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.
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Can my city stop someone from tearing down a building while the council decides whether to declare it historic?
No. The 2024 amendment to § 15.2-2306 only stays demolition for 30 days after a locality approves an application to demolish an already-designated historic structure. It does not give localities a too…
Can a Virginia circuit court clerk carry a firearm into the courthouse where they work?
Yes, while in the conduct of their official duties. The AG concluded that the clerk of a circuit court is a 'court officer' as that phrase is used in § 18.2-283.1, the statute that generally bans weap…
Can I cross a Virginia public highway on my ATV using the most direct route, or do I need special authorization first?
Yes. Clause (ii) of Va. Code § 46.2-915.1(A)(1) is independent of clauses (i) and (iii). An ATV operator may cross a public highway by the most direct route without needing authorization from proper a…
When a Virginia criminal case is appealed from district court to circuit court, does the electronic summons fee apply at both court levels?
Yes. In localities that have implemented the electronic summons fee under Va. Code § 17.1-279.1, the fee applies to a qualifying appealed criminal or traffic case at both the district court level and …
Can a Virginia judge credit a prisoner's in-prison kitchen or janitorial work against their court fines and costs?
No. A court may not grant an inmate community service credits toward fines and costs for work performed inside a state correctional center (such as janitorial or kitchen work), unless that work is per…
If someone in Virginia gets a second DUI within 5 to 10 years of the first and had a blood alcohol level of 0.15 or higher, what's the minimum fine: $500 or $1,000?
$1,000. The $500 fine in Va. Code § 18.2-270(B)(2) for a second DUI within 5 to 10 years stacks with the additional $500 fine in § 18.2-270(B)(3) for a blood alcohol level of 0.15 or higher. Subsectio…
Can Gloucester County, Virginia, use revenue from its voter-approved 1% local sales tax to pay down debt on past school construction, or only to fund new school construction or major renovations going forward?
No. The Gloucester County 1% local sales tax, approved by voters in November 2020 under Va. Code § 58.1-605.1, must be used solely for capital projects involving new construction or major renovation o…
If the Commonwealth's Attorney does not show up or take a position in a Virginia criminal case, can a judge enter a deferred disposition under § 19.2-298.02 anyway? Or does silence count as agreement?
No. Silence does not count. A Virginia trial judge can only enter a deferred disposition under § 19.2-298.02 if the Commonwealth's Attorney affirmatively communicates agreement. That can happen in per…
Can a Fairfax County retirement board member also serve on an advisory committee of the Virginia Retirement System Board?
No. The Virginia AG concluded that Va. Code § 51.1-124.26(C) bars any 'elected or appointed official,' regardless of branch or level of government, from serving on a VRS Board advisory committee. A Fa…
Does Virginia's felony concealment-of-a-dead-body statute apply to the remains of a fetus that died in utero?
No. The words 'a dead body' in Va. Code § 18.2-323.02, the felony statute punishing malicious concealment of a dead body, do not include the remains of a human fetus that expired in utero. Other Code …
Can a Virginia public employer choose not to revoke VRS pension benefits after an employee's job-related felony conviction?
No. The AG concluded that § 51.1-124.13 of the Code of Virginia gave employers no discretion to decide whether to seek VRS benefit forfeiture once a felony conviction was finally determined to arise f…
Can a Virginia sheriff ban guns in every part of a courthouse, including the constitutional officer offices and county admin offices on other floors?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Fauquier County Sheriff may implement a security plan prohibiting weapons in all parts of the Fauquier County Courthouse, including areas occupied by constitutional offi…
Can a Virginia animal control officer decide not to seek a dangerous-dog summons after a bite if a statutory defense might apply?
Once an animal control officer had objective reason to believe a dog had bitten, attacked, or injured a person, § 3.2-6540 made it mandatory to apply to a magistrate for a summons. The statutory excep…
Does Virginia's project-labor-agreement statute apply to highway and transportation contracts awarded under the Public-Private Transportation Act?
No. The AG concluded that § 2.2-4321.2 of the Code, the Public Procurement Act provision governing project labor agreements, does not apply to contracts awarded under Virginia's Public-Private Transpo…
When someone dies from an accident or trauma in Virginia, who is legally required to take charge of the body, and who pays for removing it?
AG Herring concluded that under Va. Code § 32.1-283, once the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is notified of a death from trauma, injury, violence, or similar circumstances, OCME alone is require…
Can the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund Advisory Committee use specialty license plate revenue to pay a marketing firm to sell more 'Friend of the Chesapeake' plates?
No. AG Herring concluded the Fund's enabling statutes (Va. Code §§ 30-256 and 46.2-749.2) restrict the money to environmental education and Chesapeake Bay restoration projects. Paying for marketing to…
If someone working at a Virginia daycare commits a misdemeanor outside of work, does that disqualify them from staying employed there under Virginia's barrier crime law?
Yes. AG Herring concluded that the phrase 'while employed in a child day center' in Va. Code § 63.2-1720(C) covers any offense committed during the worker's period of employment, regardless of whether…
Can the private operator of the Midtown and Downtown Elizabeth River Tunnels add extra processing and administrative fees on top of the toll just to make more money?
No. AG Herring concluded that Elizabeth River Crossings can only charge processing fees to cover the actual cost of running the video-monitoring system and printing invoices, and administrative fees t…
Under Virginia's 2014 Sunday hunting law, does the exception for landowner-permitted hunting apply when the land is owned by a corporation or LLC, and does it cover public land?
The word 'landowner' in the 2014 Sunday hunting exception (Chapter 482 of the 2014 Acts of Assembly, amending § 29.1-521) is not limited to natural persons. It includes corporations, LLCs, and other n…
Can a Virginia gun owner put a machine gun in a trust to register it with state police?
No. The Uniform Machine Gun Act in Va. Code § 18.2-288 defines 'person' as 'firm, partnership, association or corporation.' Va. Code § 1-230 (the general definitions statute) includes 'trust' among en…
Can a Virginia locality require a group home for people with disabilities to have only live-in staff to qualify as a single-family residence for zoning?
No. Va. Code § 15.2-2291 mandates that a facility for up to eight individuals with mental illness, intellectual disability, or developmental disabilities, with one or more resident counselors or other…
Can Virginia's wildlife agency prohibit the use of dogs when it issues a bear kill permit to protect farm property?
No. Once the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries issues a bear kill permit under § 29.1-529 to address property damage, the AG concluded the Director cannot restrict the permit to prohibi…
Can Virginia's Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund be used to buy a new office building for the Workers' Compensation Commission?
No. The AG concluded the Workers' Compensation Commission could not use Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund money to buy a new headquarters building. Future legislation could authorize that use, and a…
When a Virginia town gives a traffic ticket under its own ordinance, does the fine go to the town, or to the state Literary Fund? And should the town's fines be lumped in with the county's for the 50% rule?
Fines collected for violations of local traffic ordinances enacted under § 46.2-1313 are NOT 'fines collected for offenses against the Commonwealth' under Article VIII, § 8. They are revenue of the lo…
Can a Virginia driver be ticketed under § 46.2-716(B) for a clear plastic license plate cover, or does the statute reach only colored covers?
Yes. Although § 46.2-716(B) singles out 'colored' coverings, its catch-all phrase 'other type of covering' that 'in any way alters or obscures' the plate is broad enough to reach clear plastic covers.…
Under Virginia's public-funds investment law, does 'domestic bank' mean only Virginia banks or any U.S. bank?
Any U.S. bank. Va. Code § 2.2-4509 lets localities invest in negotiable CDs at 'domestic banks.' Reading the term alongside Virginia's banking statutes, which incorporate the federal definition of 'fo…
Can a Virginia circuit court clerk charge a returned check fee when the check was for a civil case filing or related civil cost?
No. The returned check fee provisions in §§ 2.2-614.1, 17.1-275, and 19.2-353.3 funnel circuit clerks back to the criminal-side fee in § 19.2-353.3. There is no parallel authority in the civil code, s…
In Virginia, can a licensed attorney still choose to serve on a jury, and does the jury service exemption cover out-of-state attorneys?
Yes on both. Section 8.01-341(5) exempts practicing attorneys from jury duty but doesn't disqualify them; a lawyer can waive the exemption and serve. The exemption also reaches lawyers licensed in any…
Can a Virginia Commonwealth's Attorney appeal a circuit court tax ruling to the Virginia Supreme Court?
No. Section 58.1-3003 only authorizes a Commonwealth's Attorney to appeal a county tax levy to the circuit court, not beyond. Aggrieved taxpayers can file their own Supreme Court appeal under § 8.01-6…
Can the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority issue refunding bonds to refinance bonds originally issued by a local industrial development authority?
Yes. VSBFA has broad statutory power to issue refunding bonds, and that power covers bonds originally issued by other authorities, public bodies, or political subdivisions, including industrial develo…
Are Virginia state-employed firefighters covered by the Line of Duty Act if they are injured or killed on the job?
Not by themselves. Firefighters who work directly for the Commonwealth are outside the Line of Duty Act unless their fire company or rescue squad has been formally recognized by a county, city, or tow…
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…
Are juvenile probation and parole officers in Virginia treated as law-enforcement officers for the enhanced VaLORS retirement plan?
No. Juvenile probation and parole officers described in Va. Code § 16.1-237 are not 'law-enforcement officers' for purposes of the Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System (VaLORS). The Retirement Sys…
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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.