Texas Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Texas, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Can a Texas hospital district board member also hold another county office?
The AG concluded that because a Maverick County Hospital District board seat is unpaid, it is not an 'office of emolument,' so the Texas Constitution's ban on holding two paid civil offices did not st…
Is the Texas Lottery's Triple Chance game with a preset prize legal?
The AG concluded that a court would probably uphold the Texas Lottery Commission's Texas Triple Chance game. The game still meets the three legal tests for a lottery (a prize, awarded by chance, in ex…
Can a Texas home-rule city require a vote before raising property taxes?
The AG concluded that a court would likely uphold a home-rule city charter provision requiring voter approval before the city imposes ad valorem (property) taxes. Chapter 26 of the Tax Code sets out h…
Can a Texas city or county keep the mineral rights when it resells tax-foreclosed land?
The AG concluded that a court would likely say no. Section 34.05 of the Tax Code lets a taxing unit (a city, county, or other entity that foreclosed for unpaid taxes) resell property it took at a tax …
Is a hospital district's charitable affiliate a 'political subdivision' in Texas?
The AG could not give a definitive answer. A charitable organization created by a hospital district under section 281.0565 of the Health and Safety Code (here, the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovat…
If a Texas city has a zero property tax rate, can voters still force a rollback election?
The AG concluded yes on both counts. Under section 26.07 of the Tax Code, a city whose rollback rate is zero (because it stopped levying property taxes) that then adopts any rate above zero triggers t…
Can a Texas county juvenile board adopt a personnel manual for its probation department?
The AG concluded yes. Even though a special statute exempts the Rockwall County Juvenile Board from some of the general policy provisions that apply to other county juvenile boards, that exemption doe…
How does a $55,000 deposit with the county judge work for vehicle financial responsibility in Texas?
The AG answered several questions about using a cash deposit, instead of auto insurance, to meet Texas's vehicle financial-responsibility law. A separate deposit of at least $55,000 must be made with …
Are Texas schools allowed to use Common Core to teach state standards?
The AG concluded that Texas school districts may not use the Common Core State Standards to satisfy their legal duty to teach the state's required curriculum. A 2013 law (House Bill 462) added subsect…
Can a Texas Type B economic development corporation pay for a city's comprehensive plan?
The AG did not give a yes-or-no answer, because whether a specific expense is an authorized project is a fact question the corporation's own board must decide, not the Attorney General. Speaking gener…
Can Texas revoke a company's bingo license because an officer or director has a criminal record?
Not by itself. The AG concluded that Chapter 53 of the Occupations Code does not let the Lottery Commission deny or revoke a corporate entity's bingo-related license based only on a criminal convictio…
Can a Texas school district keep employees hired under the small-county nepotism exception after the county grows past 35,000?
Yes. The AG concluded that the nepotism rule in Government Code section 573.041 bars only the appointment of a relative, not the ongoing employment of someone already lawfully hired. So when a school …
What criminal court costs and fees can Texas courts charge on appeal, multiple counts, or multiple warrants?
The AG answered ten questions from the Office of Court Administration about criminal court costs. The clearest answers: a defendant whose municipal-court-of-record conviction is only affirmed by a cou…
Who sets assistant county auditor salaries in Texas, the district judges or the commissioners court?
The AG concluded that the power to appoint assistant county auditors and set their salaries belongs solely to the county's district judges, not the commissioners court. When the district judges proper…
Do Texas state agencies and universities need State Office of Risk Management approval to buy insurance?
Generally they cannot buy it on their own. The AG concluded that under Labor Code subsection 412.011(e), a state agency subject to Chapter 501 (the state workers' compensation chapter, which defines '…
Can Texas housing developments converting under HUD's RAD program qualify for the at-risk low-income housing tax credit set-aside?
Likely yes, if the agency finds the eligibility requirements met. The AG concluded that a court would probably uphold the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) treating a public ho…
Can a Texas district attorney use asset forfeiture funds to buy a building and lease or sell it to the county?
Probably not. The AG concluded that a court would be unlikely to find it an 'official purpose' of a district attorney's office to use asset forfeiture funds under Code of Criminal Procedure article 59…
Can a Texas municipal development district fund a civic center owned and run by a nonprofit?
Partly. The AG concluded that a court would likely find chapter 377 of the Local Government Code lets a municipal development district contract with a private nonprofit to operate a civic center, sinc…
Can a Texas legislative committee investigating an impeachment hold someone in contempt?
Likely yes. The AG concluded that a court would probably uphold a Texas House committee's power to punish for contempt when it is investigating a contemplated impeachment, acting under article XV, sec…
Can a Texas police department require officers to issue a set number of traffic warnings?
It is unsettled, and the AG would not give a firm yes or no. Texas Transportation Code section 720.002 bars a city, county, or state agency from setting quotas for traffic 'citations' or evaluating of…
Does the Texas Comptroller's list of new court costs and fees include non-court fees like a county records-preservation fee?
No. The AG concluded that Government Code section 51.607(a) requires the Comptroller to identify only court-related costs and fees, the kind a court clerk collects from a party in a civil case or a de…
Can the Texas Legislature pass laws that override or void existing HOA covenants?
Sometimes. The AG explained that property owners' association covenants are treated as contracts, so they are protected by the Contract Clauses of the Texas and U.S. Constitutions. That protection is …
Can a justice of the peace waive the 72-hour waiting period for a Texas marriage license?
Probably not. Texas Family Code section 2.204 makes a couple wait 72 hours after a marriage license is issued before the ceremony, but it lets certain judges grant a written waiver: a judge of a court…
Can the Texas Comptroller write rules to fill a gap in the Major Events Trust Fund law?
No, not a gap like this one. Senate Bill 1678 added a 'largest event' category to the Major Events Trust Fund, the once-a-year event at a Texas venue seating at least 125,000, but the Legislature neve…
Can a Texas school district let a Guardian Plan employee carry a gun at school sporting events or board meetings?
Yes, as the AG read the statutes. Penal Code section 46.035 bars a concealed handgun license holder from carrying at a school sporting or interscholastic event or at a governmental meeting, but only w…
What kinds of entertainment projects can a Texas economic development corporation pay for?
It depends on whether the project is like the public facilities the statute lists. The AG explained that Local Government Code section 505.152 lets a Type A economic development corporation fund 'ente…
When does a Texas water authority need county approval to buy groundwater?
Only when it is buying the right to pump, not when it is just buying water. Senate Bill 281 lets the Red River Authority purchase 'groundwater rights' in a county that has no groundwater conservation …
Can the Texas State Fire Marshal reinvestigate old, closed arson cases?
Yes, as the AG read the law. A district attorney worried that the State Fire Marshal's Office and its Science Advisory Workgroup were bound by the same limits as the Texas Forensic Science Commission,…
Can a Texas county school district hold a petition election to raise the county equalization tax under the old chapter 18?
Likely not. Former chapter 18 of the Education Code let counties create a countywide school district and adopt a countywide equalization tax. Chapter 18 was repealed in 1995, but a savings provision, …
When did Texas district courts have to start collecting the new $20 electronic-filing fee?
September 1, 2013. House Bill 2302 added Government Code section 51.851, which set new electronic-filing fees, including a $20 fee, after the Texas Supreme Court ordered e-filing for most civil courts…
When could Texas's historic building rehabilitation tax credit first be claimed, and could a nonprofit or homeowner use it?
The AG laid out a timeline. The franchise-tax credit for rehabilitating certified historic structures, created by House Bill 500 as subchapter S of Tax Code chapter 171, did not become operative until…
Can a Texas justice court charge a fee to file a petition for an occupational driver's license?
Yes. After House Bill 438 let justice courts receive these petitions and deleted the word 'civil' from Transportation Code section 521.242(e), Senator-turned-Representative Harold Dutton asked whether…
Can a Texas city use its city attorney to sue and stop a recall election against its own council members?
The AG gave a layered answer. An individual officeholder who is the target of a recall petition generally does have standing to file a declaratory-judgment action to test whether the petition meets th…
How is a Texas county court at law judge's minimum salary set when the district judge gets pay supplements from other counties?
The AG said every county counts. A statutory county court at law judge's minimum salary is pegged by Government Code section 25.0005(a) to no less than $1,000 below the total annual salary of a distri…
Can a Texas county offer internet (VoIP) phone service to county jail inmates, and can it make money from it?
The AG said yes, a county may offer it, with strings attached. No Texas statute or jail rule expressly bars a county from providing voice-over-Internet (VoIP) local and long-distance phone service to …
What must a Texas county appraisal district do with leftover budget money, and can it pay its staff a bonus?
The AG answered five budget questions for county appraisal districts. Funds the district commits during the fiscal year to meet or secure an obligation count as 'obligated to be spent' under Tax Code …
What can a Texas county spend pretrial intervention program fees on?
The AG said the money is tightly restricted. Under Code of Criminal Procedure article 102.0121, a district attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney may collect a fee of up to $500 from…
Do Texas regional education service centers have to keep the model lesson plans they developed, and can parents see them?
The AG said the plans are public records that must be kept, and parents can see them. The lesson plans came from the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC), a nonprofit ten r…
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 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 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 …
Can a Texas justice of the peace also work as a court-appointed investigator in felony cases?
No single law flatly forbids it, but the ethics question is for the judicial-conduct commission. District Attorney Micheal Murray asked the Attorney General whether a sitting justice of the peace coul…
Does renaming police captains to 'assistant chiefs' change how many a Texas city can appoint?
No. The cap follows the 1983 headcount, not the title. Representative Tracy King asked how many officers a police department head may appoint to the rank just below chief under Local Government Code s…
Can Houston METRO use job order contracting for civil works like roads and water projects?
Only for building work, not civil works. Representative Bill Callegari asked whether the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) could use 'job order contracting,' a streamlined method…
Are Texas landowners liable for police actions on their land or for livestock that escape due to outside interference?
The Attorney General declined to answer. Representative Ryan Guillen asked whether existing law shields landowners, lessees, and occupants of agricultural land from liability in two situations: law en…
Can a Texas state employee run for and hold an elected county office while keeping both salaries?
Generally yes, with one federal caveat. The Attorney General concluded that no Texas statute prohibits a state employee from running for an elected county office, and that Article 16, Section 40(b) of…
Do university psychology staff need a specific job title to be exempt from the Texas Psychologists' Licensing Act?
The Attorney General answered two questions from the State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. First, a university does not have to use the official title 'psychologist' or 'psychological associate' …
Does a part-time or seasonal employee still count under the Texas nepotism continuous-employment exception?
Brazoria County's district attorney asked whether an at-will employee who works consistently but only periodically can use the continuous-employment exception to the Texas nepotism law, Government Cod…
Is a Texas district court reporter a state or county employee, and who can fire one?
Kerr County's attorney asked whether the official court reporter for a multi-county judicial district is a state or county employee. The Attorney General said there is no single answer: a court report…
Can Texas create a second emergency services district over the same area to raise more property tax?
A House committee chair asked whether Texas can create a second emergency services district (ESD) covering the same area as an existing one, offering the same services, just to collect more property t…
Which court does a bail bondsman file with to surrender a defendant before charges are formally filed?
Houston County's attorney asked which court a surety, usually a bail bondsman, should use to file the paperwork that surrenders or releases liability on a bond principal under articles 17.16 and 17.19…
Is Texas's 10% cigarette advertising fee blocked by federal law or the First Amendment?
A House committee chair asked whether Texas's 'Advertising Fee Statute,' which charges a 10 percent fee on outdoor advertising of cigarettes and tobacco products, is blocked by the Federal Cigarette L…
Can a bail bondsman's ad in a county jail magazine count as illegal solicitation in Texas?
Bexar County's district attorney asked whether a bail bond licensee's advertising in a magazine handed out to pretrial detainees in the county jail, especially under a deal giving that licensee exclus…
Can a Texas county ban an elected official from bringing a pet to their own office?
The Titus County Attorney asked whether the county commissioners court could enforce its new ban on animals in county buildings against an independently elected official's office, after he had brought…
When can Texas juvenile case records be destroyed, on paper or permanently?
Brazoria County's district attorney asked the Attorney General to untangle Family Code section 58.0071, whose subsections seemed to conflict about when juvenile case records can be destroyed. The AG f…
How long must a school trustee's spouse have worked to keep their job under Texas nepotism law?
A House committee chair asked the Attorney General three questions about the continuous-employment exception to Texas nepotism law, Government Code section 573.062, as it applies to a school district …
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Attorney general opinions in Texas are written by the Texas 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.