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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Could a county contract with a homeowners association to dedicate county deputy sheriffs or constables to the association's area in exchange for payment?
JM-57 said no under the 1983 law and the particular contract, finding an improper restriction on deployment discretion and constitutional and public-policy defects. GA-0553 later overruled JM-57 to th…
Could a nonlawyer authorized agent represent a landlord or tenant in a justice-court eviction case under former Rule 747a?
No, according to JM-56. It construed 'authorized agents' to mean attorney agents because allowing a nonlawyer to manage the case for another party conflicted with the State Bar Act. A party could stil…
Could outgoing Lavaca Hospital District directors act on ordinary board business after election day but before their successors qualified and took office?
Yes. JM-55 said the outgoing directors remained de jure holdover officers with full powers until their successors qualified. Their expired terms and the board's election-canvass duty did not create a …
Could a judge who completed 20 years of service shortly before age 71 receive the extra 10% retirement annuity by retiring after turning 71?
No. JM-54 said a judge already eligible to retire before age 71 had to retire before that birthday to receive the additional 10%. The any-age exception applied to a judge who was not eligible at 70 an…
Did a married school employee need spousal consent for payroll deductions covering union dues, charitable gifts, loan payments, or insurance premiums?
Only when the deduction operated as security for a valid, enforceable debt. Voluntary, revocable union-dues and charitable deductions were not indebtedness and needed no spousal consent. Loan and insu…
When did Senate Bill No. 94 repeal the Parks and Wildlife Code provisions listed in article 1, section 37, including fur-bearing-animal rules?
Each listed provision was repealed when a Parks and Wildlife Commission proclamation regulating the conduct covered by that provision took effect. The legislature adopted section 61.004's proclamation…
Could a Harris County constable charge the Industrial Accident Board for serving subpoenas issued for administrative hearings?
Yes, if the Harris County Commissioners Court authorized the fee. A new statute let commissioners courts set reasonable sheriff and constable service fees capped at the expense of providing the servic…
Could a Texas business corporation contribute to a nonprofit that performed nonpartisan research requested by a legislative caucus and shared the results broadly?
On the stated assumptions, yes. JM-50 found the contribution not necessarily barred or reportable under the corporate-donation, campaign-finance, lobbying, or bribery laws because the nonprofit did no…
Could a Hardin County district judge raise county-auditor assistants' salaries during the budget year and create a court-coordinator position without statutory authority?
The judge could approve midyear salary increases after a proper auditor application if spending stayed within anticipated revenue and the budget was lawfully amended. The judge could not unilaterally …
Could the Health Department withhold radioactive-waste license applicants' balance sheets, and did it have to treat an information request as continuing into the future?
A balance sheet could be withheld only on facts showing that release would substantially harm the submitter's competitive position; the bidding exception did not apply. The Open Records Act required p…
Could the Texas Animal Health Commission inspect livestock leaving Texas and use Form 2-71 even though the form was not named in statute?
Yes. Section 161.048 gave the commission discretion to inspect any livestock shipment moving within Texas, including outbound shipments. The commission could use Form 2-71, and the inspecting agent di…
Did the Veterinary Medical Examiners Board have to waive its examination for a veterinarian licensed in a state with substantially equivalent requirements?
No. Section 10(b) permitted but did not require a waiver. The board could create reciprocal licensing, continue requiring its examination, and consider any reasonable factor relevant to whether the ap…
Could a school district keep hiring an outside CPA as auditor after the CPA's first cousin joined the school board?
The nepotism law applied even if the CPA was an independent contractor. Continued hiring was permissible only if the CPA had been continuously employed or under contract as auditor for the entire two …
Could Harris County accept a donated swimming pool, charge pool admission and camping fees, and use the revenue to operate the pool?
Yes. JM-44 concluded that the Harris County park board could accept the donated pool, charge admission and camping fees, and use pool-admission revenue for the pool's operation, maintenance, and regul…
Was Texas Property Tax Code section 26.011, which limited certain reappraisal increases, constitutional?
No. JM-43 concluded that section 26.011 violated the Texas Constitution because it could value taxable property below market value without a specific constitutional authorization for special valuation…
Could a Texas school district deposit student-organization activity funds in a credit union instead of its school depository bank?
Yes, for the activity funds described in JM-42. Because no identified statute or administrative rule required those custodial funds to be placed in the school depository, the district could deposit th…
Did Pacifica Foundation's KPFT radio station qualify for a Texas property-tax exemption as a charity or community service club?
No, based on the facts submitted. JM-41 concluded that Pacifica Foundation did not meet the Tax Code's requirements for either a charitable-organization exemption or a community-service-club exemption…
Can a Texas chief appraiser cap a residence homestead exemption at fewer than 20 acres?
No. JM-40 concluded the chief appraiser has no discretion to set a minimum or maximum acreage. The exemption must cover any amount of land up to 20 acres that is used in the residential occupancy of t…
Could Travis County district judges count the tax assessor-collector's car allowance when setting the county auditor's salary?
No. JM-39 concluded a car allowance is an expense reimbursement, not compensation, so it could not be counted in the salary cap for the auditor. A valid salary order also stayed effective even though …
Can a Texas community mental health center let employees pay union dues through payroll deduction?
Yes, but it is not required to. JM-38 found the MHMR center is not a 'state governmental body' barred from making deductions, and it has permissive authority to offer union-dues payroll deductions if …
Are oral history interviews collected by a Texas public university open to the public under the Open Records Act?
Generally yes. JM-37 concluded oral history interviews acquired by a state university as part of its official activities are public information, though specific exceptions could shield portions, or in…
Can the public get student evaluations of Texas university faculty used for tenure and pay decisions?
Usually not as to the students. JM-36 concluded student evaluations of faculty may be withheld under section 3(a)(14) of the Open Records Act if they identify individual students, and sometimes under …
Does a Texas junior college district have to help pay for the county appraisal district?
Yes. JM-35 concluded that Blinn College, as a taxing unit, must contribute to the county appraisal district's costs under section 6.06 of the Tax Code and pay for appraisal services performed after Ja…
If a retired Texas judge is elected to the bench again, does he keep drawing his judicial retirement annuity?
No. JM-34 concluded the annuity is suspended while a former retiree holds a covered judicial office, he must again contribute to the system, and on later retirement his benefits are recomputed as if t…
Can a Texas law require appointments to a state commission to consider race, sex, religion, or national origin?
No, not as to those categories. JM-33 concluded a directive to weigh race, creed, sex, religion, or national origin in appointments to the State Library and Archives Commission was unconstitutional, b…
Can a Texas legislator take a part-time teaching job at a state university if private donated funds pay the salary?
Only as an unpaid volunteer. JM-32 concluded a House member may volunteer as a part-time instructor without violating the constitution's bar on holding another position of profit; it did not approve a…
On appeal of a driver's license probation-violation finding, can a Texas county court re-try whether the driver was a habitual traffic violator?
No. JM-31 concluded the trial de novo on a probation-violation appeal is limited to whether a probation condition was violated. The earlier findings that the driver was a habitual violator and that hi…
Could Texas fund telephone devices for the deaf through a surcharge on everyone's phone bills?
No, as drafted. JM-30 concluded House Bill 1002 was an unconstitutional grant of public money to individuals under article III, section 51 and article XVI, section 6 of the Texas Constitution.
Can a Texas city council choose a bank as its depository when most council members own stock in that bank?
No. JM-29 concluded a general law city council cannot enter a depository contract with a bank when a majority of council members are stockholders, because article 2529c bars stockholder-members from v…
Can the Texas Public Utility Counsel represent itself in court, and can the Attorney General represent it against the Public Utility Commission?
The public utility counsel may appear in court only if the Attorney General certifies he cannot represent it and permits it under his supervision. And the legislature may authorize the Attorney Genera…
After Travis County changed its fiscal year, how much of the 1983 pay raise could county officials actually get?
Only a pro-rata share. JM-27 concluded the raises were not invalid, but because the county moved its fiscal year, officials were entitled during the new fiscal year to only a pro-rata part of the 1983…
Can Texas require county treasurers to take continuing education and remove them for not completing it?
Yes. JM-26 concluded the legislature may require elected county treasurers to complete an annual course of instruction and may authorize their removal for failing to do so, consistent with article V, …
Can the Texas Legislature name who fills a new district judgeship it creates, and strip a district attorney of authority in one county?
No to naming the judge. JM-25 concluded a vacancy in a district judgeship must be filled by the governor's appointment, and the legislature cannot designate the person. But the legislature may divest …
Can the Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf get state appropriations without the funding restrictions that bind public junior colleges?
Yes. JM-24 concluded the institute is not a 'public junior college,' so the section 130.003 restrictions do not apply. It may receive state appropriations and gifts as long as its board runs it in com…
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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.