State AG Opinions
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Can a Texas county judge who is also a lawyer get the county to waive the conflict of interest so he can practice law in his county's courts?
No. The Attorney General found no statute that lets the commissioners court consent, on the county's behalf, to a county judge practicing law in the justice, county, or district courts of his own coun…
Does the Texas Court Reporters Certification Board have to certify real-time captioning specialists?
No. The Attorney General concluded that section 57.021(d) of the Government Code, which lets the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing keep a list of people 'certified by the Court Reporte…
Can a Texas insurance carrier's attorney send workers' comp claim letters directly to a claimant who already has a lawyer?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a Texas Workers' Compensation Commission rule (28 Tex. Admin. Code 102.4(b)) requiring carriers, employers, and health care providers to send copies of all wri…
Can a New York town's confidential assistant to the supervisor also serve as a member of the town planning board?
Yes. The AG concluded the positions of confidential assistant (secretary) to the town supervisor and member of the town planning board were compatible. Neither office reviewed the other, and the super…
If a Texas municipal hospital authority leases part of its building to a private company, does the building stay exempt from property tax?
Not automatically. The Attorney General concluded that a hospital authority's building has to meet the 'exclusive public use' requirement to be exempt under article VIII, section 2 of the Texas Consti…
Can a county keep the minutes of an executive session about buying land confidential while negotiations are still ongoing?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found Sussex County Council properly used executive session to discuss a preliminary land purchase and could keep the session's minutes confidential whil…
Can Texas's Rural Foundation use its money to fund rural programs that aren't health-related?
No. The Attorney General concluded that the Rural Foundation, the nonprofit corporation the Legislature created in chapter 110 of the Health and Safety Code, may only raise and spend money to finance …
What happens to a Texas groundwater conservation district when voters reject the election to confirm it?
The Attorney General worked through nine questions about the Southeast Trinity Groundwater Conservation District after voters in November 2001 rejected confirming it (and rejected a tax). The main con…
Can the New York Crime Victims Board pay business start-up or business-enhancement costs for a disabled crime victim under its rehabilitative training authority, and is self-employment a valid goal?
No to the first two questions, conditional yes to the third. Executive Law § 631(2) authorizes rehabilitative occupational training, not general business start-up or enhancement costs. But self-employ…
Can a sitting New York Court of Claims judge also serve on the New York Commission on Uniform State Laws?
No. Article VI § 20(b) of the state Constitution forbids Court of Claims judges from holding any other public office or trust except offices related to court administration. The Commission on Uniform …
Can a Texas county pay grand jurors more than petit jurors, or vary juror pay by which court they serve in?
No. The Attorney General concluded that section 61.001 of the Government Code requires a county commissioners court to reimburse all jurors at the same daily rate, with one exception. Under subsection…
Can a Texas business that already maxed out its enterprise project tax benefits get a second concurrent designation in the same zone?
No. The Attorney General concluded that under the Texas Enterprise Zone Act and Tax Code section 151.429, an 'enterprise project' is the discrete business entity located in a particular enterprise zon…
If a city council secretly meets with a developer about annexing land, can it fix the violation before making a final decision?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found the City of New Castle violated FOIA by meeting with a developer about annexation plans without public notice, but commended the city for voluntari…
Can Texas require foreign-trained teachers to provide a 'Letter of Good Standing' from their home country to get certified?
Partly. The Attorney General concluded that the State Board for Educator Certification has authority to verify that a foreign educator's credential is in good standing, and may ask for a 'Letter of Go…
When does a Texas commissioners court have to approve a defeated county commissioner's spending?
The Attorney General concluded that section 130.908 of the Local Government Code, which requires commissioners court approval of a defeated incumbent commissioner's expenditures in a county under 50,0…
When a Maine Governor curtails spending mid-year, does the Legislature have to mirror the cuts by reducing appropriations in a supplemental budget?
No, the Legislature is not legally required to deappropriate the curtailed funds. But the AG flagged real benefits: it locks in the cuts permanently, brings the budget into actual balance, and strengt…
Can a Texas city council ban its own members from serving on the volunteer fire department?
The Attorney General concluded that a type A general-law city (Cockrell Hill) had no authority to adopt a resolution barring its mayor or council members from also serving in the city's volunteer fire…
Can Texas appellate courts be required to follow the state's employment-discrimination audit law?
The Attorney General concluded that Labor Code sections 21.451 through 21.456, which require the Texas Commission on Human Rights to audit state agencies' employment policies (including those of the a…
Does a Texas city official have to resign to run for a political party precinct chair?
The Attorney General concluded no. The 'resign-to-run' rule in article XI, section 11 (and article XVI, section 65) of the Texas Constitution applies only when an officer becomes a candidate for anoth…
Can Texas require early childhood intervention providers to hand over children's personal information?
The Attorney General concluded that the Texas Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention is authorized by state and federal law to require its contracted local service providers to collect an…
Can a Delaware physical therapist work for or accept patient referrals from a physician who profits from those referrals?
No, according to this opinion. Delaware law bars a physical therapist from splitting fees or accepting money, wages, discounts, or gratuities from anyone who refers patients to them, including a physi…
Does NC's Junkyard Control Act apply to Ashe County (which has no interstate or federal-aid primary highway), can the county enforce it through a misdemeanor warrant when the state hasn't acted, and do affected neighbors have any private enforcement rights?
Yes the Act applies, even though Ashe County has no interstate or federal-aid primary highway: the 1,000-foot ban extends to 'a North Carolina route' in counties without those federal highways. So jun…
Can the public get copies of private admonitions the NC Judicial Standards Commission has issued to judges, and the documents about the rule that authorizes private admonitions?
Two different answers. (1) Records about the development and adoption of the Commission's *rules*, including the rule that authorizes private admonitions, are public records under the NC Public Record…
Can a company be penalized for filing frivolous confidentiality claims to block a Texas public records request?
The Attorney General concluded no. The Texas Public Information Act lets a third party (such as a business whose records a governmental body holds) ask the AG to withhold information on privacy or tra…
Can the Texas Department of Insurance examine a physician group's records when it provides only medical care under a contract with an HMO?
The Attorney General concluded yes. A nonprofit health corporation certified by the Board of Medical Examiners counts as a physician under the HMO Act, and when it has a contract with a health mainten…
Does Delaware's public records law require a county to hand out every draft of a comprehensive plan update as it's being revised?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found Sussex County Planning & Zoning made the revised comprehensive plan draft and meeting minutes reasonably available on its website and in its office…
Can I get a copy of a Delaware government's settlement agreement with a fired or departing employee?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG found that a settlement agreement and related payment records between a public employer and an employee are public records under FOIA, rejecting personnel-file, …
When a Georgia juvenile is held at a Department of Juvenile Justice facility before being formally committed to DJJ, who pays for emergency medical care, the state or the county?
The county pays. The Attorney General concluded that until a juvenile court issues a formal order of commitment under O.C.G.A. §§ 15-11-66 or 15-11-67, the Department of Juvenile Justice has only phys…
Can a Georgia drug task force use federal asset forfeiture funds (DOJ equitable sharing money) to pay overtime to participating state and local police officers?
No. The Attorney General concluded that federal forfeiture proceeds transferred to Georgia law enforcement agencies must be spent in accordance with Georgia law, and Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 16-13-49(u…
Can a Texas city commissioner take part in discussing a merit raise for a sibling who works for the city?
The Attorney General concluded no. Under the continuous-employment part of the nepotism statute, a city commissioner whose sibling keeps a city job may not participate in any deliberation or vote on t…
Can a Texas school board trustee also serve on the board of a small groundwater conservation district?
The Attorney General concluded the trustee could not, on the facts described. The Water Code rule that disqualifies a member of one political subdivision's governing body from serving as a groundwater…
Can a New York county ban all free tobacco product samples within its borders, despite state law that allows some distribution at private functions and trade shows?
No. Public Health Law § 1399-bb, part of the Adolescent Tobacco-Use Prevention Act, contains an express preemption clause giving it precedence over any local law regulating free tobacco sample distrib…
When a New York town annexes territory or a court redraws town boundaries, do fire district boundaries automatically change too?
No. Neither town annexation nor a court decision redrawing the boundary between two towns changed the existing fire district boundaries. The Cadyville Fire District continued to serve the territory it…
Where does a county council have to post its meeting notice, and how specific does the agenda need to be?
It depends, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found New Castle County Council had to post meeting notice at its own principal office regardless of where a joint meeting was actually held, but …
Does a Texas water or special utility district need county or city permission to lay water lines in road right-of-way?
The Attorney General drew a line between counties and cities. A water district or water supply corporation has statutory rights-of-way in public roads, but when it lays water system facilities it must…
Is the medical information I submit to get disability accommodations on a Texas licensing exam kept confidential?
The Attorney General concluded that it depends on who supplies the information. When a physician fills out the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners' disability assessment form, the diagnosis, evalua…
Can a towing company give a parking lot or apartment complex free services in exchange for the towing contract?
The Attorney General concluded no. Chapter 684 of the Transportation Code bars a towing company from giving a parking facility owner 'anything of value' in connection with removing vehicles, and free …
Does a Texas city get to approve how its economic development corporation winds down and sells off assets?
The Attorney General concluded yes on review, with a limit. A city that created a section 4A economic development corporation has general authority to supervise and control it, so the corporation's di…
Under NC's Chapter 122C mental health law (as amended by HB 381 in 2001), can a county opt out of running mental health services through an 'area authority' and govern services directly? And does the older § 153A-77(a) provision (which lets only counties over 425,000 people take direct control) violate the state constitution's prohibition on local acts about health?
No exemption from service mandates. The NC AG concluded that HB 381 lets counties choose to operate mental health programs themselves rather than through an area authority, but every county must still…
Does a Texas county have to register exotic or dangerous wild animals, and can residents force it to?
The Attorney General concluded yes. Under subchapter E of chapter 822 of the Health and Safety Code, added by House Bill 1362, every county that has not entirely banned the ownership, possession, conf…
When Texas law lets a city restrict trucks to 'two designated lanes,' does that mean exactly two or two or more?
The Attorney General concluded it means exactly two. Section 545.0651(b) of the Transportation Code lets a municipality restrict, by class of vehicle, through traffic to 'two designated lanes' of a qu…
Does a Texas nonprofit cemetery or a crematory have to register with the Funeral Service Commission?
The Attorney General reached four conclusions about the Texas Funeral Service Commission's authority over cemeteries and crematories under chapter 651 of the Occupations Code, as expanded in 2001. Fir…
Is it constitutional for Texas to give big counties less time than small counties to appoint a lawyer for indigent defendants?
The Attorney General concluded that a court would likely uphold both rules. Article 1.051(c) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by the 2001 Texas Fair Defense Act (Senate Bill 7), requires …
Did Fenwick Island properly fix its earlier open-meeting violations by publicly re-voting on a police salary decision?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found the Town of Fenwick Island properly remediated its earlier open-meeting violations by publicly discussing and ratifying its police salary decision,…
Does a retired Texas state park peace officer have to take continuing education to keep an active peace-officer license?
The Attorney General concluded that a peace officer who retired from the State Park Law Enforcement Program is a 'retired state employee' under section 1701.356 of the Occupations Code. A qualifying r…
Can a Texas mayor serve as both a board member and the paid executive director of his city's industrial development corporation?
The Attorney General concluded there was no legal bar to a mayor serving simultaneously as a board member and salaried executive director of an industrial development corporation his city created unde…
Can a city promote a longtime police officer whose parent was recently elected to the city council, despite nepotism rules?
The Attorney General concluded the promotion was permissible. An Azle police lieutenant had served continuously since 1997, and his mother was elected to the city council in 2001; the city manager the…
Does Texas have to let a hospital review its data before the state releases hospital-specific information to the public or a legislator?
The Attorney General concluded yes. Under chapter 108 of the Health and Safety Code, when the Texas Health Care Information Council got a request for public use data about a specific hospital, it had …
In Maine, can a sitting Probate Judge serve in the State Senate if elected?
No. The Maine Constitution flatly bars a probate judge from holding both offices. Articles III, VI, and IX each prohibit it through different mechanisms (separation of powers, judicial-officer office-…
If representatives from several Delaware school boards meet regularly outside of any official board meeting, does that group have to follow the open meeting law?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG applied a 'functional equivalent' test and found that a joint group of school board members and administrators who met monthly to discuss shared concerns counted…
Can I file a Delaware FOIA complaint if a town simply doesn't have the planning document I asked for yet?
No, according to this opinion. The Delaware AG found that a town did not violate FOIA by failing to hand over a comprehensive development plan that did not yet exist, since FOIA does not require a pub…
Can a small Texas city council create a 'city administrator' and give that person the mayor's or a city manager's statutory powers?
The Attorney General concluded it cannot. General-law cities have only the powers the Legislature grants them. The Legislature made the mayor the budget officer of a general-law city (unless the city …
If a Texas county underpaid the statutory salary owed to its county court-at-law judges, must it pay the difference?
The Attorney General concluded that, on the facts presented, Angelina County had not complied with either path the law gives a county that collects the special court fees under section 51.702 of the G…
Can a Texas prosecutor keep an autopsy report secret during a murder investigation if a justice of the peace holds it?
The Attorney General concluded that an autopsy report held by a justice of the peace as part of an inquest is open to public inspection under section 27.004 of the Government Code, and that no statute…
When DC's Corporation Counsel and the head of the Child and Family Services Agency disagree about whether to file or dismiss a child-abuse-and-neglect petition, who has the final say?
It depends on the reason for the decision. If the question is whether the evidence is sufficient to win the case, only Corporation Counsel attorneys can make the call (because that decision involves l…
Can a Texas sheriff post a list of preapproved bail bondsmen in the county jail if the county has no bail bond board?
The Attorney General concluded that a sheriff in a county without a bail bond board has no authority to post a list of preapproved bondsmen in the county jail. In those counties, bail is governed by c…
Can a Texas bank scan the magnetic stripe on a customer's driver's license to verify identity?
The Attorney General concluded no. Section 521.126 of the Transportation Code limits the use of the electronically readable (magnetic stripe) information on a Texas driver's license to law enforcement…
Is it a crime in Texas to slaughter horses and export the meat for people to eat overseas?
The Attorney General concluded yes, assuming the operator had the required intent or knowledge. Chapter 149 of the Agriculture Code makes it a crime to sell, possess for sale, or transfer horse-meat a…
Can a parent see their child's school counseling records in Texas?
The Attorney General concluded that, generally, all of a student's school records are available to the parent, and counseling records may be withheld only under very narrow and unusual circumstances. …
Can a Texas school board trustee also serve as a political party county chair?
The Attorney General concluded yes. To be a county or precinct chair of a political party, Election Code section 161.005 says a person may not hold an elective office of the federal, state, or county …
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