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 court appoint a lawyer for a criminal defendant who isn't indigent?
Sometimes. The Attorney General concluded that although a court usually has no duty to appoint a lawyer for someone who is not indigent, it may do so in proper circumstances when the interests of just…
Can a consolidated Texas municipal utility district charge different debt tax rates in different areas?
Generally yes. The Attorney General concluded that a court could uphold a consolidated municipal utility district charging different debt service tax rates on land in each of the former districts, to …
Can a Texas state-chartered credit union charge the higher interest rates federal credit unions can?
No, not for interest rates above the state cap. The Attorney General concluded that although Finance Code section 123.003 gives state-chartered credit unions broad parity with federal credit unions, t…
How are penalties and interest figured on deferred property taxes for an elderly Texas homeowner?
The deferral period gets the favorable treatment, even in hindsight. The Attorney General concluded that for the entire time an elderly or disabled person's homestead taxes are deferred under Tax Code…
Can a Texas state legislator also serve as the state chairman of a political party?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the state chairman of a political party does not hold an office or position 'under this State,' so neither of the Texas Constitution's dual-officeholding bars …
Must Texas police give caregiver child abuse reports to the Department of Family and Protective Services?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that under Family Code sections 261.105 and 261.301, a local or state law enforcement agency is required to furnish information about alleged child abuse or neglect…
Can a Texas school district pay an administrator's legal bills to sue someone for defamation?
No. The Attorney General concluded that an independent school district may not pay or reimburse the legal expenses of an administrator who files a private defamation lawsuit that advances the administ…
Who is responsible for someone held under a Texas emergency mental health detention order?
No single agency is named. The Attorney General concluded that nothing in chapter 573 of the Health and Safety Code makes one particular law enforcement agency, as opposed to another, responsible for …
Can a registered lobbyist serve on the Texas State Board of Education?
It depends on what they lobby about. The Attorney General construed Education Code section 7.103(c) to bar from the State Board of Education only those registered lobbyists who were paid to communicat…
Can Texas judicial fund money replace county cuts to a statutory probate court's budget?
Not as a substitute for county money. The Attorney General concluded that state judicial-fund dollars allocated into a county's contributions fund must be used only for court-related purposes to suppo…
Can a Texas school district police chief be paid for serving on a city council?
Not on these facts. The Attorney General concluded that a school district chief of police whose job has no teaching responsibilities is not a 'schoolteacher,' so he does not qualify for the narrow exc…
Does a Texas vehicle with a diesel turbine engine still need a muffler?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded there is no blanket exception for diesel turbine engines to Texas's requirement that a motor vehicle have a muffler. Transportation Code section 547.604 requires ev…
Can a Texas county auditor refuse to create budget lines for a commissioners court's emergency budget amendment?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a county auditor has no independent legal authority to refuse to create budget lines once the commissioners court adopts an emergency budget amendment. Only the…
Can the Texas State Board of Education invest the Permanent School Fund to help charter schools instead of for the best financial return?
No, not for non-financial reasons. The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Constitution and Education Code require the State Board of Education to make Permanent School Fund (PSF) investment dec…
Can a Texas county judge order a city recall election if the city council refuses to?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Texas law does not authorize a county judge to order a municipal recall election. A recall election is a special election, and a special election may be called …
Can a Texas county auditor audit a constable's law-enforcement continuing-education (LEOSE) funds?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a county auditor has general oversight of a constable's books and records, including the funds a constable receives from the state law enforcement officer stan…
Does the broader ADA definition of disability let more Texas homeowners qualify for the homestead property tax freeze?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, which broadened the ADA's definition of 'disability,' does not change who qualifies as 'disa…
Is the Texas Racing Act's 10-year residency requirement for racetrack owners constitutional under the Commerce Clause?
The Attorney General did not answer this question. The chair of the Texas Racing Commission asked whether section 6.06(d) of the Texas Racing Act, which requires the majority ownership of a racetrack-…
What evidence and which labs can the Texas Forensic Science Commission investigate?
The Attorney General drew three lines around the Texas Forensic Science Commission's investigative power. First, the 2005 law that created the Commission applies only to evidence tested or offered int…
When does the deadline start for a Texas county officer to file a salary grievance?
The Attorney General confirmed that two earlier opinions, GA-0051 (2003) and GA-0620 (2008), correctly read sections 152.013 and 152.016 of the Local Government Code: a commissioners court must notify…
When does a Texas restrictive covenant or club-fee requirement run with the land and bind future owners?
The chair of the Sunset Advisory Commission asked seven questions about whether certain restrictive covenants, especially ones requiring property owners to pay fees to a private for-profit club, are v…
Does the Texas Ethics Commission have to send a complainant's residency proof to the person they complained about?
Probably not. The Texas Ethics Commission asked whether the document a complainant must attach to a sworn complaint to prove Texas residency or property ownership, such as a paycheck or property tax b…
Can a Texas general-law city ban firearm discharge inside its original city limits?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that section 229.002 of the Local Government Code does not prohibit a Type A general-law municipality from adopting an ordinance regulating the discharge of a firea…
What does land need to qualify as an 'ecological laboratory' for the Texas open-space tax break?
The Attorney General concluded that nothing in the Tax Code requires a chief appraiser to rely on a university's ecological-laboratory research plan and annual report to qualify land as an 'ecological…
What must be reported to a school when a student on juvenile parole enrolls in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that when a youth on parole from the Texas Youth Commission enrolled in a new school district and had been convicted or adjudicated, the agency had to give the superinte…
Who decides where a medical helicopter lands at a car accident scene, the sheriff or the fire department?
The Attorney General concluded that neither the sheriff's office nor the fire department has the final say on where to land a helicopter at a motor vehicle accident scene. No Texas statute, court deci…
Can a Texas city require contractors to sign a project labor agreement to bid on public work?
The Attorney General did not give a yes-or-no answer. The opinion concluded that whether requiring a project labor agreement (PLA) as a condition of bidding violates section 271.121 of the Local Gover…
Can a Texas county commissioners court set work hours and dock pay for employees of elected officials?
The Attorney General concluded that a county commissioners court in a populous county may set a 40-hour workweek by rule and likely may withhold partial salaries and benefits from employees who work l…
What can a Texas city do if no local newspaper qualifies to publish its legal notices?
The Attorney General concluded that a newspaper used to publish a political subdivision's official notices must meet the requirements of Government Code section 2051.044, including holding a second-cl…
Can a Texas court order emergency medical treatment of a jail inmate under Health and Safety Code 773.008?
The Attorney General concluded that section 773.008(2) of the Health and Safety Code does not, by itself, give a court of record the authority to order emergency medical treatment of a local jail deta…
Can a Texas school district run an on-site health clinic for its employees alongside TRS coverage?
The Attorney General concluded that a school district operating an on-site health clinic that provides optional, direct healthcare services to employees is not offering 'group health coverage,' so it …
Can a Texas county make volunteer assistant fire marshals reserve law enforcement officers?
The Attorney General concluded that a volunteer assistant fire marshal is not, just by virtue of the appointment, a reserve law enforcement officer. The Legislature defined 'reserve law enforcement of…
What counts as an 'enacted revenue measure' for the Texas State Highway Fund rail appropriation?
The Attorney General concluded that 'enacted revenue measures' in article IX, section 17.10(b)(1) of the 2010-2011 General Appropriations Act means any legislative enactment that provides incoming rev…
Can a Texas city spend leftover hotel occupancy tax money on general city expenses?
The Attorney General concluded that hotel occupancy tax revenue collected under chapter 351 of the Tax Code must be spent only as that chapter allows, and that chapter 351 bars using the revenue, incl…
Can a Texas city force a school district to pay for infrastructure like a waterline by ordinance?
The Attorney General gave a layered answer. If the City of Eagle Pass ordinance imposes an 'impact fee' under chapter 395 of the Local Government Code, the school district does not have to pay it unle…
Can one person be both a water district's general manager and a city's city manager in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that the common-law doctrine of incompatibility does not prevent the general manager of a water district from also serving as the city manager of a home-rule city. The d…
Can the Texas State Board of Education pay lawyers from the Permanent School Fund without an appropriation?
The Attorney General concluded that article VII, section 5 of the Texas Constitution does not let the State Board of Education spend Permanent School Fund (PSF) money on attorney fees without a legisl…
Can a probation officer report child abuse found in a confidential presentence report in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that a community supervision (probation) officer may release information from a pre-plea presentence investigation report to the Department of Family and Protective Serv…
Can Texas police use a handheld laser speed camera that records video before a traffic stop?
The Attorney General concluded that a handheld laser speed enforcement device with a built-in video camera and GPS is prohibited under Transportation Code section 542.2035 if it records a vehicle's sp…
Can the Texas Health and Human Services Commission define 'affiliate' by rule for its family planning program?
The Attorney General concluded that the Health and Human Services Commission has authority to adopt a rule defining 'affiliate' for its women's health and family planning demonstration project, even t…
Can Texas exclude abortion providers' affiliates from its Medicaid Women's Health Program?
The Attorney General concluded that subsection 32.0248(h) of the Human Resources Code, which bars the Health and Human Services Commission from contracting under the Women's Health Program with entiti…
Can a Texas water conservation district transfer its assets to a private individual or company?
The Attorney General concluded that the board of the Sandy Land Underground Water Conservation District has broad statutory authority under Water Code section 36.158 to transfer assets, including its …
Can a Texas civil service commission charge firefighters a fee to take a promotional exam?
The Attorney General concluded that a local civil service commission may not charge an applicant a fee to take a fire department promotional examination. Unlike entrance examinations, which Chapter 14…
Can a part-time municipal judge in Texas also serve on a drainage district board?
The Attorney General concluded that article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution, which forbids holding more than one civil office of emolument at the same time, bars a compensated part-time muni…
Can someone be a visiting county court judge and a county department director at the same time in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that a person may serve at the same time as a visiting statutory county court judge in Bexar County and as the county's Director of Judicial Support Services. Article XV…
Can a Texas county judge let a volunteer consultant see county budget records without the commissioners court's approval?
The Attorney General concluded that a county judge acting as the county budget officer does not need the commissioners court's approval before delegating nondiscretionary, ministerial, and administrat…
Where does a city's official newspaper need its second-class postal permit in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that section 2051.044(a)(3) of the Government Code requires a city's designated official newspaper to be entered as second-class postal matter in the county where the ne…
What is the value limit on a house given away as a prize in a Texas charity raffle?
The Attorney General concluded that under the Charitable Raffle Enabling Act, the value of a residential dwelling offered as a raffle prize is capped at $250,000 whenever the qualified organization pr…
Can a regional transportation council close a transit station inside a Texas city?
The Attorney General concluded that the Regional Transportation Council, the policy body of the North Central Texas Council of Governments, does not have authority to close the Trinity Railway Express…
Can a Texas county declare a public road across private land to reach a landlocked property?
The Attorney General concluded that section 251.053 of the Transportation Code, which lets a commissioners court declare a public road so a landowner with no public access can reach a public way, is n…
Can a Texas local government invest public funds in a money market or demand account?
The Attorney General concluded that a local government subject to the Public Funds Investment Act (Government Code chapter 2256) may invest its funds in money market deposit accounts, because nothing …
Can a Texas transit authority charge a city that withdrew from it for disabled-rider services?
The Attorney General concluded that Capital Metro could charge the City of West Lake Hills for the special transit services it provides to the City's residents with disabilities, even though the City …
Can a Texas school district change its board election from November to the May uniform date?
The Attorney General concluded that Edgewood Independent School District could not move its general election for school trustees from the November uniform election date to the May uniform date. Under …
Does a county ethics code apply to the district attorney and their staff in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that the El Paso County Code of Ethics, adopted under chapter 161 of the Local Government Code, reaches the District Attorney of the 34th Judicial District and the attor…
Can a Texas community college buy liability insurance for its child-care center?
The Attorney General concluded that San Jacinto College could buy the liability insurance that Human Resources Code section 42.049 requires for its licensed child-care centers without violating articl…
Must the Texas Governor appoint an extra member to the Higher Education Coordinating Board?
The Attorney General concluded that the Governor did not have to appoint an additional member to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for the September 1, 2011 to August 31, 2013 period. The …
Can a Texas workers' comp insurer pay below the fee guideline for prescription drugs?
The Attorney General concluded that Texas workers' compensation law (Labor Code sections 408.027, 408.028, and 413.011) sets no minimum rate that an insurance carrier must pay to reimburse a prescript…
Is a city-owned airport hangar leased to a private company exempt from Texas property tax?
The Attorney General declined to answer the specific tax questions. Whether the City of Greenville's airport maintenance facilities, leased to the private contractor L-3, are exempt from property tax …
Can a Texarkana, Texas council member also be a paid firefighter across the line in Arkansas?
The Attorney General concluded that nothing in the two doctrines raised would generally bar a Texarkana, Texas city council member from also working as a paid firefighter for Texarkana, Arkansas. A ci…
Can a Texas residential appliance installer do electrical work on commercial pools?
The Attorney General concluded that a 'residential appliance installer' licensed under chapter 1305 of the Occupations Code may work only on residential pools, those installed as a unit in a single-fa…
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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.