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 make a public school building a protected historic landmark and stop the district from demolishing it?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General gave a fact-dependent answer. The State Antiquities Committee can designate a school building as a state archeological landmark, but doing so, or denying a pe…
Can a state employee whose agency gets federal funds run for a political party office like precinct chairman?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded yes. A Texas Department of Human Services employee covered by the federal Hatch Act may run for the political party office of county or precinct cha…
If I am laid off but stay on the state payroll to use up my vacation, can I still take paid sick leave?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General said yes. A state employee who has finished their last day of duty but remains on the agency payroll to exhaust accrued vacation may still take previously ear…
Does a state agency's anti-conflict rule cover every organization it pays, or only ones set up primarily to do that kind of work?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General read the Texas Rehabilitation Commission's conflict-of-interest statute broadly. It reaches everyone associated with any organization that receives commission…
How much can members of a state board or advisory committee be paid back for their costs, and does everyone get the daily per diem?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General worked through seven different Texas Rehabilitation Commission boards and committees. The main board and the Consumer Advisory Committee could be reimbursed f…
If a needy patient is treated at a state cancer hospital, does the county or hospital district have to pay the bill?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no, not on the theory the University of Texas raised. M.D. Anderson can bill a patient's estate or the people legally responsible for the patient's …
Can a transit authority use its special economic-development power to pay for streets, drainage, or a library?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General said only if those projects sit inside a transit station or terminal complex. Article 1118x lets certain transit authorities include 'regional economic develo…
Are the volunteer board members of a public TV station protected from lawsuits if the station broadcasts something defamatory?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded a public television station can qualify as a charitable organization under the Charitable Immunity and Liability Act of 1987, which would give its v…
Can the state parole board hire county probation offices to supervise parolees, or does that hand judicial-branch officers power over parole?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded the arrangement is constitutional. A statute lets the Board of Pardons and Paroles request proposals and award contracts to district (county) probat…
If my farmland is condemned for a public project, do I have to pay back the tax savings from its agricultural-use valuation?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded no. Texas taxes qualifying farm and ranch land on its productive value rather than market value, and normally a rollback of the tax savings is trigg…
Does a private club's liquor permit fee depend on its peak membership, or can it be prorated for members who joined partway through the year?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is not authorized to prorate a private club's membership when calculating the permit fee. The statute sets t…
Can county commissioners require performance reviews to decide the salaries of the district attorney's staff?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General drew a line down the middle. When the county sets its budget, the commissioners court has the final say over the salary figures for the district attorney's st…
Can the Texas legislature move money out of a special produce-claims fund into general revenue?
In this 1988 opinion the Attorney General concluded the transfer was lawful, with a caveat. The Produce Recovery Fund is a statutory trust fund, not a constitutionally protected fund, so the legislatu…
Do Texas construction trust fund rules require a contractor to collect payment affidavits from subcontractors?
The Attorney General read the 1987 amendments to the Property Code's construction trust fund law. A contractor may request an all-bills-paid affidavit as a condition of final payment, but is not requi…
Does a Texas city have to extend sewer service to newly annexed areas?
The Attorney General concluded a city cannot literally be forced to provide services to an annexed area. A city does not have to extend sewer lines to newly annexed land unless it provides similar ser…
Can a Texas savings and loan or other lender charge a fee for filling in the blanks on real estate loan documents that its lawyers prepared?
The Attorney General read the 1987 statute (article 320f) that bars anyone other than a licensed attorney from charging for preparing legal instruments affecting title to real property. Whether a lend…
Can a Texas county guarantee home loans or housing-finance-corporation bonds for low and moderate income families?
No. The Attorney General concluded a county has no express or implied authority to guarantee mortgage loans made to low and moderate income families, or to guarantee the bonds a housing finance corpor…
In Texas, can a state employee be fired for any reason, or do state workers have job protections?
The Attorney General explained that Texas state employees, like private employees, are generally 'at will,' meaning they can be fired for any reason. But that is only the default. A particular state w…
Does a Texas school district have to take competitive bids to hire a construction management consultant?
No, not for the consultant itself. The Attorney General concluded a contract for a construction management consultant's services counts as 'professional services' and is exempt from the competitive bi…
Can a Texas district clerk charge a filing fee to transfer a child support enforcement case to a new county?
No. The Attorney General concluded a district clerk may not charge a fee for filing papers in a child support enforcement action transferred to a new county under section 11.06 of the Family Code. The…
Can Bexar County pay its district judges a salary supplement larger than $12,000 a year?
No. The Attorney General concluded Bexar County has no authority to pay district judges a salary supplement of more than $12,000 a year. Government Code section 32.015 sets the supplement at $12,000. …
Under a Texas group health plan, can an individual employee reject in vitro fertilization coverage, or only the employer?
Only the employer. A 1987 law required certain Texas group health plans that already cover pregnancy to offer in vitro fertilization coverage. The Attorney General concluded the employer, as the 'poli…
Can Texas county clerks and school districts store official records only on optical disks instead of microfilm or paper?
Not yet, as of this 1988 opinion. A 1987 law (House Bill 163) let county clerks and school districts adopt optical disk storage, but the Attorney General read it to carry over the same archival-qualit…
Can a bail bondsman post a life insurance policy as collateral instead of cash under Texas bail bond law?
No, not by itself. The Attorney General concluded that assigning a life insurance policy to the county treasurer does not count as a 'cash equivalent' deposit under the bail bond statute (article 2372…
When a Texas school district spins off its community college to a separate board, can the same trustees sit on both?
No. The Attorney General concluded that when Houston ISD divests its community college by appointing a separate board of trustees under Education Code section 130.016, the district's trustees cannot '…
Can a Texas commissioners court require a separate bank account for the county airport fund?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded the Ector County commissioners court may order a separate bank account for the county airport fund created under the Municipal Airports Act (article 46d-11). The co…
Can Texas local governments pool their public funds and hand them to a joint agency to invest together?
No. The Attorney General concluded the Interlocal Cooperation Act does not let Texas local governments pool and jointly invest their public funds through a joint agency created under that act. Decidin…
Can Texas's workers' comp board approve a settlement that ends an injured worker's right to future medical benefits?
No. Under the workers' compensation law in effect in 1988, once there was a final award of the Industrial Accident Board, a court judgment, or an approved compromise settlement that had not been lawfu…
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, …
When can a former Texas district judge who served less than four years still be assigned to hear cases?
A 1987 law let the presiding judge of an administrative judicial region assign a 'former district judge who has served as judge of more than one district court' even without the usual four years of ju…
Can a Texas hospital authority spread its deposits across affiliated banks so all funds are FDIC-insured and skip the collateral rules?
No. A hospital authority created by a city under the Hospital Authority Act that picks a depository different from the city's must follow the same municipal-depository rules in Chapter 105 of the Loca…
Can a Texas county commissioner post a bail bond, or pledge his property as a surety, for someone charged in his own county?
No. The Attorney General concluded a county commissioner may not act as a surety on a bail bond for a defendant charged in the commissioner's own county. A bail bond is a contract, and if the defendan…
Can a Texas firefighter pension board run its own office, hire its own administrator and attorney, and control its own records?
Yes, mostly. The Attorney General concluded that the board of trustees of a fire fighters' relief and retirement fund can spend fund money on reasonable administrative expenses, which includes setting…
In Texas, does a county attorney pro tem have the same power as a regular county attorney to file and sign a criminal information?
Yes. A county attorney pro tem serving under an agreement between two counties has all the powers and duties of the regular county attorney, so he is not excused from filing an information and he may …
Can a Texas court require me to put my Social Security number on a will probate application, and is that legal under federal privacy law?
No, not as a hard requirement. The Attorney General concluded that the Federal Privacy Act bars the state from denying probate of a will just because the applicant refuses to give their own Social Sec…
Can a Texas Lloyd's Plan insurance company issue the surety bond a contractor needs to do a public construction job in Texas?
No. The Attorney General concluded that public-works bonds under article 5160.A must be backed by a 'corporate surety,' and a Texas Lloyd's Plan carrier is an unincorporated association of individual …
Does the Texas Commercial Feed Control Act apply to a commercial feed lot that boards and feeds another person's cattle?
No. The Attorney General reaffirmed a 25-year-old position: a feed lot that keeps and feeds an owner's stock is performing a service (a bailment known as agistment), not selling or distributing feed, …
Can Texas library grant money go to a regional library system that includes private religious school libraries or for-profit libraries?
Only if the system's members are public libraries. The Attorney General concluded that a regional library system can have as members only public libraries, because only a public library can be accredi…
Could Texas fertilizer regulators send a failed state-lab report to the purchaser before the manufacturer completed independent testing?
In 1988, the Attorney General concluded that the Texas Feed and Fertilizer Control Service had implied statutory authority to send the state chemist's noncompliance report to the fertilizer's purchase…
If a Texas appraisal district's mistake made my property tax late, can the taxing unit waive the penalties and interest?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a central appraisal district counts as an 'agent' of the taxing units it appraises for under Tax Code section 33.011. So when a taxpayer's bill becomes delinqu…
Do employees of a private firm hired to collect a Texas taxing unit's property taxes have to register as tax professionals?
Only if the taxing unit's chief tax administrator says so. The Attorney General concluded that field collectors and supervising officers of a private collection firm working under contract for a taxin…
Can a Texas court make me pay a fee to dismiss a no-insurance ticket after I prove I actually had coverage?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the $10 fee the legislature added to article 6701h, requiring a driver to pay before a failure-to-maintain-financial-responsibility charge is dismissed, is unco…
Can a state agency legally pay a private tipster a cut of the money the state recovers because of their information?
Yes, within limits. The Attorney General concluded that a 1987 law letting the Texas Comptroller contract with informants, and pay them up to 5% of what the state actually recovers, does not violate t…
If a teacher gets workers' compensation and paid sick leave for the same work injury, can the school district reduce one to offset the other?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a school district cannot use the offset provision in the public-employee workers' compensation law (article 8309h, section 5) to reduce a teacher's sick-leave b…
When two Texas laws passed the same year set different penalties for the same offense, which one applies?
The later-passed one. Two 1985 bills, S.B. 464 and S.B. 980, both rewrote the penalty sections of the Parks and Wildlife Code and set different fines and jail terms for the same fish-and-marine-produc…
Can Texas charge lawyers a special occupation tax that exempts older attorneys and those who no longer practice?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the temporary occupation tax the legislature placed on Texas attorneys (running from 1988 through 1990) was constitutional. The tax exempted lawyers 70 and old…
After a justice of the peace dismisses my fine-only ticket, can that same court erase the record, or do I have to go to district court?
You have to go to district court. The Attorney General concluded that when a justice of the peace dismisses a fine-only (Class C) case after deferred disposition under article 45.54, the person cannot…
Which Texas county official was responsible for preparing payroll, printing paychecks, and distributing them?
In 1988, the Attorney General concluded that county officers in Harris County had statutory authority to prepare payroll and issue paychecks for employees of their own offices. The county auditor coul…
Can a Texas county commissioners court give elected and appointed county officials vacation and sick leave, and pay them for unused leave when they leave office?
Yes, but only if the commissioners court actually authorizes it. The Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court may grant vacation and sick leave (and pay for unused leave) to county and pr…
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 …
Could a Texas county sign a long-term solid-waste contract, include minimum-delivery or cost-plus terms, and award it without competitive bidding?
In 1988, the Attorney General concluded that a Texas county could enter a long-term solid-waste service contract that bound future commissioners courts, include properly measured damages for a deliver…
To get a patent to public free school land in Texas under the constitution's title-defect provision, does your chain of title have to reach all the way back to the original grant from the state?
No. The Attorney General reconsidered and overruled an earlier opinion, concluding that article VII, section 4A(a)(3) of the Texas Constitution requires a patent applicant to show an unbroken chain of…
Can the Texas Medical Board discipline doctors in closed, informal hearings, and does it have to tell hospitals about old complaints against a physician?
The closed 'administrative sanction' hearings no longer work. After 1987 amendments to the Medical Practice Act, the board must enter a formal disciplinary order whenever it finds misconduct, so its r…
When a Texas justice court defers a no-insurance fine, can it also defer the $75 court cost, and can it spend the fees it collects the way a prosecutor spends hot-check money?
No on both. The Attorney General concluded that article 45.54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure lets a justice defer the fine but says nothing about deferring court costs, so the $75 cost of court on …
Can a Texas county clerk re-record a corrected deed, and is the clerk on the hook for mistakes inside the documents people file?
The clerk's job is ministerial. The Attorney General concluded that each document offered for recording is judged on its own merits: if it meets the Property Code's recording requirements (proper ackn…
Could Texas Racing Commission members send substitutes to meetings, and could the commission fund a laboratory for racehorse and greyhound drug testing?
The comptroller's chief clerk could sit, vote, and count toward a quorum when the comptroller was unavoidably absent because a statute authorized the clerk to perform the comptroller's official duties…
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 a Texas county bail bond board regulate lawyers who posted bonds for their own criminal-defense clients or regulate the county pretrial-services agency?
No. The Harris County Bail Bond Board could not require a lawyer to obtain a bail-bond license when the lawyer executed a bond for a criminal defendant the lawyer actually represented, although the st…
Did abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a Texas public place automatically amount to a breach of the peace?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Penal Code section 42.01(a)(1) reached only 'fighting words,' meaning words that, in their factual setting, were likely to cause an average addressee to fight. …
Who held title to a vehicle forfeited for a Texas sheriff's use, how was it sold when no longer useful, and where did the sale money go?
The certificate of title was issued to the law-enforcement department or agency receiving the vehicle, but that did not make the department an owner separate from the county. Once the vehicle was no l…
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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.