Virginia Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Virginia, with full citations and the original source on every page.
No Virginia opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
When does Virginia's reckless driving law prohibit passing two cars at once on a two-lane road?
Section 46.2-856 bars passing two vehicles traveling side by side in two different lanes moving the same direction. It does not apply on highways with three or more lanes each way, or on one-way stree…
Are companies that sell home service contracts in Virginia regulated by the SCC, and do they need a contractor's license?
If a home service contract provider qualifies for an exemption to § 38.2-2618, the SCC cannot enforce against it. Whether the provider needs a contractor's license under Chapter 11 of Title 54.1 depen…
Is a marriage valid in Virginia if the couple got a Virginia license but had their ceremony in another state, with a Virginia-authorized officiant?
No. A minister or officiant authorized under § 20-23 or § 20-25 has authority only inside Virginia. A ceremony conducted in another state using a Virginia marriage license is not validly solemnized, e…
Can a Virginia circuit court clerk sign up for Westlaw or Lexis on behalf of the county law library, and does courthouse security keep the library from being 'public'?
Yes, under three routes: (1) local bar rules with court approval, (2) governing body authorization, or (3) the clerk's own § 42.1-65(C) authority for computer research services. Metal detectors and lo…
Does Virginia's smoking ban apply to e-cigarettes in 2010, before they had their own statutory category?
No. Using an e-cigarette is not 'smoke' or 'smoking' under § 15.2-2820. The device produces water vapor with traces of particulates, is battery-powered, and is not 'lighted' in the ordinary sense of t…
How much can a Virginia planning district commission spend over the term of a single architectural or engineering contract before it has to rebid?
The George Washington Regional Commission is not a 'locality,' 'authority,' or 'sanitation district' under § 2.2-4301, so the $5 million ceiling does not apply. Its multi-project architectural and eng…
Can a Virginia county tax clay and sand deposits as 'mineral lands,' and how should the assessor value them?
Yes. Clay and sand are 'minerals' subject to local real property taxation once they are discovered, whether or not the land is under active development. Assessors may use the income capitalization met…
Can a Virginia public service authority charge a fee to residents who refuse to use its trash collection service?
No. Section 15.2-5137 authorizes nonuser service charges only for water and sewer service. A Virginia public service authority lacks the statutory power to assess a nonuser fee for refuse collection.
Can the Virginia DMV require an ignition interlock for license reinstatement after a second DUI even if the sentencing court didn't order one?
Yes. Section 46.2-391.01 makes it mandatory: when the convicting court fails to order an ignition interlock after a second DUI, the DMV Commissioner is both authorized and required to impose it before…
Can a Virginia school board fund a charter school at a lower per-student rate than its other schools without violating § 22.1-212.14?
The Patrick Henry startup-cost provision does not violate § 22.1-212.14(D). On per-student funding disparities, the AG declined to rule, saying a gap is not automatically a 'financial disincentive' an…
Can Virginia's budget bill raise taxes or fees in the same act that appropriates money, or does that violate the constitutional single-object rule?
Yes. An appropriation act that both spends money and raises taxes or fees can survive the single-object rule in Article IV, § 12 because the Virginia Supreme Court reads the rule broadly to allow cong…
Can the Virginia General Assembly pass a law requiring a supermajority vote to lift the state's uranium mining moratorium?
No. Article IV, § 11(d) of the Virginia Constitution sets the majority-vote rule for ordinary legislation. A statute requiring a supermajority to lift the uranium-mining moratorium would be unenforcea…
Can a Virginia school district charge parents a bus fee when their child attends a specialty program outside their home school's zone?
No. Specialty programs that interweave the standard curriculum are not 'extracurricular' under § 22.1-176(B). Without that label, Virginia law gives school boards no authority to charge a transportati…
Does Virginia commit age discrimination when SPORS retirees keep getting a retirement supplement longer than VaLORS retirees?
No. The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act expressly exempts pension-plan minimum-age conditions. The different SPORS and VaLORS cutoffs for the retirement supplement fit that exemption, so …
Can a Virginia city reassess a homeowner's property mid-cycle and raise the tax bill before the next annual reassessment?
No general reassessment more than once a year. Virginia law (§ 58.1-3254) allows 'a' single general reassessment per year, no more. But individual taxpayers can still see higher assessments through bo…
Can a private group hosting a festival on land it leases from a Virginia city ban people from carrying firearms at the event?
Yes. A private entity that leases public property to host an event may generally prohibit firearms at that event. The lease alone does not turn the private group into a state actor bound by the Second…
Can a Virginia school board require a public charter school to pay all costs of making its building ADA-compliant as a startup condition?
Yes. Section 22.1-212.14(D) bars financial disincentives only inside the 'funding and service agreements' that govern ongoing operations. A startup ADA-compliance requirement is a separate condition a…
Does the U.S. Navy have to pay Chesapeake's stormwater management fee, or is it really a tax that the federal government cannot be charged?
Yes, the Navy had to pay. The Chesapeake stormwater fee under City Code § 26-401 and Va. Code § 15.2-2114 was a service fee, not a tax. The Massachusetts v. United States three-part test was met: nond…
Can a Virginia Commonwealth's attorney represent a toll road operator chasing drivers for unpaid tolls?
No. A Virginia Commonwealth's attorney had no authority to represent a toll facility operator in unpaid-toll actions under § 46.2-819.1 or § 46.2-819.3. The General Assembly knows how to grant prosecu…
Can a Virginia school board hire its own lawyer instead of relying on the city attorney?
Yes. Section 22.1-82(A) of the Virginia Code, which uses 'notwithstanding any other provision of law' language, lets a Virginia school board hire its own counsel even where a city charter (like Newpor…
Can Virginia enforce its ban on hiring unauthorized aliens by getting a court injunction against the employer?
Federal IRCA expressly preempts state civil or criminal sanctions for employing unauthorized aliens, except for licensing-and-similar laws. A Virginia injunction against an employer is a civil sanctio…
Can a Virginia state legislator raise money for a federal campaign while the General Assembly is in session?
Section 24.2-954 bars fundraising only for state-office campaigns during the regular session, not for federal campaigns. Even if it tried to reach federal campaigns, the Federal Election Campaign Act …
Can a Virginia city or county impose adoption requirements stricter than the state's minimum rules at an animal pound?
Yes. Section 3.2-6543(A) lets Virginia localities adopt animal-control ordinances 'more stringent' than the state minimum, including pound policies that add restrictions or requirements on adoption be…
Must a Virginia locality plan its urban development areas to handle 10-20 years of growth, and can it deny developer rezoning for lack of infrastructure?
Yes to the 10-20 year planning requirement. Under § 15.2-2223.1, a Virginia urban development area must accommodate 10 to 20 years of anticipated residential and commercial growth at the prescribed co…
Are Virginia domestic-violence shelter and sexual-assault advocates required to report suspected child abuse?
Generally no. Advocates in Virginia domestic-violence shelters and sexual-assault crisis centers were not on the § 63.2-1509(A) list of mandatory child-abuse reporters. They could become mandatory rep…
Can a Virginia airport authority condemn trees in a private cemetery that intrude on the federally required clear airspace?
Yes. The Virginia Highlands Airport Authority could use its § 5.1-32 eminent-domain authority to condemn trees in a private cemetery that penetrated the FAA-mandated approach surface. The specific air…
Can a Virginia landowner combine adjacent parcels to meet the minimum acreage for the land-use tax break?
Yes for combining contiguous same-owner parcels to meet the 20-acre forest or 5-acre agricultural minimum under § 58.1-3233(2). For mixed-use parcels (part forest, part ag), each use must independentl…
Do federal credit unions have to pay Virginia's tax on electricity consumers, including the local share?
No. Federal credit unions were exempt from Virginia's tax on consumers of electricity under § 58.1-2900, including the local portion, because 12 U.S.C. § 1768 exempts federal credit unions from all no…
Can a Virginia court retroactively validate a wedding ceremony where the couple never obtained a marriage license?
No. A Virginia court had no statutory or equitable authority to affirm marriages performed without a marriage license, even if the celebrant was otherwise authorized. The court also could not direct a…
Does Virginia need a constitutional amendment to extend the military property-tax exemption to a vehicle jointly titled with a nonmilitary spouse?
No. The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act preempts Virginia's personal property tax on motor vehicles jointly titled by a nonresident servicemember and a nonmilitary spouse. For leased vehicles …
When do Virginia's alternative onsite sewage system rules trigger limits on what localities can require?
Once the Board of Health adopted emergency regulations required by the 2009 amendments to § 32.1-163.6, the limits in § 15.2-2157(C)-(D) on what localities can require for alternative onsite sewage sy…
Can a Virginia local treasurer charge a delinquent state taxpayer an extra 20% commission for collecting unpaid state taxes?
No. A Virginia local treasurer who collected delinquent state taxes for the Department of Taxation could not add a flat 20% commission onto the taxpayer's bill. The Department could compensate the loc…
Does serving a show cause summons in Virginia count as an arrest that has to be reported to the criminal records exchange?
No. Serving a criminal show cause summons did not count as an 'arrest' and did not trigger the Central Criminal Records Exchange reporting requirements in § 19.2-390. An arrest requires physical restr…
During the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, could Virginia paramedics and other EMS providers administer flu vaccines (seasonal or H1N1) under the guidance of their operational medical directors?
Only with State Health Commissioner authorization during a declared emergency. The Drug Control Act lists who may administer vaccines (pharmacists, registered nurses, certain practitioners). EMS provi…
How does a Virginia commissioner of the revenue assess a farm when part of it sits inside an incorporated town, especially when the county has a use-value program for agriculture but the town doesn't?
The commissioner of the revenue lists the entire farm parcel on the county's land book even though part of it sits inside an incorporated town, then lists the in-town portion as a separate line item e…
When a Virginia polling place can't be used on Election Day because of an emergency, what's the legal process for moving voters to an alternative location?
Section 24.2-310(D) is the operative statute. It overrides the normal 60-day blackout on polling place changes when an emergency makes a polling place unusable or inaccessible. The local electoral boa…
How much can a Virginia locality require a subdivision developer to bond for administrative costs?
No more than 10%. Under § 15.2-2241(5) as amended in 2009, a Virginia locality could not require a subdivision developer to post a bond with an administrative allowance exceeding 10% of estimated cons…
Can a Virginia county board of supervisors or a circuit court judge tell the circuit court clerk how to spend the Technology Trust Fund money credited to the clerk's office?
No. Neither a locality nor a circuit court judge has statutory authority to direct how a Virginia circuit court clerk uses Technology Trust Fund monies allocated to the clerk's office under § 17.1-279…
Can Fairfax County impose its admissions tax on concerts and shows held at George Mason University's Patriot Center, even though a private company runs the building for the state university?
Yes. Section 58.1-3818(A) lets Fairfax County levy an admissions tax up to 10% on attendance at events. If the private corporation managing George Mason University's Patriot Center actually has contra…
Does Virginia's industrial development authority statute let a county-level IDA finance subsidized single-family housing, even though the statute's purpose paragraph only mentions 'municipalities'?
Yes. After the 2006 amendment to § 15.2-4902(xiii) substituted 'localities' for 'municipalities,' Virginia industrial development authorities created by counties (whose housing authorities have not be…
When a Virginia juvenile court transfers a juvenile to circuit court for adult prosecution and no one appeals, when does the juvenile court actually lose jurisdiction, and when can the juvenile be moved from juvenile detention to the adult jail?
Immediately. Once the juvenile and domestic relations court enters a transfer order under § 16.1-269.1(A), the juvenile court is divested of jurisdiction at that moment. The juvenile may be moved from…
If a Virginia county treasurer used the wrong school census numbers to split local sales tax revenue between towns, can the county recover the overpayments through the state's error-correction process, or does the county have another way to claw it back?
No to the first remedy, yes to a different one. Section 58.1-605(F)'s error-correction process applies to the Comptroller's monthly payments to counties, not to a county treasurer's downstream distrib…
Can a Virginia locality like York County, worried about Chesapeake Bay pollution, pass an ordinance restricting or banning fertilizer use on lawns?
Yes. Under §§ 10.1-603.7(A) and 15.2-924.1(A), Virginia localities can adopt ordinances that regulate or even prohibit the use or application of fertilizers. The locality must base the ordinance on th…
If a Virginia nonprofit religious corporation hires pastoral counselors and claims to be a 'community-based citizen group or organization,' does the Attorney General decide whether its staff is exempt from counselor licensure?
The Board of Counseling is the Virginia agency the General Assembly designated to interpret who qualifies as a 'community-based citizen group or organization' under § 54.1-3501(4), the licensure exemp…
When a Virginia juvenile court issues a child protective order requiring someone to 'abstain from offensive conduct,' does that include harassing, stalking, threatening, or putting a person in reasonable fear of bodily injury?
Yes. Absent a Virginia statutory or judicial definition, 'offensive conduct' in § 16.1-253(A)(1) child protective orders has its plain and ordinary meaning, which the AG concluded encompasses acts of …
If a Lake Chesdin landowner builds a boat pier on land owned by the Appomattox River Water Authority under a permit agreement, who has to pay real estate taxes on the pier?
The landowner who built and uses the pier is the owner for real-property tax purposes, not the Appomattox River Water Authority, because the permit agreement makes the pier a structure 'appurtenant' t…
If Fairfax County converted to an independent city, what would happen to the existing City of Fairfax and Town of Vienna, and could the converted county use the same name 'City of Fairfax'?
If Fairfax County took the steps in Chapter 39 of Title 15.2 to become an independent city, the existing City of Fairfax and Town of Vienna keep their charters and their legal powers. Section 15.2-391…
Can a Virginia 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation's BPOL tax exemption shield its wholly owned, for-profit subsidiary that handles administrative and marketing services?
No. The BPOL tax exemption in § 58.1-3703(C)(18)(a) is limited to entities that themselves qualify as a 'nonprofit charitable organization' described in IRC § 501(c)(3) with deductible contributions u…
Can the Virginia Secretary of Technology also serve as the Commonwealth's Chief Information Officer, and can the Information Technology Investment Board negotiate or modify VITA's big technology contracts?
No, an individual may not serve simultaneously as Virginia's Secretary of Technology and Chief Information Officer. The two offices are legally incompatible: the Secretary is an ex officio voting memb…
If a Virginia church puts its property into a separate nonprofit holding company and then leases the property back from that holding company for its religious use, can the property still get a church property tax exemption?
Yes. Real property owned by a religious nonprofit property holding company keeps the local property tax exemption under § 58.1-3606(A)(5) when the property is exclusively occupied and used for religio…
When a Virginia medical malpractice claim is reviewed by a panel or tried to a jury, what standard of care does the law apply, and is there a national or specialty-board standard the Commonwealth has officially adopted?
Virginia uses a statewide standard of care set by § 8.01-581.20(A): the degree of skill and diligence practiced by reasonably prudent providers in the same specialty across the Commonwealth, proven th…
In Virginia, can a local school board pick a math textbook that the State Board of Education hasn't fully approved for a given grade, and what process does the local board have to follow when doing so?
Yes, a local school board may select textbooks not approved by the State Board of Education for the particular grade level, provided it complies with the State Board's regulations. Those regulations r…
Under Virginia law, can a Commonwealth's attorney or assistant Commonwealth's attorney carry a concealed handgun into a restaurant that serves alcohol, drink while doing so, or carry on school grounds?
Yes on schools and restaurants, no on intoxication. The 2008 amendments to § 18.2-308(B)(9) gave Commonwealth's attorneys a broad statutory exemption from the concealed weapons prohibition, subject on…
Does a Virginia general contractor's mechanic's lien get invalidated because the lien claimant didn't separately file the required certification of mailing, even when the property owner actually received the notice?
Yes, the lien is invalid. After Britt Construction v. Magazzine Clean (2006), the Supreme Court of Virginia treats § 43-4's certification-of-mailing requirement as a strict statutory prerequisite for …
When a juvenile and domestic relations court transfers a juvenile to circuit court for trial as an adult and nobody appeals, does the circuit court still have to enter a separate 'enabling order' before the prosecutor can seek an indictment?
No. After the 1996 amendment to § 16.1-269.6(B), a Virginia circuit court only has to review the papers and enter an enabling order if one of the parties appeals the juvenile court's transfer decision…
When Northampton County pulls out of a joint planning commission with three Eastern Shore towns that aren't next to each other, do the towns have to set up their own planning commissions?
Yes. Once Northampton County withdraws from the Northampton County Joint Planning Commission, the joint commission cannot continue because the three remaining towns (Eastville, Cheriton, and Nassawado…
If a Virginia person designated someone in a § 54.1-2825 writing to handle 'burial' arrangements, can that designee also take over funeral planning, and does the designee outrank the family?
'Burial' is narrower than 'funeral.' A § 54.1-2825 designee has authority to make arrangements to dispose of remains (including interment or cremation), not to plan the funeral itself. The designee is…
When a Virginia gas owner does not elect to participate in a compulsory pooling order's options, can the Gas and Oil Board treat their interest as 'deemed leased' to the well operator, and does this amount to a taking without due process or compensation?
Yes, the Board not only may but must include 'deemed leased' language in compulsory pooling orders when gas owners do not elect a statutory option. The mandate comes from the General Assembly under §§…
When the Virginia Gas and Oil Board orders compulsory pooling for a coalbed methane well, can it allow the operator to deduct post-wellhead processing, transportation, and marketing costs from the gas owner's one-eighth royalty?
Yes. The Virginia Gas and Oil Board has broad statutory authority to issue compulsory pooling orders, and its standard order language allowing deduction of post-production costs (gathering, compressio…
If a Virginia bail bondsman signs a bail bond as an agent for the insurance company that backs it, can the bondsman be sued personally when the defendant skips court and the bond is forfeited?
No. When a Virginia surety bail bondsman signs a bail bond as a disclosed agent for the named corporate surety (and stays within the authority granted by the surety's power of attorney), the bondsman …
Browse Virginia opinions by topic
Attorney general opinions in Virginia are written by the Virginia 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.