State AG Opinions
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How can Florida's E911 fee money, and the interest it earns, be spent?
The AG declined to issue a formal opinion: questions about the Legislature's appropriations power can be addressed only at the Legislature's request, and the office cannot opine on the federal 911 sta…
Are firefighter training records at Delaware's State Fire School public records under FOIA?
Yes, the AG found. Even though a firefighter's training record is kept in his company personnel file, nothing in a simple list of courses and hours completed could count as an invasion of personal pri…
If you take a Florida toll-violation ticket to court instead of paying, does the mandatory $100 fine still apply?
The AG concluded the mandatory $100 fine does not apply once a driver elects a hearing. Choosing to appear waives the Chapter 318 civil-penalty scheme, so instead of the fixed $100 fine in section 318…
When can a Florida planning commission member recuse from voting, and when must they vote?
The AG explained that under section 286.012 a planning commission member who is present must vote and cannot abstain, with one exception: a voting conflict. Section 112.3143(3)(a) requires abstention …
Does Article 3, Section 33 of the Wyoming Constitution require every bill that touches on taxes, including bills that decrease taxes or are revenue neutral, to start in the House of Representatives, or can a property tax deferral bill begin in the Senate?
It does not, and yes the Senate can. Attorney General Bruce Salzburg overruled the office's 1986 reading that all tax-related bills must originate in the House. He read the Wyoming clause to track U.S…
Can Georgia school boards form a nonprofit corporation to pool resources and sue the State for more education funding?
No. Georgia school boards have only the powers the General Assembly expressly or impliedly gave them. The legislature has authorized other state-created entities (community service boards, the Music H…
After the 2008 amendment to W. Va. Code § 59-1-10(a)(1) said county clerks could keep $11 of certain recording fees for their office's operation, can clerks set up a separate fund for those retained fees, or must the money go to the county treasury under the older general statute?
Clerks can keep the $11 for their offices and may set up a separate fund to receive it. The AG concluded that the 2008 amendment in S.B. 622 conflicts with the older provisions in W. Va. Code §§ 59-1-…
Can a West Virginia charitable raffle licensee use a ticket dispenser machine to sell raffle tickets, and can the State Tax Commissioner enforce five operating criteria he set for those machines, including a ban on paying money or tokens directly to players?
Yes on both, with a qualification on enforcement. The AG concluded that the Tax Commissioner's interpretation of the Charitable Raffles Act and the Charitable Raffle Boards and Games Act was reasonabl…
Can a Virginia county's Coal and Gas Road Improvement Advisory Committee dedicate fund money to pay the salary of a Commissioner of Revenue employee who audits coal and gas producers' tax records?
No. Section 58.1-3713(A) says coal and gas road improvement tax revenue 'shall be spent for improvements to public roads.' The statute does not implicitly authorize spending the money on a Commissione…
If a Virginia business owner renovates their own commercial building under the contractor-licensing self-help exemption, do they still need a certificate of occupancy before reopening?
Yes. The Code § 54.1-1101(A)(9) exemption only relieves business owners from contractor licensing requirements; it does not waive the certificate of occupancy required by the Virginia Uniform Statewid…
Can a Virginia city help form an airport authority across the state line in Tennessee and transfer its share of a regional airport to that authority without going back to the General Assembly?
Yes. The City of Bristol's Charter expressly authorizes joining with other political subdivisions both within and outside Virginia to jointly own and operate property for airport purposes. That langua…
If a Virginia notary signed and stamped electronic documents before the July 2008 e-notary statute kicked in, are those notarizations still legally valid?
Yes. Electronic notarizations done by Virginia notaries before July 1, 2008, are valid if the notary was properly commissioned and complied with applicable law. After July 1, 2008, electronic notarial…
Can a Virginia city or county's police department set its own rules for picking which tow companies handle accident scenes, without going through the local advisory-board and ordinance process?
A local police department may adopt procedures for selecting towing companies at accident scenes if those procedures are tied to public safety (response time, equipment safety, scene cleanup). Anythin…
Are campaign yard signs in a Virginia state highway right-of-way illegal everywhere, and can a county other than Fairfax help VDOT remove them?
Political campaign signs may not be placed within the limits of any state highway right-of-way under Va. Code § 33.1-373. But only Fairfax County is statutorily authorized to enter into an enforcement…
Was Mesa State College eligible for Amendment 50 community college gaming-tax revenue?
Yes. The AG concluded that Mesa State College's Western Colorado Community College Division qualified as a public community college under Amendment 50 and so its students and programs were eligible fo…
Can a Florida city charter bar the mayor from holding any other public office or job?
A town attorney asked whether a Kenneth City charter clause barring the mayor from holding any other public office or public employment was constitutional and valid. The AG explained that his office c…
What are the open-meeting rules for a Florida state college board of trustees?
An informal AG letter warned the trustees of Northwest Florida State College that holding a board meeting in Tallahassee, far from campus, was very questionable under the Sunshine Law. The letter rest…
Can a Florida sheriff keep firearms taken from someone who was Baker Acted but never arrested?
The AG concluded that unless the person was arrested and criminally charged, the Baker Act gives a sheriff no authority to keep firearms taken from someone sent for involuntary mental-health evaluatio…
Could a Virginia police officer write someone a seat belt ticket at a checking detail or roadblock, when the only reason they were stopped was the checkpoint itself?
No. A roadblock or checking detail by itself is not 'cause to stop or arrest' the driver for some other offense, so officers may not issue a seat belt summons based on the stop alone. If, during the s…
Can a small business owner choose to pay personal property tax on a company car in the county where the employee parks it overnight, instead of the county where the business is based?
Mandatory. Va. Code § 58.1-3511(A)(ii) requires the alternative situs for a business vehicle weighing 10,000 pounds or less. The vehicle is taxed in the locality where the business is directed and con…
Does a Florida special district have to pay mileage to an independent contractor?
The Duval Soil and Water Conservation District asked whether an administrative assistant it planned to hire as an independent contractor was entitled to mileage. The AG explained that section 112.061 …
Can a Florida city council member post how they plan to vote on a blog or in the newspaper?
The Hallandale Beach City Attorney asked whether a council member could publish his planned vote on a blog or in the newspaper, and whether the city could ban that. The AG explained that simply postin…
Can a Texas county make a landowner remove a hazardous mailbox from the road right-of-way?
The Attorney General concluded that a commissioners court, which has general control over county roads and a duty to keep them safe, may remove or order the removal of objects in the road right-of-way…
Can a bailiff who isn't a licensed jailer supervise inmates in courthouse holding cells?
The Attorney General did not decide this. The opinion confirmed that the Texas Commission on Jail Standards has authority to regulate the observation of inmates held in courthouse holding cells, and t…
Can a Florida clerk or sheriff use a remote credit-card vendor to let people post a cash bond?
The Pinellas County Clerk asked whether the clerk and sheriff could contract with a vendor for a remote system letting people tap a credit or debit account to post a cash bond. The AG declined to give…
Can a Texas judge let a probationer travel or move out of state?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. Article 42.12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure gives a judge broad discretion to set the conditions of community supervision, including ordering a defendant to re…
What powers do out-of-state police officers have inside a Texas border city?
The Attorney General concluded that under Code of Criminal Procedure article 2.124(b), a peace officer from an adjoining state, here Texarkana, Arkansas, has the same powers, duties, and immunities as…
When a Florida public employee dies, can unused sick and annual leave be paid to their family as wages?
The AG concluded that accrued sick and annual leave qualify as 'wages' under section 222.15(1), so when a public employee dies the value of that unused leave may be paid to the spouse, adult children,…
Can a Florida state agency keep a company's trade secrets confidential under the public records law?
The Division of Plant Industry asked whether it could protect confidential business information so it could join a USDA biotechnology pilot. The AG concluded that the division's authorized representat…
Could the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council sue the State to challenge being moved from the judicial to the executive branch?
No on every level. The General Assembly was constitutionally authorized to move the GPDSC to the executive branch (no constitutional clause requires indigent defense be lodged in the judiciary), the G…
If a Florida council member hosts a public forum other members attend, must it be noticed under the Sunshine Law?
The Hallandale Beach City Attorney asked whether a public forum hosted by one city council member, which other members might attend and join in discussing city business, had to be publicly noticed. Th…
Can a Florida law enforcement officer be commander of an American Legion post that holds a liquor license?
A state representative asked whether section 561.25 stopped a certified law enforcement officer from serving as commander of an American Legion post that holds a liquor license and runs a canteen. The…
Which 2008 Georgia misdemeanors did the Attorney General designate as fingerprintable for entry in the criminal history database?
The AG designated 11 of 13 reviewed offenses as fingerprintable, including alcohol vaporizing devices, dog-collar removal, retail property fencing, dog-fight spectator presence, sale of marijuana-flav…
How are petition signatures counted for a Florida county wet/dry local option election?
A Madison County resident asked how to count the signatures needed for a county-wide vote on selling liquor, wine, or beer, given that registered-voter totals had jumped around a general election. The…
Can a Florida county pledge a small-county sales surtax to secure a loan without a referendum?
The Hamilton County clerk asked whether a small-county sales surtax that the commission adopted by a unanimous vote, without a referendum, could be pledged to secure a loan for a water and wastewater …
Did Education Code 11.051(a-1) change how many votes a Texas school board needs to act?
No, the Attorney General concluded. Education Code section 11.051(a-1) says a school board may act only by majority vote of the members present at a properly held meeting where a quorum is present and…
Can a school district police chief also serve on a city council in the same area?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. The common-law incompatibility doctrine bars one person from holding two public offices with conflicting duties, but it applies only when both positions are 'offic…
If a Virginia city council holds a meeting without posting the required public notice and uses that meeting to appoint a school board member, is the appointment valid?
The appointment is void from the beginning. Section 2.2-3707(C) of Virginia's FOIA requires public bodies to post notice of every meeting in a prominent public location, and § 2.2-3710(A) prohibits an…
Can a Virginia county create a service district to help build and run a combined library, recreation center, and meeting place facility?
Yes. Section 15.2-2403(1) authorizes counties to create service districts and construct, maintain, and operate facilities providing additional or more complete governmental services, including library…
If a Virginia city council holds a meeting without giving the FOIA-required public notice and then votes on something, is the vote still good?
No. When the Franklin City Council voted to appoint a new school board member at an April 1, 2008 meeting that had not been publicly noticed as required by Virginia FOIA § 2.2-3707(C), the appointment…
If a Virginia county's old subdivision ordinance went beyond what current state law authorizes, does the 1997 recodification of local-government law (Title 15.1 to Title 15.2) save the ordinance?
No. Section 15.2-101(A) does not grandfather Botetourt County's subdivision 'suitability of land' provisions in §§ 21-64 and 21-122 of the County Code. The 1997 recodification preserved past locality …
What Florida statutes let law enforcement provide escort vehicles for visiting dignitaries?
A Manatee County sheriff's captain knew section 316.1974 covers funeral-procession escorts and asked what other statutes address using escort vehicles for visiting dignitaries. The AG's office gave ge…
Could the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians conduct high-stakes bingo/beano games on Houlton Band Trust Lands under Maine's tribal gaming statute?
No. While the Houlton Band, as a federally recognized tribe, was eligible to receive a license under 17 M.R.S.A. § 314-A(1), subsection (5)(C) required all licensed games to be conducted within the li…
Can a Florida school district delay a public records request to let employees claim an exemption?
A school superintendent asked whether HIPAA let the district withhold the identities of employees in its self-insured health plan, and whether it could pause a public records request to let employees …
Can a retiring Florida sheriff be paid for accrued vacation and sick leave?
The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office asked whether sections 30.48 and 145.071 blocked paying the sheriff for accumulated vacation, compensatory, and sick leave at retirement. The AG's office explained…
Can TxDOT transfer trust money from a state highway fund subaccount to a regional transportation authority?
No, the Attorney General concluded. Transportation Code section 228.012 requires TxDOT to hold comprehensive-development-agreement payments, like the roughly $3.2 billion surplus toll revenue from the…
Can a Delaware county charge a flat per-record fee for downloading a huge electronic database of property records?
No, under the law as it stood in 2008. The AG found Sussex County violated FOIA by charging an arbitrary per-record fee (working out to $3,000 for about 4 million electronic property records) instead …
Does abolishing appointed city officers change a Florida city's 'form of government' so a referendum is required?
The Fort Walton Beach City Attorney followed up on an earlier informal opinion, asking whether planned charter changes (abolishing two appointed officers and their departments) altered the city's answ…
Can a Florida city raise mayor and council salaries by ordinance when a pre-1973 charter set them?
The North Miami city clerk said the city had raised the mayor's and council's salaries by ordinance even though the city charter, adopted in 1969 and not amended until 2008, set those salaries, and as…
Can the Texas Comptroller include extra information in the Chapter 313 value-limitation report?
Yes, the Attorney General concluded. Tax Code sections 313.008 and 313.032 list eleven items the Comptroller's biennial report on Texas Economic Development Act value-limitation agreements must contai…
When a town council member is elected mayor and takes the oath of office for the mayor's job, do they automatically lose their council seat, or do they get to keep both?
He lost the council seat the moment he took the mayor's oath. The Front Royal Charter makes the mayor a presiding officer, not a council member, with no vote except as tiebreaker. The two offices are …
Can the Virginia DEQ Director skip the 30-day public review and comment period when handing out nutrient-reduction technical assistance grants from the Water Quality Improvement Fund?
No. Section 10.1-2131(C) does not authorize the Director of Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality to issue a technical assistance grant for nutrient reduction without the public notice and 30…
Can a Virginia animal control officer break into a parked car to rescue a dog left in extreme heat or cold, and is the officer liable if it turns out the animal wasn't actually in distress?
Yes on rescue, mostly yes on immunity. A Virginia animal control officer may act to prevent an act of cruelty observed in his presence (including rescuing a companion animal from a hot or cold vehicle…
Is a private nonprofit community land trust that runs a city's affordable-housing program covered by Florida's open-meetings and public-records laws?
The AG agreed with the Delray Beach city attorney that the Delray Beach Community Land Trust, although a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is an 'agency' subject to both the Government in the Sunshine Law …
Can a Florida city advisory board hold online bulletin-board workshop meetings under the Sunshine Law?
Delray Beach asked whether a city advisory task force could hold its workshop meetings on an online bulletin board without violating the Sunshine Law. The AG concluded it can, with conditions. The boa…
Does a sinkhole report have to be notarized before a Florida county clerk can record it in the official records?
The AG concluded that a sinkhole report filed under section 627.7073 must be recorded by the clerk of court even if it has not been acknowledged or notarized under the general recording statute, secti…
Can a Florida city abolish appointive charter offices by ordinance without a public referendum?
In an informal opinion, the AG's office advised that because Fort Walton Beach's charter predates the 1973 Municipal Home Rule Powers Act and was never readopted, section 166.021(4) lets the city abol…
Can a Virginia town council member or sitting member of a town historic review board or building code appeals board also serve on the town's wetlands board?
Yes. Va. Code § 28.2-1303(A) prohibits wetlands board members from holding other public office in a 'county or city,' but the statute omits towns from that prohibition. The omission is significant: a …
When a Virginia town council member is elected mayor and resigns the council seat, can the council appoint a replacement, and does that appointee count as an 'elected' member when laws require votes by elected members?
Yes, the Town Council can appoint a replacement under the Charter, but only within 45 days of the vacancy. After 45 days, the circuit court takes over. The appointee is not an 'elected' member for pur…
What made a company a Texas bidder for state service contracts, and what could happen if it falsely claimed that status?
Under the 2008 statute, a business was a Texas bidder if it was incorporated in Texas, had its principal place of business in Texas, or had an established physical presence in Texas. An inaccurate cla…
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