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.
Does a Texas peace officer commit a crime by carrying a handgun while off duty or outside the area where his department has jurisdiction?
No. JM-613 concluded a Texas peace officer is a peace officer twenty-four hours a day statewide, so section 46.03 of the Penal Code exempts him from prosecution under section 46.02 for carrying a hand…
Can someone who lives in a housing cooperative, owning corporate stock instead of the home itself, claim the Texas residence homestead tax exemption or homestead protection from forced sale?
No. JM-612 concluded that a cooperative resident owns corporate stock, not the home, so neither the residence homestead property-tax exemption nor the constitutional protection from forced sale applie…
Does registering to vote in Texas make a seasonal winter resident a Texas domiciliary for vehicles, probate, taxes, and marital law?
No. JM-611 said voter registration created a strong presumption of Texas residence but did not by itself establish domicile for every legal purpose; intent, physical presence, and the particular statu…
Can an employee of one Texas county housing authority also work as a bookkeeper or consultant for another housing authority, or own a home in another authority's housing project?
No on both counts. JM-610 read section 6a of article 1269k as an unusually broad conflict-of-interest bar with no out-of-jurisdiction exception, so a housing authority employee cannot do bookkeeping o…
Could Texas health officials regulate a self-employed massage instructor as a massage school and require registration details in every advertisement?
No to both blanket rules. JM-609 said the statute allowed instruction by independent instructors and did not authorize the proposed all-advertising disclosure, although the department could reasonably…
How long does a Texas district attorney have to answer a state prisoner's article 11.07 habeas corpus petition, and when does the clock start?
JM-608 concluded the district attorney gets a full 15 days to answer, and that 15-day clock starts when the district attorney actually receives notice of the writ, not when the petition was filed with…
Who qualified to serve on the Texas nursing-home-administrator licensing board, and did trade-association ties disqualify an appointee?
An educator's university program did not have to lead to a degree, but the AG could not decide the appointee's actual connection as a fact matter. Administrator members had to be currently serving, an…
Can a Texas county issue marriage licenses from a branch office or sub-courthouse instead of the main county courthouse?
Yes. JM-606 concluded that in counties where statutes authorize branch offices or auxiliary courthouses, the county clerk or a duly authorized deputy clerk may issue marriage licenses from those locat…
When a Texas city annexes land inside a rural fire prevention district, does the district keep taxing and serving that area, or is the area automatically removed?
JM-605 concluded the annexed area stays part of the rural fire prevention district until the city formally removes it under section 14b of article 2351a-6. Once the city removes it, the district stops…
Can a Texas city choose a credit union as the depository for its public funds?
No. JM-604 concluded that although a credit union may accept public deposits, the city depository statutes let a city select only a 'banking corporation, association or individual banker,' which does …
Did a county hospital authority's hospital stop being a public hospital when a private corporation leased and operated it?
No. JM-603 concluded that the hospital remained a public hospital because the hospital authority still owned and leased it. Title 3 indigent-care rules applied, including the conditional Hill-Burton e…
Could a nonlawyer office manager represent doctors or their unincorporated association in Texas small claims court?
A doctor could represent himself. A nonlawyer employee could represent the unincorporated association if not employed solely as a collection agent, but could not represent an individual doctor.
Did a Texas sheriff have to create fingerprints or photographs that no agency had made after a DWI conviction?
No. JM-601 concluded that the sheriff had to compile and send identification information already made by a law-enforcement agency, but did not have to generate missing records. Lack of staff or fundin…
Can the Texas Forest Service force pest-control tree cutting on federal or private land, and can it charge the landowner?
Only in limited circumstances. JM-600 concluded that Texas needed federal permission to enforce its forest-pest law on federal land, while a private owner could be required to cut trees or pay control…
Could a Texas county pay new or replacement employees $1,000 less during their first six months?
Yes, under the law addressed in JM-599. The commissioners court could reduce the pay of new or replacement employees during the year, provided the salary did not fall below its January 1, 1972 level; …
Could a Texas city street superintendent also write bail bonds in the same county?
Yes, as a matter of law under the circumstances addressed in JM-598. The AG found no statute barring the street superintendent from writing bail bonds for private individuals, but did not decide wheth…
Could a Texas community college give course credit for optional student work on a political campaign?
Yes. JM-597 concluded that optional campaign work could be offered for course credit if it served the course's educational purposes and any campaign effect was incidental and minimal; a teacher could …
Did Texas nonprofit water supply corporations have to open their meetings and records to the public?
Only corporations receiving state financial assistance under the cited Water Code provisions had to follow both the Open Records and Open Meetings Acts. All article 1434a water supply corporations sti…
Could DART discuss staff evaluations of consultants and competitive bidders in a closed meeting?
No. JM-595 concluded that the Open Records Act's exception for internal memoranda did not create an Open Meetings Act exception, so DART had to discuss consultant and bidder evaluations in open sessio…
Could a Texas county judge also serve as a paid director of a river authority?
No. JM-594 concluded that both positions were civil offices of emolument, so article XVI, section 40 barred one person from holding them at the same time; qualifying as county judge vacated the river-…
Could Texas use revenue from a sales tax on gasoline for purposes other than roads and the uses listed in the constitution?
No. JM-593 concluded that a gasoline sales tax was a tax on motor fuel within article VIII, section 7-a, so its proceeds could be used only for the purposes named in that constitutional dedication.
When did the first appointed members' terms on the Texas World Trade Council expire after the governor appointed them late?
Their initial terms expired February 1, 1987. JM-592 concluded that the statute fixed the term's end date and that late appointments shortened the members' tenure without extending the legal term.
Can a Texas home-rule city annex land in a rural fire prevention district after consenting to that district's creation?
Yes. JM-591 concluded that a home-rule city's earlier consent to a rural fire prevention district did not surrender its annexation power. The city could also withdraw an area from the district under s…
Could a Texas city inspect confidential taxpayer records behind a sales-tax refund that reduced the city's tax allocation?
No. JM-590 concluded in 1986 that the supporting taxpayer information was confidential and that an affected city had no greater access than any other requester. ORD-624 later narrowed language that co…
Can a justice of the peace elected to finish a constable's unexpired term wait until January 1 to take the new office?
No. JM-589 concluded that the winner had to file the required bond, take the oath, and assume the constable's unexpired term as soon as possible after receiving the election certificate.
Can a Texas DPS officer serve on a school board, city council, or other local governing body?
JM-588 concluded that a commissioned DPS officer could not hold a second paid civil office and could not campaign for or hold a partisan local office. Article XVI, section 40 did not by itself bar an …
When did large Texas counties have to begin operating a separate veterans county service office?
September 1, 1985. JM-587 concluded that counties with at least 200,000 residents became subject to the mandatory veterans service office requirements on the amendment's effective date.
Could a former Texas district judge who lost reelection still serve as a visiting judge?
Yes. JM-586 concluded that defeat for reelection no longer made an otherwise eligible former district judge ineligible for assignment under the Court Administration Act.
Who handles county employees' retirement payroll deductions, the county treasurer or the county auditor?
The county treasurer. JM-585 concluded that in counties of 10,000 or more people, the treasurer, not the auditor, is the payroll disbursing officer who deducts and transmits county employees' public r…
Can a Texas government board legally hold its meetings by conference call?
Not under the law as it stood in 1986. JM-584 concluded that a governmental body meeting by telephone conference call would not comply with the Texas Open Meetings Act unless the legislature specifica…
Can a community college board member who works at the district's bank vote on money decisions affecting that bank?
Yes. JM-583 concluded that the School Depository Act allowed a community college trustee tied to the district's depository bank to vote on routine expenditures that reduced the bank's deposits. JM-108…
Which firefighters are eligible to take a promotion exam under Texas civil service law?
All firefighters in the next-lower rank with enough service. JM-582 concluded that under the Firemen's and Policemen's Civil Service Act, any firefighter with at least two years of continuous service …
Can a county government hire someone related to the county judge, and is the Texas nepotism law too vague to enforce?
No, and no. JM-581 concluded that Texas's nepotism statute (article 5996a) is not unconstitutionally vague, and that it barred a county library from employing a first cousin of the county judge's moth…
Does the state prison system have to pay hospital bills for a baby born to an inmate?
No. JM-580 concluded that the Texas Department of Corrections had no legal authority to pay the extra hospital costs of a premature infant born to an inmate. Those costs fall on the child's parents, a…
When does a newly elected justice of the peace actually take office if the seat had been filled by appointment?
It depends on the term. JM-579 concluded that a justice of the peace elected to a new term takes office on the following January 1, but one elected to finish an unexpired term may qualify and take off…
If a member of a state advisory council stops meeting the qualifications, are they automatically removed from the board?
No. JM-578 concluded that a member of the Texas Planning Council for Developmental Disabilities who fails the federal membership qualifications is not automatically forced to resign, and cannot cure t…
Can a Texas county set later bar hours on some nights but not others?
No. JM-577 concluded that a county under 300,000 people has only two choices for mixed-beverage hours in its unincorporated areas: keep the standard hours or adopt the full extended late hours. It can…
Does a Texas housing authority have to hold a public hearing before buying existing buildings for low-income housing?
No. JM-576 concluded that the public hearing requirement in section 13a of the Housing Authorities Law applies only before a housing authority authorizes the construction of a project. Buying existing…
Are the 'local funds' a Texas university keeps outside the state treasury public records, and can the legislature appropriate them?
Generally yes on both. JM-575 concluded that records of local funds held by state colleges and universities fall under the Open Records Act, subject to case-by-case exceptions, and that local funds, g…
Can photocopied signatures from an earlier petition count toward a tax rollback election petition in Texas?
No. JM-574 concluded that a tax rollback petition under section 26.07 of the Tax Code must be signed with actual signatures. A petition that relied in part on photocopies of signatures from an earlier…
Can a Texas municipal housing authority buy supplies through a federal HUD program instead of taking competitive bids?
No. JM-573 concluded that Texas housing authorities, as divisions of cities, must follow the state competitive bidding statutes. Buying through HUD's Consolidated Supply Program does not satisfy those…
Can Texas Parks and Wildlife enforce boating safety laws on a private lake that a city leases and runs as a public park?
Yes. JM-572 concluded that a lake on private land leased to a city and used as a public municipal park is 'public water' under the Water Safety Act. While the lease and park use continue, the lake is …
Do city-owned electric utilities in Texas have to file the ten-year load forecast required by the Public Utility Regulatory Act?
Yes. JM-571 concluded that section 16(c) of PURA, which requires every 'generating electric utility' to file a ten-year forecast of load and resources, applies to municipally-owned utilities even thou…
Can a Texas city invest its public funds in a money market mutual fund that holds only U.S. government securities?
No, not under the statutes then in force. JM-570 concluded that the laws letting cities invest in 'direct debt securities' or 'obligations' of the United States did not authorize the city of Arlington…
Can a Texas county or city give one company an exclusive lease at a public airport that received state or federal funds?
Generally not if it locks out competition. JM-569 concluded that counties and cities can lease airport property to a private tenant, but where federal funds have been spent on the airport, 49 U.S.C. s…
Do a Texas county's road bonds and a county road district's bonds count against the same debt limit?
Yes. JM-568 concluded that article III, section 52 of the Texas Constitution sets a single ceiling, one-fourth of the assessed value of the real property, that both county road bonds under subsection …
Does the farm-commodity exemption for loading trucks also let a farmer drive an overweight truck on Texas highways?
No. JM-567 concluded that the exemption in section 5(b) of article 6701d-11 for agricultural or forestry commodities applies only to the separate offense of loading a truck with intent to exceed the w…
Does interest earned on bingo, bank franchise, and mixed beverage taxes go back to the cities and counties the taxes were collected for?
No. JM-566 concluded that the interest the state earns while holding bingo tax, bank franchise tax, and mixed beverage tax money belongs in the state's General Revenue Fund, not the local jurisdiction…
Can a Texas city annex a municipal utility district without taking on the district's debts and assets?
Sometimes, yes. JM-565 concluded that because Lago Vista was newly incorporated over part of the Travis County MUD No. 1 and never adopted the optional ordinance under section 6 of article 1182c-1, th…
Can Texas require proof of local need before certifying a new DWI education program?
No. JM-564 concluded that the DWI Certification Committee has no authority under article 42.12, section 6d of the Code of Criminal Procedure to require proof of local need, or letters of support from …
Can a Texas university's campus police arrest someone for a traffic violation off campus or on a public street next to campus?
Generally no. JM-563 concluded that Tarleton State University campus peace officers have limited territorial jurisdiction under Education Code section 51.203. They cannot make arrests as peace officer…
Can a Texas home rule city enforce its energy conservation code on customers outside city limits that it supplies with electricity?
Only partly. JM-562 concluded that under article 1108, a home rule city that runs its own electric utility has implied authority to enact and enforce reasonable regulations protecting its electrical d…
Does the Texas insurance regulator have to act when a workers' compensation insurer fails to provide required workplace accident-prevention services?
Yes, on the licensing side. JM-561 concluded that section (c) of article 5.76-1 is mandatory: if the State Board of Insurance determines, after a hearing, that an insurer is not maintaining or providi…
Can a state Medicaid program buy prescription drugs directly and give them to recipients without violating federal antitrust law?
Yes, in the AG's view. JM-560 concluded that a proposed Texas Medicaid Vendor Drug Program change, under which the state would contract with distributors to supply drugs for free distribution to Medic…
When a trust document does not say how to handle oil and gas royalty income, how are the royalty proceeds divided between principal and income?
By the statutory formula. JM-559 concluded that when a trust instrument does not specify how to allocate proceeds from producing mineral interests, section 113.107 of the Texas Trust Code controls. Th…
Can a Texas justice of the peace who lost an election retire before his term ends, and who runs the office until a replacement takes over?
He can retire, but he cannot walk away from the office. JM-558 concluded that a Webb County justice of the peace is a member of the Texas County and District Retirement System and may retire when he m…
How much can a collection agency charge someone who wrote a bad check, on top of the amount of the check?
Not much beyond a flat fee. JM-557 concluded that under article 9022, a collection agent for the holder of a dishonored check can collect the face amount of the check plus a reasonable processing fee …
Can a state agency deny an employee a merit raise because she was out on an approved workers' compensation claim?
No, not on that basis alone. JM-556 concluded that under the 1983 General Appropriations Act, a state employee counts as 'employed by the agency for at least six months' if she was hired at least six …
Can Texas regulate out-of-state mail-order pharmacies that ship prescriptions to Texas residents, and does that violate the Commerce Clause?
Partly, and no. JM-555 concluded that the Texas State Board of Pharmacy cannot license pharmacies physically located outside Texas, because it cannot inspect out-of-state facilities. But under section…
Does a doctor owe federal income tax when a Texas student loan is forgiven for practicing medicine in a rural area?
No. JM-554 concluded that the loan credits given by the State Rural Medical Education Board under article 4498c are not taxable income under section 108(f) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, as ame…
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.