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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Does paying for individual health insurance through a pre-tax cafeteria plan make it an employer plan and block Texas Risk Pool eligibility?
It can, but the key questions are facts the Attorney General could not resolve. The senator asked whether paying individual health-plan premiums through a cafeteria plan funded entirely by pre-tax sal…
Can a Texas county tax assessor-collector pay deputies extra from certificate-of-title fees without commissioners court approval?
No. The Frio County Attorney asked whether the county tax assessor-collector (TAC) could give her salaried deputies extra pay out of the $5 portion of certificate-of-title fees the office collects und…
Can a Texas county clerk pay her deputies extra from the records management and preservation fund without commissioners court approval?
Mostly no. The Frio County Attorney asked whether the county clerk could supplement her deputies' pay out of the clerk's records management and preservation fund without going through the commissioner…
Does a Texas school district have to pay municipal impact fees for new school construction?
No, not unless it agrees to. The Commissioner of Education asked, for the Spring Independent School District, whether impact fees can be imposed on school district property under chapter 395 of the Lo…
Can a Texas county officer keep collected fees in a personal bank account instead of the county treasury?
No. The Montague County Attorney asked whether county officials who collect fees (the sheriff, county clerk, district clerk, and two justices of the peace) could put those funds in individual bank acc…
Can a countywide wet/dry vote in Texas change the alcohol rules in a city or precinct that already voted dry?
No. The Brazoria County Criminal District Attorney asked what could be sold, and what county clerks could certify, in three areas (former Justice Precinct 5, the City of Sweeny inside it, and the City…
How must a Texas water district value leased lakefront land it is selling to the tenants?
As encumbered by the existing leases. Senator Kip Averitt asked, about the Brazos River Authority's plan to sell Possum Kingdom Lake property to its long-term residential lessees, whether the land sho…
Can a Texas school district use a 403(b) plan administrator owned by a company that sells investments to its employees?
It depends on the facts. Representative Vicki Truitt asked whether a Texas educational institution (a school district or open-enrollment charter school) violates article 6228a-5, section 9(a)(4)-(7) w…
Can Texas stop a parent convicted of a crime against a child from inheriting from that child?
Probably not, in most cases. Governor Rick Perry asked whether Probate Code section 41(e)(3), which lets a probate court bar a parent from inheriting from a child if the parent was convicted or placed…
After Texas consolidated appraisal districts, who handles property tax protests from before 2008?
The old appraisal district keeps that authority. Representative Fred Hill asked how House Bill 1010, which realigned appraisal district boundaries to county lines and ended the practice of a multi-cou…
Who is allowed to sign a protest against a zoning change in Texas?
Only owners whose land is both within 200 feet and listed on the city's tax roll. Representative Kevin Bailey asked, after an Austin zoning change, whether everyone owning land within 200 feet of a pr…
Can a Texas charter school's employees get Social Security coverage through the state?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that an open-enrollment charter school is a 'political subdivision' under Chapter 606 of the Government Code and section 218 of the Social Security Act, which means…
Can a Texas county sell road equipment to a private company without competitive bidding?
Generally no. Medina County wanted to end a Caterpillar motor-grader lease by taking title to the grader and passing it to a dealer that paid the county $15,000, treating the move as just a way to exe…
Can a Texas appraisal district hire a firm that employs the chief appraiser's son?
Yes, the contract itself is allowed, but a separate rule can cost the chief appraiser his job. The Liberty County Central Appraisal District wanted to contract with an appraisal company that employs t…
Can a Texas multi-jurisdictional library district levy a property tax without a constitutional amendment?
Probably not. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission asked whether a multi-jurisdictional library district created under Local Government Code chapter 336 can assess and collect ad valorem (p…
Can a small Texas general-law city payroll-deduct police union dues under a collective bargaining contract?
Yes. The City of Balcones Heights, a Type A general-law city of about 3,000 people, had a collective bargaining agreement with its police officers' association calling for payroll deduction of dues, b…
Must a Texas county approve LIRAP vehicle-program payments before paying, despite a five-day deadline?
Yes on the approvals, and the five-day deadline does not override them. Williamson County asked about the Low-Income Vehicle Repair Assistance, Retrofit, and Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Program (LI…
Can Texas ban a foreign company from hauling horsemeat through the state for export abroad?
Probably yes. Chapter 149 of the Agriculture Code makes it a crime to sell, possess for sale, or transfer horsemeat as food for human consumption. Representative Warren Chisum asked whether that ban r…
Can people in a needle-exchange program be prosecuted for drug paraphernalia in Texas?
Yes, potentially. In 2007 the Legislature let Bexar County set up a disease-prevention pilot program that could include anonymous exchange of used needles and syringes. But it never wrote any exceptio…
Can a Texas airport authority that voters created but never activated still appoint its board years later?
Yes. Kerr County voters approved creation of the Kerr County Airport Authority in 1970, but the city and county never appointed the board, and the airport kept being run by a joint board instead. Thir…
Must a Texas county give commissioners written notice before cutting their salary in the budget?
Yes. At a Grimes County budget hearing a commissioner proposed cutting each commissioner's salary by about $7,000 with no prior notice, and the cut was adopted. The county auditor asked whether that w…
Does a Texas county have to issue ID cards to unpaid volunteer peace officers?
No. The Brazos County Attorney had appointed some unpaid, part-time peace officers as investigators, all licensed by the state, and asked whether a 2007 law required him to issue them the official ide…
Can a Texas county auditor block a county hospital payment they believe is unconstitutional?
Yes, within limits. A county-owned hospital's administrator wanted to pay a former employee for some continuing obligations and had a legal opinion saying the payment satisfied the Texas Constitution'…
Can Texas move permanent school fund land-sale money into the available school fund?
Probably not. The chair of the State Board of Education asked three questions about Texas's permanent school fund (PSF). First, the Attorney General concluded the three labels used in article VII of t…
Can a Texas county and its school districts jointly develop minerals on county school land?
No. The Webb County Attorney asked whether a county and the school districts in it could team up to develop or sell the oil, gas, and mineral rights on county school lands, splitting the costs and the…
Can a Texas city cap the earnings used to calculate vested employees' pensions?
Probably not, to the extent it lowers their benefits. To shore up its underfunded pension after the 2001 market crash, the City of Fort Worth put a 12% cap on how much the earnings used to calculate a…
Can Texas add to the list of crimes that disqualify teachers from certification?
Yes. The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) wanted to amend its rule listing the crimes that can cost an educator a teaching certificate, including offenses on school property and felony DW…
Can a Texas DA use asset forfeiture funds to buy a juvenile detention center?
No to the forfeiture funds, yes to the county buying or leasing the facility. Because Harris County had a shortage of residential treatment beds for juvenile offenders, the District Attorney asked whe…
Does a Texas city have to pay a firefighter or police officer for testifying at a civil service hearing?
No. A state representative asked whether Local Government Code section 142.009 makes a city pay a firefighter or police officer who is subpoenaed, in that capacity, to testify on time off before an in…
Do members of a Texas advisory committee have to file personal financial disclosure statements?
No. A state representative asked whether chapter 572 of the Government Code, which requires certain state officers to file personal financial statements, applied to board members of the Tobacco Settle…
When does a Texas state agency qualify for the natural gas utility assessment exemption?
A state representative asked what triggers the exemption in Utilities Code section 104.202, which bars a gas utility from charging a state agency for a gross receipts assessment, regulatory assessment…
Does Texas's school religious-expression law override a federal court injunction against a school district?
The Commissioner of Education asked whether the 2007 Schoolchildren's Religious Liberties Act controls over, or is limited by, a 1970 federal permanent injunction (the Guild order) that bars Houston I…
Do U.S. Postal Service inspectors have arrest powers under Texas law?
Yes, for both kinds of postal inspectors. The Bexar County District Attorney asked whether article 2.122(a)(6) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which gives certain state felony law enforcement power…
How long does a Texas school district have to file a truancy complaint?
A district attorney asked whether two 2007 bills that each amended Education Code section 25.0951(a) could both take effect, since one changed the filing window from seven to ten days and the other ch…
Can someone be charged with criminal trespass at an RV park in Texas?
A state senator asked whether the criminal trespass statute (Penal Code section 30.05) applies to recreational vehicle parks and how police can enforce it there. The Attorney General concluded that la…
Which court must a Texas sheriff bring a person held on an out-of-county warrant and a parole warrant before?
A county attorney asked what the 'proper magistrate' or 'proper court' is in article 15.20(b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, after a 2007 law (Senate Bill 909) addressed prisoners held on both an …
Can a Texas county split a project into phases to avoid competitive bidding?
A county attorney asked whether a project could be split into 'phases' each under $25,000 to escape the County Purchasing Act when the whole project exceeded $25,000, and whether the county auditor ha…
Is a private nonprofit that gets public utility money subject to Texas open records law?
A legislator asked whether a private nonprofit economic development foundation that gets part of its funding from 'quasi-public' utilities (CPS Energy and San Antonio Water System) is subject to the T…
How can a Texas county borrow money to build a voter-approved venue project?
The Terrell County Attorney asked whether the county could borrow money to build a voter-approved convention center venue project and repay the loan from the venue project sales-tax fund. The Attorney…
Can a Texas county pay the operating costs of a local water district?
The Mills County Attorney asked whether the county could fund the Fox Crossing Water District, which gets all of its operation and maintenance money from the county instead of levying its own taxes, f…
Can a Texas county give a tax abatement to a company building on a commissioner's land?
The Sterling County Attorney asked whether the conflict-of-interest exclusion in Tax Code section 312.402(d) blocks the county from giving a wind turbine company a tax abatement when the company's tur…
Can a Texas river authority give over-65 lakefront leaseholders a discounted, frozen lease rate?
The Brazos River Authority, which leases lakefront property around Possum Kingdom Lake to private individuals, asked whether it could give lessees over 65 a 10% discount off current lease rates and fr…
Does Texas's enhanced driver's license for crossing the Mexico border conflict with federal passport law?
The Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety asked whether Transportation Code section 521.032, which lets the Department issue an enhanced driver's license for crossing the Texas-Mexico bord…
Can a Texas city council member also serve on a local water supply corporation's board?
Senator Jeff Wentworth asked whether a member of the Village of Wimberley City Council, and the mayor, could serve at the same time on the board of directors of the Wimberley Water Supply Corporation.…
Does a new Texas school-district contract ban apply to agreements signed before it took effect?
The Webb County Attorney asked how Texas Education Code section 11.168, which bars a school board from agreeing to use district employees, property, or resources to build or renovate improvements on r…
Can a Texas city manager hire a city commissioner's relative without breaking nepotism law?
A state senator asked the Attorney General several nepotism questions about the City of Pharr, where a city commissioner had recommended a woman for a city job; she later had a child with the commissi…
Does a Texas county have to maintain private subdivision roads it approved on a plat?
The Hood County Attorney asked whether the county had to maintain the roads in the Hill Country Estates subdivision, which were laid out and approved on a plat back in 1983. The Attorney General concl…
Can a Texas court let a probationer pay a fee instead of doing community service hours?
A district judge in Jim Wells County, through the county attorney, asked whether a court can modify probation conditions to let qualified probationers pay a set fee per hour (suggested at the minimum …
Can the Texas Lottery Commission run a raffle-style game?
The Chair of the Texas Lottery Commission asked whether the commission could run a raffle-style game, one where tickets are sold at lottery retailers for a set drawing date, but with no duplicate tick…
Can a Texas bingo hall use a video screen to show pull-tab bingo results?
Senator Jane Nelson asked whether a Texas Lottery Commission rule that allows a 'graphic and dynamic' video confirmation of the outcome of pull-tab (instant) bingo games crosses the line into electron…
Who handles old tax lawsuits after a Texas appraisal district's boundaries shrink to the county line?
Waller County's district attorney asked who is responsible for property tax lawsuits filed against the Waller County Appraisal District over property outside Waller County, after House Bill 1010 took …
Can a property tax consultant sign the agent form for a Texas property owner?
State Representative Fred Hill asked the Attorney General to interpret Tax Code section 1.111, which lets a property owner name an agent to handle property tax matters, and specifically whether a prop…
Can a Texas police department put seized contraband money in an interest-bearing account?
Collin County's Criminal District Attorney asked the Attorney General what a law enforcement agency may do with money it seizes as contraband before a court enters final judgment. The Attorney General…
Is the Texas pollution-control property tax exemption limited to clean energy projects?
The Chair of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality asked the Attorney General whether the agency's rule-making authority over the pollution-control property tax exemption and tax rollback reli…
Can a Texas civil service commission give job applicants extra exam points for living in the city?
The Chair of the Texas House Committee on Urban Affairs asked the Attorney General whether a local civil service commission may adopt a rule that adds points to a fire or police applicant's exam score…
Must a Texas home-rule city fill a council vacancy by election instead of by appointment?
The Cameron County District Attorney asked the Attorney General whether article XI, section 11 of the Texas Constitution prevails over the Harlingen City Charter on how to fill a vacancy on the city c…
Could the Texas House remove its Speaker, and was impeachment the only lawful method?
The Attorney General predicted that a court would likely treat the Texas House Speaker as a state officer subject to impeachment, but impeachment was not the only possible removal method. The opinion …
Can a Texas county buy a generator and lease it to a local radio station?
The Guadalupe County Attorney asked the Attorney General whether it would violate the Texas Constitution for the county to spend public money on a generator and then lease it to KWED, a local AM radio…
Can a Texas county judge issue one mass gathering permit for several events?
The Comal County Criminal District Attorney asked the Attorney General whether a county judge may issue a single mass gathering permit to cover a series of similar events, or whether each event needs …
What liability insurance must a Texas real estate inspector carry to get licensed?
The Texas Real Estate Commission asked the Attorney General to interpret new insurance requirements that Senate Bill 914 (2007) added to the Occupations Code for real estate inspector licenses. The am…
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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.