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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Is the Texas Office for the Prevention of Developmental Disabilities an independent state agency?
The Attorney General concluded that the Office for the Prevention of Developmental Disabilities was not subject to the fiscal control or oversight of the Health and Human Services Commission, which on…
Can Delaware town council members each call the town manager separately about the same issue without triggering open meetings law?
Under the law as it stood in 2006, yes, according to the AG. FOIA's open meeting rule only applies once a quorum of the body is involved, and here at most three of the town's seven council members had…
Did Texas conflict-disclosure law require every local vendor, including professionals and small sellers, to file a questionnaire?
Under the law as it stood in 2006, vendors contracting or seeking to contract with a Texas local governmental entity generally had to file a conflict-of-interest questionnaire even when they had no re…
Do New York town civil enforcement officers who serve court process have to live in the town where they serve?
Yes. Town civil enforcement officers who serve process and execute mandates of the town court are public officers, not just employees. They exercise a portion of the sovereign power, and Town Law § 23…
How close to a government building can a New York village or city reserve on-street parking for that building's users under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1640(a)(22)?
Only the on-street parking closest to the government building. Under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1640(a)(22), a city or village may reserve on-street parking for users of a government facility …
Can a Delaware school board discuss superintendent candidates, salary, and a search firm's advice behind closed doors?
Under the law as it stood in 2006, yes for the personnel and search-firm portions, according to the AG. But the board also strayed into procedural matters (search timeline, elections, website notices)…
Does a veteran have to be a U.S. citizen to get the Texas veteran tuition exemption?
The Attorney General concluded that an honorably discharged veteran does not have to be a United States citizen at the time of registering for college to receive the tuition-and-fee exemption in Educa…
Can Texas public school textbook funds be spent on computers and other equipment?
The Attorney General concluded that money in the state textbook fund cannot be used to buy computer hardware or other equipment. The Education Code defines a 'textbook' (which includes an 'electronic …
When a Minnesota city council fills a vacancy by appointment, and the city treats its council members as 'city employees,' is the personal information submitted by people applying for that appointment public or private?
Mostly private. The AG concluded that data submitted by applicants for appointment to a council vacancy is private personnel data under Minn. Stat. § 13.43 (if the city treats council members as emplo…
Can a Delaware town keep secret which employees received interest-free loans from taxpayer funds?
No, according to this opinion. The AG found that interest-free employee loans are a form of compensation, and just as public salaries are public information, so is the identity of employees who borrow…
Can a Maryland county charge property owners a stormwater management fee, and is it legally a fee or a tax?
It can be either, according to the opinion. The statute lets a county or municipality set up a stormwater management 'system of charges' as a regulatory fee, a tax, or a combination of both, and which…
Does a property tax lien on a manufactured home follow the home or the owner?
The Attorney General concluded that a tax lien for taxes on a manufactured home attaches to the specific home (not the owner) on January 1 of the tax year, so it follows the home. A taxing unit may pe…
Can a Texas county auditor be removed for having a personal interest in a county contract?
The Attorney General concluded that a county auditor who has a personal interest in a county contract, contrary to the oath required by Local Government Code section 84.007(b)(2), may have committed '…
What rules apply when a Texas city leases its oil, gas, or mineral land?
The Attorney General concluded that two statutes governing mineral leases by a city cannot be reconciled, and that Local Government Code section 253.005 wins. That statute lets a municipality lease it…
Can Texas put red-light enforcement cameras on state highway rights-of-way?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Department of Transportation may install cameras on state highway rights-of-way to monitor compliance with traffic-control signals and help enforce traffi…
Does responding to a public records request in nine days, or telling someone information by phone instead of in writing, violate Delaware's FOIA?
No, under the law as it stood in 2006. The AG found the Town of Camden did not violate FOIA in any of six specific incidents a citizens' group complained about, including records that reportedly went …
Can the same New York resident serve as both deputy town clerk for a town and as an elected village trustee within that town?
Yes. Deputy town clerk and village trustee are compatible offices and may be held by the same person. Neither is subordinate to the other, the duties do not require the official to choose between the …
Can a city building official rely on an engineer's seal that a plan meets building codes?
The Attorney General explained that Occupations Code section 1001.402 lets a city building official accept a plat or plan only if it bears a professional engineer's seal, but the statute does not crea…
Can a Delaware city council vote on hiring a job candidate while still in executive session?
No, according to this opinion. FOIA lets a public body discuss a job applicant's qualifications privately, but any actual vote, even an informal consensus vote, must happen in open session; the AG als…
Can Texas university systems buy printing services without competitive bidding?
The Attorney General concluded that The University of Texas System and The Texas A&M University System may, if they choose, acquire printing services under Government Code chapter 2155 and the Texas B…
What was the maximum salary a Texas district judge could be paid?
The Attorney General concluded that the maximum lawful salary payable to a Texas state district judge under Government Code section 659.012 was $140,000. The figure works up a chain: an associate Texa…
Does a Texas county clerk have to deduct a fee from a cash bail bond refund?
The Attorney General concluded yes. A county or district clerk is required, under section 117.055 of the Local Government Code, to charge an administrative fee when returning funds deposited as a cash…
Can an off-duty reserve police officer wear their uniform working a private security job?
The Attorney General concluded no. A reserve peace officer employed by a sheriff, constable, navigation district, or municipal police department may not wear the official uniform or display the insign…
When someone files a public-records request for the names of private equity, hedge fund, and real estate funds the NC State Treasurer has invested public money in, the management fees paid, and information about the underlying portfolio companies, which of those does the Treasurer have to disclose?
Most of it, but not portfolio-company information. The NC AG concluded that fund names, investment amounts, annual returns, and management-fee data are public records that must be released. Informatio…
Can El Paso's water utility board charge developers an impact fee?
The Attorney General concluded no. The El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board had no authority to establish impact fees for water and wastewater infrastructure. Local Government Code chapter 395…
Can Delaware public employees' attendance records and time sheets be withheld from the public as private personnel information?
No, according to this opinion. Basic attendance records, sign-out sheets, and time sheets showing when a public employee was or wasn't on the job aren't protected by FOIA's personnel-privacy exemption…
Can a Texas home-rule city change its charter without a public vote?
The Attorney General concluded no. A home-rule city charter provision letting the city commission amend the charter by ordinance is void, because article XI, section 5 of the Texas Constitution requir…
Do Texas nail salons have to sterilize tools in an autoclave?
The Attorney General found two 2005 laws in conflict. Senate Bill 411 required nondisposable nail, hand, and foot tools to be sterilized in an autoclave; House Bill 1304 allowed an autoclave or a dry …
Can a Texas city change its budget without passing a new ordinance?
The Attorney General concluded that a city which adopts its budget by ordinance can amend that budget only by another ordinance, an act of equal dignity, and not by a mere resolution, motion, or order…
If I work for an Oregon community mental health program, a state-approved noninpatient mental-health provider, or as an independent contractor doing mental-health work, am I exempt from the Oregon psychologist licensing requirement?
It depends. Employees of certified community mental health programs are exempt under ORS 675.090(1)(e). Employees of state-approved noninpatient providers are not. 'Qualified mental health professiona…
Did the final amended LD 1481, with its 75-day deadline for nullifying municipal land use permits, create an unfunded mandate by forcing towns to schedule special town meetings on citizen petitions?
More likely than not, yes. The Maine AG concluded that LD 1481 (as amended by Senate Amendment 'C' to Committee Amendment 'C') implicitly required towns to schedule special meetings on timely citizen …
Who can remove an abandoned mobile home from a Texas county road?
The Attorney General concluded that a county constable could not use Transportation Code section 545.3051, the roadway personal-property removal statute, to remove an abandoned manufactured (mobile) h…
Which payment deadline applies when a Texas school district owes a city gas utility?
The Attorney General concluded that Government Code chapter 2251 (the prompt-payment statute), not the city-owned Alto Natural Gas Company's own payment policy, governs when the Wells Independent Scho…
Can a part-time college instructor get paid to serve on a water district board?
The Attorney General concluded yes. Article XVI, section 40 of the Texas Constitution generally bars a state employee from drawing a salary for serving on a local governing body, but it makes an excep…
If a Delaware public agency says the records a FOIA request asked for don't exist, does that end the complaint?
Yes, according to this opinion. Once a school district's attorney verified that no receipts, correspondence, or emails existed for a specific donation because the board had actually declined to accept…
Can the Texas Comptroller investigate and report on a state agency?
The Attorney General concluded that the Comptroller does not have authority to initiate and conduct an investigation into the effectiveness and efficiency of a state agency's policies, management, fis…
McCook County wanted to require that all land subdivisions inside the county be platted before any deed could be recorded, even though state law (SDCL 43-21-1) only requires platting when a property is divided into parcels that cannot be described except by metes and bounds. The county wanted to direct the Register of Deeds to refuse to record any deed for unplatted land. Could McCook County enact that ordinance?
No. AG Larry Long concluded the proposed ordinance was both ultra vires (beyond the county's statutory authority) and preempted by state law. Counties in South Dakota have only the powers the Legislat…
In Texas, do all judges in a county have to give arrest warnings, or just the justice of the peace?
The Attorney General concluded that every officer who is a magistrate under article 2.09 (district judges, county judges, county-court-at-law judges, statutory probate judges, justices of the peace, a…
Can Texas stop minors from crossing into Mexico, or limit where teenagers can be near the border?
The Attorney General drew a line between two different things. A state law that tries to stop minors from crossing the international border would intrude on the federal government's exclusive power ov…
Can a Texas county sheriff send jail inmates to work for a nonprofit, and what approval is needed?
The Attorney General concluded that a county sheriff has no free-standing power to run an inmate work program. The only legal sources for one are article 43.09 or 43.10 of the Code of Criminal Procedu…
Can a Delaware town require someone to explain why they want public records, or prove Delaware residency, before handing them over?
No to both, under the law as it stood in 2006. The AG found the Town of Townsend's public records form violated FOIA by requiring requesters to state their reason for requesting records and to prove D…
When must an Oregon health licensing board hand over its investigation file to a licensee facing discipline?
The duty to disclose investigative information to a licensee or applicant kicks in when (1) the board itself votes to issue a notice of intent to impose a disciplinary sanction and (2) the licensee or…
Does a Texas therapist need a separate state license to treat sex offenders, on top of their professional license?
The Attorney General concluded that a person needs two licenses, not one, to provide sex offender rehabilitation services in Texas. The professional license (as a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist…
Are grand jury and trial jury name lists confidential in Texas, or can lawyers and the public see them?
The Attorney General concluded that jury lists, which are just the jurors' names, are presumed public, and neither a clerk nor a judge has a duty to keep them confidential once the clerk opens the sea…
Could Wyoming's Environmental Quality Council use the Environmental Quality Act to require that all coalbed natural gas produced water actually be put to beneficial agricultural use, as a way to limit how much water gets discharged?
No. Attorney General Patrick Crank concluded that the Environmental Quality Act gave DEQ and the EQC authority to regulate water quantity only when quantity affected water quality. The Act's stated pu…
Can a Texas city council member who isn't paid for his current term run for the state legislature?
The Attorney General concluded that the council member was eligible to run. Article III, section 19 of the Texas Constitution bars a person who holds a 'lucrative office' from being elected to the leg…
Does a Texas private school have to admit a child who has a vaccine exemption?
The Attorney General concluded that a private school that does not accept state tax funds is not required to accept for enrollment a child who has an exemption from the immunizations required by the H…
Are unpaid guardians ad litem who serve in the New York City Civil Court Housing Part's program covered by the State's defense and indemnification under Public Officers Law § 17?
Yes. Unpaid guardians ad litem who serve in the New York City Civil Court Housing Part's guardian ad litem program are volunteers expressly authorized to participate in a state-sponsored volunteer pro…
Can a Delaware school board add new items to a public meeting agenda just days before the meeting?
Yes, under limited circumstances, according to this opinion. FOIA lets a public body amend an agenda up to six hours before a meeting if it explains the delay, and the AG found a school district prope…
Was Maine's 2006 TABOR ballot initiative, requiring 2/3 legislative votes and statewide voter approval for tax increases, constitutional under the Maine Constitution?
The Maine AG concluded that the 2006 TABOR initiative would likely fail four separate constitutional tests: (1) by requiring statewide voter approval for tax increases it surrendered the Legislature's…
Are records the NC Secretary of State gathers to refer apparent lobbying violations to the Attorney General confidential criminal-investigation records?
No, under the 2006 law. The AG concluded that under the then-current N.C. Gen. Stat. § 120-47.10 the Secretary of State was not a 'public law enforcement agency.' The Secretary's role was limited to r…
Can New York emergency personnel cross or enter private property to rescue someone when the owner objects?
Yes. County emergency personnel may enter private property without the landowner's consent when that entry is reasonably necessary to perform their public duty in responding to an actual emergency. Th…
What did Idaho's AG say about a 2006 ballot initiative that would have amended Idaho's eminent domain and regulatory-takings statutes after Kelo?
The AG flagged a potential single-subject issue (eminent domain and regulatory takings might or might not be sufficiently related), a conflict with House Bill 555 which had just created a new Idaho Co…
Can a private prison company hire the county sheriff's relative, or does nepotism law block it?
The Attorney General concluded that the nepotism statute does not apply, so the private operator of the Reeves County Detention Center was not prohibited from hiring the sheriff's son. Texas nepotism …
If a Texas seller missed annual contract-for-deed statements, do the old higher penalties or the new lower ones apply?
The Attorney General concluded that the 2005 version of Property Code section 5.077(c), which sets the lower liquidated-damages amount, applies retroactively. Under a contract for deed, the seller mus…
When must a Texas school district file a truancy complaint, and what happens if it misses the deadline?
The Attorney General answered three questions about the 2005 version of Education Code section 25.0951. First, the seven-school-day filing deadline runs from the student's tenth unexcused absence: a s…
Does a misdemeanor conviction from another state count against you under Maryland's firearms disqualification law?
The opinion concluded that an out-of-state misdemeanor conviction disqualified a person from possessing a regulated firearm in Maryland if the offense would be classified as a misdemeanor with a poten…
If a city council's agenda only lists a general comment period, can a council member use it to trigger real debate and action on a land-use project?
No, under the law as it stood in 2006. The AG found Newark City Council violated FOIA when a councilman's comment during the 'Council Members' portion of a meeting's agenda turned into an extended, su…
Does Texas's 'provider of last resort' rule for local MHMR authorities cover mental health services too, or only mental retardation services?
The Attorney General concluded that section 533.035(e), which says a local mental health and mental retardation authority 'may serve as a provider of services only as a provider of last resort,' appli…
Does Texas's nepotism law apply to a junior college board hiring a relative of a board member if the president actually does the hiring?
The Attorney General concluded that the nepotism statute, Government Code section 573.041, prohibits Del Mar College from employing an adjunct instructor related within a prohibited degree to a member…
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