State AG Opinions
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Can a Florida city spend leftover garbage-collection impact fees on other utilities, or does it have to refund them?
No to both shifting and refunding. Impact fees the City of Wildwood collected for refuse collection must be spent on refuse and other solid-waste purposes, not on unrelated utility services. And becau…
Can a Florida fire district buy a fire truck on an installment loan that lets the lender repossess it if the district defaults?
Not the way it was structured. The Dorcas Fire District may buy a fire truck on an installment sales contract if it has the funds for that year's payments, but without referendum approval it cannot us…
Does Florida's Sunshine Law cover a private nonprofit that runs a county program, like a county-backed energy loan fund?
Yes. The Solar and Energy Loan Fund of St. Lucie County, a private nonprofit, has to follow Florida's open meetings law because the county delegated its energy-financing program to the fund. When a co…
Did Florida's 2010 permit-extension law apply to building permits issued by cities, not just state permits?
Yes. The 2010 amendment to section 380.06 (Chapter 2010-147) applied to building permits issued by local governments, not just state-agency permits. It gave a two-year extension to permits with expira…
Does Florida require the Child Abuse Death Review Committee to make a full recording of its closed meetings?
Yes. Section 383.412 requires that all proceedings of the State Child Abuse Death Review Committee, including the closed portions, be recorded so the entire discussion is captured verbatim with nothin…
If a Washington city sits in two counties (one with an EMS property tax and one without), must the city reduce its own EMS levy because of the one county's overlapping tax?
No. RCW 84.52.069(6) only addresses cities that lie entirely within one county. A city like Milton, which is divided between King County (which has its own EMS levy) and Pierce County (which does not)…
Can a Virginia debt note authorize a confession of judgment by 'any substitute' chosen later by the named attorney-in-fact?
No. Section 8.01-435 requires the attorney-in-fact to be specifically named in the note itself. A 'full power of substitution' clause that lets the named person hand off the role to an unnamed third p…
Does a county sanitation authority have to review subdivision water and sewer construction plans, and is there a deadline?
Yes. When a county refers a subdivision's water or sewer construction plans to the sanitation authority for review, the authority has 45 days from receipt of the plans to approve or disapprove.
When a married homeowner applies for Virginia's elderly/disabled real estate tax relief, does the absent or separated spouse's net worth still count, even if the spouse isn't on the deed?
Yes. The applicant must report both spouses' net worth to determine net combined financial worth under § 58.1-3211(2), even if the spouses are separated or one has abandoned the other, and even if onl…
In a large Texas county, who chooses the outside lawyer for the county's lawsuits, the commissioners or the DA?
The Attorney General concluded that in Dallas County the line runs like this: the commissioners court decides whether to bring or defend a lawsuit, but Local Government Code section 89.001 makes the C…
Can Texas require day-care workers to take more training hours than the statute's minimum?
The Attorney General concluded that a court would likely find that the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services may, by rule, require more training hours for day-care center and group day-ca…
Who gets the money from phone cards sold in a Texas county jail commissary, the sheriff or the county?
The Attorney General concluded that revenue from prepaid phone cards sold in a county jail commissary should be credited to the sheriff, as sole custodian of the commissary fund, for the benefit of ja…
Can a Tennessee school board member who is also a law enforcement officer bring a firearm to a school board meeting held on school grounds?
Yes, with conditions. The Tennessee AG concluded in 2010 that an off-duty law enforcement officer could carry a firearm at a school board meeting on school property, unless federal law, a court order,…
If Tennessee broadened the fetal-victim definition in assault and homicide statutes to include nonviable fetuses, would that interfere with legal abortion?
The AG concluded no. HB 3495/SB 3699 would have broadened the category of fetal victims under Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-107(a) and 39-13-214(a) to include nonviable fetuses, but the bill left intact su…
Does the Florida Transportation Commission oversee the Florida Statewide Passenger Rail Commission?
No, not over the authorities the rail commission monitors. In informal comments, the Attorney General's office concluded the 2009 law creating the Florida Statewide Passenger Rail Commission carved th…
Do the State Water Control Board's sewage sludge permits have to comply with the statute that authorizes them?
Yes. Any permit the Board issues for land application of sewage sludge must comply with the applicable requirements of § 62.1-44.19:3. An administrative agency can only act within its statutory author…
What happens to a Virginia Pollution Abatement permit while an appeal of the permit is pending in court?
The permit stays valid and enforceable unless the court stays, suspends, or sets it aside. If no one appeals at all, the permit becomes final.
Can a Virginia town give a nonprofit free water, sewer, and trash service as a charitable donation?
Yes. Va. Code Ann. § 15.2-953(A) authorizes Virginia localities to make appropriations or donations to charitable institutions or associations that serve their residents, and a 2007 amendment expanded…
If Tennessee counties form a metropolitan (city-county consolidated) government, can smaller cities still annex unincorporated territory under prior annexation reserve agreements?
No. The Tennessee AG concluded in 2010 that once a county forms a metropolitan government under Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 7-1-101 et seq., the metropolitan government takes in the entire county, and smaller …
Can a Tennessee county legislative body file a special-use exception application on behalf of a private property owner, and can it challenge a zoning board's denial of one?
The Tennessee AG concluded in 2010 that a county legislative body could not apply for a special use exception on behalf of a private property owner; the proper applicant is generally the property owne…
Do Tennessee bailiffs and court officers have to be POST-certified peace officers?
Outside Davidson County, a bailiff or court officer must be a deputy sheriff, must obtain POST certification within one year of employment, and, if newly assigned to courts after July 1, 2008, must co…
Does Virginia or federal law require an officer of election to be stationed outside every Virginia polling place for the full day so curbside voting is available on demand?
No. Neither state nor federal law requires an officer to stand outside the polling place at all times. Virginia's curbside voting duty is triggered when an eligible voter (or someone on the voter's be…
Can Tennessee reject your Social Security disability claim just because you are also drawing unemployment?
No. Tennessee's Disability Determination Services (DDS) cannot reject a Social Security disability claim purely because the claimant is also applying for or receiving state unemployment insurance bene…
Can a Texas school district stop a parent from bringing an advocate to deal with their child's education?
The Attorney General could answer only in general terms, because the request did not define 'advocate' or give any context. Where the law specifically allows an advocate, a school district cannot say …
If a voter casts an absentee ballot and then dies before Election Day, does that vote get counted?
It depends on how the ballot was cast. A mailed paper absentee ballot from a known-deceased voter must not be counted. An in-person early ballot cast on voting equipment cannot be retrieved, so it end…
Could Maine constitutionally require people to live in Maine for a certain period of time before becoming eligible for TANF or Medicaid?
No. The AG concluded a durational residency requirement for state-administered TANF and Medicaid would violate the Fourteenth Amendment under Shapiro v. Thompson (1969) and Saenz v. Roe (1999). States…
Are bingo eight-liner machines that pay out cards or gift certificates legal in Texas?
No. The Attorney General concluded these machines were gambling devices, not the kind of exempt 'noncash merchandise prize.' The opinion explained that an award of a bingo card, paper, card-minding de…
Can someone get Virginia's local property tax relief for the permanently disabled while working full-time at a $44,000 salary?
No. Working full-time and earning a substantial salary is itself 'substantial gainful activity,' which disqualifies a person from the § 58.1-3210 disability-based tax relief, even if a doctor has sign…
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…
If Oregon voters approved Ballot Measure 75 to authorize a privately owned casino with 3,500 slot machines and Keno, would the State Lottery have to operate those games, and could the constitutional ban on casinos still apply?
Yes on both counts. The AG concluded the State Lottery would have to operate any electronic gaming devices and Keno (because the constitution gives it a monopoly on lotteries), and the 1984 constituti…
Do federal HUD Section 8 voucher regulations override Tennessee's Administrative Procedures Act when a tenant fights a voucher termination?
No. The Tennessee AG concluded in 2010 that HUD's Housing Choice Voucher regulations did not preempt the Tennessee Administrative Procedures Act. The state APA gave voucher participants extra due proc…
Are 'free spin parlors' where you pay $5 for a worthless phone card but really to play a slot machine game illegal gambling in Virginia?
Yes. When the product being 'sold' is a sham and the real point of the transaction is the chance to win prizes, the operation has all three elements of illegal gambling (prize, chance, and considerati…
Can a Florida city exempt state-licensed professionals who work for someone else from its local business tax?
No. A Florida municipality does not have to levy a local business tax, but if it does under section 205.042, it must apply the tax to all businesses, professions, and occupations and may use only the …
Can a Tennessee metropolitan government charter say that the urban services district can grow only when the area to be annexed votes yes by referendum?
The AG concluded that a Tennessee metropolitan charter could restrict urban services district expansion to referendum-approved annexation only. § 7-2-108(a)(6) requires charter limitations to be 'cons…
Can a journalist get a sheriff's DUI prosecution file from Delaware's Attorney General after he's already pleaded guilty and been sentenced?
No, the AG found. Delaware's public records law draws a line between a person's own 'criminal record,' which anyone can get a copy of, and a prosecutor's 'criminal file,' which stays closed to the pub…
Are teachers at Georgia commission charter schools required to be members of the Teachers Retirement System?
Maybe. The Attorney General concluded that the General Assembly likely intended commission charter school teachers to be TRS members because Article 31A repeatedly calls these schools 'public schools,…
Does the 2010 Tennessee law raising the drug-testing fee on Drug Control Act convictions apply statewide, or only to the few counties named in § 39-17-420(d)?
The AG concluded the $250 drug-testing fee added by 2010 Public Chapter 1004 applies statewide to convictions, pretrial diversion under § 40-15-105, and judicial diversion under § 40-35-313 for any Te…
Can a Florida county charge water utilities a per-well fee to fund its wellfield protection program, or is that really a tax?
Probably not as a 'fee.' The Attorney General's office could not conclude that Palm Beach County's proposed per-well charge was a user fee or impact fee. Because it would fund an existing, government-…
Does Tennessee's 100-yard hunting buffer around dwellings apply when someone is hunting on private property, or only on public land?
The AG concluded no. The plain language of Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-4-108(b) makes it unlawful to hunt 'on public lands and waters within one hundred yards (100 yds.) of a visible dwelling house' without …
Can the Tennessee Department of Children's Services overturn a child protection team finding that a child has been sexually abused?
The AG concluded yes. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-612(f)(1) the legislature required DCS to adopt due-process procedures for reviewing files, and the resulting rules at Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. ch. 025…
Can someone be both a volunteer FWC reserve officer and a full-time city police officer without breaking Florida's dual office-holding ban?
It depends, and an agency policy also matters. Florida's constitution bars holding two public offices at once, but courts recognize a narrow exception (Vinales/Rampil) when both offices relate to crim…
Can Virginia's Governor accept and spend federal education grant funds without an appropriation from the General Assembly?
No, an appropriations act is required to spend revenues of the Commonwealth, including federal grant funds. But where the General Assembly has already provided for the appropriation of those funds, th…
What counts as a 'normal course load' for funding Texas virtual school courses?
The Attorney General could not say the definition had to be a four-hour-per-day course load. Education Code section 42.159 pays school districts and charter schools different amounts depending on whet…
Can a Texas school district change its trustee election date and adjust term lengths?
A court would likely conclude yes. The Attorney General determined that under Election Code section 41.0052, a school district could move its general election for trustees to the November uniform elec…
How is a hurricane-damaged Texas home reappraised for property taxes after repairs?
It depended on whether the home had been rendered uninhabitable or unusable. The Attorney General explained that if a residence homestead was rendered uninhabitable or unusable by the storm, Tax Code …
Is a charity Super Bowl squares game illegal gambling in Texas?
No, on the specific facts described. A state representative described a charitable 'squares game': donors buy squares on a grid tied to a major game like the Super Bowl, each square names a charity, a…
Does a Delaware zoning board's meeting agenda have to name a property by its 911 street address instead of just its rural road number?
No, under the law as it stood in 2010. The AG found Sussex County's Board of Adjustment could describe properties on its agenda by rural road number rather than 911 street name, since the agenda's pur…
When does a Tennessee creditor have to pay the clerk's and sheriff's fees for a garnishment, at the time of filing or only after the service is performed?
The AG concluded that the timing depends on the fee statute. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-21-401, court clerks may collect the $25 post-judgment garnishment fee at the time the service is requested. In c…
Can a Florida CRA spend redevelopment money on festivals, tourism grants, or grants to charitable nonprofits?
Partly. Promoting a redeveloped area itself (festivals, street parties, advertising for the area) appears to fit the community redevelopment act's purposes. But using redevelopment funds for grants to…
Does a Texas facility need a license to provide medication abortions?
Two answers. First, the Attorney General concluded that chapter 245 of the Health and Safety Code requires abortion facilities to be licensed, with limited exceptions, and that a 'medical abortion' (p…
Can a Texas abortion facility give the required 24-hour informed-consent information with a prerecorded phone message or a one-way recorded call?
Probably not. The Attorney General concluded that, although the statute's wording is ambiguous, a court would more likely than not read Health and Safety Code section 171.012 to require a live convers…
Is assaulting a nurse or doctor who treats inmates a felony in Virginia like assaulting a corrections officer?
Only if the medical worker is directly employed by the Department of Corrections, or is a volunteer rescue squad member acting in that role. Medical staff at local jails or hospital ERs treating inmat…
Can a Virginia driver assign medical benefits from their auto insurance policy to a chiropractor who treats them, and are 'no assignment' clauses in the policy enforceable?
Yes, the assignment is enforceable, and a policy clause barring such post-loss assignments is unenforceable as long as the assignment doesn't materially increase the insurer's risk or obligation.
Could a Maine federally recognized tribe license the Incentovation Electronic Pull-Tab System (an electronic terminal that prints win/loss tickets at game time) under the state's amended sealed-ticket statute?
No. AG Janet Mills concluded the system fell outside 17 M.R.S.A. § 314-A as amended in 2009 because the machine itself, rather than a preprinted ticket, determined the outcome of the game. The 'elemen…
Can someone who breeds birds, rats, mice, or hamsters to sell to pet shops register their delivery vehicle as a 'farm vehicle' for the cheaper Texas plate?
No. The Attorney General concluded that Transportation Code section 502.163, which lets an owner register a commercial vehicle as a 'farm vehicle' for half the normal fee if it is used only to haul th…
In Texas, can a repossession agent do locksmith work without a Private Security Act license, or does the repo exemption only cover work tied to the repossession?
The exemption is broader than just investigation, but it is not unlimited. The Attorney General concluded that the Occupations Code section 1702.324(b)(3) exemption for a person engaged exclusively in…
Who decides how much, if anything, the judges who sit on a Texas county juvenile board get paid?
The county commissioners court. The Attorney General concluded that Human Resources Code section 152.0034(b), which says a commissioners court 'may reasonably compensate' each juvenile board member fo…
How can a Texas hospital district set a property tax rate again after going years without levying any tax?
The Attorney General had no clean answer, because the Tax Code does not provide one. The Amarillo Hospital District had not levied a property tax since 1996, when it sold its hospital and funded indig…
If a Texas subdivision project goes dormant, can a city charge higher impact fees when the developer restarts, and can the developer get the old fees refunded?
The Attorney General gave several answers tied to Local Government Code chapters 245 and 395. A municipality must refund impact fees only in the specific situations listed in section 395.025 (for exam…
Can a Virginia town council start negotiating an employment contract with a town manager without first voting as a body, and can the contract have a multi-year term?
Yes to negotiations: council members can negotiate preliminarily, as long as the appointment and contract are ultimately approved by a council vote. No to a fixed multi-year term: under § 15.2-1503, t…
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