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.
Can a Virginia county board of supervisors install and operate security cameras in the county treasurer's office, even if the treasurer objects?
No. The AG concluded that the treasurer, as a constitutional officer with exclusive control over the operation of her office, may refuse to allow the county board of supervisors to install or operate …
If a Virginia sheriff stores his own records on a server owned by the county or city, can the county administrator restrict or deny the sheriff's access to those records?
No. The AG concluded that a sheriff, as a constitutional officer independent of local government, must have unfettered access to his own records even when stored on locality-owned servers. Local offic…
When a Virginia locality has part-time and temporary employees working for a constitutional officer (sheriff, Commonwealth's attorney, commissioner of revenue, court clerk), does the locality have to give them the vacation, sick leave, and legal-holiday benefits that § 15.2-1605 requires for 'employees'?
Part-time employees: yes. Temporary employees: no. The AG read § 15.2-1605 to cover permanent full-time and part-time employees of constitutional officers, but not seasonal or short-term temporary wor…
Can a Virginia deputy sheriff also sit on the county board of supervisors at the same time?
Yes. Virginia's dual office-holding rules in Article VII, § 6 of the state constitution and Va. Code § 15.2-1534(A) only forbid simultaneous service in offices that are expressly listed in Article VII…
Can a Virginia sheriff assign deputies to work full-time security at a private hospital if the hospital pays the county for the cost?
No. AG Herring concluded a Virginia sheriff cannot dedicate deputies to provide full-time security at a private hospital, and the county cannot accept hospital funds to pay for it, because that's a pr…
When a Virginia constitutional officer dies or resigns and the highest-ranking deputy takes over until a special election, does the deputy have to live in the locality?
No. The opinion concluded that when the powers of a vacant Virginia constitutional office are assumed by the highest-ranking deputy under § 24.2-228.1(B), the deputy need not be a resident of the loca…
Do inmate phone commission funds belong to the Virginia sheriff's office or to the locality's general fund?
The locality's. Section 53.1-127.1 directs commissary profits to inmate benefit but treats phone-service funds as 'public funds' without earmarking them. Without an agreement, those funds go to the ci…
If a Virginia commissioner of revenue or treasurer serves as a DMV license agent, can the county take the DMV money to cover the existing local share of their budget?
No. Under Item 441(C) of the 2010 and 2011 Appropriations Acts, at least 80 percent of the DMV remittance must be appropriated to the constitutional officer's office, and the county cannot use it to s…
Does a Virginia locality have to commission an annual audit of its clerk of court, and can the Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) only step in under limited conditions?
The locality must provide for an annual audit of its constitutional officers, but an audit performed by the APA satisfies that requirement. And the APA's authority to audit constitutional officers is …
Can a Virginia county board of supervisors give a 5% salary supplement to constitutional officers and their staff out of county funds?
Yes. Section 15.2-1605.1 expressly authorizes a county or city governing body to supplement the compensation of constitutional officers and their deputies or employees above the Compensation Board-app…
If a Virginia county fails to adopt a budget, can the circuit court clerk close the office, and what happens to electronic filings?
Yes. The AG concluded that a clerk may close the office when the county has not adopted a budget and the clerk cannot pay employees. The clerk and staff may volunteer, and any electronic-filing functi…
If a regional jail agreement doesn't match the statute's minimum board membership, which controls?
The statute controls. Section 53.1-106 sets a floor of the sheriff plus one representative from each political subdivision, and contrary provisions in the agreement must yield. The county can still ap…
Does a Virginia circuit court clerk have to prepare sketch orders for civil cases and personally attend every docket call, or are those tasks discretionary?
No statutory duty to do either. Circuit court clerks' duties are set by statute and the Code does not require them to prepare sketch orders in civil cases or to personally attend civil or criminal doc…
Could county real-estate assessment employees placed under a Virginia commissioner of revenue be sworn in as deputy commissioners?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that real-estate assessment employees placed under the commissioner of revenue's supervision by board resolution effectively operated as the commissioner's employee…
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.