…
Could a Kentucky credit service organization charge borrowers after arranging a third-party installment loan?
The Kentucky AG concluded in 2015 that the described credit service organization was a loan broker rather than a lender. Its referral model could operate under the statutes reviewed if it charged no…
Did South Carolina’s annual millage cap apply to the Clarendon County fire district?
The 2015 AG said the general operating millage cap did not apply to this special tax district after a 2011 amendment. It concluded that county council could set the district’s annual operating…
Could Georgia's Governor block Syrian refugees from receiving state-administered, federally-funded resettlement benefits?
No. Federal law and the state's voluntary agreement to act as Georgia's refugee resettlement coordinator both prevented the State from denying federally-funded benefits to Syrian refugees who had…
When a Box Elder City Councilperson resigned mid-term and the council appointed a replacement under SDCL 9-13-14.1 'to serve until the next annual municipal election,' did the appointee have to run for retention at the 2016 annual election or at the next regularly scheduled Box Elder election in 2017 (Box Elder's terms were staggered, so no full election was scheduled for 2016)?
The appointee had to run at the 2016 annual municipal election to retain the seat. The statute said 'next annual municipal election,' and SDCL 9-13-1 set that election for the second Tuesday of…
Can Delaware State Police refuse to release its confidentiality agreement with the FBI about cell-site simulator (Stingray) technology?
No, according to this opinion. A journalist asked Delaware State Police for records about its use of cell-site simulators (devices that mimic cell towers to track phones), including any…
Can a reporter get the medical examiner's conclusion about a person's manner of death through a Delaware public records request?
No, according to this opinion. A reporter asked Delaware's Division of Forensic Science (DDFS) for the autopsy findings, and later just the medical examiner's conclusion on manner of death, in the…
Did an Illinois state employee convicted of theft and official misconduct forfeit her pension benefits?
Yes. AG Lisa Madigan concluded that Mary A. Hurst's convictions for theft, official misconduct, and wire fraud arising out of her state employment required forfeiture of her pension benefits under…
Could Vidalia's development district use public bonds to buy and improve land for later private sale?
No. The AG said the town and district's proposed bond-funded land development was barred private enterprise. Independently, they lacked objective evidence of economic development and developer…
Could Maryland set mandatory ventilator-allocation rules during a declared pandemic emergency?
The Attorney General concluded that the Governor likely could issue mandatory ventilator-allocation criteria during a declared catastrophic health emergency. Providers following State criteria in…
Would a court ruling striking down the federal DACA or DAPA programs affect a Tennessee bill that would give in-state tuition to some unlawful immigrant students?
No. The AG concluded the bill required students to attest they had applied to 'legalize' their immigration status, while DACA and DAPA confer only 'lawful presence,' not legal status. So…
Under Government Code section 1090, does a city council member who is associated, as an independent contractor, with a public-relations firm that provides services to two nonprofit organizations that have contracts with the city, have a prohibited financial interest in those contracts where the council member performs no services for the two contracting nonprofits and receives no compensation based on the firm’s provision of services to those entities?
No, on the facts presented. The council member was only an independent contractor for a public-relations firm and did no work for, received no pay from, and had no ownership or agency role involving…
Could a full-time Terrebonne fire chief also serve as a part-time deputy sheriff?
Yes, under the dual officeholding law considered. The AG classified the fire-chief job as a full-time appointive office and the weekend deputy-sheriff role as a part-time appointive office. It found…
Could a justice of the peace carry a concealed handgun in a courtroom held at home and exclude a permit holder’s gun?
The AG concluded that a justice of the peace who met the annual firearms qualification could carry concealed while holding court at home. It also said the justice could prohibit a concealed-carry…
Were FanDuel and DraftKings daily fantasy sports contests illegal gambling in Illinois in 2015?
Yes. AG Lisa Madigan concluded that the paid FanDuel and DraftKings contests were gambling under section 28-1(a). Skill did not change that result: the section 28-1(b)(2) exception covered prizes…
Could a Louisiana state senator also serve part time as Lafayette's parks and recreation director?
The AG said the dual officeholding law did not prohibit a state senator from also holding Lafayette's parks and recreation directorship if that appointive post was part time. It said the full-time…
Could former homeowners keep a homestead exemption after donating the house but retaining a lifetime usufruct?
Yes, on the facts described. The AG concluded that two natural-person former owners who reserved a usufruct and continued occupying the home could claim the exemption under La. Const. art. VII, §…
Could a Louisiana city marshal charge separate fees for serving a garnishment and interrogatories together?
Yes. Under the fee schedule discussed in the 2015 opinion, the Shreveport marshal could charge separately for a garnishment under a writ of fieri facias and the attached interrogatories, totaling…
Could a Louisiana town council rehire a police officer without hearing its elected chief's recommendation?
The AG said Newellton's council acted prematurely by rehiring a police officer without giving its elected chief an opportunity to recommend. The council had to consider the chief's recommendation,…
Could one official serve on a groundwater district board and as Carson mayor and council member?
The AG did not finally decide whether the offices were incompatible. It found substantial factual and legal questions and granted permission to bring a quo warranto lawsuit for judicial resolution.
Could Lockport's volunteer fire chief also sit on the Lafourche Parish Council?
The AG said the Lockport Volunteer Fire Company chief could also hold a Lafourche Parish Council seat because, on the facts supplied, the fire-chief role was a volunteer company position rather than…
Can the same person serve as a Texas county sheriff and a school board trustee at the same time?
The AG concluded that, on the facts presented, a court would likely find the common-law incompatibility doctrine does not bar one person from serving at the same time as the Red River County Sheriff…
Do extra college credit hours taken at another school disqualify a student from B-On-Time loan forgiveness?
The AG concluded that a court would likely find the extra hours do not disqualify the student. A Texas B-On-Time loan could be forgiven if the student earned the degree without going more than six…
Can a Texas commissioners court automatically cut a county position's salary when the employee leaves?
The AG gave a two-part answer. Chapter 111 of the Local Government Code does not, as a matter of law, prohibit a commissioners court from adopting a standing order that automatically transfers…
Can a Texas public university ban concealed handguns in classrooms or dorms under the campus carry law?
The AG answered six questions about Senate Bill 11, the campus-carry law that took effect in 2016. He concluded that a public institution of higher education likely exceeds its authority if it bans…
Can you carry a gun in a Texas school's parking lot, driveway, or sidewalk?
The AG concluded that Penal Code section 46.03(a)(1) prohibits handguns (and other weapons) from places where a school-sponsored activity is being conducted, and that those places can include…
Can a Texas county post a 'Weapons Free Zone' sign banning licensed handguns in a government building?
The AG gave a three-part answer. First, building on its earlier opinion KP-0047, the AG concluded that in the Hays County Government Center only the courtrooms and the offices essential to running…
What happens to the money when the Texas governor line-item vetoes part of the budget?
The Comptroller asked how to account for Governor Abbott's line-item vetoes of the 2015 state budget. The AG (the opinion was signed by the First Assistant Attorney General because Paxton recused…
Can a Texas county ban guns in a whole courthouse, or just the courtrooms?
The AG concluded that Penal Code section 46.03(a)(3), which lets the government keep handguns out of the 'premises of any government court or offices utilized by the court', does not reach an entire…
Can a county board of supervisors take cartography and property-title staff away from the elected county assessor and put them in a department reporting to the board?
No. Cartography and property-title functions are necessary for an Arizona county assessor to perform her constitutional and statutory duties: identifying, mapping, and assigning ownership to all…
Was a South Carolina probate judge paid above the base salary entitled to a cost of living raise?
The 2015 AG concluded that the statutory cost of living adjustment applied to probate judges’ base salaries, not automatically to salaries above that minimum. A county could still choose to give an…
Can a government leave policy require judges to use their own vacation days for religious holidays instead of giving them extra paid leave?
The opinion concluded that Maryland's policy of letting judges use only their existing personal and annual leave, not extra paid administrative leave, to be absent for religious holidays did not…
Could a Kentucky pass-through agency cap a subrecipient’s federally negotiated indirect cost rate at ten percent?
The Kentucky AG concluded in 2015 that a pass-through agency could not override an indirect cost rate negotiated with and approved by the federal government. Without such a rate, the agency and…
Could a Kentucky syringe exchange give someone clean syringes when they brought none to return?
The Kentucky AG concluded in 2015 that a permitted harm-reduction program could provide syringes without requiring the participant to return used ones. It read “exchange” broadly enough to include…
Could Kentucky’s horse racing commission let private racetracks choose whether to hold furosemide-free races?
The Kentucky AG concluded in 2015 that the commission could not leave the decision about furosemide-free races solely to individual racetracks. The statute assigned drug regulation to the…
Could a Cotton Valley alderman take the town’s appointment to the North Webster industrial district board?
No. The AG concluded that a Cotton Valley alderman could not hold the town’s appointed seat on the North Webster Parish Industrial District board because the alderman participated in the town…
Could the Louisiana Housing Corporation raise its low-income housing program fees without a two-thirds legislative vote?
No. The AG concluded that the Louisiana Housing Corporation could not increase the described fee schedule merely by rule. Under La. Const. art. VII, § 2.1, a new or increased state-agency fee…
Who controlled the Welsh police department’s traffic, forfeiture, evidence, and safekeeping accounts?
The AG classified the accounts by the kind of money they held. Traffic-enforcement proceeds belonged in the town’s general fund; drug forfeiture money had to be separate but remained municipal…
Could a Louisiana 911 district buy land solely as an investment?
No. The AG said Tangipahoa Communication District No. 1 could not buy immovable property solely as a future investment when it had no plan to use the property and identified no public purpose for…
Would a proposed 2015 South Carolina autism insurance mandate require state payments?
The 2015 AG predicted that extending an existing autism coverage mandate to individual and small group plans would count as a new benefit beyond the state’s benchmark essential benefits, requiring…
Does the Virginia real-property tax exemption for surviving spouses of service members killed in action apply if the death happened before 2015?
Yes. The AG read both the constitutional amendment and the implementing statute as applying regardless of when the service member was killed. The 'January 1, 2015' date in § 58.1-3219.9 limited only…
Does a former Illinois state representative lose her General Assembly pension if she pled guilty to mail fraud over a fake-scholarship scheme she ran while in office?
Yes. Attorney General Lisa Madigan concluded that former Rep. Constance A. 'Connie' Howard forfeited her General Assembly Retirement System pension under section 2-156 of the Illinois Pension Code,…
Can a Tennessee district attorney general's office digitize its paper case files for storage and then shred the originals?
Only with approval. The AG concluded the DA's case files are state records, and any reformatting or destruction requires an approved records disposition authorization from the Tennessee Public…
Did a Louisiana first-offender pardon alone restore firearm possession or concealed-carry eligibility?
No. The 2015 opinion said a Louisiana first-offender pardon did not by itself end a firearm prohibition under La. R.S. 14:95.1 or make a prohibited person eligible for a concealed-carry permit. It…
After Florida's Enterprise Zone Program sunset on December 31, 2015, could property still qualify for enterprise-zone ad valorem tax exemptions?
The AG declined to give a definitive answer and recommended the parties seek a court ruling. The office observed that once the Enterprise Zone Program sunset on December 31, 2015, and the term…
Can a state agency charge me for a duplicate email search after it already searched its own records and found nothing?
Technically no violation, but poor practice, according to this opinion. The Department of Education searched its own email records for a FOIA request, found nothing, but still sent a $300 estimate…
If a Arkansas police officer or firefighter in the LOPFI DROP loses his job early, can he transfer to another LOPFI-covered position?
No. The AG concluded a LOPFI DROP participant whose employment ends, voluntarily or involuntarily, cannot transfer to another LOPFI-covered position. The DROP statute deliberately excludes DROP…
Could a Loris city council member also serve as the city’s volunteer fire chief or firefighter?
The 2015 AG predicted that either fire department role would conflict with city council service under the municipal employment statute, even though the constitutional dual office ban did not apply.…
Can Mary Berry's proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment qualify for the ballot through the AG certification process?
The AG rejected Mary Berry's proposed Arkansas Cannabis Amendment because ambiguities in the amendment itself prevented a fair and complete popular name and ballot title. The opinion told Berry she…
When a Tennessee general sessions court (which handles misdemeanors) revokes someone's probation, can the judge add up to two more years of probation instead of just sending them to jail?
Yes. The AG concluded that Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-308(c) authorizes any sentencing court conducting a probation revocation hearing, including a general sessions court, to extend probation…
Can a Texas transit agency build bus lanes where voters approved light rail?
The AG gave a two-part answer about Houston METRO's Post Oak Boulevard project. First, reading the 2003 election order and ballot language, the AG concluded a court would likely find that METRO's…
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