State AG Opinions
Free state attorney general opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
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Can a Florida municipality apply to convert an existing public school into a charter school?
No, not a conversion charter school. The AG concluded that section 1002.33(3)(b) limits conversion-charter applications to the district school board, the principal, teachers, parents, and/or the schoo…
Can a Florida city move its election dates by ordinance, and does adding term limits require a referendum?
Mixed. The AG concluded that under sections 100.3605 and 166.021(4), Arcadia could amend its charter by ordinance, without a referendum, to move election dates and adjust sitting officers' terms accor…
Does a federal credit union have to pay Virginia's grantor's recordation tax when it transfers real estate?
No. 12 U.S.C. § 1768 exempts federal credit unions from 'all taxation' by state and local taxing authorities (with a narrow exception for real and tangible personal property taxes). The Virginia recor…
Can a state require everyone in a polling place to be a U.S. citizen?
The AG concluded HB985, which would have required all poll watchers and any person admitted to a polling place during an election to be U.S. citizens, was constitutionally suspect under the Fourteenth…
Can Tennessee value solar and wind power property at less than its full installed cost for property tax purposes?
Yes. The AG concluded the proposed amendment to SB1000, which would have capped initial property-tax valuation of wind facilities at one-third of installed cost and solar facilities at 12.5% of instal…
Are private-school voucher programs allowed under the U.S. and Tennessee Constitutions?
Yes, on a facial challenge. The AG concluded HB190 (the Tennessee Choice & Opportunity Scholarship Act), which would have provided income-eligible students in the bottom 5% of public schools vouchers …
Can the state ban journalists from photographing inside polling places during elections?
Yes, on a facial challenge. The AG concluded HB921, which would have generally banned photographic and recording devices in polling places while letting county election commissions permit press use un…
Can a school board hire a new superintendent behind closed doors without telling the public it planned to vote?
No. The AG found that the Woodbridge School Board violated Delaware's open-meetings law by not disclosing it would vote on the superintendent's resignation and replacement, and by privately discussing…
Can Virginia's General Assembly directly impose extra sales, recordation, and hotel taxes on Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads but not on the rest of the state?
Partially yes, partially no. Imposing different tax rates on transactions (sales, hotel stays, recordation) in different localities does not violate Article X, § 1 of the Virginia Constitution because…
Can Virginia's legislature pass a budget that lets a small commission of legislators decide later whether to expand Medicaid under Obamacare?
No. The 2013 budget act created the Medicaid Innovation and Reform Commission and delegated to it the final call on whether Virginia would expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, contingent on …
Does a virtual charter school have to pay for its students to use the school district's testing facilities?
No, not as a separate charge. The AG concluded that a school district sponsoring a virtual charter school must provide test administration services, including paying for state- or district-required as…
Can a state ban United Nations representatives from observing its elections?
The AG concluded no. HB589, which would have made it a Class C misdemeanor for UN representatives to observe Tennessee elections, was susceptible to a facial Supremacy Clause challenge because foreign…
Can Tennessee tell its own law enforcement agencies they may not spend state money helping enforce new federal gun laws?
Yes, on a facial constitutional challenge. The AG concluded HB10, which would have barred allocation of state or local funds, personnel, or property to enforcement of any federal firearms law enacted …
Did the Georgia Immigration Enforcement Review Board have a 60-day deadline from the filing of a complaint to hold a hearing on the merits?
No. The 60-day window in O.C.G.A. § 50-36-3(g) was the time between the conclusion of the initial hearing and the issuance of the initial decision, not the time from complaint filing to hearing. The B…
Is Space Florida a public entity that could qualify for an FAA drone test-site authorization?
Yes. The Attorney General confirmed to the FAA that Space Florida is an independent special district and political subdivision of the State of Florida, created by Part II of Chapter 331 (the Space Flo…
Can a Texas school board move a single-member trustee into a new at-large seat?
A House committee chair asked whether the Beaumont ISD board could appoint one of its sitting single-member district trustees, whose term ran to 2015, to one of two new at-large positions running to 2…
Do State Bar of Texas petition candidates still have to follow election rules?
The State Bar of Texas executive director asked whether candidates for president-elect who get on the ballot by petition under Government Code section 81.019(c) are still subject to the State Bar's el…
Can the state make handgun carry permit records public but then make it a crime to republish them?
The AG concluded yes for the part that makes permit records confidential, but no for the parts that allow inspection while criminalizing publication. SB76 and its amendment would have left the records…
Can the Tennessee legislature let a small water utility district hold a popular election for its commissioners by writing a population-bracket bill?
Yes. The AG concluded SB513, which would have required commissioners of a water utility district in counties with populations between 41,800 and 41,900 to be elected by plurality vote of customers, di…
Can a state stop insurance companies from selling health insurance through Obamacare exchanges?
No. The AG concluded HB476, which would have forbidden Tennessee-licensed insurers from offering coverage through any ACA exchange operating in Tennessee, was constitutionally suspect under the Suprem…
Can the Oregon State Lottery use its constitutionally dedicated administrative funds to address problem gambling, fund treatment programs, or pay for related research and reports?
Mostly no. The AG drew a line: lottery administrative funds can pay for things that promote responsible use of lottery products (like consumer-facing communications and marketing decisions that screen…
Does a Texas sheriff need the commissioners court to approve the office policy manual?
A county attorney asked whether a sheriff must submit the sheriff's office policy manual to the county commissioners court for approval or rejection. The Attorney General concluded that no statute aut…
Can an arrested person in Texas waive being read their rights by a magistrate?
A House committee chair asked whether a magistrate's duty to admonish an arrested person under article 15.17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is mandatory, and whether an arrested person may waive be…
Can a person who was forcibly sterilized by Virginia between 1924 and 1979 sue the Commonwealth under the Virginia Tort Claims Act?
It is unlikely. The Virginia Tort Claims Act waives the Commonwealth's sovereign immunity only for claims accruing on or after July 1, 1982. Eugenic sterilizations conducted by the Commonwealth betwee…
Can Tennessee take away a private university's campus police authority if the university discriminates against religious student groups?
Probably as applied to state universities, yes (state institutions follow the legislature's lead). But as applied to private universities, the AG concluded SB1241 is constitutionally suspect because i…
Can a Florida county use tourist development tax money to fund a private trolley or tram service for beachgoers?
The AG's office gave only general guidance because the project details were unsettled. It cautioned that section 125.0104 limits tourist development tax revenue to enumerated purposes and that the off…
Did Maine's 2013 AG opinion say the State or the Wabanaki tribes have authority to regulate saltwater fishing under the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Acts?
The AG concluded that tribal members were subject to Maine's regulation of marine resources to the same extent as any other Maine citizen. The sustenance fishing rights reserved by the Settlement Acts…
Can a Texas court order destruction of blood evidence after a DWI case ends?
The Harris County District Attorney asked whether a court may order the destruction of blood seized while investigating an intoxication-related misdemeanor, and whether the DA's office may petition fo…
Can Tennessee tell tax assessors to value solar, wind, and geothermal power generation property at a discount because those technologies produce less electricity than coal or gas?
Yes, in the AG's view. The AG concluded that the proposed SB1000 amendment was constitutionally defensible. The General Assembly has broad discretion to set property valuation methods, and a credible …
Who owns a stolen car sold to a Florida scrap metal recycler that holds a derelict title?
The AG's office declined to decide who owned the vehicle, saying that was not a question it could resolve. It instead summarized the Florida statutes governing secondary metals recyclers (Part II, Cha…
How should Virginia classify the three-wheeled ScootCoupe vehicles for driver licensing, titling, insurance, and traffic enforcement?
The smaller PS50 (49.2cc, 30 mph) is a 'motor vehicle.' The larger PS150 (147.5cc, 55 mph) is a 'motorcycle.' Neither qualifies as a moped, motorized scooter, or motor-driven cycle under § 46.2-100, s…
Does a Virginia parcel with woodland, swamp, and a home site qualify for the use-value land tax program if it falls short of the minimum acreage?
No. To qualify, land must both fit a § 58.1-3230 classification (agricultural, horticultural, forest, or open-space) AND meet the § 58.1-3233(2) minimum acreage for that classification (5 acres farm/h…
Can a Tennessee state legislator or a county official also serve on a county soil conservation district board?
A state legislator cannot. The Tennessee Constitution's prohibition on holding more than one lucrative state office (Art. II, § 26) bars it, because a Soil Conservation District seat is a state office…
Can a New York town council member also serve as the town's financial operations manager when the town is in fiscal crisis and needs experienced help?
No. The town board (which includes council members) supervises the financial operations manager and audits the town's finances. Having a council member also serve as financial operations manager would…
If a Tennessee subdivision plat was improperly approved by the planning commission and recorded with the register of deeds, can the county pull it back?
Generally no, without a court order. The AG concluded that a recorded plat is presumed valid until a court rules otherwise. No Tennessee statute lets a county unilaterally remove a recorded plat from …
Can a Tennessee clinical laboratory pay 85% of a doctor's electronic health records software cost if that doctor sends specimens to the lab for analysis?
No. Tennessee's Medical Laboratory Act prohibits any explicit or implicit offer of rebates, fee-splitting inducements, or 'unearned remuneration' to physicians who refer specimens to a laboratory. The…
When a county commission must appoint someone to fill a sheriff vacancy with someone from the same political party as the previous sheriff, does it matter how long the appointee has been a member of that party?
No. The AG concluded that W. Va. Code § 3-10-8 requires the appointee to be 'of the same political party as the officeholder vacating the office,' but the statute does not impose any minimum duration …
Can VDOT charge businesses a fee to distribute travel guides at Virginia highway rest areas, or does the First Amendment block it?
No, the First Amendment does not block the fees. Interstate rest areas are non-public forums, and when VDOT acts in a proprietary capacity (running them like a private landlord), it may negotiate comm…
Would Tennessee's proposed 'guns in parking lots' bill (SB142) replace or just add to the existing exceptions for firearms on school property?
It would just add to the existing exceptions. The AG concluded that SB142 did not explicitly or implicitly repeal the existing exceptions in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1309(c)(1) (nonstudent adult firear…
Could the Tennessee legislature pass a law declaring federal firearms regulations unenforceable inside the state?
No. The AG concluded that both HB42 and SB250 would violate the Supremacy Clause if enacted. Tennessee cannot nullify validly enacted federal law, cannot criminalize federal officers performing their …
Can the Virginia General Assembly delegate final say over a budget item, like Medicaid expansion, to a small subset of legislators?
No. Article IV, § 11 of the Virginia Constitution requires that a bill be passed by a majority of those voting in each house, and budget bills require an affirmative vote of a majority of all the memb…
Can Florida's Conference of Circuit Judges use private donations to hire a lobbyist?
Yes. The AG concluded that neither section 11.062(1) nor section 216.345(1) restricts the Conference of Circuit Judges, a nonprofit corporation, from using privately donated funds to retain a general …
Does a Tennessee nonprofit have to count unpaid volunteer board members or officers toward the four-employee threshold that triggers unemployment insurance premiums?
No, in the AG's view. The Tennessee unemployment statute should be read in pari materia with federal unemployment and Social Security tax law, which excludes corporate officers who perform no signific…
Would the proposed Tennessee Constitution amendment changing how appellate judges are selected conflict with any other part of the state constitution?
No. The AG concluded that SJR2 (which would change Article VI, § 3 so appellate judges are gubernatorial appointees confirmed by the General Assembly, then subject to retention elections) did not conf…
What did Idaho's AG say about the February 2013 medical marijuana ballot initiative?
The AG identified the same federal preemption issues that defeat any state-only medical marijuana program, plus single-subject concerns under Idaho Const. art. III sec. 16 and several drafting fixes t…
Can a Texas judge order a probation department director to personally prepare a presentence investigation report?
The Hunt County District Attorney and County Attorney asked whether a district judge could compel the local community supervision (probation) department's director to personally prepare and present pr…
Can a Texas economic development corporation get its employees health benefits through a government risk pool?
State Senator John Carona asked whether an economic development corporation could cover its employees through a risk pool set up under chapter 172 of the Local Government Code, since those pools are g…
Can a city council member step aside during a public meeting to talk privately with a city employee?
A district attorney asked whether a member of a governmental body, such as a city council member, may leave an open public meeting to confer privately with an employee of that body while a quorum rema…
Can Tennessee phase in the property tax increase that follows when a business owner makes capital improvements?
No. The AG concluded that a four-year phase-in of the increased assessment value resulting from business capital improvements would be a partial property tax exemption, and Article II, Section 28, of …
Can a Tennessee juvenile court judge or clerk announce, without anyone asking, that a teenager was charged with a serious violent crime?
Yes. The AG concluded that for the specific serious offenses listed in Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-153(b)(2) (murder, rape, aggravated robbery, kidnapping, and the like) committed by a juvenile 14 or older…
Can Virginia police passively collect license plate reader data and store it for future use, or does the Data Act limit them to active, case-specific collection?
Active LPR use (running plates against existing alerts, real-time investigations) is fine under the Data Act's law enforcement exemption. But passive, continuous LPR collection of every plate seen, st…
Can a service member's child get Virginia in-state tuition when the parent is deployed and Virginia is not listed on the military orders?
No. Under the facts presented, dependents of two service members on unaccompanied deployments could not qualify for in-state tuition through the parents' military status. The one-year domicile waiver …
Can two or more Virginia counties or cities pool their cash into a single investment fund, and can that pool be organized as a trust fund?
Yes to both. Two or more Virginia political subdivisions may exercise their statutory investment powers jointly through a pooled investment program, and they may organize the pool as a trust fund. The…
Can a Florida county spend tourist development tax money on beach erosion control and inlet dredging?
The AG's office declined to rule on Collier County's specific ordinance, since it does not interpret local codes. As a general matter, it explained that section 125.0104(5)(a)4. authorizes tourist dev…
If a doctor or veterinarian is allowed to dispense drugs to their patients without a pharmacy license, does the office or clinic where they dispense still need to register as a 'drug outlet' with the Oregon Board of Pharmacy?
Yes. The AG concluded the personal-licensing exemption in ORS 689.225(1) only spares the practitioner from getting a pharmacy license; it does not exempt the practice site from the separate drug outle…
Can Florida's Commission on Human Relations dismiss a discrimination complaint when the employer has fewer than 15 employees?
Yes. The AG's office advised that because Florida's Civil Rights Act defines 'employer' as a person with 15 or more employees, the Commission on Human Relations may dismiss a complaint when it is undi…
Can a Texas county require trash service in a city's extraterritorial area without the city's agreement?
A state representative asked whether a county could provide mandatory solid waste (trash) disposal service, by contract or otherwise, in part of the county that lies within a city's extraterritorial j…
Does a Texas city need a voter election before collecting crime and fire district sales tax in limited-purpose annexed areas?
A state representative asked, on behalf of a former colleague, whether the Comptroller could adopt rules that effectively stop a city from imposing a sales and use tax under an existing strategic part…
Can a Texas prosecutor make you plead guilty to get into a pretrial diversion program?
The Office of Court Administration asked whether a prosecutor may require a defendant to plead guilty as a condition of entering a pretrial intervention (pretrial diversion) program under section 76.0…
What kinds of fees can a Tennessee county or city charge a private ambulance service operating in its area?
Counties and cities could charge any reasonable franchise fee tied to the cost of regulating the ambulance provider, regardless of where the provider was based. The fee had to be a fee (reasonably rel…
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