Maryland Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Maryland, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Is alkaline hydrolysis, also called water cremation, legal for disposing of human remains in Maryland?
The opinion concluded that alkaline hydrolysis (water cremation) is generally illegal in Maryland, because state law only permits five specific ways to bury or dispose of a body, and neither of Maryla…
Can a Maryland city or county require stricter tree-protection rules for new development than the state's Forest Conservation Act?
The opinion concluded that Maryland's Forest Conservation Act let local jurisdictions such as counties and cities adopt local tree-protection programs stricter than the state's own reforestation ratio…
Does cheating with someone of the same sex count as adultery for a Maryland divorce?
The opinion concluded that a spouse's extramarital sexual conduct with someone of the same sex qualifies as adultery under Maryland's family law divorce statute, so a spouse could use a partner's same…
Could Maryland's energy office legally move money from a fund set up to make low-interest loans for community energy efficiency projects into a separate fund used to make loans to state agencies?
No, not without further legislative action. The opinion concluded that money appropriated to the Community Energy Loan Program (CELP) Fund could only be spent for CELP's statutory purposes, so the Mar…
If a Maryland child's biological parent had their parental rights legally terminated before the child died, does that parent still outrank the child's guardian in deciding whether to donate the child's organs?
No, the guardian outranks that parent. The opinion concluded that a biological parent whose parental rights were terminated as part of a guardianship proceeding no longer counts as a 'parent' with pri…
Under Maryland's 911 Law, can a wireless phone company bill the state's 911 Trust Fund for its own costs of providing enhanced 911 service, or does the fund only reimburse counties?
No automatic right. The opinion concluded that a wireless telephone company is not entitled to recover its enhanced 911 costs from Maryland's 911 Trust Fund, but the Emergency Number Systems Board has…
After a Maryland county board of education's already-adopted budget turns out to have a much bigger surplus than expected from the prior year, can the county commissioners approve a budget amendment to add that extra local surplus money to school spending mid-year?
No, at least not in Frederick County. The opinion agreed with the County Attorney that a public local law generally bars the Frederick County Commissioners from increasing an already-adopted county bu…
Can a Maryland county without home rule, like Somerset County, borrow money and issue general obligation bonds to pay for landfill improvements without getting separate permission from the state legislature each time?
Yes. The opinion concluded that Article 25, §14A already gives county commissioners in a non-home-rule county like Somerset County the authority to borrow funds for landfill capital improvements and t…
Does Maryland's Forest Conservation Act apply to a local government building project in Allegany or Garrett County, even if the project uses state funding, given that those counties are exempt from the Act for having a lot of existing forest cover?
The exemption still applies. The opinion concluded the Forest Conservation Act's exemption for counties with 200,000 or more acres of forest cover (only Allegany and Garrett counties qualified) covers…
When a Maryland hospital closes, does the state's Hospital Bond Program cover bonds issued by the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority (MIDFA)?
The opinion concluded that bonds issued by the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority (MIDFA) on behalf of a hospital counted as covered debt under Maryland's Hospital Bond Program, so th…
What counts as 'malfeasance in office' that lets a Maryland county remove a planning commission member?
The opinion concluded that 'malfeasance in office,' a ground for removing a planning commission member under Article 66B, meant willful wrongdoing by the official that had a direct connection to the p…
Could Maryland's Transportation Trust Fund pay for parking lot construction at the old Redskins stadium site?
Partly. The opinion concluded the Secretary of Transportation already had authority to use Transportation Trust Fund money for a grant to build on-site roadways and related infrastructure at the propo…
Is there an overall dollar cap on how much debt a Maryland county without home rule, like Somerset County, can take on, or does each borrowing project need its own separate state law?
There is no single overall debt cap. The opinion concluded that because Somerset County lacks home rule, it can only create debt when the General Assembly expressly authorizes a specific project by st…
If a Maryland home seller gives the buyer a property disclaimer statement late, after the contract is already signed, can the buyer back out?
Yes, according to the opinion. Even though the statute's text only explicitly addressed late disclosure statements, the opinion concluded the legislature meant to treat late disclaimer statements the …
Under Maryland's 1991 child safety seat law, does a child need to be both 4 years old AND over 40 pounds before switching to a seat belt?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded in 1991 that under TR §22-412.2(d), a child must be both four years of age or older and weigh more than 40 pounds before a person may use a seat belt instead of a…
Does Maryland have to pay higher social security contributions when a school system reclassifies a whole category of jobs to a higher pay grade?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that Section 9 of the 1991 Budget Reconciliation Act barred the State from paying increased employer social security contributions caused by reclassifying an enti…
Can a Maryland homeowners association ban family day care homes with a vote of just a small quorum instead of a majority of all members?
Maryland's Attorney General concluded that a homeowners association could prohibit the operation of a family day care home only if a simple majority of all of the association's eligible voting members…
Can Baltimore's light rail trolleys use white signal lights instead of the standard red, yellow, and green traffic lights?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the Mass Transit Administration's plan to guide light rail trolleys through downtown Baltimore intersections with a separate white bar signal, instead of the s…
Does Maryland's tax break for military pay earned outside the U.S. only apply to service members permanently stationed overseas?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Maryland's income tax subtraction for military pay attributable to service outside the United States, up to $15,000 with a phase-out between $15,000 and $30,000…
Did Maryland's mortgage escrow interest law apply to loans made under the credit grantor closed end credit provisions?
The Attorney General concluded in 1990 that CL §12-109, Maryland's requirement that lenders pay borrowers interest on residential first-mortgage escrow accounts, applied to loans made under any subtit…
Can a Maryland lawyer who serves as a part-time court trust clerk still practice law?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a private attorney appointed as a court's part-time trust clerk is not barred from practicing law by BOP §10-603(b)(4), because more than a century of legislat…
Does Maryland reduce a retired public employee's pension by workers' compensation benefits, even if the pension isn't for a disability?
A 1988 Maryland opinion concluded that the state retirement and pension systems' set-off for workers' compensation benefits applies only to disability retirement benefits paid because of an on-the-job…
Do Maryland's 1988 dollar caps on crime-victim compensation awards apply to claims that were already pending when the caps took effect?
A 1988 Maryland opinion concluded that all of Chapter 250's amendments to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act, including its new dollar caps on disability and medical-expense awards, apply retrospe…
Is a Maryland 'covenant not to encumber' real estate subject to recordation tax, and can it even be recorded?
A 1988 Maryland opinion concluded that a covenant not to encumber or convey real estate, a borrower's promise not to sell or mortgage property while a debt is outstanding, creates no security interest…
Does serving as a court-appointed special master count as 'employment' that cuts into a retired Maryland judge's pension?
A 1988 Maryland opinion concluded that a retired judge who accepts appointment as a court special master has accepted 'employment' under Article 73B, §56(c)(1), because the court controls the master's…
Did Maryland properly suspend Governor Harry Hughes's state pension while he served as Governor?
A 1988 Maryland opinion concluded that suspending former Governor Harry Hughes's Employees' Retirement System allowance during his term as Governor was proper under Article 73B, §11(12), and that Gove…
Can Maryland discipline a secondary mortgage loan licensee for violating mortgage-broker conduct rules when the licensee makes a first-lien mortgage loan?
A 1988 Maryland opinion concluded that the Commissioner of Consumer Credit cannot directly enforce the mortgage banker/broker statute and Code of Conduct against a Secondary Mortgage Loan Law (SMLL) l…
Did Maryland's prepaid dental plans have to follow the general Insurance Code, or just their own special dental-plan law?
In this 1987 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that prepaid dental plans licensed under Subtitle 42 of Article 48A were insurers generally subject to the rest of Maryland's Insurance Code, excep…
Could Maryland's Racing Commission let a track hold Arabian horse races with betting in 1987, and did it need to write new regulations first?
In this 1987 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Maryland's Racing Commission had authority under its original 1920 licensing statute to permit Arabian horse racing with wagering at a thoroug…
Could Maryland's Racing Commission let one track take telephone bets on a race running at a different track in 1987?
In this 1987 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Maryland's telephone-betting statute authorized the Racing Commission's proposed regulation letting one licensed track accept and wire bets on…
Does Maryland's cap on state land purchases in Garrett County also block the state from buying a conservation easement there?
In this 1987 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Maryland's statutory ceiling on the Department of Natural Resources acquiring "land" in Garrett County applied only to purchases of ownership …
Can Maryland reuse land it bought for a canceled highway project to build a different government building instead?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that land the State originally acquired for a highway project it later abandoned could be used instead to build a Motor Vehicle Administration fiel…
Can a Maryland town charge a utility company a franchise fee or pole-rental fee if the utility already has a statewide franchise from the State?
In this 1986 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that Potomac Edison held a statewide franchise under Article 23, section 340 to use public streets for its electric lines, that only the State (not…
Did Maryland's old MSSIC savings and loan insurer have legal authority to insure each separate account instead of each depositor, and can the legislature undo that after the 1980s Maryland savings and loan crisis?
In this 1986 opinion, issued during Maryland's savings and loan crisis, the Attorney General concluded that MSSIC exceeded its statutory authority in 1976 when it switched from insuring each depositor…
Should Maryland's driver's license penalty points be dated to when a traffic violation happened, or to when the driver was actually convicted?
In this 1985 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that the Motor Vehicle Administration's long-standing practice of dating a driver's license points to the date of the underlying violation was inco…
After Maryland cracked down on lenders disguising abusive home-secured loans as "commercial" loans, which lenders had to give borrowers a written reason when they turned down a credit application?
In this 1985 opinion, the Attorney General concluded that a borrower must be given a genuine, meaningful right to postpone a balloon payment under the new Chapter 115 commercial loan protections, and …
Did Maryland workers' compensation cover seasonal and migrant farm laborers in the 1980s?
In this 1984 bill-review opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Senate Bill 869 would extend workers' compensation coverage to most seasonal and migratory farm workers, but would still …
Could a Maryland county set its own mileage reimbursement rate for county commissioners, or were they stuck with the state's 10-cent-a-mile rate?
In this 1983 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that Cecil County's public local law did not clearly override the state's general mileage statute, so the county commissioners were limite…
Did Maryland charge sales tax on prescription pet food and flea and tick products sold by veterinarians?
In this 1983 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that prescription diet foods and flea and tick powders and sprays for dogs and cats, whether sold by a veterinarian to a pet owner or purc…
Did Maryland prosecutors have to prove a driver was actually driving unsafely to convict them of DUI, or was proof of intoxication itself enough?
In this 1983 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that proof of unsafe vehicle operation was not a required element of driving while intoxicated or driving while under the influence of alc…
Did Maryland police have to tell a drunk driving suspect every possible consequence of refusing a breath test, or just the basic penalty?
In this 1983 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that the standard police advice form, DR-15, which told a detained driver only that refusing a chemical alcohol test would result in a lic…
Did every officer of a corporation applying for a Maryland liquor license need to personally own stock in the company?
In this 1983 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General concluded that the individual officers who apply for an alcoholic beverages license on behalf of a corporation or club do not need to personally own…
When two bills in the same legislative session both amend the same statute, does the second one signed cancel out the first?
In this 1982 opinion, the Maryland Attorney General advised Governor Harry Hughes that two racing bills, Senate Bill 1042 and Senate Bill 1043, which each amended the same takeout provision of Article…
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Attorney general opinions in Maryland are written by the Maryland Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.