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 Texas cities, counties, or school districts deposit their funds in savings and loan associations?
No. The Attorney General concluded that municipalities, counties, independent school districts, and state institutions of higher learning are not authorized to deposit funds in the demand accounts of …
Can part-time doctors and nurses at a Texas county jail get state indemnification and a free legal defense?
Not under chapter 104. The Attorney General concluded that health care professionals employed by or under contract with a county jail are not entitled to state indemnification or legal representation …
Does Texas's voluntary paternity procedure give a child the same rights as the old voluntary legitimation procedure?
Yes, in substance. The Attorney General concluded that when Texas renamed its Family Code procedure from 'voluntary legitimation' to 'voluntary paternity' in 1989, it did not change the substance. Bot…
Can a Texas commissioners court take the county treasurer out of the process of investing county funds?
Not entirely. The Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court cannot remove the county treasurer from investing county funds, because the treasurer is the chief custodian of county money and…
Does a Texas city council violate the Open Meetings Act if a majority signs a letter without an open meeting?
It can. The Attorney General concluded that when a quorum of a governmental body agrees on a joint statement (such as a letter expressing the 'undersigned majority's' position) about public business u…
When a Texas tax abatement expires, does the newly taxable property count as 'new property value' for the county's effective tax rate?
No. The Attorney General concluded that improvements built on property while it was exempt under a tax abatement agreement are not 'new property value' under section 26.012(17) of the Tax Code when th…
Can a budget rider change the competitive bidding rules that Texas school districts must follow?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Rider 30 to the 1991-1992 General Appropriations Act was unconstitutional. The Texas Constitution lets an appropriations bill cover the single subject of spendi…
Can the Texas engineering board still give a reduced license fee to engineers 65 and older after a $200 fee increase?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers could treat the $200 fee increase added in 1991 by House Bill 11 (section 13B of the Engineering Pra…
Does 'physician' in the Texas Occupational Therapy Title Act include chiropractors?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the word 'physician' in sections 15(b)(6) and 27 of the Occupational Therapy Title Act (V.T.C.S. art. 8851) meant a person licensed to practice medicine by the …
Can a Texas navigation district grant a tax abatement on land the county already abated, and for how long?
Only for a limited window. The Attorney General concluded that under chapter 312 of the Tax Code, the Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act, only a county or a municipality can start a tax abat…
Can someone with a felony conviction run for alderman in a Texas type B general law city?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Election Code's bar on candidacy by anyone finally convicted of a felony (and not pardoned or released from the resulting disabilities), section 141.001(a)(…
Does the Texas prompt-payment law for government contracts cover construction projects?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that article 601f, V.T.C.S., the statute setting deadlines for state agencies and local governments to pay vendors (and for vendors to pay their subcontractors and …
Who has to transport juveniles between detention and court, and can the county judge order the sheriff to do it?
No one is required by statute. The Attorney General concluded that no Texas law puts a mandatory duty on any officer or office to transport juvenile defendants between the detention center and juvenil…
What is a Texas sheriff responsible for when a private company runs the county jail?
Very little, directly. The Attorney General concluded that when a county contracts with a private vendor to run a detention facility, the sheriff's only duty is the 'regular, on-site monitoring' the s…
Can Texas health agencies inspect a hospital that's already licensed and medicare-accredited?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the exemption in section 222.024 of the Health and Safety Code, which spares a medicare-certified or nationally accredited hospital from duplicate 'licensing i…
Can a restaurant in a dry Texas county give customers a free glass of wine or cook with alcohol?
Giving away wine is treated as a sale, so it is barred. The Attorney General concluded that a restaurant in a dry area that hands patrons a 'free' glass of wine with their meal violates section 101.31…
Who is allowed to run a bingo game in Texas, and where can they hold it?
Only the kinds of organizations listed in article III, section 47(b) of the Texas Constitution, churches, synagogues, religious societies, volunteer fire departments, nonprofit veterans and fraternal …
Does a Texas municipal court have jurisdiction over a bad check written for goods or services?
It depends on what the bad check bought and how the charge is framed. The Attorney General concluded that writing a bad check just to pay money is the offense of issuing a bad check under Penal Code s…
Can a Texas budget rider require state agency employees to file financial disclosure statements with their own board?
Mostly no. The Attorney General concluded that article V, section 79 of the 1991-92 General Appropriations Act was valid only to the extent it restated the existing financial-disclosure statute (then …
Can a Texas city use an industrial development corporation's bonds to build or run a for-profit hospital?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a hospital or clinic is not a 'manufacturing or industrial facility,' nor a facility 'required or suitable for the promotion of commercial development,' under t…
Who hires and fires juvenile probation department staff, the juvenile board or the chief probation officer?
The two share authority in a defined way. The Attorney General concluded that under sections 152.0007 and 152.0008 of the Human Resources Code, the chief juvenile probation officer of the Brazos Count…
Are a Texas river authority's oil and gas working interests exempt from property tax?
It depends on the facts, and the Attorney General could not resolve it in an opinion. The Lower Colorado River Authority owns leasehold (working) interests in oil and gas wells in Fayette County and c…
Can a Texas sheriff investigate crimes or make arrests outside his own county or out of state?
No, not generally. The Attorney General concluded that a sheriff has no general authority to investigate criminal activity outside the county for which he was elected, and certainly none outside Texas…
Does Texas nepotism law apply to relatives hired as independent contractors, not just employees?
On the two questions asked: a school board may hire a board member's second cousin, because a 1991 change to the nepotism law adopted the civil-law method of counting kinship, under which second cousi…
If redistricting abolishes a Texas constable's precinct, does he have to get a peace officer license?
No, not on these facts. The Attorney General concluded that when redistricting eliminates a constable's precinct and folds it into a new, larger precinct, and the incumbent is reelected as constable o…
Can one Texas district judge pay his court reporter a different salary than the other judges in the county?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a district judge can set the salary of his official court reporter at a level different from the salaries set by the other district judges in the same county. …
Can a Texas county pre-trial services office hold a defendant's property as security for a personal bond?
No. The Attorney General concluded that chapter 17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure does not authorize a county personal bond office, like the Harris County Pre-Trial Services Agency created under ar…
Who decides how a Texas city spends police asset-forfeiture money, the city council or the police department?
The law enforcement agency, not the city council. The Attorney General concluded that under article 59.06 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, forfeiture funds are awarded to, distributed to, and spent …
Can a Texas public housing authority evict a tenant just for legally owning or keeping a gun at home?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a municipal housing authority is a division of the city that created it, so it is bound by section 215.001 of the Local Government Code, which bars a municipali…
Can a Texas city buy excess or surplus insurance without competitive bidding under Local Government Code 252.024?
No, not on the strength of that section alone. The Attorney General concluded that section 252.024 of the Local Government Code does not by itself exempt a municipality's purchases of excess or surplu…
Can a Texas security licensing board punish someone just for being indicted, before conviction?
No, not on the charge alone. The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies could not discipline a licensee, registrant, or commissioned sec…
Can a Texas city enforce its own accessibility building code on a school district despite a state waiver?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the City of El Paso could refuse to issue building permits or certificates of occupancy to the El Paso Independent School District for failing to meet the city…
Who controls a Texas jail commissary contract, the money it makes, and its books?
The sheriff controls the contract, the money benefits inmates, and the county auditor can audit. The Attorney General concluded that the commissioners court has no authority over the terms of a jail c…
Can a Texas hospital district build a clinic to lease to private doctors and pay for it with bond funds?
It could build and lease the clinic, but not pay for it that way. The Attorney General concluded that the Val Verde Hospital District had express authority under its enabling statute to construct buil…
Can the Texas education commissioner move a school district to a different county education district?
No, not in this situation. The Attorney General concluded that the commissioner of education had no authority to create a new county education district beyond those the statute already listed, and cou…
Can a religious group hand out literature and ask for donations on Texas state agency property?
It depends on the type of space. The Attorney General concluded that handing out literature and soliciting charitable donations are expressive activities protected by the First Amendment, so the Depar…
Did the 1991 bingo tax law raise the interest rate on jeopardy tax determinations?
No. The Attorney General concluded that House Bill 11 (1991) did not change section 32(b) of the Bingo Enabling Act, so the interest rate on a jeopardy tax determination under that section stayed at t…
Can Texas waive the bingo prize fee on small prizes, or can the charity pay it instead?
No, the fee could not be waived, but there was a workaround for small prizes. The Attorney General concluded that the Alcoholic Beverage Commission could not waive or exempt the three percent fee on b…
Can someone get a death certificate that lists AIDS or HIV as the cause of death in Texas?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Act, which keeps AIDS test results confidential, did not stop the state registrar from releasing a death certif…
Can a Texas talent agency follow Screen Actors Guild fee rules without breaking the Talent Agency Act?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a talent agency franchised by the Screen Actors Guild would not violate sections 2(b), 2(c), or 10(b) of the Texas Talent Agency Act by following the amended S…
Does a Texas bail bondsman have to be licensed in the same county where the case is pending?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that under article 2372p-3 a person must be licensed by a county's own bail bond board to act as a bail bondsman in any court of that county. So the Tarrant County …
Can a Texas board still act under a certification statute after it has been repealed?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Court Reporters Certification Board could not continue to consider an application for certification under Government Code section 52.021(e) after that provi…
Can a Texas justice of the peace set bail over the phone or use a fixed bail schedule?
No to both. The Attorney General found no authority for a justice of the peace to set bail by telephone for someone who has just been arrested and has not yet appeared before a magistrate; the statute…
Can a Texas school board ban tobacco use by staff and visitors on school property?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that an independent school district's board of trustees had the authority both to enact a policy prohibiting tobacco use by district staff and the general public on…
Can a Texas school board member also serve on a county education board, teach elsewhere, or work for a legislator?
Yes to all three. The Attorney General concluded that a school district trustee may serve on the board of the county education district his district belongs to, may teach in a different school distric…
Can the Texas Water Commission make rules to regulate groundwater, or is that an unconstitutional delegation?
It can. The Attorney General concluded that section 28.011 of the Texas Water Code, which directs the Texas Water Commission to make and enforce rules for conserving, protecting, preserving, and distr…
How many trustees does a Texas school district elect when expanding its board from seven to nine members?
Enough to reach nine, not a fixed six. The Attorney General construed Education Code section 23.023(h), which converts a large school district's board from seven members to nine. The statute literally…
How is the Texas state solid waste disposal fee calculated at a landfill?
By comparing two numbers, not three. The Attorney General read Health and Safety Code section 361.013(a) to mean a landfill charges the greater of a weight-based fee or a volume-based fee, not the gre…
Can a Texas county pay justices of the peace different salaries based on how many cases they handle?
Yes, on its face. The Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court may set different salaries for justices of the peace in the same county based on the number of cases filed in each court, an…
Do audiology students need a hearing-aid license to make earmold impressions in Texas?
No. The Attorney General concluded that an audiology student at an accredited college or university, who is measuring human hearing as part of the academic curriculum, may make impressions for earmold…
Can a Texas Supreme Court justice also serve on a federal board like the State Justice Institute?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Constitution's dual office holding ban (article XVI, section 12) prevents a justice of the Supreme Court of Texas from serving on the Board of Directo…
Can a Texas school district pay its employees for unused sick leave when they leave?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that Texas school districts have the authority to pay their employees for accrued (unused) sick leave, and that they kept that authority after the 72nd Legislature …
Can someone serve on a Texas river authority board and a county appraisal district board at the same time?
Yes, at least for this river authority. The Attorney General concluded that a director of the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority may also serve on a county appraisal district board. The Texas Constituti…
Does a Texas law reducing the time before parole eligibility apply to inmates convicted before it passed?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the 1987 amendment to article 42.18, section 8(b) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which cut the time a prisoner has to serve before becoming eligible for pa…
Can a Texas public official give a merit raise to a spouse who works at the same agency?
Not a discretionary merit raise. The Attorney General concluded that a Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation school superintendent violated the state nepotism law (article 5996a) by…
Can county commissioners decide the boundaries for a local wet/dry alcohol election in Texas?
Only in one narrow situation. The Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court may set the boundaries for a local option liquor election only under section 251.80 of the Alcoholic Beverage Co…
Does a city transit agency have to use competitive bidding to build a monorail or rail transit system?
Mostly yes, but with an exception. The Attorney General concluded that a metropolitan transit authority's purchase of a new rail or monorail system was subject to the competitive bidding requirement o…
Is it constitutional for Texas to exempt real estate brokers in smaller counties from continuing education?
The Attorney General declined to decide, saying it depends on facts. A 1991 law let real estate brokers licensed 10 years or more, with their principal place of business in a county of 225,000 or fewe…
Can an 18-to-21-year-old under Texas Youth Commission supervision be held with younger juveniles in detention?
Only in limited circumstances, the Attorney General concluded. The 1985 law raised TYC jurisdiction to age 21, but the Family Code still defines a 'child' as under 18 and bars housing such children in…
Can someone requesting Texas public records demand a specific file format like tape or microfiche?
No, the Attorney General concluded. The Secretary of State already offered corporation records in seven formats (microfilm, microfiche, magnetic tape, online access, telephone responses, copies of ori…
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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.