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.
No Texas opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
If a Texas county leaves the Failure to Appear program, can it make DPS lift the driver license holds it requested?
No, not just because the county pulled out of the program. Under Transportation Code chapter 706 (the 'Failure to Appear Program'), a city or county can contract with the Department of Public Safety s…
Can a Texas home-rule city sign a contract promising never to try to decertify a utility district's service-area certificate?
Not necessarily, the AG concluded. Senator Brian Birdwell asked whether a home-rule city could agree by contract never to petition the Public Utility Commission to decertify all or part of a special u…
Does a Texas county court at law judge's minimum salary include the longevity pay a district judge in the county receives?
Yes, the AG concluded. Montgomery County's auditor asked how to calculate the minimum salary of a county court at law judge with twelve or more years of accrued service under Government Code section 2…
Can a Texas school district sign a long-term ground lease letting a private company develop surplus school land for non-school uses?
The AG concluded that a Texas independent school district may lease its real property to a private entity under the common law, even for noneducational uses, as long as the lease does not interfere wi…
Can a Texas local government buy SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans as an authorized public-funds investment?
Generally yes, the AG concluded, with two important qualifications. The Public Funds Investment Act lets covered Texas public entities invest in obligations that are unconditionally guaranteed or insu…
Does a Texas professional employer organization (PEO) need a money transmission license to pay its clients' employees?
No, the AG concluded. A professional employer organization, the kind of company that takes over payroll, taxes, benefits, and HR for a client business, is already licensed under chapter 91 of the Labo…
Are a Texas search warrant, its return, and the property inventory public records the district clerk must release during an open investigation?
The AG concluded that these documents are not covered by the Public Information Act, because a district clerk holds them on behalf of the judiciary, which the Act expressly excludes. Access is instead…
Does the Texas Constitution's separation of powers apply to a city government and how it handles employee grievances?
No, the AG concluded, separation of powers does not apply to municipal government. The mayor of Glen Rose, a Type A general-law city, was concerned that the city council's role in hearing employee gri…
Can a Texas city require architectural control committee approval before issuing a building permit without violating HB 2439's building-materials law?
It depends on the facts, the AG concluded. House Bill 2439, codified at Government Code section 3000.002(a)(1), bars a governmental entity from adopting or enforcing a rule that directly or indirectly…
Can a Texas prosecutor's investigator who is not a licensed peace officer carry a gun into a courtroom?
A court would likely conclude that she can, because she is a peace officer, the AG said. A civilian investigator for a prosecutor's office carried a firearm into a district courtroom, and the sheriff'…
Can the Texas DMV title and register a three-wheeled electric low-speed vehicle as a motorcycle, and what counts as a 'saddle'?
The AG gave a two-part answer. On the definition question, it explained that a vehicle can qualify as a 'motorcycle' under three different Transportation Code provisions, each with its own seating req…
How is the 40% judicial-functions test for a Texas county judge's salary supplement calculated, and who checks false claims?
The AG gave two answers. On the calculation question, Government Code section 26.006 lets a county judge collect an annual state salary supplement (18 percent of a district judge's base salary) if at …
Can a Texas appraisal district employee also serve on the school board of a district that participates in the appraisal district?
No, the AG concluded. Tax Code section 6.054 says an appraisal district may not employ a person who is an officer or an employee of a taxing unit that participates in the appraisal district. The quest…
Can the Texas Teacher Retirement System invest in or directly own real estate?
Only through investments that count as 'securities,' the AG concluded. Senator John Whitmire asked whether the Teacher Retirement System of Texas could invest in or own real estate, directly or indire…
When a Texas water district builds roads for a county to take over, who sets the construction standards and can the county delay acceptance with a warranty period?
The county sets the standard, within statutory limits, and may impose a warranty period that meets those limits, the AG concluded. Senator Eddie Lucio asked, for the Bastrop County Water Control and I…
Do appraisal district board members in Texas have to take the state's mandatory cybersecurity training for local government officials?
Probably not, the AG concluded. The Hill County Attorney asked whether Government Code section 2054.5191(a-1), which makes a local government require its employees and 'elected officials' to complete …
Can Texas A&M University remove or relocate the Sul Ross statue on its campus on its own?
Not on its own, the AG concluded. Chapter 2166 of the Government Code generally does not apply to projects of state universities, but section 2166.5011, which uses 'notwithstanding any other provision…
Can a Texas city or county halt evictions under a local disaster declaration?
No, the AG concluded. Senator Brandon Creighton asked whether local governments operating under COVID-19 disaster declarations could delay, prohibit, or restrict the eviction procedures the Legislatur…
Can a Texas transit authority require masks and refuse service to riders who won't wear one?
Yes, the AG concluded. Representative Jim Murphy asked whether the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) could refuse service to and bar a rider who would not follow a rule requiring…
Can a Texas county or judge require masks in courthouses and county buildings?
Yes, through several different officials, the AG concluded. Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan asked who could require face coverings in courtrooms, courthouses, and other county buildings during the C…
Which court can issue a capias in a Texas misdemeanor case, and when?
The articles say who may issue a capias, not when, the AG concluded. Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez asked whether a trial court can issue a capias (a writ ordering a peace officer to ar…
Can a comparable or practice exam satisfy the test requirement for a Texas bilingual-teacher tuition grant?
No, the AG concluded a court would likely say. The Commissioner of Higher Education asked whether universities could let students qualify for a bilingual-education teaching grant by passing an exam co…
Can a Texas drainage district levy its own flood-control tax without a voter election?
No, the AG concluded, and the county can't raid those funds either. The Jackson County Criminal District Attorney asked three questions about the split of authority between the Jackson County County-W…
Can a Texas judge appoint a court recorder instead of a court reporter?
Generally no, the AG concluded a court would likely hold. The Cherokee County Attorney, citing a shortage of court reporters and the need to avoid delays when a reporter retires, dies, or is unavailab…
Can a Texas school district keep and maintain a historic cemetery found on its property?
Yes, generally, the AG concluded. Representative Senfronia Thompson asked about Fort Bend Independent School District's authority to keep and maintain a cemetery discovered during construction, the 'S…
Can a Texas river authority give up a surplus flood easement without getting fair market value?
Yes, the AG concluded. The San Antonio River Authority's chairman asked whether the Authority can release a surplus inundation easement (an easement letting the dams store floodwater on private land) …
Can a Texas county pay an invoice on an amended contract for work that was done before the amendment?
The AG gave general advice rather than ruling on the specific invoice, which he called a fact question for the commissioners court. Paying an amount the county already owed under the original contract…
Does a Texas state agency have to build a monument that a legislative resolution authorized?
No, the AG concluded. In 2007 the Legislature passed a concurrent resolution authorizing the State Preservation Board and the Texas Facilities Commission to approve and permit a privately funded Bill …
Do double-decker tour buses have to follow Texas axle weight limits on interstate highways?
Yes, the AG concluded. Texas Transportation Code section 621.101(a)(2) caps tandem axle weight at 34,000 pounds, and double-decker over-the-road buses often exceed it. A bus operator argued that a fed…
Does a Texas mental health commitment hearing have to be recorded by an official court reporter?
Probably yes, the AG concluded. The Kerr County Attorney asked whether a hearing on an application for court-ordered mental health services, which Health and Safety Code section 574.031(g) says 'is on…
Can a Texas county call a bond election to pay for fixing streets inside a city?
Yes, with limits, the AG concluded. The Sterling County Attorney asked whether a county could call a bond election under article III, section 52 of the Texas Constitution and use the money to construc…
After Janus, can a Texas public employer deduct union dues from an employee's paycheck without fresh consent?
Not safely, the AG concluded. A state representative asked how the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 Janus decision affects Texas payroll deductions for public-sector union dues. The AG read Janus to mean a p…
Can a Texas city enforce its development rules on a water district building or rebuilding a dam, or does state law preempt that?
Mostly not preempted, the AG concluded. A House committee chair asked whether the City of Austin could apply its development ordinances to the Upper Brushy Creek Water Control and Improvement District…
Could a Texas county or city, under a COVID disaster order, stop a second-home owner from occupying their property or limit short-term rentals?
Largely no, the AG concluded. A House committee chair asked whether a local government under an emergency declaration could prevent a second-home owner from occupying the property or limit occupancy b…
Can a Texas appraisal review board make you protest your property taxes by videoconference instead of in person during COVID?
No, the AG concluded. A state representative asked whether appraisal review boards could shift property-tax protest hearings to videoconference during COVID-19, and about related notice rules. The AG …
Can a Texas county judge regulate pawnshop fees, hold periods, or customer limits through a COVID disaster order?
Mostly no, the AG concluded. A House committee chair asked whether the Dallas County Judge could issue emergency orders regulating pawnshops, after a county order changed pawn service fees, set a long…
During COVID, could a Texas gun dealer accept a driver's license whose expiration date was extended by the Governor's order?
The AG gave limited guidance and deferred to the ATF. A state representative asked how the Governor's COVID-19 extension of expired Texas driver's licenses affects firearms dealers, because the federa…
Can a Texas county or city seize private property during a locally declared disaster?
No, the AG concluded. The Hood County Attorney asked whether Government Code section 418.108 lets local governments commandeer private property when operating under a local disaster declaration. The A…
Can a Texas county sheriff donate asset-forfeiture money to a nonprofit that helps provide mental health and victim services?
Likely yes, the AG concluded, with conditions. The Schleicher County Attorney asked whether the sheriff could donate forfeiture funds under Code of Criminal Procedure article 59.06 to a nonprofit that…
Does the 2019 windstorm-insurance law apply to TWIA's earlier reinsurance, and can its board act with vacancies?
The AG answered the legal questions and declined the factual ones. A state senator asked several questions about whether the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association complied with recent laws. The AG exp…
Does a Texas constable automatically resign by telling people privately he's running for sheriff and collecting petition signatures?
Likely not, the AG concluded. A district attorney asked whether the constitutional resign-to-run rule (article XVI, section 65) made a Kenedy County constable automatically resign after he told people…
Can a Texas commissioners court hold one public-comment period for the whole agenda and limit how long each speaker talks?
Yes to both, the AG concluded. The Blanco County Attorney asked how Government Code section 551.007, which requires certain governmental bodies to allow public comment on agenda items at open meetings…
Can a Texas business claim the disaster property tax exemption for COVID-19 economic losses if its property wasn't physically damaged?
No, the AG concluded. Section 11.35 of the Tax Code gives a temporary property tax exemption for property at least 15 percent 'damaged by the disaster' declared by the Governor. The Chair of the Senat…
Who sets a Texas district court coordinator's salary, the judge or the county commissioners court?
Both have to agree, the AG concluded. Government Code section 74.104 says district judges determine reasonable compensation for their court coordinators, subject to the commissioners court's approval.…
Can the Texas Optometry Board still regulate an optometrist who works under a physician's direction?
Yes, in most respects, the AG concluded. Occupations Code section 351.005(a)(2)(B) keeps the Optometry Board from interfering with a physician's right to direct a person under the physician's control …
Can a Texas city or county shut down gun stores under a local disaster or emergency order?
No, the AG concluded. As COVID-19 spread in March 2020, some Texas cities and counties declared local disasters and issued orders closing non-essential businesses, and some of those orders did not lis…
Does a Texas county's inmate phone commission go to the sheriff's commissary or the county general fund?
The county general fund, the AG concluded. Washington County's jail used to sell prepaid phone cards through the commissary, which the sheriff controlled. Under a new system, the phone service provide…
Does a Texas real estate inspector need a plumber's license to do a sewer-line camera inspection?
Likely no, the AG concluded. A real estate inspector's license under Occupations Code chapter 1102 lets the inspector give an opinion on the condition of a home's plumbing systems, and the AG read tha…
Can a Texas city impose its own reporting rules on pawnshops that buy used goods?
Mostly no, the AG concluded. The City of College Station's ordinance made secondhand dealers, including pawnbrokers, electronically report purchases of used property to police and hold the property be…
Who sets the salaries for a Texas multicounty court at law's reporter and administrator?
The commissioners courts, not the judge, the AG concluded. The 1st Multicounty Court at Law serves Fisher, Mitchell, and Nolan counties, and its budgeted staff salaries had swung wildly. The Nolan Cou…
Can a Texas school district buy land outside its boundaries to build a school?
Not under an express grant, and the rest is uncertain, the AG concluded. Laredo ISD wanted to replace Cigarroa Middle School but could not find suitable land inside its boundaries, only a parcel just …
Can a Texas nonprofit that leases a public building claim the historic rehabilitation tax credit?
Generally yes, with conditions, the AG advised. Texas gives a franchise tax credit for rehabilitating certified historic structures, administered by the Historical Commission and the Comptroller. The …
Does Texas regulate a vehicle depreciation benefit product if you pay for it in cash instead of financing it?
No, the AG concluded. A depreciation benefit product is a vehicle add-on that, after a total loss, pays the buyer a credit toward a replacement vehicle equal to the gap between what they paid and the …
Does the 180-day deadline to fill a school board vacancy apply to the Harris County Department of Education?
Yes, the AG concluded. The Harris County Department of Education is the last Texas county school district still operating under repealed former chapters 17 and 18 of the Education Code, which it is al…
Can a Texas appraisal district keep a 'one entity, one vote' method for choosing its board after House Bill 1010?
Probably not, the AG advised. A county appraisal district is run by a five-member board appointed by the local taxing units (the county, cities, school districts, and others) that participate in it. B…
How do you repeal a special county road tax in Texas?
The AG laid out a two-part procedure. A special road tax is a county tax for maintaining county roads, adopted under Transportation Code section 256.052 after a petition signed by at least 200 registe…
Can a Texas county refuse to register your car for unpaid fines even without a DMV data-sharing contract?
Yes, the AG concluded. Transportation Code section 502.010, the 'County Scofflaw' law, lets a county tax assessor-collector (and the DMV) refuse to register a vehicle when the owner owes the county a …
What does Texas law require before a court can seize or order the destruction of a dog that attacked someone?
The AG answered three questions about the dog-attack procedures in Health and Safety Code chapter 822. First, a 'sworn complaint' that triggers a seizure warrant under section 822.002 does not have to…
Can a Texas river authority charge property owners or create a taxing district to fund dam repairs?
The AG gave a split answer. After two Guadalupe River dam failures drained Lake Wood (2016) and Lake Dunlap (2019), a state senator asked how the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority could pay to replace …
Does Senate Bill 22 stop the Texas State Employee Charitable Campaign from listing abortion providers or their affiliates as eligible charities?
Yes, the AG concluded. The State Employee Charitable Campaign lets state workers give to approved charities through automatic payroll deductions; a Policy Committee decides which charities are eligibl…
Browse Texas opinions by topic
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.