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 use public funds to help homeowners repair homes or to subsidize housing construction?
Only when the spending serves a predominantly public purpose, the AG concluded, and the commissioners court has to make that call first, subject to court review. A Texas House committee chair asked wh…
Does Texas's recreational use statute protect a landowner who hosts agritourism when a private plane lands on the property?
Yes, the AG concluded, as long as the usual conditions of Chapter 75 are met. A Texas House committee chair asked whether Chapter 75 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the recreational use statu…
Can the temporary directors of a new Texas groundwater conservation district cancel the election that would confirm the district?
Almost certainly not, the AG concluded. A Texas House committee chair asked about the Southwestern Travis County Groundwater Conservation District, whose seven temporary directors cancelled the May 20…
Can a Texas groundwater district amend a historic-use permit to change the purpose or place of water use?
Changing the purpose of the water use makes it a new use, even if it stays inside the district, the AG concluded. A Texas House committee chair asked about a dispute over what the Texas Supreme Court'…
Can a Texas city set a homestead property tax exemption minimum higher than $5,000?
No, the AG concluded. A state senator asked whether a home-rule city could adopt a residential homestead property tax exemption with a minimum dollar amount above the $5,000 set in the Constitution. T…
Can the survivors of a part-time firefighter or police officer who died in the line of duty buy the city's health insurance?
Yes, the AG concluded. A district attorney asked about the City of Burnet, where a part-time firefighter and EMT died in the line of duty. The city's policy did not give part-time workers or their dep…
Does a Texas DA's office have to turn over information from its civil cases to a criminal defendant?
Often yes, the AG concluded. The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney, whose office handles both civil and criminal matters, asked whether information her civil-side attorneys obtain, such as in …
Can a Texas presiding election judge carry a handgun at the polling place on election day?
While on duty, yes in many places, the AG concluded, but with real limits. A state representative asked whether Penal Code sections 46.02 and 46.03, which bar carrying firearms at a polling place, app…
Can a Texas school employee who serves on the city council be paid for council service?
Only if the employee is a schoolteacher, the AG concluded. A district attorney asked whether three Eagle Pass school district employees who serve on the city council, a counselor, an assistant princip…
Are Texas PACE clean-energy assessments treated like property taxes?
Yes, in key respects, the AG concluded. A county attorney asked, on behalf of Williamson County's PACE program, whether the contractual assessments local governments impose under the Property Assessed…
Can a right of reverter in a deed be enforced against a Texas state agency that owns the property?
Yes, the AG concluded. Texas State Technical College took a building and land from the Marshall Economic Development Corporation under a deed that gave the College a 'fee simple determinable,' meaning…
Can a Texas county education department set up a relief fund to give grants to local school districts after a hurricane?
The AG concluded it can, with conditions. The Harris County Department of Education may use its public funds, including property tax revenue, to create a Hurricane Harvey relief fund that grants money…
Can an employee of a Texas district attorney's office serve a subpoena in a criminal case?
The AG concluded a court would likely say yes. Article 24.01(b)(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure lets a person who is at least 18 and, at the time the subpoena issues, is not a participant in the …
Which peace officer has to transport someone held under an emergency mental health detention warrant in Texas?
The AG concluded that a magistrate may direct an emergency detention warrant under section 573.012(d) of the Health and Safety Code to any on-duty peace officer listed in article 2.12 of the Code of C…
Can one member of the Texas Railroad Commission fire the executive director without a vote?
The AG concluded that a single commissioner has no authority to unilaterally terminate or hire the Commission's executive director. That power belongs to the three-member Commission acting as a body, …
Can a Texas school district put public money into a scholarship program that pays for its graduates to attend a community college?
The AG concluded it can, if two conditions are met. The Education Code lets an independent school district spend its funds on purposes its trustees find necessary or conducive to running the public sc…
Can a Texas county commissioners court collect court fines and fees on its own, or does it have to go through the county clerk?
The AG concluded that it can. Article 103.003 of the Code of Criminal Procedure gives a commissioners court that has set up a collection improvement program independent authority to collect money owed…
When a grandfathered bingo hall license is sold, does the new owner get the old right to rent to several bingo groups?
The AG concluded that a court would likely read the Bingo Enabling Act to mean no. A commercial lessor licensed before June 10, 1989, kept a grandfathered right to lease to as many as seven bingo orga…
Can a Texas justice of the peace hire and supervise its own bailiff or warrant officer, and is that employee automatically a peace officer?
The AG concluded that a commissioners court may authorize a justice of the peace to appoint and supervise an employee to do the traditional work of a court bailiff, relying on Local Government Code se…
Can a Texas prosecutor use civil asset forfeiture money to buy insurance on a forfeited house while the case is on appeal?
The AG concluded that a court would likely say yes. A district attorney holding civil asset forfeiture funds under article 59.06(c)(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure may use those funds to buy prop…
After a storm destroys a manufactured home, can a Texas retailer remove its federal certification label, or does federal law block that?
The AG concluded that federal law does not preempt the Texas rule. The National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 sets construction and safety standards and requires a…
Can a Texas psychologist bill an insurer under their own name when a supervisee actually did the testing, without saying so on the bill?
The AG concluded a court would likely say yes. Occupations Code section 501.351(b) states that a test or service a psychologist delegates to a supervisee is considered delivered by the delegating psyc…
Can Texas spend the Proposition 1 and Proposition 7 highway money on toll roads or on projects that have tolled and free lanes?
The AG concluded that the Texas Transportation Commission may not spend state highway funds it receives under Propositions 1 and 7 on any toll road, because both constitutional amendments restrict the…
Can a Texas school board put term limits on its own trustees through a governance policy, without a state law authorizing it?
The AG concluded that a court would likely say no. Independent school district boards have broad authority to govern and manage their schools, but adding a term limit is really an extra eligibility re…
If the holder of a private transfer fee on Texas property botches the required notice, is the fee void, and what about a seller's disclosure?
The AG concluded that the rules are strict for the fee holder and looser for the seller. Property Code section 5.203 says that if the payee of a pre-2011 private transfer fee obligation fails to file …
Does Texas's SB 312 force the Loop 1604 toll project to repay state highway money, or is it exempt because its environmental review started early?
The AG could not give a yes-or-no answer because it turns on disputed facts. Senate Bill 312 amended the Transportation Code so a toll project entity does not have to repay funds the Department of Tra…
Can Texas require food to be eaten on the premises before a restaurant's scale is exempt from state weights-and-measures registration?
The AG concluded that a court would likely strike down that requirement. Agriculture Code section 13.1002 exempts a commercial weighing device used exclusively to weigh 'food sold for immediate consum…
Who pays for a disaster property reappraisal in Texas, and must owners be notified when their value goes down?
The AG concluded two things. First, a taxing unit that authorizes a disaster reappraisal must pay the appraisal district all the costs of making it, but the district cannot bill for routine reappraisa…
Can the Texas Governor suspend election laws and call an early special election during a disaster?
The AG concluded the Governor's disaster powers reached that far. Under Government Code section 418.016(a), the Governor may suspend Election Code timing and procedure rules to the extent strict compl…
Can Texas TCEQ deny an air permit for a concrete plant because it conflicts with city zoning?
The AG concluded that local zoning has little role in these air permits. Section 382.112 requires the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to give maximum consideration to a local government's re…
Can a Texas constable also serve as a deputy sheriff and enforce truck-weight limits?
The AG concluded yes. No statute, the Texas Constitution's dual-office ban (article XVI, section 40), nor the common-law incompatibility doctrine stops a constable or deputy constable from also servin…
When does postmortem toxicology testing in Texas need Forensic Science Commission accreditation?
The AG concluded it depends on why the test was ordered. A lab doing postmortem toxicology at a medical examiner's or forensic pathologist's request is a 'crime laboratory' needing Forensic Science Co…
Can a Texas county deduct money from a worker's paycheck for using tobacco?
The AG concluded that no provision of the Local Government Code lets a county dock an employee's salary without consent just because the employee uses tobacco. But a county does have authority to prov…
When can Texas police release or withhold body camera footage to the public or city officials?
The AG drew different lines for different requesters. For the public, body-camera video that is or could be criminal evidence runs through the Public Information Act; an agency may withhold it under t…
Can a Texas officer watch other officers' body camera video before giving a statement?
The AG concluded the officer gets to choose. Occupations Code subsection 1701.655(b)(5) requires a law enforcement agency's body-camera policy to entitle an officer to access any recording of an incid…
Does the $6 cap on unpaid toll fees apply to companies running Texas toll lanes, not just TxDOT?
The AG concluded the cap applies to those operators too. Senate Bill 312 limited the administrative fee the Texas Department of Transportation may add to an unpaid toll invoice to $6, with no more tha…
Can a Texas veteran get a VA cash-out refinance loan on their home?
The AG concluded no. A Texas 'cash-out' loan is a home equity loan, and the Texas Constitution lets a home equity loan be secured only by the homestead itself. Because a U.S. Department of Veterans Af…
Can a Texas county pay a commissioner's salary out of the road and bridge fund?
The AG concluded it depends on where the money in the fund came from. A county may move property tax revenue out of the road and bridge fund into the general fund and use it to pay a commissioner's sa…
Can a small Texas city let the chamber of commerce use city workers and equipment for community events?
The AG concluded it can, but only if the city council makes the right findings first. The Texas Constitution's gift clause bars giving away public money or resources for a private purpose. A city may …
Can a Texas county leave the county judge out of its longevity pay policy?
The AG concluded a county can, with one condition. A county commissioners court has discretion to decide who gets longevity pay, and excluding the county judge is allowed even if the reason is that th…
Does federal ERISA law override Texas rules on small-employer health reimbursement arrangements?
The AG concluded a court would likely say yes, but only for one type of plan. After Congress created the qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement (QSEHRA) in 2016, the AG read ERISA's…
Can a Texas water utility agency make a developer limit impervious cover to get water service?
The AG gave a partial answer. A public utility agency created under Chapter 572 can contract with private developers for water service on terms its board considers appropriate, as long as it stays wit…
Can a Texas school district pay to drive students and staff to the polls?
The AG concluded that, without an educational purpose, paying to transport students to polling places likely violates the Texas Constitution's gift clause, and the same goes for transporting employees…
Can a licensed Texan carry a handgun at church, and do churches pay private security fees for volunteer guards?
The AG concluded that, despite a Penal Code provision that on its face bans handguns at a church, a license holder may carry there unless the church gives effective oral or written notice forbidding i…
Can a Texas county appraisal district move a school district's boundary line?
The AG concluded it cannot. A tax appraisal district has no authority to detach property from one school district and add it to another, that process belongs to the school districts and the county und…
Does a Texas county treasurer or commissioners court control the money in a court's registry account?
The AG concluded neither one controls it the way the county controls its own funds. Money paid into a court's registry is held in trust and does not belong to the county, so it sits in a separate regi…
Can a county's contract collection attorney go after unpaid restitution owed to a crime victim?
The AG concluded it can. Article 103.0031 of the Code of Criminal Procedure lets a commissioners court hire a private attorney or vendor to collect a list of criminal items, and that list expressly in…
Can a county budget officer also be a staff employee of the county judge or commissioners court?
The AG concluded yes, the common-law incompatibility doctrine does not bar it. A county budget officer and an assistant budget officer can also hold employee jobs working for the county judge and the …
Can a Texas general-law city collect HOA dues for a homeowners association through its water bill?
The AG concluded it cannot. A Type A general-law city has only the powers the State expressly grants plus those reasonably necessary to carry them out, and no statute gives such a city authority to ru…
Does a voting machine that also prints a marked paper ballot still count as a direct recording electronic voting machine in Texas?
The AG concluded yes. Under the Election Code, a 'direct recording electronic voting machine' is one designed for a direct vote by touching a screen that records votes electronically. Adding a marked …
Can a Texas municipal utility district use surplus funds to fix or replace residents' cluster mailboxes?
The AG concluded it cannot. A municipal utility district can exercise only the powers the Legislature has clearly granted, tied to the water and natural-resource purposes behind its creation. Nothing …
Can a Texas doctor prescribe naloxone or another opioid-overdose drug to a police department?
The AG concluded yes. Health and Safety Code section 483.102 lets a prescriber, directly or by standing order, prescribe an opioid antagonist such as naloxone to a person at risk of an opioid overdose…
Can a license holder carry a concealed handgun into a Texas junior college board of trustees meeting?
The AG concluded that on a junior college campus, where campus carry already permits concealed handguns, a license holder who carries one into an open board meeting at which no Penal Code section 30.0…
Can a Texas school district run buses into a neighboring district without an interlocal agreement?
The AG concluded it cannot, at least for regular to-and-from-school transportation. Education Code section 34.007 lets a school district operate a transportation system inside its own boundaries, and …
Does a Texas county clerk have to record an affidavit of adverse possession?
The AG concluded the clerk does have to record it. A county clerk must record any instrument the law permits to be recorded, and Property Code section 12.001(a) permits recording an instrument that co…
If a Texas county adopted a stock law by election back in 1918, is that law still in force today?
The AG concluded the old stock laws survived. When the Legislature folded the local stock law statutes into chapter 143 of the Agriculture Code in 1981, that recodification did not repeal stock laws t…
Does the district attorney's office have to pay for the extra copy of the court reporter's record in a criminal appeal?
The AG concluded the district attorney's office does not have to pay. In a criminal appeal, Rule of Appellate Procedure 34.6(h) makes the court reporter prepare a duplicate of the reporter's record an…
Can a Texas county pay its fire marshal's salary out of the county health services sales tax?
The AG concluded a court would likely say no. A chapter 324 county sales and use tax can be spent only to provide health services in the county, and the statute points to hospitals and public health d…
Does a name on a ballot petition have to exactly match the voter registration to count?
The AG concluded an exact match is not required. Election Code section 141.063 does not make a qualified voter print his or her name exactly as it appears on the voter registration list, and the statu…
Can a county commissioners court let the treasurer pay bills before the court approves them?
The AG concluded the commissioners court cannot do that. Under the Local Government Code, the commissioners court must examine and approve claims against the county, and the treasurer and auditor cann…
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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.