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 county juvenile probation board enter contracts and spend money without the commissioners court's approval?
The El Paso County Attorney asked whether the county's juvenile probation board could contract and authorize expenditures for the juvenile department without going through the commissioners court. The…
Does the State of Texas have to pay court filing fees and service fees up front when it sues?
The Williamson County Attorney's office relied on a 1982 opinion (MW-447A) for the rule that the State of Texas does not have to pay filing fees and service-of-process fees in advance, but sheriffs an…
Does a sex offender treatment provider have to report suspected child abuse even if the information is old or incomplete?
Texas Family Code section 261.101(a) requires anyone who has cause to believe a child has been abused or neglected to report it immediately. The Council on Sex Offender Treatment told the Attorney Gen…
Does Texas have to pay legal costs for a volunteer who gets sued for work they did for a state agency?
Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 104 makes the state pay damages, court costs, and attorney fees for certain people sued over work they did for the state, and also makes the Attorney General d…
Can a Texas county change a tax abatement deal by removing land from a reinvestment zone?
Texas counties can offer property tax breaks to spur development by designating a 'reinvestment zone' and then signing tax abatement agreements with property owners inside it, all under Tax Code chapt…
Did Houston need its own citywide vote to join the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority?
House Bill 92 (1997) let a county and a city create a sports and community venue district, and a transition clause (section 7) said no new election was needed to do so if the voters 'of the county in …
What power does the Houston City Council have over the Houston-Harris County Sports Authority?
Houston and Harris County jointly created the Houston-Harris County Sports Authority in 1997 under chapter 335 of the Local Government Code to build venue projects like the new downtown ballpark. Sena…
Did Harris County need another public vote before adding hotel and car rental taxes to pay for a new baseball stadium?
Harris County and Houston created the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority to build a downtown ballpark for major league baseball, financed in part by a special hotel occupancy tax and a short-term …
Could Texas lenders start taking home equity loan applications before the law allowing them took effect?
For most of its history Texas barred lenders from using a home's equity as loan collateral, because article XVI, section 50 of the state constitution shielded the homestead from forced sale. In Novemb…
Do Texas disabled parking permits still get free parking, or do drivers have to pay at airports?
In 1995 Texas exempted vehicles displaying a disabled parking permit from parking fees and penalties imposed by any governmental unit. In 1997, House Bill 3025 added a new subsection saying the code d…
Can a Texas community college charge students a mandatory technology fee?
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board asked, on behalf of the Dallas County Community College District, whether the district could impose a mandatory technology fee to buy computer hardware, s…
If I appeal a Texas justice court case and post an appeal bond, do I still have to separately pay the county clerk's court costs?
When a justice court case is appealed to county court, Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 143a deems the appeal not perfected if the appellant fails to pay county-court costs within twenty days of the cler…
Does Texas charge the agricultural rollback tax when the state buys farmland and stops farming it?
Land that is appraised at its lower agricultural value owes a 'rollback' tax, a penalty recapturing several years of tax savings, when the use changes away from farming. Land Commissioner Garry Mauro …
Can a Texas city review or veto the rules its fire and police civil service commission adopts?
State Senator Frank Madla asked whether the City of San Antonio, which has adopted the fire fighters' and police officers' civil service system in chapter 143 of the Local Government Code, may review,…
Can the UIL require Texas school coaches to be full-time employees, and can a school board agree to that?
Representative Paul Sadler asked whether University Interscholastic League (UIL) rules requiring athletic coaches to be full-time school employees exceed the League's authority and intrude on local sc…
Can a Texas auto club pay members back for towing and other costs, or only for legal fees?
The Secretary of State and the Insurance Commissioner jointly asked whether the Automobile Club Services Act (Transportation Code chapter 722) lets an auto club contract to reimburse its members for e…
Does a city or its appointed utility board own and control a municipal water utility's property and staff?
State Representative Edmund Kuempel asked about the legal relationship between New Braunfels Utilities (NBU) and the City of New Braunfels, which had created NBU in 1942 to run the city water and sewe…
Can a physical therapist in Texas perform needle EMG testing?
The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners asked whether needle electromyography (EMG), a nerve-and-muscle test, is the practice of medicine, whether it also falls within a physical therapist's scope …
Can a Texas regulatory agency enforce a state licensing law inside a tribal casino on an Indian reservation?
The Texas Department of Banking asked whether it could enforce the state Currency Exchange Act, which licenses currency-exchange businesses, against the casino the Texas Band of Kickapoo Indians runs …
Can a Texas city give park land to a state university to build a campus?
State Senator Bill Ratliff asked whether the City of Longview could transfer a 48-acre tract of city-owned land to the University of Texas System to build a campus. The land had been bought in 1985 wi…
Who registers, pre-audits, prepares, and pays claims against a Texas county: the county treasurer or county auditor?
The county treasurer registered claims only after the auditor and commissioners court approved them, then paid registered claims in order. The auditor had the nondelegable duty to pre-audit claims, wh…
Who controls a county juvenile detention center, the juvenile court or a private company hired to run it?
Bell County had hired a private corporation to run its juvenile detention facility under a management agreement that left the juvenile court only a role of inspection. The county attorney asked how th…
How is oil and gas production equipment taxed, and how long can a county collect back taxes on it?
A county attorney asked how counties should appraise and collect taxes on oilfield production equipment (casing, tubing, pump jacks, tanks, surface pipe) sitting on a mineral leasehold, after a delinq…
Can a Texas court make a sex offender put a warning sign in his yard as a probation condition?
A Tarrant County district court had ordered a convicted child-sex offender to post a sign on his home reading 'A PERSON ON PROBATION FOR A CHILD SEX OFFENSE LIVES HERE,' and the district attorney aske…
Could the Texas Aircraft Pooling Board own and operate an airport for state aircraft, and who could condemn land for it?
The Attorney General concluded that the Aircraft Pooling Board had implied authority to own and operate an airport for state aircraft, but neither that board nor the General Services Commission could …
Do Texas police have to destroy a juvenile's records if the case isn't sent to juvenile court?
A district attorney asked how far the Family Code's juvenile-record destruction rule reaches. The Attorney General read section 58.001(c) to require a law enforcement agency to destroy all information…
Can a Texas housing authority run Section 8 vouchers outside its own city or county?
A state representative asked whether public housing authorities set up under chapter 392 of the Local Government Code could administer a federal Section 8 housing assistance program for apartments out…
Can a Texas city ban or limit cigarette vending machines?
A state representative asked whether a Texas home-rule city could pass an ordinance banning tobacco vending machines, or limiting them to places that keep out anyone under 18. The Attorney General sai…
Could Texas exempt only The Nature Conservancy of Texas from property tax by naming it in a statute?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Tax Code section 11.23(c), which named The Nature Conservancy of Texas alone, was not a general-law charity exemption and violated the Texas Constitution's ban …
Can a Texas county pay an official's legal fees for fighting an election contest?
A county attorney asked whether Frio County could reimburse its sheriff for the attorney's fees he ran up defending an election contest after a close primary runoff. The Attorney General said no, and …
Can a Texas agency's advisory council be given real power over the agency's rules?
A state senator asked the Attorney General whether Government Code section 417.0041, which lets fire protection advisory councils control rule changes at the Commission on Fire Protection, unconstitut…
Was Southwest Texas State University's Aquarena Springs amusement park exempt from 1995 property taxes?
The Attorney General could not decide because the answer depended on disputed facts and contract construction. The opinion said state university property was exempt only when used for a public purpose…
Can one person be a municipal judge in two Texas cities at the same time?
A district attorney asked the Attorney General whether one person could serve as a municipal judge in more than one Texas jurisdiction at the same time. The Attorney General concluded that a paid muni…
Can Texas justice and municipal courts hear underage drinking cases that require alcohol-awareness classes or community service?
Yes. Under the 1995 jurisdiction amendments, the Attorney General concluded that justice and municipal courts could hear the listed minor-alcohol cases because an alcohol-awareness course was remedial…
Do Texas housing authorities have to hold open public meetings?
A state representative asked the Attorney General whether the housing authorities set up under chapter 392 of the Local Government Code, the bodies that run public housing for cities, counties, or gro…
What eye procedures can a Texas therapeutic optometrist perform?
The acting state health commissioner gave the Attorney General a list of eleven eye procedures the Optometry Board had approved for therapeutic optometrists (removing foreign bodies, scraping the corn…
Can the Texas State Board of Education set content rules for school textbooks?
The education commissioner and the chair of the State Board of Education asked whether the board could adopt a rule setting general content requirements for the textbooks it approves for public school…
Can the Texas Medical Board regulate hyperbaric oxygen therapy?
The executive director of the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners asked whether the board could treat hyperbaric oxygen therapy (sealing a patient in a high-pressure, pure-oxygen chamber) as the pr…
Do veterans get to keep their Texas state job over others in a layoff?
The head of the state mental health agency asked whether a veteran on the state payroll has an absolute right to keep their job in a layoff (a reduction in force), or only an edge among equally qualif…
Can a Texas public university waive tuition or fees for its employees or their families?
A university chancellor and a state senator asked whether a Texas public university's governing board could waive tuition and fees outside the situations a statute already lists, for example as an emp…
Can a Texas flood control district use tax money to build parks and trails?
Harris County's county attorney asked whether the Harris County Flood Control District could use tax and bond revenue to build the recreational and environmental improvements authorized by a 1993 law …
Can my wages be garnished in Texas to collect a defaulted student loan?
Two Texas officials asked about garnishing or withholding wages for unpaid student loans, and the Attorney General gave two answers. First, the state comptroller could not withhold a salary or retirem…
How did Texas school districts have to procure insurance and related administrator services under Education Code section 44.031?
Under the 1996 statute, a school district had to use one of section 44.031’s six best-value procurement methods for a nonexempt contract worth at least $25,000 in a twelve-month period. Insurance was …
Can Texas exclude a teacher's driver-education pay when calculating Teacher Retirement System benefits?
A state representative asked whether a 1995 amendment to Government Code section 822.201(c) was constitutional. The amendment excluded payments for teaching a driver education and traffic safety cours…
Can an optometrist in Texas use cocaine eye drops to diagnose eye conditions?
The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners asked whether the Texas Optometry Board could adopt a rule letting a therapeutic optometrist administer cocaine eye drops for diagnostic purposes. The Attorn…
Can a licensed chiropractor in Texas practice acupuncture without a separate license?
The Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners asked whether a licensed chiropractor could practice acupuncture without holding a separate acupuncture license. The Attorney General concluded that acup…
Can Texas suspend an emissions inspection station's license before a hearing without violating due process?
The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission asked whether a federal requirement, that the state immediately and temporarily suspend a vehicle-emissions inspection station's or inspector's licen…
Who pays for a Texas jail inmate's medical care if the inmate isn't indigent: the county or the hospital district?
Two county officials (a district attorney and a county auditor) asked the Attorney General who must pay when a county jail inmate who is not eligible for indigent health care under chapter 61 of the H…
Can a Texas juvenile board run an alternative school for students expelled but not found delinquent?
On behalf of the Harris County Juvenile Board, the county attorney asked whether a county juvenile board may provide educational services at a juvenile justice alternative education program (JJAEP) to…
Can a deaf person get a court interpreter to serve on a Texas grand jury or attend a juvenile hearing?
The Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired asked the Attorney General three things about interpreters for deaf and hearing-impaired people in court: who is entitled to one, what qualificat…
Is Texas's three-fourths vote requirement to approve a protested subdivision replat constitutional?
Representative Harvey Hilderbran asked whether the three-fourths supermajority vote that Local Government Code section 212.015(c) requires a city planning commission or council to muster before approv…
Did Texas have to indemnify volunteers, contractors, and state-agency workers who helped a regional poison control center?
Health and Safety Code section 777.007 covered only poison-control-center employees, meaning compensated workers whose work the center had the right to control. It did not cover volunteers, independen…
Can a Texas Lottery Commission member solicit political contributions as a private citizen?
The Executive Director of the Texas Lottery Commission asked whether a commissioner could solicit or advise political contributions while acting as a private citizen, and whether banning that would vi…
Could a Texas judge decide how a probationer’s partial payment would be allocated among court costs, fees, and fines?
Under the law in 1996, article 42.12 gave a judge discretion to impose and allocate most court costs, fees, and fines for a defendant placed on community supervision. The required monthly supervision …
Can a Texas school board member take back a resignation before a successor is chosen?
On behalf of the Bridge City Independent School District, Representative Ron Lewis asked whether a school board member who resigns can withdraw the resignation before a successor qualifies for office.…
When can a Texas county salary grievance committee meet to raise elected officials' pay?
San Jacinto County's Criminal District Attorney, Robert Hill Trapp, explained that the commissioners court approved a $1,000 raise for elected officials for 1995 but failed to give the public the requ…
Can the Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspect a private prison holding only federal inmates?
Representative Robert Junell asked whether the Texas Commission on Jail Standards can regulate and inspect the Eden Detention Center, a facility the City of Eden leases and operates under contract wit…
Is Texas's $5 million liability cap for excursion train accidents constitutional?
Representative Clyde Alexander asked whether a 1995 Texas law (article 9030) that caps an excursion train operator's liability at $5 million per occurrence violates the Texas Constitution's open court…
Are Texas resource conservation council volunteers protected by charitable immunity?
Representative David Counts asked whether the Charitable Immunity and Liability Act of 1987 (chapter 84 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code) covers a resource conservation and development council,…
Does a Texas school district have to use the city's required garbage company inside city limits?
Representative Warren Chisum asked whether the Pasadena Independent School District has to use the single garbage hauler the City of Pasadena franchised inside the city, even though the district figur…
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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.