State AG Opinions
Free state attorney general opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
No opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Did a Texas statute expire because the law amending it took effect the day after the expiration date?
Don Gilbert, commissioner of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, asked the Attorney General whether chapter 597 of the Health and Safety Code expired on August 31, 1997. Chap…
Can Texas let an environmental agency exempt a company from a pollution rule if it uses an equally protective alternative?
Barry McBee, the chair of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, asked the Attorney General whether Water Code section 5.123 was constitutional. That 1997 statute lets the commission issu…
Can a Texas city council require several members to agree before an item goes on the meeting agenda?
State Representative Steven Wolens asked whether a Dallas City Council rule, which lets the mayor put an item on the agenda only when five council members or a majority of a council committee request …
Can a North Carolina state-chartered credit union have members from several unrelated employer groups, each with its own internal common bond, or must all members of the credit union share one common bond?
All members must share the same common bond. Both the North Carolina Supreme Court (in N.C. Savings & Loan League v. NC Credit Union Commission, 1981) and the U.S. Supreme Court (in NCUA v. First Nati…
Can a county industrial development agency pay its executive director a percentage of bond-project fees on top of base salary, or a 'minimum' alternative payment if the percentage is found unlawful?
No. The AG concluded both compensation provisions in the Niagara County IDA's contract with its executive director violated General Municipal Law § 858-a(1). Compensation contingent on the granting of…
Can a New York town require a planned retirement community developer to provide off-site transportation to shopping and medical facilities as a condition of site plan approval?
No. Town Law § 274-a limits required site plan elements to the layout, design, and physical features of the site itself. Off-site shopping and medical transport is not related to the site's layout or …
Who owns the new dry beach land at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina that was created by pumping sand from Banks Channel, after a 1939 special law granted the original beach to the town and a 1985 state lands amendment shifted title to publicly funded raised land to the State?
Mixed ownership, layered by date. The 1939 Session Law granted the Town of Wrightsville Beach good title in fee simple to the land east of the building line down to the low water mark, subject to publ…
Can a county attorney prosecute violators of a county's electrical and mechanical trade licensing laws, instead of the district attorney?
Yes, but only with proper authorization. The AG concluded a county attorney may prosecute violations of Putnam County's mechanical trade laws if (1) the board of supervisors directs the county attorne…
Can a septic tank pumping company file a construction lien on a homeowner's property for unpaid service charges?
No. Routine septic-tank pumping and cleaning was not lienable. Oregon's construction-lien statute reached construction, alteration, or repair of an improvement, and routine cleaning did not qualify.
After the federal Balanced Budget Act of 1997 expanded Medicaid coverage of Medicare Part B premiums up to 175% of the poverty line, did New York need to amend Social Services Law § 367-a to comply?
Yes. The AG concluded that Social Services Law § 367-a(3), which caps Medicaid payment of Medicare Part B premiums at 120% of the poverty line, must be amended to comply with the Balanced Budget Act o…
Can a licensed Texas chiropractor give injections or prescribe prescription drugs?
State Representative Hugo Berlanga and the president of the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners asked the Attorney General whether a licensed Texas chiropractor could use injectable substances (subs…
Can a licensed Texas chiropractor practice acupuncture without a separate acupuncture license?
Bruce Levy, executive director of the Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners, asked whether performing acupuncture falls within the scope of practice of a licensed Texas chiropractor. The Attorney…
Can a Long Island town or county condemn part of the LILCO/LIPA electric grid and use it to run its own municipal utility?
No. The AG concluded a municipality in the LILCO/LIPA service area cannot condemn LILCO or LIPA transmission and distribution assets. The Legislature gave LIPA exclusive authority to acquire LILCO, an…
Can Maine fund a State House connector with Governmental Facilities Authority bonds without a statewide vote under the constitutional debt limit?
The Maine AG concluded LD 2259 was constitutionally permissible. Bonds the Maine Governmental Facilities Authority would issue for the State House connector and related renovations do not constitute s…
Can a paid city firefighter also serve as a commissioner of a fire district that contracts with the city for fire protection services?
No. The AG concluded a paid firefighter of a fire department providing service by contract to a fire district may not also serve as a commissioner of that district. The two roles create at least the a…
If a state employee is also a licensed Professional Geologist in North Carolina, can the state licensing board discipline that person for violating the Code of Professional Conduct while doing their state job?
Yes for licensed employees, but the practice exemption still applies. NC law exempts officers and employees of the federal government and the State of NC from the Geologists Licensing Act when they ar…
Can a town highway superintendent privately moonlight for the town's water district, operating heavy equipment to repair water pipes located under town roads?
No. The AG concluded that a town highway superintendent's operation of heavy equipment for the town water district to repair water pipes under a road, whether in his official or private capacity, crea…
Does a Texas county tax assessor-collector have to register with the state board if the county contracts out its tax collection?
Brazos County Attorney James Kuboviak asked the Attorney General two questions about Tax Code section 6.24(b), which lets a county contract to have its property taxes assessed and collected by another…
Do contractors on Texas public works have to pay the prevailing wage, and what happens if they underpay or misclassify workers?
Texas Representative Rene Oliveira asked the Attorney General several questions about Government Code chapter 2258, the prevailing-wage law for public works, prompted by a dispute over electricians re…
Could Texas limit a veteran tuition exemption to veterans who lived in Texas when they entered military service?
The Attorney General concluded that a court probably would strike the requirement that a veteran must have lived in Texas when entering military service, while preserving the exemption for honorably d…
When New York City changes its civil service classifications to comply with a city council mandate, do the changes still need State Civil Service Commission approval and a notice-and-hearing process?
Yes. The AG concluded that Civil Service Law § 20(2)'s notice, hearing, and State Civil Service Commission approval requirements apply to City Personnel Director rule modifications even when they impl…
Are the doctors who do physicals and fitness-for-duty exams for the New York State Police covered by state defense and indemnification under Public Officers Law § 17?
No. The AG concluded that physicians who perform services for the Division of State Police under Executive Law § 215 (the Division Physician, Assistant Division Physicians, and those without title) ar…
If voters of a Minnesota school district sign a petition to force a special election on selling bonds to build a community recreational facility on school property, must the district go through the state's review-and-comment process first, and can the election still be held if the Commissioner of Children, Families and Learning issues a negative review?
Voters may petition under Minn. Stat. § 205A.05, subd. 1 to compel a special bond election, but the school district must complete the review-and-comment process under Minn. Stat. §§ 121.148 and 121.15…
Does Oregon's vital-records confidentiality statute limit public access to marriage records held by county clerks?
Yes. ORS 432.121 limited public access to most marriage records less than 50 years old, regardless of whether held by the Center for Health Statistics or a county clerk. The list-of-ministers book was…
Can North Carolina's Marine Fisheries Commission enforce state fishery rules against fishing vessels in the federal Exclusive Economic Zone off the North Carolina coast?
Yes, but only for NC-registered vessels and only where federal rules are absent or NC rules are consistent with the federal management plan. As amended, the Magnuson-Stevens Act lets a state regulate …
If a North Carolina sheriff settles an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission discrimination charge through a Conciliation Agreement, and county money pays the settlement, is the agreement a public record that the county must disclose?
Yes. Under N.C.G.S. § 132-1.3, public records include all settlement documents in any suit, administrative proceeding, or arbitration instituted against an agency of NC government in connection with i…
If a North Carolina fishing tournament gives a fisherman more raffle tickets the more fish he turns in, is that a sale of fish that requires the fisherman to have a state endorsement to sell fish?
Yes. NC defines 'sale' in N.C.G.S. § 113-130(6) to include any exchange of property for valuable consideration. A tournament scheme that gives a fisherman additional raffle tickets in exchange for eac…
Does the NC Environmental Policy Act require the state to prepare an environmental impact document when developing a fishery management plan under the Fisheries Reform Act of 1997, or when adopting the rules that implement those plans?
No. The NC Environmental Policy Act requires an environmental document only when an agency takes a 'final agency decision' on a specific project or program that uses public money or public land. Fishe…
Could Idaho voters raise the state minimum wage to $10 per hour and lower the training-wage age cutoff from 20 to 18, without running into federal preemption?
The proposed initiative would have raised Idaho's minimum wage to $10 per hour and the training wage to $7.50 per hour starting December 1, 2000, with the training wage's age cap dropping from 20 to 1…
Are trustees of a New York school district public library subject to term limits?
No. The AG concluded the Education Law does not impose term limits on trustees of school district libraries. The term limits in Education Law § 255(2)(f) apply only to trustees of cooperative library …
Can the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund pay for an environmental impact statement on a proposed regional wastewater treatment system, and can it fund construction of the regional system?
EIS preparation alone, no. Construction, yes but narrowly. EIS preparation does not fit any of the nine authorized CWMTF grant purposes in N.C.G.S. § 113-145.3(c), so the Fund cannot fund EIS preparat…
If an AG finds a public body improperly deliberated in closed session, can the body fix it by redoing just the deliberation instead of the whole hearing?
Yes, under the circumstances of this opinion. After Newark asked the AG to reconsider its ruling that the Board of Ethics improperly deliberated ethics charges in executive session, the AG declined to…
When the appointing members of a public benefit corporation deadlock on filling a vacant board seat, is there a State-law remedy, and can the agency still take action with the vacancy unfilled?
No to the first question, yes to the second. The AG found no State-law remedy for a tie vote when appointing officers deadlock on filling a vacancy in an appointive office. The Love Canal Area Revital…
Can a village board put one elected trustee in charge of managing a sewage treatment plant study, and pay that trustee extra for the work?
Yes. The AG concluded a village board may delegate to a single board member the responsibility of managing a study on behalf of the board, and may compensate the trustee for the additional duties. Bec…
If a nonprofit charter school board hires a for-profit management company to run the day-to-day school, can it hand over hiring and firing of teachers to that company, or does the board itself have to keep final say?
The board has to keep final say over teachers. Under G.S. 115C-238.29F(e), the charter school's board must employ and contract with teachers. The board can delegate the initial recommendation and disc…
Can the North Carolina State Personnel Commission adopt a rule giving veterans an automatic 10-point preference on numerically scored state employment examinations?
Yes. N.C.G.S. § 126-82 explicitly directs the State Personnel Commission to provide veterans preferences in evaluation and experience credit, and § 126-4 gives the Commission broad rulemaking authorit…
If a registered Professional Engineer is also a state employee or state official doing engineering work as part of their job, does the NC engineering licensing board still have disciplinary jurisdiction over them?
Yes. The Engineering Board has jurisdiction over every registered Professional Engineer in the state and can enforce rules of professional conduct against them. It does not matter whether the engineer…
Can North Carolina agree with the federal Minerals Management Service to fix the state's seaward boundary at a series of permanent coordinates, or must the boundary remain ambulatory and shift with changes to the shoreline?
The boundary must remain ambulatory. NC's seaward boundary has been three geographical miles from the extreme low water mark of the Atlantic Ocean since 1776 (recognized at one marine league). N.C. Co…
Can a Westchester County village move its police disciplinary authority from the board of trustees to the village manager by local law, even though a special State act says only the trustees can hear charges?
Yes. The AG concluded a Westchester County village may, subject to mandatory referendum, enact a local law that amends Unconsolidated Laws § 5711-q to transfer police disciplinary authority from the b…
Can a working deputy district attorney serve in the Oregon Legislative Assembly, including while on session-length leave?
No. Under Article III, section 1 of the Oregon Constitution, a deputy district attorney could not simultaneously serve in the Legislative Assembly. Taking a session-length leave of absence did not sol…
Can a county legislator simultaneously serve as deputy supervisor of a town within the same county?
Yes. The AG concluded that a county legislator may also hold the appointive position of deputy supervisor of a town in the county. County Law § 411 bars an elective county officer from holding any oth…
Can the City of Auburn hold a referendum on any power delegated by its charter or by State law, even though no State statute specifically authorizes that referendum?
No. The AG concluded the Auburn City Charter provision authorizing a referendum on the exercise of any power delegated by charter or State law is invalid. New York requires a specific State legislativ…
Can a New York village enact its own defense and indemnification law for municipal officers, instead of relying on Public Officers Law § 18, even if the local law limits an officer's choice of conflict counsel?
Yes. The AG concluded that Public Officers Law § 18 is not the exclusive scheme for local defense and indemnification. A village may, under municipal home rule authority, enact its own local law provi…
Can a county require contractors who do business with it to disclose political contributions they have made within the past year?
No. The AG concluded that Article 14 of the Election Law has preempted the field of campaign finance reporting and disclosure. A county resolution requiring vendors to disclose contributions to county…
Can a village charter limit voting on a referendum to dissolve the village to property owners, or does the one-person, one-vote rule require letting every resident vote?
The AG concluded the village charter's property-ownership voting qualification could not be applied to a referendum on dissolving the village. Equal protection requires adherence to one-person, one-vo…
If a child was equitably adopted (treated as a child but never legally adopted) and inherits from the foster parent, does that child get North Carolina's preferential inheritance tax rate as a 'Class A beneficiary'?
No. The NC Supreme Court's 1997 decision in Lankford v. Wright recognized equitable adoption as an equitable remedy in intestate succession to enforce a foster parent's contractual promise to adopt. B…
Can a Texas county sign a hold-harmless clause that makes it pay for another party's damages?
Denton County's Criminal District Attorney asked whether a hold-and-save-harmless clause the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wanted the county to sign (as part of an agreement for the county to provide e…
Can a town's vote to adopt a land-use plan be voided because of notice problems earlier in the planning process?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1998. The AG found Middletown committed a series of FOIA notice violations, unadvertised planning workshops, public input sessions not properly noticed by the town, a…
After Casey, did Idaho's abortion statutes and the 1998 draft legislation comply with U.S. Supreme Court constitutional standards?
Several Idaho abortion statutes had constitutional problems after Casey. The second-trimester hospital-only requirement (Idaho Code 18-608) was unconstitutional. The third-trimester ban lacked a healt…
Are eight-liner gambling machines legal in Texas, and can regulators act against businesses that have them?
Senator David Sibley asked whether the 1995 exception to the Penal Code's definition of 'gambling device,' which let certain machines pay out small noncash prizes (worth no more than $5 or ten times t…
When federal officials sit on a New York public benefit corporation's board to monitor federal funds, must they file New York's annual financial disclosure under Public Officers Law § 73-a?
No. The AG concluded that federal supremacy bars New York from imposing § 73-a financial disclosure requirements on federal officials acting in their federal capacity, even when they serve as 'policy …
Can a city ethics board go into closed session to deliberate and reach a consensus on ethics charges, calling it a legal-advice session?
No, under the law as it stood in 1998. The AG found Newark's Board of Ethics went well beyond the narrow legal-advice exception when it deliberated the merits of ethics charges and reached a consensus…
Can a city inspect a school building built by a private developer for lease to the school district, or does the State Education Department control code enforcement?
The State Education Department retains exclusive authority to administer and enforce the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code for the school construction, even though a private developer will own…
Can North Carolina community colleges enter into lease-purchase and installment purchase contracts to acquire equipment, or do they need explicit legislation like K-12 schools and local governments already have?
Yes, community colleges can enter lease-purchase and installment purchase contracts, but only when the contracts are made by or with the approval of the Purchase and Contract Division of the NC Depart…
Can North Carolinians legally canoe or kayak down a stream that runs across private property, or do they need permission from the landowners along the banks?
Yes, they can paddle without the consent of riparian owners. The AG applied the NC Supreme Court's holding in Gwathmey v. State, 342 N.C. 287 (1995): under the pleasure-craft test, a stream that is in…
If a homeowner has been partially paid by the general contractor who botched the job, can the homeowner still recover any of the remaining loss from North Carolina's Homeowners Recovery Fund?
No. The Homeowners Recovery Fund definition of 'reimbursable loss' in N.C.G.S. § 87-15.5(6) requires that the loss 'is not paid, in whole or in part, by or on behalf of the general contractor whose co…
When a member of the Edgecombe County Board of Education (merged school system) resigns mid-term, does the board's appointee serve the remainder of the four-year term, or must voters elect a replacement at the next general election to serve out the remainder?
The appointee serves the remainder of the unexpired term, with no intervening election. The AG concluded that Chapter 809 of the 1991 Session Laws, the local act establishing the merged Edgecombe boar…
Do North Carolina's political-activity restrictions on city and county 'employees' also cover elected mayors, commissioners, and sheriffs?
Yes. The AG concluded that the term 'employee' in G.S. § 153A-99 (counties) and G.S. § 160A-169 (cities) is broad enough to include elected officials. The same political-activity prohibitions and the …
Who decides sex education curriculum in Texas public schools, the state board or local districts?
The Commissioner of Education and the chair of the State Board of Education asked how the board's power to set curriculum standards and adopt textbooks fits with the law that gives local school distri…
Does a school district have to tape-record its executive sessions or identify students and employees by name when it meets to discuss personnel matters?
No, under the law as it stood in 1997. The AG found the Woodbridge School District didn't violate FOIA by keeping written (rather than tape-recorded) minutes of an executive session, or by discussing …
How these opinions are useful
- Understand state law: AG opinions are authoritative interpretations of how state law applies.
- Persuasive authority: Not binding like court decisions, but they carry significant weight.
- Government guidance: Often clarify how state agencies and officials should interpret statutes.
- Legal research: Cite AG opinions in letters, motions, and legal arguments.