State AG Opinions
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Can a Texas city use assessment money to build a seawall on private property?
Not without first getting a legal interest in the land. The Attorney General concluded that a city cannot build and fund a seawall under the public improvement district assessment laws (Local Governme…
Is an eight-liner that pays out on a stored-value card a gambling device in Texas?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a stored-value card a player can use to buy merchandise works as a medium of exchange, which makes it a cash equivalent rather than a 'noncash merchandise priz…
Can a Texas city ban registered sex offenders from living near schools and parks?
It depends on the type of city. The Attorney General concluded that a home-rule municipality may adopt an ordinance keeping registered sex offenders from living a set distance from places where childr…
Can Texas ban mail-order hearing aid sales?
No, those rules are federally preempted. The Attorney General concluded that two Occupations Code provisions, one requiring an audiological evaluation before a mail-ordered hearing aid is fitted (with…
Can you get a free transcript for a Texas driver's license suspension appeal if you can't afford it?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) does not have to provide a free transcript of a driver's license suspension hearing when someone appeals, eve…
Can a Texas county pay an official's criminal defense legal fees?
It can choose to, but it doesn't have to. The Attorney General concluded a Texas county has no statutory or common-law duty to pay for the criminal defense of its officers and employees (the duty to p…
Can a New York public authority pay for health insurance for unpaid board members when the enabling statute says board members 'serve without salary or other compensation'?
No. When a public authority's enabling act says board members serve without salary or other compensation, the authority cannot pay health insurance premiums for current or retired board members. The A…
Is land leased by a Texas development corporation to private businesses tax-exempt?
Maybe not, and the exemption may be vulnerable. The Attorney General concluded that under the Development Corporation Act, land and improvements that qualify as 'projects' under section 4B(a) are elig…
Can a Delaware town change how it calculates property taxes under a vague 'Property Tax Assessment' agenda item?
No, under the law as it stood in 2007. The AG found Cheswold's agenda item 'Property Tax Assessment' did not give residents adequate notice that the council would switch from market-value assessments …
Can a Texas county clerk use the records management fee to buy historical documents?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the records management and preservation fee a county clerk collects under section 118.011 of the Local Government Code may not be used to purchase original reco…
Does a Texas city have to insure a municipal pool slide as an amusement ride?
Partly. The Attorney General concluded that a municipality is a 'person' subject to the Amusement Ride Safety Inspection and Insurance Act, and that whether a particular pool slide is an amusement rid…
Are Social Security numbers in Texas public records confidential?
Yes, at least as the law stood when this opinion issued. The Attorney General concluded that the Social Security number of a living person is confidential and subject to a mandatory exception from dis…
Can a New York BOCES board member work as an occasional per diem substitute teacher in one of the school districts the BOCES serves?
No. Education Law § 1950(9) makes a BOCES member's role and any school-district employment in the same supervisory district incompatible. The statute prohibits not only electing a current district emp…
Can a New York village impose term limits on members of its planning board and zoning board of appeals?
Yes. Under home-rule authority in the New York Constitution and Municipal Home Rule Law § 10, a village can impose term limits on appointed members of its planning board and zoning board of appeals. T…
Do unpaid Texas property taxes count as 'debt' to a county?
It depends on which statute. The Attorney General concluded that under section 154.045 of the Local Government Code (the warrant-withholding rule for larger counties), delinquent taxes that have not b…
If a same-sex couple married in Massachusetts or entered a civil union in Vermont, would New Jersey recognize that relationship in 2007?
AG Rabner concluded in February 2007 that New Jersey would recognize out-of-state same-sex relationships, but would translate them into New Jersey's own categories: relationships providing all the rig…
Do private companies with eminent domain power have to follow Texas open records law?
Yes, for their condemnation records. The Attorney General concluded that under section 552.0037 of the Public Information Act, a private entity that holds eminent domain power but is not a governmenta…
How is the Texas Permanent School Fund's market value calculated for school payouts?
The Attorney General concluded that because section 43.020 of the Education Code requires the accrual accounting method, the State Board of Education may not adopt some other accounting method to dete…
Did the Idaho AG approve the 2007 'Public Employee Accountability Act' ballot initiative that aimed to strip judicial immunity and force grand juries on demand?
No. The AG concluded most provisions of the initiative would likely be struck down: it bundled multiple subjects in violation of Idaho Const. art. III, § 16; usurped the district court's exclusive con…
Can a Texas sheriff accept a bail bond when the accused is jailed in another state?
The Attorney General concluded that a Texas sheriff has no authority to accept bail for an offense committed in the sheriff's county when the accused is jailed in another state. Chapters 17 and 23 of …
Does a Texas city need to show an area is blighted to create a tax-increment reinvestment zone?
The Attorney General concluded that a city may not designate an area as a reinvestment zone under Tax Code section 311.005(a)(5) unless the area is 'unproductive, underdeveloped, or blighted' within t…
Can New Jersey legally base your property tax credit on how much money you make, or does the State Constitution require all homeowners to be treated the same regardless of income?
New Jersey can base homestead property tax credits on income. The Homestead Credit Clause (N.J. Const. art. VIII, § 1, ¶ 5) gives the Legislature broad discretion to set credit rates and limits 'as ma…
Can the Oregon State Lottery use lottery revenues to run a debt-collection program for the courts, or could another agency just reimburse the Lottery for the cost?
No on the first; yes on the second, but with a strict prepayment rule. The 2007 AG opinion concluded that Article XV, section 4 of the Oregon Constitution restricted lottery revenues to administering …
Does a Texas county have to maintain subdivision roads it accepted but said it wouldn't maintain?
The Attorney General concluded that when a county accepts in writing a public road dedication made in a subdivision plat, that acceptance brings the roads into the county road maintenance system, even…
Can Texas prisons require incoming inmates to be tested for HIV?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Board of Criminal Justice is authorized to adopt a rule or policy requiring mandatory HIV testing of incoming offenders in both the institutional (prison)…
Does Delaware's public records law (FOIA) apply to the state courts?
No, according to this opinion. Delaware's FOIA defines a 'public body' as an executive or legislative entity, and the AG found the judiciary, exercising its independent constitutional function of reso…
Can a public body let some members of the public into a closed government meeting?
The Attorney General concluded that the Open Meetings Act does not let a governmental body admit selected members of the public into a closed meeting to give input about a public officer or employee, …
Can a Texas constable own a wrecker service that's on the sheriff's rotation list?
The Attorney General concluded that the conflict-of-interest provisions in chapter 171 of the Local Government Code do not prohibit a county constable from owning and operating a wrecker service that …
Can a Texas county require its own overweight truck permit on top of the state permit?
The Attorney General concluded that a county commissioners court is not authorized to require the operator of an overweight vehicle to get a county permit when the operator already holds a state permi…
Does Texas's evidence-based program rule apply to all DFPS child-prevention services?
The Attorney General concluded that the 'evidence-based' program requirement in section 265.004(a) of the Family Code applies only to Department of Family and Protective Services programs that are 'de…
Can a county attorney represent the state in a chapter 593 placement case for a person with an intellectual disability?
The Attorney General concluded that, absent a request from the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS), a county attorney is not authorized to serve as DADS's legal counsel in initiat…
Can a Texas city sell compost and mulch outside its city limits in competition with private businesses?
The Attorney General concluded that a home-rule city may sell compost products outside its city limits. The sale of compost does not generally contravene the U.S. or Texas constitutions or state statu…
Who can a Texas bingo lessor license be transferred to?
The Attorney General concluded that section 2001.160 of the Occupations Code does not let the holder of a commercial bingo lessor license transfer it to any person other than a corporation the holder …
Does the Texas Open Meetings Act apply to a county jail population committee?
The Attorney General concluded that an informal group of Nueces County officials and employees who called themselves the Jail Population Control Committee was not subject to the Open Meetings Act. The…
Can a Texas commissioners court assign extra duties to an elected county official like the treasurer?
The Attorney General concluded that a county commissioners court can delegate duties that the constitution and statutes do not expressly assign to any particular office (such as running a county perso…
Can Delaware town council members avoid open meeting rules by meeting with a vendor in small groups below a quorum?
No, according to this opinion. When every council member ends up hearing the same pitch across a series of small private meetings with two competing contractors, that counts as a 'constructive quorum'…
Can a bail bondsman park a car with advertising on it in a county jail parking lot in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that section 1704.304(c) of the Occupations Code, which bars a bail bond surety or agent from soliciting bonding business in a police station, jail, or other place of de…
Can a Texas doctor be charged with capital murder for an illegal third-trimester or minor abortion?
The Attorney General concluded that a physician who violates section 164.052(a)(18) of the Occupations Code (restricting third-trimester abortions on a viable unborn child) or section 164.052(a)(19) (…
Could the Maine Legislature, by joint rule rather than constitutional amendment, require a two-thirds supermajority to pass legislation that exceeded statutory spending limits?
Likely unconstitutional. The Maine AG concluded that Proposed Joint Rule 219, which would have required a two-thirds vote to pass legislation exceeding statutory spending limits, conflicted with the M…
Can a Texas school district hire a company to run its cafeteria and buy the food?
The Attorney General concluded that a Texas school district participating in federal school nutrition programs may contract with a food service management company that provides food as part of its ser…
Can a charity pay for its bingo workers' health insurance out of bingo money in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that section 2001.458(b) of the Occupations Code prohibits a licensed authorized organization (a charity licensed to conduct bingo) from incurring or paying from its bin…
Can a New Jersey judge or town clerk who performs marriages refuse to perform civil unions, and can a priest, rabbi, or imam refuse based on religious beliefs?
AG Rabner concluded in January 2007 that public officials who chose to perform marriages had to perform civil unions on the same terms (refusing was discriminatory under the Law Against Discrimination…
Can the Edwards Aquifer Authority cut groundwater permits below the legal minimum?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Legislature did not authorize the Edwards Aquifer Authority to reduce the groundwater withdrawal rights of two protected categories of permit holders, irr…
Does Texas's low-income housing tax credit plan have to count neighborhood input?
The Attorney General gave a multi-part answer about the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) and its 2006 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for low-income housing tax credits. Gover…
Can a Texas school district pay city impact fees or build off-site roads for a new school?
The Attorney General concluded that Education Code section 11.168, which bars a school board from entering an agreement authorizing the use of district employees, property, or resources to provide mat…
Can Texas reveal which insurers write commercial coastal property policies?
The Attorney General concluded that section 38.003(d) of the Insurance Code does not prohibit the Texas Department of Insurance from disclosing the identities of companies that write commercial proper…
Do Texas school district lease-purchase deals have to follow the usual procurement rules?
The Attorney General concluded that Education Code sections 44.031 and 44.033, the competitive procurement rules for school district contracts and purchases, apply to a school district's lease-purchas…
If I donate to an Oregon university venture development fund, is the total tax credit I can claim limited to $50,000, and do I have to use the credit within three years?
No on both. The $50,000 cap is a per-year limit, not a total cap. The total credit equals 60 percent of the donation. The taxpayer takes 20 percent of the contribution per year, capped at $50,000 or t…
Does Delaware's open meetings law apply to the University of Delaware Board of Trustees' Executive Committee?
No, under the law as it stood in 2006. The AG found that FOIA's open meeting law only covers the full University of Delaware Board of Trustees, not its Executive Committee, so the Committee's private …
If a Delaware public body holds a meeting without giving the required public notice, can it fix the problem just by approving the minutes later?
Not usually, according to this opinion. Merely approving the minutes of an earlier unnoticed meeting is a perfunctory, ministerial act that doesn't cure a FOIA violation; the public body has to give t…
Can someone who isn't a family member pick up a towed car from a storage lot using an affidavit?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Department of Transportation reasonably read its own rules (43 Texas Administrative Code sections 18.82(3) and 18.92(a)(3)(G)) to allow a person who is no…
Can a Texas county pay performance bonuses to only some of its employees?
The Attorney General concluded that Smith County's proposed incentive bonus plan for certain county employees would not violate article III, section 53 of the Texas Constitution, which bars extra comp…
When the DC quasi-public economic-development corporation (NCRC) borrowed $6.7 million from Bank of America in 2002 with a deed of trust on property it owned, was that loan properly authorized under DC law? Did the Anti-Deficiency Acts apply?
The loan was not properly authorized. The NCRC is part of the DC government, and is subject to both the federal and DC Anti-Deficiency Acts. NCRC's only authority to borrow money is through revenue bo…
Do Texas courts charge two separate filing fees when you file a civil lawsuit?
The Attorney General concluded that a district clerk must collect filing fees under both section 133.151 and section 133.152 of the Local Government Code, not just one of them. Section 133.151 is the …
Is a golf cart a 'motor vehicle' for a lawsuit against a Texas school district?
The Attorney General concluded that a Texas court would likely treat a self-propelled golf cart as a 'motor vehicle' under section 101.051 of the Texas Tort Claims Act, the provision that narrows a sc…
Can a Texas county pay the court-appointed attorney's fees in a private child custody case?
The Attorney General concluded that the answer turns on when the suit was filed. For private suits affecting the parent-child relationship filed on or after September 1, 2003 (the effective date of a …
Can a Texas deputy district clerk also work part-time for a private law firm?
The Attorney General concluded that neither article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution (which bars holding more than one civil office of emolument) nor the common-law incompatibility doctrine p…
Where can a Texas chiropractic license applicant take their 90 college credit hours?
The Attorney General concluded that Occupations Code section 201.302(a)(3), which requires a chiropractic license applicant to complete 90 semester hours of college courses at 'a school other than a c…
Can a Delaware citizen force a public authority to calculate exactly how much it spent on a specific lawsuit if that figure was never tracked separately?
No, according to this opinion. Because the authority's attorney billed for the lawsuit together with other legal work in combined quarterly invoices, the AG found FOIA doesn't require breaking out a s…
If a Delaware agency's email system automatically deletes messages after 90 days, does that violate FOIA when a request comes in for older emails?
No, according to this opinion. Once the agency's IT staff confirmed the emails had already been overwritten by a routine 90-day backup cycle before the request was made, the AG found there was nothing…
How these opinions are useful
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