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 the EEOC require a Texas state agency to delete records from an employee's personnel file?
No, not in violation of state law, the Attorney General concluded. The EEOC resolves discrimination claims through voluntary conciliation, and its compliance manual lists expunging adverse materials f…
When does Texas have to hold a public hearing before giving an HIV-services grant?
Only before an initial grant over $25,000, the Attorney General concluded. Under the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Services Act (chapter 85 of the Health and Safety Code), the Department of Health must…
Could a Texas hospital district close its dental clinic, and would it still have to pay for indigent dental care elsewhere?
The district could close the clinic by resolution if its board found closure was in residents' best interest. The AG could not determine whether the district still had to provide or pay for the clinic…
Are executive management search consultants regulated by Texas even though they don't need a certificate of authority?
Yes, in part, the Attorney General concluded. Under the Personnel Employment Services Act, a management search consultant is a type of personnel service. Section 2(b) exempts these consultants only fr…
Can a Texas county abolish the elected office of county public weigher?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. Because the commissioners court has discretion under Agriculture Code section 13.253 to create the elective office of county public weigher, it also has authority …
Who controls jury selection in a Texas county, the district clerk or a jury administrator?
The district clerk, the Attorney General concluded. Where a county uses electronic or mechanical equipment to select juror names under Government Code section 62.011 and interchangeable juries under s…
Did Texas House Bill 2 deregulate Lloyd's and reciprocal auto insurers or ban experience rating?
No on both counts, the Attorney General concluded. Section 2.02 of House Bill 2, which put motor vehicle insurance under the new flexible rating program in subchapter M of the Insurance Code, applies …
If Texas legalized casino gambling in its waters, could Indian tribes run casinos on their Texas lands?
Most likely yes, the Attorney General concluded. Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, if Texas enacted a bill permitting Class III (casino-type) gaming anywhere in the state, including stat…
Can a Texas city grant a homestead tax exemption if it would hurt the city's ability to pay its bonds?
No, not where it would impair the bonds, the Attorney General concluded. Camp Wood pledged all its property tax revenue to repay bonds in September 1990, then voters approved a $50,000 over-65/disable…
Must a Texas county clerk give you a microfilm copy of deed and real estate records, or just a paper copy?
Just a paper copy, the Attorney General concluded. A county clerk may provide microfilm copies of real estate and deed records, but the Open Records Act does not impose a duty to do so. The Act requir…
Can a Texas hospital district pay dues to join a chamber of commerce or nonprofit, or reimburse an official's membership?
No, the Attorney General concluded. The Dallas County Hospital District is a creature of limited authority, and nothing in chapter 281 of the Health and Safety Code authorizes its board to spend distr…
Does a Texas overweight truck permit measure the five percent against the vehicle's weight or the road's limit?
Against the vehicle's allowable gross weight, the Attorney General concluded. A section 5B permit from the Highway Department lets the listed commercial vehicles run at a weight that exceeds their all…
Can a Texas school principal refuse a teacher the district wants to transfer to the campus?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. Education Code section 13.352(d) gives each principal authority to approve all teacher and staff appointments on the campus. Nothing limits that approval power to …
What clerk fee applies to a Texas condemnation case, and when is it due?
A maximum of $40, the Attorney General concluded, with different timing in the two courts. In county court, a condemnation falls in the clerk's 'all others' filing-fee category at $40, but because a c…
What does 'locality where the work is performed' mean under the Texas prevailing wage law?
The political subdivision most nearly corresponding to where the work is done, the Attorney General concluded. Under article 5159a, a state agency setting a prevailing wage for a public works project …
Do Texas detention centers and lock-ups have to follow the same single-cell rules as county jails?
Not necessarily, the Attorney General concluded. Low-risk facilities, lock-ups, detention centers, and county correctional centers are 'county jails' that fall under the Texas Commission on Jail Stand…
Can a Texas groundwater district charge fees to permit or register a water well?
No, the Attorney General concluded. Section 52.151 of the Water Code gives an underground water conservation district broad rule-making power to conserve and protect groundwater, but it does not autho…
Can the Texas Legislature reimburse its members for expenses beyond the per diem in the constitution?
Yes, for legislative expenses, the Attorney General concluded. Article III, section 24 of the Texas Constitution sets a member's salary, per diem, and mileage, and bars extra compensation or payment o…
Who counts as a 'team physician' under the Texas athletic trainer licensing law?
Only a medical doctor, the Attorney General concluded. The term 'physician' in section 1(1) of the athletic trainer statute (article 4512d) refers to a person licensed by the State Board of Medical Ex…
Can a state board impose training requirements on elected community college trustees in Texas?
No, the Attorney General concluded. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board could not, by rule, set educational or training requirements for trustees of junior college districts. The qualificati…
Where does money from inmate pay phones in a Texas county jail go?
To the county treasurer, the Attorney General concluded. Proceeds from pay telephones in a county jail are not commissary proceeds governed by Local Government Code section 351.0415, which gives the s…
Can a state licensing board member also work for a company the board regulates?
Not in this case, the Attorney General concluded. The audiologist member of the Texas Board of Examiners in the Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Aids was barred by statute from having a 'financial in…
Can a Texas transit board review bids in a closed session without violating the Open Meetings Act?
Only within narrow limits, the Attorney General concluded. The Houston METRO board was not holding a 'meeting' under the Open Meetings Act if its members merely gathered to receive information and ask…
Does a registered manufactured-housing installer need a Railroad Commission certificate to haul the home?
No, the Attorney General concluded. An installer who holds a valid certificate of registration under the Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act (article 5221f) is exempt from the certificate-of-conv…
Can a Texas state agency pay for home modifications out of money not appropriated for that program?
No, the Attorney General concluded. The Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation could make architectural modifications to a client's private home only with the funds specifically appropriat…
Does a Texas school district have to use competitive bidding to hire a food service management company?
Yes, when the district participates in federal school nutrition programs. The Attorney General concluded that federal regulations governing the National School Lunch Program and similar programs requi…
Can a Texas county maintain a private dirt road just because school buses drive on it?
No, the Attorney General concluded. A commissioners court ordinarily has no legal authority to maintain or improve a private road, even one used as a school bus route. The only constitutional exceptio…
Can a Texas water district board member also be hired and paid as the district's manager?
The Attorney General concluded yes, in this case. The Duval County Conservation and Reclamation District ran on the powers of a water control and improvement district, and Water Code section 51.084 le…
Is it a conflict for a judge to rule on cases involving the county commissioners who set his pay?
The Attorney General concluded it was not a constitutional conflict of interest. The Government Code lets commissioners courts set the salaries of county court-at-law judges and, for certain counties,…
Can one owner of a joint bank account remove another owner's name without permission?
The Attorney General concluded no. Section 440 of the Texas Probate Code let 'a party' to a joint account change 'the form of the account,' but the opinion read that power narrowly: it reaches only th…
If a juvenile felony record can't be sealed in Texas, does the person have to disclose it on a job or license application?
The Attorney General concluded that the protection did not apply. Section 51.16(h) of the Family Code let a person whose juvenile records had been sealed decline to disclose the proceeding on an appli…
How precisely must Texas compute the school tax rate that decides who pays the state's teacher-retirement contribution?
The Attorney General concluded the Teacher Retirement System could carry the calculation to as many decimal places as needed, not just two. Section 825.405(h) of the Government Code excused a school d…
Does a nonprofit that serves senior citizens have to follow the Open Meetings Act?
The Attorney General concluded no. The Parker County Committee on Aging was an ordinary nonprofit corporation formed under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act, run by a board not chosen by city or co…
Does releasing provisional census numbers start the clock on the Texas Legislature's duty to redraw districts?
The Attorney General concluded yes. The February 5, 1991 release of the 1990 census 'public law 94-171' counts was a 'publication' of the decennial census under article III, section 28 of the Texas Co…
Can a local beer distributor sell a brand anywhere in Texas if it bought the beer from a general distributor instead of the maker?
The Attorney General concluded no. Under sections 102.51 and 102.52 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code, a local beer distributor could sell a particular brand only inside the territory the brand's manufac…
If a Texas county advertises for bids and gets none, can it just buy directly or must it advertise again?
The Attorney General concluded the county had to readvertise. Under the County Purchasing Act (Local Government Code sections 262.022 through 262.035), a purchase over $10,000 had to go through sealed…
Does requiring arbitration before suing over bad seed violate Texans' right to open courts?
The Attorney General concluded that chapter 64 of the Agriculture Code, which made a buyer of vegetable seed submit a performance complaint to non-binding arbitration before suing the seller, did not …
Can a Texas city avoid the nepotism law by letting a city administrator do the hiring instead of the council?
The Attorney General concluded no. A city council cannot escape the nepotism law (article 5996a) by delegating hiring to a city administrator, because what matters is whether the related officer can e…
Can a Texas state research council hire outside contractors for administrative support, or only the state health department?
The Attorney General concluded that the On-Site Wastewater Treatment Research Council could get administrative support only from the Texas Department of Health, not from outside entities, because chap…
Can a Texas county commissioners court hire its own staff attorneys to advise individual commissioners or the sheriff instead of using the county attorney?
No, not on its own. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Harris County Commissioners Court could not create staff-attorney positions for individual commissioners or the sheriff…
Which telephone companies have to pay the Texas PURA gross receipts assessment, and do long-distance carriers owe it on the access charges they pay local phone companies?
The section 78 assessment applies to every public utility under the Public Utility Commission's jurisdiction, which after 1987 includes all long-distance (interexchange) carriers, not just those the P…
Can a Texas chiropractor call themselves a 'chiropractic physician'?
The board can allow it. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners has authority to adopt a rule permitting its licensees to use the title 'chir…
Could Texas local governments impose stricter septic-system installer rules, and did licensed plumbers need state installer registration?
Yes, within limits. JM-1278 concluded that authorized agents could adopt stricter on-site sewage and installer standards needed to carry out local health protections, while nonconflicting rules could …
What kind of bond does a Texas charity have to post to hold a raffle when it doesn't yet have the prize?
A surety bond, and the county clerk does not have to take cash. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that under article 179f, section 3(j), V.T.C.S., a charity that does not yet possess…
Could a Texas county road district borrow beyond voter-approved bonds, and could the county loan or guarantee the money?
Only within voter-approved and constitutional limits. JM-1276 concluded that the road district could use authorized bonds and anticipation notes but could not exceed voter authority; Bastrop County co…
Can a Texas county auditor force other elected county officials to use a specific computer accounting system and give the auditor open access to their records?
Only partly. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county auditor in a county with a population under 190,000 may adopt and enforce regulations under Local Government Code section…
Can a Texas sheriff make deputies and jailers take random urine drug tests?
Not on a purely random basis without justification. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that random urine drug testing of deputy sheriffs and jailers, meaning testing not triggered by …
Can a Texas resident use the alternative court reporter certification route, or is it only for people moving in from other states?
A Texas resident can use it. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that section 52.021(e) of the Government Code, which lets a person become a certified shorthand (court) reporter by pas…
Does a nonprofit like AARP need a state license to run a paid driver safety course in Texas?
Yes. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a private, nonprofit organization that charges a fee (here, $8) for a driver safety course falls within the definition of a 'commercial dr…
Can an armed security officer for the Texas Adjutant General's Department carry a handgun on the job without a private security commission?
Yes on department premises, but not on the commute. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a 1989 statute (Government Code section 431.029(12)) authorizing the adjutant general to 'e…
Can a Texas group health insurer deny coverage for addiction rehab because it was not at a hospital?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that article 3.51-9 of the Texas Insurance Code requires group health insurers subject to Chapter 3 to cover chemical dependency treatment, and …
Can federal savings and loan law override Texas's homestead protection so lenders can make home equity loans on a home?
Not according to this 1990 opinion. On the central question, whether federal rules for federally chartered savings and loan associations preempt the Texas homestead provision (article XVI, section 50)…
Can a Texas commissioners court give county employees raises without amending the county budget?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court may not grant salary increases to selected county employees without amending the budget, even when the raises are fun…
Can the Texas Legislature legalize casino gambling without amending the state constitution?
Only for games that are not lotteries. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that Article III, section 47 of the Texas Constitution bans lotteries and gift enterprises, not all gambling.…
Can a Texas city council member also work for a school district, special district, or navigation district?
It depends on whether the second position is an office or just a job. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that Article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution (which bars holding mor…
Can a Texas school district use student activity funds to pay college scholarships for graduates?
It can, if two conditions are met. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that activity funds or agency funds that have actually become the school district's property (not funds still own…
Does the Fayette County attorney get paid like a district attorney under Texas law?
No. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that the county attorney of Fayette County is not entitled to be compensated as a prosecutor under section 46.003 of the Government Code. Even t…
Can a Texas county auditor require the county's federal tax ID number on all county depository bank accounts?
Only for the accounts that hold county money. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county auditor in a county with a population under 190,000 may adopt and enforce a regulation, …
Can a Texas county pay a real estate agent a finder's fee for finding a buyer of county land at auction?
Yes, if all other legal requirements are met. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that a county commissioners court may offer and pay a finder's fee to a real estate agent for locating…
Can a Texas county or city be sued in tort over property it takes at a tax sale for unpaid taxes?
Generally no, at least for claims tied to the tax sale and redemption itself. In this 1990 opinion the Attorney General concluded that when a county, home-rule city, or independent school district acq…
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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.