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 commissioners court put a lower tax cap than the state maximum on the ballot for an emergency services district?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court cannot ask voters to approve an emergency services district with a maximum tax rate lower than the statutory 10 cents per…
Can a Texas county judge sit on the board of directors of a company that does business with the county?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that public policy prohibits a county judge from simultaneously serving on the board of directors of a corporation that does business with the count…
If a Texas river authority official gets sued, does the state Attorney General provide the defense?
In this 1989 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a river authority (here the Angelina & Neches River Authority) is not a 'state agency, institution, or department' under section 104.001 of the…
If a Texas city annexes my municipal utility district but does not dissolve it, can the city and the district both tax me for the same services?
The Attorney General concluded that a 1987 amendment letting a city annex a political subdivision while the district keeps existing (up to ten years) does not create unconstitutional double taxation, …
Does a candidate for a Texas water control and improvement district board have to live inside the district, or is living in the state enough?
Living in the state is enough. The Attorney General concluded that the Water Code sets the qualifications for a water control and improvement district director and requires only that the candidate be …
Which Texas special districts counted as improvement districts subject to county-auditor control, and who paid for the additional audit staff?
The Attorney General defined an improvement district under article 1667 as a district primarily concerned with permanently enhancing land or natural resources. Hospital, rural fire prevention, and eme…
Could the city of Denison withdraw on its own from the Greater Texoma Utility Authority, and was the authority unconstitutional if it could not?
No. The Attorney General found no statute allowing Denison to withdraw unilaterally from the Greater Texoma Utility Authority; the governing law instead gave the authority's board procedures for exclu…
Could the Lubbock Emergency Communication District sell 911 service outside its boundaries, charge a joining jurisdiction, and immediately change its board?
The district could contract under the Interlocal Cooperation Act with a nonmember jurisdiction that independently had authority to provide 911 service, and it could charge a joining jurisdiction for i…
Did an irrigation district tax assessor-collector need property-tax certification if the district charged a flat benefit-plan fee instead of ad valorem tax?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the certification statute applied through the Tax Code definition of a taxing unit, which covered entities imposing ad valorem property taxes, not this benefit-…
Could Galveston County Drainage District No. 2 charge a fee to review construction plans for crossings over its drainage ditches?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Water Code chapter 56 governed the district and gave it no express or necessarily implied authority to charge plan-review fees for ditch crossings.
How did a Texas 911 district calculate a uniform emergency-service fee when telephone customers paid different base rates?
The district had to apply the same percentage rate to each customer's own telephone base rate, rather than charge everyone the same dollar amount. It also could not deny 911 service to a district tele…
Would Corpus Christi's annexation of the remaining unincorporated part of Nueces County Water Control District No. 4 automatically abolish the district?
No. JM-622 concluded that automatic abolition did not apply because the district had never provided all three listed services, including drainage. Abolition instead required mutual agreement under sec…
When a Texas city annexes land inside a rural fire prevention district, does the district keep taxing and serving that area, or is the area automatically removed?
JM-605 concluded the annexed area stays part of the rural fire prevention district until the city formally removes it under section 14b of article 2351a-6. Once the city removes it, the district stops…
Can a Texas home-rule city annex land in a rural fire prevention district after consenting to that district's creation?
Yes. JM-591 concluded that a home-rule city's earlier consent to a rural fire prevention district did not surrender its annexation power. The city could also withdraw an area from the district under s…
Do a Texas county's road bonds and a county road district's bonds count against the same debt limit?
Yes. JM-568 concluded that article III, section 52 of the Texas Constitution sets a single ceiling, one-fourth of the assessed value of the real property, that both county road bonds under subsection …
Can a Texas city annex a municipal utility district without taking on the district's debts and assets?
Sometimes, yes. JM-565 concluded that because Lago Vista was newly incorporated over part of the Travis County MUD No. 1 and never adopted the optional ordinance under section 6 of article 1182c-1, th…
Can one water district annex land the legislature set aside for a new district not yet created?
Often yes. JM-544 concluded that territory the legislature designated for a proposed new water district can be annexed by another water district before the new district holds its confirmation election…
Does a Texas hospital district lose its property tax exemption if it rents out a building it owns?
No. The Texas AG concluded that collecting rent does not, by itself, strip a hospital district of tax-exempt status on property it owns, as long as the property is used for public purposes. Whether it…
If a town incorporates inside an existing Texas rural fire prevention district, does it escape the district's taxes?
No. The Texas AG concluded that a town that incorporated within the boundaries of an already-established rural fire prevention district stayed part of the district, so its property remained subject to…
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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.