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 accept credit card payments for court fines and fees?
The 1987 opinion concluded that article 3910a, which let commissioners courts authorize county officers to take credit cards for fees, fines, and court costs, was a valid and enforceable statute. Acce…
Is a Texas county liable when a volunteer fire department it contracts with causes harm?
The 1987 opinion concluded that a county could be liable, to the extent the Texas Tort Claims Act allowed, for the negligent acts of fire services provided under a contract authorized by article 2351a…
Can a Texas commissioners court hold an election to move property appraisal into the county tax assessor-collector's office?
No. The 1987 opinion concluded that section 6.26 of the Tax Code let voters petition for an election only to consolidate tax assessing and collecting functions, not appraisal. Because appraisal is a s…
Do Texas public hospitals have to provide childbirth and prenatal care to indigent patients?
The 1987 opinion concluded that under the Indigent Health Care Act a public hospital had to provide medically necessary inpatient and outpatient care to eligible indigent residents, which would includ…
Can a Texas CPS caseworker also be a foster parent for the same agency?
The 1987 opinion did not give a yes-or-no answer. It concluded that whether a Department of Human Services child protective services specialist could serve as a foster parent was a conflict-of-interes…
Does a Texas public university have to offer its employees every approved HMO, or can it choose which ones?
The 1987 opinion concluded that a public college or university had to consider applications from every HMO approved by the state or federal government to offer services in Texas, not just those alread…
Who pays for a parole violator's medical care while he is held in county jail awaiting a revocation hearing?
The 1987 opinion concluded that the county, not the Texas Department of Corrections, was responsible for the medical care of a parole violator held in a county jail while awaiting a parole revocation …
Can a Texas commissioners court appoint a county commissioner's relative to a vacant county office?
No. The 1987 opinion concluded that the nepotism statute, article 5996a, barred a commissioners court from appointing the first cousin of a sitting commissioner as acting county clerk. Neither the rel…
How is the Harris County auditor selected, and do the judges' selection meetings fall under the Open Meetings Act?
The 1987 opinion concluded that, before a 1987 amendment, article 1645a-10 required a Harris County auditor to be chosen by a two-thirds vote of all the district judges having jurisdiction in the coun…
When was a court-appointed attorney entitled to compensation for representing an indigent defendant in Texas?
The 1987 opinion concluded that appointed counsel was not entitled to compensation under article 26.05 without appearing in court. When counsel did appear, the court could consider related research an…
Could a Texas county attorney hire and pay an investigator from the hot check fund without commissioners court approval?
Yes. The 1987 opinion concluded that a county attorney could hire an investigator and set the salary without commissioners court approval when the salary was paid solely from the special hot check fun…
Could Houston enforce its municipal anti-smoking ordinance inside Harris County buildings located in the city?
Yes. The 1987 opinion concluded that Harris County was not immune from Houston's anti-smoking ordinance and that the state laws cited by the county neither preempted nor conflicted with the city rule.
Could a Texas court clerk require a court-cost deposit before filing an application for a family-violence protective order?
No. The 1987 opinion concluded that a district or county clerk had to file a protective-order application when tendered and could not make a court-cost deposit a condition of filing.
Was Texas's law requiring paid labor union organizers to register with the secretary of state still valid after Thomas v. Collins?
The 1987 opinion concluded that the registration requirement was not facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment and was not preempted by the National Labor Relations Act. It distinguished the…
Who paid an indigent prisoner's medical expenses when the prisoner was moved from the Texas Department of Corrections to a county jail on a bench warrant?
The county did. The 1987 opinion concluded that article 104.002 made the county responsible because the prisoner was physically confined in the county jail when the injury and treatment occurred, even…
Did Jefferson County have to build a replacement road before ending county maintenance and supervision of the entire dead-end Atwood Road?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the replacement-road requirement applied when part of a public road was closed or discontinued in a way that could strand travelers, not when the county ended m…
When did a document count as filed with a Texas district clerk if fees, signatures, attachments, or service copies were missing?
The 1987 opinion concluded that a document was filed when tendered to the district clerk, even if a required fee or signature was missing. The clerk should not alter party-supplied copies except to pl…
Did a Texas county have to use competitive bidding when it obtained federal surplus property through the Texas Surplus Property Agency?
No. The 1987 opinion concluded that a county could accept federal surplus property and pay the Texas Surplus Property Agency's authorized service and handling charges without competitive bidding becau…
Could individual Texas county departments buy their own office supplies without counting other departments' purchases toward the bidding threshold?
A county department could buy its own supplies only with commissioners court approval and subject to the County Purchasing Act. The 1987 opinion concluded that the $5,000 competitive-bidding threshold…
Could a surplus lines insurance carrier issue the performance and payment bonds required for Texas public works contracts?
No. The 1987 opinion concluded that article 5160 required bonds from a corporate surety authorized to do business in Texas, while a surplus lines carrier was expressly classified as an unauthorized in…
Did the city of Bastrop or Bastrop County have to fund indigent healthcare for city residents after the city hospital was leased to a private operator?
The city of Bastrop did. The 1987 opinion concluded that the hospital remained a public hospital because the city-created hospital authority owned it, so the city had to provide sufficient funding eve…
Was Jackson County responsible for indigent healthcare when a hospital district covered the entire county?
No. The 1987 opinion concluded that the countywide Jackson County Hospital District, not the county, was responsible for inpatient and outpatient care for indigent county residents under the Texas Con…
Were Texas bills restricting off-site new and used motor vehicle sales constitutional and consistent with antitrust law?
The 1987 opinion concluded that the proposed restrictions did not facially violate federal equal protection, due process, the Commerce Clause, or state and federal antitrust laws. It cautioned that a …
Could a Texas State Board of Public Accountancy member be reappointed after serving less than six years and then holding over after the term expired?
Yes. The 1987 opinion concluded that the two-year reappointment bar applied only after a full six-year term, and service in a constitutional holdover capacity after the term expired did not count towa…
Could Texas barber-board members or inspectors take board exams, attend barber school, or work as part-time barber teachers?
A board member could not take a licensing or certification exam administered by the board, and a barber inspector could not work for pay as a barber-school teacher. An inspector's enrollment in a barb…
Did a rice dryer qualify as tax-exempt farm machinery under the Texas Constitution and Tax Code?
The opinion did not decide the rice dryer's status because that required factual findings. It said the dryer qualified only if it was an implement rather than a real-property fixture and its primary d…
Did Texas have to reimburse Midland County's district judges and district attorney for postage, telephone, and telegraph costs?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Government Code sections 24.019 and 43.004 did not make the state liable for those expenses in Midland County, a single-county judicial district.
Could Ector County give federal revenue-sharing money to a chamber of commerce to recruit new businesses?
The county could contract with a chamber of commerce for specific business-development services if it received adequate consideration and retained sufficient assurance that the public purpose would be…
Did Texas's Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act give a judgment debtor due process, require notice from the clerk, and allow execution 30 days after filing?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that chapter 35 provided procedures to challenge a foreign judgment and did not deny due process. The clerk had to mail notice to the debtor, and a writ of executio…
Could Texas extend its oil severance tax to oil imported from other states and foreign countries?
No. The Attorney General concluded that House Bill 966 would discriminate against interstate commerce by taxing imported oil and that the same defect made it unconstitutional as applied to foreign com…
Did all service within a Texas law-enforcement agency count toward hazardous-duty pay, and could that service credit transfer to another agency?
All years served within the employee's current agency counted, including years in nonhazardous assignments. Credit earned at one agency could not transfer to another, and conflicting appropriations ri…
Did Arkansas's three-percent highway-contractor preference require an Arkansas bidder to underbid Texas contractors on a Texas highway project?
No. Arkansas's preference depended on prior Arkansas contracts and tax payments, not solely on residency, so it did not trigger Texas's reciprocal preference against a nonresident bidder.
Could a Texas public university give elective credit for secular religious-studies courses taught through religious organizations, and could the organization nominate or pay the university faculty member?
A public university could grant elective credit for secular religious-studies courses if the program met Establishment Clause standards and was reviewed without denominational discrimination. It could…
Could the Texas Legislature require colleges and universities to transfer excess Texas Public Educational Grant funds to the coordinating board for scholarships at other schools?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the tuition set-asides were state funds subject to legislative control and that Education Code section 56.039 validly redirected excess balances. The transfer …
Could Texas agencies sign multi-year contracts that paid private vendors for cogeneration systems from future energy savings without creating unconstitutional state debt?
Potentially. The Attorney General said properly drafted legislation and contracts could avoid unconstitutional debt if the vendor had no recourse against state credit and the state's payment duty rema…
Did a Texas district court need a filed lawsuit before it could exercise supervisory control over a county commissioners court?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that article V, section 8 did not give district judges free-standing oversight authority; a lawsuit or other authorized review proceeding had to invoke the district…
Could the Texas State Securities Board adopt a rule that automatically treated certain underwritten stock offerings as fair, just, and equitable based only on share price and total proceeds?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the proposed rule would let the securities commissioner bypass the statutory duty to examine whether an offering was fair, just, and equitable. The commissioner…
Could Galveston County Drainage District No. 2 charge a fee to review construction plans for crossings over its drainage ditches?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Water Code chapter 56 governed the district and gave it no express or necessarily implied authority to charge plan-review fees for ditch crossings.
Did a Texas county have to reimburse the UT Health Center at Tyler for heart treatment provided to an indigent county resident?
Yes, subject to the Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act's conditions and limits. State funding rules for indigent tuberculosis patients did not shift the cost of treating a heart condition to the H…
Could one person serve both as an Angelina and Neches River Authority director and a member of Lufkin's planning and zoning commission?
Not if the river-authority director performed services carrying statutory compensation. Both positions were civil offices of emolument, and article XVI, section 40 barred one person from holding both …
Could a Texas municipal or justice court require a resident driver to post an appearance bond just to plead not guilty and obtain a speeding trial?
No. When the driver met article 6701d's conditions and signed a written promise to appear, a court could not require an appearance bond solely because the driver pleaded not guilty and requested a tri…
Did Texas law give people with physical disabilities equal access to buses, trains, airplanes, and other public transportation?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the right applied to public transportation operating in Texas and depended on public use, not whether the transportation received public funding.
Did dismissal or acquittal of a Texas DWI charge prevent suspension of the driver's license for refusing a breath or blood test?
No. The license proceeding concerned refusal to provide a specimen and used a lower civil proof standard, so dismissal or acquittal of the separate DWI charge was not a defense.
Could a Texas county auditor examine inmate trust and jail commissary accounts held and operated by the county sheriff?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the auditor's authority reached all money the sheriff held in an official capacity, even if a particular account did not contain county-owned funds.
Who had to notify landowners about a proposed Texas subdivision plat revision, and did every nondeveloper owner in the subdivision receive notice?
The county commissioners court had the notice duty. It had to notify every nondeveloper owner in the subdivided tract, even when the proposed revision affected only one smaller unit plat.
Did a felony indictment automatically end the appointment of a Texas deputy sheriff protected by a county sheriff's civil-service system?
No. For deputies covered by article 2372h-8, the civil-service commission's dismissal and discipline rules displaced the older automatic-revocation statute. Exempt deputies remained subject to automat…
Could a Texas county build or buy a jail through a multi-year lease-purchase agreement without a special statute expressly authorizing that financing method?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that counties had implied authority to use lease-purchase financing for an essential jail project, subject to every applicable constitutional and statutory requirem…
What counted as a bidder's principal place of business under Texas's reciprocal preference for resident and nonresident public-contract bidders?
It was the state where the bidder maintained an office and conducted a substantial part of its operations. A token Texas office with one employee who only submitted government bids was not enough.
Could Harris County pay district judges extra for serving as weekend and holiday magistrates without reducing the judges' state-funded salary?
No, not once the extra pay exceeded the required $1,000 salary differential below appellate justices. The Comptroller then had to reduce the state salary share by the excess, while a proper automobile…
What did a Texas district clerk have to do with a civil dismissal notice, an attorney withdrawal request, or an unsigned proposed nonsuit order?
The clerk had to perform the ministerial work of filing each document in the case record and entering it in the court's records. That duty included a nonsuit motion and its proposed order even when th…
Did a licensed Texas air-conditioning contractor need a professional engineer's seal for system design work authorized by the contractor licensing law?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Air Conditioning Contractor License Law created a specific exception to the broader Engineering Practice Act for design work that licensed air-conditioning …
Could a Texas court master appointed under Senate Bill 1321 handle cases under Titles 1, 2, or 4 of the Family Code even though the bill amended a statute repealed by the same legislature?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the same-session amendment survived the statute's codification and repeal because the Government Code savings provision preserved amendments enacted by the leg…
Could a participant in a Texas public university's Optional Retirement Program choose the agent, broker, or company handling the investments or annuities?
No. The Attorney General concluded that chapter 36 of Title 110B gave the governing board, not the participant, authority over Optional Retirement Program vendors. The board could consider participant…
Could a Texas city spend hotel occupancy tax revenue on advertising meant to attract new businesses and permanent residents?
Not merely for business relocation or new residents. The advertising had to be developed and carried out in a way directly related to attracting conventions, visitors, or tourists.
Could a registered Texas fire-sprinkler contractor subcontract system work to an unregistered contractor or unlicensed individual?
The subcontractor had to satisfy article 5.43-3's registration requirements unless a narrow exemption applied. The State Board of Insurance could also adopt rules barring registered contractors from s…
Could a Texas constable enforce vehicle weight limits on state highways or on county roads outside the constable's precinct?
A constable lacked authority under article 6701d-11 to enforce weight limits on state-maintained highways. Under a commissioners court resolution issued under article 6702-1, a Jefferson County consta…
Could a Texas housing authority use HUD's Consolidated Supply Program instead of following state competitive-bidding law?
Not when Texas law required competitive bidding. The housing authority's federal contract did not exempt Consolidated Supply Program purchases from state bidding rules, though the federal program coul…
Who could appoint and remove San Benito housing-authority commissioners, the mayor or the city manager?
The city manager. Because San Benito's charter assigned the manager the duties customarily imposed on the city's executive head, the manager fit article 1269k's statutory definition of mayor for housi…
Could a Texas school district pay a winning trustee's legal fees in a lawsuit contesting the trustee's election?
No. The election contest concerned the trustee's personal claim to office rather than a legitimate school-district interest, so district funds could not pay the trustee's defense. The board could seek…
Did the Texas Rodent and Predatory Animal Control Service need an additional state wildlife permit for its animal-damage-control work?
The Attorney General concluded that the cooperative program authorized by article 192(b) was intended to supply the authority needed for predator and rodent control. The program's operating authority …
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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.